ultramods

Yes i was proposing concrete instead of screed as it will be cheaper and dry faster and we will be tiling the floors.

Ah, that's what i was proposing, isn't it? ?

@newhome I have learnt from experience with trades in the past not to go with the cheapest. Our strategy is to try and get the preferred company to try and match the cheapest quote.

@PeterW what do you mean by screws?

@newhome The architect rates the 20k plumber higher than he does the 27k plumber. Both plumbers provided quotes for similar spec of materials. So really the only difference in the price is the cost of labour.

That's the complete cost of the completed foundations, so supply and install

I was thinking about our slab insulation and UFH today. I noticed that our architect specified screed for the UFH. The slab make up is below. GROUND FLOOR: Ground floor to be constructed of 70mm self-levelling concrete screed incorporating underfloor heating system, on 150mm KOOLTHERM K3 Kingspan insulation, on 125mm thick structural C35 grade concrete slab, to be laid with A252 mesh reinforcement as per engineers details at 50mm bottom cover, poured in equal sections and placed onto 1200 gauge polythene damp proof membrane - DPM to be returned vertically up around edges and lapped with horizontal DPC through wall a minimum of 150mm above ground - on a minimum of 50mm sand blinding and well compacted 150mm layers of Type 1 well graded granular fill. 25mm perimeter insulation to be provided at all external edges of concrete slab. U-Value to be no more than 0.11W/m²K. The house will be Timberframe with block+render and granite cladding rain screen. From reading the various posts on the forum to achieve a better u-value and similar UFH operation for around the same cost of the current slab should I ask to architect to change the spec from 150mm PIR to 200mm PIR and use concrete instead of screed for the UFH pipes? Also would this spec also be OK for the garage as I would like to have the flexibility of the garage being a habitable space at a later date. The quotes we have received for the foundations/slab are: Foundations Excavate trenches for foundations, pour C20 concrete (no mesh) 11.00 m3 £185.00 £2,035.00 Backfill foundation with suitable material and 150mm of type 1 sub base compacted in layers (inc garage) 64.00 m3 £30.00 £1,920.00 50mm sand blinding, Radon DPM and 125mm of C35 to house sub floor. 1 layer A252 mesh 152.00 m2 £32.00 £4,864.00 150mm Celotex inc 25mm perimeter insulation 101.50 m2 £24.50 £2,486.75 65mm UFH screed 152.00 m2 £26.50 £4,028.00 150mm concrete to garage floor, I layer A252 mesh 37.00 m2 £26.00 £962.00 Backfill around the perimeter of the found to accommodate the scaffold 32.00 m3 £26.00 £832.00

@nod Can I ask why have you chosen Nolte over the other companies? And who were the other companies? We are currently looking at handless kitchens, we haven't seen Nolte. Current favourite is Pronorm Y Line. I was really surprised today with one company the Matt grey colour we like only comes as on one of there basic laminated doors. I want lacquered, however they only do the lacquered grey in gloss.

thanks @Nickfromwales. I have already had a quote from Wunda. So do you think the 20k quote sounds reasonable for the work?

@Christine Walker Plumbers that have quoted us are experienced in UFH. I have thought about doing it myself with help from my dad as he did it in his self build. Only thing that puts me off doing it is if i put some pipe in the wrong place and one of the steels is attached to the floor and goes through a pipe.

at his rates tell him I will put him up in a 5* hotel for the duration of the job

that's technically commutable

Don't suppose your plumber lives near Aberdeen?

I would love to do it all myself, but don't really have the time and I know it would take me far longer than the estimated 8 months. I am planning on fitting the wooden cladding for the garage walls, dry fit the kitchen and utility and probably some/all of the painting.

@Nickfromwales Do you mean £40 or 45 days labour? £40 was really just a guestimate. 45 days was @nod £19,680-£5000 / £40 per hour / 8 hours per day @Nickfromwales the architect put the work out to tender to individual trades and asked the roofer and plumbers to quote for the lead and guttering. I think I will be project managing the build.

@ £40 per hour this would be 45 days labour, would it really take 1 plumber that long?

We are providing all sanitaryware, taps, kitchen/utility sink, showers, shower screens and upstairs radiators.

The architect put it out to tender. He asked the plumbers and the roofers to quote for the flashings and guttering. I don't know how they would be welding the copper pipes, are there a lot of different methods?

Can anyone tell me if these plumbing costs seam reasonable please? We only received two quotes for the plumbing, one at 27k and the other at 20k. To me it looks like the majority of the 20k is labour costs, roughly 45 days @ £40 per hour. Would it really take that long? We are providing all sanitaryware, taps, kitchen + utility sinks, showers, shower screens and upstairs radiators.

My parents bought a Howdens kitchen 5 years ago and wish they hadn't, the quality isn't as good as they were expecting.

@AliG your hall is looking stunning.

Kingseat is nice, we have lived in here since 2009. Our 9 year old son can roam free with his friends around the development and the woods. I work with someone that use to work there, she remembers one of the patients jumping straight through one of the ground floor windows trying to escape.

Yes supply only.

Thanks for that. I see Nordan are opening a showroom in Aberdeen this week, will go and see what the windows are like.

Maybe all the motorhomes get in the way of the lorries