Crofter

Split backing is well worth it. I used Siga on my TF build, 12/48mm split. In one little bit I used tape without a split, because I'd run out of the Siga, and it was a right PITA.

I'd originally planned to just use some leftover latch cladding for my fascia, and some 5mm ply for the soffit. The fascias were done months ago and the soffit partially done. I'm not all that happy with how it looks though, and I think it's letting the rest of the build down a bit. I'm wondering about fixing something like aluminium over the fascia, and using the same material for the soffit. This would be color matched to my alu clad windows and steel roof. I think uPVC might also be an option, but I'm not sure about thickness of the material, and color availability. Is steel an option? Looks good on the roof... Cost is going to be the main concern here, as I haven't budgeted for this. It's a small house so I only need a total of 20m. The fascia depth is 200mm and the soffit is about 250mm, from memory. Before I go to the trouble of getting lots of quotes, it would be good to hear from people who have also considered these options.

Ideally the visible silicone bead is pretty much for aesthetics and to make cleaning easier- the tray/wall junction should be sealed properly before the tiles go on. I took advice from a Welsh bloke and used a tanking kit with a rubber tape, plus some CT1. The white silicone simply hides this.

So, today has largely been spent clearing all the junk out of my loft space in preparation for MVHR install. I'm amazed at the amount of stuff that I had squirreled away up there, in a house that isn't even inhabited yet. Mostly packaging and various offcuts kept just in case. Anyway, it's decision time for my MVHR install. As noted in my posts above, I will have an extract near the kitchen and one above the shower. Another will go in the loft space. One supply will go in the living room. I can relatively easily add a second supply in the bedroom, but it would be directly above the head end of the bed. As MJNewton says: Is this a legitimate concern? The bedroom ceiling is vaulted so the supply terminal would be nearly 12ft above floor level. Finally, is there merit in having a trickle supply in the loft space, to match the extract?

Looking great! It's funny how you can live with the little jobs not finished but only when you finally get round to them do you realise what a difference it makes.

I had the loan of a Hitachi gas nailer for my frame, only gripe with it was the usual problem of it not liking cold weather. I later bought a cheap 2nd hand Clarke coil nailer and a compressor, this did all my sheathing, sarking, and cladding. £50 well spent. Picked up a DeWalt framing nailer which has been fine. I don't find the airline to be much bother, but I do have a small site and can just put the compressor in the middle of the house. Someone on here bought a Silverline framing nailer for under £100 brand new, and seemed pretty happy with it.

I used corrugated steel, 0.7mm with plastisol coating. Very pleased with it, and I get much more rain noise from my 3G windows than from the roof. I was going to get the anti condensation flocking but my local BM couldn't supply that. I have a good roofing membrane underneath so I don't think it's a problem.

We're in the same ballpark, then. I tend to have to pay a bit extra for materials due to my location. Lovely little house, by the way!

Caley Sheet Metal in Inverness would be worth a call, obviously I'd speak to our local BMs (Jewson and Rembrand) too. Haulage from Inverness via Skye Express but you'd need some way of offloading at your end. If you want to save a few quid, a long trailer and a squad to lift it off at your end? That's how I did quite a bit of my timber.

These sheds/tiny houses etc are making my project look very expensive! C.£40k for 43m2 useable, this is the entire project cost except for land itself, so includes services, access, related permits, foundations, and internal fitout (inc a full kitchen with dishwasher, induction hob etc, and MVHR). Insulation to about double BRegs minimum, triple glazed aluclad windows. I had to spend a big chunk of my budget on the sewage treatment system- about £7k- dictated by ground conditions.

Yes it'll have Wi-Fi beamed across from my own house. As to 3/4G... hahaha there's a reason I don't own a mobile phone

I'm Makita throughout, apart from my corded multitool from Lidl. I've never been in a Waitrose...

Ah but hold on to your receipt, they will come good on the 3yr warranty

I've got a small all electric house with just a UVC and an electric towel rail. It's a holiday let and I like the idea of being able to boost and otherwise control the heater and hot water remotely. Just wondering if anybody has experience of a WiFi enabled controller? I see that Timeguard do one: https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SMFSTWIFI.html?source=adwords&ad_position=1o4&ad_id=45425533757&placement=&kw=&network=g&matchtype=&ad_type=pla&product_id=SMFSTWIFI&product_partition_id=311803904081&test=finalurl_v2&gclid=CjwKCAiAt8TUBRAKEiwAOI9pAIEXcdO25zbR7rUgzyudik8wC3oygkwYreNaHBTQEYKUTk4TR_PCBBoCI-gQAvD_BwE

Congratulations on getting thus far. Give me a shout if you're looking for any contacts or advice

Yup, from a certain spot in the park you can see it quite easily (also from the pub car park). The front wall is only partially clad in larch at the moment but it's fairly distinctive compared to all the white houses.

A bin extract would be neat, not possible for me though. Reminds me of Jeremy's cistern extract idea, which is pretty clever.

My 'portable building' sits on eight concrete piers, each about 450mm square and of heights varying between 150-900mm due to the slope of the site. These piers are themselves cast atop individual concrete bases measuring around 800mm square and of whatever depth was needed to reach firm soil (minimum 500mm from memory). The building itself is a big monolithic box that should, in theory, be capable of transport by crane or low loader, just as a container would be. BC have shown zero interest in my project, and I have had no contact with them other than my initial query to check if my proposal would be exempt.

How do your BMs compare to Wickes? They can often be quite competitive on things like this.

Sounds great, and a similar concept to my own place but a bit bigger. As IanR says your u values look to be better than the BRegs minimum. I thought that an air test figure of under 5 meant you needed MVHR? Or have I mis-remembered that?

Thanks, I seriously could not have managed it without your help!! I should put together a separate blog post about just the bathroom as it was a big project.

It's just cheap stuff from Soak.com- I think the whole lot came to about £250. Pottery side of things seems fine but I don't know how long the unit itself will last. The shower tray and screen was about £200 off eBay. Total spend on the bathroom was about £800 inc lino, tiles, etc. Just got to do the skirtings and fit a towel rail now.

I'm not sure what will work best. I had actually been thinking about putting the extract at the apex of the internal gable, as that would prevent a pocket of warm moist air gathering up there. The problem with placing vents on the internal gable is that you are reducing the space between them the higher up you go.

It's starting to feel like the finish line is in sight now. Since my last entry, I've largely finished the interior including all the flooring, the doors, most of the kitchen, the windowsills, and the huge and daunting task of the bathroom (big thanks to @Nickfromwales for answering my hundreds of questions on that one!). I got a plumber in to install my UVC (sorry Nick, forgot to get a photo of that). I've also done a bit more of the cladding, but the exterior work has been on the back burner. I've also gone back to work full time since my last blog post, which is why everything has slowed down so much. Still managing to get a bit done in the evenings and at weekends. You'll notice some furniture has appeared, some of this was given to me by a neighour and was very handy for storing all my tools etc; the bed and sofa were in storage with family and eventually I exhausted their goodwill and had to take delivery of them! The shower has had a couple of test runs, and SWMBO reports that it is very nice indeed. The plan is to be open for business in April, which should be tight but doable. I expect that at that stage I'll still have some outside jobs left to finish but the inside is only a few days away from completion now. Sorry for the crappy image quality- will have to do a bit better when the time comes to do the proper marketing shots

It's really a bit too late for that sort of change. I admit I should maybe have thought this through in a bit more detail at the time, before everything got boarded, plastered, and painted.