flanagaj

Did you install the seam sealed roof yourself, and if so, can I ask what you paid /M2. I am hoping I can get this to come in cheaper than a clay tile roof. Just the thought of laying 18000 clay tiles makes me shudder.

Was hoping the later, but if not, I'd be happy to spend more to get it right.

Ouch. Looks like I am way off with the budget. We are not looking for it to be Architect managed, but more to do with enabling us to create something very contemporary that the planners will like, and to a budget that works.

I am trying to understand whether Architects always base their fees on a percentage of the build cost or whether some will give you a fixed price to do the drawings, submit the planning application and then do the drawings for building regs. We are finally exchanging and completing on our first plot on Friday, and my wife and I have decided that we want to try for a more contemporary designed dwelling. The current dwelling is 200 M2 and we don't intend on increasing that. Just looking to try and switch from clay tile to standing seam sealed roof and hidden guttering .. Happy to spend 10k to get it right, and wondered whether that's a realistic budget?

Google is my friend. "However, if that plot forms part of the gardens or grounds of an existing dwelling it is deemed to be residential property even if it is bare land. This is because ‘residential property’ means a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling or in the process of being constructed or adapted for such use. Crucially, the grounds or gardens will count as part of the dwelling. So, if the plot you are purchasing forms part of an existing gardens or grounds of a house tax is payable at the residential not non-residential rates."

I've checked that, but it wasn't very clear as I'm not sure what a building plot is classed as. Maybe it doesn't matter and although it's a plot it's simply calculated as residential.

After 20 years we are finally ready to exchange on our first building plot and I am not sure what SDLT we should be paying. Our solicitor first said that 350k purchase price equates to 5k, then he said he'd made a mistake and it was actually 7k and now on the final paperwork it's 5k again. I don't think the solicitor has done land sales before. Sigh. Can anyone actually confirm whether it's 5 or 7k. We are in rented and we don't own another property.

haha. Funny, but not pleasant. I am going to be doing the installation myself for this very reason.

I've probably answered my own question here, but I am assuming that so long as you have your FFL datum point for the new dwelling, then installing your sewage treatment plant / drainage field is done simply by deducing the proposed location of the treatment plant, and the associated run length of the pipe to determine the corresponding invert level and associated fall. We are hopefully (if planning allows) putting a static caravan on site and will need the sewage treatment / drainage field to be in place before development starts, and I am just trying to deduce the best way of getting it right so that it works for both the new house and the static caravan. The only potential issue, is that the caravan is going to be sited on the opposite side of the tank and this will mean an interesting pipe setup, as it will have to at some point perform a 180 degree change in direction so that it can feed into the inlet side of the tank. Not sure if this is a problem, or whether I need to consider trying to move the tank.

Boom boom.

She has her heart set on an island. Seems to be the way to a woman's heart.

Great minds think alike. I decided part of the deal would be to implement the points above.

This makes a lot of sense. I like idea of that. The site has a lot of concrete (4m * 50m!) to break up and there is a lot of timber from a wooden office that can be recycled. Going to break up the slab and get a concrete crusher on site. That will provide a lot of useful hardcore.

I nearly choked on my lunch! Unfortunately not. You've then got to factor in market risk into the equation when you try and sell the property. Plus you have stamp duty / legal fees. It's a nice thought, if you have the financial means.

These points apply to us too. We don't have loads of money to be spent on rented and building at the same time. Plus I am intending to do a lot of the work myself and I suspect that living in a static caravan on site, really does focus the mind to the task in hand.

They are so ungrateful 😂

Thanks for all the posts. Primary motivation, is that even if you go with a very cheap rental in Hampshire, you are looking at a minimum of £1200/month. I just personally, don't see the point of renting a small flat, which will require you to also shell out on storage, when you can rent put a static on the plot. I think I've made my mind up on this one, and the wife will come around to it 🙂 Plus, it's just the two of us, no kids, no pets. That makes it a lot simpler.

So we are hopefully due to exchange / complete on our building plot in the next couple of weeks. The vendors have been able to relocate their sewage treatment plant and drainage field so that it is 15 metres away from our proposed house / garage and building control are happy with the proposed location (proof to be provided before exchange). Now the building plot is ~ 1 hour drive from where we are currently renting, and the plan is to self manage trades and do as much as I can myself. Personally, I only think the self manage approach will work if you are actually living on site. I think if you went architect managed then you could live further away, as you are not involved that much. The wife is no too keen, and I think this is partly down to us viewing a few static homes over the weekend, which if I am honest were ex Park Dean and very shabby for the 10k price tag. Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom regarding this, or first hand experience of the pitfalls of trying to manage a self build remotely?

I think this is potentially the alternative option.

That's a fair point. I wasn't asked whether I was after a deep grind or a 'salt and pepper' finish. Regardless, it looks like it's going to be a conventional screed / tile finish. I was trying to avoid having to lay floor tiles myself.

Maybe concrete floor contractors are earning Barrister rates, but I am trying to get my head around how anyone can think they can charge what equates to a labour cost of ~ £20 - £22k to pour and polish a 157m2 slab. A team of four pouring and floating the slab (1 day), n men polishing the slab = ? days. Even if these guys do earn £1000 / day, that is still 20 man days. So that is 4 guys for 5 days. There must be a lot of stupidly rich folk, who simply don't question the quotes.

Because the location of the sewage treatment plant is quite low relative to FFL as a result of the site sloping off after the house footprint. As a result it might require the initial depth to be deeper than normal, so as to be able to get the correct invert levels.

If you have your soil pipes running internally and are using trench fill footings, then I suspect that there is a high probability that it will have to run right through the trench (see image) whilst I understand the image, I am finding it difficult to understand how you go about creating the void in the concrete. You obviously can't use a prefabricated hollow rectangle made of shuttering ply, as you won't be able to get it out once the concrete has set. I suppose you could use a solid piece of polystyrene which could be chiselled out after the concrete has set. I suspect I've got this completely wrong, so please explain if you have had to do just this. Ps - I assume the soil pipe is not in place when you do the pour?

This is one of those posts, I wish I hadn't posted. I'll get my coat.

If you would not mind. We have had a quote of £24k (£152 m/2) (158 m/2 floor area), and although I really like the idea of a polished slab, I am struggling to see how I can afford that. It's difficult to know how much cheaper it would be if I went with a conventional screed / tile finish. I would do the floor tiling myself so that would save some money, but you are probably looking at £40 minimum for semi decent large floor tiles. I like Nod's approach of doing the power floating yourself, but I am not brave enough to do that, as it's a large area and one job that I don't fancy messing up.