Triassic

What have the Parish Council got to say about the issue?

All three were from volume builders. Sloppy standards, poor quality materials and small rooms were the issue. In one case the kids bed would not fit in the bedroom! In another it was the lack of storage space.

I don't know many people who've bought new build homes but the last three I talked to said it was the worst decision they had ever made. Self build is the way to go, at least you get closer to your ideal, budget permitting!

He's had a surveyor out out with a boroscope and the whole cavity has been filled to below DPC level. The advice he's had is to remove the lot and leave the cavity empty for at least two years before re-insulated using polystyrene balls. He's been told the warranty is worthless.

The elderly parents of a friend of mine have a serious damp problem in a bedroom, the whole house smells damp TBH, having removed a brick on the outside wall he's found blown in fibre cavity wall insulation that is saturated. As he'd originally arranged for the work to be done he's dug out the invoice and it states that Insulation is supposed to be polystyrene beads, so there's the first problem, the wrong and probably cheaper Insulation was installed. As the scheme was originally backed by the Council he's contacted them and been told the firm has gone bust, so nothing they can do. So he's left having to pay to get the stuff removed. Is there anyone he could get help from to sort this problem out?

Our Local Authority charge £125 per Section 80 application and require a copy of the demolition method statement. Guess what I'll be writing tonight!

Because access is so poor to our plot we went for a self built cabin at the bottom of the garden, rather than a caravan. This is where we'll be living during the build. Not sure what council bracket it'll be in, no doubt we'll find out soon enough. Hopefully the bin man will still take our rubbish away.

If I were the owner I'd sell to the highest bidder and that might not be you!

Just a couple more questions, the asbestos survey flagged up the possibility that the Aga and the Lincrusta ceiling paper might contain asbestos. Having done a search I can't find a definitive answer. Any Suggestions? Clearly neither are a huge problem as the Aga will not be dismantled or broken up, so any insulation will remain contained. The Lincrusta can be removed following the appropriate work methods.

I do have planning permission for a replacement house, it was acknowledged in the original application that the existing house was to be demolished. I'll have a look on the LA web sit and see if I can find the form covering demolition.

I've now got to the point in my long running project where I need to start planning to demolish our existing bungalow to clear the plot for the new house. So I am thinking I need a checklist to ensure I've covered everything I need to do. I have an asbestos survey. I've located all the services ready to disconnect them. I have a price for moving the electricity supply into a new meter box in an outbuilding. I've built the cabin in the garden to live in during the build. I have the two storage containers on site for the furniture and affects. I have a demolition plan and risk assessment. So I could do with a few prompts as to what's missing from my list. Also what forms do I need to fill in and who do I need to notify? Council, HSE?

I just use bog standard white silicone.

I had a quick look in B&Q, Bunnings, Aldi and Argos, the cheapest main drill I could find was £12.95 in Argos.

I've had the drill at in bits before I posted, the gears are worn out. To be honest I rarely used a mains drill, it's my fall back when my battery drills are flat. So cheap is good!

My cheap and cheerful Nu-Tools 240v drill has died after a long hard life. It's the drill I tend to use then all the battery drill batteries have been exhausted and are on charge. I need a drill with a tradition chuck, I already have an SDS drill. So, what would you recommend?

I see RICS is forecasting a slow down house sales, maybe this will help keep building material prices in check.

I do wonder if some of the price hikes on building materials are justified, the fall in the value of the Pound will affect imports, but how many suppliers of U.K. manufactured goods and services have raised prices, using the Pound as an excuse?

I'm bungalow gobbling. Ours is a dormer bungalow, build around 1935, is of timber construction. The local authority had a policy regarding bungalow replacement and ours being timber, with little or no insulation, fell within the scope of the policy, I.e. The planners would look sympatheticly at replacement. I had the drawings done and spent time door knocking the neighbours to show them what we were up to , it also gave us the opportunity to deal with any issues they raised. The upshot was, no one objected and the plans passed without a hitch.

I've had to use Burlington slate to meet a planning condition and its cost me £1,200 per tonne inc vat. So 68m2 cost me £4,800.

Onward and upwards, foundations first!

I agree, living on site has its advantages and it saves money, no rent to pay for temporary accommodation. You've just got to consider how easy it will be to sell the bungalow, a few on here have found that they've had to spend time and money on things like painting and decorating, gardening etc, the sort of things that can be neglected when all your focus is on the new property, but things that can put buyers off when viewing.

You've also got to consider your finances, do you have the financial wherewithal to pay for the self build whilst retaining the original home? Some here have struggled financially when to finish their self build, when all their capital is tied up in another property their trying to sell.

Well worth an hour to listen to Jeremy, it's nice to hear the trials and tribulations of a self builder, it was also nice to hear Jeremy praising the role of Self build forums play in supporting self builders. So thanks to Jeremy for his input in the past and hopefully in the future and a plea to anyone thinking of being negative, ask yourself, is my response a positive contribution to the debate, if the answers no, ask yourself why your posting it. I'd also like to thank Keith, the guy who ran The Ebuild forum and the team running this forum, keep up the good work.

The wife bit was tongue in cheek, but I have seen load tests done where addition weight was required and after throwing on everything heavy that was to hand, it ended up with four of the big lads sat on top of the test weights! Every little helps.

Your load cell will indicate the load, if the dead weight is too light, you just add more and redo the test. Maybe a local farmers plant trailer loaded with his / your digger, the full water butt and the .....