Jilly

I struggled too and prefer to have one trade at a time (even though they didn’t always think ahead about other people’s jobs, I tried to) as it’s easier to manage as a novice.

Wool moths aren't very big.

What meanies. Surely you could just send in the Building Control Commencement paperwork? I had a condition that my building had to be started within three years, but not completed. Did you have a planning condition which said you have to finish within a certain time?

Getting a container or two to store everything would help, if you can, one for house stuff the other for building stuff. You are coming up to summer, why not get a static/ cabin and try it? Lots of good reasons: You will need some kind of rest room for trades for H&S) (tho in reality most use their van) and a site office for yourself, you’ll need a break and loo hire is expensive. It helps with security if the site looks occupied. Also there may be some resale value whereas rent is dead money: annoying when you go over budget (most people do). It’s very sexiest of me to mention that 2 years of rent could be £30k, equating to a very nice kitchen and bathroom. Maybe a short term rental over the winter if the weather is bad? Everything to do with self build is stressful, so pick your poison. Two hour’s return journey to wait for a delivery is not practical. If you both start to think of your patch as ‘home’ it might help.

Once something else has been approved though, doesn’t that supersede it?

Have you parted ways with your architect? I made an expensive mistake by not letting them see it through.

Wouldn’t a pile foundation do it? I’ve got trees nearby (not that big, though) on clay. The piles went down an unbelievable 12m. It was affordable, but there was a big variation in quotes, so ask for several. Also, which way is the prevailing wind…? Best speak to a structural engineer, possibly more than one…

That could happen if there is a cold spot (condensation) or if there is a leak outside somewhere

Is the plot big enough to put a small annexe on or even a house in the garden? That would be my preferred route, for independence…What the others said about scraping by to get our first place was how we did it too. Is the option of your dad helping you to buy your own place by remortgaging, to get a deposit together? I would do that any day, compared to the stress of building and to keep independence (both families). Unless you are considering taking care of your folks if they have age related issues? Don’t forget there would be a big complication if your folks needed residential care and you are in their house and part own it. All the best.

Gosh that’s tricky.

Welcome. Self building is, for most of us a very long journey and a very stressful, steep learning curve, depending on your starting point. Read up, visit trade show, magazine, it's a marathon not a sprint.. First you need the land and planning permission, arguably the most difficult bit. Kit homes look appealing because they give a turnkey price, but you have to get it past the planners and also foundations can be a big variable, depending on your location and the ground. This cost is on top of the quoted price.

The button doesn’t seem to want to rotate. I’ve got a little toy endoscope for things like this, but there isn’t a big enough gap to push it through.

It all looks as solid as a solid thing.

It's not my house, but it's under the window of an upstairs room, so I doubt there's access there...and I doubt it would be practical.

There's definitely nothing obvious, but there might be some secret plumbery thing going on.

😂English is best

I’m worried that had already happpened. And yep, what an annoying way to install it 😭

I can’t get it to come out any further and expose the innards. I’m worried about the bits dropping behind if I pull too hard, so no, still no internals visible yet😭

Yikes, yes, have unscrewed the surround gently, with nasty grating sound. No actual thread is visible, but the inner button is not moving … It’s on an outer wall, no cupboard behind.

Thank you all, there’s nothing that I can see, it’s all grouted in, so there could be a secret one. I think I might damage the button by levering it out and the edge of the button looks solid too. Frustrating.

No there’s no sign of anything at all. Maybe that’s why the owner has put up with a wonky button.

I’m staying at a friend’s, and she said, ‘The button flush on the loo needs a bit of a rattle to work’. That was ok for a couple of days, but now it’s kaput. Gulp, broken on my watch. There’s no sign of an access panel…it’s all beautifully tiled in, with a neat little non functioning button…

Building a pergola and plant lots of trees and shrubs would help, if you did buy one.

You could just assume you need piled foundations and work from there. Quotes can vary wildly, by many £1000s

Thank you Gus, but of course, you taught me nearly everything I know about the subject 😊