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London builder now in Hemel been in the industry forever early 70s but still having to work and always learning new ways .Grumpy old fossil now 😉

Hi all, Just getting started with a self-build timber frame house project in the South of Scotland. The plan is to use professionals for the major works, but I'm keen to understand as much of the technology as possible (especially heat pumps, MVHR, solar PV etc), so I can ask sensible questions and (hopefully) get to a design that works, without breaking the bank. I've already found a lot of great posts in the forum, so decided to stop lurking and create an account. Looking forward to learning from the experts and making a contribution where possible...

Yes, sadly I couldn't claim for my "tennis courts and swimming pools, fishponds, rockeries and other ornamental works". However, I did claim for approx £3k worth of hard lanscaping supplies after BC completion & that was all allowed.

In the circumstances I think losing them in the first place, as I usually do, is good.

So we did the Grand Design in the country and then decided we wanted to move to the villiage. Castlerock, Northern Ireland. So here we go again - Self Build Number 2 - 8 years on. Lessons learned. Prices skyrocked (probably). Wish me luck.

Do a Google search for Buildhub and comfopost. Plenty of discussion about them over the last 6 months or more.

Hi @CaptainDram - we did, I got a quote from MBC, a local SIPS supplier and erector and a brick and block quote from a builder we have used before. Like for like, to get to a shell for a 380m2 shell: MBC Timberframe: 0.14 walls, 0.1 roof - £178,000 MBC Timberframe: 0.1 walls, 0.1 roof, 0.6ACH- £223,225 Brick and Block - 0.15 walls (200mm EPS beads cavity), 0.1 roof (Warmcel pumped) - £132,000 Brick and Block - 0.15 walls (200mm EPS beads cavity), 0.1 roof (Warmcel pumped), 0.6ACH - £136,000 Both need windows, foundations, floor insulation, face bricks, render, slates etc so those prices are pretty comparable. The Brick and Block 0.6ACH includes £4k for aerobarrier who will similarly guarantee that air tightness level. It was a bit of a no brainer really as I was erring on the side of masonry anyway as I just like 'solid'. Also - you can really get in the weeds with U values. I did a heat loss calculation and 0.15 walls is roughly £990 per annum in heating (ASHP). 0.1 walls (the passivhaus version form MBC) was roughly £930 in heat. Thats a payback of over 1453 years. Law of diminishing returns when it comes to insulation!

I wouldnt's say it's suitable for redecorating, as it comes with fibres in it for strength and improved gap-filling ability, so it's not a smooth finish. Think of it as a textured semi-liquid alternative to airtightness tapes or membranes, rather than paint. It's incredibly useful and in my retrofit I've used it around joist ends that penetrate into the wall, over the top of spray foam which never seals completely for me round pipes, on some lightweight breeze blocks between floors (because parge coating would be too messy) and in places with no straight lines to attach tape to! Oh and up wall chases and behind plug sockets. The one I'm using is https://www.soudal.co.uk/pro/products/coatings/air-and-vapourtight-coatings/soudatight-lq because it's the cheapest I found. I believe the originator was https://www.blowerproof.co.uk/, they were certainly the first advert I saw. There's also another called Passive Purple which is bright purple from https://www.intelligentmembranes.com/. And somewhere on this forum there's a recipe for making your own!

I’m just looking at our Architects invoices We paid just short of £4000 inc vat For design Obtaining full pp Materials submission working drawings etc 415m2 £800 to SE for foundation design Steels etc If we had gone the route of TF I would have expected most of that to be in the package You need to be very careful with fees Your back can be up against the wall before you even break ground

You won’t be air leaking through a flat painted surface, if you didn’t get a good result it will be down to gaps. try doing a diy test and find the leaks.

do you have cavity trays and weep vents?

I don't understand why. The cost that you could potentially build a particular design for makes no difference to the amount of work the architect has to do. It still ends up being a number though. 2.5% of a £300k build = £7500. Ignore the fact it's based on an estimate and just decide whether you think the number is reasonable. If you want less from them than is implied by the stage you're considering paying to, then I'd be arguing that point to reduce the fees. If you've worked with them before then presumably they know what to expect, in which case there's less uncertainty for the architect when pricing the job. Good luck, whatever you choose to do.

Soudatight dries like stretchy paper, paints over easy enough, but the fibres that are in it to give it strength tend to clump together, and you can see it through the paint, not the end of the world but if your after a good finish

Good point but fortunately there's no CIL in North Dorset.

It's for covering small areas that are difficult to tape or membrane, not painting rooms. It's more like a liquid rubber.

Get a fixed price from someone who draws building reg plans for a living then use those drawings to revise planning yourself.

Wells as regards Building Regulations: The building has a useful floor area of less than 50m2 and isn't a dwelling so the energy efficiency requirements don't apply so insulate it if you wish but that's your choice. As to the cladding, bear this in mind: An alteration is material for the purposes of these Regulations if the work, or any part of it, would at any stage result— (a)in a building or controlled service or fitting not complying with a relevant requirement where previously it did; or (b)in a building or controlled service or fitting which before the work commenced did not comply with a relevant requirement, being more unsatisfactory in relation to such a requirement. I would suggest that replacing the existing cladding like for like, one strip at a time say, would not make the building more unsatisfactory than it was. However, replace the felt roof covering with heavier tiles then you would be carrying out a material alteration as the roof structure would be taking a higher dead load than it previously did. From a practical point of view insulated metal sheeting would be a better bet than tiles given that the roof structure maybe a bit scant.

Why not uPVC?

Unless you're looking for some architectural magic worked over your own design (which IMO is very valuable stuff), I might either draw myself or get someone else to and either submit myself or get a planning consultant to (might depend on how difficult you think it might be to get planning). Planning is looking for look and feel and it strikes me you have that. You (or a consultant) will need to check your LPA's validation rules re items to be submitted, scales, drawing requirements etc. Not difficult but detail work.

Regarding materials purchased after completion. I have heard of people including things in their reclaim after completion but this suggests it's not allowed.. https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/vat/5eb15437-c1a9-ef11-95f6-000d3a8737b3

Any problems cite this.. https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/vat/dbbf039b-62ec-ee11-a81c-6045bd0d8bd7

They might look tacky, but having a screw head showing is just bad design IMHO

Ah...you're the one that uses them! Got a box full of unused ones somewhere I think if you need some 😄

You can submit vat reclaim within 6 months of sign off . Can you still claim after sign off - don’t know . Scares me too much so I delayed sign off until I had spent on pretty much everything . Plus I don’t trust Hmrc …..

In simple terms the heat exchanger is just like you car radiator, so tubes with thin aluminium plates. A fan sucks or blows air from the room over the heat exchanger. Water is supplied which above (heating) or below (cooling) room temp and it heats/cools the air and the room. A variable speed fan results in variable capacity for a fixed flow temp of water. For a given output way smaller than a normal radiator.

Ermmm. You would get flung out of BH if you wasted money. Efficient is the word. Or a skilled designer.

I assume, as is usually the case you need to remove the old fitting. If so you need to replicate EXACTLY what is there now with connector blocks. So MAKE SURE you keep a track of which is which BEFORE you disconnect anything. You will end up with the 3 lives currently in the LOOP terminal, all joining in a connector block and going nowhere else. The blue with a black sleeve on it goes to the brown of your light. If you can, change that for a brown sleeve or at least a wrap of brown tape. The two blues in the neutral terminal go to your light fitting blue. All earth cables must terminate together in a terminal block. It is IMPORTANT you isolate this circuit at the consumer unit. If this is beyond your comfort zone, call an electrician.

I imagine oil stabilises more quickly, and is maybe more visible in the plastic tube. Me being a cheapskate, I bought a 3m length of clear plastic tube the right diameter for hozelock fittings and I use it on the end of a long garden hose. Works a treat.

I was really keen on having one, but the more I looked into it the less attractive it looked. MVHR simply doesn’t move enough air for it to help that much. Instead we are going to be gently cooling our screed downstairs and we are having a Fancoil mainly for cooling in the main bedroom and probably piping and cabling for a Fancoil in each of the other bedrooms.

Most codes / guidance are based on a worst case scenario for simplicity. This allows the codes to be used by the “less expert”. If you employed a certified fire engineer they can provide a bespoke solution to argue lower standards than the codes quote. Building control generally bow to the experts (unless they are talking nonsense. For example in a HMO they generally designed for simultaneous evacuation ie every one out and with max 1/2 hr fire resistance elements. so I would imagine it wouldn’t be hard to argue that 3hr battery back up to emergency lights is not necessary.

I would probably say that As regards planning 1. If replacing cladding with same then no PP otherwise PP required 2. No PP 3. No PP 4. PP required 5. No PP 6. No PP As regards BC As greater than 30 sq. m. then would require BR approval. Others will probably be along to agree/disagree!

You are not allowed to do this as the spring water could conceivably contaminate the mains supply. Yr second idea is better, there are rainwater systems cos that do proprietary versions of that kind of thing e.g. this.

There is a product called Insuldeck it is from America, but I understand there is also a manufacturer in Italy and can arrive in the UK in about a 2 week turnaround. I have used the product in Canada and if you are after a concrete decking system I would recommend it. It is similar to Amdeck, however it is one piece length rather then small panels as Amdeck is. Amdeck is not available here, shipping from Canada is possible but costly unless you require an entire container

Gas supply is capped, so fossil-free at home (other than me!)...

Always nice to get an update. Not a happy ending but certainly reinforces that you were right to walk away - well done for taking the difficult decision after thinking you'd found 'the one'

The steels are behind a 30min rated ceiling . This I think is what convinced him .

Anyway, back to our posts about our errant neighbours. I really have calmed down now and hopefully got a bit more perspective. Yesterday I (G) felt like the bath spider. You know, the one that keeps falling back down however hard I try at climbing, all the time knowing instinctively that any time soon the shower will be turned on and I’ll be washed down the stinky rapids to oblivion. Every thing I tried to progress didn’t and I had some other non building worries on repeat too. So I was tired and emotional (but technically sober however unhinged) and had a rant. Will try not to let that happen again. I've carefully had a good look at the screw foundations of next doors illegal building (nice, balanced language there) and they are more than a metre from our boundaries. And looking at what they appear to be doing I see no actual danger to life or limb. OK I think the screw foundations will sink and the building is likely to eventually become unusable but that’s not a safety issue. So I stand back and think about our build which requires us to sell our house. And that sale is probably more likely if next door aren’t in a bitchy battle with our council. Yes I think it’s wrong and stupid of them to flout planning law and building regs but I need to focus on getting the house sold so we can build at our new location. But thank you for listening folks. My rant did help me get some sleep.

🤔 we have a 6ft hedge, soon to be taller.....building circa 13ft....so hoping for a LOT of Spring growth😉

Interesting I am attempt 3 with octopus, waiting to see what happens, they wanted lots of photos this time.

hi I’d be interested to know how this render is holding up all these years later … of if you are still on the forum to reply

Please see the other response on the other thread. The article uses 25mm of polystyrene insulation under the slab so downward heat losses are huge and make the whole article a bit of a joke and at best misinformation. The lowest output they mentioned is a mean flow temp of 35 degC for 47W/m2. Highest is 95W/m3 at 56 degC mean flow temp. All pretty huge, maybe ok for energy rich USA.

I thought I would put a post together for those that are looking for windows, replacement or new build. As someone who deals with final order placing / final quote discussions. One of the things that crosses my desk on regular basis, is that the "other supplier" is more cost effective. Which leads me to ask myself "more cost effective against what" are you comparing apples for apples? When I ask people to compare, what we generally explain is to look at the following (see below) if they are not willing to supply a copy of the quote without prices. Product - is the product similar. For example are you comparing a Timber Aluminium cladded window with a Timber Aluminium cladded window? Glazing - Is the glazing on offer from both suppliers comparable? Is it double glazed v's triple glazed for example or is it float glass v's toughened or laminate? Check that doors have toughened/laminated glazing Check that windows within 300mm of a door have toughened/laminated glazing Check that windows below 800mm from the finish floor have toughened/laminated glazing Check that windows that are 1400mm in height or above for toughened/laminated glazing. Most suppliers will start to consider toughened / laminated from 1400mm onwards, some will still be float glass. Check triple glazed glass units. Some suppliers will only toughen the inner and outer panes and leave the middle pane as float glass, others will toughen all 3 panes (I recommend all 3 panes as toughened) when required. Why? quick example is from experience, a customer in the north west of Scotland had the middle pane as float glass in french doors, the doors are recessed with wall on either side. It effectively became a wind tunnel. What happened is during high winds, the door sashes had that much wind pressure constantnly, that the door sash was pushed away from the frame slightly and a rattle effect occurred (only thing I could think would cause this to happen). As a result the middle pane (float glass) shattered. This required the whole sash to be replaced, as the glass was glued into the frame on that particular product. Timber - Is the timber comparable, are both using spruce/larch/oak/pine etc.? Are any of the products finger jointed as standard (which is more cost effective versus fixed timber, but not as aesphetically pleasing). Is the timber cut from from one section of wood or is it individually glue laminated timber? Ug values - A 0.5Ug can be quoted by suppliers but the costs vary dramatically. One of the reasons for this can be the glass make up and the gas that is being used. Some quotes won't tell the gas being used but it's safe to assume that if it's 48mm glazing it is Argon. Pay attention to the spacer distance also, not for cost but if the spacer is above 18mm, convection can occur of the gas filling (gas moves around in the unit). Hinging - Are the hinges concealed or are they exposed? Door Hinging - Pay close attention as suppliers will have quoted standard framing on doors, others may have increased the widths of the jambs to increase the space available at the hinging for plastering behind. RAL Colours externally - are the quoted RAL colours the same? Internal colours - have they quoted the same? Some will offer the standard colours such as a clear lacquer, others will have them painted - does this have any impact on price comparison. Sizes - have any of the units been split, due to not being able to achieve the size required? Some suppliers will not be able to do large sizes, others will be. Look out for compromises. Don't always look at the end figure and immediately reject a quote as being to high, compared to the others. Most suppliers will have the supply price first, then additional items such as window cills, compriband, membrane, installation etc. which are optional to the quote and not necessarily required but may be included in the total cost at the end. Most self builders like to take on the mantra of doing the whole build, others would like to leave this to the supplier or builder and or source their own materials if supply only. What is being offered with the installation service, are the installation options / costs comparible to each other? Who takes responsibility for the windows upon arrival? Generally speaking most suppliers who are installing, should be taken responsibility from the moment the windows leave the factory, to the moment the windows/doors have been installed, sign off. If supply only, the responsibilitygenerally passes to the client once the offload commences. So it is important to document the windows before offload, during offload and once offloaded. The manufacturer will normally have documentation / pictures before departing the factory, it makes life easier on whether a claim with the haulage company or whether a claim with the supplier is required (both should go to the supplier who should deal with it). Warranty - how long is the warranty, what does it cover? Last but not least, is the quote comparible? Have the suppliers referenced things the same way or are have the drawings been scaled and then referenced by the supplier (this happens a lot when no window schedule exists)? A lot of architects don't create window schedules for some reason (one the major parts of a build and most costly aspects) and problems of missing windows can be encountered, due to the elevations not always showing "hidden" windows which can be seen on floor plans. Some suppliers can miss this, which then impacts that quote. Hopefully some people find this useful, of not apologies for the long read

I don't remember that - good job I retired 😬

To be fair I’m going to be one of those people 😂 The reason been at the moment is this architect did all the previous work, gained planning and he was present when foundations were poured so knows the plot well. If the price is too much i be studying the system in Scotland and having a go my self. I’m no stranger to drawings and the local planning department have been friendly so far. Traditional block and block, 200mm cavity. As a bricklayer/builder that’s where all my savings come in. Under 5k would be good. I only like working on fixed prices. Tell me it’s £1200 for X and £1500 for Y and I’m happy with that but don’t tell me 2.5% of a estimate 🙈

The deed of Covent was for the tenant to sign I.e abide by the lease . So I’m in breach if the tenant doesn’t sign !!! . I had to ‘force’ the tenant to sign by saying otherwise it would be s21 ! I can’t hold a gun to the tenants head . Technically the lease requesting this ; is where I was stuck . They have the sublet form ( just for me to sign ) and the deed of covenant as signed by the tenant . I dispute fees - remember they’ve said no administration breakdown can be provided ; it’s a registration fee ….. I’ve told them to take legal action . It wouldn’t surprise me if the freeholder is completely unaware of this and simply the freeholders agent seeing free and easy money for doing nothing . The agent ; simarc ; states I need to open a dispute via ‘their’ internal method . Well that’s BS - isn’t it . I’m not going to kangaroo court . The principle overrides what in essence is a few hundred quid .

Not a chance . These were bomb proof

Good lad, fire up the CAD!

Print replacements you tart!

I (expletive deleted)ed them in the bin . Swore . Replaced the socket and did not install them . Bastard plastic shite

I know someone whose husband died and because he didn’t put his wife’s name on the application they’re now chasing for CIL because he hasn’t lived in the house for 3 years. Outrageous.