Bozza

Hi Harman. So our new build is going to be ready next month and will largely be furnished from scratch as we’re binning most our old furniture which was long overdue. So for our interior decor & furniture we’ve basically been looking at Pinterest for design inspiration, but I do think we have a good eye for interior design. Having seen show homes I’ve no doubt an interior designer could do a far better job than we could but what gives me concern about using one is this. (never used one before). What would happen if the designer came up with designs that we didn’t like or couldn’t afford. How would that work. What would an interior designer offer in terms of ideas that we could just get from Pinterest. Personally I would probably consider paying a few hundred pounds for someone to come up with a few designs for all the rooms, anything more than that I personally couldn’t justify/afford. With a view to then me sourcing the products. I imagine that an interior designers costs are mainly time, so would expect to pay a fair hourly rate for maybes a few days work. That’s why I’m thinking a few hundred quid unless you’re Kelly Hoppen or whoever. As a comparison I’m going to be using a highly recommended garden designer, at the lower end of her fees scale (£250). That’s to do a walk around, give advice on plant types for my site which has landscaping challenges, listing suitable plant types etc in terms of soil conditions, shade etc etc all things I know nothing about, and some design ideas. At £250 I figured I’ll save money rather than planting certain plants that simply wouldn’t survive at my site. She charges up to £thousands if you want her to do 3d rendering,, project manage etc etc. Some can afford that, I can’t.

I wonder whether premiums will reduce for houses fitted with these systems. I do fear for the elderly and vulnerable getting ripped off by dodgy firms pushing systems.

That’s interesting. Sounds like your stove is a heat source, if it wasn’t would you still use it as much?

I declined putting in a log burner in my new build for two reasons (1) cost - £6k (2) several self builders with log burners had advised me they rarely use them as their houses didn’t need them for heat being new and well insulated. But they do look good. Have you considered a Bio Fuel fire. It would give you some of the ambience at a fraction of the cost. You can even get false flues. If unsure about committing to a real one it could be a cost effective way of seeing how much you’d use it. If you rarely use it, then presumably you’d rarely use a real one. Then you’ve saved £thousands. If you use it a lot but still want a real one you can sell it then look again at a real one. I’ve been considering one for my new build. Maybes someone here has one and will tell us they’re rubbish. I’ve been looking at than at imaginfires.co.uk ...just a suggestion.

I’m putting in ASHP for my house for heating & water. I’m no expert and plenty here will advise better than I. The exterior ASHP sounds like a Fridge/freezer. I located my ASHP away from bedroom / living windows and have triple glazing which will help but bear in mind in summer if your windows are open the ASHP will still need to run for your hot water etc. i would avoid locating the ASHP near any bedroom or living room windows.

I was provided an estimate by a company of from £55 plus VAT per screw so I estimated £100 per screw based upon installing bigger screws. Just a rough estimate my end obviously your have to explore yourself. Obviously DIY cheaper per the ground screws suppliers.

I was meaning running the duct inset away from the edge and the groundscrews on the outside. Less digging, protects tree roots, better for environment and my understanding is the costs are comparable to traditional foundations. You’d get closer to your edge with screws. I’ve been researching ground screws for my garden building you’d obviously need 8 for that car port, installed you’d be probably looking at under £100 each each base my research thus far. You can DIY groundscrews but the installation company work out the calculation weight pull etc etc.

How about Ground Screws?

Have sent you a PM

Ikea do wood effect laminate worktops which looks quite good and more practical than solid. And much much cheaper. They have a square edge which looks nice as I considered it having seen it in the flesh. You are right vinyl wrap is cheapest. Ikea doors have 25 year warranty. If you are going for a more simpler and cheaper standard cupboardS just buy a couple of spare doors that you can replace in future. please note ikea carcasses are not standard kitchen sizes and as I said don’t have a recess at rear.

Ikea do their custom worktops up to 4m and up to 2m deep. Their laminate worktops are very good quality/value. Like PeterW says £50-60 Per metre but that’s square metre not linear metre. Also they do cut outs etc.

Though there are fees via Buildstore they seem to have access to products that we can’t get.

Hi Simon, so we were mortgage free when a house came on market that was ripe for a replacement new build. via Buildstore their broker was able to access an interest only mortgage from Santander on my existing house that provided money to buy the second property. We then got an Ecology self build mortgage To build the new house. we put our old house on market at Xmas and received an offer quickly, completing just before lockdown, so we’ve been renting until the new build is completed next month. But it meant we paid off the Santander mortgage earlier and we only have had to drawdown about a third of the self build mortgage. Those savings obviously offset by the rental costs. One of our worries had been what happens if the new house was ready and the old house didn't sell. Not a worry now. as you have your plot & PP why not sell your current house. Move into a rental - doesn’t have to be posh, then self build with cash in the bank. Thus avoiding lots of mortgage fees and risks of not selling

Nice. Where did you get them from, I was thinking about gates.

Great job. House sits lovely in the area. Were your gates handmade or bought ?

Welcome. Don’t forget about replacing an existing rubbish property as an option if you can’t find a clean building plot.

Cheers for the breakdown so effectively they’re charging £60 per sq m labour. I shall decline.

For my new (self) build house my builder is quoting what works out to be about £100 per sqm for approx 45sqm of slabbed paving. Quote includes the slabs - 600x600 concrete slabs dyed dark grey as requested which cost £6 each. The job would be done properly to a high standard. Does this sound about right ?

Some years ago in the flatted development we lived in we had a huge problem with seagulls and what they produce. We put a plastic owl - £20 from tinternet up high on a roof and it eradicated the problem immediately. If you have a tree or somewhere you could put one of these worth a try.

I’ve just submitted my order for DIY Kitchens and the delivery fee to Aberdeen is £225. IV postcode should be the same assuming Skye is considered mainland due to the bridge. From previous experience the DIY Kitchens are better quality & choice than the main sheds. My parents have a Wren kitchen which I’m not impressed with quality wise. They’ve had it in a few years and the door edges are starting to peel. My in-laws got their kitchen very recently from Howdens. It’s seems ok but I definitely think DIY kitchen unit and doors are better. In terms of Ikea kitchens, their old range was called Rational or Rationel, but their new range is called Metod. To get me a temp habitation for my self build I have to install a temp cheap kitchen so I got a few Ikea units as a cheap and easy temp option, the new range isn’t as good as the old one but they do get good reviews. I found them a bit wobbly TBH but would be better once screwed to wall etc. But if you didn’t know Ikea carcasses don’t have a services recess at back which may be very relevant to you if an older property. Also though Ikea carcasses seem cheap their legs are excluded and quite expensive. Others here may have a different opinion to me but the fact I was happy to pay the higher delivery cost for a DIY kitchen tells you something. If you are going for simple cupboard units DIY kitchens units aren't very expensive TBH. 1200 double base unit between circa £100-£140 depending on doors. Hope this help a bit with your decision.

Attached off the krend website. I’m deffo “white” off this chart.

K rend “white” on my house

Yeah my understanding 10mm is appropriate for heat recovery systems which we don’t have, but my floor fitter is saying 2mm above finished decorative floor surface. Not aware of building regs in Scotland requiring 10mm. 10mm sounds quite high asthetically? I’m sure I’ve heard somewhere thickness of coin above finished decorative floor surface.

Yeah I think they’re stripping back the whole frame and starting over. At their cost.

They are doorsets from Adamson doors. Yes lots of work for them at their cost. The doors were not trimmed so they can be reused.