Ralph

We're due to break ground on our plot in August (only 4 years late but never mind) and I'm starting to think a little about landscaping. The contractors will be scraping and grading where the house and driveway is going but the there is still a lot of area, about an acre, that is very lumpy and uneven. I think cows grazed on it decades ago. Currently it's a lightly wooded field with a couple of clearings. I'm not after a prefect lawn or anything, just something we can walk around without tripping. Any thoughts on the best way to achieve this? I don't want to scrape too much and spend a fortune turning it into the Somme. Many thanks

We went and had a consultation with a planning office before we approached the owner of our plot to get some idea if there was even a chance of planning. We then contacted the owner and after a lot of negotiation we had a solicitor draw up a contract (split the cost 50/50 with the owner) that we would purchase and he would sell to us at a price, only if we were granted full planning and had a favorable ground engineer report. There was a suspicion that the ground may have been unsuitable, turned out it was fine. A number of people had approached him in the past to buy it cheap for a garden but he knew exactly what they were about. We took a kind of risk averse approach and it worked out OK for us. We paid more than I wanted for it but it was still under valuation for a plot with planning.

Hi all, Does anyone have any thoughts on ballpark sqm cost or differences in skinning a timber frame in natural stone veneer compared to natural stone compared to fiber cement board? All would be done by a contractor. I realise this depends very much on the quality of the material but a steer would be welcome. Cheers Ralph

I'm being told the Grant Hybrid would be somewhere around £5k and the Ecodan plus Grant back up would be around £6.5K. Although these are very much ballpark prices. Those Daikins are interesting, I'll try and find what the gas consumption would be. Thanks for the input.

Hi all, Has anyone had any experience with or opinions on Air/Oil Hybrid ASHP? We’re looking at possibly pairing a Mitsubishi EcoDan with oil backup (Grant Vortex 15 – 21) or possibly going for Grant Vortex Air/Oil Hybrid boiler. The plan is for UFH downstairs and a few radiators upstairs. As always and thoughts are appreciated. Ralph

Bingo ProDave, I had been taking advice of our kit builder and had looked at the English building regs not the Scottish ones. The Scottish ones state, 'However a private stair may be constructed with open risers and without contrasting nosings as occupants will be more familiar with the stair through frequent use.' Looks like we are good thanks for the info.

My understanding of the building regulations is that they require a nosing overlap of at least 16mm on all domestic stairs. From a purely aesthetic point of view we wanted a flush nosing giving the stair a very boxy kind of profile. This is required in public buildings for trip hazards, I can't really understand why there is this difference in domestic and public but there you go. So, does anyone think that we could get away with a kind of z shaped profile of the stairs? I think it would give us the 16mm required overlap but still maintain the feel of the flush nosing. Thanks in advance. Ralph

I'm currently going through Buildstore and they did mention issues as mine is timber frame, part skinned in weatherboard and part blockwork. So far it's not been a problem but the mortgage is only in principal at the moment. Not very many people have good things to say about Buildstore on here.

Kind of you to say, I have thought about it, but have been put of by the amount of on our plates at the moment and that's planning on using a contractor. Hats off to the people on here, how they manage to hold down and job, self build, comment on here and have a blog is beyond me. BTW thanks for pointing me to House Planning Help podcast, looks like it could be good.

There are so many factors, as we're finding out. Utilities and ground works bit us the hardest, then you've got level of finish. What got me was the range on exactly the same spec. If mine hits £2k per sqm (minus plot) I'm screwed.

In my experience that's about right on the range, over budget by 50% - 100%.

Yeah I've not broken ground yet and I really don't want to think about buying another house never mind building one.

It sounds like you've had a bit of a nightmare all round, your heating system I can't get my head around. I think you are bang on regarding building a house that suits the way you live, we've certainly tried. I went as far as getting a designer to build a full 3d model in Sketchup for me based on the plans so I could visualise the house better. Best £50 I have ever spent. Sorry you've had such rotten luck.

it's 200sqm, The windows is probably the thing that seems to stand out to most builders as being spendy. Right now our quote is £32K for aluclad timber but I'm waiting on quotes from suppliers recommended here. Windows Location Quantity Size Openings Glazing Notes Dining 1 1500 x 2400 Fixed 1 2700 x 2400 Fixed/ Fixed Family 2 2400 x 2400 Fixed 1 5300 x 2400 Patio Door Utility 1 750 x 1050 Open Studio 1 900 x 2400 Fixed 2 1200 x 21400 Fixed 1 3200 x 2400 Patio Door Guest Bedroom 1 900 x 2400 Open Shower Room 1 750 x 1050 Open Obscure Lounge 1 1500 x 2400 Fixed 1 1800 x 2400 Fixed 1 2700 x 2400 Fixed/ Fixed 1 5300 x 2400 Patio Door Escape Study 1 750 x 1050 Open Escape 1 900 x 2400 Fixed WC 1 600 x 1050 Open Obscure Master Bedroom 1 900 x 1050 Open Escape 2 1200 x 2400 Fixed 1 3200 x 2400 Fixed/ Fixed Dressing Room 1 900 x 1050 Open Escape En Suite 1 750 x 1050 Open Obscure

@newhome Where would you save and where would you spend if you had to do it over again?

Thanks Lizzie, I'm probably best kept clear of any skilled trades to be honest and cracking on with my actual job to get the money coming in. The aim is to get a central contractor on a fixed price and let him get on with it. We've had a lot of builders tender and they have varied by an amazing amount.

Yes this is the issue with fixed price, there is some comfort in knowing what you pay but you have everything nailed down.

Thanks for the advice, we're looking at fix pricing with our latest contractor who has been pretty good at making suggestions. The consensus seems to be that the ground works and the glass is pushing things up. We've pared things back quite a bit and I'm at the point where the compromises are perhaps going too far and spoiling the design that we really like.

If you could I'd appreciate, I'm happy enough with the current contractor who is starting to move the price in the right direction and is fix pricing it but you never know. We've talked to a lot of builders over the last couple of years.

The original budget in the brief was about £200k with some contingency. That's the build mind you not including the land. The very best quote we've had is £240k but that's after paring things back including completely axing a fairly large garage. The estimated value for the finished house gives us a reasonable amount of equity, the plot is 1 acre of essentially open countryside mostly surrounded by trees.

Hi all, My wife and I have been trying to get our new build off the ground for the last few years. In fact we’ve had planning permission for 2 years. Were in the north east of Scotland, not far from Brechin. The biggest struggle so far has been trying to get a builder that can even get close to the budget. I waded straight into the forum with question on heating and C02 calcs and the response has been extremely helpful. Honestly, hats off to all of you who do a true self build. We’re using a contractor and trades and that has felt like a struggle and we’ve not broken ground. Regards Ralph

Thanks @ProDave I've just sent off the requirements to ADW for a quote based on one of your previous posts so thanks for that. Out of interest who ended up doing your frame for you?

Hi @Stones Thanks for all the info. I'm, perhaps shortsightedly, more concerned with build rather than running costs. I liked the Scotframe kit the problem was the upfront cost with a build mortgage. Our foundation costs are quite high because we have quite a lot of build up to get the floor levels we require for planning. The £80k plus for the kit paid before delivery made it difficult with the funds release schedule. I'm starting to think that this may be a false economy. I do wonder if getting the kit minus windows and sourcing them elsewhere wood be a solution. I'll go off and read your blog. Thanks again, Ralph

That's the thing that is annoying me, I'd been told it went well beyond building regs. Now it seems from all the advice I'm getting here that it's only meets them. back to the drawing board on that part.

Yeah I'm going to go back to the architect and look at upping the insulation etc. Thanks for the info on the biodisc What kind of size array is that 4KW, I had the impression it was pretty massive?