Redoctober

Hi all - I need to budget for a perimeter wall 6m x 7m x 6m in length and 3 courses of brick high, in order for the Oak framed Carport to sit on. Any ideas what this is likely to cost? I've accounted for the concrete slab but the walling has caught me out! Thanks PW.

Or this might help - HSE guidance.pdf

Hi @Plumbersmateuk yes a successful visit - It is a window manufacturer just south of Newcastle - Team Valley - they are the nearest stockists / suppliers of evolution windows - https://www.evolutionwindows.com/ the windows and doors we will be using. We looked at R9 but they can be made by any manufacturer and as a consequence the quality isn't as controlled as it is for Evolution Windows. I hope this helps. PW.

Thanks very much for all your thoughts @newhome we certainly do intend to get out and about exploring all the areas you mentioned. We discovered North Berwick on one of trips last year so do know what the area has to offer

This is a short update and precursor to the updates that will soon follow once the ground works begin in April. Having now finally sold our house in Milton Keynes, we have made the move north to the Scottish Borders. We are renting a small flat, few miles from our building plot. At £320 per month, I was never going to win the caravan argument! We lost 7 weeks due to the initial sale /purchase of our house collapsing at the last minute. Fortunately it was sold very soon after being put back on the market. On reflection, that was not such a bad thing as the weather in the Borders was awful during February and early March, so any planned works would have just been put off anyway. So, with less than 4 weeks until the ground works start, we have set about making the necessary preparations and will also use the time to visit various contractors, suppliers and utility companies to confirm arrangements. Such as – BT Openreach, Scottish Water and SP Energy. I have to say, my experiences with the utility companies thus far continue to be good – meetings arranged and kept, very informative and happy to help. All approaches were via the internet and their respective websites. Connection costs for all 3 will amount to less than £2k, as BT Openreach appear to be indicating that the connection costs will be covered by their allowances. We have paid a visit to the window manufacturer, based just outside Newcastle, to discuss lead times - All seems good. We will also be popping over to the stone merchants to ensure they are aware of the time frames we are now working to. To help cement in our mind that the choice of stone we are going for is correct, we will visit a couple of buildings in the Kinross area of Scotland to see it for ourselves. It’s OK seeing various stone options on a sample board but you really do need to see it on a larger expanse. It’s not like wallpaper, once the stone is up, you can’t take it down again!! We have met with the Timber frame supplier and our builder who will undertake the majority of the work alongside his various tradesmen colleagues. We lost our plumber two weeks ago due to unforeseen circumstances but thankfully we have another on board. The builder confirmed all systems are go for the 16th April - We will be travelling slightly further north to Dalkeith, just south of Edinburgh, to have a cup of tea with the guy responsible for making and erecting our oak framed car port, log store and man shed! His surname is quite apt – Mallet – I kid you not! I have also secured a site toilet on a long term hire - £25 per week was the best price I could find. This includes a weekly service. Just need to sort out the scaffolding company and plant hire for the TF as and when it arrives. Hopefully come mid April I will have some construction photos to post, so until then take care and thanks for reading. PW.

You might wish to look at "Local Heroes" aligned to British Gas- I have used them twice recently for separate jobs - electrician and Plumber - Very good service. PW.

Welcome aboard ! As you will be aware from your days of lurking this can be a fun and informative place to be! Pleased you have come out of the shadows though as your project does look an interesting one. We like pictures so if you are able to upload some that would help. As for answers, well the more informed than I will no doubt pop up once they have dug themselves out of the snow wherever they may be. Enjoy, but hold on tight. PW.

This is all very interesting. My experience is so different to the above - I completed an online form from the Scottish Borders website, with the name of our intended new build. A few days later I received a reply informing me that my name request has been approved and the details have been sent to The Royal Mail. They will retain the details in a folder marked "not yet built". Once completed, I need to let the parties involved know and they will move the address to a folder marked " built". The whole process couldn't have been easier and hasn't cost me a penny!! PW.

@recoveringacademic - Bobby Moore ! - "what's the score" - a nice touch of good old cockney rhyming slang!

Very true. In complete agreement. Hopefully once in the area and on site things will ease for me and the need for 4 phones won't be necessary !! PW.

Hi @Lucy Murray I have sent you a PM. Paul.

@readiescards we are looking to install Evolution flush system windows. Prefer the look of the flush system over their Storm range. Have to say also, we did look at R9 and it was only at the last hour that we discovered Evolution. For us the price difference was about £100 but we have gone with Evolution because we felt the appearance of the frame was better and they offer a much wider range of colours. Not quite reached to stage of having them delivered though - still a few months to go before we get to that stage. PW

Area dependant, but we paid in the region of £1300 some 2 years ago for a plot in Southern Scotland. PW.

It is a shame to hear such news. Will you just purchase an established house following the sale? It seems you have fallen out of love with renovating and or the thought of a self build. Is that really down to the experiences you have been exposed to or is it because of the desire to remain in a particular postcode? I know how difficult it can be moving a distance from family as we are about to do that in February - we will be putting 300 miles between ourselves and the immediate family. That is a choice we have made to realise our dream. Difficult choices. I wish you good luck with yours. PW.

Hi @Lin and welcome to the forum. I'm sure others will be along once they have surfaced and or sobered up but from my understanding, if you are able to connect with gas, then that should be your preferred option. But please don't take my word for it, as I too am on here to educate myself as much as possible, from this wonderful friendly resource. Enjoy and good luck with the project. PW.

@JSHarris I agree and we are currently debating whether to go double glazed or triple glazed and I suspect the price may well have a factor in that decision. Anyway, although we have currently priced up for triple glazed windows, the French doors are having to be double glazed due to the weight involved we are told. If that is the case, then other such doors like Bi Folds are also double glazed. Or are they? If so, how do people overcome the "coldness feel" you rightly mention above, when faced with a larger expanse of glass? PW.

It;s not as easy as that I fear Have a read of this as a starting point to understand what is required - http://www.nhbc.co.uk/ProductsandServices/ConsultancyandTesting/Airleakageservices/documents/filedownload,38528,en.pdf They mention that every new build requires an - Air Permeability Testing is a requirement for new buildings under Part L of the Building Regulations. If a score of under 5 is achieved then an MVHR should be on your radar. Others will be able to explain more and in greater detail but the attached should get you up and running. PW

If you are able to "move" away from the wooden window requirements, you may wish to consider these - similar to R9 windows mentioned above by @Vijay https://www.evolutionwindows.com/ PW.

Classic - deserves more than just an emoji. Made me laugh out loud - thanks. PW.

Congratulations @Ed_MK are you building within the MK Area? PW.

Hi all - just a quick one - can I look to claim the VAT back on scaffolding, supplied and erected by others? Thanks PW.

Desperate times indeed. What can one say other than to provide you with a sense of "collective" support when needed. I always say to my lads, nothing worthwhile comes easily. Let's hope that is true for you. PW.

Yes @ProDave I have to admit I found it strange - I will certainly mention it again to them. It will also be interesting to see what price the Builder comes in with. Watch this space as they say.

There really is a sense that we are approaching the business end of our self build project – the thinking, reading and talking has now evolved into making firm commitments and paying deposits to secure various orders. Ahead of our permanent move to the Borders in February 2018, [Rented accommodation] we travelled to the area in late October with the express determination to finalise matters with a local builder and to confirm the stone we are going to use, the specification for the oak car port and oak front porch, [ see attached images] together with the kitchen cabinet requirements. The windows and external doors will be confirmed in February when we will have more time. We also met with the Landscaper / gardener who has been maintaining the plot for us and whilst there, we took the opportunity to measure out the footprint of the house and car port. A neighbour asked – is it a big house on a small plot or a small house on a big plot? To us, it seems a perfect fit but even so, it is still very hard to visualise both structures sitting on the empty plot. I’m sure once March comes round and the ground is broken so to speak, there will be days when we think it is both! We also met with Field Operatives from the Electricity provider and Water Company to discuss connections. Both were set up via their respective online websites and to date, the process has been a pleasant one. Neither foresee any difficulties so that is one thing less to worry about. However, I do find it strange that Scottish Water will not do any “road crossing” connections. I have to source this through the builder / independent contractor. They will only connect their work once it reaches the plot. So without this additional cost, which is yet to be confirmed, the utility connections have cost me £740 for the electricity and £957 for the water. A builder is on board. No written contract as such has been prepared and signed. He was sent a very comprehensive schedule of works to price up, we have since discussed a few minor matters and he has agreed to undertake the work. I know this perhaps goes against perceived wisdom but he is a well established local builder, with a family reputation to maintain. I will be supplying the bulk of the materials for him and his team to install etc. When we first met, he mentioned the word “trust” and that has to work both ways. Each case has to be considered individually and against its own circumstances. For us, we are happy to move forward. Deep down, I would have liked to have entered into a formal written contract but it just didn’t feel right to impose such a process. Fingers crossed! We have chosen the stone to be used and that in itself was a surreal moment. We travelled to the back of beyond to a stone merchants and found ourselves in a small hut called the office. For all its basic elements and piled up paperwork, their internet connection was probably faster than we have at home!! When the stone is up, it’s not like wallpaper. You just cant go and buy an alternative pattern! So after much thought and deliberation we have gone for a “local blend” made up of stone from Cumbria, Perthshire and Borders Buff. I just hope it looks OK ! The next update will be in March 2018, when we hopefully break ground and set about with building our dream home with earnest. [No, that’s not the builders name!] Thanks for reading. PW.