ToughButterCup

Talking to one of our BH members a few months ago.... he acknowledged the role of good, local, informed advice. And had stories to tell of the opposite.

It's a nightmare to travel through. If you have to. It used to be OK out of season, but now the season stretches through the whole year. Good thing? Not sure. I know nothing about the practical implications of Heritage Sites. Living just outside the margin is probably a good thing, though. Ian

But @Onoff, how much did the process of making the CAd drawing teach you about the object.... a good deal, I suspect. And in doing so you shortened the the time it takes anyone to build to your instructions - reduced the number of on site panic-ridden questions, reduced frustration, and got more value out of the people working with you.

Before I forget: the process of learning any new software package is almost always aided by having two monitors: one for the package and the other an instruction resource (YT, helpsheet, keyboard shortcut list, demonstration)

The benefit I get (apart for the process of learning, on which I am firmly hooked) is the way that designing something makes me pay great attention to detail. The process of briefing someone to do the job for you is fraught with pitfalls : and that's why -at many levels- people say 'sod it I'll do it myself'. But I must admit to being hooked on learning software packages. Sunday mornings ; I try to find an hour to teach myself some new aspect of (at the moment) Sketchup.

I wondered about Stucco in the American context and did a bit of research before replying above. You are right @Ferdinand I should not have suggested avoiding stucco: instead I should have focussed on the contractor. Here's flavour of the research I did; An American law firm educating prospective clients One can find many discussions like this (too many others to reference) Here's a video itemising common problems with stucco Maybe the Italian houses in which I stayed were all poorly maintained. And finally I read the Guardian too much. @Russell griffiths, thanks for starting this thread. @Ferdinand, Ms Orr is off my Christmas card list

Hmm, I think there's enough evidence in the film to conclude: don't use stucco, and make sure the windows are aluminium clad, especially if they are facing the prevailing wind. I suspect the prevailing temperature range will have something to do with it: I bet that house faces south.

No. Sorry, but there isn't. Ian

Write one yourself ? What have you learned? Mistakes. Successes. What worried you most? How did you work out your compromises? Was it worth it? @JSHarris's effort and generosity cheers loads of folk up. Whenever I'm a bit down I remember his fight with the bore hole. And then I feel better. Give it a go. Cheer us up.

A small in-build redesign means that part of the temporary window frame has to be taken out to enable someone to reach underneath it and take out the insulation. It is to be replaced by concrete. Simple job : two hours. That was agreed in late June. Here we are early July, contractors back on site, and two hours after they'd started, I noticed that they weren't taking the frames out to get at the insulation. A quiet word later and it's being done. Frames on their way back in. If I hadn't been there, it would have cost us an arm and a leg to remediate that one. It's taken three years to get the stage where I say TGIF. I can't say you all didn't warn me.

Waste PU from the Durisol blocks. I'm chipping the wood bit: makes a beautiful surface - you can walk barefoot on it - messy, but comfortable. I could chip that too, I suppose..... but how would anyone use the resultant chipped PU? Anyway, I intend to bag it for a while until inspiration dawns.

Use Sketchup. The twist is needing to use Layout for (paper and dynamic) presentation. PM me for a resolution to that problem

But imagine going into Timsons to get that sign made up..... " Nahhh mate, 'snot fer me its fer next door; she's too embarrassed to ask you to make it..."

BTW lavender works best for mozzies and the like...... a small bowl on each window cill. And geraniums outside the windows if possible.

@Ferdinand, we know when the foxes might well be poking around in our garden: the scent of mint wafts towards our house: if the dogs also bark, we can be certain. While appreciating the offer, locally mint is abundant, not to say a weed. Now lemon or apple mint, well that would be nice ... I need a good dose of mint now to calm the nerves: Sketchup has frazzled me all damn day. Trying to squeeze quarts into pint pots, while not fully conversant with the software. Arggghhhh. Cross ventilation and opening windows (tilt and turn) it seems to me will be essential. With wafts of mint on the breeze, hopefully.

Hi, yes, you are correct. the temperature will be even through most of the house. We went to visit the delightful chap that opens his house every year at Denby Dale. Very informative. He openly admits to having his window open a touch every night. Indeed when we were there, he had both his bedroom window and another window open a bit. Go and visit him. He is very entertaining. @JSHarris (and others) will point to the fact that doing so unbalances the system. And of course they are right. The owner's argument was: so what? Make the system work for you, not the reverse. I am putting in the infrastructure for the MVHR, this year (ducting), but not the box (Genvex). We'll wait and see what the house can do on its own. We have planned for many of our windows to be openable so we can create natural airflow (chimney effect), but we don't know what the reality of living in our new home will be. We plan to record a series of parameters (temperature, RH, CO2 and others - not sure how many yet) for a year or so, and then on the basis of that evidence and the PHPP exercise(s) we ran, specify the box to be installed in 2018. Don't let MVHR rule you. Yes, we might have to wear a pullover or two for one winter, or go and buy £40 of oil filled heater from Aldi in November. That's a small price to pay for evidence-based expenditure.

Come on you pair of old farts; @Ferdinand, @Onoff, just do it! Extended pub lunches indeed. @Onoff, your comment about diet is too close for comfort. Meat flavoured meals, rather than a main portion of meat, very small amounts of alcohol, half-size portions (think Kids meals) and the odd day of 600 calories only clear my @MikeSharp01-esq spark plugs

You are doing it now. Right now. Reading this.

Nail on the head. You are not alone thats for sure. Novelty attracts. But sticking-to-the-knitting is what self-building needs. I think that your thread on the bathroom is a good way of drawing everyone's attention to progress, and an excellent (if virtual) way of not doing it on your own. You see your project anew in the light of all the comments. I used to worry about site visitors. But I have had a lot. Every other day two or three. Even if it just a quick reach through the gaps in the HERAS to poke an ICF block. And I realise (in hindsight) that even negative comment about the build or a detail or an error is in fact a useful motivator. Networking does it best for me. How about you?

Just do it.

This phenomenon is exactly why I started this thread. How do we all motivate ourselves to '...just do it...' despite how you feel?

Carole King Carol King: Beautiful does it for me sometimes... not always. Give it a go here

Oh... If only. We're building in our garden. I can't decide if -overall- that is an ad or disadvantage. Progress, or the lack of it stares out at us every moment of every day. We just can't put it down. I'm also clear that here am I grizzling like a nipper when in fact I'm immensely lucky.

3 years into the build and my standard stock of self-motivators is running low High energy music Three cups of coffee, not two Procrastination - and just a little bit of self-loathing resulting in whirling dervish readjustment Reading Buildhub posts: You did what? Oh thats a good idea! Hmmm, mustn't forget that Go for a walk with the dogs Do the ironing: the world is a better place when you stop doing that Go to the local shop and buy a cheese and bacon turnover, some Lucozade, and a choc bar Clean the bathroom thoroughly: (as for ironing) Its no accident this post is written on a Monday morning. What do you do to motivate yourself when energy and spirits are low(ish)? Ian

All of them are mine. So how do I prove it? I don't know how long I been putting off photographing all the serial numbers on my tools. This is the nudge I need to get the job started. Hmm, and I was stuck for something to do today, I really was. Thanks @Crofter Ian