MrsM

Update: got hold of building starts in Perth and Kinross and they have said that we don’t need to get a professional to do the percolation test as long as we follow the guidance in the building standards technical handbook. Yay! She did start off by saying that all the previous tests had been done by engineers but when I pushed a bit further she checked with someone confirmed it wasn’t an actual requirement.

Ah ok, thanks that’s helpful. It’s a shame Perth and Kinross won’t let you do your own test, it’s not rocket science and seems like we’re just paying a guy £200 quid to pour water in a hole and stand with a timer. Such is life.

Can anyone recommend a company to install a septic tank and possibly rainwater soakaway in Scotland? We are in Perthshire. Also, does anyone know if we can do our own percolation test (will this be accepted by planning and building standards)? Hubby used to do them all the time in his previous work.

With regards to the Ty Unnos, I have seen on the NaSCBA website plans for a box frame house which came in at 50k built! I don’t remotely think we’d be able to achieve something that cheap but it seems like an economical way to got. The frame goes up in a day and bolts into concrete foundations. It’s also based on standard module areas of 3.6m but is quite flexible within it. I just need to track down someone who knows how to make one (although we do have a couple of joiner friends who might be able to do it). The other option is something like Scotframe which seems quite reasonable for the frame itself. We are open to other structural options to make the house happen within budget though. We really don’t want to go over budget as we don’t see the point in having a nicer house if we are killing ourselves working to pay the mortgage. At the moment we have a nice set up with a good work life balance and don’t want to change that in the long term (although obviously realise we’ll be working hard during the build).

Thanks so much for all the helpful info. I should have clarified to start with that although we are not handy with joinery etc we do have access to a mini digger for foundations and also a father in law who has built his own house and is currently building his own extension. So we aren’t completely devoid of the ability to dig foundations or trenches for services. We are hoping that preparing the site ourselves would reduce costs. Also, the site is near a farmhouse so hoping connection to water and electricity and phone shouldn’t be too much.

Hi, my husband and I are looking to build a 4 bedroom house in rural Perthshire. We are on a fairly tight budget and hope to complete the job for under 100k (not including plot). We have looked and seen people achieve this but are still very much at the start of our considerations. We have seen a possible plot and had a look at timber framed homes and also the Ty Unnos style of homes. Any advice much apprecieated on how to make our budget stretch. We are not particularly DIY minded but are willing to learn and happy to do finishing bits such as decorating/flooring etc but are no good at joinery, plumbing or electrics. We are hoping that we can get the frame etc erected by a builder within this price but unsure if this is unrealistic? Like I said, any advice is much appreciated...