BadgerBadger

Haven't checked the sums on total heat loss, but if that's the total figure for losses then the ashp consumption should be ~one third of that if we roughly assume a COP of 3.

There are dozens of things you could do to improve the efficiency of your build and, as you're finding, at some point you reach the point where you have to say "I'm just not going to do that". The key is to make sure you're doing the things that are most effective and being consistent with yourself, there's no point spending thousands extra on one aspect early on in the build and opting out of something else later on that was actually much more cost effective. I ended calculating a "pounds per W/K improvement" measure that I used to decide to make sure I was being consistent with myself across the project. If I was debating adding a new efficiency improvement (e.g. increasing insulation, introducing marmox thermoblocks on our masonry build, thermally broken lintels etc.) I would assess the impact of the money I was spending on the improvement to see if it was worthwhile. So in your example: A U-value of 0.14 over a 220sq m wall area, gives the heat loss through the wall as 30.8 W/K. A U-value of 0.11, gives you 24.2 W/K. So £6000 gives you 6.6 W/K improvement, meaning just over £900 per W/K. For info, my cut-off was somewhere around £350 per W/K (based on raw materials as we DIY'd a lot, I'm aware your figure is fully finished)

Have you got any pictures where you've got to with lighting the vaulted space please? We have a similar size, and am struggling for ideas somewhat!

Any thoughts if I should definitely be using CLS for internal stud walls? Or is general 4x2 timber commonly used too? Thanks.

My advice is don't jump to conclusions too early. Just because neighbours/local council are objecting doesn't mean it's going to be refused. If you've taken onboard and addressed the planning officers concerns from a previous application, have faith in that. In reality the only opinion that actually matters is the the planning officer (with inputs from conversation officer etc.)

Finally starting to think about first fix and internals - back at the bottom of the learning curve! We have a blockwork build (medium density) with wet plaster. The undercoat obviously takes quite a bit of material, and looking at material prices sand-cement is significantly cheaper than bags of Bonding Coat/Hard Wall. I'm guessing there are some good reasons, but why should I be using gypsum for the undercoat?

It's a bit more specialist than a standard tree surgeon you might find in the yellow pages, try googling a arboculturist tree survey to get along the right lines. You will need a tree survey for planning, it was one of the first things we got before starting design, so could look at getting it done now so the arboculturist can properly advise you. The circular RPA is a good starting point, but there is some variation, and the presence of your garage foundation will have influenced it. I'm going to guess the garage was built on the edge of the 12x diameter circle in the 1990s, and the tree has continued to grow since. Either way, I think you're in for an easier ride to try and stick with the existing garage footprint as expanding further sideways into the RPA is going to be tricky. This could be a good thing to quiz your architects to help you decide as it's going to be a big theme of any design/application.

Is the communication clear that going into the reveals was originally included in the price, and you then asked them not to? If so I might be tempted to call their bluff and ask them to carry on with the reveals anyway, although they might argue it's too late now...

A few brick manufacturers (typically higher end handmade stuff) exhibit at self-build shows etc. York Handmade for example. We bought direct from Northcot Brick, they were really helpful. Even had a tour of the brickworks and got to have a go at making our own bricks.

Care is required - and confidence to recognise good from bad - but I've had a couple of very good finds on MyBuilder. Both when I got stuck finding trades from other routes and thought I'd post something to see what I got - so don't rule it!

£/m2 is a rule of thumb at best, there are so many factors that will push it up or down. Remodelling might save you in some areas, but it will cost you more in others if you're trying to tie into existing structures. You'll also have VAT to think about - so I don't think I'd assume remodelling will save you money, it might actually be the other way round. For context our build budget is not dissimilar to your own - we've spent money on some quality materials for the exterior finishes and some architectural interest (as it sounds like you're planning), but it's also smaller, we're running individual trades with a fair bit of DIY, and are likely planning a very basic interior fitout. We definitely couldn't fit 50k in the budget for the staircase.

Take a step back, this looks way too expensive for your budget. Have you sanity checked it with a £/m2?

Thanks - so can the bit pictured above just sit directly on blockwork (recess cut as needed) or does it need something else? Final block course still needs adding at thresholds, so all options possible.

Not sure to be honest - we're not having sliders, just standard open outwards patio doors. They come with this profile on the bottom which need to sit on some form of subcill.

Has anyone managed to suss out level thresholds with Rationel doors?! DPC levels were designed in so that's all sorted, it's just the cill/drainage I can't seem to work elegantly. We're after that minimal inside-outside transition with the patio slabs running as close to the door as practical leaving the least amount of threshold visible. Only option the suppliers we've spoken to have really given is sitting the Rationel flush threshold on an aluminium subcill and then simply butting the paving to this, maybe with a slot drain. Obviously the subcill would be visible. I can't help but think there's a better solution we're missing. Looked at various threshold drains, including the Aquabocci system which look promising, but not sure what the sit the Rationel threshold on.

I think I've concluded experience vary massively and it's very hard to judge what you're walking into. Even if going through the same "brand" of warranty/building control (e.g. BuildZone) the actual job will likely be subbed to a more localised surveying/inspection company who all your subsequent be with. I, perhaps naively, had no idea this was the case. We seem to be getting through with our private warranty/building control and have had no trouble booking visits (~5-6 days) notice, but learnt early on that getting technical input/advice from them - especially during the plan check - was almost impossible.

The price shown on big builder's merchants websites (Jewson, Travis Perkins etc.) are way above the going rate. You should have no real trouble getting the going rate, provided you can show them you know what it is 😉 Work out exactly what you want then do a round robin of merchants. Get a price from the first, knock 5-10% off the number and then ask the second if they can beat it. If they can, they'll likely come back fractionally under the price you gave them. Knock another 5-10% off and go to a third. Keep going until you start getting "no" back. You'll find some local merchants are great and give you an honest price off-the-bat, so I always aim to order with those if I can. Don't forget to take delivery logistics etc. into account, it can be much cheaper if you can take a full load direst from the supplier than if they need to take it to the merchants yard first.

There was a similar(ish) photo on a roofing FB group recently, and multiple people suggested salts. Which fits if you know there's water problems, but as you say if you "don't know" so it needs confirming properly.

Have a chat with Viridian? Their roof integrated flashing kits are basically formed metal trims that slot into their panels.

We looked at this with conservation rooflights. One supplier very honestly told us whilst they could make us a steel-framed triple-glazed rooflight it would be somewhat pointless as the thermal bridging on the frame would dominate whatever we did with the glazing. We compromised in the end and used two types of rooflight on different elevations. Taking the efficiency hit on the elevations that visually mattered most, and accepting a less authentic conservation style to allow proper thermally broken triple glazing on others.

Well done! I've just membraned our roof, and you shouldn't really have any obvious leaks. Keep an eye on the battens they're using too, they should be graded and marked. The colour dye thing can be a bit misleading, but if you look at a bundle you should see the BS marking. It's an easy thing for building control to spot check.

Herein lies the problems with m2 rates - what's achievable for one set assumptions is completely unrealistic for another. Use them as a rough guide, but getting applicable costings for your exact situation is the only way you're going to know if your project is viable.

Finding suitable roofers with availability to work alongside has been proving problematic, so we've been gradually cracking on ourselves. Actually made it to the point of putting tiles on the roof! We have a complex roof with a lot of tiles, so looking for tips on how to tackle it efficiently. Should I be aiming to load the roof out completely before starting laying? Obviously seen examples of stacks of tiles distributed all over the battens. I tried a stack, but we have a handmade tile and it seemed a little precarious so part of me wonders if time spent stacking is better spent just laying them straight away. Any tips on which areas to tackle first? (i.e. get the verges/valleys in?) Or whether to lay diagonally/vertically etc?

Possibly hard to judge accuracy without knowing your build details, but we're just getting towards UFH so I'd be very interested to know who used from Fiverr. (I did a bit of looking myself after your previous posts!)

I think Cabershield is rated for 42 days exposure and Egger Protect is 60 days. So we went Egger Protect. We ended up going well beyond 60 days, but all edges/screw holes were sealed and it stood up really well so no issues.