vivienz

That's coming along at a cracking pace and the tiling is looking great so far. How long until you roof is on, do you think?

That's the stuff, @PeterW. I remembered the foaming bit but I didn't pay too much attention to the detail. I knew I'd forget it.

The MBC timber frame crew arrived on site this morning and I asked them about squeaky floors. Interestingly, they said that the manufacturer of the boarding used for the floor, Egger, specifically recommend not to screw the board down as they believe this can increase noise. Instead, they sparingly use a few nails to hold the boards in place and then glue them down. I'll check tomorrow what the glue is as I can't remember the name of it now.

It's been a long day, sorry Garry!

Hi Garry, You're just down the road from me, I'm currently building outside of Sturminster Newton. I think that it depends on what type of build you are planning and how involved you will be. I bought all the usual books but, in the end, didnt get much use from them as so little related to my project. In truth, reading this forum in depth and exchanging ideas/asking questions helped me far more than any book or publication. Lovely looking house !

If anyone wants a free copy of The Economist, you can normally access it online via your local library as long as you have a membership number.

Brilliant ideas. Looking forward to seeing how this one develops.

I'm having a look at the copact laminate worktop, Zenith caldeira. It looks very nice and would be a more durable option for me than the wood I was previously looking at, but I'm not sure whether it will work for my island. It's an oversize one with a width of 1440 (2 standard cupboard carcasses back to back) and I would need to have 2 lengths of it joined. Not sure how achievable this is whilst getting a good finish on the join.

Worktop Express have just introduced a new range of laminate worktops. I'm not sure what sizes they offer it in, but I'm going to get my walnut worktops from them, including my oversized island.

Super thick question for the day. Who usually puts guttering up? Would my roofer be able to do this, or do I get another trade for it? Thanks, chaps!

If you're inexperienced in the world of self-build, as I am, then it's very easy to overlook things that simply don't pop up on your radar in time because there are so many other new things to think about. Disposing of stuff from site is, in my experience, a significant cost and one that can alter how a build is approached. My own build is a perfect example of this. Because I'm on clay, I had a choice of how to do the foundations for my house - either a massive (down to nearly 3m) reduced dig, or 800mm reduced dig and piles. At first, I was going to go down the reduced dig route because I could understand this and was terrified of what piles might involve. In the end I went for the latter because the cost of disposing of all the clay from a 3m reduced dig for the entire footprint of my house would have been crippling and around x3 the cost of the piles, let alone the time cost. Likewise, when we had the existing bungalow on the site demolished, the disposal of the debris was a significant part of the bill for that stage of the work. There was little to be salvaged from it, a few bricks and the roof rafters for use in the garden, but the rest of it all had to go to landfill, along with the reinforced concrete panels that had made up the garage block. Even now that we're in the construction phase, there will still be more disposal costs. I'll need at least a couple of skips just to clear away all the general crap, there's left over EPS hanging around that can't be re-used and will need to be chucked. After that, there's all the concrete and hardcore that has gone down to increase the hard standing area for all the works traffic and, finally, the concrete floor of the former garage block that we also use for hard standing and that has the site cabin and portaloo on it. Quite literally, tons of crap, and not to be forgotten about when it comes to totting up the bills.

Gorgeous.

Fantastic! Brilliant photos, too. It must be a very exciting time for you.

I've yet to get to the fitting stage, but my window company, Norrsken, have gone to a great deal of trouble to liaise directly with MBC over structural opening sizes, fitting apertures, indents in the slab for turn and slide doors, etc. I will still be measuring everything once the openings are there, but so far the attention to detail from my window company has been good. They have worked with quite a few timber frame suppliers, including MBC, and are supply and install. Whether reality matches the plan remains to be seen, but I will report back in full once the windows start going in on 24th September.

Best keep your trousers nicely pulled up, then, in case people think I'm installing indoor bike stands.

Welcome! We're equally curious - tell us more!

Okay, stand at ease, chaps! I've been very kindly offered the loan of a time lapse camera which will be even better.

Thanks, chaps. On the basis that you get what you pay for, I don't think I'm prepared to pay enough to get a decent one, so I shall stick with photos taken with my feet firmly on the ground.

Such a useful visit! I'm happier about progressing a number of niggling issues now and have a clear idea of how I will deal with others. All of this vould have taken me ages to work through by myself but one day out on a visit and all sorted. Brilliant.

My timber frame is due to go up in a short while and I'm thinking about getting a drone to film some of the action. I've never bought one before and have no experience of them; I also don't want to spend too much. Is it worth it and does anyone have any recommendations?

I know it was an awful experience for you Lizzie, but thank you so much for posting about it. I hadn't given a great deal of thought to it, but now the smoke alarm system is high on my to-plan list. I've also started unplugging my hairdryer and straighteners at home, something I have never done previously. There but for the grace of god, and all that. I've also discovered that we have 2 powder extinguishers in the garage, according to OH, so I will do all the necessary there and put them somewhere more accessible. Thanks again for the post.

Touché!

Be there. I'm not officially project managing, but more organising the sequence of main contractors that are building the house, but being there to answer what are small questions or uncertainties at the time has already saved a whole heap of difficulty/expense/confusion further down the line. I live an hour's drive away from our build and I certainly wouldn't want to be commuting to it from much further.

Thanks, @HerbJ That's a very useful yardstick. I shall keep it in mind.

Okay, so it's a superior finish on what the second fix plumbing/kitchen fitters would be able to do. We will have 2 bathrooms (one wet room), a downstairs loo, large kitchen and utility. I'm guessing that would be about a day's work. What's the going rate for a mastic man?