G and J

We owned a hedge, we planted it, and the land to the outer side. We then put a dog proof fence on the inside.

We apologise for the interruption in our scheduled programme. Normal service will be resumed shortly. Lots has happened on the build which is great and as it should be and all that, but I just can’t write about that right now. Instead my head is full of leaving Bramble. 34 years ago, over a third of a century, we put flesh on the skeleton of a house and we breathed life into it. And it’s been a constant ever since. Now we finally decided to leave Bramble two years ago when we saw da (run down) bungalow. We had each come to the realisation that we would move somewhere else sometime before then, and not at the same time as each other, but the blue touch paper started slowly smouldering when we told the dumbfounded estate agent who was selling da bungalow we’d have it after only a few minutes of our first viewing. We started building without a sale on Bramble and without a sale we knew we’d run out of money just before the new pad was properly watertight, but we started anyway. Mid May we accepted an offer and carried on with the build, uncharacteristically for us we let the estate agents chase it through. Which is why after 18 weeks we’d still not exchanged. By this point we (meaning J) really was looking at a set of spreadsheets with way too many zero entries. So we started making calls, asking questions, setting deadlines and suddenly we’d exchanged. I thought that would reduce our stress level. I’ll never learn, will I. Part of why it’s so stressful is that there was only 17 days between exchange and completion. We (meaning me, G) gave the 17th of October as an acceptable completion date assuming a very quick exchange, giving four weeks between exchange and completion. But peeps being peeps they latched on to that date regardless of the passage of time. And it worked for us as it meant we could rent a bungalow two doors up from site, which has it’s attractions. Now anyone sensible would pause the build while they move house, or at least cut themselves a little slack and slow things down a bit. It appears we don’t do sensible. So we are running round like loons trying to get packed ready to vacate Friday. Moving from Bramble to the new house (via the rental) is definitely the right thing for us both. But it’s an emotional business, leaving your first build, hence my inability to catch up on me blog like I should.

We have this condition, and whilst annoying (very) it has served to keep neighbourly relations on an even keel.

Not sure exactly where you are but we used JP Metalworks, Ipswich (Jerry and Paul)....did us proud, nice guys, steels arrived and installed when they said.

Many congratulations

It may be as simple as there was a quick paint job done to make the property ready for sale? What you could be describing areas where there is just less paint e.g cutting in with a brush rather than a roller.

Handy things, those platform socks. Odd innit. One never knows what a thread will do when one asks a question. I love this forum even though I currently spend v little time on it.

I (J) hesitate to enter the fray here as this appears to be an emotive subject (including, at some points, within our own household!) but here goes We bought a run down bungalow, with a good size garden for an urban area, in our ideal location. We had a good idea of how we wanted to remodel it (add an upstairs) and did our own preapp during the period the sale was going through. Once we got a positive pre app we did a beauty parade with a couple of local architects " we are VERY hands on, have quite clear ideas of how we want to live, have a a couple of "difficult" experiences before (in truth the latter was partly because we were't clear enough in defining the ground rules/expectations) and we want to spend £ " The practice we chose was a good match, values wise, and the first key intervention "knock it down". G was well along that route as a possibility, but the reasoning and experience the architect offered both in terms of end results, as well as costs, of trying to upgrade the existing was really helpful to me (J). As we had spent a lot of time laying out floorplans ourselves the stage pricing was adjusted accordingly (less for the initial survey/design phase) they were also really clear to set out additional costs eg fees, SE, BC etc. and the potential cost of the build if we went the main contractor route. Very much along the lines of @Gus Potter They prepared and submitted planning (they "know") the area, and the planners and planning was approved first time almost within the "given" timescales The building control drawings were more £ but boy did they earn their money. There was a good degree of to-ing and fro-ing regards how the wall build ups would be, what materials would be specified etc as we were hoping to do something outside their "norm" (learning from here) They suggested a couple of local options for BC, and for the SAP requirements, both of which, so far 🤞, have been "sensible and pragmatic". The fact that we had the architect drawings also helped in the warranty/insurance process, and it would seem that based on discussion here, we've paid "reasonable" premiums We chose to have a frame built off site, due partly to the nature of our plot, but the frame company commented that the BC drawing were amongst the better ones they see from architects in terms of actual buildability. As we are building (including constructing the frame kit), the design "works" ....where for example blocks have needed cutting it's because we've "tweaked" something So yes it seemed a large £ upfront, but in reality its probably going to be less than 5% of our final spend; it set us off on the correct path (demolish and rebuild), it minimised the planning angst, and finally it furnished us with something we could use to build in a way that we could undertake the project management/oversight which has and will bring savings as per @saveasteading So yes, there is an element of a leap of faith and when budgets are tight you "wonder", but at the end of the day, depending on experience (we're not all @nod) it would seem that you "pays your money and takes your choice" somewhere along the line.... There, light the blue touch paper and retire...... Ps. It' also fair to add that G is still not "quite as fond"...

Have you still got permitted development rights? If so I think its ok now, but if not......especially as no doubt your neighbours will be watching progress? We did put all of the above (not satellite dish as didn't want) on our planning drawings as we were expecting PD rights to be withdrawn (they weren't)

Thank you guys, I was sure of my physics but we all have a wobble at times so it left me wondering what I hadn’t factored in. The power of bog standard is huge, it appears, and bog standard in Blighty for newish houses is a well insulated wind tunnel, methinks, and perhaps for such builds thin screeds have advantages. So if it works well I’ll tell everyone how clever I am. And if it doesn’t I’ll blame buildhub. Simples. 🙂 (Neither statement in previous paragraph is true, but it made me smile.)

I was so certain in my plan: 1). Reasonably airtight and insulated house not needing huge amounts of heat even in cold weather. 2). ASHP running wet UFH at a lowish temperature to be happily energy efficient. Single zone, weather compensation for heating and cooling, no thermostat. 3). Nice lot of underfloor insulation to put the UFH pipes onto. 4). Fat, circa 100mm screed to act as a big storage radiator. Lovely. Or is it? In the last week or so I’ve had my ear bent by three very experienced builder type people, all telling me I’ll really regret a fat screed. The consistency of their arguments is astounding, they are all saying that we'll hate how long it takes to heat up, it’ll be cold and it’ll never get properly warm as all the heat gets eaten by the screed, it’ll be impossible to control and if I had even half a brain I’d go for a 50mm flowscreed instead. These three are all nice guys who really do mean well and have our best interests at heart, so I’m sure that they believe what they are telling me. I tell myself that I understand the physics, the heat won’t be just lost unless I fail to insulate or achieve airtightness, that slow response for our set up is a good thing as we want a constant temperature, etc. But faced with such certainty I’m struggling not to wobble. Am I being dim? Is a fat screed a good idea? Are there downsides I’m not aware of?

How many times do I have to tell you Gus, don’t kiss me in public. J might find out.

Stockpiling has an effect on cashflow. As for doing all the foundations in one go, Amen to that. The thought of getting back down in the mud again……. just say NO!

Noted. Ta.

Wash your mouth out with carbolic immediately you very bad person.

If cash flow allows (we currently only talk about cashflow as little as possible in our house at the mo. 😕 ) then there might be efficiencies from building the garage at the same time, which, coupled with the VAT saving, might mean the resultant increased borrowing cost is more than compensated for.

Alanhenge, perhaps? Al fresco dining is all the rage…. 😉

Guilty as discharged. The problem is my chippy won’t stop work unless I plonk tea and McVitie’s dark chocolate digestives (other brand are available) in front of him then he’ll stop to talk over plans, etc. And it would be rude to expect him to eat alone. J posts on here too, which is why it looks like we are on a lot. I can’t type and dunk biscuits at the same time. And there has never, nor will there ever be a time when I can be called a skinny one. Built for comfort, me.

Being a bum (aka being retired) has its upsides. Last year I did over 100km a month on my water rower and my weights three times a week. It gave me a start. I now walk around site slower than I’ve ever walked, but I can carry on for the full day. I now can lift heavier weights than when I was doing weights. I find a bath night each and occasional anti-inflammatories tablets help. But I’ve not managed to lose much weight. 😕

The spec I've got from our window supplier (who will also install) requires a concrete bit behind the single outer brick skin - are you using the compacfoam to structurally support the door frame? If so that sounds a much better plan than a cast concrete bit?

Thought about this a bit more...... our excellent brickie team did look a bit crest fallen at no radio, but did come and have/are doing the business...the solution me thinks...... copious tea and payment on the dot 😉

Don’t believe everything you read Gus. Not as drafty as Alan’s place - see Gus, we aren’t nice, we take the mickey out of everything and everyone !

Understood......we are a timber frame build, close (1m and 1.5m) to neighbors properties and it was the neighbours who put the no radio in the party wall agreements, not that we're complaining.....horses for courses

This sounds daft but is really a case of what "good" looks like. We keep it simple No one comes on site without us being there Everyone gets the hard hat hi vis talk (they don't all do it) We look out for anyone taking a risk (ladder balanced on a block) because we are there with them and only have 1 set of people in at anyone time. If a singleton comes on site we want to know who we ring if there's a problem (health or god forbid accident) We make sure everyone knows our site working hours, that we are no radio/no smoking and that we have neighbours.....simples!

Feels good to finally get out of the ground doesn’t it. Quite a relief in fact.