Thedreamer

That looks great. ?

We are quite close to the coast and spend ages looking at this. In the end we with these because they have a high waterproof rating, made of robust plastic and were the same colour as our windows. Because they are quite cheap got a few extra if they need to be replaced. https://www.juiceelectricalsupplies.co.uk/coast-outdoor-breez-led-brick-light-guide-light-round.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoPL2BRDxARIsAEMm9y9ODgP07QtlV3od_6cTZ5lNAzU33-t_-H9EKa6L7TzLpTxNNCDGYGEaAguOEALw_wcB https://www.superlecdirect.com/p-cz29192-forum-lighting-breez-led-rectangular-surface-brick-light?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoPL2BRDxARIsAEMm9y8eME9E9l01qPHgRivPgu7ibLeiryhBiMdMkCG4pKGBNfIuFXAFBCAaAijgEALw_wcB

What type of ground floor has it got? The church in our community, Staffin, Isle of Skye is currently being renovated (Thomas Telford design) it had a suspended timber floor and was completely destroyed by dry rot. A lot of work in that project.

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.

Hi @JohnMo, We are nearly finished a similar build on our croft in Skye. On the double/triple glazing I looked at the prices and I was pleasantly surprised at the cost difference. Triple glazing windows feel much more solid we are quite sheltered but in the winter the windows feel so much stronger. Where we live at the moment has double glazing and these flex and move a bit during a strong 70-80mph gust, never get that with the triple glazing. The noise reduction is a benefit as well when your surrounded by livestock and birds. I keep a blog here https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/blogs/blog/28-self-build-on-skye/

Well done, first milestone achieved. ?

Round our area plenty of houses of more 'traditional materials' have there own problems. The one point I would make on double block houses, what are the blocks made of? I've seen block where the light weight blocks chip/crumble very easily. If the house is double block out of traditional heavy blocks I would agree with you. Up to the 90's in Skye, houses were double heavy block but now 95% houses are timber frame. I actually mentioned this when considering and loads of people said it would be very odd to build out of double block in my area. Our home was stick built but as more house are built this way here then the joiners have more experience.

It would be amazing to rebuild the iron age dun on the family croft. Also this guy on youtube has just started a roundhouse construction.

Slate flashings are smooth see below. Those are for a tiles.

I looked into this a while back. Our stumbling block was that despite never owning a residential property we already had the freehold to the plot and were therefore property owners.

Thanks @canalsiderenovation yes it will be when we move in. Just waiting for the lockdown to end in Scotland and then we can get the plumbers back.

Keep those dreams alive. For about eight years I would just stand on our plot and think this is going to happen one day. Depending on your circumstances you could still build a passive house, but you will need to do the work or at least be very involved on site. For ideas on the longhouse design? https://www.dualchas.com/

I did see something similar a product a few years ago, but forgot to buy it. Presumably this would also work well with chipboard?

Welcome to the forum.

Using subcontractors: Allows me to pick and choose who does the work and when I want them to. It very likely that a main contractor would charge a higher price to cover their overheads and profit margin. I like to choose the spec of materials used in the build It is more work as I have co-ordinate the trades, research materials and also have more delays. But as @SuperJohnG mentioned earlier, the self builders triangle, cost, speed and quality. You can only choose two of the three. Most members here would choose cost and quality. Your second question can't really be answered until you work out what you want. I.e. you can pay more a pre-modular type construction where the house is constructed very quickly but this typically comes at a cost. But as you asked I started our build process 11 years ago when I was 22. But we broken ground in March 2018. Not finished yet, but should be fairly quickly after the lockdown in Scotland is relaxed.

Worse than that is when somebody says you are so 'lucky' on your self build. Yes, I'm so glad that I read that Daily Mail article about the property being raffled! For me, m2 square or total build cost is irrelevant, I'm interested to know how much does it cost to live here each month. I wouldn't want to self build a massive great house with a low m2 if I had to service a huge mortgage debt forever. What would happen if I lost my job, somebody else lives in my dream? I want to achieve somewhere between £500-£600 a month for mortgage, utilities and council tax.

Never understood the bit with the finances at the start and end. Charlie always mentioned you have saved £x. Surely if your building the dream then you have no intention of selling. I prefer that show where they build for £100k.

For us Planning Services - water, electricity Access Site clearance Foundation/Drainage Ground floor Walls Trusses Windows Roof Insulation External skin 1st fix Outside painting Plasterboard Taping/filing Stove Stairs Internal Painting Flooring/skirting, doors Treatment tank/landscaping Kitchen/Bathroom I work on a subcontractor basis and supply materials. Not a tradesmen or that good at DIY. Just done labouring, painting and fairy easy jobs. I have very little interested in m2 cost just to keen to keep my overall monthly mortgage/utility cost to a minimum. As @SuperJohnG mentioned first step for you is to go on Amazon and buy the home builders bible. I keep a blog here that documents the different stages.

I would do a search on companies house beta and find out what exactly has happened or is happening to the company.

This is not to far off for me, but have the additional complication of needing to send invoices to Scottish Government around that time for our croft house grant claim.

Why would the trench be difficult to dig?

Prehaps this was mentioned earlier but, how many of your neighbours have built a similar parking area? I agree with everybody else who has posted above, a structural engineer should be asked. The foundations are probably quite light compared to modern standards and could risk a serious structural issue is just not worth the risk.

Looking forward to following your progress. I've taken the long road. Started in 2009 when I was youthful 22, now 33 and have some grey hair!

Yes they can be made to be act as centre pivot for cleaning. At the moment the weather is great really shows off the good views. A lot of work in getting the house in that place those (services, access etc). I also wanted to build some where nobody could disrupt the views in the future. Here is how they look inside. Need to consider fire safety when positioning as they can act as a escape window as well.

Similar here, a few layers of barbed livestock and a Loch at the front make some additional handy security features. I wanted a long access as Skye can be busy in the tourist season. We close the gates and we don't see anybody.