eandg

Largely agree. A wee bit big and cold internally but a lovely looking building.

Not sure he'll be getting many shifts bricklaying but looks good.

That's fair enough. But the point stands - it's fairly easy to work out what quantity of materials you'll need.

And QSing, particularly if you have a kit, is dead easy - lost everything you need and shop about for prices. Don't sweat the small stuff and if you can come in cheaper than your first online look found for some items it'll pay for the inevitable mistakes/trading up that comes when you are finishing and are on or around budget.

A good architect/structural engineer (much like any other profession or trade) is worth the money. The problem is there are too few good ones and the prevailing business model (% fees) puts their interests at odds with the client. We did our own plans and are largely very happy with them - partly because our cashflow didn't allow us to spend a fortune on a good architect at the start and partly because the few we spoke to offered very little. As a novice it would have been worth having someone on an incentivised fixed fee to get us through building regs early as material inflation ended up costing us more than that with associated delays. I was also happy PMing but from seeing other self builders who are less confident doing that then a good architect that can PM and has some trusted trades is well worth it. But definitely get a fixed fee.

I'll have a look. Wasn't anything complicated - bog standard GSE integrated panels with both installers having a chat on flashing details.

We have them - doable and cheaper than on roof when you consider the savings on standing seam.

Which is where? Asking for our summer house which I'm planning - I don't think I can take my sustainable head off but at the same time I don't want to have to put MVHR in the space (and pay for it).

We have just had our second fix done after decoration - didn't see any value in taking them off before and the capped ducts prevent any construction stoor getting into the system before it's commissioned.

Same. Zinc is lovely, really tactile if you ever stick your hand out of a rooflight but from ground level there's no discernible difference. Save your dough.

Way back in the midst of time I must have read somewhere to guide our door opening sizes and went with 882x2030 for fitting 838x1981 doors. I'm now reading our openings should have been 904x2043 - just after I've ordered doors... I've not got liners etc yet, is this going to be doable or should I have an alternate size?

Our windows went in off a scaffold but in hindsight I wish we'd built a temporary staircase - would have made it much easier to move materials and a decent joiner could knock something up in jig time. And if you plan on carpeting or putting in a fancy tread on a shell staircase then you can make a well made one permanent.

We had a similar build up but ended up battening out ceiling (screwing through insulation) and then put 15mm on the ceiling. Would expect that to be a much neater and cleaner job, a solid finish and with less risk than what you propose and the difference in cost was not a lot in the scheme of things.

Ours were all loose, either left that way to be brought through later (where we weren't 100% on positions) with annotated plans and photos to confirm locations, or holes cored in plasterboard with cable pulled through prior to cutting out for a socket - as John Mo says this is standard stuff for tapers in Scotland.

+1 to a lot of the above. Going to 2.7m makes a big difference to 2.4m (and let's you use standard size plasterboard if not efficient use of CLS for studwork) and means bigger doors can be accommodated without looking oversized. Vaulted ceilings are great, particularly if you're happy doing a bit of DIY and not paying for them to be insulated/sheeted/painted etc. Slightly wider hallways and more generous staircases also add a lot without costing a lot. The biggest stock rooflights we could find were 1340*1400 and getting those worked out much cheaper than getting custom made of a similar size. Design all that in then work hard to shop about for materials and get recommendations for trades that you do use.

Agreed. Plus our vaulted ceilings are great and our SIPs roof with a metal covering is noise free, can only hear the rain off the rooflights, with no traffic noise at all unless a window is opened.

That might explain the difficulty finding anything - was a presumption on our part that might bite us on the backside. Can't find anything but any links would be appreciated, thanks.

Scottish Regs require a carbon dioxide detector to be installed in the principal bedroom We have one planned for our ring alongside the heat and smoke alarms, with cable pulled through for it in the ceiling. I'm now looking for a detector but can only find a few on the market, all wall mounted. Can anyone point me in the direction of where I'd get a ceiling mounted one?

If possible I'd do some digging and find a former LA planner that's well-liked and/or respected by their former colleagues/members and is topping up their pension doing some consultancy work - there's usually a handful of them about in the bigger authorities - and pay them for a couple of days of their time to do the legwork, schmoozing and report writing for you.

Sorry, just seen this. Snip from Stairbox here: Left and right hand walls are sheathed internal load bearers, wall to the front is external and is battened out and sheeted - could cut sheets and put something more structural in if required. We've hit a wee bit of an issue with flooring as we're going herringbone and the fitter says we won't be able to floor past the stairwell until they are in situ, unless we put the stairs onto the (LVT) floorcovering - which will delay us about a week. He doesn't seem to think there'll be any issues pinkgripping or similar the step to the floor given we'll be screwing the pre-assembled runs to the wall but not so sure.

I've had some dealings with Econekt and went to see a site they were on and the slab looked very good. Liked their package as they could do the whole thermal envelope if you were going ICF.

Sounds great in theory but groundworkers are the only trade I'd watch fairly intently in practice to see there's no shortcuts - in my experience they are generally far lazier, less competent and with far fewer brain cells than anyone else on a site. Boys doing driveways are generally seen as beneath anyone with a bit of skill at landscaping too.

Pass on above the plasterboard stuff but on the surface you'll end up getting a wee residue of crystals as the moisture dries which can be easily painted over - personally I'd save any hassle of waiting for trades and jump on a ladder with a brush and get on with your life once the roof is sorted.

Thanks all - it is inside. Sounds like getting a few sheets of 12mm ply will be cheaper and a lot less time consuming than gluing the OSB then.

Did you DIY it or get plumbers to do it? Building control here advise it's self certification.