crispy_wafer

@epsilonGreedy Just reading back through this thread, what method for your cavity and insulation did you opt for in the end?

Post and rail fence is a nice option, tis what we did 20 years ago, stand the posts in oil, creosote or a mixture for a couple of weeks will help them immensely in the long run, then square 4 inch wire mesh run along the fence from ground level to about 4ft high to keep out dogs. Eventually I planted laurels, loads of them over the space of a few years, purchased them in the winter as bare root in bundles of 50 or so, then heeled them into my veg patch then planted them at my leisure. Beware though, Laurels grow big if you let them, Mine are now at about 2.5 to 3m, which keeps out prying eyes. Means I can have more man toys to keep it in good order though, and its a twice a year job at that. Not sure what's worse though, painting fences, or hedgetrimming!

So yesterday, was a fairly productive day in terms of ticking things off the list. Bricks ordered - before price rise. Not that I've got much space to store them at the moment. I'll be extending the driveway infront of the build up to the front of the bungalow to create a little extra room. It's gonna get muddy when I get a machine in but needs must, it was something to do later in the year but I've had my arms twisted a bit. Building inspector is happy for me to connect to existing septic tank so that's a result. A wagon load of limestone chippings is now ready to be deposited under the block and beam floor... Water table and standing water round the trench blocks where little or no back fill, building inspectors recommendations so happy with that, the ventilation space will be maintained as I'm out the floor by a good way... I can handle a little damp, but a moat, no thanks! Quote back from roof truss and first floor pozi joist supplies, not bad i think, took a bit of toing and froing to get to where we wanted... on a 5100 span we started with 254*100 at 600mm centres... I'm no flooring technician but that sounded a bit bouncy to me, he explained the software spits out the most economical design. Eventually we have ended up at 304*122mm at 400mm centres, not quite double the price, but close. To sanity check its 12*5200 and 5*5100 + ancillary items for 1980 + vat , I'll look a bit further afield to see how the quote stacks up. And heres a link to the timelapse from the day it all started. Rose Maroan, New Build - Day1 - YouTube

Blocks coming up on slab, on drawing they are specified as block walls, there's one a couple which are spec'd as stud walls, but blocking them gave me a feel for the location, and door positions.

Parge coat - Noted. I will have a word when the blocks are going up, ask them nicely to point up and ensure the mortar fills the bits where it should maybe a cup of tea and a bit of cake will seal the deal.... 175mm as between myself and the builder we were discussing the finished floor height and how many blocks down before and above the b+b, then we were working backwards from the level AOD stipulated by the planners, 170mm or 160mm + 60mm or 70mm screed , so its a number that could well change a smidge depending on costs, and what bargains I can lay my hands on. Haha brings me on to screed, all the builders round this way all seem to use floscreed now, but to be different I quite fancy good old fashion sand/cement screed. MVHR location is now a consideration, admittedly I hadn't actually planned on one, but a bit of tweaking and a reduction of the downstairs shower/wc has created a bit of extra space in the utility for this. Pipe routes are now being worked out.

My preference would be dense concrete blocks at 20% cheaper. What was the reason for the lightweights? Probably me being a bit naive and not reading into real world experiences. And just going by what the technician suggested Good plan. Have you priced EPS blown beads as an alternative No, but blown beads were on my list to investigate, one thought I had was, was how can I be sure they get everywhere they need to. It'll help for sure. Get him to cost it. Where does the bottom of your wall insulation stop? That steel is probably more of an issue mind you. Good question, just looked and it is something that isnt detailed on my drawings. I'll need to double check where he's filled the cavity with lean mix to, but I think its to the level where it's covering the block and beam ends. So as it stands the insulation starts at the top of the block and beam. RE the steel, yes, good point, I'll have a mooch about and see how others have solved this. My preference would be wet plaster internally. Although dot and dab can work it usually doesn't rate very well for airtightness. Nice solid walls too. Yes, I like the idea of wet plaster, but I had also thought about battening out the internal walls and creating a service void, potentially insulated PB, not fully decided at this point. - Note if I was to do this again, I'd have put in a wider cavity... Again something I'd not even considered at the outset. I'd get rid of the studs and build internal block walls. Better for sound and cheaper as far as i can remember. These can be built on the blocks that are there. I don't have too many studs so yes this is something I could do. Avoid anything that seals with a brush seal like bifolds or sash windows. They're really drafty. Triple glazing is a no brainer. Beyond that it's how much you want to spend. hehe, no bifolds in this house, don't know why, totally irrational but I dislike them with a passion. Triple glazing, yes, they'd quoted me for double, but I will ask them to requote, especially for the floor to gable curtain as this could be an issue. Looking at some of the details they'd put on the quote, they are using a system from SF52 Curtain Wall - Senior Architectural Systems Nope! That suggests you've been able to get to sleep in the first place! ? Have a look at this series of videos from the GreenBuildingStore. They're short and cover 99% of what you'll need to do to have a very comfortable house. Thanks, certainly will do, I'll queue that up on the amazon box.

So I've got plenty of time before the builder comes back later this year to shell and roof. Trouble is with all this time I'm finding out lots of tidbits of information from you guys that perhaps I'd have been better knowing before we started this journey. I'm slowly putting together a spec for the shell. It'd been decided to be brick and block, however I'm already starting to think again on this, and heading back to the drawing board. Changes I've made so far 175mm insulation on the B+B floor instead of the 100mm specified I'll be using fibolites instead of celcon lightweights, are 3.6n OK or are 7.2 the ones to use? Dritherm32 or similar instead of rigid PIR wall insulation as I wont be around the watch and monitor the builder at every step, The first course of blocks had been laid onto the B+B floor, but I've just discovered things like cold bridging at the wall to floor junction, so would knocking these out and putting down a course of thermoblocks be a wise idea? Builder wont be too happy, but there you go I guess. decisions made without knowledge and all that. I've also discovered this thing called a parge coat, or sealing the inner blockwork to help with airtightness. Then there will be dealing with attention to detail when the floor is laid and the roof construction. Internal room dividing stud walls? Now a question that's been going round my noggin, what should these sit on? Currently laid out with block or would marmox be a better idea. Also, as I know not alot about windows and glazing I'll pop up in that section soon as I've had a quote through and I couldn't tell if it's good bad or ok... Finally, Is waking up at 3am thinking about trivial stuff normal? Cheers folks this really is a great resource that helps with the unblurring of the lines.

I think the problem here, is now I've seen it, I cant unsee it ?, just need to get my head around it being part of the 'character' ... ?

Thanks George, The Highway drain is 'my drain', were on an non public maintainable highway, the type where neighbours all band together and look after, I dug it out and maintain it and have done for the last 20 years. I'm not worried about draining to that too much, but If I laid a pipe it would be about 2-4 inches under the existing ground level, and I bet I'd have to raise some levels as the pipe run would pass through the garden, which is a bit of a bowl. I think infilling could be a solution, I just hate the idea of standing water inside the 4 walls, already got me waking up in the night to think about possible solutions... However if its absorbed in stone, or some other material then I think I can deal with that. The current bungalow is built on a concrete slab and FFL is about a foot out of the ground. The water table levels haven't caused an issue for as long as we've lived in it. The new build FFL will be about 2 foot out of the ground - thanks drainage board, hence the design including b+b floor.

Hi all, Our build is currently sitting dormant whilst we wait on the better weather to Shell and roof. We are up to dpc with the block and beam floor down. Our water table is quite high, we've got clay about a metre down so water seems to just sit for a while. I've got water under the floor, it appears to be sitting at about the water table level, so I'm thinking that its coming through the foundation block work as well as from above. Fortunately the b+b floor level is a fair bit higher than ground level as a condition was to have FFL higher than the existing property on site due to flood risk (Internal drainage board deep drain about 100m away). The oversite? is about the same level as ground level outside the build I guess higher in places and lower in others. I don't really like seeing water down there, something just doesn't compute in my mind. Very crude diagram attached I've read about french drains around the perimeter to help move water away, but I havent really got much depth and fall to play with to a roadside drain, can I infill the oversite maintaining the ventilation gap to raise the ground level? Any other options, If I have to I dont mind lifting/moving the floor to remediate if i have to.

Having a discussion with a builder about our cavity wall insulation, he's recommending isover 32, and I'm looking a dritherm 32 as that appears to be a well used, and recommended cavity batt on this forum. I've looked briefly at the spec's and to my untrained eye they look identical. Only the price of the Isover stuff seems to be that much greater, so I'm thinking I must be missing something. I'm using insulationshop.co as my reference but other retailers have similar price difference. If I can save a few pounds here and there then I'm all for it. What say the buildhub experts?

Sounds like an idea worth exploring, thanks.

I will do this for the other phases of the build next year, however time has caught up with me on this phase so like many, am spinning many plates, and responsibilities at this moment.

Just after a sanity check if possible please. I've had a quote through for groundworks, and work to DPC, pretty much supply and fix, however this quote contains VAT on the materials being used. We (Myself and builder) both know that labour and materials should be zero rated on new build, however with him being a small outfit he's not in a position to zero rate the VAT. I don't have accounts in place yet, to purchase materials for this stage of the job so, what my builder is suggesting is. He's VAT registered, but I don't think he necessarily has the capital in place to swallow the VAT until his accounts submission. He purchases the materials for the job on his trade accounts. He then invoices me from his company for the materials. I then use this invoice on my VAT reclaim at end of project. Sounds OK to me, but I'm a novice in these matters.

We're planning on 100mm PIR insulation and I've heard about degradation and stability of this, so yes that's a good point I'm not sure it'd be a wise move to leave parts exposed. Also just After I'd posted, I thought about scaffolding costs, either long term hire, or erect/dismantle and then for them to have to come back to erect/dismantle, incurring ongoing costs, or double puts me off a bit. The more I think, the walls and roof ought to follow quite closely.

So, I've had an estimate back from a builder who I think I can work with, it's competitive so that's a plus, and nicely broken down to in three stages for shell construction as that's what I asked for. Our situation is that we live in a bungalow on site, to be demolished after new build completion. We have a rental property that's just gone on the market. We have savings. And I'm trying to do this project without borrowing, or if we have to borrow, then it's going to be short term. So facts and figures... Were looking at a 200m2 chalet style build, brick block on filled foundations, block beam floor, One floor to gable glazed section, one dormer, one dormer cum balcony, and a velux. Steels to help with the structure, ... He's priced in just shy of £30,000 for groundworks/Foundations/Blocks,Bricks up to DPC/Block and Beam floor ready for insulation and screed + £57000 for brick and blockwork, internal blockwork, floor joists and boards, insulation, ties, lintels as per drawings + £30000 for the roof structure and tiled in Balcony, Velux, and Windows/Doors are left for structure to be watertight. Got to arrange a factory visit with a local glazing firm to see what they can do for me. There's bound to be extra's here and there too Once watertight, we'll reassess with the builder and either let him proceed or we'll take over and organise trades/DIY as appropriate. We have just over half that in savings, so my quandry is, get the team in sort the foundations, get up to dpc, lay the floor, and STOP, whilst we sort out the £££'s to continue - Can I leave it like this, will any of the material degrade if left like this??? get him to continue upto first floor level, if money allows then STOP. Realistically, there'll be a lead time for him to come back, then we might be into late autumn/winter can I leave the building structure in this state over these seasons, I don't envisage any of the floor joists will be onsite at this point, I'd not be leaving timber open to the elements? TLDR I'm keen to get cracking, finance at this point dictates I can only get so far, money in pipeline but don't know when. Get started or not??? Builder seems happy to work with me, in stages, doesn't mind me purchasing materials, or if he does it then he'll pass over the invoice breakdowns etc etc, I've explained money situation, honesty being the best policy and all that.. What say's Buildhub?

Thanks @nod

Just doing a big of research and costings for floor insulation. These 'ere upstands, what's the crack with these. would/did you buy them ready made width and height, or would you just take some 25/50mm insulated boards and cut/trim it to the height required then stick it in place. Something is telling me that cut boards would be more cost effective and i'm looking for reassurance that its ok to do this (not frowned on). Or is there a better way?

Question is, at this stage, and knowing what you know now, you would do it all again ?

I saw that mentioned in a thread earlier and made a note of it, I know others are doing it, but living in half a shell, how does that stand with the paperwork side of things, sign off, insurance. I could quite easily make the downstairs two bed. Would make that path easier to achieve I guess.

We are looking approx. 200 sq metres. There will definitely be an element of taking some time, looking after costs to this project I've got it into my head to get the builder to get as far as he can on budget, then crack on myself. I guess working out a detailed order of events once the structure is up will help in this respect, hopefully then I can be looking/planning one or two steps ahead. Was your builder content at just doing the shell? The few I've spoken to so far, immediately talk about turnkey, have had to reign them in a little. One wasn't interested in just doing the shell, but they were a big local firm so I can understand it from their business model. Thing is, there's a high chance of me calling them or their subbies back in as and when my skills are lacking or when funds allow.

Hi, Thought I'd introduce myself as I've been lurking for a few days reading loads of good threads making notes of good idea as I go. Started this journey with just a pipe dream many years ago, Mrs Crispy and I are now at a stage where we have designed what we want, planning permission approved, drawings submitted to building regs. At that point I hadn't really outlined any particular list of must have's in regards to spec, a few days reading later the list is now growing. We have the land with an old bungalow onsite that we are living in, the new dwelling will be built then everything other structure will be removed. The new place will be a Chalet style dormer, brick and block structure with a bit of structural steel, all coming to a smidge under 200sq m. My big issue's now are how to keep costs under control, I've already had some estimates from a big local co, and full turnkey finish ranged between 225 and 280 dependent on spec. I nearly fell out of my chair when the reality hit home. I'm thinking am I being too ambitious - not sure. We always thought that we'd never be in a position to go turnkey, so doing stuff ourselves was always going to be on the cards, We've got 150 to get as far as we can, there is a bit more but I like getting bang for my buck, and I've then got to plan and rebuild outside structures as Planners insisted I take everything down, to incorporate the floor area into the new build, on top of that I've had PD rights zapped too. Is it feasible to get to a watertight stage then take over yourself, managing it, DIY'ing, financing on the fly doing what you can and calling in the trades as and when needed. I know there's going to be jobs I can do and stuff I cannot, a bit of savvy buying here and there to snag bargains. Anyways enough of my ramblings, thanks for being a great source of information.