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Just throwing this sketch at you @Glen as an alternative layout idea, with giving you the same rooms. *I am not an architect*. noting the need for a bigger pantry than my sketch, extra space could be taken from the now bigger office. My main idea for you to make the craft room bigger and overlooking the kitchen like a mezzine type thing. This would make the seating area in the kitchen diner more intimate underneath with normal height ceiling there, leaving the kitchen / diner vaulted. Back to downstairs the lounge is slightly smaller but more convertible to a downstairs bedroom and the new vestibule gives some privacy to acess downstairs shower room, which is located near to the garage for cleaning up. Likewise the laundry room/utility there and at bottom of stairs. The change of boiler room in garage would give up you a sink at back of garage. This design, or something similar, leaves you with a massive kitchen diner overlooking your garden which I think is key to your needs and would address the odd shaped rooms you currently have.

It's only just a EPC B by one point. Everything is just too big...and cold looking.

Planners are pretty sensitive to over-looking, so file a carefully worked comment on the LPA planning website stating your concerns. They'll probably be listened to and added to the conditions. Do this promptly so you don't miss the window.

Just thought I’d post a price list BG have sent me for the next 9 months It’s shows how little there is between someone buying one boards and someone like myself who buys thousands Wickes often sell multi finish for less than I buy it

Yes agree with comment regarding that chimney's are not ideal but we wanted to keep a balance between modern and traditional. It will be taking air from external when installed (through the back) I have attached a picture of the back of the house, there is no liner currently installed just a space for it to go. As you can tell I have never done anything like this before, the air tightness concept was something i decided on after the build had started so trying to make it the best it can be for my build.

I’m currently pricing four self builds for render plastering and tiling All four have purchased the plots from an individual While he’s done all the site surveys and sorted out the planning for each individual home He’s not the main contractor But for a small fee he will bring in Groundwork’s bricklayers etc and a bit of hand holding also The self builders are responsible for paying for materials and contractors I think this is a really good business model The seller sold the plots within six weeks The buyers no exactly when there build can be started There’s no incentive for contractors to overcharge as he has two more of these in the pipeline He reckons there will be about 25% saving on a turnkey build Without the hassle of trying to find trade All are individual designs 2 TF 2 Solids Perhaps the way forward in uncertain times

On recommendation from @nod I’m cutting mine with a circular saw, it does create a lot of dust so extraction is a must, but you get lovely square accurate cuts. I bought a Makita HS0600 which will go through 100mm, it was a lot cheaper than the Festool insulation saw and gives better cuts.

+2 There are unknowns so get rid of it.

+1

Smash it all out down to a flat level area.

Might not be the BM's goto brand but Floplast have 110mm solvent, I'm sure OSMA aswell 110mm Solvent Soil | Floplast

someone gets pregnant during the build

@Galileo While I understand your thinking about new modules and mono v poly in low light. I doubt there is enough difference to worry about. The main thing is what size inverters you can actually buy, they are not sold in 100W increments, usually in approximately 500W increments on the small ones and the 1kW jumps. The main thing that matters is that there is enough voltage for the inverter to start working, so the more modules in series the better. But then even small shading can hurt the output. If it is all too confusing to work out, then microinverters, 1 module, 1 inverter.

I would love to see the planning history. IMHO a far better use of the site, would be to keep the original cottage separate and 2 new builds, one being where the "car barn" is and one being the other side of the cottage. But let me guess, it's green belt and planning would not allow an additional dwelling or 2, so this abomination was the "solution" to extracting as much from the site as planning would allow. IF that is the case then I despair of the planning system. At least in Scotland, it is highly likely a new build would be allowed in the garden of an existing dwelling.

I like the idea of making the craft room open to the kitchen below. A lot depends on how noisy things are and who is doing what at different times, but it would open up the space nicely. In the existing plan it could just be the space above the larder. However, it looks like there may not be enough space as you hit 1.5m head height well before the rear wall. Depends on how much room it needs. If not back to that being a good space for a bathroom.

If I recall you have a thick slab, so heating times could be reasonably long, i.e. most of the day at a low temp. Or you could run a slightly hotter and batch charge. If you had E7 or time of use tariff just charge during that period. All you need a 0.1 hysterisis thermostat. My UFH is in 100mm concrete, and everything takes 6 to 12 hours (heating and cooling down again). Problems you may have is short cycling if you try to run it independently of the rest of the heating system. Think you are the same as me, no buffer. The very simplistic approach with least risk of short cycling is to run it all together UFH and rads as a fully balanced system. If your wireless thermostat has a hysterisis of 0.2 or above I would get something better other you will get big overshoot or undershoot of UFH room temp. Or could you run the radiators on WC, with night setback, so the bigger part of the system is on most/all the time at lowest flow temp, and just have the UFH doing its own thing on a 0.1 deg hysterisis thermostat driving mixer pump.

To be added: Kevin predicts the build cost Kevin looks smug when he is right Someone dies

But a COP of 2 is better than effectively a COP of 1 if a heat battery and a resistance heating element is the alternative being considered in this thread.

would have loved to have done something like that, but im not sure i could trust anyone else to cut this stuff as accurately as id want it, christ it was hard enough doing the quality control on myself. Id imagine if i let my builders do it it would have been lashed in wonky as ya like.

It is one of the very different requirements under the Scottish reg's, that a house must be future proof, for living on the ground floor. That and minimum space and movement standards. And a space that can accommodate a desk, with extra sockets. All sensible and I would now say desirable, when self building , wherever you are. Space for a lift, without compromising the layout is another option, and I would build a box-out into the floor to reduce disruption should this need arise.

My SWMBO is the same - zero visualisation. For our proposed new kitchen I marked out in tape the layout to scale on the floor .

Great idea John, I work with measurements & scale everyday so I can visualise space, but my wife has no concept of scale, we’ve had more arguments over this in the last 12 months than we have in 35 yrs of marriage 🤣

Most ASHP will have a number for max or startup current (in amps). That will be the number you need to look most carefully at, as a small gennie may struggle to respond to the sudden load. It'd be interesting if a small couple kWh battery could work well to reinforce a generator to cover odd peaks. Obviously if you have solar PV the battery comes into its own for this use case

Fine tooth wood saw, and get on with it.

I'll see how I feel about it, 125mm, 140mm something like that. No harm in going longer if I can get em.

I got one of those from either lidl or aldi, and the extractor head wore out immediately, being softer metal than the screw. Known branded next time.

As said new boiler will be leaps an bounds better as far as kWh used. If you are replacing consider the rest of the system at the same time. A 25 year old system will be full of debris from corrosion etc. You may be better do a full re-plump or at least a power flush, then while you are at make sure the rads can heat your house at a low flow temps circa 30-40 degs. That will make the house heat pump ready, and you will benefit with even better boiler efficiency. You need a boiler that has two different flow regimes, one for hot water, the other for central heating, most can do this. But gets plumbed and wired slightly differently. Not sure doing a delta of 30 on radiators makes much sense. Most modern boilers will manage the delta T, by modulation of pump output at high flow temps mine will give a delta T of 20, at low temps a delta T of 4.

Looking at this the way you are and putting these tight times on things , I think you are in for a world of hurt and disappointment. Do you think there’s a big gang of chippies out there just waiting for you to call them and offer them 45mins to cut and fit your window boards. Unless you are very lucky I think they will come in and tell you exactly what it’s going to cost. Putting a time and cost on each item you will get a site chippy who wants to run in and smash it out as fast as he can, which won’t achieve the finish you want. Window boards will depend greatly on the finish that they are going onto, flat and level timberframe with the cavity all closed then lovely. Unlevel block work, or wonky icf, then what method do you want for fixing down or levelling. If you are tight on the time they will pack them up on old bits of crap they find laying about. If you have multiple cills in one room you will want them all level with each other. I have 5 windows all in the same room that need to all be the same height, I think it took a good day to get the laser shooting nicely across them all. Ive been on a job recently where we took out two sets of patio doors and reinstalled them because they where different heights to each other, both sets in the same room. Pay peanuts you will get monkeys. Im on another forum just for builders and the going rate for an internal door hanging and furniture is about £80 a door.

This post is summary of the Principal Designer thread. The purpose of this summary is to assist members and guests decide for themselves how CDM2015 impacts their build project. The summary is offered as is and should not be interpreted as authoritative advice. As is normal in asynchronous online discussion, the thread sometimes changes its focus a little. Where those changes occur, the content has not been summarised. Discussion of this issue is particularly relevant to us because we are a self-build forum, whose members are assumed not to be professional builders, or -in relation to building- have any technical understanding or capability beyond simple DIY . To be clear, the following assumptions are made; · A client is a Domestic Client. The distinction is central to all that follows · The Domestic Client can choose to apply for VAT relief in due course, whereas a Client cannot · The Domestic Client is not engaged, or about to be engaged, in a business related to the build (because they will then be a Client, not a Domestic Client) The thread started with a question about the role of Principal Designer. The examination of that question inevitably lead to discussion about how the role related to other key aspects of the legislation. There was some reference to the history of Health and Safety legislation, but it was pointed out that over time, the general emphasis had not changed. If you qualify for Domestic Client status, then a contractor working for you carries the main responsibility for Health and Safety. It was in the detailed examination of the term ‘responsibility’ that a good deal of discussion arose. Several members agreed that the legislation was poorly drafted for our sector of the market. And in the context of a self-build forum, where many of us will be doing things for the build on our own (DIY) as well as employing contractors, it is easy to see a rich source of confusion. For example, self-builders might be tempted to become involved in the build in a way which implies technical competence and so enhanced H+S responsibility. A strong warning was given to self-builders to avoid becoming involved in technical aspects of the build to the extent that they might be considered ‘ a responsible person’. And that includes the self-builder being trained in a relevant build subject to the extent that he or she might be assumed by the courts to have more responsibility than a Domestic Client would be expected to have. Perhaps the simplest articulation of how CDM responsibilities can be operationalised was in this post (@jamiehamy) ‘… We have only used contractors for the steel frame, lifting in floor beams, ground works/drainage and electrics - and each time I've made it clear that the contractor is responsible for operating safely and I do not dictate how they complete the activities. I don't supervise on site and most certainly do not manage their work or how they work - they have a deliverable and it is their responsibility to complete that. Where required, I offer safety equipment, ask what they need me to provide to work safely and healthily, I find out if they are dependent on me for anything and let them get on with it. Maybe I should do more in writing but I choose reputable contractors and all work is fully invoiced…’ In terms of prosecution for H+S breaches, providing the Domestic Client has fulfilled their duties (not covered in detail in this summary) prosecution is highly unlikely. Domestic Clients should make sure the site is safe and secure, tidy and clear of obvious hazards. There was some discussion based on the meaning of a series of CDM-specific terms; Project Manager, PD, PC, Client, Domestic Client, Business or Business Activity, Contractor, design, designer as well as others. Please refer to the full discussion for a more detailed discussion. But it was convincingly argued (with supporting evidence, and some unevidenced dissention) that a Domestic Client cannot be either a Principal Contractor or Principal Designer. Additionally, there was some discussion of official legal documents related to CDM2015. In summary: be sure to understand the meaning of the term Domestic Client, and to maintain that status throughout the build. Any competent person with whom you have a contract to complete work on your site should be capable of working safely. Offer support to fulfill H+S requirements, but never offer advice or direct work or manage the process. If, after reading this summary you feel you need to, take care to seek advice from more than one reliable, authoritative source. Paying for advice does not guarantee its accuracy or authority. Source url forum.buildhub.org.uk/ipb/topic/2376-principal-designer-role/ Bibliography. HSE (2015), Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, HSE Books downloaded 04/05/2017 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf See especially Appendix 6. HSE (2015), How CDM 2015 applies to Domestic Clients Appendix 6, Figure 1, in Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Download the flow chart (from our server) here HandSforDomesticClients.pdf HSE Construction Discussion Forum (accessed 04/05/2017)

It looks like the original architect built the model from lego, and the builders followed the plan exactly..

Hmm, looks like the tacky new science block built onto the old school building by a LA inhouse architect to me, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

An underground wank

So double the budget, sounds about right fir grand designs 🤯 I did think of @Pocster when they started down the steps into the underground tank 🤣

I think they originally said £700K was all they had and it ended up almost £1.4m

How many did you get on the Grand Designs bingo card?