dogman

Hi we built a SIP house 4 years ago, and as stated its the site work that dictates how well sealed the structure is. The weak points are the first floor as the joists sit on the sip panels and any roof valleys. We spent a good week going over the roof junction as the foreman was off when the roof went on and there were a few gaps that were quickly sealed and taped. It is no different to any other house in that attention to detail is the key.

We have put an electric shower 9.5kw and a 10lt water heater in the shepherds hut i built. We had to but a 63amp supply fed via 16mm armoured cable. i wish i had put a 20-30lt water heater in instead as it would have meant a smaller supply, and unless you shower for hours a tank of 30lts of water at 60deg goes a long way.

Hi another company is TK stairs. This is not a recommendation but i have just been gathering quotes for our stair case and they are by far the cheapest i have found. We wanted all Oak with cut strings, two quarter landings and curtail step and a volute.

Could you use Kooltherm or armaflex in the slab on the flow and return or will concrete attack the insulation

We need to do this as well. Was looking at the pre-insulated pipe to feed the manifold. http://www.buffertanks.co.uk/shop/microflex-pre-insulated-underground-heating-pex-pipe-32mm-duo Need to check its okay in the slab and concrete

After many months planning and waiting for my retirement we have finally started demolition of our old cottage. We always thought it was an old stable and carriage room. The structure we found buried inside the lounge wall confirms it, have a look at the attached. The glazed window was also inside the wall

I spent a few hours at Earthsave products in Wallingford yesterday going through the options for my MBC build. They have an Ecocent Air in the showroom that you can see working. This will be my system of choice as it can pre heat or cool the air. It can manage up to 500m (i think so will be more than capable for my 300m house It is big so make sure you have room Speak to Nick at earthsave he is really helpful

If you using a package company such as timber frame or SIPs a lot of those charges are included so be careful you are not paying your architect for something he is not doing.

Hi everyone I have just read through our draft contract with MBC i notice that the foundation and timber frame are covered by the structural engineers professional indemnity insurance. I have looked at a couple of warranty's for self builds and the cover is little more than this. most only cover the water tight envelope and drains on top of the structure. Has anyone else took a warranty on top of the MBC, PI cover Thanks

Thanks everyone i now have something to work with We are on hard chalk although until demolition i will not be sure. All recent work around the old house has hit chalk after about 300mm with a hard hogging on top of this and according to BC is about as good as it gets. MBC have asked for clean non recycled type 1 if the conditions are good

Mike Thanks. Was it a local company to us? Your house is somewhat bigger than mine what is your footprint? so i can get an estimate of how much i will need Martin

Word of warning if using oil on an external Oak door which is engineered, there is a chance it will lift the laminate as this happened to us. We used Tung oil on solid oak internal doors and it gave a lovely colour,and it has lasted years.

Hi all i am in the process of sourcing 30-50 mm diameter MOT TYPE 1 Hardcore stone (non-recycled aggregate material) for our house,to go under the Slab. Has anyone found a good and cheap supplier in the South. Not sure how much i will need but our house has a floor area of about 160 square metres. If willing can you let me know how much did you need and what was the cost Thanks

They quoted transit problems as the reason they don't supply to customers outside Scotland

Temp you found the company that find it hard to cross the border. Will try RK doors thanks dimpsy

i know i was shocked at them not wanting the business

Hi Does anyone know where i can buy(have made) a matched pair of oak or oak engineered front doors, that are near to passive standard. I have approached several of the more well known suppliers and non are able to provide a pair of doors that match all of the normal requirements. i require them to be Part m Comply with part Q Airtight good u value The only company i have found is in Scotland and they will not supply to England Thanks in advance

hi i have an early version of the immersun which works ok, Was looking at a new model when i found out they had ceased trading my solar engineer now uses Solar iBoost. http://www.marlec.co.uk/product/solar-iboost/?v=79cba1185463 Not had a good look at them yet We get a whole tank of hot water when the sun shines from our Immersun and sometimes our second tank gets a boost

We are about to start our project and would value everyone's opinion on the party wall act. Our project is the demolition of an old cottage and the construction of a new timber frame dwelling We have planning and the demolition notice sorted. My question is do we need to worry about the party wall act. The reason i ask is the old cottage is connected by a small section of wall to next door. (about 2m) During demolition we will detach totally from their house. To explain in more detail the house next door was initially a detached dwelling and sometime many years ago our cottage was attached to next door. This was not done to current standards and our house does not penetrate the external skin of next door and other than a few screw holes and once removed there will be no work required to put any "damage" right. The only work we will need to do is put right a down pipe that currently runs inside our house. I have looked at the act and guidance and cannot decide if removing our structure will need us to serve notice as we are not actually working on next doors wall. Our deeds do state it is a party wall and next door do want us to detach. Views please

Hi All i was getting concerned that i was wrong/miss advised about the 150% increase so looked back at our application and advice What i didn't explain is that our house is in the countryside and "replacement dwellings in the countryside (ENV. 23)"is the policy that we worked with. Our council sets a 50% increase limit whereas some others limit it to 40% or less. Most allow larger if of exceptional design or innovation. Our planning officer advised us that he was allowed to decide the application if we kept to the 50% increase and within the footprint Sorry for any confusion

Thanks for all the information I think we will need to just shop around when we are ready

Novice We used the aqua grade former with liquid screed in rest of house. The aqua grade can be adjusted easily to address any errors in the screed or finished floor level i made a major error in that my wife wanted large format tiles and in order to have a smooth transition from the tray we ended up with the wet-room floor about 15mm higher than planned I would use small mosaic tiles in any future wet rooms as working out the level is tricky Also used impey tanking which was easy but very very sticky so take time if using it to plan and make sure it fits before peeling off the backing Martin

Hi Anyone know where i can get a shipping container cheaper than £12 +vat per week. 6 months including delivery and collection works out at £760. Does not matter if 10 or 20 foot as both same price seems a bit steep to me as you can buy one for about £1000

Russ have a look at your local planning portal. You will be surprised at how many new houses are built and how many are self build. Have a look at those both passed and refused and it will give you an idea as to how your local planners think. I am removing the old dwelling completely and moving the new dwelling slightly off the old footprint. As a replacement and a self build you will not have to pay any CIL as long as you build a new dwelling which saves a fortune in fees. I found that the local planner liked traditional design fitting in with the existing houses so that is the route we took. I also expected them to ask for a reduction in size and height so built slightly higher and larger than i wanted however it went through without problem to my surprise. I did mine without any professional help including the design and plans for submission. I asked the local parish councillor around and talked them through our plans very early on and answered any of their questions, although some say they have no influence most have the ear of the planners. As for the neighbours they can create merry hell so be open with them and include them as early as you can. My neighbours wanted the new house moving away from the boundary so i suggested that two story would enable me to do that to which they agreed. Remember as a replacement dwelling there is a limit of 150% increase before it causes major issues. Good luck

Russ from my experience ( with planning to do exactly as you want to do ) its never clear cut. first point of call is your local parish plan if you have one as it will give an idea of what will be allowed. I would say ask for a meeting with a planning officer, but ours charge and its their opinion only Our pre-advice stated single story only with a similar footprint We have got permission for a two story with a 150% increase in size. Speak with your neighbours and local parish council to get them on board as it reduces the chance of any objection. Also key is to look around the local area as this will give you an idea of what has already been passed.