Visti

Gods, it took nearly a year to settle the window and door security argument. In the end we were down to our 5th inspector who just signed it off... I love the Austrian windows and doors, but never again unless I get the right standards on paper up front.

Great shout on the Shelly. We were thinking along those lines but hadn't a clue what to tell the electrician! Now to the drawing board! We were thinking of the agile tariff but as you said the recent price hikes have us hesitating. We'd need a FIT equivalent given our PV, which I think only comes with Octopus Agile or Octopus Outgoing. Not sure it's available with Octopus Go as that'd be the most reliable approach. Might start on Outgoing and see how much of the PV we manage to capture each day via the sunamps. If 100% then maybe we can forget about feeding in and switch over to Go.

Hi Russdl, Any chance you can let us know how you sorted that out? At the moment our sunamps charge whenever they like and aren't connected to our PV. We would ideally like to do what you have done so we could make better use of our tariffs. Any help/guidance on your system setup would be very much appreciated, Laura and Oliver

Have had to have it sprayed with a biocide just a year in as it'd started accumulating green and black mold. It's warped quite significantly in many places and has needed repair. Lots of sap coming out, requiring cleaning up an repainting where not left natural. Significantly distorted aging from panel to panel, do we're treating it ourselves to try and help even it out.

Would again: - Architect - designed an ideal layout - Timber Frame - quick to erect and easy to adjust on site - Passive insulation - can't feel the outside at all - triple glazed windows - great at noise reduction - MVHR - air always fresh - Sunamps - no gas, compact - ground floor UFH only - all you need - recessed skirting - easy and never have to dust - IKEA kitchen - DIYable Would do better: - acoustic insulation - more, everywhere. - double up joists - reduce floor bounce - Battery - capture solar power for self use - Fixed price - no hourly paid jobs - Completion payment - never pay in full until 100% satisfied Doubtful: - Project management - definitely going main contractor next time - Fermacell - cheaper and easier to double up on standard PB or back with ply - Graven Hill - worse than you can ever imagine (the developer, not the community) - Larch cladding - high maintenance, would go composite

I've been stung by many a trade. Tried everything including giving an instruction manual and taking then through the process. They will just ignore it and do it the way they always have. Some will care for their work, others won't. Best you can hope for are good recommendations to sift out the latter. I highly recommend Eastern European trades for quality. At least the crew I found for woodwork and bathrooms. They have been some one the best on our site. Work diligently, detailed oriented and always care for the finished result. They don't have to be micromanaged or chased, and I can leave them to address issues and propose better ideas than my original designs (and they even check with me first!). They even clean up too. Love them.

Hi Tom, welcome to BuildHub! This is Oliver from plot 156. I can see you're next to Jordan and have an awesome view. That'll be a stunning house. I should be moved in a few weeks from now after 2 years in the project. Pop by when you're next on site, it'd be good to catch up in person P.s. Happy to help if you need tools or advice, just let me know!

And just about to get ours into place and install! I'll be reaching out to then to see if we can address the issue during installation.

I can't decide whether to have integrated LEDs which are easier to get IP65 rated, higher lumens, and can be covered with insulation... Or GU10s where the bulbs can be replaced with relative ease. I'd like to hear opinions and recommendations for decent lights if you have them!

Same rise, just looks short due to the added thickness of the going on the other levels. You mean handrail @Simplysimon? We might get a ear shaped one fitted directly to the left hand side.

Yup, beginning the day on site it always a challenge. Then I get angry, start fixing something and am on a roll of just fixing more stuff until the day is over. @Mr Punter Yup, you can see in the top of the 2nd last picture how it was drilled into the studwork and 18mm ply on both sides. Skirting was going to be plain white MDF glued on, but we've been so impressed by these guys that we've asked them to quote for doing all of it in the same wood. Unconventional, but I am finally having fun playing around with the finishes! @wozza I should have said it'll be a clear varnish. Final image shows the result vs the others that haven't got it on yet.

Thanks all Solid wood due to us wanting a continuous seam of wood from floor through to the stairs. We got wind of a timberyard that specialises in reclaimed wood via some other fellow self-builders. Very affordable approach to our desire for a natural floor upstairs. Cost less than engineered wood even. Went to see them and by chance saw some ash offcuts they had from another job. Near perfect match for the windows and just the right amount of pattern in it. Did a 180 and went for new wood rather than reclaimed as a consequence. Exceeded budget, but worth it. Polish team (UK resident) and ash imported from there too. Some of the best trades I've had period.

After so much stress for so long, I'd forgotten what it felt like to enjoy this self build. I've not felt joy in it since the first day of raising the frame. After more than a year I felt it again and am compelled to post. It isn't done, but I can see it'll eventually be a home.

Exactly as @Cpd did, we only used the foam filler to plug the gap at the top with the ridge cap, since that doesn't have a corrugated profile. If you screw the sheet directly to an OSB board then: 1. You'll have very limited ventilation, since you're restricting it per vertical profile, and allowing not very much volume of circulation at all (Cladco profiles are only 18mm thick). 2. Condensation will run directly onto the OSB from the tin, with no chance to evaporate first or on an intermediary medium such as a batten or purlin which don't matter as much as your structural envelope. Do you have your roof buildup details? Any reason you can't use battens or purlins? The former are cheap as chips. If you're in Oxfordshire I've 4 packs of 10 just lying around.

You need to have some ventilation space between the structure and the tin. About 50mm. Battens (and crossed) or Perkins really are necessary, and drilled through to the rafters ideally so that they have the most solid purchase... Those wind speeds can be high, and you don't want to mess with negative pressure! The structures skin can be ply or osp, but you'll want an external vapour control layer to let it breath whilst protecting it a bit from the elements. We also had an anti-condensation layer on the back that should help prevent moisture issues even if the ventilation fails.

Overlaps more than recommended are fine with the steel sheets. Just ensure they're aligned top to bottom to ensure a close fit at both ends. The more that the profiles that overlap the more any misalignment becomes obvious as gaps form between the sheets, so you may want to cut. If you do, no problem. Just have the cut edge go under the next sheet. Not following you on the ply/OSB. What is your roof structural detailing? And yes, you can over screw and warp the profile down. It's limited though as it's only 18mm normally, and from the ground you won't see much of that at all.

Thanks @PeterW, love it. Nice and simple. Perfect for my addled brain. And I can still get that in time for the weekend! Plan is a go! @Russdl hah! We did some walls ourselves but I did snap after 300m2 of DIY (tacking that is) before I called in the pros! I am not sure I'd call that a success of the fermacell DIY-ability but it'll get me in sometime this year I hope! Now to pick what shade of white to go for the ceiling... Off-milk, split meringue or millionares cocaine.

Novice painter and looking at getting into it over the long weekend. A bit overwhelmed by the numerous costs and tooling options. Anyone have a recommendation for painting on top of fine surface treatment?

Get the one man boards if you're only 2. I wouldn't want to try doing to full size unless you've got a decent crew. Experience helps, as does the right tools, particularly blades for the saws. We've still got a few small unboarded areas we'll be doing in the next few weeks. You're welcome to come along and experience it once Corvid restrictions relax. Encon are a great supplier when it comes to price. I love it once it is on, but goodness it is difficult compared to standard board. And the skimming isn't as DIY friendly as it's appear as there is little room for error. Oh the dust!

Screwing is hard work. Burnt through two impact drivers on about 300m2 and then got contractors in to finish the job Are you planning on DIYing it?

I find the box cutouts to be a piece of cake with the right tools. 10mm steel drill bit for the corners and a jigsaw with the right bit does the job well. The issue is it eats impact drivers and wrists. Technique is critical to get a good quality install. Also, need at least two people to make the job viable, even with one-man boards. It is a viable product, but not certain it is worth it for the extra cost and effort.

Good idea for standing seam roofs like these, though the fact the windows don't line up with the seams make me twitch a bit!

Wonder if this includes charcoal... What will I do with my Webber!

Plywood it is. Just ordered 18mm for 400mm joist centers. Thanks for the idea

It is dry yup, watertight as of October