NSS

Building a 'log cabin' in the garden and, having laid the bearers today I'm debating whether to add some under floor insulation. Should be a doddle to fit between the bearers as they're raised on brick padstones (see pic). Question is what (Celotex/Ecotherm/etc) and where to buy cheaply? Only need 3 off 2400 x 1200 x 70mm sheets.

So pleased to hear you're at last starting to feel the benefit @lizzie, you must have begun to wonder whether my accounts of how it's helped Mrs NSS were fairy tales! Yes, if anything she's benefitting more since she was medically retired last year (the osteoarthritis finally did for her efforts to keep working part time) as she spends more time in the 'bubble'.

A little anecdotal addition to this thread (on the original topic rather than kimchi!). My wife had a group of old friends round on Thursday evening, one of whom is an asthmatic. As she arrived she was clearly wheezing and said she was currently on steroids as her asthma was particularly bad at present. Four hours later she left, reluctantly, having not needed to take her inhaler once whilst in our house. As she left, she said to Mrs NSS, I didn't think it possible, but I now see why this place has been so helpful to you.

Just bear in mind that there are times of the year when Solar Gain is good to have. Blocking 70% all year round may reduce the chance of overheating but also means you may need to have heating on when it wouldn't otherwise be necessary.

I'll have pint of whatever you're drinking ?

Howzat!

So long as the insured (rebuild) value is correct they couldn't give a damn, and I could argue that as we never open a window (and hence cannot leave one open accidentally) our house is more secure than many.

It's not cheap, but it is very effective, and has the added bonus that you can still see out of the windows even when fully tinted. As mentioned, not a privacy solution at night when lights are on inside, but we have a fair bit of south-facing glazing and SageGlass does a fantastic job of controlling solar gain. Not sure of current pricing but budget for circa £1k per square metre (excluding frames) and a bit more if any of your glass is (like ours) irregular shapes.

The couple had obviously watched that many episodes of Grand Designs that they thought such a staircase was mandatory in new builds ?

Pretty much the same as we experienced. When I questioned the "Completion" answer to the same question after our timber frame was up, he said, "you're building this for yourself aren't you? So, you're not going to cut any corners then are you." We insisted he came back once we'd insulated, and again when first fix had been done but he really wasn't too interested.

Finally got around to watching episode 1 this evening. Got to admire them for having the balls, never mind the energy, but if that was supposed to encourage/inspire others to self-build then I can only think many of those Graven Hill plots will remain vacant for some time to come!

Got ours through Jewson's as a good mate of mine worked there and sorted a very favourable discount. One of the big issues is that virtually nobody stocks it in the UK (or at least didn't two years ago) and Eternit will only ship in full pallets (144 planks) so needs careful planning to ensure you don't end up having to buy 100+ more than you need. As ours is a mix of timber cladding and Cedral Click we adjusted the areas of each to suit the most economic purchase. PS. Covers also sell it and but for discount I got they'd have been cheaper than Jewsons.

I'll take your word for that as I have no intention of testing the theory ?

LOL. We have two low level shower trays downstairs so, in theory, that couldn't happen, and most will have a loo downstairs so difficult to see water level rising above 15 inches or so indoors.

Well, let's hope the technology in this article - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47638586 - works.

Sorry, we use II for our building and contents insurance on the finished house. We used selfbuildzone for site and structural insurance.

It seems pretty clear that the EPCs for my property (and for those adjoining it) were either issued against the 'as designed' spec or that the year was entered incorrectly when issued. The developer built the same design on an earlier phase of the development so I suspect they just had EPCs issued for all the houses of that design when the first ones were finished. Doesn't help me of course as I now have to pay for a new one before I can sell the property. I know they're not expensive, but it's the principle of the matter and just another example of big builders getting away with stuff that us self-builders would have no chance of avoiding.

Apparently the answer is yes. We're about to sell the house we bought to live in while we built the new one. It was first sold in June 2009 along with the other three houses in the terrace of four. We assumed the original EPC would still be valid, but to our surprise it has in fact expired (didn't even realise EPCs were only valid for 10 years), having been issued in June 2008 - before the developer had even started building it! Now there was me thinking you needed an as built SAP before you can get an EPC, so how the hell can the EPC be dated from when it was still a field?

If I read and understand that correctly, it's a bit like phone batteries in that they tend to last longer if near fully discharged before recharging they last longer.

Never mind a Sunamp (or Tesla Powerwall for that matter), just stick a Renault Zoe in you plant room (or garage) - https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/renault-scheme-transforms-evs-energy-storage-units

Mrs NSS and I send our love Moira. Fantastic achievement but so sad your husband won't be able to share your pride. I'm sure his presence is indelibly imprinted in the place and will always be there with you though.

No, but I believe he got the land for a very reasonable cost compared to similar plots in the area.

It's a bit like asking how long is a piece of string, but I suspect the days of a one third profit are, in all but a very few cases, long gone and 20% is much more realistic. I know a small developer who built a pair of 3-bed semis and a 4-bed detached, sold them collectively for £1.23 million and made a gross profit of little over £200k.

Can't recall the percentages but with our TF company the contract amount was paid into ESCROW and only released to them as each agreed milestone was achieved. Effectively this meant they only got paid for materials and labour as and when it had been provided, not front loaded. Minimal risk for both parties.

Really thought this thread was going to be about a fish paté recipe.