SimonD

Oh indeed, that's what I keep on saying to myself - it can only get better ? Thanks!

Haha ?, the cladding is local grown knotty western red cedar. I didn't want to clean knot free variety as I prefer the rustic look. It'll silver fairly soon too. That depends on how to measure it. In September 2018 I started with a lot of the prep work talking to builders and then individual trades to see how I'd approach the whole build. Tried to get quotations. I bought a load of plant and machinery, made up a garden office, and also tendered for the major structural items like the steel frame and glulam beams etc. Dealt with the utility companies re temorary supply and moving meters etc. Had some minor work done January 2019 to test out a potential contractor but then decided against that. The building work started in ernest about May 2019 when once we'd moved out of it, I began demolishing the existing bundalow.

Lucky you to have moved in! That describes our situation fairly well too. I'm self employed and thought I could keep going with my work while also building the house. I've had to let most of that work go and just do some part-time business now. The reason for our delays are multifaceted including; 1. I've never done this kind of thing before so apart from some diy projects I'm learning everything as I go. The only help I've received is my nephew labouring for me part-time outside of his school; 2. Despite paying for professional services and advice, we've found quite a lot of it was pretty poor quality which has caused us some problems; 3. The project doubled in size, in part because of the poor standard of professional input we received - e.g. I've had to create all the constructions details as my architect was awful and what he did do was totally unworkable; 4. It's not a straight forward 'rectangle and triangle' building project so everything is bespoke and non-standard; 5. The winter during which I was constructing the superstructure was one of the worst on record for rain followed by a month where we were hit by consecutive storms. 6. I've been let down by two major ticket suppliers necessitating re-designs and alterations to the building. The first was the insulation system where the supplier almost doubled the price compared to previous quoted prices during specificaation so I changed supplier but had to modify the timber frame. The second was our roof supplier doing the same and then this required alternations to the roof structure, both costing me a lot of time; 7. We were hit by COVID. My wife works for the NHS so I had to take the slack and try to homeschool the boys while dealing with major supply chain issues etc. and now I'm still having to do all the school runs. I've been lucky to spend 2-3 hours a day working sometimes. Sounds like a disaster doesn't it but we are where we are and I'm really hoping for a good run of it soon - windows are due to arrive in a matter of weeks and that will be so major ☺️

Thanks for all the replies and reassurance, it's strangely comforting to know I'm not completely alone in this ☺️ It's also good to hear your stories, the similar issues and experiences with the whole thing. We also took this route because of finances (but something in me also strangely really wanted to do it) as we got some designs done by our architect who knew from the very start what our budget was and not at any point did he raise any concerns about whether we could do what he designed for the money. It was only once we got planning granted and spoke to builders we found out the reality of the situation (there is also a local premium in building we weren't aware of when we bought the original house). From a financial perspective, luckily for us I'd already decided to take it on when we found out that the build wasn't going to be a simple 'remove and raise roof on existing dwelling, and add a new floor,' but actually demolish a large percentage of the existing dwelling, thus doubling the size of the project. We then found that the existing house needed a lot of remedial work to make it good for the additional 1st floor. I still remember the day when my wife came home from work to see most of the ground floor gone only to ask - 'didn't our architect say this was all staying in place?' There were also silly things like the new steel columns were supposed be installed inside an existing wall but the arichtect got the dimensions wrong by 100mm so yet another wall had to come down! So in essence the project went from a large scale loft conversation totalling 100sqm to a 200sqm almost new build. When the BCO visited to inspect the pad foundation trenches I'd dug he looked at it all and asked if we shouldn't just have demolished the whole thing and started from fresh. We did seriously consider it for a moment but couldn't bear the thought of taking it all back to planning etc. Blimey, I've just reread through that paragraph and it already sounds like a proper drama from Grand Designs or something, resonating with those warnings from books like the Housebulder's Bible and Self-build simplified of why you shouldn't do it all yourself!!! ? It's taken me just over two years so far when I started to prepare us and the site for the journey ahead. Then in January 2019 I had a small team of builders in to build the walls for a ground floor infill extension. It was after having them in as potential builders for the whole thing that I made up my mind to do it all myself so started in earnest Feb 2019. It feels like an age since then. Re dealines and timelines - oh, yes, I'd put those in place along with my building schedule and project management chart - that lasted a whole few months after which I threw it away and just got on site and did what I could each day. I think one of the worst things is when people constantly ask how the build is going and do we have a move in date; when will it be finished? Overthinking has definitely been my problem too. I managed to find a way to avoid it when building up the walls and timber frame, but when it's come down to more detailed and important stuff I slip right back in there with that. One of the things I've found to be both a blessing and a curse is the flexibility of doing it myself. We can make and change decisions as we go which obviously does have ramifications. However, it pays major dividends like when I came across how all the steels were designed to sit inside the walls leaving major cold bridging issues - I simply moved all the walls so the steels now sit inside the external fabric. This has also paid dividends when I've had to switch big tickets suppliers like the whole insulation system and the roof cover due to supplier problems. I do have to admit that despite doing some difficult and challenging jobs in my career so far, this is up there as the hardest thing I've done yet. As you've all said, despite the grind it's all going to feel great when it's done and there are also the the many intermediate moments like yesterday when I took down my kwikform scaffolding from the front of the house to see the newly clad facade - it good to see the ugly billowing tarps gone from the walls. Gotta keep the perspective. It's actually starting to look like a house ?

Who on here has built, or are in the process of building, their house themselves with very little help? If so, how often have you had that experience where everything seems to progress at a snails pace, you don't seem to make progress however much effort you put in and it's all just a grind? For me this feeling seems to have persisted for most of this year, covid obviously hasn't helped, but I'm wondering if it's just me?

Having sheathed up my build using OSB as the vapour and air control layer internally, and according to standardised details I've also been informed of the risks with osb. Here's an article that discusses the issue: https://richardpedranti.com/news/musings-energy-nerd/ It think the options are to either go for an osb sheathing product developed and tested for airtightness, or install and additional membrane to the inside of the osb (if using it that way). However, the question remains whether this is actually an issue post construction to the performance of the house, especially if you're not seeking passivhaus certification?

FWIW WWilts, I think it depends on your priorities and perhaps whether you're building a 'development' house or house for yourself to live in. I think that will probably drive some of the decisions. Personally, I would try to retain as much glazed area as possbile rather than reduce the open areas - nothing worse than finding it a little dark on those winter days. And northerly light has a really nice quality to it, apparently it's the best kind of light for artists to paint with. Take advantage of the views as that will help when you do come to sell. If you stick to standard window sizes, that will save you some money compared to bespoke sizes too. The other thing to perhaps consider is to put a draft window schedule together to go and get some comparative quotations for the various options such as upvc, timber and aluminium together with their various whole of window u-values. You'll then be in a much better position to make an informed decision. And if you're worried about the amount of glazing you've got facing to the north, here's my window schedule, almost exactly to the north. We did go for 3g.

FWIW, I did do an epdm flat roof completely on my own and it's not a terribly difficult thing to diy. However, as mentioned above, I used the water based adhesive as when I was finishing around upstands and completing corner finishes, I did need to pull it up and re-do a couple of times. I also needed to resolve some bubbles when laying the full sheet. In my experience, it's not the general laying of it but the detailing to make it neat and tidy that are the major challenges. As for your drawing, there's obviously been a lot of comments about the build-up so I'll just chip in with the metal. What metal cladding are you using? If it's a standing seam type cladding you need to ensure it's fully supported by plywood or osb. Your ventilation gap at the top is too small and should provide 25mm ventilation gap along the top. The metal capping should have a slope and the down turn should be 60mm to the side of the flat roof and at least 75mm to the clad side. You also meed to make sure you have a weather check at the top of the metal cladding. The 50mm wall battens should be installed vertically. The detailing for metal cladding and coping says the parapet should be 150mm in height with, as @Big Jimbo already said, the epdm installed up and over the parapet. hth.

I can attest to the Ikea standard of kitchens whch I'd assume haven't gone down in quality. In our last place we installed a new one when we moved in. 12 years later when the estate agents came round they all remarked on how sensible we were to have just put in a new kitchen for the sale. It survived two young boys bashing it around too.

If you're using Simpson Strong-Tie restraint straps, the data sheet says: 'Where straps are fixed to masonry, hardened nails Ø4mm x 75mm long or wood screws into plastic plugs Ø5.5 x50mm long should be used. The lowest fixing should be located within 150mm of the bottom of the vertical strap.' The data sheet also has all the recommended spacings and length. HTH

Obviously none of this constitutes advice, but as I have some history working in the tax practice of a large professional services firm many years ago and having sat on on a local planning committee, I'd hazard a guess you'll need to tread carefully on all counts as you're bordering on some questionable activities here, especially by asking your builders to post date invoices in order to pretend you're not building when you are. With respect to the idea of building one structure and step by step changing use, the planning committee I sat on were pretty aware of this approach and certain schemes were denied due to this approach being fairly obvious as a strategy from the outset. My view is that if you want to avoid the VAT and prevent sleepless nights and potentially more, you need to get yourself a proper tax specialist to advise, maybe even a good planning consultant. I do suspect, however, that the answer may be simpler than it seems at the moment as often trying to circumvent rules and practise becomes harder and more complicated than jumping through the standard regulatory hoops in the first place.

Welcome to the world of architects. Some physicists say there are 10 dimensions, I think architects may reside in an 11th. We met with at least 6 architects who then sent us their proposals, all of which bore no resemblance to our budget but did promise us the award winning house. Who was that going to benefit? I wondered. Then there was the arrogance of some who, when I questioned their fee proposal because the numbers really didn't add up in terms of who was going to spend their time on our designs, they replied that in asking such a question we weren't the right client for them and obviously couldn't afford them. We did however, meet 2 on our journey that fell into the ballpark of those we could work with. One whose fee did turned out to be too much on the high side, the other whose fee was very modest and he had a very good eye for design. We couldn't say the same for his ability to produce the construction drawings, however. He really knew how to charm the planners mind you. We also tried to work with an architectural technician and that didn't work at all for us - it cost us a few grand in wasted designs too. I am both livid and delighted we worked with an architect and I still can't work out how that is even possible... The moral of this story is to focus on the working relationship; find someone you like, who gets your design preferences and who you feel you can work with but also be aware that you may not find the one person who can deliver all of it unless they're part of a practice where they've got the designers and techies to match each others' abilities. I found the facility of the 'meet the architect' sessions at the National self-build place in Swindow to be quite helpful, but I don't know if they're running those any more and also ask around as we've since found a whole load of independent architects through the school network that we never found via RIBA search or any other web search for that matter. Take your time if you can, it's worth it. HTH.

Tell me about it. How much stuff is usually left off the list when you see published build costs??? Dealing with waste is one of those where before deciding to do it myself, the builders quotes often exluded in the small the print the cost of skips and waste removal - can't believe how much we spent during our demolition phase for this, even when we had to demolish and remove more than we'd planned for. This is where the books can also be a bit misleading as I think the prices for skips listed in the latest edition of Homebuilding Bible we could only dream of. The last time I spent that little on a skip was in the mid 2000s. ?

IMVHO, it's all very enticing to look deeply into the new tech for heating the house, but for something like an ASHP, you really need to assess the fabric of your building and how well it is insulated over its entirety. It is usually much easier to passively reduce consumption compared to utilising higher capital intensive technologies to reduce consumption - particularly when the real world benefits of ASHP are still debatable. If you are able to do the calculations, or find someone who can help, you might find investing in wrapping the house in a better duvet could serve you better over the long term and worth investigating fully.

Hello and welome, Are you building yourself, project managing, or using contractors? The go to book is as always The Housebuilder's Bible. Another is the recently published Self-build Simplified by Barry Sutcliffe. I found Self-build simplified more hands than the Housebulder's Bible, and has some really good info on project managing. Both these will give you masses of food for thought to begin with. HTH

I did it all myself.

Adding insulation to the outside of the timber frame reduces cold bridging, compared to, for example, additional layers on the inside, which for some reason seems popular over here in the UK.

I've got OSB3 tg4 sub floor installed across the floors of my house. I'll be installing three bathrooms and one utility. When reading the BBA certificate for the OSB subfloor (did I really do that? Is that a sign of a newly acquired self-build abnormality? ) it says that when used in bathroom and kitchen areas the osb should be tanked before putting in the finished floor. Now, I was a bit surprised by this given this kind of osb's propensity to deal with moisture - it even survived several months of outdoor exposure and a lot of rain without any issue. (also surprised as I'm yet to find a bathroom installer recommending this kind of practise in a normal bathroom) So, given this product's suitability for use in moist environments, occasional wetting and even 'occasional' exposure to weather during construction, is this tanking suggestion mere overkill or something I should take seriously? (if I'm building a wetroom, which I may do, I'd obviously be tanking the thing). Thanks!

Mine were 600mm trays formed from 670mm wide coils in traditional 25mm profile - every little helps when installing on large surface with hand seaming tools ??

Sheeps wool works brilliantly in a garden office. I repurposed an old summer house for our temporary office while building the house and insulated it with 100mm of sheeps wool in wall floor and roof. My wife works in it every day and feedback it that it provides an incredibly comfortable environment, summer or winter. During two winters, used every day of the week up to 12 hours per day there's never been a drop of condensation in the space. I'd use it in preference to the celotex/kingspan stuff any day ? The wall buildup is similar to a standard 'breathable' wall: Inside: Finished internal wall (whatever you prefer like plasterboard, plywood or some other panelling) I chose just to stick with the below 11mm OSB. Service void (optional) 11mm OSB 3 (ideally taped at the seems but mine wasn't at the time) (osb acts as the vapour barrier but is hygroscopic so it allows the passage of moisture through the fabric of the building) Sheeps wool insulation between battens and studs (if you have the space, then an extra layer of 50mm or more outside the timber frame works better - reduces cold bridging more effectively than extralayer internally - see Trada research for this) Breather membrane Ventilation gap Cladding With mine I took some shortcuts in just putting the sheeps wool into the old frame right up against the original cladding. Because of the nature of wool to buffer moisture, it has been fine, but for proper permanent build, I'd used the above buildup, which is what I'm using for my breathable walls and roof in my new house. Last I look at prices, sheeps wool was cheaper per sqm than the wood fibre but that may have changed. Below is a photo of the same buildup going into my new roof. Hope that helps

Thanks everyone for the compliments - sometimes when you're at it all the time on your own, you only see the problems, scruffy bits, or everything that still needs to be done! Thanks, So far I've just crashed at the end of the day, but I have recently started blogging as I've recorded so much of the build as it's progressed. It's certainly not chronological, mind you. You can find it at buildingalone.com Haha, yes looks weird but that was for my son to practise his Taekwondo during lockdown and summer holidays ? Gladly, thanks

If it's any consolation I had a Protec membrane on my roof from December through to the beginning of May this year. It survived the February Storms including 70mph plus winds. Just make sure it's sufficiently lapped and battened down against uplift and it should be okay if you have a decent roof pitch. (Mine wasn't even battened down but stapled to the OSB and I just had minor leaks at the top of the curved roof where it's almost flat).

Looks nice. I had dealings with Metal Solutions and they were helpful, offering to fabricate and pre-form everything for me too. I also bought a load of the metal roofing tools from them. I didn't buy from them as I needed a bit more support due to my roof buildup and that I had no idea what I was doing at the time! It looks like you have narrower profiles on yours? Mine were 600mm centres, are yours 530mm?

Before I decided on timber windows I looked at Aluminium. Back then I found 3 smaller factories who make aluminium windows and doors in Bristol only and hour or so away from us. All were decent to deal with and I got quotes better than Velfac, for example. Some of them I'm aware use the aluminium profiles from companies like AluK which are also the systems used by bigger companies like Anglian. It's worth a shot to do a search for local aluminium window manufacturers near you and see what comes up. However, the problem is that the supply chains for all these things tend to span multiple countries and juristictions so even if you find a local window maker, you're going to hit the border issue somewhere up the line.

The windows I've ordered are the typical slow grown northern European pine. Given that the company are based in north west Norway, I'm hoping it's locally grown and sourced, if not in Norway, then at least over the border in Sweden! It's treated and laminated. They also have an aluminium bottom glazing bead. Future maintenance requirements basically ask for an annual check-up, some cleaning and with any visible issues sorted with paint touch-up - they provide a touch-up paint with the order. Longevity is a good question, but with this kind of maintenance, they should outlast Upvc, and provide a better whole of life cost than aluminium. In theory anyway. ?