puntloos

One of my main concerns with skylights is that many people (and I count myself as a candidate) let it sit just a touch too long and it looks very dirty and unattractive from inside. If there is a shutter above it (that responds to rain..), that might mitigate some/most of the cleaning challenges..

Ooh and: https://www.roofwindows4you.co.uk/prod/amz-z-wave-colour-group-i-external-awning-blind-in-090 This might keep the heat out quite nicely..

https://www.roofwindows4you.co.uk/shop/roof-windows/electric-windows-1/z-wave-electric-windows-in-white-acrylic is 461 ex vat a fair price?

Hmm. You make a good few points. And I do fully intend to get a proper ventilation system. Perhaps I shouldn’t worry too much about this one….

Yup, the above is what we are all trying to avoid. I wonder if there’s a pointed set of questions everybody should ask their experts/professionals etc. For one, many people we speak to seem to be quite coy about if they are including kitchens/bathrooms and their own cost in their ‘rule of thumb’ quotes. “Sure, this will be 2000/m2, of course excluding my fee, tax, kitchens, bathrooms….” Of course there’s a bunch of ‘luck of the draw’ here.. of course some professionals just exude dodginess and you (hindsight is 20-20) forced yourself through a hunch that this team is weird, but I’m sure quite a few people are well, normal humans, who unbeknownst to you fall on difficult times themselves and try to squeeze more $$ out of their customers to make it through themselves etc. I’m debating hiring my own QS and contract admin, whose sole financial interest is in costing things properly for me… but this by itself might cost somewhere between 10 and 20,000….

I doubt that the transparent mode for Sage will let through a cool breeze… That said, it’s not a crazy idea itself to do this (as well) .. haven’t looked into sage glass pricing vs triple glazing..

Any of you ever look into ‘smart windows’? E.g. google-assistant, wifi, controlled windows opening and closing either on a schedule, or reacting to temperature/rain? On paper it sounds great. In particular I could imagine windows that would open the moment the internal temperature is higher than outside (on hot days, obv) would be awesome. It would look like this (see attached YT video) But in practice: - Security? Is it OK for windows to be unlocked permanently? - Range? Will they open all the way? - Size? There’s a thing in the way of your view… acceptable? - Cleaning? Difficult? No? - What if you want to manually open them? - Dependability? - Cost? An actuator would probably be about 80GBP, not sure if there’s any smart home kit that can reverse the power polarity for opening/closing., and listen to wifi..(zwave? smartthings?) So many issues, each not impossible to solve, but probably making it too much hassle?

Awesome! I think the ‘clever math totals’ system is not quite correct yet. Let me see if I can fix soon

Digging up the old topic. @Visti - would love to see your current situation.. hopefully you’re (near) finished building? I've created a topic around cost & cost control, and the associated spreadsheet would love to see your before/after etc..

OK, I’ve added most of people’s info in My Spreadsheet. Done. Cool. Added your info to the sheet. Take a look if it works ? Added, thanks for the info, and wow, 800/sqm for a detached is awesome. Added. Cool to have a passivehaus spec in there. Well, part of the trick is to actually mention it, and then add an ‘estimated DIY savings’ field. Which I did. Of course, for the sheet to work for many cases it needs detailed data.. Great info, thanks! Added to sheet. Wow, very good price ? Wow, hope you manage to sell it for a cool 6M - added to the sheet anyway Yup, let’s see if it helps anyone!

Hi all, I’ve created a spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KW9gABXXf8oDxXHNAFEWPK_I_rHMZBOZtCFDCoMsA4Q/edit#gid=0 Perhaps add your stuff for posterity here! Also do let me know if I’m missing anything or you’d want to mix things up!

Could this be due to my ‘warm air from the rest of the house rises into the loft’ theory?

I assume you mean internal blackout blinds? I’m surprised that helps a lot. (in particular given that I have them too in a previous place and it was still sweltering..) Is it because the rest of your house is well-insulated?

Updated, tx!

One thing that might be fun to record and compare is final build cost, when all was said and done, split out in a clear way. Not just the bricks but also Architect Cost, QS, Planning submissions, furniture.. eeeeeverything. And next to that ideally your best prediction before you started! The data would be super valuable for people starting off.. also fun stuff comparing and contrasting. Spreadsheet capturing all the data is here! [Google Sheets] (anonymous editing should work) Of course only respond with what you are comfortable with, but can I suggest: - House type (detached/semi/bungalow/…) - Month/Year you started properly, and month/year you received the keys - Floorspace - Any unusual/costly additions (Wine cellar? Helipad?) - Extension/Newbuild - Location - Crew (did you have a specialised Architect, QS, Contract Admin..) - Cost Prediction - when the quotes came in, what did they say - Cost in Practice - what did it actually cost, compared to what you were quoted, what was ‘forgotten’.. Of course it’s most helpful if split out, just so we know what you counted and what is left out: Plot purchase (not super important IMO) Materials Builders Specialist costs (Architect? QS? Project Manager? Film Crew? Kitchen designers) Furniture? White goods? Fancy Home Cinema Equipment? Green/Eco stuff? Planning Fees, council charges, building taxes? Misc/Unforeseen? Any unexploded bombs in the ground? (real or metaphorical ) - And any notable things that made it a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive than planned (had to redo the X, or did most of Y myself..)

Reviving an old interesting thread. What about rising heat? I imagine that hot air from the rest of the house would also accumulate in the loft. Even if you carefully shuttered the rooflights, would this be an issue? Putting it differently, assuming no rooflights at all, and good insulation, is it almost guaranteed that the loft will be fine? (I was even thinking of going for a Velux Cabrio, but I wonder if that can even be shuttered.. or are there awnings that could work on a pitched roof?

FWIW I’ve been toying with this whole ‘resaleability’ point, and I do wonder if it is that big of a deal. In particular, sure, doing cool things might turn a few people off, but in general I think you would get within 10% of your target almost regardless what you do in such details. Is 10% really worth not doing the things you want to do? For one, I think ‘number of rooms’ is a really archaic concept, since modern families simply don't have that many kids anymore.

Yeah I go there a lot, it's just that for most pictures they don't list the "thoughts behind it".

But where would you attache the volleyball net?

Any pictures of suchlike, or photos of 'similar places' that inspired you?

It's quite popular to have a massive family space with open plan kitchen (money permitting..) So much room for activities!.. But honestly, while I want a large room, many architects and/or interior designers make me feel the space is more squash court with some sparsely scattered pieces of furniture. (of course I picked an extreme example) What are techniques to make the family space a bit more 'cozy'? Dividers? Staircases in the middle of the room? Big statement furniture? Height differences? All of the above?

I bet someone did.. but it might be this one guy in Manchester with way too much time on their hands etcetc.. Just hoping they're on buildhub..

Of course, but I was planning to have a few choices for critical things, e.g. "ultrafancy/dream one, budget conscious option" Does that mean you can't choose 'any' window but have to pick from the timber firm's list? Did you not worry those tiles needed to match with 'the rest'? It kinda sounds snobbish to me while I write this, but "should the entire house not match the same theme" (rather than independently start picking bathroom tiles when you don't yet know the livingroom colours etc? That's what I'm trying to do =) Well, I'd love to see an 'after the fact' list as well, just any list as long as it's complete-ish. =)

For posterity - one thing that did come up is heat management things - it's no fun to find out your house is uncomfortable during hot days. It's probably a good idea to over-spec cooling options (at least - the 'plumbing' to add them later).

So as starting new-builders, I keep getting told all the time: "You will have to make a TON of choices!" Okay.. but - does someone have a list of all the choices? Excel sheet perhaps? Down to the max detail - which - Anything you typically don't have to choose yourself, or is optional vs which are really important I can imagine I don't need to bother with the choice of screws, or cement, or grass seed type.. - when will the choice need to be made I can imagine that the choice of brick vs timber is super early, whilst the choice of 'which doorknobs' could be done a lot later - changeability which choices can be made early, and which depends on tons of factors The choice of a hob could be made/researched today (ok.. new hobs might come out.. but e.g. induction, builtin hob etc..) The choice of tiles for a bathroom depends on the entire feel of the bathroom, etc?t ta I'd love to just get the list now, and start researching. -