Meabh

Location East Lothian, Scotland. We are using a demo contractor then a contractor for the external shell. There will be a couple of weeks gap between them. Problem is our old house sits on the boundary line with the neighbours....so we don't want to put the fence up/down/up again or have it unfenced for any period of time. I'm speaking to both contractors but would it be better to buy/rent our own fencing and where is best (google has a ton of options!)? Many thanks

Hi Jas - did you decide to go with ABC or CMLC for a warranty? Thanks

The architect is saying we need the dispensation because the house footprint is over 200m2, and therefore the domestic regulations don’t cover it. Anyone had this before?

Thanks - we've got a fire hydrant and hose marked on the warrant drawings. (I read the fire standards 3 weeks ago and nothing jumped out). Architect says it's just "dispensation from fire service, no specific query"....I'll tell them to chase for more specific info.

Hi - we are in Scotland (East Lothian) and waiting for our warrants to be granted. The only thing they are waiting on is. " the dispensation response from the fire and rescue service which is required as the building is over 200m2 footprint. They have said they expect the response in 2-3 weeks. It is now just over 3 weeks and I asked my architect to chase building control. BC emailed fire and said they'd be in touch when they hear back from them. We have demo scheduled for the end of March! Anyone have issues with fire before? What are they checking for - escape routes etc? Thanks

I've now got a diagram which says 700 x 500 x 200 with 750 front access https://tewltd.co.uk/product/wiska-wdb-8-distribution-board-700-x-500-x-250-grey-door-50107063/ Of course it's the biggest one...... do you know if they come with a meter board? We are demolishing an existing house and the new one is right on the boundary.....so the temp supply is in a place that may look weird when the new house is built. But we'll decide once we come to that - good point re car charging. Did you just divide your box in 2? Where did you put the actual sockets to be used during the build? Many thanks everyone - demo is in 4 weeks so panicking a little with all the moving parts at the moment....the most nerve wracking - hoping EDF turn up to remove the gas smart meter

Hi - did you find out what size/set up you needed for your temporary electric supply from SPEN? Would you have a photo you could share please? We are in a similar position - they have said "must be of a suitable size to allow the cablehead, it must be wind and water tight and also lockable. This can be built on-site or shop bought and installed." Many thanks

Thanks, I see what you mean - there is no mention of BBA and you have linked the "part" they are quoting. Our BC quoted "SAFETY 4.9 Provide full details & manufacturer's info + BBA Cert for the Unvented HWC to comply with this part & indicate overflow pipe on elevation terminating in the open air at G/L with a protective cage."

They were great to deal with when getting the quote etc. But after a phone call and multiple emails and no response to this it's put me off in case anything went wrong with the products down the line

I suggested this to the architect....last year

Amazing - thank you

I know it seems weird - another self build near us wasn't asked about any of this....but it's a specific comment on the review of the warrant info 🙄 so we need to answer to get our warrant

We are in Scotland so do warrants before we can build. The BC officer has asked .... "Provide full details & manufacturer's info + BBA Cert for the Unvented HWC to comply with this part".

Any recommendations for a company to design our heating & hot water system for our new ICF build in East Lothian, Scotland? - Gas boiler/UFH/Unvented hot water cylinder/Buffer tank (but heat pump ready). - We will have PV so if they can also do that it’s a bonus (if not I have someone) - We have the MVHR sorted I’ve tried Chelmer and would have used them but building control has asked for info on the UHW cylinder which they haven’t been able to provide. Any recommendations on who I could use for design/supply? Thanks

Hi - am looking for some help on where I can put an SVP.....we need the info for building warrant submission in Scotland for our new ICF home. The "pod" with bedrooms1/2/3 is single story with a monopitched roof. The section to the south of this pod is 2 story and has a view...looking over the roof of the single story pod. The green circle is an SVP which I would like to move so it is not right in the middle of a view. I also don't like how it makes the wall between bed 2/3 thicker. The architect says the SVP has to go at the furthermost point of the drainage run (plan attached). Can the SVP be moved? Is there another solution which doesn't involve a pipe sticking out of my standing seam metal roof? Thank you

Many thanks - that might be it - Architect has put it as combined sewer on building warrants as that's what the existing house currently does!

Hi - what did you do in the end? We are in East Lothian, knocking down an existing bungalow, and Building Warrant asking for evidence of permission to connect....architect doesn't know if we need it....Scottish water said just to go through the standard process and it would work itself out....but we are getting tons of questions back from them (as if the current house doesn't even exist!) Thanks

Hi - We are demolishing an existing bungalow (with mains gas) and building a new ICF home on the East coast of Scotland 500m from the sea (just outside Edinburgh). We will have UFH on the GF, electric towel rads in the bathrooms and MVHR. We are trying to decide how to heat it! The house is made up of 3 "zones" - 2 single storey pods (1 is kitchen/L/D & 1 is the kids pod which can be shut down/rented out when they are older - 3bed, 2 bath) and a 2 story pod with master/office/living/bathroom/plant. They are all one house but you can shut doors to "close them off" We ran the PHPP software out of interest and got - Specific space heating demand 29 kWh/m2 - Maximum heating load 15 W/m2 The SAP passes with - ASHP - Gas boiler with 4.5kWp of PV (we have a south facing roof that I've always planned to have PV on anyway) How do we decide? I always thought we'd just go the green route with the ASHP but now we aren't so sure? Thanks

Hi - we need to get quotes for large rooflights/glazing for our ICF build (trying not to break them into smaller units just yet). They need to be U value<1 as it's a low energy house with MVHR. We are in Scotland. Our architect has suggested Roofmaker and Lonsdale. Are there any others? Many thanks

Gorgeous - would you mind me asking where you got your charred wood? I've been looking at a N.Irish company who do similar - toasted wood - but the price is just getting higher and higher

Thanks - the house I have seen isn't an ICF house. I've also seen a couple of black clad homes that you can't see through. It's not so much that there are gaps but from certain angles/lights you can see the the outline of the cladding & the batons behind - and what appears to be the light membrane behind. I guess I'm asking - if you use dark timber cladding on an ICF should you paint it black first?

We have approved planning for our home (to be built out of ICF) and the exterior is partly white brick and partly black wood cladding. We don't want to use white render as we are surrounded by white rendered houses and our ICF builder has pointed out it can sound a bit hollow when you knock on the wall of a home that is rendered directly onto the ICF block. I've become concerned about the black wood as I have noticed a house in our town that has black wood cladding....but when you look at it in certain directions you can see through it - not helped by the silver foil under it. Has anyone used dark wood cladding on ICF? Did you paint it first so that the light ICF block doesn't show through? Has anyone used metal cladding on ICF blocks? Has anyone used bricks or brick slips to clad the ICF blocks? Any info tips greatly appreciated Thanks

We are now starting building warrants for our knock down rebuild on the East Coast of Scotland and need to decide what to build our house with... - We are building "fabric first" and working with a self build eco architect - We have 2 single story elements and 1 double story element - Our engineer has suggested a passive raft foundation (sandy soil plus fabric first) I always thought we'd use SIPS but quotes for superstructures are back and the ICF plus raft foundation is roughly the same price as SIPs without foundation!! Should we just go for the cheaper ICF route? Is there anything about it that would put you off using it? Many thanks

Hi everyone - we have received planning permission to knock down the bungalow we've lived in for 3 years and build a new home (we have 3 young boys). We are just about to start the building warrant stage. We are aiming for the "fabric first" approach - Sips with UFH, MVHR & solar (still deciding on ASHP vs tiny gas boiler). The house will have - 1 single story pod (kids bedrooms, bathroom and large hall/play area). The idea being we can shut it down when they leave home to reduce running costs. - a double story pod with upstairs master suite, upstairs living, office, plant, bathroom and 2 rooms than can be gym/play areas but can also be bedrooms later down the line. The kitchen/living/diner looks a bit like an extension from this so we can get dual aspect views as we are in part of an old walled garden. I've done a few smaller projects in England and the US but never built a house before. I was excited to project manage but am getting a bit nervous with the state of the building market (not being able to get trades to quote/do the work seems common in our area). I am currently researching using an independent project manager to get us to watertight stage (SIPS co will erect the kit) and then taking over as I will be more confident by then. ANy tips/hints gratefully appreciated. Thanks