eandg

Thanks. Settle from? My plan was to do some digging and get a roller in to level then seed once the structure is up - the lawn will be at the back and separated from the house by a patio which will wrap round the house so it won't or shouldn't be affected by construction.

A very interesting discussion. Picking up on one of the points made, there's about 2m of made ground on our plot - does that make getting a good lawn (even with good topsoil laid) much more difficult and would artificial then be a better option?

Thanks both - and Christine I'll need to get your Buildbase rep's details from you - will send you a wee message. We've not yet opened any accounts with merchants - are just at the design and costing stage so looking for approximate figures to consider whether we're going with brick or timber cladding. Relieved/hopeful the apparent prices can be negotiated significantly down though!

In Scotland. I've found it a bit difficult navigating the merchants' sites. And hoping brick isn't as expensive as it seems on those sites where I have been able to get a price!

Hi, not sure if this is the right section but does anyone have recommendations for where you're most likely to get a decent deal on facing bricks? From a bit of searching it's difficult to compare like for like/prices are only revealed once you plug your details in for a call back. Any help would be appreciated!

Great, thanks - I'll have a look after work!

We are considering wrapping zinc (or, more likely, a cheaper metal) around the roof and gable walls of our build with cedar shingles at the front and rear. I've read that cedar is acidic and can corrode metal which makes me question its suitability. It wouldn't be fixed to the metal but would but against it in places, and with aluminium clad windows. Thoughts?

How do those prices compare to buying in the UK?

Slightly off topic but has anyone been in any of the magazines, and are there any pros/cons with that? Notice some of the magazine-linked shows ask. My partner thinks it'd be a nice keepsake and might help cut some deals.

If you were to get passive slab foundations would that negate the (potential) cold bridging issues?

Indeed but my comments have nothing to do with marketability, and far more to do with the practicalities of family living. As it goes few accessible two and three bedrooms are developed by volume housebuilders principally because there's so little demand for it. Unfortunately older Britons only tend to move at the point of crisis. Which is why every new build estate is full of boxes which squeeze 4 bedrooms in and don't provide particularly good living spaces for their occupants (and will be redundant in two generations time). That said, if I was self building with an eye on resale and it worked for me then I'd consider a 3 bed bungalow as the undersupply means they come in at a huge premium to the market, in my area at least.

That's fair enough but in his shoes I would have done some work and/or borrowed a bit of cash to let someone else share the load and to see my family. They may have a house they want but they have more or less sacrificed a year of family life to get it - and I'm not sure the end product (or the financial saving, if any) merits that. For the additional 6 months rent and housing costs they were out he could have employed at least a labourer earlier in the process to get the build moving. And he did clearly recognise he needed support (employing a joiner early in who he then fell out with). For me watching from afar it seemed that he let his pig headedness get in the way of delivering a family home.

Thought that too. Crazy given they had the space (it's a three storey detached house so they must have). I'd actually say any self-built family homes should have four (or three with flexible space to use as a fourth) to allow for grandparents/cousins/pals to stay over. Pity the boys as young adults stuck at home in their 20s due to crazy Oxford house prices and having to share a bedroom. I also didn't get why a barrister and lawyer couldn't just borrow a few quid (or go to work and use their salaries for far more efficient labour) to fit out the house. It took about 6 months for the final fixes and finishings while the wife and kids stayed with family. And they still spent nearly 200 grand on the build, to be left with a scabby looking kitchen.

I enjoyed both episodes but was very surprised at how expensive a build the older couple in week one had given it was relatively small (2 beds, I think) and the guy did much of the work himself (he estimated £100k worth of labour) yet they still spent the best part of a few hundred thousand on the build. Shame to hear from Visti that the original model (which at 100k a plot is only just about affordable to a two professional wage household unless they have family wealth - though I guess there's plenty of housing equity floating about that part of England) is no more. Out of interest, how much does the average family home go for in that part of the world?

Thanks both. We are/were waiting to get a design sorted before contacting a structural engineer but will get onto it asap. The ducting/cabling is one I'll need to get my head round - are there any straightforward guides about? I watched a few videos of passive slabs last night and they looked to be completely without anything bar EPS and concrete!