Hi all, I'm new here so doing as I'm told and introducing myself.
I'm Del, I've a serial DIY'er, I've renovated a handful of properties, built an extension on one that was larger than the house it went on to, I tinker in the workshop on projects all the time and can turn my hand to most things, also love restoring classic cars or "fixing things" when I can.
We are in a rented flat while we look for the next project. I'd REALLY like to find a plot in Hampshire to build on, but we have a budget more suited to a carboard box outside a shopfront... working on that one though.
I don't know why but I've got a real thing about A-Frame houses at the moment. I've spent a lot of time watching videos from avrame but really... I'd like to design it myself. Also have a thing about posi-joists so thinking about combining the two... The extension I built, I designed myself then paid a structural engineer to make sure it wasn't going to fall on my head as maths isn't my strongest point. Another reason for liking the A-Frames is that I can do pretty much everything apart from lay bricks / blocks. I've tried, I've failed, I've accepted it's not something I'll ever be good at.
My key requirements are Eco-friendly (not just from the eco friendly perspective, but also to minimise running costs!) I'm looking at all sorts of things at the moment including building a thermal battery. Today's "why don't I just..." thought to add to the list is to have a basement below the A-frame, so I'm also reading anything I can on building basements.
With reference to my poor maths, I'm trying to construct a *complete* price breakdown of doing a newbuild - a friend told me "there's lots of new fees" but failed to provide any info on what they are, so I was wondering if anyone can give me a comprehensive list of things I've not thought of outside of the actual construction costs.
Many thanks, look forward to reading lots on here (and probably asking some pretty stupid questions)