Redoctober

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.

Thanks @Stones - I already do so and will continue to do so, but family and friends would require slightly different content to what I would disclose on this site. Different agendas. I'm sure my dear mum wouldn't be interested in the depth of my utility trench! Thanks also to others for their thoughts and suggestions, I will set about researching the above. PW.

Hello - early next year we will be looking to break ground and get our self build underway. Some members may recall we are re-locating to the Scottish Borders and as a result leaving behind friends and family, well, the odd one or two maybe Anyway, I would like to keep them up to date with progress and thought an ideal way would be via a free Blog site. Does anyone have any suggestions as to the best site to use. The criteria being is has to be free and simple to use. Your thoughts welcome. PW.

Absolutely concur with those comments above. The house looks great - I particularly like the wooden flooring, nice wide boards to it. To achieve that on the prices you have mentioned is simply the icing on the cake. As mentioned above, perhaps a new thread could be created to discuss those prices as the costs you paid for the electrician, plasterer, tiller and plumber are well below what I have been quoted recently for a 160sq m build. Enjoy the rugby! PW.

I think the industry standard is 600mm. Possibly for the reasons you mentioned above. The only advantage you listed above for 400mm is a stronger structure but I would argue it isn't necessary - otherwise the SE and similar interested parties would advocate 400mm. PW.

I believe there is Resin Bound - which is permeable and as @AliG says, is expensive - £85 psm is what I have been quoted as a rough ball park figure. Then there is Resin Bonded which I believe is cheaper but NOT permeable.

Hi and welcome - sounds great - we will certainly look forward to hearing about your project and how it will unfold over the coming months and hopefully, not too many years! In particular it will be of interest I'm sure, as to how you find the relationship with your architect. Good luck PW.

Have to say @Grosey that's a lovely looking staircase. Is that a bespoke staircase or from a company? PW.

I recall this particular one - I think it became difficult to sell and also had an impact on the main house whose garden it sat in. -Sorry for going off topic!!

Hi and welcome. What part of Scotland are you in? What is it about your plans you are seeking feedback on? Looks OK to me but then that's not saying a lot sadly! Perhaps you could expand on the type of finish you are looking to achieve and by that I mean insulation wise etc. Anyway, good luck with the project and I'm sure others more knowledgeable than I will be along soon. Just try and hold on tight! PW.

Terrible news indeed - I can only echo the thoughts and advice of the others above. Nothing worthwhile comes easy Ian - hopefully you will be able to stand back and shove two fingers up to whoever has caused this latest setback - [well, maybe one and a half! .] PW.

I’m with @jack on this one - keep it coming and I guess, the fact that you are able to talk about it in such terms means that the therapy has or is still working for you!!

I have to say at the very early stages of our self build project, I had every intention of using a PM but as the months unfolded and the more knowledgeable I became through reading, visiting and talking to various people etc., the more confident I have become. So much so, I feel I can do without one - This decision has no doubt been made easier as I will be having a TF company to get me to weather tight stage and then a Builder and various trades to finish off. All that said though, I didn't find it easy when I was researching / sourcing a PM - their general availability and costs were quite elusive I found, for the general self builder. PW.

Yes, sorry @soapstar I should have been more clearer - I downloaded the form WC1, filled it in and then e-mailed it to them as a scanned in document. As for the pipe sizes, I too would welcome some guidance . PW

Interesting and timely thread for me - I too am in the process of notifying Scottish Water that I need a connection - all done online and received acknowledgement - just awaiting the quote. However, I note you have chosen 32mm pipe - the choices were 25mm or 32mm - What are the differences and what impact would having one over the other be? PW.

I know this goes against popular opinion but we are looking to build a well insulated house but not seeking absolute airtightness. Time will tell as to whether or not we would need one due to the airtightness levels we record. It is accepted that anything under 4 would require one. Our thinking is based on a few things. We like having windows open and an MHRV relies on electricity/energy, significant upfront cost investment and on going maintenance, which we are trying to avoid. It just seems a large investment and another thing to maintain, for an item that could only be in useful operation 6 months of the year. Having said that, those with such a system will say it's the best thing they have installed. Decisions decisions................

Thanks @curlewhouse for your comments - I'm interested to hear about the recycled stone, not really considered that - perhaps you could PM me some details or pointers please - Believe it or not we did actually pay for all plans to be printed in a large scale, and then send them off, despite sending them electronically to a particular builder ! I will keep the blog updated as I hope it does prove to be useful to some members. We are approaching our project slightly differently, in as much as we are using contractors rather than doing any of it myself and as a consequence, others looking at taking that route might it of benefit. PW.

Welcome and your opening question, although a good one, will be difficult to pin down, given there are a number of variables to both - Such as budget / land available / applications etc. I'm sure others far more knowledgeable will be along soon to add their thoughts but for the time being, enjoy and hold on tight! PW.

So, its been nearly a year since my last post and this is what we have achieved thus far. We attended the NEC show in Feb to confirm in our own mind the products / suppliers we hope to use – namely roof tiles, flooring, rainwater goods & windows and doors. Despite our best efforts to remain focused we had our heads turned by a range of wooden windows – Accoya wood – we made some enquiries and after a few weeks we received their costings - £37k for 10 windows, two French doors and 2 external doors in triple glazing. The fact that this was so over our budget, helped dismiss them from our thinking. We also made day trips to various showrooms up and down the country to cement in our own mind the type of kitchen units we would be looking to use, oak joinery and floor tiles. Five local builders were identified, all within a 20 miles radius of the plot. One was already booked up, well beyond this time next year, leaving me with just 4. All expressed an interest so they were sent the plans and associated documents in the hope that they would be able to provide a meaningful price. Three responded and personal visits were arranged in early July to discuss the details. The 4th failed to get in touch so we didn’t bother chasing. During our visit up North, in early July, the intention was to meet with the builders and discuss the finer details prior to making a decision which regards to which one we would be going with. One builder had done everything we had asked of him and presented a price within our estimates so all good so far. Unfortunately the other two had failed to anything with the papers I had sent them some months ago – “We’ll get it done in the next couple of weeks” – Yeah right! We’ll see – the problem is their failure to deal with what was a reasonable request in a reasonable time frame has left a cloud which is difficult to shift. After all, they said they would be interested in the first place. However, our visit wasn’t all in vain - It allowed us to visit two non-wooden window manufactures, one of whom we will be using – We have chosen to go with a Heritage Range from Evolution – similar to the range offered by Residence 9. Both very similar in design but the Evolution range, in particular, the Flush range, really does have the appearance of wood, which is lacking in the R9 range we believe. Both quotes came out within £100 of each other so the costings were not part of the decision making process. We also visited two quarries / stone merchants to discuss the external wall requirements. An expensive part of the project and important we choose the correct looking stone. A further meeting will be held in October. We are working to a budget of around £22k and this should be achievable – Lime mortar is a given and the beds will be 150mm, tied into the TF across a suitable cavity. We are told there will be no need for an additional rain screen such as SURECAV. We also met with a local company who will undertake the underfloor heating / DHW requirements and an independent Kitchen manufacturer who will supply and fit. There was an opportunity to visit our neighbours. An issue over previously agreed access to their septic tank needed to be ironed out. Up until we had purchased the plot of land, they were granted access by the farmer to allow the Septic Tank lorry to access their tank, across what is now our land. Through talking with neighbours we discovered a new build being developed very nearby – it just so happens that the TF Company they are using is the same as ours. We took a look and identified a new builder who I have since furnished with the appropriate details – watch this space. This was an unwritten agreement which clearly needed to end. It has been resolved because in recent times the truck has been parking on the roadside verge and the suction hose carried across the land to the tank. This practice will continue so all is good on that front. The building warrant has been issued just recently and was dealt with by the TF manufacturer. I believe I could have perhaps saved some money in this area but like most things, never having done this before or having had people around me who have, I felt I needed the comfort of having it done for me. Of course, such peace of mind comes at a price. I estimate the total cost of the following to be just South of £10K Planning plans drawn up Soil survey - Planning application – Solicitors fees - Building plans for submission to SBE – Structural Engineers report – Building warrant – So hopefully with a builder in place soon, costings and products such as the roof tiles, windows and doors, joinery, floor tiles, heating and DHW all agreed, it seems we are in a good place. Ground works will start in early 2018 ahead of the TF which is due to arrive in April 2018. I will spend the months in between contacting the Utility companies and ensuring that they are all on board with our build schedule and finalising / confirming the builder. Next update due in 6 months……………….. Paul.