Triple07

Sorry @jayroc2k, I missed your reply, very helpful, we r still patiently waiting for the house to sell, but will need to make a decision soon so good to have options.

Hi @ultramods, im project managing our build in Aberdeenshire as well as working full time, doing the work ourselves, and having a young family (and trying to sell our current home but that’s another story!) it’s not easy but it’s do-able and if I thought I was saving £15k it would have been a no-brainer. It is time consuming and at times stressful but if you are organised and able then I can’t see why you couldn’t do it, especially if you are using workmen that you trust. My sister in law started her project with the same architectural Technician as you are using, but they parted ways before the build started and after a redesign with a different firm, went with a custom homes builder who project managed it for her. That worked best for her, she was on a tight timescale. Much like you have said, Im too much of a control freak to have anyone else do my ordering and keep a fine eye on the budget, I make the time to get and compare (and haggle) different quotes, I just don’t believe an AT project manager would do that, especially if he has other projects he is managing or designing at the time. We have time, and are “in the trade” , and already had many trade accounts open, but even the window quotes alone saved over £6k between comparable companies. We also have the luxury of the only people we are holding up,with any delays, would be ourselves. I guess only you know the answer but given that you mentioned the wife is an a accountant, I can’t see it being the VAT reclaim being an issue !

Had a panic for a moment, thankfully Scotland is only 4.5l max for toilets and 6l max for taps, was thinking I would never get the bath filled with a restricted tap!

Thanks @jack , our house insurance has a £200 voluntary excess and a £100 compulsory... I’m fearing £300 may be our cheapest option! Its not even on our build, it’s on the house we are trying to sell!

The blinds in a box are apparently the same as the much cheaper ikea schottis blinds, which is £3 for a 100x190 or £5 for same in blackout, have tried the blackout ones on holiday b4 and were a lifesaver!

Hiya, just wondering how u got on with this as guess what I just done tonight ?

Looks a great site, nice and sheltered.... hi from a very exposed & windy part of Aberdeenshire !

Thanks @ragg987 that was really helpful info

Thanks for the replies! @ProDave if I got a temporary habitation would that not mean I'd need to pay council tax? House is 70% complete but have ordered and paid all kitchens and bathrooms they just aren't fitted yet as walls not taped. We intend putting a static on site for the remaining 6/9month (both work full time so only building weekends/evenings) and (at present) refuse to move in until completely finished or it just won't get finished if you know what I mean! @recoveringacademic Yes we remortgaged and offset our current house to get to this stage of the new Build but need to leave current house LTV at 70% to allow the permission to rent so no more equity available there unfortunately a "standard" mortgage might be an option then if we can swing it, will speak to BC

Hope you don't mind me asking but what kinda checks did they put in place re build? Did u need separate warrantee for them or anything? we are in similar situation as we had intended to sell our current home to fund the last 25-30% of the build but property marked here is rubbish so we are gonna try letting it instead which then doesn't release the equity. now looking at self build mortgage for maybe 6/9month but don't want to get nhbc involved or anything as we plan to live here forever more...

So as the property market continues to flop in our neck of the woods, we have decided not to sell our current property and instead rent it out. ....which then raises the issue on how to finance the rest of our self build... realistically we are about 70% complete but as we cannot release the equity from our current home are now looking at self build mortgages... Our main issue appears to be warranty. We have literally self built (joiner) , so apart from building control have no certifications. "Only" looking for about £50k against what will hopefully be a £400k/450k property, but it's clearly not finished. How finished does a house need to be for a normal mortgage?!

Following with interest as I have just taken delivery of the linear impey...

My sister in law has on her new house, she's really pleased with them

Thanks @Nickfromwales, lots of useful info there. at present our plans state Oil fuelled boiler but we are exploring ASHPs, 3.6kw solar panels too. think I have made some headway, just waiting for the quotes to come back on Monday.

Thanks folks, Didn't get a plan yet...that came after payment. @PeterW do you think that's too many zones? i did get a plan from polypipe tho, see below. Upstairs is radiators. @Simplysimon I *think* that optimum is linked to begetube somehow, certainly had same director and company address at one point. Will speak to him begetube director tomorrow anyhow - as after googling he is now set up as "warm the sole", which sets off little alarm bells, although iv yet to find any forums with disgruntled customers... so who knows maybe a genuine reason although director has yet to tell me despite emailing him this morning to confirm order, just said "they have moved premises" @Alexphd1 thanks, will keep that in mind!

It says: Ground Floor (Screed) 1 × 9 way manifold 9 × Manifold actuator 220v 2 × Pert 17/2 – 120m coil 3 × Pert 17/2 – 200m coil 110m of fixing rails 900 × insulation clips Plus Smart System Control 6 × Heatmiser Neo Thermostat 1 × Heatmiser remote Sensor 1 × UH8 Wiring centre 1 × Neohub 1 × UFHmix Control Manifold Kit 1 × Wilo RS25-6-3 Circulation pump looks like i have more homework to do tonight now!

So after finally reviewing all quotes and deciding on begetube for our underfloor heating system supply.... the appear to have ceased trading this month after going into liquidation.... feel like I have dodged a bullet but puts me back to square one with the quotes.... although now that answers why they were so eager and why quote was so competitive! Any sugestions for supply only in Scotland appreciated.

I would move the larder into the kitchen by 600mm so it ends in line with the run of kitchen units, this would also open up the back hall/door. i would also loose the door & wall into utility and have it more open as more a boot room idea. I would also loose either the French doors or bifold doors and have a fixed panel window, as can't see why would need two exits onto one patio....iv marked it as the French doors to loose but personally I'd loose the bifold (but then I live in north east Scotland you may live in a more tropical climate and find a company that will give a decent warranty!) also just not sure that the playroom connects well, but perhaps your children behave better than my two did ? Will be cracking house though. I would encourage you to take the time now, play with the plans, sleep on them, go to show homes, go see other houses your architect has done, ask what works/doesn't, now is the time for changes....and enjoy!

Thanks folks, will have a look. I think if it was the whole area affected then maybe more could be done but since it's just the unfortunate few that decided to build at the end if long lines I will need to get imaginative with the options! Will maybe go over to our nearest neighbours and see what they have got going on.

Really interesting read @Triassic, luckily we are not that remote but it's equally infuriating, we currently stay 7miles away from our build and are on fibre broadband of approx 25mbps and with two kids (11 & 9) with a minecraft & YouTube addiction I can foresee big problems once we sweep them out the village! We also only get 3G at the new Build so mobile broadband isn't really a great option especially as we have a good bit of granite going in the house frontage, don't really want us all leaning out the windows. it was a "rest of Scotland" initiative that issued the voucher so I'd assume that means nothing else is coming soon, our local one says "fixed wireless" and through ultra networks http://www.ultranetworks.co.uk/, don't really have an idea with latency etc but know it's an extra £6 per month for a fixed IP for any cctv ?

Hi, just wondering if anyone has gone for Satellite internet and if so how they are finding it? New house is at the "end of a line" and nobody can provide fibre so predicted speeds are 0.8mbps....not much I can do with that and was needing my cctv up soon as currently using a wildlife camera (recommended on here and it's been ace but has its limitations) so exploring options. a new provider has set up masts within clear view of our site so I'd assume we would get very good speeds, but we are north east Scotland and I heard poor weather could be problematic....realistically that's everyday! We would be entitled to a set-up grant and have been issued with a voucher for this but the monthly charge is still expensive. Any pointers appreciated.

Hello, welcome, fingers crossed for your planning going smoothly, keep us all updated! I'm building rurally outside Fraserburgh but was being dealt through the Banff planning department for a while, was... erm.... well least said the better maybe! Peterhead for building control and so far keeping them on side!

Sorry ignore above post, I wrote it much earlier in day but lost my connection and it only just sent...answers are much clearer from the others that responded!

We slated our own roof and, it wasn't difficult just very time consuming....3 months...but that was one man at weekends and a couple of hours at night, we didn't have any hips tho but did have dormer windows, we chose lead flashings for our valleys and lime pointing to the underside of the slates where they meet the fascia. We also have a clay ridge. do you have ridge tiles going down your hips? also the "strips" are for your tile edges, perhaps someone with a tiled roof could show you there's?

Those annular, lost head tradefix ones are exactly what we have gone for, we are using T&G western red cedar, finding stainless was actually a wee bit of a challenge. Hope to be on to that soon, still osmo oiling the stuff!