Judy C

We are going to building our new house in our garden. The access to the plot is between the house we live in and a converted stable which we let out. We have normal buildings insurance on our house, and there is buy-to let insurance on the converted stable. We will have site insurance for the building plot, (through the main contractor and we may also need to take a separate additional one out to satisfy the self-build mortgage company). The risk to our house and to the converted stables is probably accidental damage - e.g. a delivery lorry knocking into a wall. The construction work is too far away for there to be any damage caused by other means, save a massive explosion. My question is: Do the house and converted stable need to be specified in the site insurance? Or would accidental damage to them be covered by the insurance of the delivery driver (for example)? I am planning on informing the household insurance companies that the building work is taking place.

Yes I am expecting it to be supply and fit - but the crane does need to get up drive!

I'm just waiting for a quote, and to see just how big a crane is needed to install them.. For us it would be instead of a insulation/beam floor with concrete topping.

Has any one used or considered using this product? https://www.creaghconcrete.co.uk/products/spantherm (reposted here form building materials section)

Has any one used or considered using this product? https://www.creaghconcrete.co.uk/products/spantherm

If the building has been uninhabited for more than 2 years then a contractor can rate work at 5% - that might not help you if you are doing work yourself but might help if you need to bring contractors in for certain items.

Thanks both - will look them up.

Have you considered Habito (british Gypsum) instead? As with Fermacel (and regular plasterboard) it can be taped and jointed and not skimmed, although most people prefer a skim finish. Try commercial dryliners as they will often work without skimming.

We are having an internal lining of insulation (having done the all the condensation analysis) which will mitigate almost all the thermal bridging. In our design there are no internal timber rafters - I think these are necessary for longer spans which our's aren't. I think the downside is the lack of thermal mass - we are having a concrete slab above the insulation but that's all. So will be relying on passive measures to cut out high sun and provide effective rapid ventilation in hot weather.

Anything over 2m deep and you are into major risks to you or anyone you employ in the trenches, and you'll need to plan to avoid those risks. I would take a structural engineer's advice on how deep to take a soil sample from and be guided by them in the best approach. I expect a raft would be off the table as you need to take out 50% of the foundation depth, and that in the end piles plus ringbeam will be a good option.

I need some purpose - made metal flashings at the head of my windows and doors where they are set into timber cladding; and also at the base of the timber cladding where it meets the brick plinth. Any suggestions for manufacturers or suppliers? Many thanks

You are welcome - although some contractors are a bit scared of some of these contracts if they haven't come across them before. It might also cover all sorts of things that won't be relevant (not sure how if a retention is relevant to groundworks, for example).

0.11 for floor and flat roofs; 0.13 for walls and 0.12 for the roofs. That's with an extra layer of insulation internally. We are aiming for a/c pf around 2...

A JCT Minor works contract needs a contract administrator, so I would steer clear of that. It's also not very user-friendly if you haven't used it before. The RIBA does a Domestic Building Contract suitable for new houses (or part, thereof), and the client can be the same person as the contract administrator for that one, as long as the contractor understands that there might be a conflict of interest. You can buy that online and fill it in yourself, there's a sample available to read through. https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/riba-domestic-building-contract

We liked the idea of off-site construction (the overall time on site is quite important to us); good levels of airtightness and really good insulation. It also would have been more straightforward had we chosen to project manage ourselves - but in the end we aren't going to do that.

The unit needs to meet certain requirements to be considered permitted development and your supplier should be able to supply the appropriate information. Listed buildings do not have permitted development rights. As for GSHP - the RHI payment is double, so some of the additional cost will be paid for by that. GSHP last longer and are more efficient. And if you put the unit in a garage, completely invisible.

Hello We have made a 10% down payment on our SIPS supply so that the engineering work can be done. We paid that by credit card. I'm in the same position as you for the rest of it tho. But the way I see it is that the next big payment will come just before production - so as soon as it is in production it will belong to you (ie they can't then give it to someone else). So if they went bust, the receivers would not be able to sell it as a general asset. Then just before construction most of the balance will be paid. Does your SIPS supplier provide any insurance against non-supply or insolvency?

Hello Thank you for adding me. I am about to start building a low energy self build in my back garden. I am an architect so have done this for other people but it is much more stressful doing it for yourself. We are using a SIPS frame. I've found some very helpful information on this forum, hopefully I can contribute too.