saveasteading

As you know, That is an old land drain. Not many work now because they fill up with roots. They are theoretically round, but very roughly made. They are often found where there should have been a proper sealed jointed drain. A neat transition would be with a small rodding point, then concrete round the old pipe.

Our original building had traditional sarking. If it hadn't, I think it would have rotted and collapsed completely, long ago. The gaps between boards make such a difference in letting water drip through and air movement dry the timber again. All repairs were done the same way. With breather where we could bug without if it was local patching. Where we had to replace the structure we used osb, based on price, and that it shouldn't get wet for some decades, with a metal roof, air gap then breather. Traditional sarking would perhaps have been the very long term decision.

Physics is a pain. If that is a sliding door then the beam has to be very deep and stiff, or it will deflect and the doors stick. Let's see how it is designed. The top right column needs to be bigger , not smaller. Can that door be moved away from the corner? The pillar you don't want in the kitchen unit area could be in the wc instead. If it hasn't been thought of already, the floor joists can be set into the beams instead of on top. Best get your SE input asap then look af these aesthetics. But nobody hardly anybody cares about seeing beams across rooms. Architects might explain it as respecting the honesty of the structure. Engineers will say, " you canny change the laws of physics". Looking forward to helping you with this once there are more details.

Permission to be a little conerned on your behalf? From this discussion it seems that you have little or no experience of construction, which would suggest using large packages of work to substantial contractors . Yet you imply there is a fairly restricted budget, which requires small packages and a lot of management, and diy. These are not usually compatible. Its a 5 bed house, 180m2. Right now, you don't have a ground report. Are we expecting any challenges? Do you have contact with whoever got the planning permission? The budget and your resources are private matters. However let's say that 180m2 doing it self managed, you buying materials and using multiple small contractors will cost about £350k. Handing this over to a Project Manager and main contractor will be £450k. Anything flash will increase this. Any diy will reduce it. Others who have built similar projects recently may disagree. What you need now is clarity of what is feasible, lots more knowledge...keep reading old stuff on here, and local knowledge of self build.....and be cheeky and look at local projects for contacts.

Why would the erector want the risk that you don't want? He would have the double risk of the supplier going bust or the client not paying as well as the cash flow issue of making the big deposit. A main contractor doing the whole project might agree to do it, but will still charge for the the risk, although the client might not spot it as a specific item. I'm thinking 20% mark-up on the frame is nowhere near enough for me. What would you want to charge me if the positions were reversed?

But that passes cash handling and risk to the erector. They will decline your suggestion, or charge a fair amount for this onus. What woild they charge? 20%? Wait for the VAT say I.

Well done that SE. If you position a dpm against the outer face, then backfill with gravel, that should just about do it. A perforated pipe in the gravel to a more distant outfall would help. Painting the brick in blackjack too. What's the wall buildup? Double skin for a very posh garage, and some grey cavity fill for a cosy garage.

A good job it wasn't expensive resin then as it would be wrecked. To get it level, hook under the grid where it is low and jiggle it gently up to level. A nail bar or claw hammer etc. Gravel will migrate under it, so needs to be replaced. Repeat for 10 years. About the drainage, are you aware of the porosity or soakaway rules for new drives? Currently you have satisfied them.

They don't need to be, unless you got pedestrian grade. I've put in hundreds of m2. They wear and chip over years but are good for cars. And they solve your water concern. And they satisfy building regs for paved drives. Not a fan of resin bound except they can look nice on patios. Whatever surface, the strength depends on what is under it.

That looks good. The rain should disappear through the gravel. Nicely sized jaggy gravel too. Make sure it is just above the grids or the plastic will chip off.

It surprised me how cheap the setup was for timber kits. The only technology was a computer driven machine which printed part marks and cutting points onto the timbers. They were then taken to a big bench and nailed to similarly marked osb sheets. Then felt pen to show the part number. All this in a cheap old industrial unit. 6 workers doing an easy thing. Meanwhile in a nicer office, quite a few clever techy and sales types and possibly a very busy accounts office watching the cash. Theoretically I reckon we could have kept taking away several panels and paying them a few thousand, and bringing in some more timber, in real time.

Can you steer the majority of the water away? It doesn't always need a fancy drain, just a sleeping policeman on an angle. Tarmac/ stone / whatever. Could be a dip rather than a bump, or even a dip followed by a bump, for extremes. It then needs somewhere to go of course. Thus the water reaching the garage is vastly reduced and the ramp and/ or threshold should cope.

OK. Somebody said similar above, or elsewhere, but I can't find it again. It was basically a question of understanding the supplier's risk position, and finding a compromise. Firstly, their accounts were reasonably solid compared to most in their business. They were pushing through a couple of units a day for a big housing contractor so were used to slow payment OR a special agreement. Their payment structure was very front loaded, with little left for site works. Total about £200k. So we just talked about a balance of risk. Yes we would pay for design when it was done. Yes to a deposit, but just in time for materials purchase, not with order. Delivery in 3 stages, a week apart, so 3 payments, made same day by transfer. Erection in 4 weeks. Paid at 2 weeks, without any delay. Ditto at 4 and 6 weeks. A small retention. Thus they were being paid very promptly and at very small risk. We were exposed to a smallish risk at any one time Our client was paying fortnightly and after 7 days, so again reduced exposure. Everyone was happy as the exposure was shared and minimised. But presumably they had checked us out too. Plus we were very hands on at design, working together on innovation, so perhaps some bond formed. Mostly they knew we only wanted reduced exposure, and would pay quickly. Would this work for a one-off self build? It will be down to the charm of the self builder. There must be some balance. Paying quickly changes everything.

I do tend to say to be very careful, and the risks are huge. And no, I probably wouldn't buy a digger. I've seen too many expensive breakdowns and write-offs. Factor in the fun and the control it provides and then, maybe. Also if you are remote and the availability and transport costs are an issue. Maybe pay a bit more for an ex-hire with some guarantee? But from a small groundworker, never. On our project we hired a mini digger and a dumper. On and off as requires. Then JCB with driver for the big jobs.

Unfortunately not. Nearly everything is payment in arrears, sometimes very much so, with a large retention %. Suppliers are at risk, unless they can pass that risk up the line. Then at the end, the main contractors especially and sometimes the end clients, try to avoid any further payment at all. Surveyors try to cheat each other. Lawyers do well. I had a client once who told me, mid project, that he never pays a bill unless he still needs that supplier. True enough he brought in surveyors and lawyers to find an excuse to not pay the retention. Fortunately we had otherwise got the money from him earlier. Was he cross? Bust now of course. Another cancelled £100k cheque' on delivery after taking a delivery. It isn't "grown up" in a good way. I can say more on how we managed the risk on a timber frame once, if anyone wants to know.

Good luck with your new 'union of self builders'. I don't fancy administering that with beginners joining and experts leaving all the time. You have a point, that one supplier could sell this security where others cannot, but I estimate their price increasing 5%, maybe 10% for taking the Escrow option. Once they have the market, there won't be any need for tight pricing. I don't know the cost of these systems. Is that percentage significant on a typical foundation system for example? On a superstructure it's a lot of money.

Interesting but perhaps academic. 2 million acres of open ponds, in a warm climate. Thinks...that's...a lot of shallow, level, warm ground, and a lot of water. But if it takes that to cancel out the emissions, let's do double that and pile up the surplus lime. And hang on, my brain's not working properly and I'm sure I used to know this. Lime is roasted, using energy and forcing out CO2. When we hydrate it back to a hard lump, aren't we taking back carbon? Or is that just 50 years later when it is crushed and exposed to air? Anyway, my policy in design was always simple. Design well and use less stuff. Accept fly ash in the mix even if it isn't much cheaper. Don't overspecify the concrete mix. No waste allowed: have a ready use for excess concrete, offcuts etc. Half and faulty bricks collected and used. No skips on site...or they get filled with stuff you bought. In other words, what you would do if you were paying for it yourself , must be applied whatever the job size. If the whole construction industry did that..?

Probably but don't publicise it or you might need a quarry licence.

A hardcore crop?

That's the reality. Self build is not for making a profit. In the SE the land value is so high that the build cost seems less important. Where land is cheaper, it is better value to buy a nice house.

It is an option if you can cut a straight enough slot. Where it meets the door or wall, you need mastic because the wind will blow water to the end.

In case your designer ignores buildability. That adds costs, especially steel.

NO. A local, general builder. It will cost you 20% more than splitting it up, but you don't have to manage it, just pay.

Agreed. Well worth it. Fix your own timber handrails to the sides and the open edge.

A very good, fairly big, contractor can look at your project at planning stage and say..allow about £x. Probably +/- 10%. It can take 10 minutes or an hour. But they will be reluctant to do so unless they think you may use them. Big BUT....they won't know your site or any specific challenges, and you must allow for that. That seems to be one of your options, so you don't seem to be a hands-on. Therefore speak to a few and see what they say. Or pay an estimating company to do it. They don't need full designs, but it will be rather approximate. Other than that, take the advice elsewhere on BH to allow £2,000/ft2. Less for simple and diy, more for complex and professional build. Main contractor £3,000???? Others may know better.