Firsttimer

Are there any lenders who will allow us to go onto a standard mortgage once the property is 'habitable' and we are living in it, but before we have a completion certificate ?

Is there a way you can get a vapour barrier covering the upstands and not have it pierced by fixings ? The batons and cement board sounds like a good idea. Cladding might be another thing to think about with render beneath it. This might look aesthetically more pleasing. Rather than having 27mm plus lip between the vented and unvented space.

Ecohaus were the cheapest for us. The service was absolutely appalling and the attitude of the MD was ridiculously unprofessional and unfathomable. They didn't fulfil their contract, but ultimately I just had to walk away and find someone that would to avoid any more nonsense. Think carefully about going with them.

True. However you build you will end up piercing the VCL.

The contractors suggestions sounds decent. You could create a 'dropped ceilng'. So a VCL onto the underside of the rafters and then a frame onto the rafters for spotlights to sit in.

Larch. Just about to get onto the cladding now.

We just charred the front and edges.

We Shou sugi banned our cladding also, which saved a sweet 10k. Terribly boring, but only about took us about 50 man hours from what I remember.

Very exciting. I'd initially budget at the very least £3k a metre squared and not allowing for any spendy finishes. This doesn't include fees. It might be worth getting an engineer engaged at the planning stage given a lot of the wall will be retaining.

Any advice as to how much would be realistic figure for our electrics please ? Our build is 235m2 and so far we've had a finger in the air quote of £22-25k and I presume the go away quote of £31 k

Thanks Nick. That's a great reference. Good to hear that you used 25mm deep, presumably without any issue.

@Nick Laslett @Chanmenie Hi both. What size batons did you use please ? The spec says a minimum of 30 * 50 mm , but I've already bought 25 *50 mm...

We are looking at around £3k a square metre now. Back in 2019 / 2020 my spreadsheets were at about £2k a m 2. Materials were the big thing that got us.

You can see the webs from the interior.

WE We will be using Larch and going vertically. I believe the elevation of the site is about 165m. It's quite sheltered. Not got the time to do a sketch at the moment.