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Susie

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Blog Entries posted by Susie

  1. Susie
    Weeks 56 to 74
     
    The UFH is laid and the screed is providing a lovely wobble free surface for the ladders and makes brushing up so much nicer.

     
    Our neighbour kindly lent us his scaffold tower so that we could insulate the vaulted ceiling in the open plan area which is approx 5m high. This has enabled me to finish insulating between the rafters with 140mm of Rockwool and I have PIR sheets to put up under the rafters.  For cutting both the Rockwool and the PIR I created a few templates of different angles and had them ready for when my husband came to help pass them up to me. Once the Rockwool was finished we both took it in turns on the scaffold tower fitting the PIR.  Having a vaulted ceiling in the openplan area and partially vaulted elsewhere will give us plenty of light and nice high ceilings but for now they are awkward to cut around to insulate and ensure the VCL is tight around the junctions.  The time spent doing this will no doubt be forgotten once we move in and it is starting to feel closer.

     
    We marked out the kitchen island location and dining room table location to get first fix electic lighting located and measured for the kitchen units.  For my birthday treat our daughter came to stay and dog sit our elderly Greyhound so that we could go shopping looking at kitchens.  We spent almost 4 hours in Wren Exeter with Harvinder but we think we have ordered a lovely kitchen and pantry.  Unfortunately our neighbour needed the scaffold tower back but said we could borrow it again as soon as he had finished with it.  We then decided we should book in the plasterer as things were starting to come together, rather luckily for us our plasterer had just had a job cancel on him and when we spoke to him on a Thursday he said he could start next week either Tuesday or Wednesday.  As we hadn’t finished insulating one side of the vaulted ceiling we said we couldn’t be ready that quick unless he wanted to quote for fitting the PIR and the VCL, which I had already purchased most of.  We then spent the weekend and Monday getting first fix electrics in the kitchen and mocking up where the TV was going to get the electrics and room wall lighting ready.  Things have therefore started to move on quicker than we expected, so we are hopeful of moving in by winter this year with a working kitchen, one bathroom and one bedroom finished at least.
     
    Kitchen design render.

     
     
    Testing TV and speaker location.

     

    Even with the plasterboard lifter its hard with 3 on the scaff and one on the lifter, so glad I'm not doing it.
     
    Taking time off the insulation has meant I can tidy the UFH expansion foam up in all the rooms and the trip hazards we kept ignoring at door room openings, whilst being on hand for the plasterers if they need more tape etc or have any questions.  Once they have finished with the VCL membrane I might finish the VCL I started before we borrowed the scaffold tower or I could take a rest from the build and catch up on so many other things, even paint schemes maybe.
     
    I have caught up on the build paperwork this weekend.
    The total spend to date including the provisional kitchen figure of £15,000 which includes VAT, units, worktop, tiles and some appliances so not  the reclaim amount.
     
    Total to date
    £238917 over 135m2 is £1770 m2 for a 3 bed, 2 bath, bungalow
     
    This is broken down as follows.
    General £4200
    Carpentry £500
    Kitchen £15100
    Roof insulation, inc membrane and tapes etc £4500
    First Fix Electrical £1230
    First fix plumbing and partial bathroom costs (ongoing) £1430
    UFH £900
    Drainage and gutering £8540
    Floor insulation inc tape and membranes £2670
    Screed £2740
    Cladding (over ordered but ideas are developing) £5690
    Render £3090
    Solar 7.5 KWp £8570
    Roof £23300
    Windows £20870 no front door yet.
    ICF Construction £119600
    Pre build costs and fees etc £15830
     
    The back of envelope guesstimate of future spend is £35k to finish apx £2k per m2
     

  2. Susie
    Weeks 40 to 56
     
    So it’s been a year now since we started the build and I’m happy with our progress but perhaps more importantly I’m still enjoying it.
    If you have followed the blog from the beginning you might have thought this was going to be a quick build as the shell went up quick but don’t worry work is continuing as we expected at our own slower pace, we have no definite finish date but it would be nice to be in for winter next year.
     
    The cladding is finally complete.   David started the cladding at the end of March and I think it’s fair to say it took him a lot longer to complete than he expected, but like me he likes to get the details correct ie drip angles on bottom edges etc and neat finishing around the doors and windows.
    The photos show how the Thermo Pine has already started to fade.  We are happy with the colour changes it is greying nicely and hopefully will blend in with our working barn after another summer.

    Above is a sample piece that has not been exposed to the weather and the other image shows the first signs of the greying colour change.
     

    This is our working barn the wood on here is a minimum of 20 years old more likely 40 years old.
     
    Inside I have completed most of the insulation above ceiling height, we have slopping ceilings in 2/3rds of the building that will be completed after the screed is done.  The MVHR ducts are in the roof, I carefully insulated around them as they pass through the Rockwool layer and the Celotex, then the VCL layer which is Gerband SD control. Not the most expensive VCL but still a reasonable price for a control layer.  Putting the VCL up on my own was tricky I used double sided tape to attach it to the Celotex initially pressing it on top, middle and bottom as I unrolled it for 12m. This held it in place surprisingly well leaving me ample time, (days as it often too hot to work in the loft) to tape it up properly with Gerband airtight tape.  I finally took a break from the roof insulation and moved on to floor insulation which is a much nicer job on my knees.


     
     
    Back in June we had a Cornwall/Devon meet up of fellow build hubers. It was great to put a face to the user names.  The weather had one quick shower just as some arrived but then cleared up so that we could all sit around eating pizza and chatting.   
     
    The waste for the two wet rooms is completed ready for the screed.  I’m now ready to lay the UFH separation layer for this I have chosen something a bit different  https://www.laminon.co.uk/.  The material is a bit like weed membrane which if any body has ever pegged down knows how those pegs don’t want to come back out easily. It also has a grid marked on it that might make it a job for me on my own, together with the decoiler and stapler I have borrowed, or David will help me.
    Like many on here I downloaded LoopCad, input all the data about my location and the build then designed the loops.   For reference I used the Ashrae load calculation method, rooms that didn’t need UFH e.g. the pantry I input as already having a heat source.   I have kept my results and all the print outs but in the end I have chosen Wunda because they are very competitive compared to me buying the manifold and pipe from an online UFH trade shop.  They have saved on their costs because they can send the coils out in lengths more compatible with my circuits e.g. I have 5 circuits between 109m and 117m so they can send out 5 x 120m coils.  No matter how I combine different circuits I always ended up with a lot of wastage pipe.  They don’t use LoopCad to its full extent e.g. the whole house modelling for the load calculation but from what I discovered most UFH suppliers don’t either so I might need my LoocCad summaries for the flow rates as Wunda are not accounting for a well insulated and air tight building.  They are for now not supplying the pump or any thermostats as our plan is to get the house fully insulated and the VCL layer completed on the at least most ceilings so we can monitor the room temps with a few data collecting thermometers.   This will hopefully tell us how cold its going over winter without occupation, and so far its certainly feels warmer than our current house.
     
    We now have drains connected to the main sewer line and our soak away is installed.  Next job will be the guttering. I had to take down my potting shed for the build but hopefully next year I can reassemble my potting shed in its new location which is the opposite side of the cow shed than it was previously, but my view is a lot nicer.
     
    I also finally finished the Gabion wall, I used all our own stone and rubble.  Most of the stone was from the initial groundworks that we had moved down to the lower field.  This meant that I took the lawnmower and the garden mini dumper down there, climbed the piles and picked out the best stone and brought it back up to the house.  When I was nearly completed and I knew the groundworks team would be returning for our drainage connection and soakaway I decided to wait for them to hopefully unearth some more nice stone.  They did but I had to work fast to use it before it was back in the ground around the house getting the levels correct.  There is still a lot of stone in spot on the lower field but for now I don’t want to build any more Gabion walls.  Of the trades people we have had on site so far the groundwork’s have been the best and I would be happy to recommend them.

    To the left of the photo is the old stables you can see how this wood is aged, hopefully our Thermo Pine will age similarly and blend in.
     

    The photo above was taken just after the Groundwork's finished for the day, you can see the mist has blown in and the cladding looks different again when wet.
     

    The following day and we can see how great a job the groundworkers have done, its hard to believe this is the same soil I have picked the stone for the Gabion walls from.  
    They sorted the soil with the digger and buried the bigger stones leaving quite good soil on the top.
    They are returning next week with a bigger dumper truck to bring the soil back up from the lower field.  They will then fill in the bit to the right of the photo and round the front.
     
     
     
     
  3. Susie
    Weeks 35 to 39
     
    The build is close to our existing working barn and home, close enough that as a Cow Shed power and water was fed from the working barn.  We have renewed the power cable and water connection so that the new build with its 7.5 kwp of solar can power the working barn.  With the solar on the roof the plant room became my priority to get the CU and wiring ready for the solar installation to continue.  This meant us plaster boarding in the plant room, a new plaster board lifter up to 16ft for some rooms, and me watching loads of U-Tube and learning a new skill of paper taping and jointing, drylining.  We have knocked old plaster off solid brick walls and put up a small amount of square edged plasterboard for a plasterer back in Manchester but never used tapered edge plasterboard or had to think which way round is best to hang it on stud walls and around windows.  To make things a little easier for a first timer I used ready mixed Knauf Fill n Finish, this sanded easily and I didn’t have to waste time thinking about the consistency of the mix.  I really enjoyed the process, I wasn’t quick, I wasn’t perfect, but the end result is very good.  I did get a few blisters in my first ceiling joints, but I know why and I solved it and overall I quite impressed David with my new skill, so much that later on I can do other more important rooms.  The main problem I had in the plant room was its size, a small room with a high ceiling in parts, the tall step ladders wouldn’t fully open width ways and then when they did open fully I was not close enough to the wall/corner.  Just moving the ladders around was muscle building  but our smaller ladders were not quite tall enough.
     
    Once I had painted the walls I handed the room over to David to do the wiring.  Back in Manchester we have an Industrial and Commercial Electrical business and David was the NICEIC qualified supervisor for the business, he has now handed that role over to his younger brother but still has the knowledge (once checked the new regs) and skill to get the plant room wired ready for the solar to be finished.
     
    That meant he had to stop cladding and come inside the build so I went outside to get ready for the renderers who were coming to render the North wall.  Due to the change in ground levels around the building, as it’s situated between the field and the concrete farm courtyard, I wanted to protect the walls with stick on waterproofing, that the renderers batten over.  There are so many variants out there of sick on or paint on waterproofing membrane but not many that say they have no solvents or can be used on ICF, most of the small print says block or concrete.  I chose Newton Hydrobond SA as it acknowledges its use in ICF builds, but the warranty is provided by the waterproofer ie me in this case.  Once the soil is level with the build there will be a gap between the ground level and the render I hope to stick on the roofing slate I have saved possibly with tile adhesive.  The walls currently being clad will also eventually be waterproofed below the cladding but I didn’t want the stick on membrane getting damaged and the ICF needed protecting from the sun so as a temporary measure for the ICF walls and a permanent solution on the concrete dolly block, in the area we park the cars I have painted on a bitumen membrane.  David will love that I am now sharing my ‘kitchen utensil methods’ with you all, for the sticky black paint I used a washing up dish brush (also good for patio grout, and bathrooms), Its stiff bristles worked the paint in well and long handle kept me relatively paint free and I can also recommend a spaghetti measure that has various size holes and spoon end for stirring paint but his favourite one was me tiling the bathroom and trying to get the grout up between some wood cladding and a tile, a wooden spoon was used, in my defence I was very tired.
     
    So now I’m back collecting stone from our excavation piles to fill the gabions and next week when the weather is not supposed to be as sunny I shall be inside continuing with the insulation I’m on my 3rd pallet of Rockwool and soon will have completed two thirds of the roof, next is PIR insulation.  A bread knife is great for this as I have to cut various shapes out of the insulation for the eaves, steel ridge beam and the join of the flat ceiling collars to the sloped ceiling rafters.  Before the windows were fitted the openings were covered in roofing membrane so this was a cold job and the daylight hours limited my progress, now I’m extremely hot in the loft wearing a polo shirt as protection against the itchy insulation.  I’m nearly done for now as I can’t reach any higher in the vaulted lounge/kitchen until we insulate and screed the floor then I should get another row completed before handing the job over for the last bit of insulation and the plastering from off a scaffold tower.
     

    May 2025 front cladding completed and March 2023 before we knocked down.

  4. Susie

    Window Installation

    By Susie,


    General
    Weeks 24 to 27
     
    Windows Installation
     
    Choosing window style and supplier has been one of the hardest decisions.  We finally decided on Aluclad wooden windows from Norrsken.  It’s been a long journey and Norrsken have been with me on that journey since December 2022 to installation end of February 2025.  A big thank you to Nick at the window company for sticking with me on my numerous window quotes, that took over 2 years to finalise.
     
    Due to my architect not thinking ahead how Part O would effect the design, the windows had quite a few changes and quotations from a few companies.
    In summary Part O (Overheating) was first published in December 2021, we didn’t submit plans until May 2022, we passed planning in October 2022.  Then we realised that the original design wouldn’t pass Part O that’s when I started understanding that in my opinion the architect should have been planning ahead and designing with Part O in mind.  We had an overhang in the design but not large enough to qualify as shading for Part O calculations. I spoke to a local company who could do the Dynamic modelling route to pass Part O but they had a backlog of customers who like me needed help to pass Part O some of which we’re probably going to end up spending thousands on solar glazing and various other mitigating factors. The company suggested I look at the simplified version first which basically is a spreadsheet on which you enter your room sizes, window sizes and orientation of the building.  Although our windows were not too big the daytime overheating looked like it could be managed by tweaking window sizes a bit but nighttime bedroom overheating was more of a problem because we are a bungalow and the windows needed to open for ventilation but also be secure overnight against intruders whilst we slept, Part O offers some guidance and  I found future homes  https://www.futurehomes.org.uk/library#Guidancetoolsandtemplates particularly helpful.  In the end we settled on replacing 4 windows with 6 large Velux windows that allow for more air flow and by changing some windows to tilt and turn inwards this allows the bedroom windows to be safely partially open in the tilt position whilst still being secure at night.
    We had to go back through planning for the window changes but the architect did the amendments free of charge and the revised plans were passed in May 2023.
    I’m happy with the end outcome. I still have lovely big picture windows allowing viewing far into the distance and without any glazing bars. The opening inwards will allow for easy cleaning, but cleaning is a long way off. The Velux windows free up room for kitchen wall units where we previously planed to have non opening windows.  A Velux in the pantry as well as freeing up wall space for shelves lets more light in and probably will result in less switching a light on and off.  The house is designed for us in that our en-suite is larger than the bathroom shared by the two guest bedrooms and by changing that window to a Velux it allows for a shower area that doesn’t have a window sill almost in it.
     
    I started researching windows quite early on because I wanted to make the most of the views but also I expected it to take a while actually getting round to see different companies.  We moved to Cornwall to start a new business, have a field for our Greyhound to run in and be a bit warmer and sunnier than Manchester. I love living in Cornwall but it does have its downsides in that we live one and a half hours away from a motorway, our local home building shows are smaller than one hall of Birmingham NEC. We visited some of the local window suppliers but we mostly got to see one small window or a cut away demo window for each supplier and they didn’t offer a great deal in choice, mostly double glazed not triple glazed samples. If we went away for the weekend I would try to find a larger showroom we could stop at on the way, luckily for us Norrsken has one showroom in the UK near Bournemouth that we stopped at on the way to The Isle of White.
     
    We decided to get the window openings measured by the supplier, it cost approximately £800 for this but it was worth it.  I had some questions about window opening sizes during the build before the concrete pour and Nick helped answering all my little questions, he knew how the window sizes had been changed to pass Part O.  Even though the person sent out to measure ended up having a hour and half travel delay he still spent over 3 hours measuring and discussing the window location within the ICF opening and we marked on where I was to put the EPDM so it would be under the window and coming up the inside at the window board.  The ICF is capable of load bearing the windows and fastening them back to the concrete core but the windows were going to be big and heavy (they come fully glazed) so we decided to use stokbord at the base of each window as our ICF was still soft enough that you could make an indent with just your finger (much like PIR) so when the weight of the window was resting on a shim it could push the shim into the ICF and general handling during installation could cause indents in the ICF.  We used 3mm stocbord under the windows and 12mm under the sliding door.  The 3 windows that look down the field were levelled and measured using a laser to ensure they would be the same height from the floor, and again a laser was used at installation.
     
    On installation day the fitters arrived at about 8am and the windows arrived shortly after, it was a great feeling that we were finally going to be watertight and to see our chosen windows.  The installation team were all great you could tell they all had a role during the installation, Illbruck FM330 airtight foam was used and Silka EBT+ sealant. I am now taping the windows inside and out using Pro Clima tapes.
     
    We purchased 10 windows (4 non opening, 6 Tilt and Turn) and a sliding door.
    Windows P33A, 10 windows average uW.80
    Sliding door S319A 2m wide uW 0.76
    Aluminium clad, Marine Finish, Trip,e glazed.
    External colour 7030 Stone Grey Matt
    Internal white stain
     
    Breakdown of window costs
     
    Windows £11,500
    Sliding door £3500
    Sills and trims £740
    Installation £2600
    Stocbord £500
    Survey £750
    Delivery by small HIAB £1320
     
    Total to date £207,626
     
     
    I have been continuing the installation of the Rockwool in between the rafters and building the gabion wall when the weather is nice.  I researched and purchased a plasterboard lifter that will reach 16ft and a table saw for the insulation under the rafters.  The renderer is booked in for May, colours chosen. The wood cladding is ordered and ready for final payment so hopefully the next blog will cover the cladding.
     

  5. Susie

    Cladding

    By Susie,


    General
    Weeks 27 to 34
     
    Cladding
     
    After securing our planning permission I arranged for a few samples of wood cladding from various trees and from a few different suppliers.  I propped them up in the sun and watched for months as they changed colour and silvered off.  We made a short list of which we liked, something with a definite grain pattern so not Poplar, not too knotty so not pine, thermally modified wood as it is less prone to shrink and swell and as it’s no longer sappy less interesting to insects and lighter for handling. 
    We also wanted tongue and groove with secret fixings through the tongue and minimal fixings elsewhere if necessary, this often varies by supplier some say screw, some nail very few actually say nail gun as it can damage the brittle wood. 
     
    We decided Ash was our favourite and  got a few quotes from different suppliers, unfortunately when the time came to order prices had increased and we had to rethink as delivery became a big problem.  We wanted it delivered by Hi-ab but most said the charge for hi-ab to us would be quite expensive or that they didn’t offer that service or it would be delivered to a hub then onto us and they couldn’t guarantee against damages. Read the delivery small print if you are thinking of having wood cladding. As it’s just me and my husband we weren’t looking forward to manually offloading the wood whilst the driver was waiting to make his next delivery and as no specific time frame for deliveries were available we couldn’t arrange for help offloading. 
     
    A local company in Somerset could deliver by Hi-ab at a reasonable cost but it would be knotty pine.  We really didn’t want pine but as it was cheaper and the delivery method ok we reconsiderd but still couldn’t make that final decision. Then I found Russwood after initially discounting them due to the fact they are in Inverness and we are in Cornwall and at the time I had at least 4 other companies all based lower than Birmingham some much closer to us. 
     
    I spoke to Russwood and discussed delivery with them and discovered they deliver by Hi-ab on a big double length trailer but arrangements could be made that half of the trailer was left in a local lay by if necessary and our wood came on just the front half. 
    They offered us Thermo Pine but it is slightly different the knots are fewer than on other pine samples we had from other suppliers Russwood describe them as butterfly knots, through the length of the knot rather than across the heart (round knots), you do still get some round knots. 
     
    The tongue and groove is better designed in that each piece is fully pushed to the next but on the hidden side has room to expand. Most other tongue and groove needed a few millimetres between each plank for expansion which would slow the process down of putting it up and a bit more fiddly in general. Another difference in our wood is the face edges are rounded it gives a slightly more finished wood that could easily be used internally as well.   As we we’re saving quite a bit on the Ash price we decided to over order enough that we can use some on the overhang, I don’t think we know yet how much spare wood we will have. 
     
    A few comments from my husband are that it goes up really nice, screwing in the groove on the tongue with electric screwdriver so most fixings are hidden. It’s all fairly straight and not warped, some damaged pieces  by handling but can be sorted into useable lengths over or under windows for example. On a sunny day he is enjoying this job. 
     
    Cost to date
    Brought forward £207626
    Cladding £5357
    Cost to date £212983
     
    I have noticed the Suffolk meet up chats and thought that If anyone is interested I could have an open day once we have done some more cladding and the rendered wall is complete and hopefully solar installation finished.  The renderers are due to start soon so I was thinking May or June.  It will only be for Build hub members so just PM me and we can all discuss dates that suit a few of us.   If nice weather BBQ outside in the Bude sunshine.



  6. Susie

    Roof slated and in roof solar installed

    By Susie,


    General
    Weeks 18 to 23
     
    So it’s been a while since the last update, but a couple of weeks ago the scaffolding came down and we can finally see our lovey slated roof and the solar.  I am very happy with the roofers who worked so hard in the cold and the wind, as we are quite exposed.  Anybody in the South West looking for a roofer I would be happy to recommend them.
     
    On the inside I have started with the insulation between the rafters.  I am using Rockwool flexi slabs 140mm thick with an air gap above.  On the outside I have put some insect mesh up already before the soffits are closed up, it’s attached to the ends of the rafters and will eventually be attached to the battens/cladding.
     
    As per previous blog the costs of parting with the builder and finding our own roofer and solar has proved to be good.  Their respective quotes have been invoiced for the same amounts as the quotes, no extras or surprise costs.  A saving of at least £12,000 against staying with the builder as his quote would have also incurred extras no doubt as he didn’t include Soffits on his build quote or roof quote, and he acknowledged they had not been included in any quote.
     
    Carried forward total £140,645
    Scaffolding for roof £1440
    Roofing.  Felt and batten. Slate with Brazillian Graphite natural slate 500 x 250mm. Hook fix system to costal zone spec as per plan. Dry ridge system Con6 with Marley modern smooth grey ridge tiles. Two vent slates.  Total supply and fix. £16786
    Supply and fix softwood treated facia and bargeboards. Eave ventilation. Complete counter batten.  £2111
    Solar 15  x500W solar panels and GSE in roof trays.  (Interior fit to be completed once windows are fitted) Supply and fit  £4357
    DPM for windows £316
    1 Pallet of Rockwool 46m2 (Expect to order 2 more pallets to finish between rafters then PIR under rafters) £580
    First electrical order (cable and back boxes, enough to make a start) £280
    Windows all paid for £20869
    A few incidentals from B&Q and Wickes etc
    Brings the total to date of £186,757

  7. Susie

    Roof progress

    By Susie,


    General
    The builders scaffolding came down and the roofers scaffolding went up all to plan.
    The new roofer has a good gang and they are working well on the roof.
    The weather hasn’t been great, we have had three storms Bert, Conall and Darragh luckily no damage to the build.  We are approx 615ft above sea level and about 2.5miles to the coast as the crow flies so we get a good breeze coming in off the Atlantic.  The wind has Brought with it some very cold spells that and the shorter daylight hours has meant progress has been a bit slow.
     
    The roof has been battened, breather membrane and counter battened, eves ventilation and we have some nice joinery on the gables, facia, tilt fillet at the eves for the last slate row and overhang.  The slates are looking good and I’m happy with the hooks they are using, sometimes they are quite visible when the sun catches them but these have black tips that blend in nicely.  The overhang also has some nice leadwork.
     
    The solar panels have just arrived and work will continue next year with the installation.
    The MVHR vents are installed and the Velux windows are installed, one window still needs its flashing kit completed and slate around so is covered up for now.
     
    Whilst the scaffolding is up I have managed to give the bargeboards 3 coats of wood protection with black stain.  Finding time when its not too cold for the stain which requires 5 deg plus and keeping out of the roofers way has meant a little at a time but the gables are done and the facia on the North side is done with just the South to have another 2 coats.  Im glad I’m doing it now not just because the scaffolding is up but also any drips of the very watery stain are not going on my cladding.  We are ICF as you know and we have to be careful that the preservative is solvent free or it would melt the ICF blocks.
     
    Whilst the scaffolding is up we have also put the counter battens and insect mesh on the gable ends ready for the cladding next year.  We purchased the insect mesh quite wide to go from the battens to the inside of bargeboards.  Next job whilst the scaffolding is up is run some sealant in the small gap between the slates and the gable ladder, I have been told this is not done on most sites these days but due to our location the roofers have suggested we do it, so I purchased a huge box of baby wipes ready, I’m sure I will use them when we seal the windows as well.
     
    I have moved two empty slate crates just off to the left of the camera and started filling these with the half cut slates and the broken slates.  The plan is to may be use the half slates around the bottom of the walls above ground level before the cladding starts, I’m hoping sticking them on will be the easy option, the broken ones will be crushed more and used as mulch on the ground around the edge of the building.
     
    We have paid the window deposit and the window openings have been measured, for one sliding door and 10 windows it took apx 3 1/2 hrs to measure the openings and discuss the window placement position and the sill positions and depths, and the sliding door placement taking into account the ffl after the insulation, screed and wood flooring.  Some walls are being rendered and some wooden clad so the sills are different depths.  We have 3 windows on one wall that face down our field and I wanted them levelled with a laser as well as measuring as these will be a big feature.  We paid apx £700 for the measuring service and it will have been worth every penny.  The windows are due in production towards the middle to end of February so hopefully before the end of March they will be installed.
     
    The cars that managed to sneak onto the photos for this catch up include our own Jensen FF back from the painters and a local customer popped their Jensen 541 in for a quick service.
     


  8. Susie
    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.

  9. Susie
    Despite the yellow weather warning we luckily had the coastal wind pushing it away, most of it fell on Tuesday but only 6mm
    The trench foundations are excavated and inspected.
    Then the concrete poured, and the first blocks laid followed by dolly blocks and internal supporting wall starter blocks
    Total man days of labour for week 2 is 13

  10. Susie
    Week 9 and 10
    The gable ladder is up, and the OSB 3 is installed over the rafters.
    The overhang supports are shaped for the secure attachments and put up. The South side of the roof gets its cross batten. The scaffolding comes down, unfortunately due to miscommunication between the director of the company in the office and the director working on site the scaffolding comes down before the North side gets battened.  The builder has given us the materials and refunded us an amount for the labour.
     
    It was always our plan to try and get the foundations and walls put up by the same company, so there is no doubt about site measurements.  During the tendering process we found it very hard to get a groundworks team who worked closely with a builder where the combined price was what we expected.  We had builders who came and quoted then ‘ghosted us’, perhaps they didn’t like us living so close to the build or like that it was only a shell build.
     
    One builder put his estimate in for both groundworks and the build but suggested his mates company could do the groundworks cheaper as he had his own equipment, but his mates quote doubled the first estimate.  Which left us with little confidence in the builders estimate.
    Getting a detailed estimates and quotes for groundworks, build and roof became nigh on impossible, and I was quite prepared to call the whole thing off or just do the bare minimum to secure the building works had started.  We had still added value to our land and it would have kept our long term options of selling the land with the planning permission commenced.
     
    Eventually we found a building contractor who could do the foundations and the build.  Although I ideally wanted a dry shell before we took over the project managing, we are parting company with the builder sooner than planned.
     
    This is partly due to his inflexibility of using only his choice of solar installer who wouldn’t put the solar panels on that we wanted.  The builders solar installer wanted to install 6.52kwp but I had found panels giving me 8kwp and this was better for us and the SAP/EPC.  The builders installer kept looking at an outdated list and saying the panels were not MCS certified. The panels only got their MCS certification in July and despite me telling him the MCS certificate number, checking with the wholesaler and MCS that they were ok he wouldn’t change his mind.
     
    Due to the builders rising costs we decided we could no longer continue with his company and instead we have sourced our own roofer and solar installer, who will install the all black 500w panels I wanted.  This has saved us over £12,000 but delayed work slightly as one lot of scaffolding had to come down on the Friday/Saturday and the roofer will put his own scaffolding up on Tuesday.
     
    Total man days of labour for week 9 is 14 days.
    Total man days of labour for week 10 is 17 days.
     
    Grand total of labour from building contractor is 157 hours, this has been recorded by me just for reference it does not include any scaffolding, up or down.  The actual cost was on a fixed price quote.
     
    Total cost to date.
    Brought forward £45645
    Payments to builder for installing ICF walls, internal load bearing walls, stud walls and roof structure £95000 (ICF £15,000 apx)
    Total to date £140,645
     
    I have quotes for £20k for the roofer, £8k for the solar and £22K for the installed windows.  If this all goes to plan thats less than £200k before internals start.


  11. Susie
    The Velux windows are delivered.  It pays to shop around for the windows as the prices vary.  As I wanted 4 of the lacquered pine, and they are less fashionable now, they are not kept in stock, so although I paid a good online price they were delivered straight from Velux.   The pallet contains 6 velux PK06 windows (apx 1m square) and in the middle are the fixing kits.  It looked like we were going to be playing a giant variant of Jenga as we had to carefully cut straps whilst holding onto the windows.  The first two came off easily then the next 4 were on opposing sides of the slightly broken pallet.  Being very careful, with husband cutting the tape and the weight of two and me taking the weight of the other two we won the game.  They are now safely stored away.  
    The interior walls are also going up, the SE included them as structural when we changed to the steel beam.
    Outside we will have a small veranda the concrete plinths were cast weeks ago but we are now working out the height as this ground will be built up slightly as can be seen by the door opening and the ground to the right of the photo. 
    We have been paying the builder as stages are completed so full cost is lot higher than stated below.  I will go into more detail in the coming weeks, when the builder departs site and our new roofer starts, after the dry shell, excluding windows, it's all down to us to complete.  I have just paid the deposit to Norrsken for the windows, which will include a site measure, I am not expecting them to be ready to fit until March so we will temporarily cover the openings.  
     
    Total man days of labour for week 9 is 14 man days.
     
    Cost to date b/f £45645
    Velux windows and flashing kits. £3,000 + VAT (Our first big VAT bill in the reclaim folder)
    Gabions inc delivery no stone £400
    Total to date £49045
     



     
     
  12. Susie

    Week 8, Roof Rafters

    By Susie,


    General
    The roof rafters are being installed with the openings for the roof windows.  LABC visits for the second time, there have been a few photos sent as well, they inspect the roof, anchors and fastenings etc.  The internal walls are built up around the steel goal posts.  Not as many hours on site this week were one man down, its half term here.
    I started a Gabion wall, filling it with rubbish stone and facing the front with nice stone from around the plot, it just separates off the garden from the vehicle parking area, holding back about 400mm depth of soil.  You can see on the photo the remaining post of the old wooden fence which was behind a skip now removed.
     
    Total man days of labour for week 8 is 20 days.

  13. Susie

    Week 7 The Steel Roof Beam

    By Susie,


    General
    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
     

  14. Susie

    Week 6 The Concrete Pour

    By Susie,


    General
    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.
     

     
     

     
     
  15. Susie
    The last bit of soil pipe and inspection chambers that are close to the house are completed.
     
    The ICF is delivered and by the end of the week we have the start of door and window openings.
    The insulation is extruded polystyrene XPS 100mm each side of the concrete cavity. U value of  0.14
     
    The windows have rebar in them before 50mm insulation closures are added.
     
    At the weekend we had a yellow wind warning for the South West, our home weather station recorded top gusts of 40mph. I’m pleased to say the R-wall ICF survived with no problems.
     
    Total man days of labour week 4 is 22 man days split between Groundworks and ICF builders.
     
    The build is going on very close to our workshop entrance which makes the delivery of vehicles and test drives limited. This week we took delivery of a previous customers Jensen CV-8 which now has a new owner who has sent it to us for further works over winter.
  16. Susie

    Week 3 The slab

    By Susie,


    General
    Another beautiful week in Cornwall only 7mm of rain on the Sunday
    The week starts with laying the soil pipes then it was sand, hardcore, burying the soil pipes, laying the radon barrier, mesh and more concrete for the slab leaving a lovely surface to start the ICF walls next week. 
    And the field was cut and baled, not as much as a normal September cut due to us moving our spoil down to the far field and tramping the grass down and making a very very muddy gateway between our two fields. Nether the less it was 10 bales for our friendly farmer Rob. 
     
    Total man days of labour week 3 is 9 man days
     
    Cost to date 
    Brought forward from blog Building Regs, Part O and SAP £14625
    Refund from Architect £300
    Fee to LABC for inspections £600
    Foundations Weeks 1 to 3 £30,000
     
    Total to date £44925

  17. Susie

    Week one clearing the site

    By Susie,


    General
    We have finally started to build. 
    Day 1 was Monday 2nd September 2024. 
    It was nearly 3 years from the first invoice which was for the private planning consultant to discuss and review the possibility of demolishing one of our old barns and building a bungalow on its footprint.  Back then we weren’t overly confident of our chances but the consultant gave us a fairly good chance.
    Our current home is a listed property on 3 floors. It is far too big for us with 4 double beds, 3 baths/ensuite and two lounges. It makes a great multi generation home but no longer fits our needs. We are both in our fifties and looking to downsize into an economical to run bungalow. 
    The old wooden barn was given away locally on condition they took it down and removed it without our help. We had birds nesting so we had a planning condition it had to come down between November and February. All that remained was the concrete down the middle, one wall and concrete lintels separating the bays.
    We chose a local building contractor from Bude, he came recommended and so far his groundwork’s subcontractors have been very good. 
    The build starts with lovely weather but by the Thursday most of the UK has a yellow weather warning for rain, we had 23mm of rain Thursday, 14.2mm on Friday and another 27.7mm on Sunday.  
    By the end of the first week we had a cleared and level site marked out ready to start on the trenches on week 2. 
    Week one total man days of labour is 6

  18. Susie

    Building Regs, Part O and SAP

    By Susie,


    General
    My previous blog entry ended at submitting the building regs in March, although they were not validated until 5th April and then refused on the 31st May.  I believe my architect had complained on them taking too long so I am guessing when they found he had not included a turning circle for a fire engine they refused them as giving the architect extra time would have hit their own time targets.   We resubmitted 1st June and finally had approval on the 5th July.  A few conditions but nothing unexpected. In the meantime we submitted our amendment to planning for our window changes this was to increase the airflow through the house to pass Part O more on this later.  This was submitted to planning on the 21st March and approved on the 12th May.   When the BC plans were initially refused I decided not to contact our architect as he obviously had something wrong and as it was all out of my hands, I just presumed it was not my Part O spreadsheet as he never contacted me.  You can not rush anything  in Cornwall it will all be dealt with dreckly, (eventually no time limit).
     
    Instead I got on with jobs I could do, mainly starting a new vegetable plot as the old one is in the way of the new build for plant access and will eventually become garden.   My potting shed is only a few years old so it will be dismantled and stored indoors until we have walls and roof on and can position the shed close to the new build. My netted tunnel is also now down and will not be going back up instead I will create new smaller structures to cover individual groups of crop and re-use the larger netting just for my new strawberry beds.  We have had a hosepipe ban on here in Cornwall for a year now so it’s not been a bad year to not be growing anything new and instead concentrate on the soil and new beds.

    Top photos are the early days of my vegplot and below as it is now, looking a bit sad but better things will come.
    Before it sounds like I’ve lost the plot and writing a gardening blog I’ll return to our build progress. We advertised our existing barn as free locally and received many offers to remove it. A local couple will be taking it down in October and rebuilding it on their land. I’ve sold a lot of paving that I had kept just in case we wanted it in the future but finally decided it’s not required.  The problem with having land and outbuildings is it’s difficult to get rid of things we just move it to the cow shed but that has to stop.  So all the wood in the old cow shed is moving to the old pig sty. We started keeping the wood because we wanted a stove but eventually decided our listed barn was never going to have a wood stove so a few trees that got cut down were given to neighbours but now the new build is going to have a wood stove so we’re saving wood again.  Emptying the cow shed also involves giving away corrugated tin roof sections that have been saved just in case, moving a pile of nice small stone I was going to make a rockery with and finding a new home for our Christmas wooden reindeer.  The cow shed is now nearly empty.
     
    We also hired some plant and shifted some spoil full of weeds from around the cow shed and took down two more trees, the Ash tree had Ash die back and it had been allowed to self seed much to close to the fir tree that had grown one sided.   They were also in the way of the new field access that we are making wider for easier machinery access, and will also now provide a hammerhead turn for a fire engine. The spoil and tree stumps were moved to the lower field, the useable fire wood stored in the old pig sty with a few large pieces left as temporary seats for the builders.

    Top row left cow shed surrounded by weeds, right new wider access cow shed on the left with stables in the distance.
    Middle row clearing in progress and the better access.
    Bottom row me in the sun and heat while husband is in the Air Conditioned digger, some of the larger stone put to one side no boulders so far.
     
     
    We still have not got our ground-workers or builders sorted out, a few have been to look, some you never hear from again others give a quote that’s ridiculously high with so many provisions.  Some will do this and that but not that, they suggest somebody else who is not interested.  I think it's partly because we want an ICF build and also to dry shell stage only, excluding windows.  We still hope to start next year but are now thinking to just get the groundworks completed as that is the most unknown quantity, and we are still saving up.   The build is being partly funded by the sale of  a Jensen FF but we have only just got round to advertising it last month and finding the right buyer could take a while.
     
     
    Part O
    Unfortunately my architect did not think ahead and design the house with Part O in mind and it took quite a while for me to work out what I had to change to pass the simplified method.  A local company was approached and discussed the simplified method and the dynamic method but from what they told me there was no guarantee in passing either and to pass the dynamic method more changes to the building design and further dynamic modelling could be required so no set fee was offered.  Instead I designed my own spreadsheet that initially proved our ventilation of just opening windows would not be enough to pass Part O but after reading up more and few window swapping ideas I got a pass on my own spreadsheet.  I also stumbled upon the future homes site which has a spreadsheet that can be downloaded.  As I’m a Apple Mac user it meant using MS Excel online but it was a far prettier version than my nuts and bolts spreadsheet and one that I thought my BC would be happier with. I input my window measurements and how they opened, and obtained a pass.  Anybody reading this and wanting ideas on how to pass the simplified method first depends on what you fail on e.g. too much glazing or the free flow of ventilation although one can impact the other.  I don’t think anybody looking at our plans from the first blog would think we would not pass as the southerly view is not overly glazed but by removing 3 windows on the northerly side and adding 6 roof windows that open 50 degrees and slight changes to bedroom windows meant the northerly facade was the most glazed and we had better air flow.  We also changed all windows that open to open inwards to meet the arms reach criteria, enabling a wider opening.  The spreadsheet is not perfect though as my bedroom windows are tilt and turn but you can only have the same hinge for day and night on the spreadsheet e.g. side hung.  I could have adapted the spreadsheet but that would mean its not as trustable as I was hoping it was going to be or I could have created two one daytime side hung and one for night time opening when the windows are top hung.  I decided to make the one spreadsheet work as explaining to my architect who would then have to explain to BC would be like learning and then teaching a foreign language.  Happily we passed the simplified method with a condition about night time security when I get my own named BC I will be able to talk them though the spreadsheet quickly change the side hung to top hung and get a pass and if I still need a security grill it will only be for the lower half that opens at night and this can be made to measure by my talented husband out of rebar.  The changes to windows did mean we had to make an amendment to the plans but as it was due to my architect not thinking ahead about the new regulations I suggested to him that I shouldn’t have to pay for this and he agreed.
     
    https://www.futurehomes.org.uk/library#Guidancetoolsandtemplates
     
     
    SAP
    When you start out on this journey there are so many new things to learn about and discover the pre build SAP being just one of them.  Unfortunately this area seems controlled by a piece of software probably not much more than a spreadsheet but no free copy for us self builders to play with to see if we change x how does it effect y etc.
    I was in the hands of my Architect and if you haven’t worked out by now I am usually in charge of everything so taking a back seat I found very hard.  The initial SAP needed a few tweaks here and there but Im happy with the result.  For those of you who don’t know what one is I am attaching mine and if anybody wants to dissect it feel free to do so but the pages long report is quite boring as they all are and it comes down to insulation, air tightness and your chosen method of heating.  We plan to have a minimum of 11kw of Solar on our virtually perfect south facing unshaded roof in Cornwall.  This and together with an ICF build and good window air tightness with lots of added floor insulation hopefully will mean low running costs.  You will not find a ASHP mentioned I’m not having one.  I don’t like them for my build.  I’m near the sea where everything rusts, and if I need a plumber because its broken it will be 6 weeks before one would be available who knows enough about ASHP to fix it.  In the 6 years I lived in Cornwall I have seen the lack of trades people first hand in waiting for returned phone calls that never happen, quotes that take ages and waiting lists for the good people.  In winter when you most need good heating then all the trades are busy working in the holiday homes out of season and are booked up.  We have no mains Gas so are going to be a  mainly electric home.  To ride out the peaks and troughs of solar we will have as much on the roof as we can fit and rather than export to the grid we will export to our other working barn and lower some of those summer electricity costs.  In winter we will have to buy some electricity but hopefully very little at peak costs.
     
    Quick guide to the SAP
    The first 3 pages are our planned u-values, expected Air permeability results, space heating, hot water etc and MVHR.
    The following 30 pages look very similar but have different headings and figures.
    Calculation of dwelling emissions for regulation compliance
    Calculation of target emissions
    Calculation of fabric energy efficiency
    Calculation of target fabric energy efficiency
    Calculation of energy rating
    Calculation of EPC costs, emissions and primary energy page 18 perhaps the one to read first
    Calculation of energy rating for improved dwelling
    Calculation of EPC costs, emissions and primary energy for improved dwelling
    Finally the predicted energy assessment on page 33 (96A0 and the estimated energy cost for the property over a year £103
     
    That’s all for now, my next job is getting a full online estimate of the build now we have all the building regs and SE calculations completed.
     
    Build Costs b/f from first blog £12660
    Building regs submission £345
    Hired in plant and fuel £890
    SAP £300
    Part O Free
    VAT element only on building regs, and SE (Not included in first blog totals) £430
    Total to date £14625
     
    SAP.pdf
    Part O.xlsx
     
  19. Susie
    We moved from Manchester to Cornwall 6 years ago and we are very happy with the overall location.  Our existing converted barn, was converted by the previous owner and is very nice but is built on three levels and has 4 double beds, kitchen, dinner, lounge and snug and 3 baths so it is far too big for us when we retire.  When we bought the house I always say we chose it for the working barn apx 300m2, not the barn we live in.  We are building for our future in the hope that we can continue to live her a long time, if it takes us 10 years to build we will be 65 when we move in.  My husband has a history of bad backs a bungalow with no steps and easy access is high up on our want list.  More recently our Greyhound is refusing to go down to the snug in the lower ground floor at night preferring to stay upstairs in the kitchen. He is incidentally another reason we bought the property, two fields he can run off lead.  We don’t want anything too large, a well insulated bungalow that will be cheap to run and maintain.  We have a small cow shed on our land and although our property is listed the cow shed is outside the curtilage of the property and built in the 70’s so does not require any listed building planning consultations.  When we purchased the property a new build was never on the agenda, but it is now.
     
    In September 2021 we engaged the services of a planning consultant with a view to demolish the small barn and replace it with a new build, his view was favourable.
    In January we then approached an architect who suggested full plans would be best since what we were asking for was in keeping with the surroundings, not that much larger than the existing barn and since it was visible from the listed property more detail such as windows and cladding would be required.  Two months of absolutely nothing happened then in March we met up to discuss our requirements and finally in May we submitted our plans.
     
    In June we had our necessary bat and bird nesting survey, the gentleman who conducted the survey nearly started looking at another old stone barn until we corrected him and he then told us that bats wouldn’t like the old cow shed as it would be too hot in summer (tin roof) and too cold in winter due to the holes, drafts, and thin wood walls.  Then in August we had the Phase 1 preliminary risk assessment, required because we were previously farm land.  From the survey I learned that in 1884 there were two wells 165m W of the site another 580m SW of the site and two quarries quite a distance away and in 1906 a smithy in the village, no surprise there as there is a house called ‘The Old Smithy” .  The geological map indicates that the site is underlain by the Bude Formation - Sandstone. Sedimentary Bedrock formed approximately 310 to 319 million years ago in the Carboniferous Period.  The report was very detailed but returned very little about the land the barn is occupying, that a visit to site wouldn’t tell you. Nothing bad was reported so we were happy and we continued pushing more paper around.  Eventually its our turn for the case officer to look at us in detail and we get conditional approval in mid October 2022.
     
    Mid March 2023 and we have submitted our building regs drawings and my Part O Spreadsheet, window amendments to the planning department and the SE has quoted and is starting on his work.
     
    We are over 150m from the fresh water main so will need chlorinating.  I found a great guy who has dug the first trench for the Water, Electric and Openreach, he will return when the new build is ready for the second trench to install the services into the house and will then chlorinate the pipework.   Site electric is in from the pole in our neighbours yard towards the Old Cow Shed.  We were offered a good price by National Grid for 3 phase, they would have struggled giving us single phase due to lack of supply network and another new build close to us in the village has gone off grid because there connection fee was too expensive.  We wanted 3 phase any way as we hope to fill the roof with 30 solar panels facing SSW with no shading.
     
    As soon as it warms up and the field is firmer we plan to start clearing the site and moving the spoil down the field into our larger field.  Doing it now would be like making a mud bath.   Sometime between October and February we will demolish the barn and this time next year the new ICF build will go up.
     
    In the meantime lots of planning continues and I’m going on a short plumbing course.  The husband is an Electrician by trade and can do some plumbing but hates getting down on his hands and knees now.  Last year I tanked and tiled our existing en-suite and have learned all about wet wipes and silicone so another job moved from the husband to me. 😀
     
    The main photo shows the site electric and the drive leading up to the cowshed to the left at the end and just on the edge of the photo are the old stables used as workshop storage each stable bay has a different items stored.  A new entrance to our field will be made diagonally from the site electric to the left of the old cow shed which will make our farmer happy as he currently has a very tight turn left just in front of the cowshed.  He comes twice a year to cut the grass and in return he usually takes at least 15 round bales away.
     
    The other images are from the architect but are already out of date.   To pass Part O we are submitting an amendment for the removal of 4 windows on the North elevation and replacement with 6 roof windows that offer more ventilation.


     
     
    Costs to date
    Planning Consultant £600
    Council planning application fee £500
    Bat and Bird nesting survey £370
    Phase 1 preliminary risk assessment £740
    Architectural Design and planning £3000
    Building regs Drawings £1250
    SE £900
    Trench and ducting etc for Water, Electric and Openreach £2830
    Site Electric £2470
    Openreach cable and ducting £0
    Total £12660
     
     
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