AppleDown

Well done! Out of interest what tape did you end up using?

Also get that DNO estimate in ASAP - I had the shock of my life when it came back at £70k the other day. Granted it was for three-phase, but better to be safe than sorry!

That quote is with us doing the trench work 🙃

Yeah that’s correct - from the main road and then down the lane. We don’t particularly need it - we were looking at as much solar as possible, but from what I can see it may be an issue with a higher capacity generated and not have 3-phase…

Just had my quote through from SSE - £70k to get 3-phase to us. Clearly not going to pay anything near that. Anyone got any tips on how to get that reduced, or is it so prohibitively high that there’s no point going down that road…?

Also remember you'll need a good substrate to adhere the render to. Can't just go straight on the timber frame board.

Could you PM who you used please - sounds a good price!

Fair enough - always appreciated your thoughts. We ummed and ahhd over a few options, but wanted to reference the existing building on site somewhere (the monopitch) and incorporate the modern dormer too. I think it’ll come together (hopefully!)

Not a fan?

I had the same reaction, but wanted to gauge if I was way out. The timber frame guys we are leaning towards have said they’ll do them for just under £3k - and with them doing the structural calcs and design, most of the work is done by them anyway.

I think the main question here is - what is your maximum actual budget, and then you build to that. It’s all well and good looking at the outside facade and finish, but that’s the least of your concerns.

C80 quoted me £230 last month.

Was that just one quote - and with any soil investigation? Also as much as I appreciate my architect, his understanding of costs were wide of the mark. Luckily I was looking at that from the very first design meeting we had with him (and this forum brings up a lot of good points and info on what to look out for).

I think you need to change the way you're looking at it. You're building a two-story house, on top of an existing house - which you're part-demoing, extending and strengthening as well. It's a lot more complicated than flattening and rebuilding. I seem to remember your previous posts about piling being the issue in not rebuilding - did you get any other quotes or investigations into that?

TBF from all the other threads and posts, you had a lot of people telling you that it was a big job and the other option was demolition and rebuild. It's a very big house now, and builders will see how elaborate it is and quote accordingly.