Tony C

http://www.ultrasafe.org.uk/selfbuildsprinklers/ Quick googling showed this DIY sprinkler system, it might be worth a call.

My house is similar in terms of 45m access issue, and settled with Automist sytem. They are kind of mist splay which require a lot less water than normal sprinkler, hence there is no need for a separate water supply. https://plumis.co.uk/ The quote for a whole ground floor (around 90m2) was £5k FYI.

They are traditionally done like this in Japan. They stick newspaper/cardboard on the bottom and burn!

Thank you Judy for pointing out the right direction, much appreciated.

Hi, my build is just about to start and the house has some exposed Douglas fir joist. My house is only being single storey , we did not need to apply any treatment on the wood joist. Do you have upstairs above the kitchen? I assume you will need to apply the fire instrument vanish to the wood, but I am not specialist, and this would be something specific to your house design layout.

Hi, I am looking into JCT minor contract to be exchanged with our groundwork guy for our self-managed build. (cost estimate £99k including some basement) I have not purchased downloaded the document yet, is it simple to complete by ourselves? Also do I need Contract Administrator ? Our architect is not involved in the construction stage, who else could carry this roll? Any advise for this would be helpful, thank you!

https://www.priceajob.co.uk/ Try this site ? It is for builders to use to estimate the cost, and very easy to use. Would it be easy to clean off the mortar from all the bricks though?

I have just completed party wall award, and waiting to receive the docs, will check. Thanks!

Hi, I am planning to start on our house build finally end of next month (finally!) The plan is to hire groundwork contractor for the drainage/foundation, then self manage the timber frame build with carpenters. Groundwork guy shared his insurance policy as below, but I am wondering if I need any extra insurance or I should ask groundwork guy to add some extra policy as I am not sure if his insurance would cover site insurance (in case of damage) or any insurance against damages to neighboring properties. (building a terraced house means excavating close...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Policy Zurich Tradesman Insurance Public & Products Liability: £5,000,000 any one incident Indemnity to Principal clause included Employers Liability: £10,000,000 any one incident Temporary Employees: £5,000,000 Public Liability any one incident £10,000,000 Employers' Liability any one incident Professional Indemnity: £100,000 Aggregate inc costs and expenses Financial Loss: £100,000 any one claim/period of cover Contract Works: £100,000 sum insured Personal Tools: £1,000 Personal Accident: Benefits as per schedule ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any comment would be a help, many thanks!

https://www.priceajob.co.uk/ Anyone tried this website? I am thinking to self - manage the project, and found quite useful to budget and estimating how much material I need to purchase.

Very interesting for me as I am waiting to receive quotation from 4 contractors in a few weeks! Our house is in London also, single story 150m2 including small basement (25m2) Our basement is a little different as it is 2/3 basement + 1/3 above ground level, but I share QS estimate for the basement shell here. Will you be using PM who hire collection of subs instead of single contractor?

£220 for 2 houses SAP - this included both service, "Design Stage" and "As Built" SAP and EPC. Effectively £110 per house. It only took around a week. I highly recommend them. Yes, you will need both service, and additional the air tightness test.

I am working with a Party wall surveyor at the moment for our build which hopefully start in September. If you are placing screw piles within 6meter from your neighbors structure (I mean some structure which has a foundation, sheds or fence won't count) , and your screw piles are long as diagram below, you will need to serve the notice. It depends how deep your screw piles are. As I don't know your site plans, it is difficult to know if you need party wall notice or not. It would be best approach some professional, I found Party wall surveyor through here: https://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/partywall-surveys-consultancy

In the end I have commitioned this people for SAP. It was £220 for 2 houses, no VAT, includes final EPC. good price! Email: info@compliant-epc.co.uk Website: www.compliant-epc.co.uk

I am also building a basement (25m2), and will be using UFH. Did you go for UFH? I am wondering if the spacing of the pipes needs to be wider as the basement will be more insulated? Although I will be installing a different thermostat for the basement...

Sorry, I was not reading your post property , you are building in London! I am also building in London, waiting the tender cost come back from several contractors for the house which has about 25m2 basement. We have completed the Site investigation with 10m borehole and lab test. The Structural engineer originally got some quotes from Site Investigation companies, but they were quite expensive. I looked some help on Buildhub forum and got good recommendation for the SI company, which was much cheaper and did good job. Please PM me I can send you the SI report example etc.

+1 on this one, It is not worth it unless your house is in premium location in London? Friend of mine just completed below terraced house basement in London. Soil Survey was £3.5k including couple of Trial pit to investing current foundation, 2 bore holes 6m depth and lab test. Finished basement 35-40m2 costed was £100k+VAT (incl. one bathroom) You will be paying extra 20% on top on VAT as it is not new build, which is a big factor!

I will be installing PV for our house and thinking to do DIY and installing Megaflo Eco PV ready. What is your set up to be able to use 95% of the generation? How many kW PV system?

Thank you Bitpipe! I will contact them.

Hi, I am about to get the quotation for the SAP calculation. I contacted this firm, but it sounded like they are quite busy. https://apexhes.co.uk/ Do you have any recommendation for the company who carries SAP calculation? If you can indicated the cost, it would be very helpful! Much appreciated.

We are also planning to build (in tender stage at the moment) timber frame with polished concrete floor. Our architect designed with the concrete upstand on slab all around so that concrete screed meets concrete upstand. I guess its too late to install the concrete upstand?

Its partly to do with design of the building (it will have exposed joist) , also building in London meant space is premium, not enough space to install, perhaps not far enough from habitable spaces also (Noise concern).

Thank you JSHarris, I am punching in the numbers now. I am not installing MVHR, what number I should be entering to "Air changes per hour" and "MVHR efficiency" ?

Typical section drawing here : Timber frame construction, Plywood internal finish, Corrugated aluminum exterior. Kingspan K112 Framing Board 60mm x 3 =180mm total

Thank you for everyone for all the info, much appropriated! I am expecting the tender quotation sometime next month....so depending how it goes I will decide how much insulation I go for. (at the moment our architect added quite a bit! more than 220mm PIR).