Kelvin

Agree with this. And staircases should either lovely feature staircases that make a statement or hidden away taking up little space. One of the nice features about our HH Longhouse is the only corridor is short and the stairs are hidden between the kitchen wall and the downstairs bedroom wall. Consequently we have more useable floor space. @ETC Very nice design. We went to visit a HebHome that was sort of similar to this design. The two buildings were joined by a glass corridor effectively. It also had a large overhanging gable that was stunning.

Yes, avoid basements. As nice as they can be they are dear to do. We’ve built ours as a 2 bed but could easily be configured as 3, 4, or even 5 although we only have two bathrooms so 5 might be pushing it. We placed the downstairs study at the same end of the house as the guest room with the largish bathroom separating both rooms.

If you can justify the cost ditch BT and go Starlink. Fast and reliable. I’ve put some ducting in case they ever get to us but unlikely.

No you pay VAT on the land survey but if you get the setting out done as part of the groundwork package they can zero rate it. The land survey is part of your due diligence before you buy the land generally so none of that is claimable.

Yes on the land survey. My setting out was part of the total groundwork package so was zero rated. Broadly I’ve tried to get as much as possible zero rated as it’s better for cash flow and reduces the amount you need to reclaim.

10 years! You could have built a house in that time.

But well done in doing it! 👏

They don’t need to be that specific. They just need to highlight the risks. They talk about the different approaches to building with some of the pros and cons of each so could easily cover it generically. They also have financial advice available so it’s something that may be covered there of course. Self-building is a risky venture even if you don’t have a company going bust on you.

They do not talk about this enough even at the NSBRC. Protecting yourself is discussed on their PM course. However I think a few recent horror stories need to be included in the presentation and a very basic how to on looking at companies house and maybe even what to look for in the accounts.

Yep. A groundswork guy I spoke to early on said he’d never use a kit build himself as he’d done the foundations for three previous houses where the kit builder went bust leaving the self-builders in the shit. One of them had to sell the plot as they couldn’t afford to build the house.

It’s what it says. Martin Roy is the common link between them.

Bloody hell. Poor sods. Devastating for many that they probably will never financially recover from. Something has to change to better protect people. By far the most stressful part of our build was the 3 month gap between paying for 80% of the kit and windows and it turning up. It’s put me off ever doing a kit build again.

They are guaranteeing 10 years and have accelerated tested it to 40 years according to their website. A combination of membrane, tape, and careful detailing with this stuff plugging the tiniest of leaks could be a way to great results but you still need to do the former really well.

I’m quite interested in this too. I doubt they cover Scotland though.

Oh I posted my comment on the wrong thread! 😂 I like the Huf Haus look. My wife’s uncle is an accomplished architect (retired) and built a Huf 10 years ago when he could have designed his own house. It looks as clean and fresh today as it did when built.

I really like it. I love the Huf Haus look. My wife’s uncle built a Huf Haus 10 years ago and it looks as new and fresh now as it did when it was built. He is a very accomplished architect (retired) so could have designed his own house but didn’t.

The point about how the trims are wrapped and transported is well made. My Nordan trims and cills came with the windows and nothing was missing although there are extra pieces not on the schedule. However the packing was really poor. They at least wrapped them round bits of wood to keep them straight but they were all wrapped up together then bubble wrapped. Consequently one of the trims is badly scratched in three places and is being replaced. There are scratches on other pieces but I can see that they’ll be hidden once fitted. It’s academic as I can’t get the cills to fit when I trial fitted them as the windows are fitted completely flush with the kit it’s too tight to get the cill in place.

I’ve often thought that watching GD!

Does it present a problem where a disgruntled neighbour might park across your new access out of spite?

Good news.

Yes this is a really good point. There are four types of objections generally. 1. Technically wrong so don’t do it. 2. Complex design so expensive to build. 3. Inefficient design so expensive to heat/cool. 4. Opinions on style. 1. Definitely change it. 2. Make sure your financials add up and you can afford it. If money no real barrier crack on. 3. Take it into account and try and mitigate or not. 4. Take on board or ignore.

Somewhat confusing situation. You know the village doesn’t have fibre but Openreach have confirmed you can get FTTP? I’d go ahead and see what happens. You’ll get a refund if they’ve made a mistake. We can’t get any cable based internet connection where we are so have gone with Starlink. It’s dear but really fast.

Both are good for longevity if laid correctly. Indian sandstone is hard to keep clean. We had a large the bluey grey sandstone patio at our previous house and it needed a thorough cleaning once a year. It’s very prone to lichen build up. You also need to stay on top of the cleaning as it can get slippy in the wet where the grime has built up

And those damp issues will stop if the extension was built 2.68 inches further over?