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Could someone please help me identify this noise? After I bought a second floor new build flat from Bewley Homes UK in 2022, there has intermittently been a snapping/clapping sound. The noise happens all year round. We have done the basic tests i.e run taps etc. It has been really hard to pin point where the noise is coming from but I believe it’s from the ceiling or wall in the open plan kitchen/living room. The recordings below are over a 7 hour period at night.

Hello, I recently joined BuildHub and think it is a great idea. My wife and I have planning permission to build a family home in Northern Ireland. I am a bit out of my depth at the moment with where to go next. The site came with planning permission and now I have to get an Architect on board. I have asked for a few quotes and there are 'traditional' contracts or 'design and build' contracts. Would anybody have any experience / advice on these? I intend to appoint a Project Manager to oversee the works, would anybody know a rough rate for a Project Manager? Appreciate any help I can get. Paddy

Hi all, First time posting so apologies if I’m the wrong place. Long story short, I am about to purchase a new build semi-detached property that was built/completed about 2 years ago (Greater London). The developer/seller kept onto the property and rented it until today. BuildZone was recently engaged by the developer/seller to provide a 10yr structural warranty. The warranty certificate was recently issued, which was passed on to Barclays (our Lender) who had requested this before extending a mortgage offer. Barclays/underwriter came back saying the application was rejected based on the fact the warranty was done retrospectively (!) and won’t entertain it. Bizarrely no where in the warranty cover note does it say that the diligence was undertaken retrospectively. The surveyor has merely deciphered this from the delay in it getting issued and the fact the cover was only issued very recently and it is clear the build was complete a couple of years ago. Our mortgage broker has reached out to NatWest and Halifax opportunistically to get their appetite but alas they have outright refused to deal with so called “retrospective” structural warranties. Anyone aware of lenders that deal with these? Seems counterintuitive to me that these above mentioned lenders are on the CML list of approved lenders for BuildZone but that they apply some subjectivity to what type of warranty it is. Either the cover is there or it isn’t... I can’t see a market for these types of warranties if this is the case! Just for cash buyers!? thank you!

Hi everyone, First time self builder and under the age of 30, with little experience or knowledge of construction...learning on the job type thing atm. I bought some land in North London back in 2018 and finally started the build (basement excavation and construction) back in June 2022. I have come up against a whole host of problems (Structural Engineer going into administration during the works, party wall agreement issue that lasted over a year, angry & gossiping neighbours - I live in the house opposite the site... & insurance claims against me, etc...) but have also overcome most of them now! The new build is roughy 110m2 internal space consisting of a basement with lightwell, ground floor and partial first floor, all within a tight space. I have a really great civil and groundworks guy who has helped me so much a long the way. Current stage is the finishing bits of the basement - drainage and pouring of slabs. Next stage, get the steels in and also the hollowcore planks! I will definitely be a regular poster for help! Thanks in advanced guys and can't wait to be part of the community!

Hi all i know zero about house building and bricklaying so thought I would see if I could get some advice please we are just about to complete on a new build home by Bellway and this is the side of the house. I have attached a photo of the side of the house and the brickwork. is that normal? Is it likely to match up over time? Am I being too fussy to expect it to match up?

Hi, looking for some advice on my Architects chosen door sizes on my new build. I am comparing some of the sizes from the single doors attached and not really finding an easy match. Just about to have the openings built with blockwork so would appreciate any advice. Block to block is 910mm and the 810mm one is a smaller toilet door under the stairs. Heights vary on the images depending on what floor the door is on, 2110mm high to blockwork opening in the basment which will have 2400mm high ceilings. Do you think I will find it easy to buy doors without them having to be made bespoke sizing? Would I purchase a door frame kit for these openings or just have them made up to suit? Thanks C

Hi All, I've been around and commented here and there, and asked questions, but finally we are in a position to say we will be starting our new lives, and build later this year. We have bought and obtained planning permission, (Finally), a croft (L shaped field - no buildings or services), in the rural village of Occumster, on the East coast in the Highlands. approx. 12M SW of Wick. The plan is to build a modest 2 bed single storey house, and a couple of camping pods. I've attached a few drawings. Big plans and small budget. Its a full change of life style, I'm a builder, so if need be I will hopefully get some work here and there, but the main focus will be to get up and running with the pods for some income, house then livestock to follow. Moving From Preston so already used to the rain, just have to get used to the wind and we will be set. keep safe Pete and Mandy 201021_REV_FloorPlan_LAND 105M SE OF SUIL NA MARA_A4.pdf 101121_REV_Site_Plan_LAND 105M SE OF SUIL NA MARA_A3.pdf 101121_REV_Site_Elevation_LAND 105M SE OF SUIL NA MARA_A4.pdf 191021_REV_Sections_LAND_105M_SE_OF_SUIL_NA_MARA_A4.pdf 231021_REV_PODS_LAND 105M SE OF SUIL NA MARA_A3.pdf

Hello We are about to start a self build project to build our new home on the Isle of Islay. It is a bit daunting but we have the opportunity to fulfil our dream of living and working on the island. A lot of work to do and hopefully a lot of experience and knowledge to tap into. Ian

Hi all, I’m seeking some advice for an infill site that sits at the end of a row of terrace houses. It’s quite a narrow site so I’m looking to maximize floor area. One variable that I’m unsure about is the wall construction against the existing gable end party wall. The gable end sits astride the boundary (boundary is down the center line) and there is an existing lean to garage. In the new build, would I need to build a stand-alone structural wall on foundations, with a cavity between that and the existing wall? Or would it be possible to attach to the existing wall and line it? Any advice would be very helpful. thanks in advance.

I've been having a bit of a mare with decorating. I'm totally new to it and all the googling in the world doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere. The walls are new and had a mist coat which left a slightly textured finish similar to orange peel which you can see up close, now the really pain is where I've had to sand down some bad parts this has gone smooth so you can see the difference very easily. Should I have sanded down after the mist coat? Is that normal?

Hi all, I need a bit of help knowing how best to do this. I had a new electricity connection for my new build, it was routed underground but pops out of the ground by the external wall and about 1 foot above ground level goes through a hole in the wall into the house. With all the regulations around electricity I was surprised about this, are there any minimum requirements? I was trying to research it online but not coming up with anything. Thank you

Hi, I'm a first-time self builder and I have a planning permission granted for a project which is about demolishing an existing single storey bungalow and build a new 2-storey house. I'm thinking to hire a main contractor to do the job minimising my involvement. I'm wondering if SIP walling is a good option compared to the more traditional masonry building, especially in terms of the total cost and time of project completion as I have a quite limited budget, especially for this project to be economically viable. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi there, Firstly I just want to say thanks In advance for taking time to read this and I appreciate any advice and feedback you can give me. Basic outline is: I own a corner plot house (number 5) with a large area of land to the side, front and back. I have successfully applied for and been granted full outline planning permission to build a new dwelling on the side of our current home. Just recently I sectioned off the land (where new plot will be - 5A) so it is inuncumbered. Whilst in the process of the TP1, the Solicitors informed me that there are restrictive covenants stated in the original title deeds dating back to 1988 which are enforceable by my local authority (the same local authority that approved the full planning permission) The restrictive covenants in question: I’ll upload the page below. States no other building or vehicle can be built or placed upon the land unless prior written approval off the local authority. My question is, does the planning permission supersede the original deeds given that beneficiary is the local authority and I have gained written approval by getting the planning permission approved by the local authority. I did look into getting an indemnity insurance policy via my solicitors who were dealing with the TP1 but the indem provider wanted me to provide: Copies of any objection letters, received by the local authority at the planning stage, for our consideration. If no objection letters were received, please confirm that a specific check has been made direct with the local authority to confirm that this was the case. There were no objections at the planning stage. I checked on the planing portal and it showed no objections or comments but they wanted a report from the local planning officer. I was thinking of contacting the local planning authority via email to ask but in doing so I was worried that me getting back In touch with them 18 months after the PP was approved, I’m at risk of raising a red flag and not being able to get the policy as I’ve contacted the beneficiary in question? Hope you can see my predicament and my worries here. Also, the indemnity policy in question covers the value of project rebuild at £310k, the policy itself is £695 and the first £20k of any claim is payable by myself. I just wanted to see what your take on the matter is and if you can offer any advice that would help me move forward with the project. Is there a way to get what the indem policy providers wants without raising any flags? Do I actually need to get a indem policy or should I not worry about it? Also to note, I live in a close and most other houses in the close have placed driveways on the their front gardens and have added porch’s, side/back extensions etc which I assume would have binded their restrictive covenants also. I’m sorting a self build mortgage at present to build the house in 5A, Do you know if the self build mortgage provider will also want an indemnity policy to cover this? Ps - This will be my first development so this is all new to me and I’m learning as I go. I wanted to get this sorted before I commence with the project as I was worried it could all go wrong or I’d struggle to sell in the future having binded the covenants? The solicitors have informed me I might struggle to sell to a new potential buyer if I cant get the policy, but it’s not so easy to get the policy without risking alerting them of the covenants I’m about to bind! I’m in a such a pickle! I can’t complete the TP1 until this is sorted which In turn is holding up my remortgage. Sorry for the long message and many thanks in advance if you help me. Thanks.

Hi all just joined from Fermanagh in N.Ireland. just finalising changes to my planning permission for a new self build project and looking forward to picking up some tips and hacks from all those whose gone before me here. I work in the industry as a contract manager however it's usually heavy civil, groundworks and large RC Frame packages I do as opposed to any fit out and finishes so I'm sure you'll see some silly queries from me there.

Morning all, We have recently been busy getting quotes for aluminium doors and windows and are due to start our new build in January after spending the past couple of months preparing the site. As you can see from the attached image, there is a considerable amount of glass in the design and the windows and doors will be a considerable chunk of our budget. This is our first (and only!) self build and we want to ensure we make the right decision regarding the window manufacturer. The installer we would like to use (based on providing an excellent service over the years for other properties we have renovated) installs Smart aluminium windows and doors and we are keen to use him if we feel the product is of good quality. Has anyone had experience of Smart aluminium products? The installer has quoted for aluminium frames with 36mm triple glazing, which will achieve 1.4W/m2K. The back of the property will be SW facing and is in a very sheltered spot, so I would also value any advice regarding reducing solar gain. We have also been quoted for a Fortis aluminium front door and garage door by the same installer if anyone has experience of this manufacturer. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Jenny

I know this is probably done to death, but a lot of the posts I came across were older. I’m planning the drains for our new build (4 bed), did a percolation test at the weekend and took 7 hrs to drain away, so looking at treatment plants. Kind of narrowed it down to Bio-Pure, WPL, Conder but I do keep coming back to Biorock for several reasons. Any up to date opinions on the above? I do like the fact the Bio rock is electric free, I’m more than capable and happy to install and if I can commission, service it myself down the line even better. Also how are people finding the desludging intervals? On our own farmland so no issues with siting, probably going to be approx 35m from the house.

We have one of those maddening, tightrope-like conundrums where there is no easy answer, so this thread I guess would ideally be a poll of sorts. basically we have PP to demolish 2 outbuildings and build a large home office in their place. We also have full PD rights. our planning strategy (over time) HAD been as follows: Home Gym > Change of Use to Granny Annexe (under PD, with Cert of Lawfulness) > Change of Use to Separate Dwelling (PP app) however, we are now staring down the barrel of the c. £25k VAT bill on assembling the "home office" structure, which of course could be avoided if this were constructed as a full separate dwelling from the outset As I see it we have 3 options: stick to the "softly softly or lily pad" planning strategy and simply suck up the £25k VAT bill in the spirit of strengthening our planning position over time blow our cover with the council and steam ahead with a full "separate dwelling" app, putting all building works on hold (of course this app may be approved, rejected, approved at appeal or rejected at appeal) persuade our builders to post-date the invoices, start both building and the separate dwelling planning app simultaneously, and then (hopefully) the timing works out whereby we're granted approval and the structure is well on its way to being finished If anybody else has other ideas for a way round this I would love to hear them. And also would love to hear which option you would take. Clearly the problem here is that this isn't £5k, or even £10k....it's £25k. And also we will lose our slot with some very good builders if we delay.

Hi there everyone. This forum has been so useful to us already and we have only been members for a short while. Thought it would be worth posting now that we are nearing the commencement of our project. We have bought a 1960's bungalow in Cornwall that requires total renovation (it literally has not been touched since it was built). Following discussions with our structural engineer and after sitting down and doing the sums, we have decided the best option is to start again and build from scratch. This will be our first new build and we are both excited and slightly nervous at the prospect! Looking forward to discussing various aspects of the project on here as we progress. Best wishes, Jenny

Hi people, I'm new to the site and it seems to be very helpful in most situations so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm a roofer by trade so haven't done much carpentry/joinery and I've been asked by a client to put a roof starting from the joists. It's a new build (family room in the back of the garden) that's roughly 5.8m x 5.6m and the client is thinking about putting an RSJ in to stop the roof from sagging. Could this be avoided by tripling up 8" x 2" C24 timbers in the centre and going out from that at 400 centres? With an overhang the joist lengths will be roughly 6m long. The actual roof will be a warm deck Fleeceback Ruberbond EPDM and it may have a small (1m x1m) velux dome installed as well. Any help or ideas will be appreciated as I havent don't much carpentry before. I'd like to tackle it myself (with a friend) as I'm always wanting to learn more and it seems like a good straight forward one to do once I get a good idea of it.

Hi all, We are early in our self build journey having just been granted planning in principle for our plot. We have an architect and have had first discussions with a broker, so the money side of things looks ok too. Cost and efficiency are big motivators as we currently live in an old house which haemorrhages both heat and money, Will also be our home for the next 30 odd years so running costs important. Have only now just started the bulk of our research as it took three years to sort the plot and didn't want to get ahead of ourselves. Will probably have questions on absolutely everything.Thanks!

As the title suggests I am lost! I am a mother of 2 soon to be 3 kids homeschooling and a husband who dropped this idea on me roughly a month ago! We are looking to build a 2-2500 sq ft 4 bedroom 1.5 story family home with double garage on a green site in Northern Ireland. We have full planning permission For a 3000sq ft 5 bedroom modern home (plans from seller of site) but we want to build something to suit out taste and budget so will need to redo plans. But here is where the problem lies. We had a brief meeting with an architect and my husband is too easily swayed by modern looks but it’s not to our taste. i would love to be able to view houses with plans before going to an architect so we can show him what we like not the other way around but I’m really struggling. Pinterest isn’t great as when you click into view most are gone or not available to view in any detail. We are complete novices to this and a lot of it is being left to me as my husband says I’m the artistic one! There’s one thing being creative and a whole other thing designing a family from scratch with literally no experience. We have started to watch channels 4 building the dream for inspo. Has anyone got advise or tips on what they have learned from experience. My list is short and sweet: * 4 bedrooms all with walk in closet (nothing too big or fancy needed) * master bedroom downstairs with walk in shower en-suite (open to pros & cons of this being down stairs) * open plan kitchen dining living area (walk in pantry) * family bathroom * W/C downstairs * Utility * plenty of light and storage space Any advise would be greatly appreciated as I am pregnant and home schooling a 6 & 4 year old so really want to get started on this so we can get things moving. Thank you

Due to a second property in London being badly down valued prior to re-mortgaging and in the light of Brexit (I dread to think what they'd value it right now, mid corona), I am going to be short about £60k to construct an 147m2, 4 bed in place of 2 existing, crumbling outbuildings (albeit said outbuildings have electricity and water already). With this squeeze on budget, I am going to need to cut every corner going (within reason) to get this over the line. Throw in the fact that this is my first build of any description, and it's going to be "interesting" times! From other threads, it appears that Closed Panel Timber Frame as opposed to SIPS may offer the best shot at delivering a combo of quality and real value. Appreciate that this is a bit of a how-long's-a-piece-of-string Q, but by getting properly creative, what's the least you'd back yourself to bring this 147m2 structure in for, and how?

Hi everyone, I'd like your help pls. We're self building a new home and are installing an MVHR system. It's on a hill and therefore an upside down house; so bedrooms on the ground floor with bathrooms/plant room while the living room/office/kitchen are upstairs on the first floor. We have web joists and I was wondering about putting the outlet vents to the living room and office coming out of the floor of these rooms since this is much simpler. The duct to these would therefore be on the same level/branching as the ceiling ones that feed the bedrooms on the ground floor. So they would all run through the space between the two floors rather than having to run the ducts up the first floor walls and across their ceilings as well. Hope that makes sense? I've tried searching the forum and can only find a few references to a German floor vent brand. Is it better to do this? or are there any major downsides pls? Many thanks Iain

Grateful for advice on the following. I'm doing a self build in the Stirling area. Its a five bed property (180m2 in total) with ufh downstairs (120m2) including three bedrooms downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs with rads. One bathroom and three en-suites in total. I was hoping for some advice on boiler and UVC sizing? We will be required to install PVs so I'm also wondering what issues to consider in terms of integrating it with the heating system/hot water? Looking for the most cost effective option. I did consider ASHP but have decided to opt for LPG and PVs. Any pointers much appreciated.

Evening all, My builder insists it's industry standard to use the gross floor area when discussing costs per square meter but I thought it was the norm to use gross internal area. I can see why he'd want to use GFA as he has to build the external walls, but that could mean I'm not comparing apple to apples.