newhome

That’ll account for the cost then. To offset the vet’s callout fee!

What happens if it doesn’t read the chip until the cat is up close to it (when inside) does it open and smack the cat in the chops?

Is it for a tiger? Looks huge! Impressed if it consistently reads the chip. My bloody chip reader takes ages to find one of my dog’s chips sometimes.

If some of them are larger can you not be creative and fit those in the smaller openings somehow? Or are they not that much larger?

Overall dimensions 570 x 400 Inner dimensions (glass?) 405 x 235 But I know nowt about skylights! I think the diagram on the right is misleading however.

Made the mistake of not doing that here and when the integrated dishwasher drowned in its own waste water the legs didn't lower enough to get the damn thing out. I had to take 2 tiles up as I couldn't do anything to lift the granite worktop slightly. I did manage to lift the tiles and lay them again myself but it was a faff. I did at least buy a new dishwasher that adjusts down much lower so when this one dies I should be able to get it out without too much difficulty (in theory lol).

You got to go before the 2 ladies of the house? Wow, I am impressed! And your en suite may be ready before @Onoff's bathroom

Worse that that - if they had bloody TOLD us that they weren't going to deliver on the Sat at the time of ordering I know people who live in striking distance of that depot who I could have collected it from!!! There is a special word for these people that I'm sure the profanity checker won't allow

Wow, it's starting to look fabulous Lizzie! Hope you're getting excited now as I'm sure it will be an amazing house to live in xx

The joys of trying to get something next day delivery when you live in what is considered to be the wilds of Scotland although I know it’s much worse for you Highlanders.

Anyway @daiking your list is wrong. It goes like this. 1. Take a group of amazingly helpful and altruistic people on this forum who invest lots of time and effort advising people for no gain. 2. After lots of advice both on and off forum determine that the issues can’t be fixed through keyboard advice 3. 2 of those amazing people (plus a son) offer to travel an incredible distance to help address the issues. 4. After very long days things finally work for the first time ever. 5. Ensure that some fun and banter (and beer) is part of the experience. DIY SOS Buildhub style. I’ve said it a lot but I’ll say it again. This forum is amazing!

Well my house failed on all but the last one but we made do lol. There was still beer left over so at least we didn’t run out of that - hic

And that was before the cans started when we got home! I did offer to drive before we set off - just sayin!

Yeah back seat driving in the taxi on the way home as we had to abandon the van due to the named driver’s (aka @PeterW) alcohol consumption!!

Good luck tomorrow @lizzie

Is this just for England? I didn’t seem to have to do this at all for Scotland and one of the baths is a definite fail! Mind you, we don’t generally have water meters up here either. It seems to actually cost more money if you insist on having one.

Yeah point taken and no one was complaining until the hangovers kicked in on Sun am! I’m still blaming @PeterW for leading everyone astray .

Yep 23! And the pints in the pub, oh and the Stella too, and for the avoidance of doubt I wasn’t drinking beer! The saving grace was that no one attempted to do anything to the heating late on Sat night as that may have been a bit of a disaster!

Yes there is great knowledge on this forum. I wish I had found it before paying quite a lot of money for people to ‘fix’ my heating when none of what was done would have fixed the issues. Then once this forum was involved it was an easy fix, (wasn’t it @Nickfromwales and @PeterW )

@Hecateh comparing the schedule above from @PeterW to your spreadsheet I’m concerned that your estimates don’t break down far enough. Now you may have everything at a more granular level separately but the electrics being quoted @ 2k for example. Presumably that’s for both 1st and 2nd fix? Do the quotes you have cover both things as the first fix wiring could be quite a while before the 2nd fix work if you are thinking of delaying work in certain rooms for example. And at the end you will need the electrical certificate for building control. Does it include the light fittings, sockets, switches etc? You will need to insulate the floor and I don’t see that noted or the screed unless it’s bundled into one of your categories. Personally I would start with Peter’s list and augment it to try to ensure that you have covered everything needed. Broken down into labour and materials unless you are certain that your quotes cover both. Even then you will need to know exactly what is included and ensure that it covers everything you need, or that you are aware of anything excluded.

Mine was Scotframe although they couldn’t supply the windows we wanted so we bought them from elsewhere. It didn’t mean that everything arrived on schedule however. We had a 3 day delay to the first delivery with pretty much no notice after the crane and builders were already booked to come on site. Luckily for us we were able to rearrange things at very short notice but you have to have time to organise such things as they occur. Then for the second delivery the lorry arrived without the roof trusses. The trusses eventually turned up at 6pm that evening but after a load of chasing. We then had to have the crane on hire for an additional day as we had expected them to be there much earlier and of course the joiners were expecting to be further forward than they were. Just 2 examples of the sort of issues that need time to address straightaway, not when you can fit it in around full time working. Just go in with your eyes open. I wouldn’t have paid 15k either as I was sure my husband and I could cover this role between us.

Yeah good point! And the ability to turn on a tap and hot water arrives which is still a novelty .

Lol, we all managed not to kill each other so I’m sure it will be fine. Maybe @Hecateh fancies bacon and beer!

I would always opt to PM myself because like you that’s my background and I’m a bit of a control freak. The flip side of that was that my husband understood more of the building process so he was able to oversee that work such as ensuring that the joists were put in as per the spec that the builder seemed to be doing a variation of at one stage. I wouldn’t have been able to do that. We also had the luxury that my husband was on site every day as he was living there and doing some of the work himself. Understanding the dependencies is important and they are different from software development of course. The core principles of project management are the same but I found organising builders and getting them on site at the right time much more challenging than a work project! And ordering materials, lead times etc need to be fully understood too as any down time you will be responsible for. The quote you have to build is pretty good @ under 1k per m2. There is much that can happen that can alter that so go in with your eyes open if you do take this on. For me, a self build was about being involved in the project management too so it was important that we covered this role, but others probably don’t feel that way so are happy for someone else to cover the project management. It was hard work and not without its challenges but I would choose that route again if I was ever mad enough to do another self build.

Just let me know what suits. You can come and see the things I wouldn’t have done the way they were done too