Redoctober

Just catching up with this blog and it is wonderful to see you have started. Good luck with it all, try to enjoy it and keep up the "blogging" as it is very informative. Looking forward to seeing this project unfold over the coming months.?

We burnt ours on an area that was eventually used as our drive way. Also, the best £25 I spent was on an old Juice drum converted into an incinerator. Still got it and use it.

Highways act 1980 - sorry - 50 feet not metres - refers to fireworks etc Here it is in full For section 161(2) (penalty for lighting a fire or discharging a firearm or firework within 50 feet of the centre of a highway) there shall be substituted the following subsection— “(2)If a person without lawful authority or excuse— (a)lights any fire on or over a highway which consists of or comprises a carriageway; or (b)discharges any firearm or firework within 50 feet of the centre of such a highway, and in consequence a user of the highway is injured, interrupted or endangered, that person is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.”. (3)After section 161 there shall be inserted the following section— “161ADanger or annoyance caused by fires lit otherwise than on highways. (1)If a person— (a)lights a fire on any land not forming part of a highway which consists of or comprises a carriageway; or (b)directs or permits a fire to be lit on any such land, and in consequence a user of any highway which consists of or comprises a carriageway is injured, interrupted or endangered by, or by smoke from, that fire or any other fire caused by that fire, that person is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. (2)In any proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for the accused to prove— (a)that at the time the fire was lit he was satisfied on reasonable grounds that it was unlikely that users of any highway consisting of or comprising a carriageway would be injured, interrupted or endangered by, or by smoke from, that fire or any other fire caused by that fire; and (b)either— (i)that both before and after the fire was lit he did all he reasonably could to prevent users of any such highway from being so injured, interrupted or endangered, or (ii)that he had a reasonable excuse for not doing so.”.

I don't think having a bonfire is illegal as such - the only legal requirement I am aware off is that any "bonfire" has to be at 50 metres from the highway.

Hi @Colin Shaw Have a read of these two entries - may answer some of your questions.

@Kiltmmm, interesting conundrum. The builder we ended up using sounds a bit like your Builder A - He was at times frustrating to deal with in regards to meetings and communication prior to actually starting work but his "work" and "reputation" for me, outweighed those niggles. Once I had pinned him down we agreed a start date and the rest was left to "trust" which interestingly enough, was something he mentioned to me at an early stage of our "relationship." Ironically enough, that agreed start date was put back a week! Yes frustrating but these are the things one will have to accept perhaps when venturing on a self build project. I guess you have to consider such things as "personal" relationships in this equation as well as just areas that are black or white. PS - Also things like locality may come into play - Local reputation is "king" in our area, whereas in more urban built up areas, some builders may not care for that as much.

Put your plans through an online estimator - will cost you about £150 but could be money well spent, when coming to a decision as to take the chance or not!

Hi @revelation our oak staircase was fitted after the skimming / plastering had been done like others above. Some images to show that the finished product was just as good as if done the other way round. Ours has been in place for over 2 year snow and there are no signs of cracking etc. The second image shows the section under the stairs leading to the understairs cupboard. Hope this helps.

I think this is a good point and was certainly the case for us with regards to builders rather than TF suppliers. I had to chase up one builder for a quote, after supplying him with a tender pack and he said he wasn't going to bother as we had already sent the same out to a number of other local builders! I found this a strange way of doing business but nonetheless, he didn't price it up!

Hi - something to ponder as we continue to hunker down - Unfortunately, the door furniture - see image - occasionally hits the painted kitchen unit when opened fully and or clumsily, leaving a mark on the painted unit. What is the best way in which to protect said unit from anymore damage? I was thinking of a rubber type sleeve to fit over the offending arm & latch of the door furniture but am struggling to source anything suitable. I know I could just "tape" over it etc but the solution has to pass the "Mrs W" test!! Thoughts welcome.

Thanks @ProDave and @joe90 i will give that a go - sadly though you are dealing with a right numpty and knowing my luck I will switch the wrong one off - Is the one marked "water heater" that I should turn off and see how things change? ?

Hi @joe90 Not sure what the set up is other than the "system" is controlled by a central control panel and then there are seperate units for each room. I have attached some images which may help fill in the gaps of my limited knowledge. I do know though that the main control panel has been set up to allow a regular "legionella" flush so to speak, which brings into question my immersion heater switch. Both these wall units are on 24 / 7 and one is labeled "water heater".

Just bumping this question as I too would like to know - we have an immersion and it is never switched off! Is this something I could change by switching it on and off when necessary? But I suppose in order to do that I would need to know its purpose.

Hi - we operate a 3 bed detached house - 165sq m in total - and our water and heating is run on electricity only - no gas. Not sure how helpful it is, but my annual usage last year from February 2020 to date - so nearly a full year was / is around 7000KWH - our latest bill shows an average daily usage of 19.5kwh - So for completeness, we did have our adult son staying with us for that full period, so there was three of us at home throughout. None of us working. Obviously the cost of that usage will vary depending upon which tariff you are on but for us, our total annual energy usage came to about £950

All good thanks - PM sent directly so have a look out for a message!

@the_r_sole - @Omi Here is another "local" house - with alcove gable type frontage. Good luck with resolving the issues raised.

I would say it is most important to get other quotes. You would in other matters of general life so self building is no different. That said, you also need to gain an understanding of the terminology they use as this will assist your understanding when it comes to knowing what it is they are actually supplying or not, as the case may be. Ask the question on here and you will find an answer - I'm sure. That all said, trying to compare TF quotes like for like is not easy! They all offer different things and the devil is in the detail!!! There are plenty of members who have used various TF suppliers so ask a question or indeed use the search facility to research previous queries/concerns/questions etc. Good luck and finally, invest in some candles that burn well into the night, as you will need them as you embark on your research/understanding!??

As others have said - it depends on your circumstances really and what shape the house intends to take - The more angles etc the dearer the build cost could be. We built a 160sqm TF stone clad house, with Oak framed car port - 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms etc. Plenty of space and all for £1850sq metre, albeit north of the border and it was completed 2 years ago. Take a look at my blog to see what we ended up with and for details of how we achieved it.

Hi - it's not a problem as such. The Scottish Building Regs make great play on new builds having to have what they call a "level access" for wheelchair users and this can sometimes be problematic when planning / designing the house of your dreams etc. I just raise this issue with regards to your drawings, as there doesn't appear to be any such provision.

Looks great but simply out of interest and curiosity, how do you overcome the "level access" requirement for building Regs? I'm in Scotland so the regulations maybe different north of the border!

@canalsiderenovation how about putting in an over sized doorstep type board which sits above the finished floor?

No suggestions sorry but an interesting post in as much we a,re in the process of putting our sons flat on the market. The Estate Agent - 20 years experience - was saying that he has noticed a trend in the past 3-4 months whereby he has had more downgraded market valuations than in the past 20 years put together. It seems the RCIS are getting stricter with their valuations or are reacting to pressure from elsewhere?

This looks a fantastic bit of kit - I was only pondering the other day how best to paint the gable ends - I thought of a cherry picker but dismissed it due to the likelihood of it curning up my lawn etc. But this beast could be the answer. Thanks for sharing - Out of curiosity , what is the hire rate ?

Hi @Charlotte sounds as if you are on the right tracks before committing to a plot of land as you definately want to try and identify all "costs" beforehand. Estimates for Water connections and Electrical connections are paramount and various "estimates" can be gathered by asking members their experiences but remember not all plots are the same! BT should be able to get you connected for free providing there are no "substantial issues" with doing so. Look into getting a soil strength and porosity test done - this will be needed for foundations and also SEPA. Inform SEPA of your intentions and get registered with them as you will need that certification to all ow you to install a treatment plant etc once the build starts. Not only that, SEPA can advise you as to what sort of discharge they will accept for the plot. I appreciate my figures are a few years out of date now but have a look at this part of my blog for an indication of the likely costs one could incur depending upon circumstances.

Guys I appreciate the comments but for clarity, this thread is about 2 years old now and was recently added to by a newish member being steered to the blog. He kindly "liked" it, which caused it to pop up on the current threads so to speak. That said, we are still enjoying it, thanks. ?