Redoctober

One should be careful of what one wishes for!!!

We moved in this month last year - the build [TF] from ground being broken to moving took 9 months - the build route we opted for was builder and sub contractors - I swept up, made the tea and did the painting - internal and external. I like to think we have an upper end spec and all this came in at about £1800 - £1850 per sq metre. [Landscaping included] Take a look at my blog which details the build - which was a 165sq metre 1.5 storey TF house with natural stone external wall and stand alone oak frame carport.

Surely that depends upon what you and your builder have agreed to - the word " assumes" is the one word that shouldn't feature in any self build project as far as I am concerned. Each person on here will no doubt have a different answer because it depends on what they agreed with their particular builder - me included.

Fantastic news - the very best of luck with it all - that said, you seem well prepared and to have done as much has you can, to get things straight in your head.

This is exactly what happened with our first order - there were a good 50 or so spare so they were planted in the neighbouring field collectively like a bushel. This acted like a nursery and come the spring, we replanted them in place of the ones that had been eaten by the Hares! @epsilonGreedy the hedging is a mixture of what they call native hedging - Hawthorn, Horn beam, field maple and blackthorn. Although across the back for continuity we have gone for Hornbeam - very similar to Beech.

But in today's enlightened times, you managed to ! 😂

@zoothorn - it seems we are back to where we were with the concrete foundations! It was suggested by many people then that you should take more control of the situation as you are the client. If the builder isn't working with you / or is having you over in your eyes etc. then pay him up and get someone else in to do the job. Why subject yourself to all this stress? I just don't understand it! Finally, here is the plan you posted on another thread - unless I am mistaken it seems the floor to ceiling height is shown as 2000mm.

Yes, this was our approach too. We had decided what type of finish we were going for and priced it all up. Everything was agreed before a spade was put into the ground. As long as the collective prices were within our available funds so to speak we pressed ahead. Yes there were a couple of unknowns or price differentials but nothing we couldn't cater for within our overall budget. That said, if things were to get out of control [ which they didn't] then we would have been able to cut back on the finishes etc to claw back the overspends etc. Once were out of the ground, I felt fairly confident that the budgets planned for were going to be pretty much as expected, and they were.

Thanks as I don't have a clue on such matters. I just picked up the invoices!

As for the trench, I don't believe such things as pea shingle are required - see photo of ours installed by our plumber 18 months ago. The depth will depend on what else you plan to put in the trench.

I agree with @Russell griffiths about getting the hedging in now - we ordered our bare root "whips" for this time last year - Can be cheap as chips depending on size etc - We used Scotplants direct - and I have some additional ones on order for this November, just to plug the gaps. The photo below shows how well they come on - at time of photo, they had only been planted in for 8 months! Also, the rabbit guards are an absolute necessary - we lost a few whips to the hares before mine arrived!! Can't help with the drainage issue - sorry.

@CpdTheir website is https://webuildit-ltd.co.uk/

For what it is worth, we have this one installed - a 3 in 1 tap which produces water at 98c - Been in use for a year now and have had no complaints whatsoever regarding quality of tea as a result of it not being 100c. We have changed the filter as per requirements and they come in at around £40 https://www.just-perrin.co.uk/1937-perrin--rowe-polaris-3-in-1-instant-hot-water-kitchen-mixer-tap-4435-p.asp

There you go, hopefully question answered. Could you let us know what the outcome is though, as that would be a useful conclusion to this thread.👍

From our experience in Scotland, we had our electrical system signed off by the electrician and were serviced with a certificate - Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate - this was sent to us via PDF and has a unique reference number. The certificate also shows the electrician as being NIC/EIC approved. Whether this is a requirement for sign off I don't know - all I can say is this is what we have. I also believe that this certificate was also required by the BC at Scottish Borders Council prior to final sign off.