Jump to content

Thedreamer

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1485

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    9

Blog Entries posted by Thedreamer

  1. Thedreamer

    Final external works

    By Thedreamer,

    Following on from the last entry we had our final inspection and were on the cusp of getting our completion certificate. A few final documents were uploaded and a certificate was received from building control.
     
    We had built a house.
     
    A few final jobs were completed following the last blog entry.
     
    I order 20 tonnes of gravel from a quarry on Skye and then barrowed it down the access and spread it around the house.


     
    I also had enough to put some at the top of the access as well and fill a couple of bulk bags.
     

     

     
    The last job for the joiner was fitting the downpipes. We used the cast iron effect ones as these provide a bit more of a decorative look compared to the standard glossy pipes.
     

     
    We seeded the ground at the start of lockdown and now after a summer of growing the grass is coming on nicely. The grass seed cost very little money. It cost us around £15 to do all around the house.
     
    We are pleased with how the house fits into its surroundings.
     

                                                                                                              
    Our pallet wood shelter was finished and I’m currently building up the wood stocks.
     

     
    I am also storing fresh cut wood for the future years. These old CUPA slates crates are useful for this.
     

     
    As we are now heading into colder times of the year, we have had an opportunity to have a few burns from the stove.
     
    I’m really pleased with how well it is performing. The stove is bang in the middle of house surrounded by thick concrete block with a lime render. It heats the entire house and the increase in room temperature can be felt twelve hours or so after the last log goes on.
     
    I wouldn’t however recommend fitting a stove in a self-build unless you put some serious planning into how you will actually use it. Even a small stove could easily over power the heating need for a living room.
     
    Solar gains produce our base heating, keeping the temperatures to around 20c and the daily electricity usage at 10kw.
     
    We don’t have any underflooring heating or radiators. If we reach a long cold spot and need a quick boost, I plan to wheel out an oil electric heater or use the towel heaters.
    .
    What’s next. I need to crunch the final numbers. I also need to put a final layer on the access road but might put this off until the winter.
     
    Thanks for reading.
  2. Thedreamer

    Reflection/Garden

    By Thedreamer,

    It's been over a year since we finished our home and I thought it would be good time to reflect.

    We have not had any major snagging issues with the house.

    The only product which required some additional work was the LVT flooring, we found thermal expansion was causing some warping. This has since been resolved with the addition of two expansion joints. 

    In my last blog post I discussed how we were heating the house with just a wood stove during colder times of the year. In the first year I had to build up our wood stocks quite quickly, but going into the second year I decided to focus on collecting sticks. I'm still burning home grown split logs but I find that collecting a bundle of sticks to be a great way to maximise the amount of firewood. By the end of the summer I had collected quite a large pile.
     


    Nearly all of these sticks are either dead wood, wind blown trees or from trees needing to be cut down for other reasons. In these times of uncertain electricity and gas prices, it's very satisfying to be able to collect and store fuel to heat my family. 
     
    For our hot water, our exhaust air source heat pump has been very efficient and with no need for electricity to heat our house our usage has been 10-11kWh a day. 

    During the course of the self build I collected a huge amount of stones from the ground. I used the smaller ones to extend the parking area. The larger ones I sorted and then had a go at dry stone walling to line the ditch.
     


    In the spring I stumbled across videos on YouTube by Charles Dowding discussing his no dig approach to gardening and I decided that it would be great to grow more vegetables. My take away from his videos was that having access to large amounts of compost was critical to making this a success.
     
    I started to hot compost from lawn clippings, hay and a variety of woody materials. 
     

     
    I recycled the last of the pallets from the self build to make this four bay system
     

     
     By the end of the summer I had a huge pile of homegrown compost. This is now ready to grow some vegetables in the Spring, any suggestions? 
     

     
     
  3. Thedreamer

    Heating the house

    By Thedreamer,

    I have found during our self build that we have gone against the norm for what you would expect a new self build to contain. 
     
    One area was how we would heat the house.
     
    The main concern I had as we entered the winter was whether we did the right thing in disregarding the need for underfloor heating and radiators. 
     
    I have found that during the day we do not need to heat the house as having sufficient true south facing glazing provides the solar gains to heat the house during the day time. When you are outside and it's -5c wind chill it's a pleasant feeling to come into a house that is 20c with no heating.
     
    At night time the temperature would slowly drop without any form of heating.
     
    This is where our centrally placed stove surrounded by dense concrete block is used. 
     


    Stoves in the self build community are loved by some and loathed by others. 

    I feel if they are used in the right setting they can be a perfect addition to a self build project. For us it was a best choice as having access to wood, space to store and being willing to provide a little bit of hard work results in the heating bills being zero. When we designed the house having a centrally place stove was one of the first items on our list.
     
    For our stove we burn a trug load of home grown logs each evening in the winter.
     
    I would never have imagined how satisfying it can be to spend an hour on a Saturday morning splitting wood to keep my family warm. It's a great way to keep fit and can be an enjoyable hobby.
     


    Recently we cut back some alder and birch trees which will be left to season and will form next year's winter wood.
     


    Using coppicing as a woodland management will allow the trees with their established roots to regenerate quickly in the spring and perhaps be cut back again in ten years.
     


    It has been an interesting learning curve over the last few months regarding heating our house with wood. I have learnt a lot from my father-in law and also from this book which I would recommend.
     

     
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wood-Fire-Handbook-complete-perfect/dp/1784726192/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+wood+fire+book&qid=1613167239&sr=8-1
     
    The garden is currently a blank canvas and this will be the focus for the spring. 

    One job that I am working on at the moment is sorting a load of old stone to build a dry stone wall.
     


    It's hard work but a perfect remedy after a long week of crunching numbers at a computer.
     


    Hope to provide an update in the Spring. Thanks for reading.
     
  4. Thedreamer
    This will be the last entry for our self build blog.
     
    Our plan
     
    We originally commenced a self build as there was no affordable housing for us to get on the housing ladder.
     
    The approach for the self build, was whether we could build a better-quality house than what we could purchase from a developer for the same cost. This was later refined to achieving a lower mortgage if possible.
     
    For the self build we decided to split the project into three chunks.
     
    1. Obtain outline planning, purchase of site – this allowed us to know that a build was possible.
     

     
    2. Put in services, access, design – this was the first actual work and made an area of croft ground into a valuable plot for lending purposes.
     

     
    Commence the build over two years - using subcontractors and our own materials to eliminate any margins and ensure tight control over the specification.
     
     

     
    Doing this would allow us to complete the project and prevent us being stuck unable to finish it.
     
    What did it cost?
    The total cost for the project was just over £196,000 (net of VAT). This includes the land, services, professional fees, overheads and the actual build costs.
    I’ve summarised all of my costs into a pie chart below.
     

     
    How was it funded?
    ·        A small electricity grant £1,550
    ·        We obtained a croft house grant for £38,000
    ·        The final mortgage of £74,500
    ·        The remaining balance of £81,950 was funded by savings from employment, which started when we were 23 and finished when we moved into the house in July 20 at 33.
    ·        Most of the work we carried out was decorating and general labouring, therefore contributed a small amount of sweat equity to the project.
     
    What is the final result?
    The surveyor provided a valuation back to the building society of £265,000. This was pleasing as sometimes self builds can be more expensive then the total project costs or just about breakeven.
    Prior to building we were aware of building cost being measured per m2. However, during the build process I realised that this method of reviewing the financial performance of a self build had room for error, as the calculation could be skewed depending on the quality of the finish.
     
    For the purposes of our project this would be £1,420 or £1,230 excluding (land, professional fees and overheads).
     
    I came to the conclusion that the best method for us is calculating the final cost per month (mortgage, utilities, council tax, insurance) to live in the house. I set a target of £500 per month and I am pleased that we have been able to achieve this. I feel this is a good measure as I wouldn’t want to live in an expensive house that has a huge mortgage.
     
    Often at the end of Grand Designs and other tv shows, the presenter asks whether they would do it again?
    For us I would say, yes, of course. When I look around, every single item in the house was researched, compared, purchased and gradually put together. The thought, time and energy that we have put into this build has created a much deeper connection to the property. Our blood, sweat and tears are in the very fabric of the house.  
    The hardest part of the process was when we were focussing on saving as much of our income as possible to ensuring a low mortgage. We made many sacrifices to ensure we reached this end goal, but we knew these relatively short term sacrifices would have long term gains for our family.
     
    For the actual building of the house, we chose a two year build schedule from starting on the foundations. This allowed us planning time between build stages and made the build process more manageable. It also allowed us time to do some jobs ourselves such as fitting insulation, interior decorating etc. We enjoyed taking time to do the jobs we were confident in doing well ourselves. Perhaps we could have taken on the more tasks, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it made more sense to work a bit of overtime and pay a contractor to do the work well, rather than us doing a job slowly and at a reduced quality.
     
    In the future, we would consider another self-build, perhaps in thirty years when I will be semi or hopefully fully retired. So until then…
     
    See you next time and thanks for reading.
  5. Thedreamer

    Finished interior

    By Thedreamer,

    We had our final inspection yesterday and building control were happy with the house. Just awaiting on an EPC certificate and we should have our completion certificate next week. We had a little tidy up before the inspector arrived so probably the ideal time to upload a few pictures.
     

     
     

     

     
     

     
     

     

     
     

     

     
     

     

     
     

     

     
     

     
    Landing and upstairs - not posted much here as this was covered in a earlier blog entry.
     

     

     
    Considering we put in outline planning in 2009 when we were 23 it's been a long time coming and a great relief to know it's nearly all over. 
     
    I intend to post a couple more entries with the last bits of outside work and one about the costing/finance.
     
    Thanks for all those who commented over the years and answered odd queries, much appreciated.
     
    The to do list of actual jobs is getting short now.
     
    Proper downpipes – ordered
    Gravel - ordered, coming on Monday
  6. Thedreamer

    Ramp and decking

    By Thedreamer,

    Hello,
     
    It’s been around two months since we moved in. After a brief period of enjoying the summer and the new house we have made a push towards getting our completion certificate.
     
    We got our air test which came back as 3.33.
     
    We got the property registered for Council tax, pleased the assessor rated the property as a band D.
     
    The last bit of major building work has been the construction of the ramp and decking. We always knew that because of the ground conditions and the suspended timber floor our ramp was going to be higher than your average. After considering many different options we decided to build one out of Siberian Larch, which allowed us to have just a single order and the joiners could do the two together. I’ll need to apply some non-slip oil in the next few weeks.
     
    Here is one of the ramp
     

     
    And the decking.
     

     
    As with many self builders I now have an abundance of wooden pallets.
     

     
    I broke a few of them up and started on this.
     

     

     
     

     

     
    It’s a wood store. Still some finishing touches required.
     
    What’s next, all being well, hopefully a final inspection and completion. Other jobs which won’t hold this up, but on the to do list are proper downpipes and ordering gravel for around the house.
  7. Thedreamer

    And we are in

    By Thedreamer,

    There was not much in the way of progress from the last entry as we were already close to moving in.
     
    The plumbing was completed in the last entry and connecting some final electrical fittings was done soon after.
     
    After a decade since putting in outline planning it was time.
     
    Our furniture delivery has taken longer than anticipated and we are living with a bean bag for the living room seating and a mattress on the floor for our bed. But we are here.
    The first few days were spend getting used to living in a new space. As a family four we had spent the last six years living in a relatively small space, it is now great to have a room for each of our children and an extra bathroom.
     
    I am pleased with how the house is performing from an energy use point of view. We don’t typically get really high temperatures here and the external average temperature has been about 12c over the last few weeks, the house temperature has remained a comfortable 20c.
     
    I have been monitoring our electricity units on a daily basis and we are using between 9 to 10kw which is promising as my hope is that we can go six months or so in the year without heating.
    The real test will come in the winter as the electricity usage will probably be double, but we plan to make good use of our centrally placed wood burning stove.
     
    Once we are furnished, I’ll post some more photos. For the moment just enjoying the new house with the family.
     

     
    The next jobs are:
     
    -        Ordering decking for a small decked area and for our access ramp
    -        Spreading gravel around the house site
    -        Gardening
    -        Putting more material on the access road
    -        Order some down pipes
     
    Thanks for reading.
  8. Thedreamer
    In the last few months work on the house was on hold because of the COVID 19 pandemic. With the rules starting to be relaxed we have now been able to make some progress.
     
    A few months ago I posted on BH about being a bit concerned about the bath being a tight fit as it’s 1800mm and the distance between the wall was 1802mm. Not sure how the plumber got it in but happy that it fills the space.
     

     
    The bath is made from Carronite so it should feel more rigid when showering.
     
    Our joiner fitted the hydro lock panels and the plumber came back to fit the shower fittings.
     

     

     
    The Joule Aero tank has now been connected up. The tank holds 260 litres and utilises a heat pump which draws air from the bathroom, utility and ensuite. We visited a couple of properties that utilised this set-up and although they were happy with the efficiency of the system the feedback we got was to consider potential vibration noise from the tank.
     

     
    We took some steps to do this, firstly sitting the tank in a cupboard in the utility room, using a thick anti vibration mat with 22mm plywood on top. The ducting throughout the house is metal but we switched to flexible ducting for the last bit to ensure any vibration would not travel through the ducting.
     
    We also fitted a silencer to reduce the noise travelling through the ducts particularly to the ensuite.
     
    These steps have had the desired effect.
     
    Because we have yet to move in, I was able to monitor the electricity consumption of the tank when it heated the first 260 litres. To get the water to 50 degrees it used 4 units of electricity which would be about 50p. The tank also has a dual immersion which could be used to heat the tank more quickly if desired.
     
    After the air has gone through the system it passes through an external vent through the utility wall.
     

     
    In the last entry I mentioned that we wanting to prepare the ground for grass seed. The first job was removing a lot of stones.
     

     
     I’ll probably use the smaller stones to extend the parking area slightly and it would be good to use the larger ones  for a small wall or some other feature in the garden.
     

     
    After the stones were removed, we raked the ground and then sowed the seed. The grass is starting to come through which is promising but we will need to fill in any patchy gaps. I can see why people go for the more expensive option of turfing but a big bag of seed is very cheap and although it takes some time and effort it’s satisfying to see the grass come through.
     
    I guess this is a good analogy for our self build!
     
    We had a sunny weather spell which allowed me to finished off some painting and my wife put some oil on the cladding.
     

     
    This had been previously left to weather but as this is on the southern elevation this could now do with some oil. We chose one which had a slight pigmentation and after applying the finished result was that it looked very similar to the pre oiled look but helped to even out the upper areas that had yet to sliver as they are shaded by the soffit. We plan to work our way around the house with the oil.
     
    We have used various tins of Osmo throughout the house and although it is quite pricey it does the job well. This is the tin what we used on the cladding.
     

     
    What is next?
     
    We had hoped that we could order some furniture from Ikea to furnish the downstairs but I think the pandemic is affecting stock issues and delivery. We now need to decide whether we want to move with limited furniture or wait a few more weeks.
     
    The next jobs:
     
    - a little bit of electrical work, lighting fittings, connecting up cooker, towel rails etc
    - BT due to connect us up on Tuesday 
    - need to get some tiling work done for splashbacks
    - order some chips to spread around the site.
    - need to decide what to put as a finishing layer on the access road.
    - need to order materials for ramp, decking and downpipes for guttering.
     
    I hope everyone is keeping well and thanks for reading.
  9. Thedreamer
    It’s coming up to a couple of months since I last posted.
     
    With the upstairs now a contractor-free zone, we soon had many Ikea flat pack kits to construct for the kids bedrooms.
     

     

     

     
    Our joiner fitted the utility worktop and units in February and we have since been applying oil to both this and the kitchen worktops.  
     

     

     

     

     
    The last bit we needed done to be able to get the house habitable was for the plumber to do second fix. This work had been scheduled for the end of March.
     
    The majority of the bathroom and en-suite was delivered a couple of weeks or so before the lockdown started but all of this has now been put on hold.
     

     
    The joiner was able to do a day installing the bathroom furniture.
     

     

     
    That is now the extent of the inside of work and it’s now a case of waiting till the restrictions are lifted.
     
    Given that we cannot order any materials or have contractors working, I decided to move my attention to outside tasks and do what I can with a shovel, barrow and metal bar.
    The first job was to clear away all of these scrap materials up the access road to the shed. I don’t have a van or dumper so did this with a wheel barrow over a few Saturdays. This took longer than I expected, just moving a pallet and half of dense concrete blocks burned a lot of calories!
     

     
    Some of the good sized left over broken slates will be useful for other projects but the rest and some smaller broken blocks were used as hard core to build up the path at the gable end. I plan to order a lorry load of chips which will be spread around the perimeter house.
     

     
    The next job involved pulling out loads of rushes using an iron bar and log to lift them out of the ground. I plan to add some additional drainage around the garden so have also started work on a French drain.
     

     

     
    Building control have given the okay to a timber ramp. I have bit more height to make up than your typically self build because of the suspended timber floor and to meet the regulations regarding the flight length this will need to be extended around the front inspection chamber. I plan to clad this ramp in Siberian larch with non slip decking.
     

     
    The next exciting job is going through the ground here to pick up hundreds of stones in preparation for grass seed.
     

     
    It’s not been the most interesting entry and I am hopeful the next one will be a ‘we are now in’ entry.
     
    In the meantime, to ensure progress, I’m going to pull together a list of jobs that I can do and others that I can plan for when the lock down ends.
     
    Stay safe and healthy.
  10. Thedreamer
    Since the last entry we have completed the upstairs. This area consists of two bedrooms and an open plan play area landing.
     
    Carpets were fitted after the Christmas break.
     

     
    Lights, switches, sockets and fire alarms have now been installed.
     

     
    My wife is working her way through the rooms downstairs. Painting, caulking and tidy up plastering work. We are really happy with how this is coming together.
     

     
    The temporary supply electrics have now been taken away and we are now wired up to our consumer unit. It’s great to be able to use lighting and sockets throughout the house.
     
    The bathroom, en-suite and utility have been ordered today so hopefully I will have some progress here in a month or so.
     
    Feels very close to being finished or being able to move in!
  11. Thedreamer
    Hello,
     
    Another post and another year of self building.
     
    Since my last entry we have made some progress in a few areas.
     
    I previously mentioned some trouble that I had with the treatment tank.
     
     
    We choose a Tricel model as it is widely installed on Skye and the local merchants all suggested it. The alternative was a rotating one with moving parts which I was keen to avoid. Other models were getting costly to be delivered and would require some form of mechanical unloading at my end.
     
    After my post I had a fair bit of communication with the manufacturer and the merchant. I didn’t back down and didn’t pay, in the end they backed down and sent a replacement. This went via Inverness and the merchant wanted to inspect before delivering to Skye, guess what they found?
     

     
    Three tanks later and it’s now in the ground.
     
     

     
     
    Discharge will be to a ditch, which at this time of year is wet but for most of the year is usually dry, this runs off to a wooded area at the bottom of the croft. Our original warrant and SEPA approval was for a traditional septic tank and soakaway (amended installation was agreed with both parties). After some posts on BH it was clear that a treatment tank would be the better option all around.
     
    I should say that a traditional septic tank and soakway is still quite popular in the Hebrides, two recent self builds both installed this set-up.
     
    Whilst the digger was here, we decided to get some further work done.
     
    A gravel drain was put around the back and is working well.
     

     
    Rotten rock which was at the front of the house was used to bring up the level around the house.
     
    A big pile of clay and top soil (or mud mountain as some called it ?) from works back in 2015 was then landscaped around the site.
     
    We are pleased with how the house sits in its surroundings.
     

     

     

     

     
    Finally, here is one from the Broch.
     

     
    People have been self building here since the Iron Age! Although this one is down to foundation level with the rock reused multiple times in various self builds during the last two thousand years.
     

     

     

     
    We now need to put the fence back up around the site to allow our sheep to come back on the croft. Today’s job has been digging and fitting four posts.
     

     
    The electricity connection was moved from the temporary supply box into the house. The cost for this work was cheap at around £200 and done by two very tidy and polite SSE workers.
     

     
    This simple homemade box was constructed from scraps and has lasted four long Hebridean winters but will now be recycled for another purpose.
     

     
    Talking of recycling, I don’t have a skip on site and everything apart from dust is stored and will be used for another job.
     

     
    Internally all our efforts have been on the upstairs of the house.  Upstairs is an easy win to get completed as it’s just our two children’s bedrooms and an upstairs living area. A bit of time has been spent with our MDF skirtings, architraves and cills. We used real wood in our last build project and it has moved slightly over the years, MDF won’t do this and is cheap, but requires work in sanding and painting.
     

     
    Carpets are due to be fitted at the start of January and once these are down it will just be electrical sockets, lights etc to finish the rooms. Internal decorating can then commence downstairs.
     
    That’s about it, the kitchen has been fitted and downstairs flooring is done but both are covered by copious amounts of cardboard and I’ll upload some photos once this is removed.
     
    Thanks for reading. This will be the last post for 2019, hope everybody has a great Christmas and best wishes for your projects in the New Year!
     
     
     
     
     
  12. Thedreamer

    Stairs and balustrade

    By Thedreamer,

    Starting to put in the exciting stuff.
     
    The stairs measurements were taken back in August and we then had to have a good think about what type of timber and finish we wanted.
     
    The vaulted ceiling had a bit more structural work and being the most interesting feature in the house and we decided that this would be good place to invest in a high finish and we decided go with a solid oak stairs and balustrade with toughened glass panels. 
     
    Like many self builders we have adopted a fabric first approach and although not part of the building a good stairs to us is worth investing in.
     
    Before we could install the stair we had to get rid of the internal scaffolding and before we could do this we needed to finish any awkward decorating.
     
    In the summer I tackled the external painting and my wife is going to be doing the internal decorating. These bits were probably the most awkward in the house and with the caulking and painting done, the scaffolding could now be carefully taken down.
     
    I was working on the day of the stair installation, but had a quick glimpse early in the morning when helping to lift it into the house. The installation of the stair and balustrade was done in a single day by two joiners from Inverness and the following morning I was excited to see what had been done.
     
    When I went into the house my eye was more drawn to the velux windows which were all covered in the most amazing frost. Here is the best photo I could take on my phone.
     

     
    The three velux windows were like etched glass, hopefully this will happen again.
     
    And here are some of the stairs and balustrade taken today.
     

     

     

     
    We are very happy with the installation. The stairs feel solid on your feet, easy on the eye and pleasant on the hand.  
     
    Finally, just to provide an update on my last entry regarding the stove. I did the first burn and was pleased with the results. The render/blockwork surround heated up well and retained a good temperature for a while afterwards.
     
    The air feed for the stove also worked well. Our house has a suspended timber floor, but hearth/stove are supported on a small slab which had a pipe buried into the concrete to allow a direct air feed to be drawn from below the floor. A bit different but work well for us.  
     
     

     
    What’s next. At the point of posting this entry, as you might see in the photos, the kitchen and ground floor flooring are being installed and this will be covered in the next entry when this work is finished.
     
    Thanks for reading.
  13. Thedreamer

    Stove

    By Thedreamer,

    As we are building on a croft with an area of woodlands, the stove was a consideration at the initial design stage and we wanted it to be at the very heart of the house. As well as being the focal point of the living room, it was also considered from a practical point of view as to how the heat would be distributed throughout the house, as often I have heard that a stove can overheat well insulated rooms, resulting in a waste of money and just really something to look at. 
     
    The work leading up to the stove installation began right back at the foundation stage, with excavation, concrete foundation, blockwork, back filled and compacted, insulated and then a concrete slab added on top.
     
    Dense concrete blockwork was put up during the summer with the aim of holding some of the heat when the stove is lit.
     
    The stove itself is a multi fuel Charnwood C4, built in England out of iron. We choose one with a log stand underneath to provide a bit more height as this is one of their smaller models. 
     

     
    We decided that a lime render would suit the fireplace and this will lighten as it dries out.
     
    The mantle piece has some history attached to it.
     


    It was originally part of a massive beam in the local school, which was knocked down in the early 90’s.
     

     
    My wife’s uncle salvaged the beam and it was stored on our local township road next to our sheep pens. It was used as a spot to sit down when being out on the croft. A couple of years ago we cut the beam into manageable chunks and took it inside our wood shelter to dry out before it was cut and planed this week.
     
    The wood is at least 150 years old, was outside for around 30 years, but now it’s been tided up, it feels stronger than the timber we used to construct the house with. I love old timber!
     
    The hearth is also a highland product, not as local as the mantel piece but 40mm Caithness slab, very heavy (but I was at work when it went in). My wife carried out the measurements and this was spot on when fitted.
     
    Outside we have used anchor ties to hold the flue in place, some houses seem to fit flues without these but with our Hebridean weather this is a must. I went with the black soil pipe vent earlier on this year so it would match the flue when this went in. Sometimes flues can be ridiculously long and a bit of an eye sore as they need to be above the ridge, but having the stove close to the centre has allow this to be quite modest. 
     

     
    Also, respect to our stove fitter, this seems to be a trade that covers not only the stove installation but masonry, carpentry and roof work.
     
    The stove has now been commissioned and certification provided.
     

     
    There is a bit of work to tidy up with plasterboard above the mantle piece and we have decided now that the flue is up, that boxing in with plasterboard is probably best to protect the kids and also to protect the flue from them!
     
    Next up, the kitchen and flooring is due to arrive next week. 
     
    Thanks for reading.
     
  14. Thedreamer

    Taping and filling

    By Thedreamer,

    Time for another update.
     
    Most of our work this month has been focused upon finalising the kitchen design, stair, stove etc. 
     
    Tangible work on the house has consisted of the taping and filling and fitting the last bit of ducting.
     
    Not terribly exciting, but it's all progress. Here are some photos.
     

     

     

     

    Next up I need to resolve an ongoing treatment tank problem which will be covered in a separate entry. We hope to start internal paint work in the next few week pr so.
  15. Thedreamer

    Plaster boarding

    By Thedreamer,

    Time for another update.
     
    Our joiner has pretty much finished the plaster boarding.
     
    Here are some photos of the progress made.
     
    Kitchen/dining room
     

     
    Our bedroom. Our joiner has started to construct the internal partitions, we now have an ensuite and some cupboards.
     

     

     
    Living room 
     

     
    Triple velux arrangement
     

     
    Upstairs kids living room
     

     
    My favourite view had been covered by a dust sheet for a long time. Looking forward to seeing boats go by.
     

     
    The house has a fair amount of south glazing which warms the house. Once opened these big velux windows work well to bring the temperature down. Both bedrooms upstairs have two windows to ensure a good circulation of air.
     

     
    The storage container went this month on a hiab truck. I was a little nervous watching a couple tonnes of steel on chains so close to the house. This has now opened up the window views from the master bedroom and living room and also allows the house to be viewed by itself for the first time.
     

     
    With the recent great weather I’m back to painting. I much prefer sitting in a chair compared to being on a wobbly scaffold.
     


     
    To finish off here is a shot of the Loch.
     

     
    Next up, a few more partitions need to be created, taping/filling, installation of our treatment tank and adjusting the levels around the house.
     
     
  16. Thedreamer

    External painting

    By Thedreamer,

    With the rough casting having completed its two month cleansing period, I was keen to get painting.
     
    I started with a roller but found it to be ineffective in getting into all the nooks and crannies, therefore this was going to be a brush job. Most of the time was spend dealing with the edges near windows, cladding and soffits. The use of insulation sheets provided a good screen to any paint gone in the wind.
     
    I concentrated on the gables first and was able to use trestles to paint the rest.
     

     

     
    A good few weekends, evenings and days off later we were able to take down the remaining scaffolding. I have a bit more to do but will have the levels brought up around the house first.
     
    Tiring but satisfying work and it was good to see how the white contrasts with the cladding and windows.
     
     

     
    The next external job will be fitting the treatment plant and bringing up the levels. A separate entry will deal with our progress inside.
     
     
     
     
  17. Thedreamer
    The sparkie had done his bit and we were now waiting on the plumber.
     
    Not much to see here just your standard first fix plumbing.
     

     
    We had a couple of dust sheets removed before the scaffold went down. It was great to have our kitchen view back it had been almost a year.
     

     
    Moving onto the ducting I had previously ordered.
     

     
    A 45 degree bend was deemed easier to fit so now I got to get that ordered. 
     
    We also had our brickie complete the stove blockwork. We were keen to incorporate some meaty concrete blocks around the stove.
     
    Next up is plasterboarding and the end of first fix.
     
     
     

  18. Thedreamer
    We are now working our way through first fix for the self build.
     
    Our electrician has been busy drilling holes and threading many reels of cables around the house.
     

     

     
    The other area where we have made some progress is the ducting system.
     
    I’ve never ordered ducting before and it took me some time to order all of the parts and then have them to delivered to Skye.
     
    This came into two deliveries, both times some of the items were dented and buckled. Some were easy fixed but others required replacements to be sent.
     

     
    I wonder now if this is a common occurrence with others that have ordered ducting online?
     
    Once the last parts arrived, I was able to lay it all out to check back to the plan.
     

     
    My plumber will be fitting the ducting which should happen soon. Our brickie will also come back to construct the blockwork for the stove.
    My next job will be painting the house as the render has now had sufficient time to allow any impurities to be washed away.
    Although I have been busy with the house and work over the last few weeks, I was lucky enough to be given a wee boat. It was a group effort taking it down the croft and felt great to be on the loch after a few years. Might be the start of a new hobby.


  19. Thedreamer
    Where it all began in 2009 on our family croft in Skye. Once we selected the site we put in outline planning for a three bedroom 1 1/2 storey house.
     

     

     

     

     
    We then undertook the legal process of decrofting the house site to enable a future self build mortgage.  For the next few years very little happened as we needed to save money towards the project.
     
    In 2013 we submitted a detailed planning application for a traditional 1 1/2 storey property which was in keeping with the local vernacular.
     

     
    As with outline planning this was easily achieved and we could now concentrate on creating an access and making the site a serviced plot.
     
    The access road was to run through an area of woodland so the first job was cutting down a number of trees.
     

     

     
    With the trees now cleared and stacked as future fire wood, we arranged for an excavator to form the access, clear the site and put in the services. This work commenced in 2015.
     
    The first job was to scrape off the top soil. 
     

     
    One of the unexpected costs of self building can be how much an access can be to install. Our access is fairly long and we also need over 100 tree stumps cleared, soil/clay excavated and some form of hardcore put down.
     
    Although we are building on clay we also had access to hardcore about 100 meters away. A borrow pit and track was created with enable the hardcore to be quarried with the clay used to fill in the hole and eventually the turfs put back on top. This results in the ground being reinstated to the same condition.
     

     

     
    With the necessary rock extracted we could now complete the access.
     

     

     
    Organising services can take a while if these are coming long distances, crossing third party land and road crossings. Unfortunately we had all of these to contend with.
     
    Electricity was the hardest to achieve but this task was eventually overcome and a temporary supply was on site.
     

     
    Our water connection/telephone cable were far more straight forward.
     
    With the site levelled off and services ready for contractors our initial works were completed in 2015. 
     


    For the next few years we continued to save money and completed a few small jobs such as installing a gate at the access.
     

     
    In 2017 we decided to rethink our design we were able to achieve a non material variation. 
     

     
    In early 2018 we submitted our building warrant and arranged a self build mortgage.
     
    After nearly a decade we were now ready to start building!
  20. Thedreamer
    The last entry was back in February when we put down some much needed flooring and we have made some progress on both the interior and exterior of the build.
     
    The first job was insulating the first floor. 
     
    Two layers of 80mm quinn therm was then fitted between the rafters leaving a ventilation gap to the sarking/breathe membrane.
     

     
    A final layer of 25mm quinn therm layer on top with a service void.
     
    For the flat ceiling we used a couple of layers of frametherm 35 with an airtightness membrane and Quinn therm 25mm layer.
     

     
    We still have some work to do around the windows.
     
    Downstairs was a lot quicker. This already had frametherm fitted between the studs so the Quinn therm 25mm went on top.
     

     

     
    Now for the outside. We had been waiting for good weather for rendering the blockwork.
     
    The first step was rendering beads and mesh.
     

     
    Then a scratch coat coat was added.
     

     
    Then finally the rough casting.
     

     

     

     
    The rough casting will now be left and painted in July. 
     
    The next step is getting the electrician and plumber to do first fix. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
  21. Thedreamer

    Flooring 1

    By Thedreamer,

    Most of the internal work to date has focused on insulating the suspended timber floor and with this completed our joiners could come back and put down the sub floor.
     
    We considered two different materials for the subfloor:
     
    22mm OSB or 22mm Chipboard.
     
    We decided to use chipboard as it was 25% cheaper then OSB. Plywood would have been another option but this would have been more expensive than the chipboard as well.
     
    To do this job we needed just over hundred sheets of chipboard, 2800 Spax screws and 6 bottles of expanding PU foam glue.   
     
    Whilst our joiners were on site they also attached some ply and osb boards to the internal load bearing walls. This will provide additional racking strength to the house.
     
    As I can walk around all part of the house here are some photos:
     
    The porch and utility room
     

     
    The kitchen/dining room
     

     
    Living room which has a part vaulted ceiling and the eventually the French doors will lead onto a decked area.
     

     
    When this is framed it will be a bathroom, hall & stairs
     

     
    Master bedroom and en-suite
     

     
    And upstairs:
     
    Two bedrooms on the gable ends.
     

     
    A key feature of these rooms is a PK10 top hung velux.
     

     

     
    The middle sections between the gable bedrooms will be a wardrobe, WC and a storage cupboard. This area has three PK10 veluxs.
     

     

     
    Having a floor down feels like a big step forward for us.
     
    One of the benefits for me is that I now have space to store materials within the house, as previously it was very awkward as often these had to be shifted around numerous times to complete a single job.
     
    The next job is back to insulating, this time in the rafters. 
  22. Thedreamer

    Larch cladding

    By Thedreamer,

    Cladding now installed on the utility and porch.
     

     

     
    Unfortunately, the rest of the cladding will need to wait until the start of the block work starts in a month or so.
     
    I have also been busy nailing away and fixing what felt like a million truss clips.
     
     
     
     
     
  23. Thedreamer
    The attic trusses arrived today after making a three hour journey from Inverness to Skye. 
     

    Offloading took place at our site entrance.
     

     
    Our joiner did a great job weaving between odd trees on our access.
     

     
    Trusses unloaded and ready to start being fitted over the next few days.

     
    Had a sneak peak on the top of the scaffolding to get a view from where the treble velux windows will be fitted.   

     
     
  24. Thedreamer

    Windows

    By Thedreamer,

    The windows were delivered last Friday.
     
    They arrived in three pallets, two of them were lifted off by the lorry's tail lift and a pallet truck. The larger pallet had to have the windows taken off manually.
     
    Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the offloading as it was all hands on deck.
     
    I was however involved in the lifting of the windows, on average the windows were about 75kgs each, but the french doors were double at 150kgs.  
     
    Here are some of the exterior.
     

     

     

     
    And the interior.
     

     

     
     

     
    Facias and soffits have also been fitted around the house.
     
    The next job will be fitting the Siberian larch cladding and followed by the slates next month.
     

  25. Thedreamer

    Roofing 2

    By Thedreamer,

    In my last post we were waiting on two items arriving from our suppliers: Velux flashing kits and a metal roof to be fitted at the back.
     
    The velux flashings arrived first and we were able to make good progress and finish this side.
     



     
     
    Our joiner then came back on site to fit the metal roof. Unfortunately as mentioned in my Terrible Thursday post the flashing arrived at the incorrect angle, the plan was then to use the lead, but thankfully we decided not to and we managed to get a replacement flashing sourced quickly, which allowed the rest of the slating to be done.
     

     
    Last bit.
     

     
     
    And then finally ridge tiles.
     

     
     
    To be honest the roof was a bit harder than I thought. Various different materials, which can all take a while to arrive on site. If one supplier delivers late or supplies an incorrect part it can hold up the entire roof fitting.
     
    As with the entire build, except the blocks and concrete the materials are all organised by us, so perhaps it would have been less stressful to leave it to a single contractor. We had a great roofer who did the work in all conditions and a joiner who came on site quickly when we needed him.
     
×
×
  • Create New...