We're going for it!

[ZacP]

Hello one and all!

 

After a few weeks of browsing BH and learning as best I can it seems appropriate to jump in at the deep end and say Hi and thanks for your help so far! 

 

My wife and I (and 2 daughters [4 and 20months], 2 dogs and 3 chickens) are buying a dated bungalow with full planning to demolish and rebuild a 225sqm 4 bed 2 story house. On the side of a hill. With v. poor access. I know, stupid, but its only a 5min walk to school and we've wanted to build for a long time so hey! 

 

At the moment were considering some form of ICF (either top contenders are Durisol vs Nudura) as getting light blocks onto site then pumping from off site seems the best option. Ultimately were on a v tight budget (£1400/sqm) considering the site and whatever is cheapest. No we cant get a crane anywhere near site! 

 

I'm sure there will be lots of questions along the way, and lots of oops moments, but hopefully i'll still be here to detail those ups and downs as we go. 

 

Thanks for reading my waffling, any advice and words of wisdom or experience welcome and valued at any point!

 

Z

[Ferdinand]

Welcome.

 

We like photos.

 

4 months? So 4 months too late for Grand Designs ?.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Ferdinand

[ZacP]

Well no pics at the mo but here is a section and some floor plans....

 

We’ll prob go back thru planning for some alterations and shift the floor plans around to suit our needs better, but the superstructure will stay the same bar a few (many!) window changes!

[ZacP]

And a site plan...

[ZacP]

34 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

4 months? So 4 months too late for Grand Designs ?.

4yrs. Still both a bit of a handful in the most delightful way possible! 

[Mr Punter]

That looks like quite a project.  Was the design constrained by planners / neighbours?  Our man @Russell griffiths has done an icf build near you.  He could be a very good contact as he is a very capable builder.

[Iceverge]

Welcome.

 

Smashing house!

 

 

 

When I looked in detail nothing could come close to a concrete block cavity wall terms of price. 

 

Lots of your design is sub grade which rules out timber. 

 

ICF was very attractive initially given the supposed lego like buildability and excellent continuity of insulation .

 

But I decided it was too expensive, tricky to prop and pour,  and needed additional external insulation to reach passive levels. Of course many on here have great success with it so I'm willing to be corrected. Durisol certainly looks an attractive product.

 

If you are going for a redesign, given your tight budget perhaps ask your architect to square up the building a little. After 3 sets of planning permission and many hours pouring over the costs I came to the conclusion my blocklayer mate wasn't far out "every extra corner adds £10 grand"

 

Best of luck anyway!

 

 

 

 

 

[redtop]

2 hours ago, Iceverge said:

Welcome.

 

Smashing house!

 

 

 

When I looked in detail nothing could come close to a concrete block cavity wall terms of price. 

 

Lots of your design is sub grade which rules out timber. 

 

ICF was very attractive initially given the supposed lego like buildability and excellent continuity of insulation .

 

But I decided it was too expensive, tricky to prop and pour,  and needed additional external insulation to reach passive levels. Of course many on here have great success with it so I'm willing to be corrected. Durisol certainly looks an attractive product.

 

If you are going for a redesign, given your tight budget perhaps ask your architect to square up the building a little. After 3 sets of planning permission and many hours pouring over the costs I came to the conclusion my blocklayer mate wasn't far out "every extra corner adds £10 grand"

 

Best of luck anyway!

 

 

 

 

 

if I was doing it again I would remove fancy angles (we have a hall that has 2 walls coming in at odd angles). Just makes everything from the floor, to the walls, to the roof harder and more time consuming.  Also introduces a lot of waste material which is odd shaped and cant be reused.  I would also try to make all the lengths / heights work so we could use full boards (2.4M, 1.2M, 0.6M) saves loads of waste and time.

[Russell griffiths]

Evening @ZacP I’m just outside Cirencester, building in Nudura, there are two builds going on at the moment in Stroud/ Minch area both cut back into the hill, both in Nudura. 

Looking at your plans will some of those walls be waterproof as below ground, I’m not sure if durisol can do this as it isn’t a monolithic type concrete core, but I stand to be corrected. 

 

I noticed you need a bit of tree removal, that used to be my game so I can put you In touch with some good lads in Stroud. 

 

Are you aware how close the nudura rep lives to you, very handy chap always popping in to drop bits off, probably saved me a good few quid in transport costs. 

 

If you need some contacts let me know and I will sort out some numbers for you. 

[Russell griffiths]

Thank you @Mr Punter kind words. 

After today I just feel like some bad diy er, 

[Pete]

3 hours ago, Russell griffiths said:

Thank you @Mr Punter kind words. 

After today I just feel like some bad diy er, 

Nothing wrong with that

[ZacP]

7 hours ago, Iceverge said:

Welcome.

 

Smashing house!

 

When I looked in detail nothing could come close to a concrete block cavity wall terms of price. 

 

Lots of your design is sub grade which rules out timber. 

 

ICF was very attractive initially given the supposed lego like buildability and excellent continuity of insulation .

 

But I decided it was too expensive, tricky to prop and pour,  and needed additional external insulation to reach passive levels. Of course many on here have great success with it so I'm willing to be corrected. Durisol certainly looks an attractive product.

 

If you are going for a redesign, given your tight budget perhaps ask your architect to square up the building a little. After 3 sets of planning permission and many hours pouring over the costs I came to the conclusion my blocklayer mate wasn't far out "every extra corner adds £10 grand"

 

Best of luck anyway!

 

Thanks! We think it'll be great. Yes obvious cost savings come form a 'squarer' shape. We've just got these plans at the mo - I'll pose the final plans when its all costed and we know what were aiming for! 

 

I think I agree with a cavity wall, its just v v tricky to get all of the blocks/bricks/mortar onto site (its an almost vertical drop 3m down from the drive down to the 'top' of the site). We'll see what costings come out for the labour - there is definitely large difference in material cost. We aren't also looking to go passive, just nicely insulated and if the budget allows (and I can convince my wife) MVHR and ASHP. 

 

@Russell griffiths Ive been in contact with Steve and are waiting for a quote from Nudura. I agree the proximity of the expert help would be very useful. Our new neighbours-to-be but 1 are 3/4 of the way though a large 2 story extension using Durisol including retaining walls etc. Guess they managed to waterproof it somehow - I'll ask. Thanks for the heads up. Is Nudura waterproofed with a membrane or similar?

 

@redtop We inherited these plans with the site and part of going back though planning would be with our final build system (be it ICF or brick/block etc) and therefore with efficient sizes. I think the architect had one eye on this as the lower ground floor rooms seem to have a finished internal head height of 2400. Will certainly have that in mind though when we tweak the design. Thanks!

 

@Mr PunterThanks! I think the main constraint was sticking to existing footprint and height but also how to manage the build on a 25% slope. Were still learning, which might be a bit late but if you don't give ti a go you'll never know!