Water

I've read bad things about lightweight blocks on the internet especially around them cracking because of this im considering using the heavier blocks. Is it the internet over reacting?

I would but then I don't have the time or as much experience as a PM.

Evening all, My builder insists it's industry standard to use the gross floor area when discussing costs per square meter but I thought it was the norm to use gross internal area. I can see why he'd want to use GFA as he has to build the external walls, but that could mean I'm not comparing apple to apples.

Hi all I need to choose between having plasterboards throughout or "wet" plaster, I understand mass builders use boards but I was wondering about self builders? Clearly its more expensive but should give a better finish and last longer. Thanks

Yes sorry its £1,375 per sq m. That figure includes windows which are £12k, its a 100sqm 2 story detached house, ground conditions are good.

It's a very standard brick and block build

Hi, I know its not easy to say but it would be great to get at least some idea, I have a quote to the watertight stage of the build which is 65% of the total build costs and equates to £1,375 per sqft. The build will be to a standard spec nothing expensive and no great challenges in the build,

They smell very bad after a while, god bless that cat.

You can spec them primed or treated but painted was thousands extra, it was a we don't want to do that quote. 10 windows

Hi buildhubbers, I got a good quote for wooden windows but the price shoots up if you ask them to painted, is it such a bad idea for me to DIY paint them once fitted? Cheers!

Thank you, the sandtoft ones arent quite as nice but they look a good compromise

Evening all, My roof pitch is around 30 degrees and I can't see any handmade clay tiles which are suitable for this pitch, my roofer said one solution is to use extra waterproofing but this comes at a big cost (est £10k), with that cost I could get some pretty expensive tiles. I'd be delighted to hear any handmade tiles which can be used at this pitch if anyone has any ideas. Maybe I can switch to slate...

Spec'ing the self build up at the moment, copper looks like a good material to use for the guttering, long lasting, low maintenance etc but what are the odds of it going missing?

If the windows are going to be painted, is it worth going for oak or even Sapele?

Argh, quite right, spreadsheet failure. They are £3.7k vs £6.7k. A 2.5m by 1.4m window was aprox £700 in pine and £1,130 in oak. Supplied exc VAT

Thanks Nod, it looks for us to be 10k for pine and 17k for oak. We've been told we have to use wooden windows.

Hi all, has anyone on here used woodenwindows.com? They seems keenly priced, they are associated with StairBox, which we are also planning on using for the stairs for our selfbuild. So any info on woodenwindows or stairbox will be greatly appreciated.

Hi all, Thought I’d share the build costs I’ve had, I know people are always interested and they are quite different from most others on here. We are at the stage of instructing a single contractor to complete in the build in a “turnkey” fixed price contract. This is for a 120sqm detached house in the South East, 2.5 stories, on good ground to a very standard only slightly higher than a “barratt” new build spec. Build: 2200psm Land*: 1800psm *incs all fees, planning etc So in total it will be £4,000 per square meter. ? There was nothing particularly tricky and we did shop around for good prices. I think I’m going to go and throw up now.

Hi all, My planning consultant has suggested the strategy of using multiple planning applications to achieve something loosely resembling what I was after from the beginning, which really isnt that radical and I think has a decent chance of being approved anyway. I was expecting to we would submit two applications as previously agreed, but now he is recommending three. It all seems a bit crazy to me.. Anyone else taken this approach?

Cheers Joe, I think I may have to go grovelling. What I also don't understand is why they don't mention this initial approval which the mortgage provider wants. It just goes on about when the inspections will be.

I may have gotten myself into a pickle with all this. The person who was acting as an adviser for the build said I needed to pay the local authority a fee for the building control application, it was around £250, they have now sent me a letter thanking me for the deposit and they will require the additional £650 in due course! I Now I was going to use the warranty provider for building control, so not really sure if this has been messed out somehow? They have sent me a list of when they will like to inspect the building work and how much notice I have to give them... So very confused, sorry to be a pain with this. Thanks I will get all the CIL paperwork completed asap.

Do you know if there is anything I need to do for the initial sign off? Such as surveys etc. It’s in England. Thanks for the replies

Good morning I have a plot with detailed PP, but need a self build mortgage to start the build, one of the conditionals is building control approval before they will release any funds. I’ve read up on this online but it seems to all be about the completion certificate, which clearly I won’t have before the build. How easily and cheaply can I get this? I assume this is linked to the people who come out and inspect the build, which you can couple with the warranty provider? Any guidance appreciated