Redoctober

Yes , I would expect there to bean additional quote if it hasn't been mentioned. There will surely be a need for some materials, so who supplies that? I too got caught out when we built a number of years ago. I provided the plans to our builder for the stand alone timber framed carport and integeral shed as part of my tender package. His groundworks quote came in but the final invoice was a lot higher than I had expected. This was simply down to the fact that I had not specifically included the footings / concrete floor and dwarf wall in the initial tender package - he thought the Timber frame erectors were going to do that. ! I suppose it all comes down to communication - something not to be dismissed lightly and yet so pivital for a succesful project.

Plus 1 to this.

@MortarThePoint Here are a couple of images showing how our oak beam was fitted. When installed, it came with two large "bolt" type "pins" protruding, which were then drilled into the concrete lintel. The surrounding area was then plaster boarded. I have to say in the past 5 years we have not suffered any shrinkage or cracking or either the beam or plaster. The beam was sourced and fitted by the approved stove fitter!

Perhaps the stark reality of some peoples experences but not all I would say. I think this highlights what @ToughButterCup was saying above - network - get to know your builder / tradesman etc. We are still "friends" with our tradesman and builder and I'm sure others have a similar relationship.

Hi @Gaz Bancroft Your project appears to have many simiarities to ours, " a rectangle box" etc and like you, I was a complete novice and had no construction experience. In fact your situation does remind me of my self build project in many ways, albeit we completed 5 years ago. If you haven't done so already, take a look at my blog - it may give you the confidence to manage the project yourself. I'm sure you will be able to to be fair. Good luck.

Oh dear ! - I am trying to understand your current situation from the above, so please excuse me if I am missing something. Have you any UFH pipework down across the ground floor? If so, then why not follow what already has been done? If not, then perhaps try to secure an UFH plan ahead of the screed being poured because surely, once that is poured your oppurtinty to have UFH has been missed, unless you go for an electric system. By securing such a plan, a lot of your questions should be answered therein. Can the pouring of the screed be delayed ?

No they don't do ground works - just supply and or supply and erect.

Take a look at Fleming Homes - their website is very useful - as a guide - to possible costs depending upon your preferred build route. Other useful stuff too, which might help.

Hi @flanagaj Most planing applications require a landscaping plan - IE a finished product. To preparing the site to recieve materials etc and to secure it, is not only appropriate but essential and would be considered, in my mind, a temporary measure. So crack on would be my advice.

Oh dear a new arrival always helps focus th emind. - if it is a new build, then I suggest you contact the developers.They may still be on site if the development is on going. Have you had this problem for the past 4 years ? If so what have you done about it?

@Lewis88 Not sure if this would help but have you considered Surecav? - https://www.surecav.co.uk/

@pauldoc Is there anything "specific" to your build, which might affect the cost of buildings and contents insurance? Seems awfully high to me, so no wonder you want to shop around. I have to agree with the above, an internet search will surely offer a better rate - We pay a touch over £120 all in for ours!

We had a similar issue although on a much smaller scale. That said we had to dig a trench through the farmers neighbouring field. [We too bought the land from him so we waited until he had harvested his crops before doing so. He was happy with this arrangement] - We dug a trench probably 100 m out into his field and joined the perforated pipework, which we laid onto an existing land drain, which was buried in the field. By doing so the discharge was then carried on to the water course some 150m away. Could this work for you @Dunc ? Total cost of this was around £2.5k 4 years ago.

This may or may not be of any use but here goes. The image below shows our "bellmouth" adjoining the highway, albeit a single track country lane. Our planning permission was granted with the "bellmouth" being a condition of approval. To my surprise there was no "bonding" running along the joint but that said, 5 years on, we have had no issues such as break up etc due to weather or tractor traffic. The bellmouth was installed by LA approved contractors - basically a licence to charge us a heavy premium for the pleasure! Anyway, as an aside, a gang of contractors have recently been installing the ducting alongside our lane ahead of Openreach installing their fibre cabling for a better more reliable internet service. In doing so thay had to "cross" the lane. Basically, another gang turned up in an open back pick up truck a few days later and were able to fill it with sufficent tarmac, bash it down with a springloaded compactor type thing and also run a line of hot wet overbnding along the joins. Whole job - start to finish leas than 30 minutes! So, what I am saying I suppose is that there may well be "gangs" out there who can operate on a smaller scale to accomodate your needs?

Not sure about the regs to be honest but I would have thought th ecupboard door would hav ebeen better placed in the bedroom, behind the bedroom door. The amount of times it woul dbe used perhaps, may suggest it wouldn't be too much of an eyesore or inconvenience?

Hello - our 3 neighbours share an old septic tank and for the past 5 years, they have had no problems whatsoever doing so. One of them takes on the responsibilty of arranging it to be de-sludged anually and they share the costs. We purchased the plot next door and have installed our own treatment plant - a requirement as the exisiting one next door would not cope with additional "traffic" - As for costs, our one is available for around the £3k mark - installation costs not included.

A roof? Not quite - That said you are right to say that a well insulated house should have one and that is why the regs set a marker at 3 [ in scotland anyway] - In simple terms isn't like buying a car with or without aircon? Having aircon in a car has many advantages but those who don't have it still make do, knowing that their "lot" could be better. But on balance, they prefer to go without or do so due to budget restrictions.🤷‍♂️

@ToughButterCup Thanks for posting your thoughts - MVHR systems are clearly of benefit in the right settings. That said, there is life without such a system and this type of thread will help people come to their own decsions as to whether to install one or not. We chose not to and like you, we do not feel we are missing out on anything in particular. The decising factor for us was upfront capital investment, ongoing maintainance and adjustments [ perhaps] and advice / guidance from a popular house builder, who also chose not to install in their houses.

@iMCaan you are welcome - i'm just pleased my blog entries are stil proving to be useful. 👍

Yes I think I would be looking to wait too given those figures They don't look that appealing to be honest. I'm with Eonnext and currently on a contract which finishes in Feb 2024 - I'm paying 63p a day and 27p per unit. With any new contract, I would be looking for a much lower unit price than what I am paying now and certainly lower than what you are being offered. The difference between our day rates amounts to about £73 per year - £6 a month ! I'm sure there will be better deals to come, so if I were you, I would hold out.

😲 just checked my soild survey and attached guidance - ours were dug to a depth of 1150mm - Whether that is right or wrong, our house is still upright. 🤣

Hello @Barny Not sure this will assist but in answer to your question - we built on a plot which houses an Oak tree in the corner - We had to ensure our build didn't encroach in the area of the tree - namely 10 mteres away. The corner of our house is 12 metres away so all good in that respect. Our foundations were trench type and nothing out of the ordinary

@Kelvin I think you are right to seek a replacement - it is clearly an issue for you and although we do accept the odd "compromise" along the way, this one it seems, would just "nibble" away at you and cause you a degree of unease everytime you look at it.

Great stuff - exciting times ahead. As for starting a blog, I'm sure one of the MODS will be along soon to point you in the right direction. Hopefully you will be able to record your progress, not only for your own benefit but others on here too. Good luck. @ProDave @PeterW @MikeSharp01 @newhome etc

This is exactly what we did. The carport and shed structure shown in above photos was built first. Therefore it was in situ before we started to take delivery of all other materials etc. I have measured the distances for you in the hope that they will give you confidence that most trucks etc will get in and out, albeit reversing in and driving out - again as demonstrated in two of the photos above. So the distance from the gate to the car port structure is 19 metres. If you were to include the bellmouth [driveway approach] and the width of single lane thereafter, the 19 metres becomes 25 metres. Honestly, more than enough room - the crane managed it as well as cement lorries.