garrymartin

Our architects suggest in the current market, in our area, we budget for £3000/m2 for a main contractor build Passivhaus; we're using a £2000/m2 initial budget on the basis that we'll be project managing ourselves, getting trades in for some things, and doing a lot of work ourselves. We expect to come in under this, but it's a figure I'm comfortable starting with from a planning perspective to see what our budget can deliver in terms of design. We can afford to spend more, but we'd rather not if we can avoid having a mortgage at the end of the build. Our brief for the architects is very clear though that we'd rather get the superstructure the right size and design even if that means we finish some things off at a slow pace over an extended period. For example, we'd like a sauna for the health benefits, and we want to make space for it from a shell perspective, but we may not put it in initially if the budget doesn't allow it. However, we'll also be considering whether various things attract VAT savings and will be offsetting those decisions against the cost of finance and the period over which we think something might complete; e.g. if we can't initially afford a sauna at £10K from our savings, but it would attract VAT at a later data (and inflation) and therefore cost £12K plus, then the cost of finance over three or four years might be less than the VAT costs and inflation making taking the finance and doing it anyway the sensible course of action. Hope that makes sense!

One of the key interior designer mantras - spend money on the things you touch and feel.

Yeah. That and the cost of cable for running two cables to everywhere will likely be less than the disruption of trying to get a single additional cable through to a location where you subsequently find you need another! You don't need to fully terminate both of the cables if you don't want to; you can just coil it up disconnected in the backbox/cabinet until it is needed so long as you label them well. Personal recommendation; minimum of two to every location, four to locations serving TVs. CAT6a U/UTP for everything. Shielded F/UTP or F/FTP where necessary or desirable due to any potential environmental interference.

I'm going to the MBC Timber Frame Open Day / Factory Tour on 13th July - I'll ask them the question 😉

Not everything connected to the internal network will require Internet access, but having a network cable provisioned for things like solar and heat pump controllers allows for future automation/control of them, or just gathering stats and data.

Not sure they'll work. As I mentioned before, I think these will be the type that need something to be fastened tight to the plasterboard to work, i.e. you fix a batten to the wall. You just need a screw sticking out and unless I'm really wrong, I don't think those will work for that... EDIT - just watched a Youtube video. They *might* work I guess...

That's my normal method for things like heavy TV mounts, so should absolutely work for your needs.

https://mbctimberframe.co.uk/mbc-open-day-tour-13th-july-2024/ Anyone going? My wife and I are booked for the 10:00-11:30 slot. OR... if you can't make it, anything you'd like to know or questions you'd like me to ask? I'll try to take some photos and put anything I learn in a post when I return...

Missed that! 🙂 Nice one

I've cut holes in more walls than I care to remember to run cables and fit TV mounts etc. It's always possible to make it completely invisible, but it may require a few goes at filling, sanding, and painting before you are happy. If you want to minimise the hole you are cutting, then rather than a noggin, you could cut a circular hole and feed a small piece of wood in that overlaps the sides of the hole. Then while pulling the piece of wood tight to the plasterboard (use a screw in the middle to grasp it) use plasterboard screws to secure it to the plasterboard. Given you're not looking to put some kitchen cupboards up, that sort of approach may be enough strength for what you want. Hope that makes sense. If not, here's an example of the sort of thing I'm writing about...

The problem with most of the plasterboard fixings is that they require something to be fitted flush to the plasterboard to hold the fitting in place, and you just want the screw to be poking out. Not an easy fix. You might be able to try something like a Rawlplug with the setting tool as they have a shoulder that will hold the fixing in place, but even that I'm not sure will work too well over time without anything hard up against it. On the subject of marking out, the best option I've found is to take a long enough spirit level and to mark in pencil where the two holes go. Then you can use the level to a) make sure it's level (!) and b) transfer the exact placement to the wall.

I used to use the matchstick trick then saw someone on Instagram fold a small cable tie in half and push that into the plug instead. Works much better and you can "tweak" the size of the cable tie accordingly. On another subject, another vote for the Fischer plugs - they're the only ones I use in both SX and Duo flavours.

It's like the lottery. Do you like the odds? If it looks OK but then fails in use, what would it be worth to you not to have that hassle? As much as I like to save a few quid by buying in multiples or bulking up to avoid shipping costs, I've learnt my lesson on things like sealants and glues and always make sure they are within their usable date range. Even if you turn to Amazon rather than builders merchants, you're talking sub £9 for a new one including delivery. Worth the risk?

Joe is spot on. When you steam solid wood, you're trying to affect the fibres of the wood and how they interact with each other. MDF is essentially wood dust bound together with glue under incredibly high pressure - steaming it will not work in the same way that it would for solid wood. It's not impossible, but you need dry steam and a high degree of control of the temperature. It very much depends on the quality and size of the scotia, and whether it has a "plastic" finish to it or it is a wood veneer, but one thing you might want to try is heating it with a heat gun as you are bending it. Adding heat can make MDF a little more pliable and allow the glue bonding to effectively separate and reform. You might just get away with it...

For future reference, not all caulks are created equal. Although there are some personal favourites with particular decorators, Dunlop Flexible Acrylic Filler is repeatedly mentioned and held in high regard in the various painting/spraying Facebook groups I'm a member of.

I've had success in the past jumping on to Amazon chat, telling them I was going to return the product because I'd found it cheaper, and having them refund the difference. Not always - I guess it depends on how much margin they have to play with and how good a customer you are, but may be worth a try before you go through the hassle of ordering from somewhere else and returning it to Amazon...

On a previous plot that we were unable to continue with (pre-COVID) the same practice I mentioned above quoted £7.5K+VAT for the work that is now £9K+VAT, so a 20% increase in about 4 years. The compounded inflation rate over the past 4 years in the UK is approximately 22.53% so not bad. This is really critical, as is taking the opportunity to talk to previous clients where possible.

So firstly, I can't tell you whether the design is particularly complex yet as I don't have one... 😉 It is an award-winning Architectural Practice, with more than one office, but it's not based in London. It was the most costly of all our quotes from our shortlist, but they were also streets ahead of their nearest competition in how comfortable we felt to be in their hands. All of us make decisions about where we want to spend our budget, and how much we're prepared to spend on each item. Personally, this project will be my third home ever, and my first self-build - I don't move around a lot! Many others on this site are on their second, third, and more builds and have lived in many different houses. I don't have that wealth of experience, so I've chosen to engage someone in a specialist field to help me. I work in a senior position in the IT industry, and that's what my clients do every day of the week. Sure they can do some things themselves, but they trust that our teams have experience they don't and will perhaps approach something in a way they had not considered, improving their experience, reducing their risk, and providing an excellent return on their investment. This is what I am looking for from my Architect and why I was very careful about their choice. Cost is very relative; when you look at the work they will be doing, and the seniority and experience of the people I'll be working with, then I'm very comfortable that it is good value. For those interested in the process, I have a design brief that lists all the things we'd like to achieve and the way we'd like to live, a small number of photos that show the design aesthetics we are drawn to, a list of known constraints (for example, there's a 3" PVC water main with a 6m easement that goes through the plot) and a bubble diagram that has all our desired rooms and their relationships to each other drawn on it. Our architects will take that and use their skill and experience to bring it to life for us in the specific context of the plot, its orientation, the surrounding buildings and features, the options for access, and a hundred and one other variables that all have a potential impact, many of which I would just not have had the skill or experience to consider. Of course, assuming our appeal is ultimately successful... 🤣

It very much depends on the Architect or Architectural Practice and who will need to be involved in your discussions and designs as to the costs to expect, as does the size and complexity of your proposals. As a very rough ballpark, as a percentage of build cost, you would typically be looking at 7% to 15%, or if engaging by the hour, £50 - £150 per hour. Of course, this depends on the seniority, skill, and experience of the Architect or Practice. For our own potential project, for RIBA Stages 0-2: Brief Development and Concept Design, we'll be spending £9K+VAT, and that gets us the various site visits, discussions with planners, development of 3 alternative simple massing design options in plan and basic 3D form, discussions on options, meetings, quotes from professionals and consultants required, etc. For RIBA Stage 3: Developed Design, it will be a further £9K+VAT and that will take us to a full Technical Details Consent application and will get us more developed drawings based on our design choices, Passivhaus assessment, collaboration with other consultants, discussions with planners, detailed Design and Access Statement, and refined site and dwelling drawings including everything needed for an application. This is for a design brief with a 220m2 main house and a 60m2 garage/workshop on a 0.25 acre site. It's a very personal choice whether to involve an Architect or not, but for us, these initial costs are an investment in their expertise and experience and we hope, as the anecdote goes, that we'll recoup that cost many times over in the value they bring.

Spot on. It never ceases to amaze me that almost all "complaints" have no valid planning argument. Our own application had a neighbour that objected, with one of his objections being the poor condition of the private access road (especially in winter) and the addition of more traffic to it. I had the deeds to a number of the properties in the estate, including his, and all owners were proportionally responsible for the good upkeep of said private access road!

I chased our appeal today, not really expecting a response, but got the following almost immediately - "An Inspector undertook an unaccompanied site visit on the 21 May and will be working towards finalising a decision in the coming weeks." so fingers crossed for something before the end of the month...

@Alan Ambrose was there something you wanted to say or something you wanted me to see in @Havkey100 latest post?

It really depends on the inspector and the reason for the EICR as to how they will code it. As a layman, at the minimum, I would expect a C2 (potentially dangerous) in relation to the lack of an RCD and the reasonable expectation that sockets (especially given one of the ways is marked as garage extension sockets) could power equipment outdoors. If you have a very generous inspector, you might get C3 (improvement recommended) for anything else, but it depends on a lot of variables that won't be visible just from the photos you've provided. Just because the consumer unit is old and may not meet current standards doesn't mean that it automatically has to be replaced.

A self-build mortgage would not be appropriate as the property is already built. I think @Jilly intended to refer you to the companies that offer self-build mortgages rather than self-build mortgages themselves. Also, Birmingham Midshires seem to no longer be trading so not a perfect example! 😉🤣 But there are plenty of others to choose from Halifax for example, which has the same commentary of "Yes, provided there are no more than 15 properties on any one development site and construction has been monitored by a professional consultant. We only require this where the new property is to be occupied for the first time." Halifax and Natwest both have mortgages at 4.45% fixed on an external comparison site so I'm sure with your specific details you could end up with a similar offer from Halifax without the warranty issues.

It's a specialist field so you will likely need to involve a broker or do your own homework, but any mortgage products available may attract a higher interest rate to offset the extra risk so be careful that you don't end up paying £1000s extra over time. This link is likely to be of significant interest; it lists all the lenders that will proceed without a new home warranty scheme and the conditions for doing so. https://lendershandbook.ukfinance.org.uk/lenders-handbook/englandandwales/question-list/1919/ As an example, for your NatWest mortgage, it states "Yes but the building work must be monitored or (if completed) have been monitored by a professional consultant and the professional consultant has provided the Professional Consultant's Certificate in the UK Finance Handbook form. In addition, you must confirm the Certificate was issued prior to exchange of contracts." which I guess is why you are having problems. But as another example, Birmingham Midshires states "Yes, provided there are no more than 15 properties on any one development site and construction has been monitored by a professional consultant. We only require this where the new property is to be occupied for the first time." - did the vendors actually live in the conversion before putting it on the market? Hope this helps. Sounds like you've found your ideal home.