LSB

Currently, we are doing everything ourselves, but we are already years in, but we have our existing house and no time constraints. We have made mistakes, but my husband is, like lots on this site, a perfectionist and we just couldn't find people who wanted to do the work or seemed reliable. It started with the groundworks, we have 3 companies out to quote and not one of them did, so we just got on with it. Doing things yourself is very slow so maybe consider what others have said and get a company to build the shell with Timber Frame and get water tight, then it's more straightforward. So I'm told, we are not there yet. Ignorance is bliss, until you make a mistake and have to go backwards.

Viking burial 🙂

welcome and good luck with your journey

welcome and good luck finding the elusive plot and design

After my horrid time earlier this year I am now going to post something more positive. As of yesterday, I was offered a job, not ideal (is any job ideal), rather than working from home I must go to the office which takes 40mins each way and hubby is disappointed that he will be left on his own all day. That said even with time out for funeral 250 miles away and wet, wet, wet we have progressed. Some pictures. hardcore & binding (take 2 after previous issues) now the expansion foam around the sides The heave protection next then taping next was the rebar here is the pour on top of the rebar - 200mm drying concrete slab with no hint of everything underneath, typical building, lots of expense and nothing to see. the first row of outside blocks added showing the cavity first blocks over DPC with all the rain we have created a bit of a swimming pool It was at this point that we purchased a puddle pump as hubby really didn't like having to kneel and build low in water going up with some windows & doors framed insulation going in joining the existing walls to the new part this is where some of the kitchen cabinets will be hung, so although internal we are using heavier blocks to take any necessary weight On the left hand side you can see part of the existing barn that will be staying. The roof is currently being held up with barrels and wood building from scaffolding is a real milestone, makes it seem like we are getting somewhere. To protect the insulation, we have the original insulation from the barn roof cut up to provide a 'roof' over the cavity. Having made the frames for the remaining to windows these need to be placed in situ for building around. This area will be our front hall and snug. Of course, the front door will only be used by visitors, but we will go through the hall internally to get into the snug. With all the cavities it is smaller than I hoped, but with all the insulation it will be much warmer than our single skin house. Hope you enjoy the pictures, next time I hope to be at lintel and wall plate level, but we would like the weather to improve. Thanks for reading Jill

thanks, our saving grace is a small pension from when women retired at 60, not enough to cover everything, but does keep the wolf from the door. I'm just a bit annoyed that I've paid many 1000's in NI & tax over my working life, never claimed and now can't get anything. It is good that people who are desperate can get help, but not us until we are destitute. hey ho 🙂

no job yet, lots of interviews (no age on CV), then when they meet me I get, you are too experienced, you wouldn't be the right fit for the team, you would probably get bored with your experience, your qualifications are out of date, even 'we want someone who will stay 10+ years - as if they can guarantee anyone will do that, and the last one this week, we are a small company / team and we are concerned you wouldn't fit in. Nothing overtly about my age as that's illegal, but lots of vailed hints to that end. I tried to talk to the dept of stealth and total obscurity yesterday, total loss, not entitled to anything as we have savings.

Hadleigh Glass are very good I hear, planning on using them, but haven't placed any orders yet.

I needed some supplies last week, wood, blocks, sand and cement. Who said prices had reduced, they were a lot more expensive than last time I bought the same stuff, by about 20% I was really shocked as I thought they had reduced.

We used these for our carpark at work, they are great for slippery ground, but need to be filled with gravel so they bed in properly. Not sure where you get them though

I agree, it won't bring him back and I think they should not do it, but his family live over 200 miles away from Suffolk and never came and saw him. I've not idea what was in his will, but he had a big house and pension and by all accounts about 100k in liquid cash. So, maybe he left it to the cats home or something and that's what it's really about.

One of my neighbours died late last year of asbestosis, caused from when he was in the Navy. Big arguments between the family and the coroner now about industrial versus non-industrial version, if industrial then they can sue the government if not then well that's just bad luck. But, that said it can kill you, but he was also a smoker, heavy drinker and in his late 70's and even though that's not old he had a pretty exotic life, one of his many wives was a Venezuelan stripper 🙂

it probably is, I commented again before looking at the link. Hubby is going to look at link later to possibly buy one.

it's 200mm thick with mesh and then heave protector then oversite so not really feasible. as it's under the DPM no doors or gaps.

The water is about 1 -2 inches deep and the room is 6m * 4m approx. Submersible pump no good as water needs to be over the top hence puddle (residue) pump, but they are very expensive. Too big an area for the dust pan and brush approach. We have been sucking it out with the water vacumn, but that only takes a bucket load and then needs to be moved manually to empty. We spoke to pump suppliers and they advised puddle pump, but new are £100's and to hire is £60 per day. Just wondered if anyone had any ideas. Thanks for all the above.

Right boffins having looked at the price of residue pumps both buying and hiring does anyone have an ideas on how to pump out about 3in of water currently sitting on our suspended slab floor. We have been using a wet hoover, but it takes ages as we have to keep emptying it. This issue is likely to carry on due to the slow speed of our build, we are unlikely to have a roof this year. TIA

we have no burns, ditches, rhynes or streams on our side of the road. beside our fields over the road there is a ditch, but nothing ever runs over the road so I guess any water just 'soaks away'

Surely if fluid goes into the soakaway it's got to go somewhere ?

between the planned parking and the sheds is about 50m by 15m wide. this needs to have the TP and the soakaways.

ground is a mixture of sand & loan

This is the layout, real basic from the house to the road is 120m and is about 5m in height. this is also the driveway, but the 'field' is about 15m wide so space for both without driving over TP. There are other sheds at the moment beside this driveway which are used for the horses so can't be knocked down. So, no problem with drains and angle of pipes or digging soakaways, but no where to put pond The road to our driveway is about 25m which is a shared driveway with our current house.

soakways will be lower, when I said 'drain to field' I meant after the soakaway. I feel a drawing coming on 🙂

we can't feasibly have a pond or reed bed as house is at the top of a slope, so digging something out would be pretty impossible.

I'm wondering if there is an overview on installing off mains sewage treatment. We have the location on our plans, but nothing else. No water course, just ultimate run off into our field. TIA

that's good then as nothing got done, and rain forecast all next week as well.