vivienz

Aha! Their secret is out now then, Jeremy! Honestly, I thought tgeir curiosity would snag them in the power lines as they came in so low!

Woohoo! Too late for me, but I'd be getting stuck in there. No wonder it's so hard to get an MCS install now.

So not much happened on site today. Hahahahhahaha! Just kidding - the 'whoosh' of the entry title refers to the speed of the upper floor going up. Just amazing. Equally, though, it could refer to the rotor blades of a Royal Navy lynx helicopter. Huh? Let me explain. For some time now, ever since the slab started going down, in fact, there have been a couple of navy lynx helicopters that seem to have a regular route (I assume from RNAS Yeovilton as it's not that far away) passing not far from our site and they're generally over at least once a week. Since the slab started going down, their fly-pasts have become a little closer each time and a little slower. This afternoon, a single lynx flew over. I mean right over. Like, directly over head, banking steeply around the build at a very low level right over. I'm sure I saw the pilot wave. So, I'm just saying it now, but if MBC get an order from either aircrew or a pilot of a navy lynx helicopter, they know where to send the bottle of wine for the free advertising. So, what did happen today? Well, the final load of timber frame components arrived around mid-morning but the crane and MBC were there from early doors this morning, busy putting into place what was already on site. First in were the south east and north west corner walls. Then came the walls either side of the east and west gables: Once the adjacent walls were in, the gable steels were craned in: The east gable was done a little differently. The steel was put in first, then the timber section placed on top: Here's a closer view of the east gable steel being worked on: And here's one of the big side wall panels being craned in: Then the slightly different design for the south gable. This doesn't have an apex in the glazing, so the section is done differently. Once the team broke for a late lunch, I scampered up and took a couple of photos from the scaffold for a different perspective: By late afternoon, the full height opening for the stairwell window was all in and work was starting on the internal stud walls. As well as the internal walls, the guys were prepping the top of the gables to receive the roof beams that will go in soon by cutting slots in the very top of the apex. Final pic for today that I know will excite all you construction fans, is the treatment of the steel beam ends and the glulams: So, what next? Well, the scaffolders are due back tomorrow to put the second lift in place and make any adjustments that the MBC team need to do the final stages of the timber frame. In addition, I'm still chasing down and getting more roofing quotes as my solar PV installation is due on 26th September and I still need to get the eaves course and velux windows sorted by then as I'm pushing my already extraordinarily good luck with the weather in getting weather-dependent jobs done that far into the autumn. The glazing is also due that week, so I'm hoping for a good one! I've got quite a few admin tasks to do and need to get to grips with the next section of workflow but I've been giving some attention to that today and will detail my 'next steps' in a separate post away from all this distracting timber frame porn. Enjoy!

I saw this a while back but then read recently that the tariff had been extended again. I will have a mooch around when I have a moment to see if I can find it again.

Yup, spot on.

The electricity supply to my property currently comes in via an overhead line. The line originates from a pole on my neighbour's property and traverses my field/garden to another pole next to my property. Following exactly the same route is a long since redundant Openreach line which previously supplied my property and terminates there. There is no shared network from the pole on my property nor from the line between me and my neighbour. Openreach have said that because the line runs between 2 poles, it is a network and before they do anything a surveyor must come and look at it, for which there is a charge of £300. I have sent them photos and it's clear that the line goes nowhere else but they say they cannot rely on these. Do i have the right to simply tell them to get their kit off my land? There is no wayleave agreement in place for their equipment and i dont intend to use BT nor Openreach at the new house. More to the point, do I have to pay for them to remove their kit?

That's the stuff used by MBC in their timber frames.

Thanks. Judging by what others have done, it will need to be some sort of insulation, be it thermal or acoustic, but to be honest I haven't looked into it yet. It won't need to go in until all the services are run through and the building is ready for plaster board, so plenty of time to figure that one out.

My upper floor, that is. Due to the vast number of MBC guys on site early last week, my upstairs was ready for the underfloor heating pipes and spreader plates to go in much earlier than my plumber had anticipated so the plates were duly put in. MBC were due back on site this morning to get the egger boards down on the first floor, so it was a case of then or never. The downstairs UFH pipes are embedded into the concrete slab and so a different method is needed for the upstairs, and this is it. What you are looking at are aluminium spreader plates with the UFH pipe bedded into them. The spreader plates are thin sheets of aluminium with two semi-circular recesses running the length of the plates. These are stapled to the joists along their length and their job is to hold the pipe in place and also to diffuse the heat over their area. The plates are very thin, barely a couple of mm thick, I would say, and very sharp, as I found out when poking the corner of them all stacked up in the shrink wrap packaging when they first arrived. Here's what they look like individually: There were a couple of delays in getting started on Friday and as a consequence work went on till well into the evening. UFH by sunset: After some hard graft on Saturday, it was all in place and the manifold had been attached, pressurised and tested and all looks good. Once all the egger boards are on, the centres of the spreader plates should be stapled along their lengths to the boards above to ensure good contact and heat transfer, although this was overlooked and not done but not picked up on in time to be rectified before the flooring went down on top. I did not sit idly by whilst all this effort was going on, oh no, not me. I had some very important decisions to make and these took a high level of innovation and imagination. Like, where's the best spot for the furniture in the to-be living room and where do I prefer the view? Really important. And, it turns out, that off-cuts of EPS upstand make for a really good improvised sofa. To be seen in all the best furniture showrooms soon: Having tried this, I came to a very meaningful conclusion. I need more furniture. Another thing for another day. Back to business, MBC were back on site today, a team of 4 to put the egger boards in place. You can see from the spreader plate pictures above that there is virtually no joist exposed, hence the need for screwing them down, particularly as the spreader plates will need to be attached from them underneath. The guys also used the egger adhesive along the tongue and groove runs of the board sides. Being a complete ingenue when it comes to all matters of construction, I was pondering last week what the purpose was of the hefty blocks of wood set into the recesses of the I shaped steels. Today, I found out. The posi-joists don't just rest in place, they are very firmly attached using steel thingies called roof hangers. These are they: And this is where they go: On other matters, I'm busily chasing down roofers at the moment, and they are proving difficult to get hold of. One has already declined to quote because they are so busy, but I'm working through a list of possibles, so it will get done. I've also booked in for my service alteration on the electricity - it's on a pole via an overhead line right now but will be buried eventually and the pole removed. Current date for this is 17th October, but electricity companies dance to the beat of their own drum so this could easily change. It's the big stuff back tomorrow with the final frame delivery and the upper floor being constructed. Sit tight for the next thrilling episode!

Indeed, Jeremy, I remember your comments well and hence my attempts to get this one to run on time. Thankfully, it's not essential as I do have a supply to the house, but I really don't want to have to pay for extra groundworks equipment just to fill in the trench. Whether it actually happens on the agreed date depends on SSE Dave being able to get the other SSE guys on site, so we shall see.

Via their online service, my local library provide access to several home styling magazines, including lots of back issues, for free as long as you are a member. I find them very helpful to flick through and get ideas for colour schemes, finishes, and so on.

Just a quick heads up for anyone who may need to change the location/route/type of electricity supply over the next couple of months and how long this may take. My supply currently comes in via an overhead line attached to a pole very close to the new build. And it's very ugly. Therefore, I plan to get a new pole on the boundary of our property then run the line in via a trench that the groundworker will dig. I already have my quote but thought I better call Dave, my friendly local DNO installer, to see how busy they are. Good job I rang! The earliest he has available from today for this type of job is 17th October and he's getting booked up quickly. This date works out okay for me as there's lots of groundworks to be done between now and then, but it could catch you out if you are in a hurry, so always best to check as early as is feasible.

I have been looking at tiles over recent weeks and keep getting drawn to images of mosaic tiles made by a Spanish company, Dune. However, no matter where I look, they all seem to be exactly the same price (for one of them, poeme, they are £24.72 per sheet). Is there any super secret sneakily cheap supplier of these that anyone knows about? Is it worth trying to track them down in Spain and import tiles from there? I think the latter may be a non-starter as I'm not sure I will need/be able to afford sufficient of these to justify the transport costs. Incidentally, I know that Porcelanosa usually have a sale around October time, but does anyone know if this tends to be early or late in the month?

I'm sure I read something recently about the VAT treatment of scaffolding hire and erection (I think it was who mentioned it) but can't find the relevant entry. Can anyone enlighten me?

I'm sure I read something recently about the VAT treatment of scaffolding hire and erection (I think it was who mentioned it) but can't find the relevant entry. Can anyone enlighten me?

You people up north and your stunning views, tsk. I'm not jealous at all? Welcome to the forum! What are your plans for the house?

In the end, I've managed to get an MCS install but it is expensive. The break even point for me, taking into account self-consumption is just under the 10 year mark. I'm okay with this as the system has a 25 year life span and I can afford to take the longer view. I'm planning to do a blog post over the weekend on the systems I'm putting into my build so I will put more detail in that.

Thanks, chaps, just the answer I was after. No need for any expensive extras running from the PV set up.

I'm thinking hard about my first fix electrics now as I'm not that far away from them. I want to have the wiring in place for an EV charge point in the garage. I don't have an electric car and I'm not sure if or when I will have one, but it makes sense to be to get the wiring for it done now, just without the termination as I don't know what type of EV it might be. I'm also having a reasonably sized solar PV array, primarily going into sunamps but possibly to an EV as well. My question is this: does the wiring to the EV point need to go directly into the PV or is it more likely to be on a general circuit, i.e. one that will be from the mains, be that E7 or whatever the tariff is at the time? I ask because I had a site visit for the solar installation today and the implication was that the wiring from the PV array will need to include the EV point if I want to use any of the PV for that purpose.

Total area is 300 sq m with 215 of that downstairs.

They seem pretty relaxed about it all, but they are responsible for their own H&S.

Don't tell hubby, but I am enjoying it. I daresay I will change my mind quickly enough if something goes wrong, mind you!

Well recognised, Jack! Your name has already been mentioned a couple of times but don't worry, your secrets are safe with me. For now?

Moving on to day 2 of the timber frame erection, I make no apologies for this photo-heavy post as the pictures speak far more eloquently than I can on the subject matter. Especially as I don't know the right words for much of it. It rained overnight here in Dorset, but nothing disastrous and it was all gone by a couple of hours into the morning. Here's how I left the team yesterday evening: This morning, another day, another crane. This one, I think, was even bigger, but it hurt my neck to keep looking that high, so I can't swear to it. Along with the crane was the next lot of timber frame components, but also the steels for the ground floor ceiling/first floor. There's a lot of steel in my building and whilst being very good for the structural integrity of the building, it's pretty rubbish if you want to stick an MVHR duct through it. At the production stage, my MVHR guy liaised with MBC to request penetrations through the steels for the ducting so that we didn't have to try and deal with this after the event. Here's one such steel with the right holes in the right places. Again, the crane did its thing and shifted all the posi joists into the interior the building and helped position the internal stud walls. All the steels were craned into position as well. The posi joists were man-handled up onto the steels: This is the run of the posi joists, looking from the eastwards from the west facing window. This is looking from the end of the living/dining area towards the kitchen and utility. This is looking back towards the building from the field. The silver box is the attached garage which will not be part of the thermal envelope; we haven't yet decided whether to put any insulation into this, but that can come later. The interior of the garage looking out to the field: A shot taken from the scaffolding. I'm standing at the west side of the living room (where the field is) looking over the lane and the fields beyond. For those of you who know north Dorset, that's Hambledon Hill near Blandford Forum in the distance. And finally, this was resting on the joists upstairs. It pleases me greatly.

You had better be, because once MBC turn up on site, it's fast and furious and everything has to fit around them. Things happen at an incredible pace and no matter how much you read about it, how many videos you look at, it doesn't quite prepare you for the reality of that speed, or not in my case. Some surprises are good, and this was one of them. I'll get to the photos shortly, but first a few comments on what else has been happening since the slab was finished on the 9th August, or thereabouts, as some is preparation and others are running in parallel. First off, immediately after the slab was finished, I confirmed that everything was still good to go with the scaffolders and that they would be here the week before the timber frame was due to be certain it was all in place. I understand that scaffolders have quite a negative reputation in general and I can only speak of this, my one experience of dealing with them, but so far the firm I'm using have been professional and polite throughout, from the manager to the guys actually putting the scaffolding up. Long may it continue. You may recall my post about my little problem with the overhead electricity lines and my concern about being able to put sufficient scaffolding up for the MBC team to do their thing. The scaffold guys came around as far as they could with it, but there isn't much around where the garage will be and I will admit to having some qualms over this and whether it would cause massive problems for MBC. It turns out that it didn't. At all, not in the slightest. Nada. Phew. You'll see the detail of it later, but it was a weight off my mind to see the garage actually going up. So what's happening with the electricity thing, then, I hear you cry. Currently, it's a waiting game. There is a viable and acceptable solution in play, which is to replace the poles that support the lines which oversail my property with taller ones, an increase in height of about 3m. This is fine with me, as I don't object to the lines being there, after all, I bought the property with them in situ. The wait is down to planning permission, but not mine. It seems that because the proposed increase in height of the poles is greater than 10% of their current height, the DNO has to apply for planning permission to replace with the new, taller ones, and the DNO is no different from we mere mortals who also have the statutory 8 week wait for the planning decision. So, we wait. Sadly, the DNO are showing no signs of paying for the work so far and the quote for the work, inclusive of VAT, is around £8k. Let me state at the outset, I have no intention of paying £8k for this, particularly as the lines running over my property are then on a voluntary basis, with my consent (the wayleave agreement). I have done some reading around the subject and, in particular, the level of compensation that DNOs typically pay to householders if a wayleave or its more permanent cousin, an easement, is granted to the DNO. In the case of an easement, it's anywhere between 1% and 2% of the value of the property with all the legals at the DNO's expense. I haven't had a chance to talk through this with the wayleave officer, but I suspect and hope that we will reach agreement on the logical course of their doing the work at their own cost and I will grant them an easement. It seems a fair exchange and an efficient way to give a good outcome. Whether they take the same view remains to be seen, but I shall update once I know more. With regards to other tasks, I'm basically thinking ahead to once the structure is weather tight and secure. This stage of the timber frame should be done in a couple of weeks, so let's say 14th September. My solar PV is all booked and ready to go shortly after that but I need to get the velux windows and a roof course of the tiles up so that the PV installation can go ahead. I'm waiting for quotes right now and hope to have this sorted by early next week. Once the solar PV is in, I won't call the roofers back straight away as I need to wait for the glazing installation, which is due on 24th September, so the rest of the roof will get done most likely in early October. What else? Well, my UFH, MVHR and all the kit for that is actually starting to get sorted this week, from tomorrow. MBC are pushing off to another job for a couple of days to give my plumber time to get the UFH stuff sorted for the first floor. What? UFH upstairs? Yes. I'm a girl and I function best at temperatures a couple of degrees higher than you boys. It may be that we don't need it, but it's easier to put it in now than for hubby listen to my teeth chattering for the next 30 years. Okay, okay, I'll get to the action stuff now. So, bright and early the day after the bank holiday, the first enormous flat bed lorry stacked with timber frame arrived. The crane was already on site, as were the MBC crew. Actually, I think I've got 2 crews, a total of 7 guys yesterday, which explains the blistering rate of progress. It was a really tight squeeze getting that lorry up the narrow lane to the site and the drivers really prove their mettle getting in and out of there. This is yesterday's crane. They have an incredible reach and are quite something to see in action. I couldn't get the whole thing in a shot. Before anything happens with the walls, the team go around string marking where the beams are and putting down sole plates for the walls to lock into. The black stuff is the DPM which overlaps the EPS underneath. Space was getting a bit tight on the site, but between the hard standing and the inside of the house, everything found a spot. Once all the marking out was done and sole plates were down in the right places, the crane hauled the walls up and they were guided into position. Here's the view over the field from what will be one of the living room windows. At the end of yesterday afternoon, all the external walls were up and they starting marking out for the internal stud walls. There's more to follow from today, but I'll put that into a separate post. This one's busy enough.