Gone West

You can easily. Make the area a little larger than the plans and mark out with wooden pegs and string lines. Mark out the string lines on the ground with spray paint. Make sure distances to boundaries are correct and corners are square. Ours was a complex shape so took a while double checking everything but was relatively straightforward. We hired a digger with operator for £370 and he dug out around 90 tons of soil which he piled up in the orchard next door.

We were very lucky with our plasterer. We didn't have to touch the plaster anywhere except where it popped on a couple of screw heads. He admits to being OCD about the look of things and isn't happy unless it's perfect.

I use Purdy Elite brushes and Purdy rollers with a very short nap to give a smooth finish, which what we were after. I used Wickes Plaster Sealer which although expensive allowed us to seal without having to sand the plaster. The emulsion we used was Brewers Albany.

We went to committee and I spoke for three minutes. I also asked my local councillor to support my application and he spoke on my behalf as well. I hand delivered a document outlining what I was trying to achieve to each of the Planning Committee a week before the hearing. The only objectors I had were the Planning Dept. My application was passed unanimously much to the annoyance of the Head of Planning. I was not allowed to address the Planning Committee at the site meeting but I had a scale model on show and lots of photographs showing the affect my build would have on the surrounding area. At the site meeting members of the Committee asked me questions which I had to answer concisely.

I have 20mm MDPE from under the road to our water meter and then into the bungalow. I have teed off that in 25mm MDPE to the new house and then used a 25mm MDPE to 22mm adapter.

I used these for my electric towel rails. http://www.timeguard.com/products/time/immersion-and-general-purpose-timeswitches/7-day-fused-spur-timeswitch

Did you spray water water in there before the foam? I've found spraying water first and then foaming slowly allows it to expand fully. Hope I'm not teaching Granny to suck eggs.

Just make sure they get it level! Good luck.

It's a postcode lottery. The Highways Dept. and BC were quite happy for me to discharge roof drainage directly onto the lane where it runs into a ditch 100m down the road.

I'm a bit confused, my Secoh EL100C which is seven years old has a warning light switch and the warning light is remote from the pump. Are you saying the Secoh JDK series, which replaced the EL series, originally didn't have a warning light switch but now does and that the warning light is on the top of the pump? If so buying a second hand Secoh JDK pump you need to be aware of the differences.

The switch is there because when a diaphragm breaks the armature ends up offcentre and the switch turns on the warning lamp.

My windows are Rehau Geneo and are made from RAU-FIPRO which is a fibre reinforced uPVC. They can be painted any RAL colour and most people think mine are aluminium. Excuse the dirt.

A friend underpinned an 18th C. barn he was converting back in the 90s using the method I mentioned above. It didn't have any foundations to start with just a very thick brick plinth wall. It was hard work digging out cubic metres of earth but worked very well.

Usually involves underpinning the existing foundations. Can be done by digging out alternate 1m long sections under the foundations and filling with concrete. When set the intermediate ones are dug out and filled. The depth depends on what is already there.

Hi Phil, welcome to the forum and good luck with your project.

Hi Kerry, there are alternative means of construction which will give you uncluttered attic space or vaulted ceilings as we have in our house. Ours has been built using a portal timber I-beam frame. This is a picture of our landing:- Here's a link to my blog which shows how the frame is constructed. http://forum.buildhub.org.uk/ipb/blogs/entry/74-the-timber-frame-goes-up/

My ridge and hip tiles are both Marley Modern type.

Hi John, welcome to the forum. Plenty of newbies to self build on here including me.

Yes, Wendy's a real help, couldn't have got this far without her. As complete amateurs I guess things aren't too bad but we are into the seventh year of the build now, and you think you're slow!

Now that's where I struggle on both counts!

I found filming the labour aspect of our foundations a crucial part of our evidence when the foundations had to be replaced.

It certainly did. Well done for stripping it all back and starting again. You would have been worrying about it if you hadn't. It's a stressful time but when you're past this stage it'll be lost in all the other things you'll be doing.

+1 for EverEdge. We're now using EverEdge Halestem Rigid, 150mm for the drive edging and 100mm for the pathways.

It's been there getting on for two and a half years but is looking a bit tatty now. We have replaced one section with galvanized steel and will do the other section later in the year.

Bit early in the morning for me! I'll have to read it more carefully next time.