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Yesterday we moved into our place, started in 2018 still not 100% finished in 2026, I estimated it would take me 2 years, 🤣🤣 thanks for all the advice from fellow buildhubbers. What we bought, what we have now.

Dear forum members, Our house is complete and we have been resident for three months. I thought to post some pictures and I offer to answer any questions people might have. I don't put ourselves on a pedestal as being any better than other projects, only to say that we have done it. Our primary decisions: We chose a RIBA architect given the importance of the initial concept The layout is somewhat novel, having an H footprint with a single storey 'extension' to reduce the mass of the main house for planning purposes and to help project the rear of the house beyond the shade of the ridge line We chose timber frame (we have built with timber frame, brick and block and ICF in the past) because of speed of construction, and thermal performance We selected MBC from a shortlist of three TF suppliers, and chose MBC's insulated slab We are very pleased to have chosen a large solar array (9KW) and Tesla battery. We have used no grid electricity since commissioning. We have a Valliant ASHP with UFH but haven't had need to heat the house yet We have MVHR which works very well with our air tightness of 0.89 We have no fireplace or chimney We project managed ourselves, and were onsite every day and I did a lot of carpentry / general work alongside the proper trades Project timing: groundwork prep Dec 24, slab Jan 25, frame erection February, windows March, resident 4th July, finished end of August.

I appreciate very few will have read, let alone remembered, my original post in this thread (hence I've quoted it for context), but i thought some may be interested in an update, 8 years on. Just before we moved in in October 2017, my wife had a spirometry test on her lung function. It showed, despite having nebulised antibiotics for 18 months, that her lungs had worsened, with capacity having deteriorated to 50% (from 65% three years earlier). She stopped using the nebuliser around three weeks after moving in, and has only used it for a few days in total in the 8 years since. In late December, as part of a pre-assessment for surgery for an unrelated condition, the anaesthetist requested a new spirometry test. Remarkably, it shows that her lungs have not measurably deteriorated since 2017. I can't say for certain that the house can be credited entirely for this result, but it has certainly played a massive part, and this is one bubble that refuses to burst.

We’d just like to say a great big thank you !! We have now met our fund the forum target for 2026 and with all of your kind and generous donations, we can keep BuildHub advert free and continue operating for the benefit of all of the members. So thank you so much for your donations. Financial support is not the only way that you can help us - if you can offer any skills that may assist with the support of the forum, please contact us, using the contact us form, to find out more. BuildHub would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your ongoing help and support. Without your participation, this forum simply wouldn't exist and we are sure you would agree this would be a great loss. Thank you - and now, back to your build.

One of the things we paid someone to do for us. Spines are powder coated. Cabling for lights runs inside the spines. Steps made from walnut kitchen worktops. Spindles are solid walnut. Glass is 10mm toughened from Cornwall Glass. Why walnut? It goes with the breakfast bar made from the walnut tree we cut down, also made by same person (Principle Constructions based in Cornwall).

I'm actually not sure where the best place is to post this but as it's primarily about heat pump system design, I'll put it here. @marshian and @mads ,and maybe @MikeSharp01? you've expressed your interest so mentioning you here too. I hope the admins don't mind me putting this up here, but maybe if it is found to be useful, could be pinned to help so many of the people who come here struggling with poor heat loss calcs and designs and want to complete their own. I've finally deployed the tool I've been working on for initial public use. It's available free and open source, so repository on GitHub if anyone wants to host locally. It's currently in a bit of a test mode so I can get some feedback and bug reports to refine it and add further important functions. Just bear in mind I've been developing this myself along with everything else in life and it's been quite a major piece of work since last summer. It is now based on the CIBSE 2026 Domestic Heating Design Guide implementation of BS EN 12831:2017 and BS EN12831:2017 so complies with MCS design requirements. I have been using this tool for MCS heat pump projects in house that I'm doing. It's at https://openheatloss.com Important user notes: At the moment when you arrive, you can complete a whole project anonymously without logging in but this persists only for 48 hours or until you close the browser. The save a project, just register using name and email, nothing else. If you want to remain largely anonymous, you can just add the post code prefix to the installation address to set outdoor design temperature and Typical reference temperature. No need to put in loads of personal information. The workflow design is to work you way from left to right across the app tabs. Current limitations: I have not populated the database with standard wall build-ups and U-values. If you're a self-builder or doing major diy hopefully you'll have this info already for your project, otherwise you'll need to look it up manually. There is, however, a comprehensive floor u-value calculator and a simplified one in the room elements input too, so these can be calculated for you. Same thing with radiators - no standard sizes or outputs in a global database yet. I will do a scrape at some point. All outputs entered should be the Delta T 50 catalogue values and if you want system volume calcs, also input the radiator water volume. The UFH sizing calculates volume automatically based on your set pipe diameter, spacing and room area. Text based design - I've tried some of the design tools that are trying to be like cad design software, so you've got do draw your project. Having used cad software, I didn't warm to any of them because they're not proper cad software but in house bespoke design. As I also found out they have limitations so you have to fudge some shapes - roofs in particular. Text based means you can input elements more flexibly according to your needs. Well, I hope so anyway. What you will find different if you've used other tools, although I'm sure they'll either be doing it already or soon, is that the tool provides 2 different heat load figures. is for the heat generator which calculates the whole house fabric and normal ventilation includes a full fabric air infiltration calculation and is usually higher than the generator load To explain this, the new heat loss calculation methods according to BS EN 12931:2017 and specifically those implemented in CIBSE 2026, with wind load under certain conditions, parts of the building and rooms may require higher heat outputs, whilst other parts may need less. This 'total' value comes to a higher result than the generator. In my own test projects that I've run through the new software, I can attest to this working quite well. For example, in one design and installation project of mine, one particular room in the house was designed for 23C but over the winter, whilst never cold, the room never managed more than 21C. I had thought it was a balancing issue, but no. When I ran this project through the new software it predicted that I would need larger radiators in this particular room, base on the new ventilation infiltration calculation, so that is what I will be installing before next winter. Anyway, please have a go and let me know what you think, and ask any questions you have here, or email me at the tool - heatloss@openheatloss.com Does anyone need a user guide to the design workflow and inputs? Let me know..

I am currently waiting for Structural Engineer to share a report. But Pasquill gave me quite a comprehensive email but in summary: They have confirmed that the main issue on my site is that the steel valley beams have been set in the wrong position and at the wrong angle, they should not go through the internal corner as built and need offsetting a little this means the pitch is out by one degree. This has also caused the problems with the fascia and soffit lines. Pasquill say the Posi rafters already fitted may still usable if the beams are moved to the correct positions, though if any hidden cuts are worse than visible they may need replacing. If I do decide to replace the 12 rafters sitting on the valley, Pasquill have offered to supply new ones at a very reasonable price for me ( Which I have said yes to ). The next step is to fully dismiss the builder, take ownership of site. I have found a good joiner to come sort the posis, and will just await the SE to give me a plan of action for these steels.

So a few months in to our build and I have to agree that self-build is hard work! It's also an amazing experience in which every day brings something new. It's difficult to say whether this is physically the hardest thing we have ever done because I think age plays its part, we are late 60's or so and even though we are both fit people building at this age cant be compared to the house renovations that we have done in our 30's, 40's and 50's. What I can say is that we wouldn't swap it for anything, we have promised ourselves that we would self-build for years and to be actually doing so is an amazing experience. Onwards & Upwards!

Quite a sobering thread this tbf. I was not aware that this grinds folk down quite as much as it seems to, the old "self-build" malarkey....... I use BH to shed my brain of the excess energy floating around between my ears, quite bad ADHD etc, and an interest shared here and on eBuild, our home before Buildhub, where it's just nice to see and hear people ask questions and then have us lot intervene so they then don't have things go "tits-up". I'ts nice to have a hand in the prevention of such events. For any folk who are a bit befuddled or overwhelmed and want to get off the starting blocks with their projects, if this helps, I'm happy to do so some 30 mins Teams / phone chats FOC. I can offer advice for groundworks / substructures / superstructures, insulation and airtightness, right through to fenestration, roof and solar etc, or ask me which ASHP or MVHR is the best one to go for etc. 60 min chats not a prob, with maybe members then offering up a small donation to the Buildhub coffers for our annual running costs or whatever. Buildhub is a free-to-join forum that is completely volunteer run and operated, and is not for profit btw. Without donations, it would not exist. I cover pretty much A-Z, so quite comprehensive, and if anyone is interested just ping me a PM and I'll slot you in when I'm between doing other stuff I imagine it'll be like a really coarse, Welsh AI lol. The caveat is, it'll be offered to contributing members only, so no piss-takers need apply IIRC @ETC offers up a bit of selfless support here and there, so it's not uncommon for good folk on here to give up their time to give struggling members an occasional leg-up. I'm sure a few other regulars help, such as @craig, other maybe going unsung so sorry if I missed anyone also deserving of a mention here. "Long live the Hub".

I was drawn to this thread as I was badly struggling for motivation in the couple of months before Christmas, especially trying to undertake tasks single handedly that really required someone with 8 arms, and a lot more height and strength than I have. I eventually got to the point where I was barely achieving anything, and getting more and more self-critical and fed up. Constantly tired, frustrated, and aching. I decided to speak to my GP and started taking anti-depressant medication, which has made a tremendous difference already. In addition, I decided to take up the offers of help that people have given me, and aimed to structure activities around that help in a way that makes it feel the most effective, eg. getting some large boards up on the wall with a few screws so that when I'm back to working alone I can do the simple task of filling in the remaining screws. It isn't even slightly surprising that the pressures of undertaking a self building project can have a negative impact on mental wellbeing. Even the most optimistic of us can get worn down by the feeling of it being relentless and interminable. Asking for help can be transformative.

TL:DR just a bit of fun - Mods feel free to move if not OK in the section. So my first timber framed house completed, I had some must have criteria for the design. - Open plan - double height ceilings - EDPM roof - OSB walls with wood cladding - no high spec windows - main access will remain open at all times Background For every DIY project you end up with leftover materials - you carefully store them in the hope that they are useful one day I had too much in my storage area…… Why did I choose self build? (Always a common question right?) At the back end of winter I had to replace the last section of original fencing (43 years old so it s done well) so I had some featherboard offcuts. In redoing the fence I discovered a hedgehog hibernating in the leaf litter (at that time of the year I wasn‘t sure if it was alive or dead but apparently if they are in a tight ball it s a good sign) We’ve always had a lot of hedgehogs coming thro the garden they like bamboo leaf litter and we created several entrances and exits that we keep clear so they frequently come thro the garden using it as a short cut to other gardens Anyway with the little critter in my way under foot I had to work carefully round it (gender neutral at this stage) so took me a little longer than normal About a month ago I was glad to see the hibernating hedgehog woke up and I was really happy to see it snuffling round the garden (eating slugs) So last year I rebuilt and re-roofed my shed so had some EDPM off cuts and a fewoff cuts of OSB board from the roof and shed walls So rather than throw it all in the tip I thought I d build a better shelter as a open air pile of leaf litter isn t exactly a great shelter. So here is an almost finished hog house (needs a coat of preservative and I m thinking 70 s flock wallpaper for the interior maybe orange) Anyway enough background here s the pictures I also have so 75mm celotex left over but figured if the little bugger can survive under a pile of bamboo leaf litter it doesn t need an insulated house

Rick - would strongly advise against this position and sending a letter like this. At this stage your builder is possibly preparing themselves for legal proceedings. In this instance you are absolutely advised to commit as little as possible to written (or even verbal form). I would advise that you don’t continue with this contractor under any circumstances - and get yourself in a headspace where you’ve accepted you need to find someone else. reading your contract you can’t unilaterally terminate the contract as there is the provision for remediation. My first course would be to request a without prejudice conversation with your builder. Within this conversation (have a third party present such as your SE, architect or a friend) set out that from your point of view the trust and relationship has degraded to a point of no return and you do not under any circumstances want the builder to continue. Explain that if that isn’t agreeable you will exercise clause 37 and at the builders Cost they will be required to replace all posi rafters and fit them to the satisfaction of your SE. State that Pasquill have advised they are likely not recoverable. This is an expensive exercise for the builder. Others may suggest you try and get them to cover the cost of doing the job right. Personally I wouldn’t trust them anywhere near my site. I would seek a negotiated exit and write off getting any money back. Alternatively, if the builder doesn’t agree I would advise you exercise clause 37 immediately. I doubt that they will remediate within 14 days but if you don’t follow the provisions of your contract your builder can pursue you. I would advise a letter that is entirely factual, unemotional and succinct if you need to serve a breach notice. I can help draft one if you need. Accept your relationship with your builder is over.

This time of the year gets to me - sometimes. And in the context of self-building, its dark for longer, wet for longer, cold for longer, windy for longer than I'd like. Optimists say that some of that can be sorted by proper clothing, and decent site lighting. But wetness can make a site misery quicker than anything, cold can stop concrete and mortar dead. Wind is a bastard on a scaffold. Self building's a character test. The push to complete never lets up despite all of the above. I suspect that a few of us are having to 'dig-deeper-than-normal' these days. Got any ways of picking yourself up when things are more than merely gloomy?

Thanks for all your help. We were last in the list of applications, but our worry was short lived. My wife read a short and personal speech regarding this being our dream for a long time. No questions from the committee to my wife or I and none either from the committee to the planning officers. Approved unanimously. Really chuffed and a bit dumbfounded it's finally over. The not knowing what the outcome is stressful. You put your life on hold.

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In case anyone is interested, we had some good news today. To recap: the plot is a disused commercial building, in a village centre, in a Conservation Area, and in a National Park. It's directly overlooked by the neighbours who are on higher ground. There were two reasons for refusal - the impact on the Conservation Area and the impact on the neighbours. We'd offered a detailed study of the local area and showed how our design responded to it. The Inspector agreed with us. But the Inspector agreed with the neighbours that there would be a negative impact on them. He weighed it on the opportunity to redevelop a derelict site, the need for housing and the environmental credentials (EPC B in this case). So that's the end of that chapter. Start = 11 July, site visit = 9 October, decision = 5 February. Thanks for the moral and technical support from this group, and I'm happy to share more details if anyone needs them. Now the actual work begins!

That's a good call on both counts. My recommendation is also to have a serious look at the tools out there available - as well as rigs you can knock up with spare timber - that can make your life easier to move and fit materials. One of the things I've noticed is that the trades and builders generally are really bad at thinking things through like this and will scoff at stuff that makes life easier - as a consequence we unconsciously follow those practices. Building on your own takes a very different mentality than a testosterone filled building site with lots of labour available or those who are willing to harm their bodies (I once got laughed at by a builder for putting on some chain saw trousers when I was about to chop down 3 trees). One very small example is atool I bought several years ago was this: https://grabo.com/ It turns lifting plywood, plasterboard, windows, paving slabs, you name it, into a one person job and means you can hold a sheet up to a wall single handedly with putting in a screw with the other. When I first started using it I got giggles from staff in the builders merchants about how I'd just got the vibrator out. Then that turned into how they wished the company would buy a few in for them. I had no idea how much I'd end up using it.

MVHR doesn't have anything like the airflow needed to provide serious cooling. Design in air conditioning (completely separate from the MVHR), and throw on some PV so you can run it for free on hot days. MVHR will help keep the heat outside.

My faulty Brink Flair unit has now been returned, and I bought and installed a DucoBox Energy Comfort 325. All of the problems I attributed to the Flair have now gone away. This is as good a like-for-like test as you're going to get, everything is the same - same house, same ducting, same vents, only the main unit has changed. Just for completeness, I want to mention two additional (objective, measurable) tests I did on the Brink Flair in the last days we had it, using a CO2 and humidity monitor. Why didn't I think of this earlier!! I placed the monitor inside one of the supply vents, luckily we have two through-wall vents which are perfect for this (https://www.ventilationland.co.uk/en_GB/p/uniflexplus-wall-manifold-rear-connection-1x-o90-mm/9744/) so the whole monitor can sit in the incoming airflow. We then left it for a few minutes so the values could settle down and we could get a general background reading: the RH was about 55% and the CO2 was about 450ppm. First test was a humidity test: I boiled a kettle in the kitchen and let the steam be sucked into the extract valve. The RH jumped to 70%, then went back down again. I also showered, and again the RH shot up to 70% (see attached graph). Second test was a CO2 test: I disconnected the flexible noise dampener which is connected to the Flair's extract port, and breathed into it several times. The CO2 reading at the supply vent briefly increased, from about 450 to 485, then went down again. I tried this again with my partner, and the CO2 reading went up to about 540 PPM. (This one is difficult to show on the graph though, as the unit only logs every five minutes, so the brief peak isn't logged. It's difficult to keep breathing into the extract!) This can only be because there was a leak inside the unit. This does echo the results of my smell test, but is more objective and can't be written off as me having some sort of super-nose! I consider that to be proof that the Flair was faulty, despite Brink's inistence that it wasn't. The new Duco works as expected. I've done the same tests, and showering makes no difference at all to the moisture levels of the incoming air. It's been in for over a week now, and the RH in the house hovers around 44 to 54%. Even while boiling a big pan of potatoes there's no moisture on the kitchen window, whereas with the Flair it would be dripping wet. With the Brink Flair the humidity in the house was always high. The 55% mentioned above was only acheived because we had left the above-window vents open, and aired the house out every day by opening the windows for several minutes. Until we started doing that it was always above 60% and would jump to over 70% when cooking/showering. I must say I'm really disappointed with Brink. They showed little interest in the problem, I had to nag them constantly, and were almost totally unresponsive, and it seems they closed my 'case' several times. If I hadn't kept the pressure up they would never have responded. Which is a shame, as I really liked their products otherwise.

Hi chaps, UPDATE! been a while since I posted. Hope y'all doing well. Good news & an update on this heatpump! I finally won the battle with Vaillant, & they've come up trumps, by replacing my problematic Split system with a Monobloc. Installed 10 days ago. No mechanical noise in the house anymore! hydraulic unit gone- good riddance! My goodness, what a long battle tho. I got the final agreement & date set, after approaching a different female at Group Service dept, picked up my sword for one last effort, & with careful navigation (tricky & complex & 5 years of stress tbh) she empathized.. & got the ball rolling for me. Which had been stalled for over a year & my energy spent, & I was defeated & demoralised tbh. And with it I had a fantastic installer too. Extremely competent & friendly. Fab work done, you can just see the difference. Vaillant's west UK choice, so had tiptop credentials. Thanks to all who offered help & advice on this. Zoot

Hello In the early stages of converting a former railway building into a house in the Yorkshire Dales. We will also have a SIP extension. Trying to do as much as I can myself, but I'll pay some people to do some parts. Would love to be in for Christmas 2027, but no promises!

I think what you've done is that brave, put your head above the parapet, admission of human vulnerability in an arena that is still steeped in 'manly toughness' mythology. And what you've done is highlight the experience that probably most, if not all self-builders go through during their build. I come from a psychology background - I began in the engineering field and then gravitated to psychology, so I originally trained to BACP levels in counselling and eventually moved into a field called coaching psychology where I worked with a combination of high level athletes, business leaders and business founders. Now, I can say that every single one of my clients has experienced major ups and downs and a lot of their time is spent grafting in uncomfortable places. But context is everything. In both business and sport there is at least a good proportion of acceptance around psychology and mental health. The most successful ones embrace this as of primary importance for their day to day function and successes, but even in these contects, there is still a long way to go. My experience so far of the construction industry is that it hasn't even begun to accept this. When I go and see construction sites, I don't see pleasant, human environments and people just don't talk about or readily and openly acknowledge their vulnerability. Sometimes I see quite frankly highly unpleasant working environments, with lots of miserable staff - which I see as one of the reasons why we get such shit building and trade quality - it's a UK construction industry cultural context that just doesn't seem anywhere close to shifting. Last summer I spent a couple of weeks in a construction academy training centre and it was one of the most miserable places I've been to in a long time and the trainers wonder why they get such poor engagement, performance, and results from students. This cultural context to me goes a long way to explaining why the construction industry has one of the highest rates of suicide. Here's a quote from the ONS about this: " These are pretty alarming figures. There are obvious exceptions to this. I know a contractor fairly near to me who runs a small company where he treats and pays his staff well. As soon as you go on site you can tell this from the nice, smiley and friendly atmosphere. In another example, a previous client of mine who engaged me when he started up, we spent 18 months to 2 years exploring how he wanted to lead the company and what kind of culture he was looking to foster as he wanted to be very different from his experience in construction with very large construction companies. Most of his contracts are in Europe but his company has now surpassed £1 billion in annual revenue. The context of a self-builder changes things and can make them more complex, especially if you're very hands on. As a self-builder you are completely invested and I know myself that this can make you feel trapped - you can't just walk away like you can from a job because not only have you ploughed loads of money into it, it's your blood, sweat and tears too. It's personal. You're also in the construction industry, but an outsider without necessarily having all the domain knowledge to navigate your way through a different working environment. So it's realy no surprise that self-builders feel down and it's great that this is being discussed so openly here with so much support being offered. I too can offer help and to talk, if someone wants to do so. I'm based just out side of Bath Oh, and to mention a little celebration I had for myself yesterday. My company is now officially MCS certified for design and installation of air source heat pumps - but please don't crucify me for that 😉

Thanks all for the supportive replies. This forum is one of the best sources of support a self-builder could have. I want to give special thanks to @BotusBuild and @Fallingditch for their generosity with both practical and moral support, and to @Gus Potter, @Nickfromwales, @ProDave, @SteamyTea, @ToughButterCup and others who have responded to threads and direct messages with advice and wisdom that I could not have managed without. Knowing that you guys are here, and willing to show such kindness and generosity with your time and knowledge, is invaluable.

Prior to starting our build and when deciding on what and how we would heat the house we were told more than once that separate heating upstairs was not required. Ours is not at Passiv level, it does have a .11 roof, .12 floor and .15 walls. We have UFH downstairs and a total of 6 radiators upstairs. All on a single unmixed heating zone. Radiators were sized for the expected heat loss and flow temperatures. The bedrooms are at about 18.5 - 19 degrees which feels a little chilly to me. Heat does not appear to reach upstairs very effectively. We have a centrally located 180 degree return staircase. There is a noticeable gradient in temperature as you get to the landing, which surprised me. Now, i fully accept that our single zone design with a flow temperature that has not so far ever got above 38 degrees even at minus 5 in December is not best suited to radiators upstairs. But that is not the point. If we had gone without radiators at all upstairs we would be in trouble . For those contemplating going without any heating upstairs i hope this little tale is helpful. keith

This is the bit that's the toughest for me especially when trying to balance everything else that's important in life. With the build, it's not like going home from the office and switching off. One of the things here is that my boys have grown through their teenage years on a building site, but I've spent a lot of time with them away from the build, which at the moment seems to have been the best thing for them. They're living in a warm, dry house, and have their own bedrooms, a bathroom and a functional kitchen, it's just so many other areas of the house still need a lot of work. Deepest winter does seem to be the worst. I approached it with the mentality of - just do one thing, however small it might be. Rather than looking around and seeing how much needs to be done, it's about seeing what little things can I do here or there, even when the weather or light is against me. It's not the solution, but it can very much help. Sometimes I'm surprised by how much gets done as a result and how even just getting some plasterboard put up, can feel so satisfying. But then, sometimes, it is just a pure grind and I see that as just a temporary phase that'll change in a few short days or weeks.

Ufh pipes will cost a grand to buy, if you don’t put them in you need a serious word with yourself. I don’t understand the figures like some on here, but I know I’m sitting in the most comfortable house I’ve been in for a long time, just a gentle warmth in the tiles emits to every point of the house. it’s just an absolute pleasure.

Been a while and I was just randomly passing through when I noticed a few recent posts on this thread. Current update is we gained our Completion Cert in July (almost exactly 10 years to the day since buying the land), and the interior is nearing completion with just the kitchen to finish. Fully offgrid, we haven't paid a utility bill in 9 years. Living our dream and still pinching myself, tbh.

It's done!! Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone with the advice on this one. After the advice I changed plans and in the end got a sand cement screed laid by a professional company who did an amazing job and finish. Time to move on to the next stage (I'm sure I will gleaming you wisdom again) Thanks again, few pictures before

After the advice of pretty much everyone, for once I am going to admit defeat and have some professionals in for this job. We have found a couple of options we are happy with and will readjust the budget a little to accommodate but its not something we can afford to go wrong. I will take some pictures and update you in a couple of weeks when it's done but thank you so for your advice and help and I now know what to watch for when it's poured and what to prepare

Came across this forum recently whilst searching for information about BNG, after delving deeper I wish we’d found you all about 2 1/2 years ago. My wife and I are just finishing our build, hopefully by the end of this month. Maybe 6 months later than projected, so probably not too bad. Our struggles along the way have been for the most part due to our main contractor going into liquidation in December 24. In some respects this may have been a blessing, in others not so. We realise now that not all of the headaches end with the completion of the build; reverting to LA building control after the liquidation is challenging, we still have outstanding land transfer issues and obtaining planning permission for a ground mounted PV array is laughable. Our build is a new build replacement of an old tractor barn, close to the ridgeway in Oxfordshire. It seems the forum likes photos so I will attach a couple.

Cheers for the help everyone... got people lined up. Joiners are on site now fixing up / measuring. Brickies and welders coming next week. Should have things fixed up in no time hopefully.

Hi, only just seen your post and you are likely to have sorted this by now, but for others benefit I had exactly the same issue. Output failure on a Zappi that was just out of warranty, with the same offer of a replacement. As an electronics engineer, I had a look at the unit and found there was one relay that was stuck. Replaced this with the same part (~£20 from RS) and no problems since. Perfectly doable for anybody who is comfortable with a multimeter and a soldering iron and safe electrical practices.

That's the loneliest place in the world . You (we, I) have been told / made to understand that self-building is a privilege. Given to few. And we should be grateful - stop moaning and "JustBloodyDoIt." Self-building is as big a character test as doing a PhD, or handling a long-term relationship break down, or surviving a major operation. A full-on build's knackering. You're among friends here. Don't ever forget that

Thank you for proving my point It is a common misconception amongst people such as yourselves that the UK could achive energy independence if only the "greens" would let us drill for more oil and gas. In case you misread my OP the oil and gas industry itself is predicting production will fall even with no restrictions on drilling. Let's take the "Rosebank" field, described as the Uk's largest undeveloped oil and gas field. At it's peak, it's owners predict it will produce in excess of 21 MMSCF of natural gas every day, which sounds impressive until you realise that is about as much as Aberdeen uses per day. That won't make a dent in our imports. There is no way the UK can pull enough oil and gas out of it's territory to satisfy it's current demand for oil and gas That is the considered opinion of all the experts including oil and gas industry. So the only option is to reduce our consumption of oil and gas via things like efficency, reducing journeys by car, electrification of heat and transport. All the "Net zero" things but not for environmental reasons, for purely pragmatic reasons. As for coal, let us assume, for a moment that there are near unlimited coal reserves available to the UK. How do you propose we heat our homes and drive out cars on coal? Go back to coal cellars, and a fire in every room? Rip out out combi boilers for solid fuel boilers? And as for cars.... If you think EV's have too short a range and take too long to charge, wait until you try steam cars! 😁 If you genuinely think the future of UK energy is coal you should be cheering for EVs and pushing for the adoption of Heatpumps alongside the blue haired vegan tree huggers. It's not your fault. The oil and gas companies have a well funded disinformation and lobbying campaign for keeping the UK hooked on oil and gas. After all, drug dealers aren't going to help you kick the habit - not when there are vast profits to be made.

That's the trouble with this country - lowest standards possible. And a general public that are willing to accept that. So a cheap 30kW combi that only modulates down to 10kW, thermostat in every room, boiler that lasts about 5 years because it cycles so often. That'll do

It’s taken a little while to get an exact figure With some moneys and bills still to go out and £1500 off the vat reclaim off a supplier Which we’ve now done We ended up with £42800 back off the vat Most of which went on the landscaping and gates So I’ve knocked that out of the total spent Carpet curtains blinds wood burner I’ve left in as part of the spend fees surveys buying costs Architects BC fees All in Land purchase omitted from the spend tax All complete 420m2 £386000

As above. All the best for another year of staring at one tiny problem for waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. And then realising it didn't REALLY matter that much after all. Adios 2025, here we go for 2026. Get your house built asap, or it'll be 2027 and I'll be telling you off again

Hello all, Whilst I've been on the site a while, I thought I would introduce myself and the new exciting (to me) project that we are at the very early stages of. After the fun and games of the purchase process, we are now the proud owners of a barn in Cornwall and today, we have also received our class Q notice. The barn now has permission to convert, a secondary class Q and we are in the midst of a redesign to go back for full planning permission under betterment. As you can see from the photos, a fair bit of work is needed.. But we feel very lucky to be in this position. Current status is that the previous tenants (Rams) have been evicted and we are moving on to getting utilities to the site! I will probably start a blog if I find the time! May the fun begin!

So, we decided to go with MBC for frame, insulated raft and Rationel windows. They have been so helpful after Scotframe pulled out and I now feel it was meant to be. We completed on our plot purchase yesterday after 3 years of solicitors buggering about so celebrating tonight! Hopefully breaking ground in February.

@Nickfromwales @marshian Advice taken, many thanks.

Aero barrier have been and gone. initial air changes per hours was 1.7 builders did an excellent job and AB guys were impressed. after their magic mist was finished, they got it down to 0.2.

3 months after commissioning the new and improved Mk2 Pre Filter box it was time to change the filter material. The muslin seems to be doing a grand job and the increase in useable filter surface area is being fully exploited by dust and flies.

Best thing is take your time. Get your plans right first. Even if you need to go back to planning to make changes. Step back, write down what you want and what you don't. Look at the following aspects Foundation level how are you going to do it Walls many different ways to build so get that sorted in your head before you go too far. Roof are you having vaulted ceiling, this changes how the roof is built. Insulation and airtightness, this then helps you decide on ventilation and heating system. Layout of house, it's very easy to make a massive house, if you are not careful. Use you current house, what is good and bad, what are room sizes like, ok, too big or small etc. how does the layout work or not? Write stuff down, revisit what you write down, is it still true. Once you know what you are doing don't change.

Just as a, "don't give up hope". Six months and Three days after my planning application was validated. I got my planning application passed. What might be of use to some other people, is that i'm in Greenbelt. I have managed to turn a small bungalow, and a posh shed. which total about 850 square foot. Into Two, Two story houses of about 1700 square foot each. This is despite local objections from Parish Councillors, District Councillors, and Neighbours. I did this by using several people, who worked on my behalf. A local "Face" managed to convince the Parish council to offer a, No comment, to the application. Another local "Face" to convince the district councillor, to not call the application in. Finally, a planning consultant, to respond to the 27 page objection put forward by the neighbour. However, i think what helped more than anything was the Governments, Grey Belt introductiion. This allowed the planning officer to conclude that both houses together, would cause very little additional harm to the Greenbelt. There is obviously a lot more to the whole situatioin with regards my various applications, over the years, But i wanted to bring to the attention of anybody looking to develope within the Greenbelt that "Greybelt" may well turn out to be your friend, when it comes to your application. Best of luck to all, and thanks again for all the help offered by people on this site, over the years. Regards Jim. P.S. I have also retained full permitted developments rights for both houses when built.

The advice from SBMS above is excellent. And to the point. Having previously terminated two main contractors, I can confirm he's hit all the key points. Do this right and you will be able to cut the builder and protect yourself against any comeback. In fact, if done right, they'll be delighted to be able to walk away with a negotiated settlement that means you can't come after them for damages. If you don't have personal experience in commercial negotiation, maybe think about who you can trust to help you with this meeting (whether a friend or professional). And you want a third party there regardless.

Following this link https://www.juliancassell.com/2564/fitting-a-door-lining provided by @MortarThePoint in another post I have fitted my first door lining (of 14). Rather pleased with the result. Hopefully the remainder will be as successful

Update on this one, we said we'd take the roof off and do everything we can to improve the insulation off. Well we did half of the extension, it took ages due to just how many problems I found. There were literally parts with zero insulation. Or other parts where the gaps between the kingspan were so large you could get your hand through em! So really positive news that we found so many issues. Work included, all tiles off, felt and battens off too..... then foaming and taping every joint, then adding another 50mm kingspan ontop (ensuring we left a 25mm air gap between felt and board)... then foaming all the joints on that too... It took a full day, but really pleased to say the difference is HUUUUUUUUGE. Room is massively retaining heat compared to previous. And we've not done the more problematic half of the roof yet (based on the thermal images) so excited to see what we find on that side. Likely cracking on with that half on june 9th. So will update then too... But in the mean time, here's the before and afters. Very pleased we did this, despite the cost!

I agree with this. I hadn't been prepared for how lonely self building is as you spend day after day on your own facing stressful decisions that friends and family have not experience on but usually a trivialised solution. Even very close friends have a lot of sympathy, but not real understanding and the truest empathy comes from a shared experience. That's why BuildHub is so valuable to me, but with the caveat that @ToughButterCup adds that everything can look perfect. When the chips are down, there is a lot of kindness here though and that's invaluable. You'll get there!