Tosh

Thanks all - plenty for me to think about. @PeterW I do like the sound of that. Though we would be losing 200mm of floor space around the perimeter - just got to get my head around giving that up Very good point about the noise - hadn't thought of that. @Alexphd1 good advice I think I'll take another look at nudura and amvic which I've not heard of before. @Russell griffiths I'd be very up to visiting your site and having a look at the blocks you're using. I'm just on the Powys border, north of Hereford so only about hour and a half away. It's really interesting concept to encase the steels in concrete completely. I suppose I'm so used to seeing concrete dado walls between the walls in farm buildings that have cracked due to movement that I'm very (maybe overly) sensitive to that detail. PM me when would be a convenient time to come over. Much appreciate all this help

Not looked at EPS icf in detail to be fair. Dismissed it as I thought it would require a company doing thus more expensive than Durisol. Do you think it's worth enquiring about for this situation and if so any recommendations? We're not too bothered about speed of build, more value for money and quality.

Thanks for the replies. I got a quote for timber frame - it came in at around 75k. Yes it gave me the roof floor etc however they would not commit on how to detail around the steel frame until an order was placed. I could just see myself being hit with 'extras' or a load of assumptions in their price. Durisol comes in around 19k, say 4k for concrete, SIP estimate for the roof is 8K, say 5k for 1st floor joists, 4k for studding out.....Some of these aren't quoted but been priced for budget purposes by various suppliers. Yes there's all the other bits, vapour barriers, sealing, etc etc but still looks a country mile cheaper than TF. We do also have the added complexity of having to put more steel into the frame which I think would hamper a timber frame more so than a block build. It isn't a straightforward job for sure whichever way we go hence anyone who comes to look either runs back down the valley (we're on top of the hills ) or takes a huge breath and moves the decimal point to the right! @recoveringacademic I think you're spot on with asking oneself about why we've chosen this method. It's what's prompted me to write on this forum to hear others views. I've read your woes and believe me I've questioned myself on why Durisol however the cost/benefit over timber frame is simply too good to ignore, even with the agro with propping, etc. I do have a huge load of timber from the demolition of other buildings (the site was a former sawmills) which can be used for shuttering, props, dummy frames etc so that will help keep that side of costs down. I'll drop you a pm if you don't mind as keen to learn from your experience. BTW the cladding is being removed so walls will need to be propped in bays between the columns.

Hi all, I'm looking for a some advice wrt our construction method. We're converting a steel portal frame building and have to keep the frame (cladding is to be removed and replaced with cedar up to 1st FL and zinc standing seam from 1st FL elevations and up over the roof). We intend to build the floor up from the existing concrete floor which is in excellent condition - this will still give us plenty of headroom as well. We've set our sights on the Durisol block. I went on the course and liked the system especially the fact that it removed a lot of wet skilled trade and thus made it more self build friendly in the sense that I'm doing a huge proportion of it myself. However I do have some questions before we commit to it. If we chose the 365 block what would people recommend goes below DPC? Is it sensible to put these expensive, insulated blocks where their performance might not be exploited. Would it be more cost effective to use standard blocks up to DPC - I suppose the dimensions would be an issue though? That is getting blocks to marry-up to the 365 dimension? Have a look at the sketch up and pass on your thoughts please. We've been told by our SE to install vertical rebar on both gable ends. When this rebar goes through the DPC what do you seal the hole back with? Blackjack? We'd be installing the blocks between the steel stanchions. The detail is to use slip ties between the block ends and the steel to allow for thermal movement. Any ideas/comments on this? Any particular brand of ties and suitable infill around the stanchion? Overall do my learned colleagues think Durisol is necessarily the right system for this particular situation? I'm just interested to hear other peoples thoughts - I often think whether it would actually be more cost effective to build standard block and add external insulation though means getting mates in to do blockwork. Thanks in advance. Shaun

Thanks @newhome. I agree - argue to take it off the ratings list seems the most logical approach. I also read the case law article and is my Plan B if the fight gets messy but hopefully council will see sense Interesting piece about when council tax is due so will keep that up my sleeve. Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Thanks all. My take on this, rightly or wrongly, is this.... The property has full planning permission for change of use from commercial to residential so my investigation was based around when that change of use actually takes effect. From the Town and Country Planning Act it says a change of use commences once development starts. So then I looked up the definition of development as seen by the TCPA. It states that: In order to lawfully commence development it is necessary to satisfy the legal requirements in section 56(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This says that “development is taken to be begun on the earliest date on which a material operation is carried out”. A material operation is defined in the Act and can include any works of construction, demolition, digging foundations, laying out or constructing a road and a material change in the use of the land. Given that I've been undertaking demolition, landscaping, making access points etc it would appear that the change of use has taken effect and therefore it is now a residential property. Will I have to pay council tax on the property whilst we're converting it? BTW we're not living on site however I guess we could be classed as occupying it? My thoughts though are at least the council tax would be less than the business rates as I would imagine we'd be on the lowest banding until we finished the house and then be re-banded? Thoughts??

Well - here we go. Just over six months into our project and first encounter with CC and VOA. Here's the story: We bought our site in Nov 17. It was advertised as a building with PP in place to convert to residential. At no point during the conveyancing process were we informed that business rates were payable and at no point did my solicitor mention anything. About 2 months ago we received a bill from the CC for empty premises commercial rates. I said to them that we had started development as defined under their T&CPA and therefore initiated the conversion to residential per the planning permission therefore it was unlawful to use it as commercial. They said all buildings must be rated either domestic or non-domestic. I said how can that be when you're building a new property or converting a building - you don't start paying council tax until you occupy it? They said they'd put the demand on hold until the VOA had assessed it. Well the rep came out today and said the building could still be used. I said how can that be since this was a construction site under H&S law. The building itself has been stripped of electric, there's scaffolding up inside it, the only reason it's still up is because we are retaining the frame, various ancillary buildings are/have been demolished, there's 30T of stone on the yard, there're trenches for electric/drainage all over the shop. Who the hell is going to occupy the site, even if they could? Anyone else had similar problems?

@Ferdinand We checked this with the council and we're exempt thankfully.

Is 'interesting' code for crazy ? Thanks for the reassurance and I'll try n get some pics up tmrrw.

I have wondered about a blog (been keeping a non-digital version e.g. site diary!) but wouldn't know how to set it up - any pointers?

Hi all, Last year, after many years searching, we found our dream project i.e. right location, friendly neighbours, right price etc. We sold our house in the mid welsh borders in July 17 and completed the purchase on our new plot, also in the welsh borders, in Nov 17. The site is an old commercial timber yard set in 1.5 acres and we bought it with planning to convert the main steel portal frame workshop into the principle house and one of the sheds into ancillary accommodation. A soon as we purchased we put in for some variations to the planning conditions and were promptly rewarded with no objections and permission granted end of Jan 18. We are currently going through the painful process of getting the SE to provide a scheme/calculations that meets our design brief and thus allows the architect to proceed with dwgs to BC. In the meantime we've being clearing the site which has been more or less abandoned for 10yrs, and demolishing some redundant buildings. I've felt like an extra in Day of the Triffids what with cutting down 20ft high brambles! Guess that's enough about me for now so look forward to sharing our experiences with you all over the coming months (years?). Toot toot.