Susie

Hopefully when I publish last weeks photos showing the wall built up around the goal posts and that the rafters now have collars on them, all is well. Thank you for all your concerns I will double check all the details. We have not got as far as the OSB yet so it is all still visible to check.

The doorway has no door on this opening only on the next one, and the walls are now built up further. It has now dried out, even got to lay down where the beds will go to check the view out and ceiling angles. Very happy with the work so far from the builders.

Having a plot is a great start. welcome.

Your welcome to see visit my ICF build near Bude, message me if interested and read my blog.

On Monday the second gable is poured and most of the internal bracing, corner bracing and window shuttering is removed. Tuesday rains all day so no work on site. The internal floor is under 1 inch of water with no way to escape, without us brushing it towards soil pipe. Good to know we are airtight at the floor/wall joint. The steels are installed, we were supposed to have wooden roof beams but somehow this was not calculated by the architect who insisted the roof truss company would do the calculations later. The roof truss companys only want to do the calculations when they know you are ready to order and they said the beam spans could not be done. So on the last minute we had to go back to the SE who worked out our steel beams and the total cost of roof went up £8k. I wish the architect had suggested the SE looks at the roof calculations earlier but unfortunately we just have to move on from this, and up to this point we have had no other extra costs. Since we are no longer working with the architect I have had to find a new SAP assessor who I can engage with as the build progresses. We have been discussing how changing the steel beam might change things as the vaulted ceiling can now be higher if we want. This gives us more space to heat up. I also wanted to know the effect of not putting as much solar on the roof or not having the wood burner changes the SAP results. Since having a smart meter fitted at home we have reviewed our current electric usage and decided that less solar (7.5 kwp instead of 11 kwp) but with the ability to add a battery. Also I think aesthetically one row of 15 panels will look better. Total Man days of labour week 7 is 16 days. Total to date b/f £44925 New Design Stage SAP Calculations (previously done by architect) with ongoing advice about changes that will affect the SAP and to include the As Built SAP documents and EPC at completion £720. It does seem a lot compared to online prices but for peace of mind knowing that we can if we choose to only put 6kwp of PV on the roof instead of 11kwp, is an overall saving. Total to date £45645

I noticed you suggested secondsandco for the first layer of PIR which keeps the cost down, but I believe you can have variance in thickness, rumpled tape or crushed corners etc would you not do two layers from secondsandco because of this or was it just omitted?

The builders on site have done a few ICF builds previously. I think because the ICF supplier is local it gets chosen as a build method locally. There was a lot of prep work and the pump operator knew his stuff too having no doubt done a few ICF pours.

On Monday the internal structural walls are up to the top of the ICF walls and are tied in to the ICF walls. The windows and doorways have extra bracing ready for the pour. Nobody on site on Tuesday it rains all day and no more prep is needed before the pour. Wednesday starts with the last minute checks ready for the pour. The concrete pump arrives on site at 12pm it takes 30 minutes to set up before the first concrete pours out. We have 4 builders onsite plus the concrete pump operator. The concrete is poured into the ICF on all four walls in stages twice round and its up-to window cill height, the ICF cills are pushed into the wet concrete and the wood boards replaced so that the pour can continue higher. A poker is used to vibrate the concrete to ensure the concrete fills the ICF without any voids. At 4pm the pour is finished and the cleanup can start. The pump driver tests out our hammer head turn which was required by BC as we are so far from the road and Fire Engines are not allowed to reverse more than 20m. I think this proves our access works and it’s all down to the driver of the vehicles, the pump driver is great if only all delivery drivers are like this. The gables will be completed later so the concrete has rebar inserted, the other two walls are trowelled level. By the end of the week one gable is braced and poured. Total man days of labour week 6 is 17 days.

It is a juggling act on two layers working out the cost varying the depths as @Iceverge says but think waste as well two layers of 80mm might give you less wasteage or you can fit in in walls or around cylinders etc.

Have a look at Recticel they are often cheaper like for like u values

At the beginning of Week 5 the scaffold arrives. The ICF walls get past window header height so they can be boxed in first with the ICF to close the side jamb, header and cill then the wood brace for the concrete pour. The internal structural walls are started and tied into the ICF. These are to support the steel roof beams. Its good to stand in the open plan kitchen and lounge area now and get the scale of the room, the three windows look down our field to the East and the slider door opening looks out South towards Dartmoor, visible on clear days. The kitchen may look a bit dark but it will have 4 velux windows that as well as providing light help to zone off the open plan area. The photo from the scaffold shows our workshop in the big barn and beyond that just visible is our current home. The weather has not been too bad during working hours, a mixture of sun shine, rain and strong wind with gusts of over 43mph so I will be happy to see the pour next week. This week the car is our own Jensen Interceptor my husband took it out in the sunshine when he went to our local ‘Men’s Shed’ in Holsworthy. Total man days of labour week 5 is 23 man days.

Yes we have been lucky on getting out the ground but the roof cost have gone up. Not much is happening at the moment so next will be week 5 and 6.

Check the deeds. The deeds for the houses around me are a little complicated at times as the main farm has been split up and sold off. The end result is that what was once a field is now a garden (mine), our neighbors have a soak away into our garden. This does not bother me at all as we have plenty of land but the deeds state the right to use our land as soak away for 50 years which expires soon. I’m not sure they are aware as it’s in the original deeds before the split. When useage expires they may be lucky as my build might give them access to mains sewage cheaper than a replacement tank.

A bit late to reply but here goes. From my September 2024 quote from Norrsken. Innova sliding door 2.1m, S319A matches P33A windows, two panes, aluclad 0.76uW £3500 plus vat plus delivery, installation, sills, compriband etc

You can still get Polar Wall, based in Exeter I think, this is extremely similar I don’t know what the difference is. R-wall is based near Bude so very local for me and we have a few local builds.