mike2016

Thanks all, time to take a hard look at the design and make some choices! I only bought the house as a means to an end as I'd been renting there for years. Looking at the site in 2030 and not having had a crack at building would be disappointing. I have some time to play with this but I have loose timelines in my head to protect me from dithering too long. Appreciate the feedback and look forward to sharing more updates in the months ahead!

That's a smashing view.....you could livestream that...!

So I'm currently contemplating whether to pursue my 3 year old dream to build a home or skip it and plough the money into the second hand home I just bought. To explain, the house has the site attached to it, which I now own, so at least land isn't the issue. There's going to be other moments I'm sure when I wonder if I've made the right choice but now would be a good time to call it a day. The scary thing is not knowing how much this is all going to cost. Prices for materials and labour are going up all the time and until I go out to tender I won't know the real cost of the build. It's going to take most of my remaining savings, around 12K to get through planning and go out to tender. THAT's the point I'll know the real price. All I have to go on currently is a year old Quantity Surveyors report and several great threads on this site. And for my amusement I've been doodling changes (attached) to the last Architect's design....and like me at Xmas, it's gotten bigger, not crazy big but 89 sq meters increased to 118 sq meters....it's changed from a 2 bed to a 3 bed and has started to really look interesting. I read a timely quote today: "What Future do I want to create?". My Choices: Option A: Spend 12K and see if you get planning and can afford to raise the roof and get this house built. Option B: Plough the 12K into new windows and external insulation and work on reducing the mortgage, perhaps sell the site with planning but give up the dream. So, what have I got to lose? I've done the math and figure I can get this done. I'm trying to reduce the mortage and term if at all possible as I'm on a 19 year mortgage currently, I'd prefer less. I'm willing to take on all I can but I'm limited in skills and experience. I'll certainly do painting, MHRV, Security (Alarm, CCTV), Computer Cabling and some of the home automation. I don't want to delay the move in date and completion if I can help it as I'm painfully aware after several DIY projects that they take time and are tiring on top of a full days' work. I greatly admire those to make that sacrifice. I just want to be realistic about where is makes sense for me to do something and when to leave it to the professionals. And finding a trusted builder hopefully.... The next stop date is after receiving the tenders back. So, is 12K a risk too far? I don't thing it's so much about the money as the heart. There's just me. What future do I want to create? Let's wait and see.......

Worked: Bought a plot by buying the whole house attached to it.... Went down for a cup of milk before bed time and caught massive developing leak from upstairs toilet cistern overflow (Pipe not connected to anything!) CCTV installation, 4 external POE cameras and DVR Buying my first set of DIY kit throughout the year.....so THAT's what they use that <insert tool name here> for....!! Asking silly questions here, getting terrific answers Purchasing Home Designer CAD software to help me visualize new house plans and spaces Getting to grips with removing wallpaper, laying laminate flooring and painting walls to freshen up the existing house Didn't Work: Putting three screws through the upstairs hot water pipe when tackling floorboard squeaks Installing valves onto toilet cistern feeds without subsequent leaks Pressure sensor and fan fault on condenser gas boiler just after 2 year mark and out of warranty, right before cold weekend spell.....(plumber saved the day though)!

Thanks - very interesting! That's some spreadsheet he has created!! Great to see an example of it in action too.

I was grazing over my twitter feeds and came across a reference to Co-Heating which was new to me! Most of us are familiar with the blower door test for air tightness but this one wasn't one I'd heard of before! Basically they set up coil heaters and fans, open all interior doors and measure room temperature vs outside sensors to determine if the house performs as it should (keeps the heat in as per calculations based on building type, materials and insulation depths etc, and releases it as projected). They recommend 1 - 2 weeks of data (3 days to setup and tweak). It's interesting as it addresses building performance like airtightness tests do. There's currently doubt over the test as shown below so hopefully over time a better standard will emerge. https://www.bsria.co.uk/news/article/nhbc-foundation-report-casts-doubt-over-reliability-of-co-heating-test/ Would I get one done? If I was buying a developer built house, I'd certainly consider it. It should be forced on every developer for every house they build! For Self-Build with PHPP in place I'm less worried. You should still keep a close eye on things with a few trusted professionals to monitor quality but the level of involvement is much greater vs a house in a mass development. I like quantifiable proof of performance so this appeals to me. What everyone wants is a comfortable house. I hope the availability of simple tests akin to this in the future will help avoid rewarding builders who produce the lowest standards of housing.

That's funny, I never thought of drive by wifi bombing...?! Maybe someone should offer a faraday cage option for self builders?! Or "please turn off your in car wifi before entering this village" signs?! Recommendations: Anything with lots of aerials! Asus is a good brand, see what's affordable, I'm not big fan of linksys/cheaper models. Netgear are usually ok, there's lot of choice. See what comes up in the sales?

Don't know your adjacency to neighbours but: If you're using the older 2.4GHz channels they often conflicts with neighbours and a lot of channel hopping ensues causing dropouts. Get a 2.4 & 5GHz wireless N router and connect all capable devices to that to solve the issue, configure it so they only connect at the higher frequency. At the very least it will give your 2.4GHz a boost around the house for legacy devices. I got an Asus RT-N66U a few years ago for this purpose. Oh and for fun if you have an android phone get "wifi analyzer" from the play store and you can see who's signal is thrashing yours and if all the 2.4GHz channels are full - it shows relative strengths of each including 5GHz if your phone support it.

Thanks Folks, You're right about the support, hadn't thought of that. 11mm laminate would flex too much and I don't want to shell out more for bamboo or solid flooring as I'm selling in 2 years to fund the self build. I'll get standard underlay so and ask about the dpm to lay underneath that also. Thanks everyone, off to the builders providers I go!!! Plus 1 more thing for the skip today!

Hi, I've finally gotten the old carpet removed from the living room floor. Walls & ceiling painted and am putting down laminate flooring shortly (skirting to be removed first!). I'm looking at the old carpet underlay and wondering if I should leave it in place or do any prep work on the concrete slab if I remove it? I am considering putting the laminate underlay directly on top of the carpet underlay for extra insulation but is this appropriate? I did laminate on an upstairs bedroom recently and put the underlay on top of the bare floor but this is ground floor concrete so want to ensure I'm taking appropriate measures before covering it up. Thanks!

There are tons, what's your budget? You probably need nighttime capability also. I put in 4 x 8MP Hikvision cameras and an 8 port digital video recorder with two hard drives recently. About 1.5K all told. Some cameras have a memory card slot that is fine for short term recording so that makes it even cheaper as you don't need a DVR unless you have a lot of cameras and want to keep a lot of footage! The email alerting is standard with both but can be very "noisy" even when you select an area of interest. Clouds, cats and rain on the lens can affect the number of false alarms. A single outdoor rated camera with a memory card and power supply can be hooked into your broadband router via a cable or you can get wireless versions if that's easier. There's a lot of terms and options alright but I'll PM you what I bought as a reference and see if that helps you look for something in your price range. Note: I started with two cheap dlink indoor cameras which could send email alerts and I could access via my phone which was brilliant. Just needed power as they work over Wifi.

Temporarily I'd open the window in the bathroom while having the bath to limit/avoid the MVHR going into boost? It must have a moisture sensor to know to boost? You could override this but you still need to deal with the moisture build up. I doubt reversing the ensuite to a blower would be a good idea either. You've already outlined the best solution if it exists. Contact the supplier and manufacturer to see what they recommend / would upsell?! That or you'll have to take a shower only in the ensuite and see if that counterbalances the boost effects there.

Congrats! Which seat in the living room is "yours"?!! Thanks for all the photos, really inspires me to get up off MY backside!!

Thanks, I'm only planning to put in the minimum possible into the current house, paint & floors etc 1-2K at most. Nothing like what would be required to start the build. I need time to build up my savings again after the recent purchase and with a full mortgage over my head can't easily access any more finance to build,move and sell in that ideal order. Part build may be possible but if I can cordon off the site and finish any works that impact the current house, that's as much as I could hope to do. 3 Bed semi-detached houses are in demand here in Dublin so someone should hopefully purchase it despite the pending build unless mortgage limits or other market changes come about. I think compromise is the reality here as I think about things.

Thanks - I have to realign the driveway anyway to maximize the plot size and dig a trench to access the fibre broadband which sweeps through the front garden. I could get this done in advance for sure. Sewage and storm drainage is at the back of the site and easily accessed from my site during building works later. The service maps place Water (Blue line on map) & Electricity (Red Line on Map) on the road. Is it possible to hook those up in advance? I wouldn't have thought so. I hope the Fire Hydrant can be moved? I'm guessing you mean to finish any work that needs to take place directly on the property I'm selling (No. 66 below ) and manage the later trench out on the road during build with a steel cover while services are being hooked up? Does that sound plausible? Thanks as always!

So, I've just purchased a house that comes with a nice side garden to build on...and started the 19 year mortgage to pay for it all....! I want to build a house on that garden, so plan to do up the current house and sell it. I was planning to rent it back from the new owners for 6 months, immediately start the new build and move in when ready but timing the financing with a timber framed kit would be difficult. The problem as I see it is the lead time for the timber frame, windows and the builder. While I could afford the deposits, until I pay off the old mortgage I can't draw down any funds to pay the balance as things arrive onsite. Options: I could have everything lined up for the date I expect the sale to close, place deposits for everything, book builder, but end up having no way of funding the build should the buyer or bank delay or worse, pull out. Alternatively and more realistically, I wait until the sale closes, pay off the existing mortgage and THEN book everything but it would be 3-6+ months before anything happens on site. I could convert my mortgage into a buy to let and also get a self build mortgage but based on figures I saw this morning that would only provide about half of what I'd need to finish the new house. It would drag the build out over a few years at best, stretch me and finances but I'd end up with two houses when I eventually finish. And that's if the sums work! It looks unlikely I'll be able to stay in the current house to see the build through. I'll have to manage access to services with the new owners and all the noise & mess without falling out with them. I have a friend around the corner and a sister living nearby so I'll have a roof over my head at least, rather than a caravan, and can keep an eye on things that way. There are other construction options which don't have such a high initial cost but I'd prefer a factory built house and get as near to Passive as I can. I suppose I've 19 years to think about it but would like to move in sooner than that!

Thanks! Long road ahead - it's lot of small decisions leading to a very comfy end goal....hopefully!

Hi, I need advice about painting the exterior of my house. It's not had any attention in years and some of the paint was bubbled and just fell away. I thought brushing off all the bad paint and just painting over would be fine but you can clearly see the areas of disrepair where I tried this. I've applied Polyfilla exterior today to repair the other damaged areas and cracks but the original builder used a particular surface finish which the smooth pollyfilla doesn't match. Areas where the original paint was good look fine when painted over but the section below I tackled today looks horrible (!) and I need to figure out a better approach before I make things worse..........! Thanks!

Well, that's been an interesting few months! I've been hoping for the last 18 months to buy the side garden off my landlord (I've been renting there 8 years) and go straight to building. But, nothing is ever that easy! I was asked for plans, which required a bit of homework, an Architect or two and pre-planning. All worked out and I shared the sketches here previously. But when crunch time came the landlord found it too difficult to sell off part of the site as he had an existing mortgage on the house and I'm not related to him. Anyway, a friend suggested I buy the whole house & side garden, lock, stock and compost barrel which I duly did! Unfortunately that leaves me bereft of any savings as it was more than I was planning to spend. But, I've now got a house in my name (a first!), the site & side garden and a cunning plan to rent a room or two, save, get planning in 2018 and build in 2019, or so.... the bungee Irish property market allowing! For now I've access to the current house as an owner vs previously being a tenant. I've already gotten stuck into the following projects to build my DIY skills to prepare for the later build. I also attended a Home Maintenance course in the UK to get the basics. Completed: Renovate Master bedroom & Ensuite Upgrade Attic insulation - added 200mm Knauf Earthwool insulation, water tank lid & lagging jacket Installed 100% LED lighting, replaced a few fixtures Blocked Chimney top and bottom (Gas fire hasn't been used in 8+ years) Repair & repaint Soffits / Facia Ran CAT6 for CCTV & wired internet to my bedroom Replaced innards in two toilet cisterns with dual flush option Lock upgrades throughout house Pending: Renovate other rooms one by one (wooden flooring, standardize on magnolia wall paint) Inspect and repair all ventilation ducts Repaint Exterior The gas boiler is reasonably new and provides hot water and central heating in addition to gas cooking. I'm debating about getting a condenser dryer as the washing machine doesn't have any drying capability and it would save most but not all hanging clothes around the house to try. There are some clothes which would shrink so it won't remove all inside drying. I might have to get a TV, my first in 8 years if the new tenant wants one but a free to air package would make sense there. During the course of the DIY I drilled through a heating pipe three times, causing problems and my one of my cistern overflow pipes drained heavily onto the bathroom floor upstairs as it was never connected to anything. All good experiences! Back to the self-build. I now own the entire site including side garden. I've pre-planning "approval" and next need to finalize the structure and floor layout before going for full planning permission next year. Then I can start making decisions on the interior layout and purchase a few fixtures and fittings as I go along. Depending on the market and timelines I'd hope to start building in 2019 at the earliest. To finance this I currently plan to sell the current house, minus the site, rent the house back from the new owners and try to complete the build in that rental window and move straight in. Lots to think about and the current house needs a lot of TLC which will take the next year. It should build my DIY skills while also making it more attractive to future buyers. I'd love to get EWI and some solar going but can't justify the investment when I know I'll need all my savings for the build / professional fees etc. I'll be able to use the site value as a deposit with the bank but I expect things like windows and the timber framed kit will require up front payments. What's key is the timing of selling the house / closing the deal / being able to pay off the current mortgage and getting starting on the new build with a new mortgage. Lining that up with the lead time of the builder, timber framed kit and windows will determine the length of time I'll have to rent the existing property back. I could do the old caravan trick and I've a sister who lives nearby but living beside the building site lets me keep a closer eye on things and the noise/mess might provoke issues with the new owners / neighbours if they moved straight in. Plus there will need to be some realigning of the driveway and access to utilities which will cause disruption outside the existing house. I need to de-risk as much as possible but there's a lot of unknowns lurking out there. I hope to end up with a smaller mortgage than I currently have and reduce the term as much as possible so I can make some lifestyle choices after 10 years or so. The new house will be Passive or as close as I can get and I've a good Architect's practice backing me up. If I can nail the design and costs then it's down to timing everything and hopefully move in by 2020! In the meantime I've just to enjoy the house I'm in and do some DIY along the way.....

Thanks all!! I decided to call the plumber in this time but appreciate all the advice. The gap between the pipe and the wall/skirting is very tight and trying to use the pipe cutter meant flexing the pipe at each turn which made me nervous about damage the joint under the floor...I ended up using a hacksaw. Got it fairly dry in the end, it was just weeping with mains pressure which wasn't too bad but I prefer bone dry and didn't want to leave it unattended when travelling for work etc! I'll persevere more with the last toilet I've to do this on - the pipe travels tight across the underside of the cistern before going into the floor. I can either leave the copper pipe as is and forget an isolation valve or figure out where best to make the cut .......then no more plumbing for me until I paint the kitchen ceiling where the last major leak was a few weeks ago! Update: One of the new joints is still weeping so that Fernox tip is just the ticket, cheers,

Replaced the complete hose, new nut & olive but still leaking. I don't like the look of the copper pipe as it was repaired just above the line I cut it, so it's got solder & imperfections on the copper surface making a seal harder. Think it's time to call a plumber and see what they think. Cheers.

interesting - thought it might be the copper end causing this - I have some spare hoses so I might give one of those a shot and see if it helps......Thanks!

Hi, Very basic question: I've been fitting new innards to my cisterns to replace the old ball & cock valves with a dual flush system that has a built in overflow. Going fine so far but ran into a problem adding a valve to the cold water inlet on one of them. I've decided to add a valve by using the one built into a flexihose. I cut the copper pipe to size and used steel wool to clean off the paint. But....I've gone through 3 olives now and think I've squished the end of the copper pipe a bit at this stage try to get a good seal that doesn't leak. My latest attempt used additional PTFE at the head of the pipe just in front of the Olive but it's still weeping very slightly. Any further tightening just kinks the nut at a wierd angle. What are my options at this point to get a good seal? Replace part of the copper pipe? Last thing I want is for this thing to blow when I'm away for a few days! Thanks!

Cheers - I actually used a lot of premade Polyfila smoothover after trying my hand at wet plastering and not really getting to grips with it. I've a similar job on a bigger scale on the living room later this year!

Thanks Folks, Just finished off the wooden floor and the room is done, a first for me!! Appreciate the advice! (Sealed & Painted)