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Red Kite

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  1. Red Kite
    It has been 3 weeks since the last Blog post and in some ways it feel an eternity and in others it seems only yesterday since Plot 1 TF was done - which is where we left the story.
    So lots and lots has happened since then so this entry will cover 'lots of stuff' in one go. Our main aim is to get both shell buildings up and then get them wind and watertight as soon as possible. The heavy rain we had just after Plot 1 was finished showed that the MBC OSB roof is not in any way watertight as water poured in through the roof and down the stairs - so we tarpaulined this one and then it hasn't rained since - typical. Anyway a huge push to get to a point where we can (hopefully) draw breath in two watertight houses - hence LOTS OF STUFF (good, bad and ugly!)
     
    PLOT 2 Timber Frame
    So MBC finished Plot 1 and moved over to Plot 2 - another big crane day and the lower floor went up in one day and the joist went on the next and then the boys left us for a long weekend back to Ireland as we  fitted the UFH pipes. Having done it once already the UFH pipes went in just fine and this time we didn't have to cut all the metal plates so it was a bit easier. Then the MBC team came back and fitted the floor deck and the sole plate for the top floor and then the crane came back for the top floor walls and roof. The wind came up and so we had to have the crane back the next day to finish off as wind is not your friend when you have to lift big panels up and over a three story building! The boys cracked on and decided to work the Bank Holiday weekend and try to finish by the Sunday. We had already had some comments on the noise and weekend working and had talked to our BCO so we posted a polite notice to say because of CV19 guidance we were trying to reduce travel of our contractors so they would be working through. A couple of neighbours were supportive and sympathetic and one of them even invited the boys for a socially distanced beer after work. We had them stop work for 2 minutes at 11:00 on VE day so exactly at that point one of the neighbours switched on his pressure washer - you cant make this stuff up!. Everything pretty much went to plan and after a heroic effort the MBC crew finished on the Sunday evening as promised and both houses finished to shell level in under 5 weeks - and they look amazing. We did our best to look after the MBC crew as they were in local B&B without the Breakfast (or any food component) - its never ceases to amaze us how well simply treating contractors like human beings goes down. We guess that some of their clients must treat them badly - but why on earth would you want to? After MBC left we  had a call from Environmental Health and it seems that some noise complaints had been received - it seems that the latest Government edict on allowing longer working hours on construction to get the economy moving only apply to Planning and not Environmental Health so we were suitably humble and promised to be good in the face of some very vague guidance. Given that we have been working on site since August and these are  the first noise complaints its obviously not a serious problem, and as we are self building under loads of pressure we will continue to do DIY at weekends - though as quietly as possible. Yet again we find we really do have one or two vile neighbours.
     
    Roofing
    As we have a flat roof to keep the roof height at the same level as the original bungalow it has an EPDM (plastic / rubber single ply) membrane roof. This sits on a 24mm plywood deck on top of the MBC flat 12mm OSB roof and the MBC firring strips - which slope the roof slightly to get the water to run off. Sounds pretty simple but as with all these things its not so simple. First you need airflow in the gap between the two deck layers so there is no condensation to rot the timber - for this you need plastic soffit vents around the edge to stop the bugs and birds getting in so Joe and Chris fitted all these. Then you need to think how you get over 4 tonnes of plywood 9m up and onto the roof (plus all the rolls of membrane etc) and our roofers said they would do the roofing but not the lifting. Simple solution here was a tele-handler which is a huge forklift that makes short work of this kind of thing - just hire one - simple. But then you need a driver - again simple: one of Joe's colleagues Andy drives one all the time on musical festival sites and is qualified and was happy to come over to help out. So Andy and the roofers turned up and after a bit of delay the first pallet of ply was lifted onto the roof and they were away. Again a good crew who worked really hard and seem to be doing a great job. They have spent a week and plyed and membraned the main part of both roofs so we almost have a dry roof. It was really hot on the roof with no shade so ice-cream went down really well (and for us as we were up there working as well). They still need to do all the fiddly bits like rooflights and soil stack, plus all of the top of the oversail roof but the bulk is done. One wrinkle here is that the rear bay on Plot 2 has the same oversail detail and MBC couldn't fit this because the scaffolding is in the way, but we couldn't take down the scaffolding because we needed it for roofing the main roof on the floor above. So when the main roof is done we will have the scaffolders back to take down the back corner and then MBC will fit the roof and then the roofers will come back  and fit that section of membrane roof. Oh how it all gets really convoluted and complex really quickly. Finally to add to the simple / complex plan we had the roofers and the window fitters start on the same day - what could possibly go wrong!
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
    Windows
    The EcoHaus Internorm surveyor came out and lasered around and said that the rear bay window on Plot 1 was 30mm too low and the three windows wouldn't fit. Some checking and it was an MBC error that they happily agreed to fix and Brendan popped over and spent a morning cutting 30mm off the underside of the 3 sided glulam frame in situ and in mid air with a skill saw. We were apprehensive about the sort of job he would do but skill saw is an understatement when it comes to Brendan: two saw cuts one from each side that met perfectly in the middle - truly fantastic work. So one week after MBC had finished EcoHaus Internorm arrived to fit the windows (same day as the roofers - but the windows arrived first!). Their plan was to fit all of Plot 1 windows and then move to Plot 2 - but they were all over the place fitting windows at what seemed like random. We had some of the scaffold moved to make space for them and they seemed happy - and we said if they needed anything at all just to ask. So we were working around the back of the house when we heard an almighty crash and ran to see what had happened. They had asked Andy to lift a huge pallet of windows up above the garage level (about 2m) so they could load them through the window opening. During the unload one of the fitters stepped off the scaffold onto the pallet. The load slipped and the windows fell. Included in this fall was the  fitter who had stepped onto the pallet. Ongoing discussions with EcoHaus preclude us from saying much more about this except to say that mercifully the fitter was only bruised and a load of windows were damaged (no glass broken though) and will need replacing - it could have been much much worse. They carried on and then discovered than one of the huge panes of glass for Plot 1's rear slider was cracked in transit from Austria, and also that there were no bolts to fit Plot 2's Juliet balcony. Finally, and this is my fault; the front door for Plot 2 is handed wrong and will need a new frame. So they finished fitting what they could but we have three gaping holes awaiting replacements and a bunch of other stuff that needs rectifying. We have to say that the quality of the actual windows is fantastic, but the experience has not been good so far. Just to contrast this with another MBC issue: we discovered that the kitchen window on Plot 1 didn't fit and there was a 300mm gap above the head of the window (window surveyor didn't spot this one). Well after MBC had left site we discovered a 300mm panel that didn't seem to have a home! Quick call to MBC and yes this was the missing piece, they apologised and Mike came over the next day, apologised some more, fitted the panel and problem solved. If only all the people we deal with had the same attitude then it might all be simple!

    Rooflights, gutter, soffits and facia
    Since we have been on a cost cutting mission we have taken on much more of the 'doing' ourselves and keep trying to cut costs where we can. One of these is the guttering etc. the original plan was powder coated aluminium. However this would have been about 3x the cost of plastic, and given the really complex oversail roof detail this would have been really expensive to have fitted. So, and with some real reluctance, we have gone for plastic gutter and soffits and facia. We would be the first to admit it doesn't look as good and will not last as well as aluminium but it is 9m in the air and nobody will examine it in detail. Its likely we will compromise and fit metal gutter to the rear bay (when its finished) as this will be almost at eye height and will look much better. So a mad rush as the three of us have been busy fitting all this and trying to keep half a step in front of the roofers who need the gutter fitted before they can membrane the oversail roof. The reality is that the plastic looks really OK - though we are somewhat mystified by the physics of fitting a flat gutter all the way round the roof - anyone done this? We had to call a stop on Saturday as the wind was really strong and the plastic panels wanted to take off and it really wasn't safe. Also as part of the roofworks we  have 4 rooflights on the roof :- 3 fixed pyramid lanterns, 1 on Plot 1 over the stairs and 2 over stairs and landing on Plot 2, plus one flat sliding opening rooflight over the en-suite on Plot 2. The fixed lanterns were flat pack so we have just brought all the parts up onto the roof and built them in-situ ready for the roofers to flash the membrane roof around them. The sliding light was ready built and is really heavy and a 4-man lift so MBC helped unload it and store it and the roofers moved it to the tele-handler and we hoisted it up to the roof and they moved it to a point where its a really simple install. We have had to build the upstand / kerbs for all of these so they fit exactly into place - and we were able to test this with the empty frames. We have just placed the completed unit above the landing and it really looks great - the one above the stairs will look great but at the moment the hole is covered with ply as there is a 9m drop below it and we dont want to leave that open for obvious reasons!
     
    MVHR
    Joe decided he was going to fit his own MVHR system as its not too big and complex and he is desperate to save every penny as he doesn't imagine he will be back on live music lighting until next year so has no income and a lot of time. We have all worked on this install and its not too hard, but the sheer volume of ventilation pipework is mind boggling and routing it is a real challenge. Plot 2 is more complex and since we no longer have an M&E person will get CVC in to install and commission - though having done one we could probably do this one as well!
     
    As you can see a lot of stuff in the last few weeks - and a real mix of good, bad and ugly! And still not wind and watertight as planned, but certainly a lot drier!
     
    Next steps will be to sort the insulation (Plot 2 is really complex) and screed - which needs doing before MBC can test for air tightness and we can start first fix, and also to get the render done so we can get the scaffold down and finally see the houses for the scaffold. On the insulation and screed front we has planned on 150mm of PIR insulation and 100mm of screed, the thick screed to get some thermal mass and delay into the heating/cooling system. In the interests of cost reduction it looks like 100mm EPS + 90mm PIR + 60mm pumped screed will be much cheaper and have similar U value but lower thermal mass - any thoughts on this plan? Or even 200mm EPS + 50mm screed - which has slightly worse performance but lower cost?
     
    One nice moment last week was when we were up on the scaffold and a couple walked past, stopped, looked at the build and said 'wow that looks amazing!' . So nice to hear that others agree with us; it really is starting to look amazing!!!!
     
     
     

     




     
  2. Red Kite
    An auspicious crane day as a Red Kite flies in front of our crane as it is installing the Timber Frame for Plot 1 ?
     
    Its been a while as life has been really hectic and keeping up with things on site have meant little time for the blog. This one is exciting and the video shows the MBC Timber Frame for Plot 1 (our son Joe's house) from start to finish. We have cut this to be chronological and cut out the days MBC were not on site so the build looks continuous.
     
    The build sequence is that they fit the sole plate to our Beam and Block (apart from one manageable problem it fitted - big sigh of relief - whew!!)  and then unload all the materials for the ground floor and internal walls onto the site. Then they build the put up the big silver panels for the ground floor external walls and then crane in the internal walls and rest the joists onto the walls. This is pretty much the end of Day 1 and they can then send the crane away. Day 2 sees the joists set out and the internal walls for the ground floor put in and the Ground floor is pretty much complete.

    At this point we had them stop and allow time for the fitting of the Under Floor Heating for the first floor (a separate blog entry on this later - and yes there is a school of thought that says you really dont need it).   This UFH consists of plastic pipes that sit in/on aluminum plates between the joists and needs to be fitted before the floorboards go down. We had our M&E person lined up for this but he was unable to meet the long communicated and long committed dates for the installation of these and was suggesting approx 10 days delay which was unacceptable. For this, and quite a few other reasons we parted company with him, and though he owes us money (which we think may be hard to recover) it is in many ways a relief because we had lost confidence in his ability to deliver and complete the project. So plan B for the UFH :- we ordered the alu plates and pipe on next day delivery and the three of us amateurs fitted all the UFH in two days. There was a complication because even though all the MBC drawings showed single joists at 400mm centres, when the arrived on site they were double joists at 400mm centres. This makes for a better building but meant every single plate had to be ripped down the length so it would fit. Juliana did a great (but very noisy) job of this with the trusty bandsaw and the job was done reasonably painlessly (with the use of ear defenders) . A bit naughty of MBC to spring this on us but we managed, worse was that the exposed feature glulam beam that runs across the entire building was 'adjusted' with a sledge hammer and left a series of very ugly and visible dents - MBC will face with a thin glulam to cover the dents - but a bit of a blow!
     
    Next MBC came back with a new Irish crew who are much more careful and meticulous and they laid the floorboards and then the next day another crane and lorry with the second floor and the roof. Same again :- unload it all, put up the external walls, crane in the internal walls, then the roof joists on top and place all the materials where they are needed. At the end of a busy day the crane leaves and everything is ready for the subsequent internal walls and the roof joists and the roof deck. The roof is simple in that it is flat, but has a complicated oversail detail that took a long time to get done.

    So in total 8 working days and MBC had the entire shell of Plot 1 done - a testament to the hard work and long hours the MBC crews put in. It is so exciting to see so much progress in such a short time. Fantastic to see the form of the building we have lived with on paper for years finally take shape in front of our eyes. The split level design is so neat and clever - it makes great use of the sloped site and the circulation space is very efficient.
     
    One tricky thing was getting between the four split level floors - so we knocked together 3 flights of temporary stairs using material from the skip that make this a dream - as soon as MBC have finished the last of the internal walls we can fit a handrail and safety barrier which will make them much easier and safer!!!! But amazing what you can do with bits from the skip - think its called up-cycling. Oh and we made some temporary garage doors (complete with rainbow) to give us some storage - bit wet inside at the moment but when there is a dry house above that should be fine - one of the problems with waterproof concrete is that water doesn't drain away!)
     
    When we have time a separate blog on UFH and Plot 2
     
    The latest video is called  Plot 1 Timber Frame plus all the older ones can be found here :-
    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0

     


  3. Red Kite

    Beam and Block

    By Red Kite,

    Its been a few weeks since the last post but for us its not been a quiet time - we hear from friends who now watch daytime TV at a very leisurely pace - if only!!!! As we are at a point where we have a few days breathing space this is the first of several posts to catch up with ourselves.
     
    After the scaffold went up round the outside of the build in preparation for the timber frame the next step was to lay the concrete floors as a 'lid' to the basement and sub floor and a ceiling to the next floor up. This consists of long concrete pre-cast beams spaced out across the supporting lower levels and in filled with concrete blocks. This has been a bit fraught as the design is complex (as is everything in our design!) and we are on our second B&B supplier and have taken a 5 week hit to the schedule. Anyway it was on its way and you can see that the first steps were to load in lots of the infill block (hard to source in todays climate) and a temporary plastic scaffold or 'fall arrest' deck to give the guys a platform to work from and also to prevent them falling 3m onto the concrete slab. This is great stuff (if a little wobbly at times!) and you can see it being laid out as yellow plastic posts and black plastic deck. All was well until the fall deck contractors lorry demolished the front pier of the garage and brought down a load of blockwork. Luckily the steel garage lintel had not been fitted otherwise this would have been even more spectacular. So a bit of rework and it all looked OK for the steel and then the beams.
     
    These beams are really heavy - hence the crane, but progress is amazing and they laid the entire floor in a day. Again the gremlins struck and the crane went into 'limp mode' and would only move really slowly but they managed to finish the beams and lay most of the blocks. Next step is filling in all the odd sizes of blocks and then setting out and building the 'plinth' blockwork for the timber frame to sit on - both the internal and external timber frame walls come up from the B&B floor on a level plinth. Again things on our build are complex and on Plot 1 the plinth is 250mm high filled with 150mm of PIR insulation and 100mm of screed, while on Plot 2 its 150mm (50mm of insulation and 100mm screed) - the screed and insulation are fitted at a later stage so all the rooms will look taller than they will end up. If only life was simple all the timber frame would start at this 'plinth' level, however there are some MBC steels and glulams that come down below this to  bolt down to the reinforced concrete below and its been an endless and fraught process to make sure that this will all fit together seamlessly on the day - fingers crossed!
     
    Plus there are a thermal blocks under the doors and floor to ceiling windows. There are to give a thermal break and are very strange foamed glass (called Foamglass) block that are very light and take a huge load and are really expensive, plus there are three sizes of blocks and we have some of all of them!!!! The Architect wanted Foamglass all way round the outsides of both building and that would have been great - but we really couldn't afford them! So the next bit in the video after the beams is the brickies laying a load of blocks and then we can see where the internal walls will come, and how the room shapes start to look: on a bare floor they seem a bit small but that will likely change as the volumes are enclosed with walls.
     
    The last thing you see is the scaffolders back again and putting up the scaffold for the front and middle of Plot 1 - they had to work around the brickies but it all seemed to work. So for a timber frame house there is an alarming amount of concrete, steel and blockwork and an awful lot of insulation.
     
    So finally after a last minute rush and lots of issues that needed resolving we are ready for the big day tomorrow where MBC arrive on site and start erecting Plot 1 - what a journey but this is something we have been waiting to see for months and months. So exciting and we cant wait for them and another crane to arrive with a house on a lorry.
     
     
    The latest video is called Beam and Block plus all the older ones can be found here :-
    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0
    Our internet is a bit slow at the moment so it may take a few hours (or even days!) to sync up to Dropbox so if you dont see the  time lapse video pop back in a day or so - its quite fun to see something starting to take shape above ground.


  4. Red Kite

    Scaffold & Frogs

    By Red Kite,

    As per the last post - we live in interesting times and its not getting any easier! The only real upside is that the weather has improved finally. We had the scaffolders in last week and they have built round three sides to roof level and it looks HUGE as it surrounds both houses in one continuous run. It doesn't look it but it is in fact the houses will have the same  roof height as the old bungalow (fractionally lower in fact)  - we did suggest to the planners that since we have 2 and 3 story houses on either side we could come up to their ridge height with a pitched roof but they were insistent on keeping our roofs at old bungalow level - hence the flat roofs and the deep dig. We cant wait until we have the timber frames up to finally see how they look on the plot. If you look at one of the photos you can see on Plot 1 that the platform steps down which matches the split level heights of the front and back sections.
     
    The plan is to get the Beam and Block floor in next week with a crane and then have the scaffolders back to do the front of Plot 1 and the section between the two houses in preparation (hopefully) for MBC  Timber Frame the following week. It is still very tight and could easily go off track if one of the steps fails or goes off schedule, or if the guidelines change and non-essential construction is halted. But we have our fingers crossed and are ploughing ahead as fast as is possible and safe.. From the video you can see that the guys (no gals scaffolding on this one - sorry) seem to be maintaining social distancing and its a wide open site with few people and no enclosed spaces so it seems OK from that standpoint.
     
    We have managed to take delivery of a few key items for the preparation for MBC - our local builders merchant has been doing a great job but has decided to close as of Friday so little chance of getting anything else. This same picture seems true of the M&E (heating and ventilation) supply but Nick (from Wales) seems to have secured all we need for first fix. The thinking being that even if we get shut down then when we re-start we are all ready to move forward again as that re-start period will be total chaos as everyone tries to source materials at the same time. If you thought panic (or prudent) buying was restricted to toilet rolls .....We hear it from everyone - its a crazy world out there.
     
    On a lighter note we decided to pump out the foundation bays which had filled with rain water to about 6 inches (they dont drain as its waterproof concrete!). We dropped the pump in and were just starting to pump when we spotted a load of frog spawn. We stopped and jumped in to collect it in a bucket to take it to a more suitable location when we discovered two (common) frogs - presumably mummy frog and daddy frog. Amazingly they had survived in what was essentially a sterile concrete pond that was impossible for them to get out of. We managed to catch them in a clean bucket and repatriated them, with their spawn to a nearby field pond. Hopefully they are enjoying their new home as ours will be covered over with a beam and block floor and be dry and very inhospitable for frogs! As they say no newts is good newts!
     
    We have kind of lost the Week xx thread on the posts - so the latest is called Scaffold plus all the older ones can be found here :-
    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0
    Our internet is a bit slow at the moment so it may take a few hours (or even days!) to sync up to Dropbox so if you dont see the Scaffold time lapse video pop back in a day or so - its quite fun to see something starting to take shape above ground.
     



  5. Red Kite

    Interesting Times

    By Red Kite,

    We had always heard that self build was not only exciting but difficult and stressful, and it was living up to its reputation as we worked through all the issues of foundations and sub structure to get ready for the Timber Frame. There was a hiccup in the Beam and Block floor supply that pushed the schedule out a week but it was all looking good for B&B on the 27th March and MBC Timber Frame on the 6th April. This was a really tight  but achievable schedule, and the Internorm with windows on the 11th of May would have been great - heading to wind and watertight by end of May.
     
    Then the world went crazy!!!!!
     
    Right now we are pushing ahead, and have been amazed at how committed and flexible our suppliers have been, but who knows what will happen tomorrow - things change hour by hour. Today we have the scaffolders on site preparing for the TF, we have a somewhat tenuous commitment to deliver the B&B floor and crane onto site on 1st April (the irony of that particular date has not escaped us). our groundworks lined up to fit the blocks and prepare the plinth, and MBC on site on the 8th.  This all sounds possible - but it is so finely balanced and inter-dependant that one element in the critical path will bring the whole project to a standstill. And we get the feeling that this could happen at any minute. Guidance seems to allow work on site and as long as the folks are safe and able to maintain distance then we are happy to have them working. We are keeping our site visits down to a minimum but as self builders we believe that we are OK to follow the guidance for the construction industry and are able to travel to site - anyone out there been challenged on that?
     
    Our intent is still to try to get to a shell, but there is certainly an argument to pull back and sit it out - however we are in rented accommodation so that adds another element of pressure to the equation. Added to this is that most of our build budget is invested  and shrinking by the day so funds are tight to the point that we will need to get stuck in and do the unskilled labour to even get close to finishing.
     
    Internorm just pushed out the installation of our windows out by about 4 weeks, and subject to review, so if we get the TF up then it will sit without windows for ages - a situation we have been trying hard to avoid. We have a roofer 'pencilled in'  but who knows if he will be able to work, or if he can get the materials to site.
     
    So , this is not in any way belittling the major world wide disaster that is unfolding around us all - more to just to let you know that we are doing our bit to keep our project afloat and keep the very squeaky wheels of the construction industry turning. While there is some criticism of the construction industry continuing to work, our position is that, providing its safe to work, then if we dont pay the guys then they dont have money to feed their families. We are painfully aware as our Son lost 16 weeks work as a self employed lighting designer when they cancelled his David Gray WW tour as it hit production rehearsals and he lost all his income from that and the summer festival season.
     
    Hats off to anyone else who has been attempting the impossible over the last few weeks  - and commiserations to anyone who has put their project on hold  on these 'interesting times'.
     
    As we seem to have some more time on our hands we will get round to the time lapse video and keep our blog up to date

  6. Red Kite
    As you can see there has been some progress on site and things are looking good - not all plain sailing but as we keep telling ourselves - we are getting there. Blockwork walls are going in and we can finally get a real feel for the basement rooms and the layout. Lots of back and forth on waterproofing and insulation/ thermal break under the walls and real problems locating 100mm high Marmox blocks - these are specialist lightweight composite insulating blocks that help prevent thermal bridges and keep the house warm - we dont need many but there are few substitutes (Foamglass being the only one we found). These are made in Egypt and due to some big orders in early Jan there are none in stock in the country until mid Feb which is too late for us so we went for the 65mm thick which are not quite as good - but hopefully good enough. We will need some more for other areas later but for now these will do the job and keep the guys on site busy. The design is complex and in hindsight we should have made much more effort in simplifying the design (or persuading our professionals) much earlier on - our advice would be that if the design looks complex on paper then this is the time to question everything and try and remove the difficult or odd bits. For example we have multiple floor levels and a combination of 155 and 215 high concrete beams for the floor - if we had known how difficult this would make things we would have changed it beforehand.
     
    Its the small details like this that make life very hectic as we finalise the exact construction and are constantly running round trying to keep the guys on site busy. We also have some steel in the basement that an MBC steel frame bolts down onto and needs to be exactly right as concrete and steel have very little wiggle room, and in the process we uncovered an error that would have impacted all the way through the build - luckily caught in time. And as it needs to be in place before the blockwork can be completed its on the critical path. So now steelwork and Beam and Block are on order, as is a crane to fit them all - not sure exactly when but it will be another big day when we get the B&B floor in. The guys are doing really well, and despite the weather, are making good progress and are cheerful - amazing what difference giving them cookies, doughnuts and fruit make when its wet and miserable.
     
    One of those frustrating and ironic parts of the build is that you bemoan the lack of progress and everything seems to be in limbo for weeks, and then suddenly everything hits you at once. The MBC drawings are 95% done but not signed off, but we have construction starting on site on 30th March - so plenty of time to make sure the groundworks are ready and we  can sign off the drawings and get the frame into production. MBC estimate 2 weeks for Plot 1 and 3 weeks for Plot 2 - perfect. But then Internorm finally come back with some dates and they want to check the window and door apertures on site on March 31st, and start install on April 20th! Strangely there wont be any window apertures the day after MBC start, and they will still be on site on April 20th.  So now we will have to push back Internorm and juggle dates and work on site, but at least we will get the windows in pretty soon after the frame is finished which will be a great relief - we have all seen the TV programs where the windows take months to arrive - we seem to have the opposite problem! Good problem to have but .....
     
    On the video front see  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0  for the weekly videos
  7. Red Kite

    Week 14 & 15

    By Red Kite,

    Over the long Xmas (much needed) break we turned the e pump off for a few days and even though it was not raining the level went up about a foot - so back to pumping to keep the water at bay.
    When the guys came back it was dry so they cracked on with more black tanking, external sheathing  and backfill - which is what the video shows. They built a French drain around the outside which is a big black perforated pipe laid in gravel, covered with geotextile membrane which allow water through, but not the clay fines. Then lots of free flowing clean stone up towards the top of the wall. Finally we can get around the outside of the wall without walking in clay, and you begin to see where the ground level will come.
     
    Now the backfill is in place they can start to take out the sheet piles as the clay is held back by the walls and the backfill - surprisingly the clean stone doesn't seem to need compacting - but there is a lot of it! Removing the piles is more work than it was putting them in as the clay has stuck to them and even with the high frequency vibration hammer and the big digger its a slow process. They get really hot and steam as they come out - and I am told that they can friction weld to each other if you dont have lots of wet clay to cool them down. You can see just how tall they are with Ian stood next to one as it comes out.

           
    So on that front good progress - but in other areas less so - the bad news is that some of the concrete wall is too high by about 220mm. The contractors missed it, and so did we, that there is a step down in the back wall where the small house sits. We have been focused on a recovery plan as cutting the top off the wall is not an option!!!! Luckily its not as bad as it seems - after a very productive meeting with the Contractor, the SE and the Architect it seems as simple as building an additional blockwork wall inside the rear wall so the Beam and Block floor sits on this and luckily it at just the same height as the intended wall should have been. There is a lot of blockwork to do so a bit extra should be no big deal. In hindsight there should have been some really simple drawings of each RC wall - rather than the really complex drawings where its hard to spot!
     
    We have signed off the windows and are waiting for a delivery date - but it seems unlikely they will arrive too soon. Sadly we have still not signed off the Timber Frame for a number of reasons that come down to making absolutely sure that the interface between the concrete sub-structure and the Timber Frame will fit exactly. Its a really frustrating pain - but something that really does need to be right, and the above issue might have had a huge impact.
     
    So onwards and upwards - blockwork and beam and block next - and still lots of complex details that seem to need a huge amount of handholding.
  8. Red Kite
    Progress on site has been a bit slow so we have combined the last two weeks together, and also the guys packed up early on Friday for their long and well earned  Christmas break. Over the last two weeks you can see them taking down the last of the shuttering and getting it off site. So that is the end of the poured concrete for us which is a big milestone and you can now see the full extent of the basement / foundations. The next step was to put a fillet of mortar all around the outside of the kicker to get a smooth edge for the membrane, and then prime the outside of the concrete in black. Then they have started to put on the external tanking membrane which has been a real challenge in the wet and cold. At one point they resorted to putting the membrane in the digger cab and running the heater to get it flexible and warm. They managed to get the left hand side wall completed and the first job next year will be to put the French drain around that side and backfill with clean stone so they can get around to the back and continue the tanking. They then need to build the internal walls out of blockwork and then the beam and block floor ready for the Timber Frame. So given a really wet autumn progress is pretty good; the guys have worked really hard  and though it has taken longer than we thought, we are pretty happy. Now it all depends on the weather in January!
     
    The waterproofing guys inspected the concrete and declared it 'near perfect' so looking good for the warranty. Also the BCO and Structural Warranty folks all seem happy so that is comforting. They seem impressed, as we are, with the quality of the work and the attention to detail - which, given the weather, is a huge credit to the guys on site. And whatever the weather they are cheerful and work really hard. Are there any convention out there on how you treat your contractors? - we make sure to drop off cake or cookies to them about once a week, and even mince pies for Christmas!
     
    It also looks like we have finally got some drawings to sign off from the TF company so just waiting on our SE to agree and we can push the button to get it into production - so likely to see it in Feb. Similarly with the windows - we have a complete schedule that looks good and though it has taken ages the window supplier, the TF supplier and our Architect all see to be in agreement - fingers crossed they all fit!!!! And they are on 12 - 14 weeks lead time so likely in March!
     
    So wishing all of you following our build a Happy Christmas and we are looking forward to further progress and an exciting New Year!
     
    On the video front see  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0  for the weekly videos (Week 12 & Week 13 just added - but not too exciting).
     
    And as an extra special Christmas treat the entire 13 weeks of 2019 Groundworks videos are compacted down to a 3 minute video summary named  2019 (  https://www.dropbox.com/s/jbvjhdxn1dyrufm/2019.mp4?dl=0  ) Its much too quick to capture the detail but it give a really rapid view of the progress we have made this year - starting after the demolition in October. So still a way to go - but moving forward is so much better than having your soul ever so slowly destroyed by the Planning process!
     
    So From This

     
    To This

  9. Red Kite
    The weather was really cold this week but the guys cracked on and removed the shuttering from the first pour of the walls and moved it ready for the second pour. Luckily the weather warmed up and they were able to pour the final structural walls on Friday so this should be the last of the  waterproof concrete. As you can see where the shuttering has come off we are left with really neat concrete with just the shutter panel marks. The waterproofing guy inspected these and was really happy: in his words 'near perfect'! He will do a detailed inspection when all the shuttering is off and if there are any cracks (and he couldn't see any so far) they will get filled and sealed with some sort of waterproof compound. The next step will be to remove all the shuttering and then we will see the real space for the basement and houses . Its odd how sometimes the space seems huge and at other times it gets much smaller. Following the clean-up its external tanking/waterproofing and backfill and internal masonry walls. Also you can see the opening for the garage window which has been pre-cast, its the only opening we can actually measure before we order the windows which is a scary thought!
     
    Sadly the temperature really went down with one of our main suppliers this week. Firstly they missed some details in their quote and the (agreed price) contract,and came back with an extra price to fix this. This is really annoying since we pointed out several time at the quote stage that there was a really odd detail in the Architects plans and were they OK with it; we were assured that this was OK so we went forward on that basis, only now do we find that they missed the complexity and extra work it will take. They have had the drawings for this detail, which has never changed, for at least 6 months and we released final Architects drawing to them about 3 months ago - so its taken them a very long time to figure this out, though they do apologise and acknowledge its their cock up. From our point of view, and we are confident from a contractual standpoint, we are in the right and its their cost, obviously they have their view on it which is somewhat different. Eventually they did come down  30% but they refused to meet us half way. So what do you do at this point? They are adamant that without the extra payment they are not prepared to do the work. We could take it to arbitration and we are reasonably confident we would win, or at least end up at the 50/50 point we were reluctantly prepared to go to. However if were to go down that route then its pretty certain they would stop work and we would be facing a huge delay, and certainly it would be very difficult to work with them going forward. To some extent we can see their point of view - its extra work and materials they hadn't costed and it does need to be done. Annoyingly though, if we had know about this when we were negotiating  Non Material Amendments with Planning we might have been able to design it out and go to their zero cost standard detail - but going back to Planning at this stage is not really an option (or one fraught with risk and delay, and a huge history!).
     
    We had not quite decided what to do, but seemed to be between a rock and a hard place when they came back with some more elements they had missed and wanted to reduce window sizes, add more steel, take out the Pocket Doors  and charge us more money.  At this point I have to say I lost it a bit and voiced my dissatisfaction! Things have improved a bit and they looked at the design with some more care and it seems they can solve most of the problems and all we need to do is compromise some room sizes to accommodate them. If this had happened when they first got the drawings, or when we gave them 'final' Architect drawings we would have been much happier, but really this is very late in the day to uncover issues like this. The really worrying bit is what else is there that they have not found yet!
     
    So with the relationship temperature still below freezing  we seem to have little choice but to carry on - but we are still really unhappy and as its a major reputable supplier it make our position really difficult.  Perhaps we are being unreasonable, or naive, in our expectations, but its probably a lesson learnt - regardless of the contract when you reach a certain point going back becomes an almost impossible option and your supplier has you in a corner (to put it politely!).
     
     
     
    See https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0  for the weekly videos.
  10. Red Kite
    As you can see in the video this week they built up the shuttering in layers; first the outside, then the steel in the middle of the sandwich and finally the internal shutter.

     
     
     
    Also along the bottom they cleaned out the kicker and laid in a waterbar / waterstop (that brown bar in one of the photos) in a pre-formed channel, this forms a seal and prevents any water coming through the joint between the walls and the floor.

     
     
    They bolt the two halves of the shuttering together with steel threaded bars inside a foam sleeve so that they can get the right thickness and hold the shuttering against the weight of wet concrete. The steel bars come out when they strike the shuttering and they waterproof the holes.
     
    As you can see they didn't pour all the walls in one go but built alternating sections and will do the infill next, I think this is partly down to cost  of shuttering hire, and partly down to the sheer weight of concrete. The steel shuttering is really solid and well braced so there is no risk of collapse or burst and wet concrete spilling out everywhere like you sometimes see on GD's.
     

     
    It was a bit of a wet week but they pushed on because the waterproof concrete and pump was booked for Friday, and they had extra manpower on site as my contractors brought in a couple of guys from the shuttering hire company who really do know how to put up shuttering fast! Sometimes it pays to get in the experts who do just one job really well. I had an interesting discussion that groundworks like this is often seen as a pure manual labour job rather than a skilled trade like sparks, brickies or chippies. In fact, at the level our guys work at, it is really a highly skilled trade and they are working to really fine detail and tolerance, plus you only ever get one shot at poured concrete! We have nothing but admiration for them - they are doing an amazing job in some pretty dreadful weather.
     
    Next week they will take down the shuttering so we can really see the exact size and scale of the walls which will be great. Then they will rebuild the shuttering to make the remaining retaining walls and expect to pour these in about 10 days and this will be the last of the poured waterproof concrete - it will be great to get that done before it gets really cold as the waterproof needs at least 2 deg.
     
    Progress on the other elements is crawling along; MBC seem to be taking an age to produce drawings, and Internorm should have the survey complete next week (so about 4 weeks) and are now saying 12 - 15 weeks for delivery - so March-ish. We could say that delays getting MBC drawings make this easier - MBC have not given an estimate of when we will have a frame on site but I am expecting its now into February-ish. And this will give the groundworkers plenty of time to complete the substructure if the weather turns really bad. After 5 years of delays with PP you tend to get a bit blasé about the odd few weeks and we have never had a rigid timescale but it is a bit frustrating how long some of these things take, and how little control you have! Almost certainly their relaxed attitude to timescales will not extend to payment terms!
     
     
    See https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0  for the weekly videos. The weather for the pour of the walls was dry and sunny,  but very high humidity give it that ghostly misty look - will try to get the next pour a bit clearer - I think the presence of a concrete pump upsets the camera somehow!
  11. Red Kite

    Week 9 - The Big Pour

    By Red Kite,

    Actually it didn't pour and it was really great weather on Monday for the main slab pour which was a real help for the guys. They poured the 300mm thick slab - all 79m3 of it - all in one go, so it was a long day and the kicker took a lot of time as it was levelled with a trowel. It caused a few traffic problems when the first lorry was a long 8 wheeler and blocked the road, but after that 6 wheelers meant that cars could get past. As it is waterproof concrete and is covered by a 20 year warranty the waterproof guys had one person in the concrete plant mixing in the chemicals (dont ask - certainly not green in any way), and a second person on site monitoring the pour and checking it went in OK. As it turned out - perfect! Our contractors on site worked really hard and kept up with the deliveries and apart from not getting a break until 2:00pm (we brought them well deserved doughnuts!)  it was all done and tamped down by about 4:00pm.
     
    They were able to walk on it the next morning and then proceeded to remove all the shuttering and timber formwork and started to build the shuttering for the walls that will get filled with yet more steel and more concrete. We can really start to see it taking shape and get a sense of the height of the walls. Also there is a really good solid base to work from and with the pump running the water is much more manageable. In the picture where they are pouring the last of the concrete you can see all the water that was on the membrane floats and gets pushed to the last corner where they have to bail it out so the concrete doesn't get too wet. The upside of doing a pour like this is, oddly enough, the cold and wet; doing it in the summer heat and dry means the concrete can go off really quickly and be  difficult to work quickly enough. There was some mud on the road as a result but in comparison with the local farmer cutting his maize its nothing - the rest of the road by his fields is a real mess, and I dont think he has any intention of clearing it up like we will.
     
    So just some pics this time as the camera batteries had a funny five minutes and we failed to catch the epic pour on video - we joked that we might ask them to do it again - they said if we paid for more concrete - so photos it is!
     
     






  12. Red Kite

    Week 8

    By Red Kite,

    Week 8 was a short week on site as they finished all the prep for the slab pour on Thursday and went off to another job - or to hide from the weather. The big pour for the main slab is all set for Monday and because of the quantity of concrete and the waterproofing they booked it a week in advance. The slab gets poured in one go so its going to be a busy and exciting day!
     
    If you look (sorry the video is not very exciting this week) you can see them tying in the last of the L-bar / starter bar steel and then building the wooden formwork for the 'kicker': the small upstand that forms the first part of the walls. Its a pretty skilled job as getting this wrong will mean the walls are all out of alignment - but they seem to have done a very neat job. The early part of the week was good and we actually had some sunshine, but Thursday morning it snowed - not much but it was vile. Luckily there was only a little left to be done so they packed up early. Happily the forecast for Monday looks dry and the site is also pretty dry now we have the pump running 24/7.
     
    Our BCO came out and was really impressed by the quality of the job, and also impressed by the quantity of steel! He has signed it off and is happy, and even though he doesn't need to may come over on Monday with his graduates to see some of the pour. We also had our LABC surveyor out and he was equally happy, which is great because the window for changing anything in the slab has passed and this is the last we will ever see of this pile of steel.
     
    We did wonder about a 'time capsule' in the slab but couldn't think of any great ideas on what to put in there. We could easily put one in the walls so if there are any bright suggestions then let us know.
     
     
    See https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0  for the weekly videos
  13. Red Kite

    Week 7 - It's a steel!

    By Red Kite,

    The video shows the black plastic membrane going down this week, followed by an enormous quantity of steel. What you dont see is that with all the rain the pump has been running continuously to try and keep the rainwater at bay - getting lots of water on the slab at this point is a bad thing as the membrane floats up which is a 'bad thing', its a bit better now because of the tons of steel on it!
     
    The black membrane goes down in three layer - first the sealed flexible which is heat sealed and goes up over the shuttering and is sealed around the pipes. Then a rigid layer in sheets on top to protect it, and then another flexible plastic layer. The aim here is that the whole slab is waterproof and no water comes up through it. We will also have additives in the concrete itself which makes it 'waterproof concrete',  and talking to the guys  this pretty much makes the membrane redundant - but B Regs requires two 'just in case' methods of waterproofing.
     
    Then in goes a ridiculous quantity of steel mesh (rusty brown in the video) in two layers standing off the slab on blocks of concrete referred to as 'Mars bars' and separated by 'chairs' (if I have the terminology right). Its a really good question why there is so much steel? We think we could build a skyscraper off the slab and it seems overkill for a lightweight timber frame house. However the Structural Engineer designed it and since he is a Professional (with a capital P) it seems he can add contingency and safety and 'just in case' (same as the waterproofing) as he sees fit and we get no choice at all. Its all backed up with pages of abstruse calculations on the bending strength of steel and concrete - the joke about SE's is that 'they have their moments'! The only comfort is that it should withstand any earthquakes we might get in Wiltshire ,and its all backed up by his Indemnity Insurance so, apart from the cost. its all wonderful. Also interestingly the contractors said that 10 - 15 years ago slabs like this only has a tiny amount of 'anti crack' steel mesh that worked just fine, so it seems that those earthquakes must be getting more common (or more likely SE's more cautious). Though in an age of trying to be Eco and 'save the planet' you might have thought there would be a move to design to 'good enough' and not to seemingly overdo the huge amounts of steel and concrete (really not a green material - especially with waterproof chemicals) used in construction. But having just watched 'The Accident' (a C4 drama where a building collapses and kills lots of kids and  they are all questioning the construction methodology and start apportioning blame) on catch-up then perhaps they have a point.
     
    After the mesh has gone down they started on the L Bars that tie into the slab mesh and stand up into the vertical walls so they hold back the ground around them.  They should finish these and the 'Kicker' next week. The Kicker is a small upstand around the outside of  the slab that gets poured at the same time as the slab and then the walls are shuttered up from this. They estimate that the slab will get poured next Monday - and they plan to pour it in a single exciting day!!!
     
    The other progress is that the Planning Officer signed off our Planning Conditions. This was after a bit of to and fro on the materials - we showed her samples of the render (cream K-Rend silicon), roof membrane (slate grey IKO) and the grey cladding panels. Seems like she didn't quite understand these - they are Rockpanel which is made from Basalt stone (pretty Eco) and finished in a textured grey - apart from the snazzy finish it looks a bit like render board.  After a couple of rounds we got there, and now we can technically start the house construction. Up to now all we have been doing is 'foundations' to keep within the letter of the conditions which preclude 'house construction' until the Planners have approved the drainage, materials and landscaping! Luckily we had no 'pre-commencement' conditions so could get on with work while the Planners faffed around!
     
    See https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0  for the weekly videos
     
     
  14. Red Kite
    The video for Week 6 doesn't have Thursday and Friday as the camera played up (I blame Halloween) but good progress. this week.  You can see them laying in the service ducts and drainage pipes and then laying a thin 'blinding layer' of concrete = our first pour. They then went on to put shuttering up around the edge ready to fit the waterproof membrane and then the steel on top. By Saturday (see photo) the rain had filled it up quite a bit and the black shuttering you can see round the edge keeps it in a treat (or is that Trick or Treat?). The problem comes is that if this happens after the membrane goes down and before its weighted down with the steel then the membrane floats up. Lets hope its dry (ish) next week. And see below we can now officially pump it out on Monday.
     
     

     
    This week (I am sure it is related to Halloween) our worst nightmare came back to haunt us - Planning !!!! Having spent 5 years fighting Planning we thought we were home and (relatively) dry, but no; Planning raised its ugly head yet again. Six weeks ago we put in and paid for Planning Conditions to be removed, and on the day the decision was due we contacted the latest Planning Officer (we are on our 7th so far) who had 'forgotten' about it, was most apologetic and asked for a 3 week extension. We needed three conditions removed: Materials, Landscaping and Drainage, so it was passed it to the Wilts Drainage Engineer who promptly came back and queried the design they had agreed 18 months ago! He wanted cctv surveys, hydraulic modelling and a repair schedule for the Highways drain so he could agree to let us discharge some of the surface water into it (i.e. a really drawn out and very costly agreement). However they had agreed to this as part of the Planning Application and were really difficult about it then! So we duly pointed all this out and offered to work with them and suggested that rather than granting an extension we would hold off on our third Appeal unless that became necessary. We were delighted when they decided to remove their objection! Now all we need is to get the materials agreed, and as she requested an elevation of a post and rail fence (WHY???) , the Architect has drawn a beautifully detailed picture. Hopefully she will agree the landscaping and materials  we should be condition free!
     
    We had a visit from the Structural Warranty surveyor who, unlike the BCO, came across as really negative and slagged off our basement and contractors when in fact they have already declined to insure the basement anyway. We debated if were going to pay for Structural Warranty as there is much discussion that its often not worth the paper its written on - but in the interests of future resale and the Council of Mortgage Lenders we bit the bullet. However if the first visit is anything to go by its less than inspiring.
     
    So first concrete is in and we are probably a couple of weeks away from the main slab - which is the bit that the BCO and LABC want to see almost as much as we do.
     
    See https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0  for the weekly videos
  15. Red Kite
    The last of the big muck away at the start of the week and then laying the base stone layer means that we are pretty clean on site and the mud is hardly an issue. The surveyor came and marked out accurately and the Architect produced the detailed layout for the services - electric, telecom, water and soil stacks and you can see these being laid in towards the end of the week. They will come up through the slab and so need to be pretty accurate. Pretty soon we will be ready for the steel and shuttering for the slab and some serious concrete. It is amazing to see how fast this moves forward and how big and deep the base is when you get to stand in it and look up. Also exciting to start to see the layout of the two houses being defined by the services that map onto the floor plans we have held in our imagination for such a long time.
     
    An interesting development this week was the concrete filled trench you can see being dug an then filled back in with our first concrete pour. The SE originally wanted this 1m deep below the slab, but the BCO was not even sure why you need anything under a 300mm steel reinforced slab (and the G/Ws have never seen it needed before). The SE wants it to protect the front of the slab from frost damage and expansion and contraction in the area where it comes out at ground level and is not insulated underneath. Some negotiation resolved this to 300mm of concrete under the front of the slab as 'sufficient',  and then the ground workers said it would be a real pain laying the drainage pipes through the concrete so we have a deeper section where the pipes go that will be filled in with dense concrete blocks around the pipes, and then have the slab poured on top. A bit more complex but it saves a bit of digging and concrete so everyone is happy.
     
    We seem to end up steering these type of these things between the G/Ws, the SE, the Architect and the BCO, but rather than being a nuisance it is really interesting to see how this all comes together, and we would much rather this than the G/Ws blindly following the plans. Pete (the Gaffer on site) often says, "Chris come and look at this - I am not sure this is the best way to do this" and we really do listen because he has done this at the sharp end for years, the voice of experience!
     
    Also there are a load of other things to figure out in term of suppliers and lead time - like front door, lightwells etc - when you have 12+ week leadtimes these decisions get critical pretty rapidly and staying on top of it keeps us both pretty busy!
     
     
    See https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0 for the week by week video diary - Week 5 ?
  16. Red Kite
    Digging is progressing well despite the rain - they had to pump out a bit as we had that swimming pool we wanted! They had no muck away on Monday so only 4 days and the bulk of the big dig is complete and you can start to see the scale of the project. They have done the rough dig and are now levelling out the bottom and starting to place a layer of stone that will then be concreted over to form the slab. The hole is actually bigger than the basement by about 1m all round so they have room to work so it will get smaller! You can see that they are laying a gravel filled French drain all round the back to collect the water that runs out of the clay in the thin layers of sand, but given the rain we have had the water is not at all bad. We have to say the contractors are absolutely brilliant - very pleased so far, but for them this is a relatively small hole - hate to think what a big one looks like!
     
    Now the big dig is done we can heave a sigh of relief because there were no 'nasties' underground to cause us unforeseen problems - one of the advantages of such a huge excavation - so we are technically 'out of the ground' (it might not look like that though) and past that big landmark moment. Its taken a lot to get to this point - its really good to know we are moving forward and been a long uphill struggle to this point - now we should coast downhill all the way!!!
     
    The Building Control Officer came out this week and brought a couple of his graduates (who like the BC Officer really loved the project which is really encouraging) as they dont get to see this kind of construction often (or ever before if I understood right!), probably because not many people are as insane as we are! He was really happy with the soil conditions and the works so we can proceed with the slab and he will be back when the steel is in and we are ready for the first pour. He is really helpful and supportive and a complete contrast to Planning (the less said here the better), we get the feeling his goal is the same as ours - a really great building. We had some discussion about a window from the garage/ workshop into the pool room - it needs to be fireproof as its between a garage and habitable space, and its also through the thermal envelope so it needs to be thermally efficient. Now these two requirements (FR 60 and PH) clash and we have struggled to find anything that does both (at any price). We batted about some options and he made some good suggestions to mitigate the problem. But in fact I think we will follow the Architect who said - its only a workshop and you can buy an awful lot of lights for the cost of a very special window! So artificial light in the workshop will be fine.
     
    We have also finalised the windows because a 12 week leadtime means they need to be in production in time for the TF. After much research / quotes and head scratching we selected Internorm for two main reasons - firstly they do a really neat integrated Juliet balcony that was proving very tricky for the SE and Architect and was going to be really expensive to do any other way (though the Internorm solution is expensive its really simple). Also we were going for wood/aluminium on both houses, but they do a PVC/aluminium range that is 15-20% cheaper, has the same external appearance and performance and looks really pretty neat on the inside in dark grey (not at all like your typical uPVC windows). So Plot 1 will go that way and this brings the cost down. The only concern is the quality of the fitting (we are assured that they now have this under control) - the quality of the windows  is amazing. We just need to bottom out on front doors - any suggestions as the Internorm option was pricey.
     
    Also signed Nick (from Wales) up for M&E - looking forward to that and he does seem to be one of the few people who knows exactly how to integrate all the bits and pieces that come with PH levels of design.
     
    So that's it for another exciting week - hope you liked the videos atmospheric look as the digger appears out of the mist/rain at the beginning of the day - we worked so hard to achieve that effect. Seriously does anyone have any suggestions on how to solve the problem of overnight condensation on the camera?
     
    See https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0 for the week by week video diary
     
    P.S. seem to have solved the battery problem for the TL camera by using Energiser Ultimate Lithium AA's - at least they do more than Duracell - appreciate the suggestion on external battery pack and will go for that if the Energisers dont prove to last long enough.
  17. Red Kite
    Well lots is happening on site:- we started with demolition and asbestos removal which was a super easy and quick, services were a nightmare (especially the electricity supply), and finally we have drainage signed off and planning conditions and building regs submitted etc. Finally ready to go!!!!!
     
    So three weeks ago our groundworkers started on site, and  It is an ongoing epic against a backdrop of rain and a sea of wet clay and the proportions are epic! The foundations for the two houses are combined and built off a common RC (Reinforced Concrete) slab and  behind a common U shaped RC  wall - all cut into the slope. That, plus a new driveway and some interesting levels and drainage means a monster digout. There is over 600m3,  to be dug out, and if that doesn't mean much to you watch the videos and you will begin to appreciate that kind of volume of wet clay looks like. For the technical - not sure if the 600m3 is ‘in the ground’ or ‘as dug’ (clay bulks up when you dig it) but either way its pretty huge!
     
    So rather than use lots of words we thought Time Lapse Video might tell the tale better - watch the week by week video instalments as the project progresses. Ask questions and we will try and clarify but there is a lot going on - blink and you might miss it. So see  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/th9f6e3cel5dm1q/AAAfsWdAH184J75bCNUUtzVra?dl=0
    for the gory details! We will attempt to add new weekly instalments over each weekend so look back periodically to see progress (unless we forget; in which case it’s only a temporary time lapse).
     
    Some notes on progress to date:-
     
    Week 1 – This opens with a clear site post demolition and is taken from the rear of the site, The two houses will sit to the left and right of the site and the one of the right (Plot 1) will be split level into the site and the one on the left (Plot 2) will have a full basement - in ground to the rear and out of the ground at the front. The video shows site prep, making the new entrance at the front that will be our new drive and is really neat for loading muck away lorries (try to count them!) and bringing in materials (later a lot of concrete, steel, timber frame etc). Also over on the far side you can see a new manhole being constructed. In the foreground you can see the stormwater attenuation crates going in and being backfilled.
     
    Week 2 – shows more drainage going in over on the far side and some muck away. Also some sheet piling went in but the camera failed to catch it. Over on the far side of the site is a shared driveway and we wanted to make sure this didn’t fall into the hole and that our neighbours had good access. Also, and most important, our contractors need a safe place to work and not have several meters of wet clay fall on them!
     
    Week 3 –this is where the real fun ‘big dig’ starts and you begin to get a feel for the scope of the project. You can see some more sheet piling going in to stabilise the edge and corner which was a bit unstable. Progress over the week is a finely balanced mixture of digging and muck away – getting enough out of the ground to keep the lorries loaded and flowing, while maintaining enough room for the digger to work. You can start to see the U-shape of where the RC wall will go as they cut out both sides around the site of the two new houses. The contractors are doing a great job and hardly seem fazed by the weather – though they have needed to pump out a bit from time to time!
     
    Technical note - using a Brinno BCC 200 Pro camera and experimenting with fps and time delay and timer variables so hopefully it will get better! At the moment the camera seems to chew batteries but hopefully this is now solved - Week 2 was truncated because the batteries died in under a week ?
     
    Enjoy and watch this space
     
  18. Red Kite

    Demolition

    By Red Kite,

    Demolition and Asbestos


     
    Very early on we had an asbestos survey done (which makes a real mess if you live in the house) and there were some nasties in the garage ceiling that were H&SE notifiable (i.e. not DIY!!!) and some rain goods that were pretty benign. So we decided to get one contractor to do both asbestos removal and demolition.


     
    Having the services disconnected first we then started and luckily we had a fantastic contractor: recycled 90% of the building, soft stripped and source separated on site, was neat, tidy and safety conscious and did a quick job. So quick in fact that we almost missed the final ‘push over’ and arrived on site just in time to see the final gable go over.


     
    We were fretting about site clearance and the jungle of a garden – amazing what a big digger can do! We arrived at 9:00 on the first day to find most of the vegetation stripped to ground level and loaded into a truck – perfect! Notice where the solar panels were – removed and carefully stored to go back on the new build .


     


     

     
    Having bought the bungalow with the intention of rebuild there were no regrets to see it as a pile of rubble – just relief that finally we were going ahead with no return path – a wonderful feeling.


     
    Having removed the bungalow the site looked huge – but the reality is that when it comes to building it is really tight with little room to manoeuvre.  



  19. Red Kite

    Gremlins

    By Red Kite,

    Trying to be good and catch up on long overdue Blog update and the gremlins hit. A small problem with my latest Blog Post: Services - seems like it posted the same content 5 times! No idea why, or how to remove the duplicate posts. Any help here welcomed! No need to read it 5 time!
  20. Red Kite

    Services

    By Red Kite,

    Services


     
    As the existing bungalow already had services (phone, electricity, gas, water, main drainage) we expected that it should be easy to sort out the services for the new build. Well some were harder than others!


     
    Gas – to demolish we needed to first have the gas meter removed which was really easy. Then we needed the gas disconnected – it wasn’t too tricky but they were not too sure where it was on the verge. They looked carefully at the tarmac patches in the road and decided which one looked like theirs! And dug up the verge – bingo got it first time, and just to check they clamped the pipe and turned on the gas by the (non-existent) meter and nothing came out – really scientific that one. We are debating if we reconnect either of the new houses as we don’t expect to use much energy and the reconnection charge and standing charge, plus new boilers and periodic servicing make it hard to get a payback.


     
    Water – disconnection was simple: our demolition contractor dug down near the meter and pulled out the pipe, cut it and fitted a tap – job done! And a temporary supply into the bargain. Adding a new supply for the extra house looks reasonably painless (apart from the complex forms) and we will get both houses onto  32mm feeds. Fingers crossed.


     
    Phone – well we just cancelled the service and disconnected the overhead back to the pole – probably not squeaky clean but it worked. We have tried to register the site with BT but for some reason they don’t seem to respond. More effort is required on our side, and probably large amounts of money. We will see, but for now we don’t need phone or broadband on site.


     
    Electricity - We have an overhead supply that went to the bungalow gable so before we could demolish it had to go, and based on horror stories we decided to start early. In January we had a surveyor who said we could put up a temporary pole in the back garden and they would run the existing cable to it and down to a temporary meter cabinet. As long as we kept the existing cable length it was going to be simple! We had the quote and after we moved out of the bungalow we (foolishly) asked what sort of pole we needed to install prior to them moving the cable – this was met with ‘you cant do that – we have to install the pole’. So new surveyor and lots of head scratching and working out the best option for the final layout of the two houses they decided they would install a new pole for us (cue an extra £1000) and we duly paid the bill and thought it would be simple! Well after 4 attempts ( a long and boring story) the great pole day arrived and so did 5 vans and lots of electricity men. Lots of tea later they still hadn’t got the JCB and auger. Finally he arrives having driven 20 miles (the previous day he drove at 22mph 105 miles each way to a job so this was local for him). Then a few more calls and the pole arrived – so it was looking good (now seven vehicles on site!). Auger in place and poised to start they suddenly decided they needed a ‘services plan’, and because they didn’t have one they would all have to go away and come back another day! They called their boss and asked him to come out and supervise the job as they had an irate customer, to which he said “I’d rather not”. We were not irate but if throwing the toys out of the pram was what was needed then we would start screaming loudly. Well luck prevailed and no toys were thrown because the previous crew in the last failed attempt did have a ‘services plan’ (though not the right digger) so it was duly emailed and paperwork was dealt with and drilling commenced. From then on work was smooth and efficient and skilful, hole dug, pole in, old cable disconnected, new cable run down the new pole. They had some trainee linespersons who did the cable work and they were great. They even put my post in their hole and then screwed my cabinet to this and ran the cable in and terminated it to their fuse. Next step was a different crew to come and move the meter on another day. This was pretty smooth and they changed the meter to a digital but dumb meter which fitted better in the box than the old clockwork one. Finally our electrician came and put in the meter tails and we had temporary power on site, and a permanent pole for ever more – phew!!! Well actually not over yet because helpful folks on the forum advised on the vat side and it is impossible to claim this back so we are trying to get them to re-issue the invoice without the vat and give is a vat refund directly. They say this is in process but it may yet take a toy throwing session to achieve it! And we also need to switch to a low standing charge tariff for the duration of the build and prepare for the fun of getting two permanent supplies in place – we cant wait!!!!   


     
    Main Drainage – this has been a real problem with the site – a main 150mm shared sewer runs down one side of the plot and then diagonally across it. We have had to design the entire layout around this and give a 6m exclusion zone around the route. The alternative is to re-route it and as its pretty deep our pockets would also need to be. So we will leave it where it is and add a new manhole and life should be easy – again fingers crossed. Our SE advised us to have a cctv survey of the existing sewer so we have evidence of the existing state and can’t be blamed for any pre-existing damage.


     
    In conclusion, as everyone says, services are a costly, lengthy and bureaucratic nightmare. Having an already serviced plot should make it easy, but I pity anyone with a Greenfield site as ours was a, still ongoing, nightmare. Advice is plan early and expect it to take ages and cost lots and you wont be far wrong

  21. Red Kite

    The Design

    By Red Kite,

    Well lets say it has evolved and been shaped by the titanic forces of nature and the planning process. Its not quite what we initially wanted and has been compromised and compromised over its various iterations and has sadly lost some of our ‘must have’ features. But it is kinda cute, and we do really like it!


     
    The site is about 1/3rd of an acre slopping up from the road and has a shared driveway to our neighbours at the rear. In the middle of the plot is a 3 bed 1960’s bungalow which has seen better days – habitable but not great (and don’t mention the asbestos). The site may look big and easy but it is actually quite constrained – with a shared driveway down one side and a shared sewer running across the plot. Together with the slope and trying to keep the ridge height down to appease the Planners (even though the houses on either side are all 2 or 3 story) it is a tricky site.

     
    We wanted lots of light and a feeling of space and openness – so that cliché of lots of glass and open plan. We also wanted an Endless Pool and garaging for a collection of RX7 sports cars. We also wanted a crisp contemporary exterior and don’t like wood cladding much. We also wanted low energy – but not hung up on achieving Passive Haus per-se. Oh and it has to be low maintenance and a lifetime house.
    We initially used a designer who was really great and had an amazing ability to use space in a really efficient way. However for the final design shown here we used a real Architect (with a capital A). There are those who would argue its an unnecessary expense but firstly he came up with a very creative design in a very constrained environment. And secondly the quality of his work probably helped with Planning. We get on very well and he is doing a fab (but not cheap) job.

     
    As we are downsizing we would actually like a smaller garden than 1/3rd acre, so that and the economics, has led us to two houses on the site. We have had a few different arrangements of this over time but have come to two side by side. They are different sizes and layouts but they distinctly read as a pair. Height dictates a flat roof – much hated by our neighbours – and supported by the Officer.

     




     
    Our house is bigger and is cut into the slope with the front out of the ground and the back completely in. It has the entrance hall, garaging, plant and an Endless Pool in the partial basement. The 1st floor is mainly open plan dining, kitchen, living areas, with the Sitting Room opening out to the rear garden at the back. Top floor is 4 beds and bathrooms and is topped by a flat roof. The eagle eyed among you may have spotted the Lift - not needed at the moment but designed in and will be fitted if and when we have the cash. It seemed like a good idea with a 3 story house and us not getting any younger!


     



     

    The other house is smaller and split level. Again cut into the slope but only by half a floor. So entrance hall and kitchen dinning hall are level with the front garden and parking area. Up half a floor to the rear living which opens out onto the rear garden. Then up another half floor to the front two bedrooms at the front, and then up half a floor again to the rear master bedroom. All topped by a similar, but split, flat roof. It is just so neat we almost wish it was ours!




     

    The overall design responds well to the site and makes the most of it, and the Architect has done his best to make the front façade broken and not monolithic, but simple (and cheap) it aint! It will be mainly off-white silicon type render with some Rockpanel grey cladding panels and grey windows and EPDM roofing – so sharp and contemporary but not the classic white sugar cube. You may be reading this and thinking its not what I would have gone for and its not my taste - our neighbours probably thought the same. Our answer is that if you feel strongly then go find your own land and build exactly what you want - just put your money where your mouth is (and keep it shut unless you do). Though in the true spirit of BuildHub constructive criticism is always welcome!

    We have spent a lot of time refining the design and hopefully we make the most of the space but as we all know its always a compromise!
    So having got this through and arrived at something we really want to build its now time to start - more  to come in future posts.


     

  22. Red Kite

    The Back Story

    By Red Kite,

    A very very long and difficult history to our self-build that we will compact into as short a space as possible to save readers much of the grief we have been through.


     
    We have always lived in (and renovated) old, cold, draughty and character-full houses, and our last house (a Victorian vicarage) had lots of glass and double aspect rooms and was full of light. We wanted to downsize but couldn’t find anything with similar light and space, and some of the new build ones we looked at were really poor quality. So we decided to self-build and started to look for land – and as some of you already know it’s not an easy task. Then we came across a tired 60’s bungalow on a 1/3rd acre plot about 2 miles from where we were living – perfect location. All the other bungalows on our side of the street had been developed to reasonably dense new build developments with a real mix of styles and sizes, and outside the conservation area – perfect for knock down and rebuild. Piece of cake we thought – how hard could it be to get Planning (little did we know!!!! and if only we had known then what we know now ....). So after a small round of bidding, that was won; not on the highest bid, but with our throw away line ‘offer not subject to anything’. We won the day, we were the proud owners of a somewhat tired bungalow, and then the fun started!


     
    First problem was selling the Victorian vicarage in a downturning market which took about 3 years. So finally sold, and knowing how much cash we had, we moved in and started on the long winding road to PP and self-build nirvana. We started with the German kit houses – fantastic quality and build process, and after a few trips to Germany we decided we really liked the modern sharp style that typifies much of new European houses today (or, rather, doesn’t in the UK). As a tip if you want to see literally dozens of show homes visit one (or more) of the (19) Fertighauswelt (think this translates approximately to “ready built house world”) sites in Germany (https://www.fertighauswelt.de/ ) – the best 5 Euros you can spend if you want to look for design ideas. Sadly over time and a Pound sinking against the Euro the German kit house was never going to work. And also working with the site and the budget it really started to make sense to build two houses and sell one to subsidise the one we wanted to live in.


     
    Unknowingly we had just created the perfect anti-PP scenario:- cutting edge modern design in a street of pastiche estate type houses; being greedy enough to want to want to build two; and being the last bungalow standing and surrounded by FD&H NIMBY neighbours. Rather than taking you through the gruesome blow by blow story here are the statistics:-


     
    Total time from first App to final Appeal decision:- 4yrs and 10months
    1 Pre-App – which was a total waste of time and money
    7 Planning Applications (inc 3 CofL/ PD apps) - 2 Approved
    6 (or perhaps 7) different Planning Officers
    3 Committee decisions:- 2 Refuse & 1 Approve, all with prior Officer Approval
    2 Appeals:- 1 Refuse & 1 Approve (sadly we didn’t win costs)
    105 letters of objection & 1 of support (from a London Architect who loved the design – bless him for that ray of sunshine

     
    It was a dreadful process and the main reason for the time and grief we suffered seems to be that we are surrounded by vile neighbours who have friends in high places. The public comments generally had very little planning relevance but included phrases like ‘peeping toms’, ‘covert surveillance’ and even likening our design to ‘Grenfell Tower’. We were stoic and kept turning the other cheek but we sent this last one back to the Chief Planning Officer as ‘offensive and defamatory’ – he said it was perfectly acceptable (to quote Joe Walsh ‘You Can’t Argue with a Sick Mind’)!


     
    If we thought the public comments (sometimes called ‘solicited hate mail’) phase was bad then let’s say the Committee phase was much worse. Firstly it seems that the decision is made before you even walk into the room, and that nothing you say will make any difference, or even be listened to. Then the Committee infringed our copyright, accused us of greed and telling lies, and told us that they didn’t care at all that we were planning to build low energy houses. If we had any faith in local democracy and politics we have much less than none now. We are certain that the only reason we got one through the Committee is that one of the esteemed Councillors really upset/insulted the Chair (we decided we really shouldn’t print the exact comment); at which point the discussion divided on party lines and incidentally we won!


     
    As mentioned the Pre App Advice was a complete waste of time and money (for us). We offered the Officer 3 options and he agreed what he thought the ‘best’. He also gave us a lot of ‘advice’ which we incorporated to the letter in the Application. He then proceeded to keep changing his mind and we did 3 major re-designs over 12 months until he ‘approved’. It finally went to Committee and was refused.


     
    The subsequent Appeal which we lost was true goldmine as it contained real data on what was acceptable and what wasn’t. We then built the subsequent Apps on this and the Officer(s) really couldn’t disagree with the previous Appeal comments. Also in the second Appeal we seriously questioned some of the proposed Conditions and the Appeal Officer took out most of them. A real win and we saved our Planning Consultants fee in having a really onerous Design and Methods condition removed. Certainly worth a shot if you ever go to Appeal.


     
    If any of you have been through this sort of process then you will know how personally depressing and demoralising it can be – and we have heard worse war stories! We had great and very patient designers and a superb planning consultant and some amazingly supportive friends and family. Also after the initial setbacks we did have a very focused plan on how to get to where we wanted to be in incremental steps, with a workable Plan B. However our advice would be: only ever buy a plot that has PP for something you want to build (unless you have lots of time, very deep pockets and skin much much thicker than a rhino).


     
    So finally we won at Appeal, and we are staring to build two really interesting low energy houses – more in future posts. We will try and keep up a Blog as best we can, and having got that backstory out of the way everything should be easy from now on!!!!!!


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