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New build NE Scotland


JohnMo

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Hi all

Planning a new build in sunny Scotland, semi passivhaus, just wait for the warrant to be approved.

 

There bed bungalow facing south west looking over a loch.

 

House spec, floor, walls and roof U value of 0.1.

Double glazed U value 1.2.  UFH throughout. 3.2 kW solar PV, with immersion diverting. Thermal store heated by PV only to provide preheated water to Atag Combi boiler with full weather compensation.  MVHR.  Air tightness looking for around 1 m3/m2.

 

Did the maths looking at payback for triple glazing and got pay back periods of around 40 years. Due to the low heat demand.

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I wouldn’t pay too much attention to u values on things against payback, there are a few companies out there telling porkies about their numbers. 

We have just fitted triple glazed windows and the difference in price was about 3% compared with double glazed. 

The inside of the house is absolutely silent, you walk in and think you have gone deaf, the temperature difference is amazing as well and we are only half finished, it is something I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to lower the spec on. 

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Hi @JohnMo,

 

We are nearly finished a similar build on our croft in Skye.

 

On the double/triple glazing I looked at the prices and I was pleasantly surprised at the cost difference.

 

Triple glazing windows feel much more solid we are quite sheltered but in the winter the windows feel so much stronger. Where we live at the moment has double glazing and these flex and move a bit during a strong 70-80mph gust, never get that with the triple glazing. 

 

The noise reduction is a benefit as well when your surrounded by livestock and birds.

 

I keep a blog here 

 

https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/blogs/blog/28-self-build-on-skye/

 

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  • 1 year later...

Hi update, house now built, just some cladding and slips to do outside - waiting on material.

 

Ended up with triple glazing as suggested, made and installed by Wood Kraft in Elgin.

 

Once the foundations were completed it took another 11 months before we were in.

 

Spec

Private water with our own borehole, mains gas, septic treatment plant.

Triple glazed throughout

MVHR

Durisol walls, parge coated internally (sand, cement and lime mix) for airtightness, floor to wall junction with liquid airtightness paint, battons and plasterboard.  External a mix of stone slips and Scottish larch.

Posi rafter roof structure, battoned and counter battoned 100mm to give 350mm insulation space and then spray foam insulation. Passive House systems Reflective vapour airtightness layer, further battoned and plasterboard. Roof finished in slates and sarnafil EPDM standing seam and 3.1kw PV.

 

Floor slab buildup, strip foundations with 100 to 150mm reinforced C34 concreted slab, 200mm of PIR insulation, UFH pipes throughout, at 300mm spacing, finished 100mm concrete with 70mm insulated perimeter.

 

Work completed by myself

Floor insulation

UFH

All plumbing except gas

Durisol block work

All battons to wall and roof

Internal stud walls

Parge coat

Vapour control on roof internals (all ceilings match roof line)

PV install, except electrical hook up

Installed all bathroom s (x3)

External cladding and currently doing stone slips.

MVHR install

Project managing and organising sub contractors who completed - ground work, roof structure, sarnafil and slates, electrical, windows, joiner for plasterboard and

second fix joinery, taper for plasterboard.

 

Images are a before and after

IMG_20200305_092812.jpg

IMG_20210805_143834.jpg

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3 hours ago, Tennentslager said:

First prize to @JohnMo for the most concise thread ever...

 

 

I have to agree with @Tennentslager but can't help thinking it was a missed opportunity. The build looks impressive and not without its challenges. The amount of work undertaken by @JohnMo himself, is commendable but here's the rub. Whether or not it all went without a hitch, I'm  sure the experiences, progress, decision making and supply issues would been useful to the collective also undertaking such a project. In addition, it would also have been useful to know what if any knowledge / advice / tips, one may have picked up from the forum during any given project.

 

Having been one of many who have benefited from the knowledge, skill and advice shared on this forum, I would urge others to do as I did, and that is to share your experiences -

 

This forum should be treated as a "two way street."

 

I'll get my coat!!

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5 minutes ago, Roys said:

House looks braw, well done

As you did it yourself, what would you have done differently?

 

Hear hear. Yes  we are all here to learn so do tell: Although it looks wonderful and you must be very pleased, there must be something you learnt or would do differently. Design or process.

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Gone west, the floor is engineered oak, thát is finished in grey wax.  Close image attached.

 

Things I would have done different

1. The walls from strip foundations to DPC, are done in cement blocks, I would do them in durisol blocks - not reliant on someone else and would have had a easier transition to the main walls.

2.  Had the roof structure designed around Pozi rafters from day one.

3.  We have electric towel rails, would chosen them, before the electrical contractors arrived, as two sockets ended up in the wrong place.

4.  Simplified the front wall as all the corners were a real pain to build as just every block has to be cut.

5.  I would get the architect to detail door and window thresholds.  As this was a steep learning curve.

6.  I changed the build method to Durisol block part way through the warrant process, this gave us a 4 month delay.

 

Things I wouldn't change

1. Shopping around for materials, local building merchants are super expensive.  Contractors don't really care how much they pay, as they passing the cost to you, plus a percentage.  Most contractors had the material free issued from me.

2. Planning well ahead, purchasing PV, Boiler, thermal store, MVHR, at start of first lockdown in clearance sales

 

Things I learned

The house ends bigger than you think.

Things take longer to do than you think.

Be flexible with material and design choices

 

 

 

16348187393714908891638948887337.jpg

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Thanks. all useful.

 

re local builders' merchants. For general info to reader about to start the journey..

I always try very hard to support the locals  but it is hard work, and sometimes the prices are silly.

 

It was explained to me by a family BM client, (who did not insist that we bought the materials from him!)

Even the national companies buy in from other suppliers. eg timber from a timber mill/merchant, insulation from one of the nationals. 

You would think they could get it direct from the big manufacturers but it seems to be more of a closed shop than that.

So for a very specialised material it is best from a specialised merchant.

 

The local BM will usually specialise in one trade eg roofing, and they need to be competitive in that, and for small and mixed orders the convenience has a value.

 

Also I understand that the little builder often has little buying power but needs a credit account for cash-flow. Hence an account at the nearest merchant is convenient, and the prices may not be the best, even with the standard 10% off. The BM cannot offer different rates to different customers.

 

Another tip for those starting out in buying. Never mention a trade name for a product. If you ask for 'Celotex or similar' then Celotex is what will have the best price. If you ask for PIR insulation you will nearly always get a better quote using a less well known producer. They quote a figure and you wait, and a discount appears. Once I was quoted for 1,000m2 of insulation at 20% discount which became 75% in a few minutes. 

 

Ask the local BM if they want to match a price. They won't be embarrassed and sometimes it will work for both parties.

 

Never be embarrassed to ask for a better price. Think what even 5% off a £400,000 project is worth.

£20,000 just for asking every time. Now double it, and think that way throughout. In every big contractor's hq there are people called 'buyers' and that is all they do as it is a skill. 

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8 hours ago, JohnMo said:

The house ends bigger than you think.

Things take longer to do than you think.

 Great advice and very true. 

 

 

Interested to know what cladding you used? Looks like larch but a nice red tinge. 

 

Also who done your borehole and treatment...I jave a 120m low yield borehole ( which made me cry) and now need to sort the treatment and pumo which is basic but the borehole suppliers price jumped from 4k to 9k for that part as they have to travel so far.

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I did generally go to one BM, for all my wood, plasterboard, internal doors, except cladding.  Mainly because they were good to deal with, friendly and reasonably competitive.  But what I found interesting in the buying process, was I would go around getting prices locally, get stupid quotes (sound proofing) or be told they could not supply Thermolite or similar.  Buy from the internet from London with free delivery (600 miles away).  But it was delivered by the same local merchants.

 

Big ticket items like glazing, I went zero risk and used a local manufacturer, so they came and measured, manufactured and installed.  

 

The gladding is Scottish Larch, it does have a nice colour.  It came from a mill in Nairn, which is local to us.  Having another batch delivered next week, so hope it's the same colour.

 

Borehole and treatment came from GRC Aquatech, Aberdeenshire.  They sent a water deviner to find the best place to drill.  He hold us the depth water was at and what was feeding it.  He said water was at 32m the borehole ended up at 36m.  There are a couple of good write ups on here worth finding and reading.  Low yield, my be worth running the pump long periods low flow rates into a large accumulator, so you have plenty of water when you need it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

@JohnMo I've just realised you had replied here. 

 

Be interested to hear how much you got the scottish larch for if you are happy to share. 

 

I had a water diviner come...said I had a massive potential. Just no depth....drilled 120m and its low yield (200 litres per hour) which massively hurt, other hole we tried at 60m was pretty much Dry too. Will never trust another diviner again. To getbit at 36m woukd have been a dream. 

 

Might try that company for a quote on the treatment as my company have doubled the price just due to labour from 4k estimated ti nearly 9k. 

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I am due an invoice, was expecting it today, so should be here tomorrow, will let you know the final cost.

 

I got from Timber Central in Nairn, they are on Facebook and that number is correct, the Google number is an old number.

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  • 1 year later...

Completion certificate came through this afternoon.

 

Had an inspection a month ago, the only things picked up were.

 

1. Boiler not positioned as per plan, variation required, easy enough to update, took a couple of weeks to be approved.

2.  Hadn't finished the balustrade due to weather. Had to get that completed.

3.  Wanted a commissioning cert for log stove.

 

Next jobs

Install ASHP, mostly complete.

Build summer house, being delivered next week. 

 

So from digger arriving on site, 3 years almost to the day. Could of been finished 6 months earlier,  but I went back to work.

 

All in took me a year longer than expected, but big site everything bigger and takes longer than expected.

 

Overall costs including doing lots myself, and including all groundworks £2400 per m2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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