Redoctober

Hi @dpmiller - yes the inside of the external walls will have an additional 50mm rigid insulation fitted, then a vapour / air tightness barrier and finally service batons ahead of the plasterboard.

I'm with you in as much as these trips can be a touch expensive. We lived in Buckinghamshire at the time and our travels took us to into Shropshire, Cheshire, Swindon, Leicestershire and exhibitions in Birmingham and Surrey. However, they proved invaluable as we either ended up buying the products we were looking at or indeed understood why we didn't. It's all part of the process I feel.

What a difference a week makes in the world of self build – Half the roof has been slated, the additional insulation has arrived on site and the liquid screed has been poured. The guys who did the pour travelled from Perth, some 95 miles away – very few firms seem to do this work north of the Border it seems. The ground floor was prepared by the guy doing the UFH and our builder. The company doing the screed dispatched a surveyor the day before in order to measure the various heights and lay out what they called “spiders” but are in fact tripods. Each tripod was marked with a height and a spot so that if they were knocked over they could be re-positioned correctly. The pour was completed within an hour and should be ready for “light” traffic on Monday. Talking of which, we should see the Joiner, roofer and builder on site to start the internals, finish the back section of the roof and start building the external chimney respectively. Enjoy the weekend.

We recently [ past few weeks ago] contracted a local firm to do our road crossing - it was a single track road and he put in the mains water pipe and ducting for a BT line. The price charged also included taking the mains water into our plot, installing a boundary box and setting up a stop cock for the builders. All for a touch shy of £1k. This included the road closure permit. I would suggest you do ring round and get some other quotes for this particular aspect of your project.

Thankyou @vivienz

Nail. Head. Thanks.

Great advice thanks @Dudda - That's our weekends booked -

Thanks for your comments @Mr Punter - No architect on board - a family relation drew up the plans for planning purposes and the TF company took them on for the Building Warrant. You are absolutely right, we are not under any time pressures, happily in rented accommodation and prepared to move in as and when the time comes. Thanks.

I suppose after the impact of seeing the TF go up within a few weeks, progress on the eye thereafter, was always going to be less so. If that was the only reason, then it would be an element of self building one would have to adjust to. But unfortunately the lack of progress on our build over the last couple of weeks was not just simply down to a trick of the eye! Frustrating yes and in isolation a mere blip, but other things during this period compounded that frustration into real anxiety – so much so, I felt unable to deal with life’s usual problems in the same way. A lot has been mentioned on this forum about the effects that self building can have on ones mental well being. I’m not looking to over egg the pudding but these past 7 days or so, caused me to recognise that as a reality, and also for the need of support from those around you when the going gets difficult. I now understand that what I was fretting about wasn’t really worth doing so but that is easier said than done when in the middle of the “fog”. I feel much happier with things now albeit the build isn’t progressing as quickly has I had hoped. Let me explain - Since my last post, the plan was for the windows and doors to be fitted, followed by the ground floor UFH pipes and manifold to be installed, leaving a couple of days before the weekend break for the liquid screed to be poured. All of which would allow the internals to be started with earnest on Monday. Yes the windows arrived but no front and back doors – they will take a couple more weeks. With no tradesman around I was asked by the fitters where I would like the windows placed in regards to the TF they are to sit on. This is where my lack of understanding came and bit my backside. I instructed them to fit them flush with the outside of the TF – See photograph below. It was the following day when the builders returned to lay the insulation ahead of the UFH that I was told that the position of the windows was incorrect. They should have sat out from the TF to allow the fire batons to be fitted etc. My inexperience caused me to feel physically sick, fearing the worst and not being able to see that the problem was able to be fixed relatively easily. It was my roofer how gave me a “virtual smack around the face” which caused me to see things differently. I contacted the fitters and explained to them that I had made an error. Could they come and correct it for me at my expense? Of course they could and will do so, albeit in a couple of week’s time. My builders then set about laying the insulation and sheeting across the ground floor only to present another “problem” to me – A block from an internal supporting wall was to be removed in order to allow the UFH flow and return pipes to run through from the cylinder to the manifold. They said that now the block had been removed, there was no defence in place for the liquid screed and if poured in its current state, it would just fill up the cavity between the two supporting walls. When I asked him what he would do to correct this he basically said that is someone else’s problem – the guy doing the UFH!! Again, my lack of experience in these matters caused me more concerns and anxiety. [I doubt it but I can’t help thinking that the builders enjoy presenting problems to me knowing that I am not fully experienced to be able to either “shrug” them off or to have an immediate answer.] When the UFH fitter arrived on site, he did just that – shrugged it off as if it was a common issue which he has dealt with on many occasions. He spent 3 long days on site doing the ground floor UFH pipes etc. I’m really pleased with his work. That then left Thursday and Friday free for the liquid screed. Here’s the rub. This plan of attack had been given to the builder some two weeks ago and has been mentioned a couple of times since. Thursday afternoon I get a call to say the screed will not be poured until a week Friday as the company doing it are busy!! This effectively puts back the internal work by a week as I’m not comfortable with tradesmen entering the house whilst the pipes are exposed so to speak. Another hit I have to take on the chin as the alternative would be for me to “jump up and down” and risk losing the builder. As mentioned above, in the scheme of things these issues aren’t fatal, just frustrating but more importantly, it showed me how my inexperience / understanding of things can build up and affect me personally. Something I’m now aware of and also with how to overcome such issues again. Hopefully. Finally, to conclude on a happy note, I have included some photos of the car port which is now complete apart from the door and window. Thanks for reading.

I have to say I'm with you on this - in my limited experience dealing with "builders" before our project started and now during it, they seem over reliant on "past" practices and are not fully across new products. Having said that, the tradesmen I am using and I consider them above the level of a builder - sorry if this is objectionable - are more aware of what is happening in their specific sphere of work. Yes, of course there are going to be some builders who do take the trouble to keep abreast of new products etc., but as I say, from my limited experiences, they are few and far between.

Not a problem @Onoff - the advice being given is all relevant.

Thinking ahead for when the time comes to decorate, what is the considered view on painting newly plastered walls? I appreciate an undercoat / wash will be needed but how soon after, can that be applied and also, how soon after that, can proper colours go on? As ever I welcome your thoughts.

Closer to home and no doubt at the other end of the financial scale you may want to look at Better Bathrooms - showrooms across the UK. https://www.betterbathrooms.com.

Hi @Thedreamer looking good and progress appears to be going well too. I noticed you have "vents" in the block work at various locations is that because you are having what looks like to me a suspended floor? The reason I ask is simply because our TF and ground floor construction doesn't have them!

Yes @Pete we were but strangely enough the mind then starts to drift into other areas of worry / concern - are the Windows going to fit? Is the scaffolding in the correct place? We got caught out by the roof over hangs and the scaffolding needed adjustments. BUT yes thanks, we are enjoying the process and the issues we have encountered haven't really been too much to worry about.

@dpmiller that's right. Ours is 166sqm and a 1.5 storey build.

@oldkettle that would have been lovely but NO this price is simply for the erection. The frame and insulation were charged separately.

Hi @JamesP - yes that is the correct price. I think it was probably better than most because we are only 12 miles from the TF manufacturer and the guys they use are local and do not require overnight accommodation etc.

Thanks @newhome yes I was happy with the erection costs including the crane hire. Well worth it thought when out against the time it would have taken to cut that all on site etc.

It has been 3 weeks now since the last post and the TF arrived as planned. Sadly the tele handler didn’t!! It was two hours late and thankfully, didn’t impact on the delivery of the TF, although the driver was less than pleased being held up for so long. During the second week of erection, we saw the arrival of the large crane which really did pay for itself as it made light work of the roof timbers. A long day for all, but worthwhile. The final week saw the sarking and dormers being fixed and created respectively. A few little jobs remain but in essence the TF is up. The details – two joiners spent a total of 14 work days across 3 weeks – half a day being lost due to one of them nailing his finger rather than a rafter with his nail gun. Ouch!! The erection was arranged via the TF supplier, as was the large crane hire for the day. A total cost of £7600. This includes the sarking, soffits and barge boards. The crane hire alone was £500. Whilst all this was going on, the following was also being taken care of – A water connection from the mains across the other side of a single track road into a stop cock just inside the plot boundary. Our contractor carried out the road crossing whilst Scottish Water inspected the trench and established the connection. Cost of Scottish Water services - £976. Road crossing by independent contractor - £932. We took the opportunity to fit in the BT ducting at the same time as the BT pole is also across the road. The electric meter was fitted and power connected. This is being housed in the corner of the car port. Our electrician then came out and fixed up a temporary supply for the various trades to use. I have to say the Utility companies were fairly straightforward to deal with despite their somewhat strange working practices - SPenergy supply and fit the cable but not the meter. That is fitted by someone else. SPEnergy then have to come out and make the connection!! The stand alone car port /shed / log store was also completed. Just the door and window to the enclosed shed remain outstanding. This structure measures 7m x 6m deep – It has an oak frame and larch cladding. [Photos to follow] Finally, a word on the scaffolders. They have been called back to site on a number of occasions to move the structure or indeed amend the position and in fairness to them; they undertook these tasks without complaint. Yes, I will be pleased once they are off site but to be fair, when they have been asked to do a job and have done it. Coming up............the windows and doors will be fitted as will the ground floor insulation, ahead of the UFH pipes and screed going down.

Sorry for the late response but just catching up - a very informative blog. Thanks.

Many thanks to @ProDave @divorcingjack @lizzie @AliG and @vivienz Message received and understood. Very grateful to you all thanks. As for @MikeGrahamT21, nice idea but sadly out of my scope.

Our windows arrive next week and the window manufacturer is also installing them for us. The final payment is therefore due soon after completion. I have been told by them that the VAT is payable up front and I will be able to reclaim at a later date. However, I have also heard that if I submit an invoice for such a claim it will be rejected as it will be considered to be a wrongly charged VAT invoice. That is, the VAT shouldn't have been charged in the first place and therefore can't be reclaimed as a result! What is the collective's view on this? Thanks.

Yes now the TF is going up, we too have experienced similar issues with our scaffolders - Despite having the plans they failed to take into account the overhang and ended up sawing the uprights off rather than move the entire run. On anther day they failed to turn up with a saw so I ended up hiring one for them otherwise the crane would have been held up! And if that wasn't bad enough, they leave their off cuts and rubbish all over the place ! Talking to other trades, the scaffolders generally aren't held in high esteem.

Yes @Bitpipe I have to agree, they really let the side down - bring a true meaning to the word cowboys!!