Bozza

Two static caravan linked together by a canopied communal area. Convert the living end of one of them to sleeping areas so you have one for pure sleeping. The other one for daytime use with adjacent fully insulated storage building nicely done out inside for the kids to hang out in.

And the Buildhub BAFTA goes to……

You are right to stop and get professional experts to identify a solution. My instincts are that some form of higher wall with basement style tanking and drainage is going to be the best solution, other than redoing the the foundations for the lower section to bring it up to same height as neighbours.

No I didn’t use a broker, & not aware of them not accepting new applications not sure what that’s about at all.

Hi & welcome. Your scenario is almost identical to what mine was 5 years ago. you can use the forum search facility to find my relevant posts to see what I did. What I did was pick up the phone and spoke to Ecology BS. They were able to answer all my queries and I ended up going with them. Many members here speak very highly of them, because they’re very good and straightforward & easy to deal with and release your money within a day as everything’s pre approved. They will give you up to date answers, and options for your situation but broadly I think it will be much cleaner and easier to discharge the domestic mortgage and start over with a straightforward self build, which is exactly what we did. As you know self build mortgages are more expensive so you really don’t want to have to draw down £££s until you really have to. After discharging the normal loan, we were able to get though quite a few build stages before having to utilise the SB mortgage, keep an eye on what normal lenders require (architects certificate or warranties) to allow you to move onto a normal, cheaper mortgage asap. getting the timing right on SB funding can save many £thousands. Just a couple of tips re your project. Try to get your cottage knocked down asap and de registered for council tax. saves a lot of money. Secondly, we offset the cost of our demo by selling materials from our knocked down cottage and I did the demo mainly myself. Saved £20k.

My plant room / cupboard is a tight 1mx1m. But don’t give up the shower. You’ve got room elsewhere for your plant room stuff. Your Mrs is wrong on the lounge shape. I get your design idea for line of sight for the fireplace but I still think the lounge shape combined with that door location still creates an odd seating area at the end of the room and is a bit antisocial and will be dark despite the window nearby. I’m referring to the sofa backing into the study. But a good place to seat unpopular relatives . if you’re committed to that maybes consider building that dividing wall lounge/study as a stud partition without any plumbing, so you can easily shift it if you need to.

The current draft has very awkward living spaces / seating locations/ door locations Very rectangular and nowhere for tv . I’ve attached a rough sketch of downstairs that would address this plus give you a study that easily becomes an accessible bedroom should it be needed. reconfigured kitchen diner slightly less sqm but I thinks better quality space and light. larger pantry, with dedicated plant room or storage, plus even space there for an additional cloakroom opposite if you wanted one. but of course your house / rules / money

Obviously you can go through each product and see if the prices are reasonable. What jumps out of me is £1698 for “general plumbing materials”. No doubt there is pipework, clips, insulation, consumables etc etc which all adds up but £1698 seems high - but not if there are specific high value items within that figure. The £1450 installation well that depends on the hourly rate for a plumber. Circa £40 per hour here likely more down there. Ask how long it would take to install and hourly rate. ASHPs are not particularly difficult to install - but every job is different. But in a new build ought to be easy as not a retrofit.

The advantage of a walk through dressing room is that it creates an extra sound barrier / distance from the en-suite. And requires only one door from the bedroom, so more wall space for drawers or whatever. The advantage of side by side is that you’ll have bigger en-suite / dressing room but less wallspace. What’s best for you depends on which if those factors is more of a priority. What I would say is if the dressing room is likely to be a bit messy or untidy, then best to have it’s own door thus do them side by side. Don’t forget a space for a dressing table, and lots of sockets. As you’ve attached your whole floor plan are you seeking feedback / suggestions on the other rooms ?

Pipes to my 4 year old shower thermostatic shower mixer developed water hammer. Bled the system without success then my plumber nephew suggested replacing the flow cartridges in the mixer. Suggested buying a new unit as was just as cheap and easy as sourcing and buying new cartridges. Unfortunately it has two outlets being an external unit - flexible & rainfall heads- so needed new cartridges. Phoned the manufacturer, Marflow, got straight through to the after sales service dept, based in UK, not some useless overseas call centre. Chap supported the idea of replacing the flow cartridge but recommended replacing flow & temperature at same time. Didn’t have proof of purchase as builder bought the items I selected but I did have the quote which was good enough for them and I was sent two new cartridges for free, arrived within a couple of days. Fitted and problem solved. What ever happened to good customer service like I received.

A few suggestions for you. I think your en suite is unnecessarily too small, and you’ve wasted space underneath the loft hatch. Don’t think you need to have a door opening out if the room.

£Thousands. Ish.

Fascinating post. Re AI, recently I’ve had some health issues. After seeing my consultant he provided opinion in what he thought my condition was and was not based upon symptoms and unusual tests results thus far, pending further detailed examination. After I saw him I fired the same symptoms etc through ChatGPT and it provided almost verbatim the same opinion. After a further hospital procedure I was provided with a consultant to GP report form containing numerous medical jargon, abbreviations and test results, findings etc. I took a photo of the form, put it through ChatGTP search, with instructions that I’m an idiot what is this and what does it mean. It “read” the form and provided an idiot guide as to what it meant in non medical speak. like you say, @jayc89 crazy. AI is going to transform most aspects of our lives in the next 5-10 years, as much as electricity and the internet did in previous generations. If the robots don’t take over that is.

@Amateur bob I doubt any BH members are likely to have the unique equivalent financial arrangements and circumstances you have, and you’re really going to have to speak to the lenders at this stage. Either they will lend to you, or they won’t. If they don’t as @Jilly says you may have to build as you earn, or restructure your finances until they do. I’m pretty sure that lenders won’t want to NOT lend to self employed as a principle, as there are a lot of self employed people. But I am aware of situations whereby self employed people have minimised their personal income (to reduce personal tax liability), or because they are ploughing their profits back into their business and paying themselves a tiny wage. Though entirely legal, it has bitten them in the bum when trying to secure personal finance, for obvious reasons. The lenders will definitely give you a steer better than anyone at BH can. If your family business is cash rich have you explored the potential of a loan from the business.

I doubt it as I’m pretty sure they are strictly regulated. A low LTV means they lend at a lower rate. Their ideal situation will be lending lots of money with a higher LTV & interest rate to someone who is certain to make the payments. They’ll be worried about having to repossess a half finished house. Re other issues discussed,Ecology don’t require you to build A rated you’re likely to get a decent B rate pretty easily with decent spec build. And yes they lend in Scotland. Their fees were if I recall cheaper than Buildstore. I’d strongly advise to have a phone conversation with them they are very, very good. As you are saying you are borderline on affordability if I were you I’d save religiously while interest rates are high and you’re away to move into a caravan. Build up that cash while interest rates at high and give yourself a chance to demonstrate repayment affordability. Interest rates are widely expected to fall into next year. Due to your savings it’s going to be well into your build before you drawdown any of an approved mortgage, and you can do so on interest only basis. As such your monthly payment are going to be quite low until you finish the house and convert into a residential mortgage, by which time mortgage rates will be lower. I assume the quotes to build are for a big and higher spec house at £350k, have you had a conversation with the builders to see if you can reduce costs. That is just my opinion.

Having a good LTV won’t trump the affordability test I’m afraid. Yes they required us to meet the affordability test despite having a low LTV. When assessing your three months of affordability bear in mind your living costs would increase from being in a caravan to moving into your bigger new house and they’ll need to be assured that you can afford to live in your new house with the mortgage and the bills etc. the good news though is if you’re in a caravan and saving every penny that is money you don’t need to lend, thus hopefully reducing your loan into an acceptable amount for your affordability. when you put your finances through the online mortgage affordability check, did it tell you how much they would potentially lend you?

I doubt LTV will be a problem for lenders in your circumstances, just the affordability assessment for the monthly payments. Ultimately you’ll want to convert the self build mortgage to a residential one, for the outstanding £220k, once competed. The main lenders have affordability calculators online you can use. That will give you a good indication as to whether they can lend you £220k. Monthly Payments probably circa £1100 ish. many here including me recommend Ecology for self build mortgage. the good news for you is mortgage rates are clearly coming down. Your situation re savings / own plot / build cost is almost identical to mine. It was quite a way into the build before I had to drawdown the SB mortgage. make sure you’ll have an architects certificate or warranty in place to get your residential mortgage.

Nice house / design. My observations: 1. You need built in wardrobes in the master bedroom. Even better, walk in ones. Plenty of room for that. 2. You 100% need more storage and space inside you main front door, which opens onto a wall. Make your main huge kitchen/living to accomdage this. 3. Plant rooms can be noisy, don’t have it underneath your bedroom. If you must put in specialist acoustic insulation including in ceiling.

If first time with a digger deffo a week. Don’t go near the foundations or big roots until you’ve spent a day on lighter work and getting use to the machine and its controls. Spend first day playing just shifting light soil a-b and back, and driving around your site. if you go straight in at heavy work you’re at risk of toppling the digger. Diggers are brilliant fun but take your time and ensure you take breaks the hours rack up quickly when you’re having fun. It’s surprising though how decent an operator you can become after a few days. with big roots dig around them before trying to pull them out would be my tip. Depending on your plot size do you have anywhere you could dig down and bury the concrete, or build up land with it.

Agree with @Conor. 20mm Gravel. If budget is a main factor treated timber edging to contain and if necessary put the grids where you’d likely walk. Get a loose delivery of gravel direct from a quarry. gravel would work well aesthetically there and practical for drainage, and in winter.

Just make sure you get a mobile signal in there. If the meter can’t communicate due to lack of signal you won’t be able to get cheap nightime tariff for car charging. Currently have this problem myself.

100% agree having the high units and oven in the alcove. If me I’d put two ovens in the central unit, and put the microwave in the utility room (as we have done ourselves to satisfy my OCD symmetry). We’re not foodies but can’t believe how we existed previously with only one oven. put the sink central to the window. Likewise have the hob, central to the island. Unsure of the rationale of their current locations but that’s bad design. Or alternatively the sink in the island and the hob/extractor between the windows.

Tricky. If it were me: I’d stud out the lounge and extension openings to 600mm depth, and have a contemporary style run of high units to accommodate the oven and an integrated fridge freezer where you have got the sideboard. Gives you bags of storage. Make sure the oven is central to the run. stud out left of the hob not least for safety and have a slightly longer run of base units under the window. You’re likely to have to go for a recirculating extractor due to the walls. where you currently have the oven /fridge do reduced depth (360/400 ish base units and wall units combo) perfect location for toaster etc. depth to run in line with the adjacent wall. If the room is dark that deep wall left of where you have your oven could be a good place for a mirror to reflect light from the kitchen window. in the narrow recess next to the external door using matching cabinetry do a coat hook recess again in line with the adjacent wall depth.. If hooks not needed use recess for art work or whatever. This design helps to alleviate the problems you have with such awkward features and wall depths. you could have a small peninsular as suggested but I think it would work against you in such a narrow space. This layout gives you a decent flow between oven, sink, hob, etc. my aunties old house had a kitchen with almost the same layout I’m suggesting. Namely extensions and rooms of it. She was a massive foody and it worked well as a layout. it’d also suggest glazed doors in your openings to the extension & lounge. And put in a boiling tap so you don’t need a kettle. Keep the sink & hob worktop run clear so it purely food prep etc. If budget is a factor, this design is a very cost effective and straightforward layout and defiantly DIYable. It may seem odd to reduce the depth of the openings, but if open plan I feel it’s necessary to help to help divide living and kitchen areas. In my opinion.

Lots of good advice so far @Ed_. Most self builders have a finite budget and have to build to it. It’s easy to get carried away (per many episodes of Grand Designs) then face genuine financial hardshape or even bankruptcy, or an unfinished house. Don’t be that guy. No house is worth that. Better to build smaller with good design, and good quality. We were tempted to build bigger than we did (214 sqm) as at the time each extra 1sqm was going to cost us an extra £1k, due to economies of scale. It took real self discipline to say no and stick to budget/size. The day before we moved in, my wife was made redundant. We coped financially because to self build was a heart decision, but the choices we made were head decisions. As it turns out we could have had a great house for maybes 180sqm so could have gone smaller. Even turn key as we were there’s lots of ways to save money. Make good choices. what size house do you wish to build? And for how many people? And what’s your budget?

We have 8 Farkos. Three of them are on one side of our house that gets hit with prevailing winds and rain. Never had any problems whatsoever with any of them (4 years). We have the ones with the white internal frames. The white is more an off white more creamy colour so if your roof is white be aware of that.