Welsh-border Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 Insane time to start new build!! I’m fairly elderly but have some experience of project managing a build before. Rural location Welsh/English border. Very tight budget, Basic idea as follows: 1. Single storey 2 bed, open plan kitchen & living room. 2.Trench fill foundations, Beam and block floor. 3. Celcon block + block construction with 150 mm xtratherm cavity insulation. 4. Larch timber cladding. 5. Roof trusses with slate roof, cold roof, lots of insulation. 6. Possible AHSP and PV Did initially think of TF but price now is exorbitant. Any thoughts and ideas much appreciated. I am so glad I found this site as it has already been so helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 Why not Durisol, they are made in Wales, easy DIY, or they could advise local builders. Come pre insulated and give an out of box wall u value of 0.14. Wet plaster finish will give you airtight walls. They are also have plenty of standard details for block and beam etc. to reduce thermal bridging. With rest of your details and 200mm insulation in floor, an easy to achieve very well insulated house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 We are about to start our second and third self build after Christmas Never a good or bad time When we started our last one The Brexit vote came in putting 40% on most material s overnight The factory in Germany that makes insulation board burned down and doubled the cost of ALL insulation There could have never been a worse time to start ? We also went down the traditional route I simply couldn’t justify the extra cost of TF and also prefer the solid feel of traditional Airtightness with traditional isn’t an issue Weather you dryline or wet plaster You can achieve the same level I run a plastering business and drylined the external walls will 37 mil insulated plasterboards Far superior to wet plaster Budget will dictate what route you take In this and our next we decided against PV as the saving of a couple of hundred quid per year didn’t stack up We decided to put the money saved on that into extra floor and cavity insulation End result A large 5 bed home that requires very little heating Regrets We had gas nearby so took the lazy option of fitting a system boiler No Gas at the next plots so decision made for us But I still think I would have gone with Heat pumps this time We where talked out of fitting MVRH by a friend We wil also remedy that if only just to get rid of the bloody window trickle vents Good luck with your choices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceverge Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 (edited) Welcome welcome. I have a thing for small simple projects on a tight budget so please keep us updated! Do you have any plans to share and an indication of your budget? When we built I costed everything to the last and nothing was cheaper than strip foundations, eps floor insulation, wide cavity wall with eps beads or mineral wool. Medium density blocks are half the price of celcon and don’t crack as badly. wet plastered inside and out. Trussed roof. PVC windows. There have been some horror stories of PIR board insulation in cavity walls on here recently. Personally i would avoid. Larch cladding is not cheap but ideally suited to timber frame. Have you costed block vs timber. On a small project it may not be as much difference as you imagine. A stick built house is an option to save money too. TF will save you lots of time installing services later on too. Carefully cost the ASHP. Unless I diy’d it l couldn’t make it payback in less than 25 years due to our very low heating requirement. A2A and an E7 cylinder and modest PV was the best for us. Airtightness is the best money you’ll spend, MVHR is a definite too. So nice to have a quiet draft free house full of fresh air. Good luck! Edited December 4, 2021 by Iceverge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 What is your budget? We just completed our self build for £1000 per square metre. That was only achieved (after a change of circumstances dictated) by doing a HUGE amount of the build myself and buying everything from the cheapest source possible, a build that took us just over 6 years. With the recent material price rises I could not do it that cheap if starting now. I think general consensus is you will be doing well at £2000 per square metre now. We would all be interested in your plans, floor layout etc and you usually get some constructive advice. Our own house was designed by me to make efficient use of space and there is not much we would change. My one thing I would comment on your "spec list" is don't go for cold roof. Warm roof is just as easy and SO much easier to detail for good air tightness, plus your loft space is nice and warm and dry. Choosing warm roof I maintain was one of our best design decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 12 minutes ago, Iceverge said: MVHR is a definite too. So nice to have a quiet draft free house full of fresh air. Been living in house for the a couple months with MVHR, and still can't get over how quite it is. Especially when you go to the toilet, put on the light, no noisy fan starting up, just quiet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 Welcome, I think the above is very good advise, at least starting now the weather will get better as the build progresses. I went with brick and block and wet plastering and warm roof ?keep us informed of progress and don’t forget there is no such thing as a daft question (we have all been there). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 2 hours ago, Welsh-border said: ... Any thoughts and ideas much appreciated. ... Do you have planning permission? PS, I built in Durisol, with Siberian Larch cladding. I'm old as well..... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 2 hours ago, Welsh-border said: 1. Single storey 2 bed, open plan kitchen & living room. About 800 to 1000 sq ft of internal floor space? I assume you have a plot ready to dig? 2 hours ago, Welsh-border said: 5. Roof trusses with slate roof, cold roof, lots of insulation. If a natural slate roof fit a truss every 400mm and not the industry standard 600mm. 3 hours ago, Welsh-border said: Any thoughts Don't set out with an expectation you can achieve a final valuation that beats mainstream developers unless you plan to do loads of hands-on building. If you have nabbed yourself a highly desirable plot that helps but conversely a small personal new build comes with fixed costs unrelated to property size that a larger developer would spread across multiple properties. Try to include one small architectural indulgence to distinguish your finished property from what is built for the mass market. In your case I would specify special roof trusses that have the horizontal ceiling joist half way up the slope of the roof to create a sense of space in the open plan area. Or how about a feature oak beam to separate the kitchen from the main living space. Attic trusses for the rest of the roof will allow for more useful attic storage which could be more significant in a smaller property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 save the cost and hassle, brick and block over timber with the maintaince issues etc Save the 10k on a heat pump and go for a combi if you can get mains gas, 10 year warranty on worcester bosche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickie Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 Unless you have it on good authority that your Brickie is massively OCD with regard to insulation,ditch the rigid insulation boards. In fact,ditch them anyway. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 I am with @Brickie on the insulation boards. It all looks fine in theory but in practice you will find them being stuffed in upside down or back to front after a section of wall has gone up. You may be better off with 100mm cavity and cavity batts or blown EPS beads, plus insulated plasterboard as @nod suggests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 Why not go for 150mm cavity (like I did) and save heating costs forever. (And I would not use rigid insulation in the cavity, I used batts which you can self instal). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 All good advise You can never have enough insulation Always money well spent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welsh-border Posted December 4, 2021 Author Share Posted December 4, 2021 Thanks to you all for your advice and ideas. We have OPP. just trying to finalise plans before submitting Reserved Matters. Floor area should be about 100 m2 Like the idea of Durisol. Had already thought of a partially vaulted ceiling so will definitely look at that. Previous house had ASHP, worked really well but understand very expensive to install with very long term returns. No gas, Have considered that with South facing aspect for solar gain and very well insulated ,put in a woodburner and night storage heaters on economy 7???? Taking on advice about insulation and warm roof. Why 400 centres on roof trusses, is that just the weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceverge Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 7 hours ago, nod said: I run a plastering business and drylined the external walls will 37 mil insulated plasterboards Far superior to wet plaster A lot more expensive I'd have thought than wet plastering? Also poor for airtightness and hanging stuff from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 10 minutes ago, Iceverge said: A lot more expensive I'd have thought than wet plastering? Also poor for airtightness and hanging stuff from. More expensive Exactly the same on airtightness Far better insulation Fine for hanging stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceverge Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 What kind of air test results have you seen from insulated plasterboard? Insulation is easily solved. Just widen the cavity. A 50mm insulated plasterboard is €11.30 more per m2 than plain plasterboard with lots of waste. Widen the cavity by 60mm and you're in the same place thermally for €5.60/m2 in EPS beads and zero waste. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 2 hours ago, Welsh-border said: Previous house had ASHP, worked really well but understand very expensive to install with very long term returns. No gas, Have considered that with South facing aspect for solar gain and very well insulated ,put in a woodburner I bought an ASHP on EBay and installed myself for less than the cost of a gas boiler. I also have a huge conservatory on the south side and yes gets a bit hot mid summer but heats the house during the shoulder months for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickie Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 29 minutes ago, Iceverge said: A 50mm insulated plasterboard is €11.30 more per m2 than plain plasterboard Ahem..unless you run a busy plastering firm ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chanmenie Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 2 hours ago, Welsh-border said: Like the idea of Durisol. Have a look at Isotex from https://insulhubuk.com/ They produce a much better block Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 A couple of members may have some ICF blocks: Nudura Durisol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 Durisol are an easy company to deal with, their block also easy to assemble. 4 weeks, ready for roof, two of us who had never done it before. 70m long wall, 190m2 floor. Front of building approx 4m tall rear 2.5m 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWilts Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 On 04/12/2021 at 18:11, nod said: Exactly the same on airtightness What tape for plasterboard joints? Assuming skim finish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 Fibre or paper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now