Bitpipe

Our near passive build only costs a few quid to heat/run a day and will always have a low energy requirement as it's highly insulated & airtight. That higher spec was not that much more cost when taken across the whole project. Architects (hopefully) design buildings that will get permission to be built, meet the needs of the occupants and to a rough budget but they can have flights of fancy that are expensive (we have some pretty, rear bedroom balconies that were not cheap are are never used). The cost per m2 is the best approach - take your build (as distinct from project) budget, divide by £2000/m2 and ask for a house that size. If you're confident that you can build for lower (or increase your budget) then ask for more. Paying for professional project management services (architect or stand alone) will add to your costs and may keep you on budget and to the specified design but they rarely 'save' money. Having a main contractor will give you some peace of mind and 'one throat to choke' but they will expect to make a margin on top of the build cost. Taking this responsibility on yourself will save you that cost but you also introduce the risk of making mistakes so it all needs to be balanced out.

Many TF companies will produce detailed drawings that will satisfy BC as part of the package, they will also produce their frame designs from your planning drawings, you do not need to buy 'off plan'. TF can also be clad with any exterior from render to wood to brick or stone skins. For the novice, they do bring a lot of benefit in relation to speed of erection and, depending on the supplier, a foundations package, roof felting & battening, full air/water tightness and internal room framing - even temp stairs so you can move straight to first fix once the windows are in and roof is on. We took that approach and it meant we did not need to employ a 'general builder' but acted as project managers which really meant organising the groundworks package from one contractor, the frame from another and the rest were standalone trades/contractors/suppliers (roofing, windows, render, electrics, plumbing, plastering, tiling, decorating, joinery etc etc). Also meant windows could be ordered well in advance off plan and be installed as soon as the walls were erected. These benefits come at a cost though and 'traditional' wet trades may well be cheaper - lots of variables such as are you living on site or in rented accommodation during the build etc. ICF is becoming a popular 'DIY' method where you position the formwork blocks and the concrete gets pumped by specialists. Yes they do, some firms will only offer pre-designed kits but most will build whatever your architect has designed (within reason). In which case DIY is probably not the best approach. We managed a demolish / basement / timber frame (400m2 in total) in just over 12 months as complete novices and even then there were a few odd months when there was no-one on site and other months where we had lots of trades working around each other. The builders bible describes the time-quality-cost triangle. You can have two at the expense of the other - i.e. to build fast and cheap compromises quality, to build quality at cost compromises time etc. Remember that things like sockets etc will be a fraction of your final costs but you're right that you can upgrade them later but also remember that you'll be paying 20% VAT on that vs. 0% at build time.

Very nostalgic for our own build - these are the best times and well done for calling them out on the mis-alignment. The only times things went wrong for us were the few times I was off site - I missed the last week of groundworks due to a work trip and even though the working trench was filled with the specced stone on 3 sides, it's now obvious that they used excavated spoil for the last bit at the rear as it all settled and has continued to do so making our patio uneven. Same contractor also hit the electricity main with his machine causing a small fire on site - I got a very panicked phone call while in bed in Tokyo A week we took as family holiday nearer the end turned into a bit of a go slow for the joiner (day rate) and decorators as my site cam evidenced. As the old saying goes - 'It's not the work that expected, it's the work that's inspected".

You can penetrate it (otherwise how would they fix it to the structural ribs) and it self seals but if you subsequently withdraw the fixing then you should seal the hole with airtightness tape. I doubt one or two holes would make a difference but lots will. MBC put a 50mm service batten over the airtight board, aligned with the structural ribs, and for any load bearing elements like TVs or sinks etc, I just put in additional noggins or ply where required within the service cavity. The electrician also took care to fix back boxes to the service battens (or on noggins spanning them). Where penetrations were required (e.g. outside light) he put a duct through, angled downward, and sealed with tape to the face of the board. When the required cable is pulled through the duct is sealed with silicone and another bit of tape on the inside.

Remember that teram is not weed control fabric as it's woven. I've tried to use it as such without success. What membrane would guarantee against weeds? I suppose there is always a risk of puncture from the material below so maybe you need teram AND membrane?

It can but I'm sceptical whether it happens in the discussed time frame (see also ban on ICE) but it does seem the direction of travel.

IIRC, MBC said that the board was much quicker to install as I believe the other system still needs an OSB layer to form the inner wall.

So blue is existing and red proposed? I have no idea what would be acceptable grounds, hence the suggestion to get yourself a planning consultant to advise.

Yes - it was the yellow Ampetex. I think my build was their first with the green airtight OSB board, we had the company rep come out to look and take pics.

Ok, so the objection is not how the entrance & drive looks but where it is located - a diagram or sketch would help us understand this better. The LA will be unconcerned with how efficiently your land is used, you need to find a planning reason as to why their refusal has no merit - i.e. something you could take to appeal.

Is the yellow area a timber soleplate or some kind of insulated block? What error do you think you have made? Is your SIP company giving you an insurance backed warranty against any soleplate degradation based on an approved (BBA) design they have signed off? Do you have a latent defect warranty and have they done similar?

Nope, all I know is that it was bright yellow! MBC took care of it, my interior wall was an airtight board and the fabric was only used in between floors and on the warm roof. It was secured to the concrete wall and airtightness layer above with green / yellow airightness tape.

I stripped the old house (2015) and took it all to the local metal dealer. He separated copper pipe, tanks etc from what he called 'brazings' which was a mix of copper and brass - e.g. a brass tap with a length of copper attached. Did not want brass fittings on their own. Also sold him steel & lead. My recollection was that there was not that much value in any of it, I think it was about £100 in total.

I tend to balance pans etc on the partition between the small and large bits of the sink. They do spit a bit, which is intentional as it reduces the impact of getting caught in the hot water.

I suspect the planners prefer applicants to withdraw and resubmit under the same application as then they don't need to formally record their reasons for refusal which may be challengeable under appeal.

Our LA allowed a free resubmission following formal refusal. That's how we did it anyway. What you're describing is different as there is never a formal refusal but a steer that it will be the outcome and an opportunity to revise. Some recommended against getting a refusal as it can be a blight but we didn't see the problem and it was good to get it all in writing. Without a refusal there is also no scope for appeal. Obviously the architects time to revise the plans is never free so there is always a cost!

Founder member Jeremy Harris @Jeremy Harris detailed all of this on his blog but that has gone from its original location, however it is available on the wayback machine! https://web.archive.org/web/20200926232400/http://www.mayfly.eu/2016/07/part-forty-two-water-treatment/ A borehole will incur mobilisation cost and a per metre element until you arrive at water. Jeremy built a DIY treatment plant, he had some specific issues to deal with (iron?) but said he found useful information on US and Australian websites. He had a number of challenges, not least incorrect recording of the borehole depth (he had gault clay I recall) which caused a lot of confusion as he believed that it was deeper than it actually was.

When we were having our final planning debate (all other issued being resolved) on whether the cantilevered box at the front of the house was appropriate, the architect neatly defused this by saying 'what if I draw it from another angle and see what you think then?'. This gave the planner the opportunity to climb down gracefully and say that now they could see the concept in 3d vs 2d planning drawings, it was acceptable. If they have pictured a 'grandiose' entrance from your initial application then maybe you need a few more drawings of other treatments, materials etc to give them some space to agree. You need to be unemotional here, it's nothing personal form the planner and they do seem to need to 'make their mark' rightly or wrongly to justify their existence.

After my experience, I would check again with BC on need for SVP. I was all set to cut a hole in a GRP roof for a SVP but luckily had the BC on site for another reason and when it came up in discussion he said not to bother. He said that the new build requirement is that 1 in 10 houses on the sewer have a SVP and every house having one is overkill. As houses either side of us and opposite have SVPs, he waived the requirement. Your mileage may vary but worth a discussion.

Welcome to BuildHub The usual approach here is to get your architect, or better planning consultant, on the phone with the planner to do the following: 1) understand what elements are troubling the planner (beyond what is written in the rejection) 2) explore what adjustments to the scheme could satisfy their concerns 3) make it clear you reserve the right to appeal the decision You then need to see if you can tweak the design to the satisfaction of both parties and use your 'free go' to make a new submission. You can obviously go straight to appeal but by doing the above you're not removing that option for later. Speaking from my extensive experience of building one house, this was the game I had to play. Our original design had a few issues (ridge height, composite cladding etc..) that the planners did not like and we were prepared to compromise on. There were other objections on elements we were not prepared to compromise on and we risked a second rejection before calling their bluff wrt an appeal.

That seems to be quite common - the groundwork crew excavate / re-instate and contract out the concrete work - mine did same.

The engineer dictates the EPS compressive strength depending on the loads imposed from above. I've seen aluminium sheeting (as used for gutter forming) used and I have used ubiflex artificial lead flashing to dress the EPS before the rain screen (in this case render on cement board) is applied on timber battens. You can also render directly to EPS, we did that on a below ground section of the basement that opens to a stairwell / mezzanine.

The EPS used for basement construction is just like that used for raft foundations - typically 200-300 grade which is extremely dense and not the more flimsy material that's used in floor insulation. The whole system is designed by a structural engineer and so is fit for purpose. In my case, I have a 300mm layer of EPS 200 that supports the weight of a 120m2 basement with 300mm thick walls and a 2 storey timber frame house ontop of that. The corner shapes etc are only required if you want the EPS to act as shuttering also, in my case I just laid a flat slab of EPS 200 blocks, covered with a membrane and let the groundworkers cast their slab upon it as normal. EPS70 was applied to the exterior walls when the basement casting was complete.

I have exactly the same arrangement as in the original post. We have a MBC frame upon our basement) basement wall supports inner wall of frame, outer rests on basement EPS. Airtightness fabric, which is about 4m wide was used and taped to the airtightness board on the inside of the frame wall and to the concrete of the basement wall. Similar detail repeated between timber floors and into the roof.

Almost exactly what ours cost, it's pretty unbeatable value especially as the planners rarely take it into consideration.