Lincolnshire Ian

Hi We have around 200m of fencing to erect, a combination of 6-foot featherboard fencing and post and rail. Does anyone have any nuggets of information regarding good places to buy this stuff? We are located in Lincolnshire. Thanks

Thank you everyone for your input, this is invaluable. @Benpointerthank you for sharing your quote.

We wanted to install the fencing to use the 3 months wait we will have between clearing the site and demolishing the bungalow. We have still got the heras fencing at no cost. It's purely a scheduling issue.

Hi everyone We are demolishing our plot in two phases, everything apart from the prefab bungalow first followed by the bungalow (we can't demolish the bungalow until we have full planning permission). We are doing this because there is a restriction on the demolition window to avoid nesting birds in the many sheds, trees, brambles etc. that surround the bungalow. Phase 1 demolition has started and heras security fencing has been erected. We will have a 3 month window between the two demolition phases and it would be good to use this time productively. The CDM regs are really vague when it comes to site security fencing standards. Would it be OK to replace the heras fencing with a 4 foot feather-edged fence. We would also attach the usual site security/building site warning signs. Your thoughts will be appreciated. Many thanks

Hi We are demolishing a prefab bungalow to build a new house on the plot. The plot is roughly flat, but sits below the height of the road, we have been asked to get a topographic survey to make sure that all the levels are OK. The bungalow is still in situ but I was wondering whether it is possible to do a topographic survey before demolition, which is likely to be January 2025 so that we can push ahead with our building control plans as soon as we have Planning Approval? The existing bungalow and the new house will overlap in footprint by about 8 metres. Thanks

Thanks everyone. As a benchmark (this might be cheap/expensive, no idea). We landed on Protek, it cost us just over £1500 for rebuild value of £475000, cover for hired plant and equipment and a storage shed.

Hi everyone I'm shopping around for self-build insurance. Buildstore Insurance, Self-build Zone, and Protek are currently on my list. When I fill in the online quote form, I notice that the forms for Buildstore Insurance and Self-build Zone seem to be identical. Are these two "brands" part of the same company, and if so, has anyone got different quotes from each? Or are they different companies just using the same web designer? Finally, does anyone else have a suggestion for any other self-build insurers? We are demolishing an old prefab bungalow and building a new house. Thanks Ian

Hi We are building a timber frame house with a brick outer skin. We like the look of a brick plinth around the house. Apart from the additional cost of bricks + labour to build the plinth are there any extra costs involved such as wider foundations? Thanks

We have a Vp of 28 in one hole and 105 and 110 in the other two. Massive difference. When I dug the holes there didn't seem to be much difference, all very dry and solid. It was a long crowbar job to loosen the soil whilst digging the hole.

Sorry, my post wasn't clear. The perculation test is undertaken to determine the suitability for a soakaway, it looks like the ground as it stands isn't suitable for a soakaway.

Hi We have bought a large plot (3rd acre) to build a house. We have dung 3 perculation test holes 80cm deep and conducted the tests several times. One of the holes drains well, the other two holes take longer than the permitted time. We can't discharge to a water course. Even though we have a large plot if we meet all the requirements for distance from the house for the treatment plant and soakaway we only really have one location. Does anyone have any idea what we can do to make this work?

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful 👍

Thanks everyone, very helpful 👍

Hi We will need a private treatment plant with a drainage field for our self-build. Can anyone recommend a good manufacturer and/or installer? We are based in Lincolnshire (Spalding/Boston area). Thanks

Hi We are demolishing/dismantling an old prefab bungalow to build on the plot. The plot is lower than the road and tends to flood and we want to build up the height of the site before we dig foundations etc. I am assuming that I should be able to get hold of top soil for next to nothing from groundworks elsewhere in the area and that I will just need to hire a digger and driver to level the pile of soil around the site to a level determined by a surveyor. I'm guessing it's not that easy (most things aren't!), could I have some advice please. Thanks

Hi all We have bought a plot in rural fenland Lincolnshire. We will need a foul water treatment plant, and previously, we have been able to get permission to discharge the treated wastewater into an adjacent water course. This time, we don't have a directly adjacent watercourse, but we do have one just across the very narrow, infrequently used road that our house sits on. The road also has storm drains that run alongside our plot and into the watercourse. If possible, we would like to avoid installing a drainage field. It would work well for us to discharge either into the storm drain, which then flows into the watercourse, or even dig up the road and install a pipe and discharge directly into the watercourse. Both options will require lots of permissions, engineering work, large costs, etc, but I was wondering if anyone had done something similar to avoid the need for a drainage field. Thanks

Hi We have permission to demolish and rebuild on a rural plot. We are going down the timber frame route, but we will need a structural engineer to design the foundations (lots of trees, etc.) and other non-frame structural engineering stuff. Has anyone had experience/recommendations working with a structural engineer in Lincolnshire (Spalding/Boston/Sleaford/Bourne area)? Thanks Ian

Hi all We are getting ever closer to finalising our timber frame design with Fleming Homes. As we enter the planning phase we will be asked what our building will be clad in. We live in Lincolnshire which is quite conservative in taste and so we probably want to either use render boards and render or build a brick outer skin. We would prefer brick, but we assume this could be much more expensive than render. If anyone has crunched the numbers would would appreciate some advice. Thanks Ian

We haven't quite landed on a final design. Next week the designer is converting layout and front elevation drawings into 3D drawings, as soon as I have these I will share. We are building near Donington, Spalding. Thanks for the offer of help.

Hello to everyone We are just about to complete our purchase of a derelict 1960's bungalow for demolition on a very overgrown plot. We have completed some fairly large renovation projects in the past, but this is our first self-build. Thanks in advance for any help we will get, and as our project progresses we hope to contribute answers to peoples questions as well as mining for information.

Hi We have bought a plot with a grotty 1960s refab bungalow that will be demolished (sorry, disassembled, lots of asbestos) and a new house built on it. We are hoping to move the house on the plot, but this will mean foundations where the old septic tank is located. We will get a foundation engineer to design the foundations; we've also got lots of trees to contend with, but what about the septic tank? The demolition teams that have given us quotes favour digging the concrete septic tank out and levelling it with site soil/rubble. I'm obviously concerned that my foundations will run directly over the old, removed septic tank. I suppose another option might be to just fill the septic tank with concrete and build atop it. What should I be considering here? TIA Ian

Hi We have purchased a plot with an electric pole in the garden. We will want to install an electric supply at some point, but I'm a bit bamboozled by the potential options; as I see it, they are (feel free to add any I've missed): Install a temporary supply for the build, remove it, and install a permanent supply in the house. Install a supply for the builders in the garden, but make it robust enough (maybe brick built with a roof) and then run a supply from the meter to the house when the time comes. Use a generator during the build and install the electric into the house in one move. I have started talking to National Grid about prices, and they seem pretty steep. The old bungalow on the plot had an existing power supply, National Grid wanted to charge me nearly £1200 to remove the wire from the pole to the bungalow (8 metres). Luckily, we had a storm, a tree blew down, snagged the wire, and National Grid removed the connection for free :). We are building a timber frame house which will be "wind and watertight" within 3 weeks. What have other people done, or if you could do it again, what would you do? Also, can the "permanent" supply be put into the house as soon as it is "wind and watertight"? Thanks Ian