SteamyTea

Do you think you can never visit a client on the site? As I said earlier, takes me 2 hours to get halfway across the West Country, by the very nature of self building, very few will be local.

I prefer the idea of renovation and improvement. I don't think the VAT savings are worth all the other hassle for a reasonably good building. How close to the beach is it?

Start a topic about it. I suggest 100 m², two stories and a simple rectangle to start with. The main point is not really the design, but the problems people faced getting past all the obstacles at the planning stage and up to actual ground breaking. Regarding being national, not sure many people would want to spend £5k without meeting the person who is going to get their dream approved. Travel would be your biggest overhead, assuming you work from home. £40k does not go far in the business world, a new cooker costs more in a commercial kitchen.

I constantly point out to people that Bill Gates, Tim Berners-Lee, and Steve Jobs, if he was still alive, are now pensioners. Could probably export most file types as a basic .txt file, then rebuild it. There is free, open source, CAD software, I think our very own, grubby fingernailed @Onoff knows a bit about it. Like me, he pays for nothing.

There may be a market in taking on PMing for a (expletive deleted)ed up project. Would need a big trades contact list though. Though apart from some contacts, being an architect does not qualify one to being a good PM.

Surely all that has to be done us to externally render, or internally plaster, the area with lime. Everyone says it cures all the damp issues. Well apart from actually curing itself. (Just taking the piss after a 5 and a half hour car journey where I had too much time to think about things)

Not sure, I only go to Poundland. Resturanteurs are mostly to blame. Ridiculous business models based on the first few weeks of takings. I know a number of young chefs, they all want to do good food and reasonable prices. I always suggest the do barely adequate food and very cheap prices. Not done McDonald's any harm. A quick look at the NACSBA data and it shows that in 2019, 15,902 self built houses where completed. 2,227 where built in the biggest region, the SW. Knowing the SW, and it takes me at least 2 hours to get half way across it, it is a big area. So to make a living from self builders, you would need to capture 20 of those a year at £5,000 a pop, maybe more. Don't sound much, 1% of the market, but I bet it is hard. Whish I had 1% of the market.

If you think getting planning for a wind turbine us hard, even harder with a water one.

I though it too obvious to mention that there are several easy to use packages that files can be exported to. Shows that some practices need to change is they think about technology.

We could create a 'cartoon' house on an imaginary bit of land. Then those people who have already built, and know many of the varied problems to be overcome, can chip in. Think of it as a mock exams of what you may have to put up with. You may find that dealing with self builders, on a tight budget, is not where you want to be doing business. Similar in my business. Michelin service at kebab shop prices wanted.

Ok, here is a project. No commission on it. Tell us all how you get on. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/25153-is-it-possible-to-do-under-£200000/

I could reach it, but then I am West Indian, tall, and very strong.

With a self build the consultant is often the self builder though. No one is asking for your laptop and contact list, and car keys. (What do architects drive now that Saab have gone)

To help with getting quotes, doing the actual building, checking what has been done, layout of services etc. The same can be done from properly dimensioned paper drawings, but we are now in the 21st century and most data is transferred electronically.

Thanks @IanR, you have explained it better than I could. So to answer the original question, more openness, and less hiding behind imaginary, self imposed walls is needed when dealing with self builders.

@Eileen Is it actually defrosting, is the unit actually showing ice on the coils? does your system have a buffer cylinder?

I agree that it has to be a done deal before, just confused by the language and examples used. I have a composite plastics systems that has overcome a longevity problem. Nothing special in itself, and it is up for sale. If I ever manage to sell it, then the new owner can do what they like with it, even give it away for free to the whole world. I am not putting an NFT on it, though maybe I should. That is odd, or the way you have said it is. When I did my first two degrees, the university technically owned the copyright. This narked me as I was paying and did all the work. Except I didn't. I only paid for part of the course and it was graded by university employees, and, I assume, is still being stored in the library. When I started lecturing, part of my job was to create 'module boxes'. Basically lesson plans and schemes of work. It was fair that the university owned these, they paid me to produce them. They I don't think they noticed that I had copyrighted them. If someone comes along and changes them, that is nothing to do with me, the university bought them, I don't feel that my reputation is at risk. There is a large, ongoing debate how patents and copyright are stifling innovation. I tend to think that it is. I also know how difficult and expensive it is to enforce ones IP, generally greater than any financial advantage.

@CharlieKLP, @Roger440, @the_r_sole Just to make it clear, as I am struggling to understand what things you are protecting by not sending CAD files, which are just drawings really. So what are you protecting? What are the legal complications? What is wrong with people working to your files, rather than part of your files?

Ask @Gus Potter

That tells us nothing. What is the expected heat load for the house. This is often expressed as kW per ⁰C temperature differences, or as a maximum heat load i.e 4 kW. Without looking up the details if your heat pump, do you know the maximum thermal output? Sounds like he disabled the resistance heater that is used for the legionella cycle, which would not have been needed as your DHW is taken care of by the Sunamp.

At that price, a diesel generator is viable. And you can get some thermal energy off it. I think that basic unit prices will drop in the next 18 months. Future prices are currently 2/3rd of the November peak price. http://www.livecharts.co.uk/daily_charts/daily_charts.php

I put up a hanging pole, even made sure that coat hangers fitted properly, it is still too close to the wall. Put a Swiss Cheese Plant there, should grow well.

Does depend if it is a warm or cold roof surely.

Sounds to me like you are charging for 1000 bricks, but only delivering 750, claiming that the other 250 is for complicated legal reasons.

Without knowing the heat loss of the house, and the DHW needs, and the size of the heat pump, it is just speculation.