AnnaKH

Three years living in Llantwit Major and this is about the extent of my Welsh!

Thanks @Nickfromwales, that’s great. Diolch!

Thanks for this advice, it’s really helpful. We will have a plumber fitting it. My main concern is that I don’t want to create extra work and cost just to go with this new bath I’ve decided I like - is the work you’re describing quite straightforward for a professional? Thanks

Ok, please excuse my terrible sketch and zero understanding of plumbing! The screed floor is already laid so it would need to be an exposed pipe underneath the bath running to the waste pipe in the corner. Would that work? I don't mind the pipe being exposed. My concern is whether there’s enough clearance for the pipe to be at the required gradient - the space under the bath is 147mm and the ‘drain pipe’ in the corner is about 930mm from the bath hole (I measured it out). The tiles for the floor are about 15mm. For the taps, I'd quite like a boxed-in area (see very bad sketch) which the taps could sit on (that way I get a ledge as well). Could the hot and cold pipes run horizontally into the boxed in area, then connect to the taps? Total width of the wall is 1800mm, so once it’s tiled, there will be a gap of about 40mm on either side. I take the previous point about squashing in a nice bath to a small space, but I’m happy with that look. Thanks for any advice!

Thanks @Temp, that sounds similar to what I’m planning. Do you know how much clearance from the floor to the underside of the bath you had, and how far away the drain hole (?) was? I think this is my main worry as there’s a specific gradient for building control.

Thanks @Nickfromwales, I’ve sent you a message with some details and questions!

Hi, I'm looking for advice on whether I can fit a freestanding bath in our new house. The first fix plumbing has already been done, and I don't want to undo anything, so if the freestanding bath isn't possible, I'll go for a built in bath. If anyone can advise, please let me know and I'll message you some images. Thanks

Hi, I'm comparing quotes for wet dash render on our new build in the north of Scotland. Can anyone give me a sense of what I should expect to pay for wet dash render on a two bedroom house (approx 160 square meter surface area including windows)? Thanks, Anna

Hi, I’m looking for advice on what type of render to go for. We’re building a timber frame house with block and render. The house is in a coastal, exposed site very near a sea loch and a few miles from the sea. I had thought that a silicone render would be best, however I’ve heard bad things about mould and the porosity of it. Can anyone advise what type of render will be most effective in withstanding the elements? Thanks

Hi, I'm looking for information on putting in a polished concrete or microcement floor in our build. Does anyone have any suggestions of trades in Scotland who specialise in installing polished concrete or microcement floors? Thanks, Anna

Hi, I'm looking for advice on PCCs for a self-build loan. We require PCCs for loan stages to be released, however we also want to get a structural warranty. As we're in Scotland, the building control will be done by the council, so we might end up having three sets of inspections - one for building control, one for the loan stages, and one for the structural warranty. Is there a way of combining any of these? Or are there structural warranty providers who can use the certification from the loan and building control rather than sending out their own people? We've had a quote from Protek, but the majority of the cost is sending someone out to do the inspections, and the inspections won't match all the stages of our loan so we'll have to pay extra for desktop certificates for these stages. Any advice would be welcome! Thanks

Hi, I need to put together a schedule of works for our finance application and I wondered if anyone has a schedule they could share with me in excel which I could use as a template? I've found a few templates online but it would useful to see what any self-builders on this forum have used. Thanks!

Hi there, Looking for advice from anyone that has encountered applying for a self-build mortgage whilst on a fixed term employment contract? Also, does anyone have experience of applying for a mortgage whilst moving to a new job? I'm interested to know how long a lender might need me to have been with a new employer. Thanks, Anna

Can anyone offer advice on where to look for insurance for hired plant and machinery? We’re hiring machinery which a skilled operator will be using (not ourselves!). Not sure where to look for this type of cover. Thanks

Thanks everyone for your input. We've since decided to go with block and render - mostly due to issues already raised in the chat, such as if we sold in the future, and wanting to keep our finance options as wide as possible. Now I need to research how to get beautiful, crisp render that won't get knackered by the wind coming off the sea!

Hi there, looking for some advice on rough costs of block and render for a 1.5 storey self build, approx 13m x 6.5m. We’d originally planned to to timber cladding but I understand that getting mortgages for entirely timber clad houses can be tricky. We’re after a crisp, clean finish so might want to go with a silicone-based render, but happy to be advised otherwise! Thanks

Thanks @Hilldes Can you let me know why you went with render on render board as opposed to block and render? I’d only looked at timber cladding up until now so haven’t researched other options.

Hi, wondering if anyone had experience of getting a self-build mortgage on a timber clad house? All the TF designs we've been considering are timber clad (its for a rural part of Scotland and these seem pretty attractive to the planners and I also prefer it over block and render), however I understand that only 2 or 3 lenders will offer a mortgage on a fully timber clad house. I've love to hear if people know who these lenders are and if this is an issue folks have come up against. Thanks

Thanks for this, that's really helpful. Our preference is to go with a company that will supply and erect, for all of the reasons you outline. However there's one supplier (Scotframe) which seems to have a good closed panel kit but which only does supply. I'm still waiting on quotes from a few kit companies but would be good to know build costs of the TF if we decide to go with the Scotframe kit.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I've sent a few builders the kit house we're considering, which shows shape, size, spec of kit etc. Is that likely enough for a firm to produce a quote from?

Hi, can anyone suggest an accurate way of getting a build cost for a closed panel timber frame kit house? I'm comparing some companies that offer supply and erect with supply only, but in order to have a clear comparison, I need to get an accurate idea of how much the build costs will be. I also don't want to commit to a design if it ends up costing loads to build! I've asked several companies to quote, and a couple have replied saying they'd need to see planning and building warrant drawings to give an estimate. But by that point we'll have committed to what we're building ? Any help appreciated!

Hi, I've been mostly looking at companies who offer supply and erect service, which means I wouldn't have to pay the VAT on the kit. I've just started looking at kit supply only companies and want to know if a self-build mortgage would cover the VAT for our kit house? I know we can reclaim it back, but can we borrow on the cost inc VAT or only exc VAT? Thanks

Hi, I'm in the process of comparing timber frame and SIPs kit suppliers. Would love to hear more about MBC. How did the costs work out as a company based in England with a build up north? We're based in the north west of Scotland.

Looking for advice on going with Scotframe for a kit house. We'd be going with their closed panel system (which seems to have a lot of the benefits of SIPs construction??). The downside is that they don't do a supply and erect service, so we'd have to stump up the VAT for the build (before reclaiming later). Would appreciate hearing from anyone with experience of going with Scotframe. Thanks

Thanks for this, plenty to think about! What is an I Joist kit? Can you point me in the direction of a supplier so I can find out more? It’s a house for us, and warmth and comfort and definitely high on the list of priorities. Thanks