TheMitchells

Sometimes I wonder if this building lark is the right thing to do - both myself and the OH had a disturbed sleep last night. He was up around 3-4am, unable to sleep and around 5 it was my turn, worrying about the water in the cellar. And we are just renovating; what will it be like if we get to do our self build - one night without sleep and I'm a very grumpy bear, how will I cope with a couple of years! Maybe I should ask how will the OH cope with a grumpy grizzly bear.... Anyway, yesterday I spoke to Building Control for our area as it has become apparent that we need to make several applications for Building Notices and I wasnt sure when they had to be applied for. Seems it is before we do any work - does that include removing what was there....?? Opps. However, a very friendly officer was happy to give me advice. For the electrics we need to apply as the OH can only install, being Part P trained but he cannot certify so needs BC to pass the electrics. Thats a £360 charge. If we move the bathroom, that needs another notice but if we decide to leave it as it is and just replace, we dont. All the plumbing and new boiler will need a Notice but the chap we are planning to use is a Gas Safe plumber so he can certify his own work. the OH will be doing most of the labour but the plumber will be checking everything and providing the certification. The new windows would need a Notice except the company are FENSA certified so can do it themselves. And as long as we dont take off all the render, that didnt sound like it needed anything either. So it sounded like we only need to apply for the Electric work. Its a shame that the OH cannot certify his own installation but until he is doing more elctrical work, then it just was not worth paying the registration fees as they were more than he was making. What a monopoly the electricity providers have. We had to ask Western Distribution to come and check the earth of the house supply as the OH cannot touch their side of the electrical supply - ie the black box on the left. He had been unable to get a good earth in the Cu so installed an Earhting rod into the corner of the cellar and connected it, (the green/yellow wire on the right) to the CU which worked fine. For some reason he then arranged for WD to come out to check the incoming earth, which they did. they used a meter to give a reading (5 seconds work), said it was fine and then changed the fuse from 60 to 80amps. And that was it - £200 invoice to be sent out for 5 mins work, They werre unable to install an isolator switch between the incoming suppy and the CU as the OH had hoped so he could safely work on the new installation. thats not their side of the board - thats the electrcity providers! They only deal with the left side! They completely understood why he would want the isolating switch but could not help. They suggested he just cut off the wires going into the CU and instal his own Isolator switch between the meter and CU. But that would mean dealing with live wires unless he pulls their fuse out, which he isnt allowed to do! Hmm. While waiting for Western Distribution to turn up, I checked the cellar and was surprised to see our new Hygrometer showing a humidity of 99% in the front right hand corner of the cellar. It has always been the wettest area but this time, I could see lots of water drops on the rockwool insulation and the whole area was soaking wet with moulds growing in several areas. Its odd as the rest of the cellar is dry with no sign of water. And as we have had no real rain for several weeks, I would have thought the damp would have improved, not got worse. So now I am wondering where it is coming from. We were told before buying that there had been a problem with the drains between the house and next door, leaking water into the cellar so Anglian Water had relined the drains. However, it does not seem to have stopped all the incoming water. There are no downpipes which could be directing water to that corner of the cellar, so I cant see where it is coming from! Very strange and something we need to sort out. My thought is that we need to start digging down alongside that corner of the house to see if there is a problem with the drains. And ideally before it rains too much so we can see if it really is the drains or something else. ButI dont think we'll be able to get a mini digger in there and as the gas supply runs along there too, I think it will have to be done by hand. Very carefully. The joys of renovations.

yes, that was the reason they are doing an Earth shelter, to lower the majority of the house into the landscape. still nothing on the house sale front?? Difficult to understand really and hard to manage too.

Boys and their toys!! Christmas came early............... And my new bedtime reading!! Not sure which of us is happiest - is that sad or what?? and for those intersted its a DeWalt (naturally) DCS355D2 Brushless Oscillating Multi-tool 18 volt with TWO batteries.

Is there anyone out there who is in the early stages of their build 'journey', ideally a Passivhaus? The podcast/website www.houseplanninghelp.com, which I have been listening to since it started and think is very useful, is looking for its second self build case study for its Hub. It has already been following the build of Long Barrow, being built by Alex Baines, near Cirencester. This is an ICF, earth sheltered Passivhaus and now they are looking for a second case study to follow through from planning to final build. If at all interested, contact Ben Adam Smith at the website. Similar to myself, he has been researching as much as he can while looking for land for his own build but, like myself, not finding anything affordable. However, as well as learning himself, he has been sharing everything he has found with others via his podcasts and now the Hub. It would be great if someone could help him out with another case study. He wants it to be useful for everyone, including you, your builders and build team and will hopefully include all the good points as well as all the bad parts. After all, thats often when we learn the most. Hope someone can help. I'd love to do it but no luck with the land yet. www.houseplanninghelp.com

The current walls have no insulation and as we are doing up to sell, we dont want to spend lots on insulation that we'd be unlikely to get back when sold. However, I would like to put some insulation on the internal gable wall - pre plastering. It seems the right thing to do and will save the new owners something on their heating bills. its not a huge house so hopefully not too much expense. And maybe it will help with the report we'll have to do when we sell - EPC?? There just is not sufficient room for external insulation. I quite like ProDave's woodfibre with plaster on top. but it does not seem a very airtight house (lots of draughts) will one side wall be worth doing. I was aware that if there is too much to replaster, BC will insist on insulation first. So I am not taking any more plaster off, unless it looks like it is about to fall off. I'll give the local BC officer a ring and see if they are happy to visit to discuss our 'needs'. And if not, then we'll find an independant.

We had our visit from our 'expert'; the ex - brother-in-law, who is an experienced renovator of old buildings as well as a building engineer to help guide us in the work that needs doing. It was quite interesting and unexpected at times. where to start? Maybe the gable end. We knew that the gable end wall needed to have the render removed and replaced as it was quite badly cracked. we also had been told by the Surveyor that the top of the wall was bowing out slightly and needed to be repaired and possibly tied to the rafters to stop any further movement. But when we examined the wall in the attic, the BIL pointed out that the twin brick wall stopped at the ceiling of the bedroom and continued as a single skin with two pillars onto which the attic purlins were sat. the actual gable was single skin and does not appear to be attached to anything. His advice was to take down the top of the gable which was bowing, and rebuild adding another pillar of double thickness bricks to the apex which could then be tied to the rafters. Regarding the outside gable wall, he thought it best to remove all the render and redo as trying to patch it would not work very well. we have spoken to our friendly builder who we hope will get started in Sept to do this. We have also asked him to repair and point the chimney which is in a poor state. the roof overhang is a little dodgy with some areas devoid of any overhang. He said to remove the first 2 or 3 tiles to make sure the battens behind were sound then replace the tiles, ensuring the correct overhang - all of which will help keep the gable wall damp free. The other main area of concern is the beams- mostly in the cellar, under the front room. He was not too concerned about most of them, although there were a few which hada damp ends and needed replacing. He said to remove some of the stone/brick below the beam and mortar in an engineering brick topped with some dpm wrapped around the end of the beam to make sure it does not get damp again. However, he did spot that to one side of the stairs, there is a main supporting beam which definately needs the end replaced. whether we replace it all or just splice in a smaller piece, supported by an upright, is a decision to be made. There were a few other beams which we had been a little worried about but he did not think any of them would cause an issue, which was good news. As well as the BIL, we also had the sister visiting too with her new partner. (Luckily they all get on.) That was helpful as he is also very handy around the house and she is an interior designer. While it is likely to be a while till we need her creative skills, they were ideal for bouncing ideas off, particularly about the location for the bathroom. many positions were discussed with the BIL favouring the front bedroom and taking the stack outside and across the front of the house, connecting to the drain under the path. We laid pieces of wood in the rear bedroom and agreed that to have the bathroom there would create too small a bedroom with wasted space for a corridor. The kitchen layout was designed with the bathroom gone completely, a cloakroom giving a slightly larger middle room or leaving it as it is. we all agreed (well - those that count) that leaving a cloakroom was okay with the bathroom upstairs. Now we just need to work out how/where to put it. still. One of the other things we need to decide is whether to use the local building inspector for all the notifications or whether an independant inspector may be better. We have quite a few things that we need to notify the council that we are doing; changing the electrics, replacing the boiler and central heating system, moving the bathroom (if we do), and probably a few more that we cant remember or know about. My thought is to invite the Building Inspector round for a general viewing and to discuss all our plans before we got any further. But I am not sure they'll do that. The OH would prefer to use an independant who he thinks is more likely to be flexible. Has anyone had any experience or does it depend on personalities as to whether they are helpful or not?

As a complete novice when we first decided to build our house, I bought the Housebuilders Bible (10th edition ) and I found it very good to give me a complete overview of the whole building thing. I really like the budgeting sections and am currently using it for our renovation, to give me an idea of costs. But I agree that it does not really tell you how to do it - just the things to think about. David Snell's 'Building your own home' was very similar and again useful for me as a beginner. Then I found The Site Managers Bible by Len Sales and I liked that for explaining the process of using builders and contracts as well as other subjects including a useful Health and Safety. but a book on the actual 'How to do each bit' would be particularly useful, especially the order in which stuff should be done. So I may be looking for The Building Construction Handbook. The OH can read the technical sections and I'll do the rest. Thanks for the pointer and idea for an excellent post.

okay, I think I have all that. I have borrowed a laser level so will try to measure the available drop tomorrow to see if it is doable. I do hope so or we may have to give up on the bathroom upstairs idea. We have been trying to trace where our drain goes and so far, no luck. It does not go where we thought it went so now we havent a clue where our waste goes. That means we will not be able to take the waste stack outside at the front and connect it into teh drain as we dont know where the drain is at the front of the house! Weird.

Thank you - I guess I need to accurately work out the best drop we have. Does having a 90obend make a difference? The room will have a loo, bath tub/shower and sink so hopefully the water will help keep the waste pipe clean.

yes, the doorways are all wider and the light switches are at waist height. Its a great house with lovely spacious rooms. I have just been looking at the sunpipe we used and the company (Solartube) now do a similar system but designed with better thermal and acoustic properrties, designed for Passivhaus apparently. We paid £552 in 2010 and the basic model look to be around the same price now. I was wondering if anyone has any other experiences of sunpipes that are a little cheaper?

Can I ask what is the minimum drop for drains? We are looking to move our bathroom upstairs and the easiest option is to drop the waste from the new loo, down through the lounge corner into the cellar, across into the old waste pipe where it exits the house and runs into a drain outside. But it is a fair distance in the cellar, approcimately 4m then a 90o bend and another 8m. What would be the minimum drop and whats the best way of measuring it? Do I need to buy a laser level?

I was invited into one of our neighbours house today which is always interesting to see how the houses differ, even though all built the same time (Victorian terrace). She pointed out a problem that she has with her lounge walls. When she moved in, the walls were papered and painted orange. As it wasnt her favourite colour, her son painted the walls a light grey which looks nice. However, all over the walls there are slightly darker marks. It looks as if there was areas of oil which is now coming through the lighter paint. Its all over and looks rather unpleasant. Any ideas what caused it and what she should do? She's worried that the marks will come though again if she paints it again. She didnt want to strip the wall as they are in poor condition and she is worried that the lath and plaster will come off, causing lots more work.

yes, I agree with her - I'd love one of these too. May have to copy the picture to give to the OH/joiner.

Looks like a great plot though that back slope would give me some worries - I am a natural born worrier. Good luck and keep us informed of progress.

Thanks Terry - I'd have stuck it to the pipe if you hadnt added that bit. Will stick the tape to the wall behind the pipe. OH just said 'But I'll know where the pipes are as I 'll have put them there! So no need for any tape at all.'

while I would love to renovate the house, its just out of our price range unless anyone out there fancies lending us the odd £300k. I promise I'd pay it back. then we could build in the garden and renovate the house..... Ahh, if only!

That picture is a bit deceiving as it was taken by the estate agent a while ago. The drive has now moved to directly underneath the camera and enters the site opp the front door and all that area to the right of the drive (from that pole at the far end to below the camera, marked by the sticks in the grass) is a building plot for three houses which has already been sold. So there isnt as much room as you'd think. And while the house does look really nice, it needs a huge amount of work to refigure it and bring up to the 21st century. The area to the far left, running alongside the fenceline, was the plot we were buying last year. The vendor will not sell the plot till he sells the house, in case the new owner wants the whole garden. I would if I bought the house, as without the plot, the house is too large for the space. And we cannot afford the house and the renovation. My thought is to buy the whole thing and divide the whole area into three plots. If I can find another two self builders who want to join in. Its something I'm thinking about but nothing set in stone yet. Thats why I am asking the question of demolition.

While I am sure prices vary enormously, is anyone able to give a rought idea how much to allocate to knock down a property? Its a 1950's house with a horrible extension on the back. Some of the parts may be able to be sold to reclamation but assuming not, what sort of price would i be looking at? £20k or £50k?? More??

Its something we are thinking of too for our renovation - moving a bathroom upstairs but where does the soil pipe go? Down through the floor into the corner of the lounge and then outside or take it outside and run it down the front wall but that would not look nice. If we can minimise the sound using the advice here, maybe down throughg the lounge would be okay. Let me know how you get on, worldwideweb.

Gosh, the things I learn on this site - point to remember, dont paint where you intend to tile. Thanks for that.

How frustrating! Hope you get it sorted but sounds like it will be hard work getting them to admit their mistake. A company to avoid definately.

Snap! We just bought an Victorian end terrace to renovate as we couldnt find a suitably affordable plot.but I am still not giving up on the house build. We will find a plot someday! Welcome!! Where is the house? which part of the country are you in?

I love it!! Though I know the OH would take one look and run a mile. Fabulous. Lick of paint here and there and Bob's your Uncle.

All excellent advice as we are planning to use the bamboo flooring too. Every build show we go to, we end up picking up some samples; they make great coasters! So if bonded as jeremy has done, you dont need underlay?

Dont often get that way, being down in Oxfordshire but will give you a shout when we do. I'd love to see the newts too, I feel they are part of the family as we've heard so much about them.