A first time builder making a timber frame home

[climbinggeorge]

Hi all, 
I've been scouring these forums for a few months but thought I'd introduce myself and give an overview of what I'm thinking instead of a million posts in a thousand threads before we are further down the line, apologies if I'm not up to scratch fully on forum etiquette.

 

As part of a community self build I'm building an approx 98m2 2-storey 3 bed house with the intention of my girlfriend and I doing a lot of the work but bringing in contractors and family favours (former bricklayer dad and site manager uncles) when needed.

This will be the first step on the property ladder and budget comes into play there, a budget £1100 per square meter is our basis and efficiency and eco friendly as feasible the goal.

There is a set plot, not met the architect yet and the imagined build plan is as follows, any advice, hints or links welcomed
Groundworks/foundations - heaps of insulation, possibly done with a contractor?
Timber Frame - house size is fixed so a kit unlikely, simple rectangle shape

Layout - upside down house with open plan kitchen/lounge upstairs
Blockwork - a job my dad and I can do but aggregate? aircrete? hempcrete? breezeblocks? no idea yet

Insulated Render exterior 
Vaulted roof - we'd like a small mezzanine over 1 end of the lounge, may restrict insulation options and trusses, a contractor and crane may be required?

Tiled floor downstairs, wooden upstairs? ufh for both? powered by air source heap pump

 

Thanks in advance for responses from now and over the next few years
 

Edited April 24, 2017 by climbinggeorge

[Stones]

Hi and welcome. Please tell us more about the community self build project. 

 

Re your questions, ask away, but for a detailed response I would suggest starting individual topics on the various questions you have.

 

If you haven't done so already, the blogs (including mine ) are well worth a read and show what's possible.

 

 

[ProDave]

Hi and welcome.

 

That sounds like a fantastic chance to self build your first home. Something I wanted to do 30 years ago, but back then I could not find anyone willing to lend me the money to buy the land, so had instead buy a grotty little starter home and save my self build ambitions until later in life.

 

There is no need to compromise insulation to get a mezanine. Build a warm roof, supported on a ridge beam and the entire interior of the house is inside the insulated and sealed envelope of the building. In fact now we have just done that, I think it is in so many ways superior to putting the insulation at ceiling level and having a cold loft, and then trying to seal that cold space from the rest of the house.

 

Your budget should be doable if you can do a lot yourself, it's the sort of build cost we are trying to achieve.

 

Lots of options. A timber framed house does not have to be clad with bricks or blocks, ours is clad with wood fibre board to add more insulation and then rendered.

[climbinggeorge]

Thanks both, some of my questions are more things that are up in the air whilst being considered, rest assured I'll be back with questions once my research is a bit more complete.
The blockwork and render are actually some of the more fixed things, insulated render 1 of a few points included in the agreement for the project and after a chat with buildstore it seems that more lenders were comfortable with blocks rather than board which is what has us swaying in that direction.

I had not spotted the Blogs, currently investigating them (and googling ridge beams)

[ProDave]

A ridge beam is a large beam running the length of the ridge of the roof. The two sides of the roof are hung from and supported from this substantial beam.  It means there are no other cross timbers or trusses supporting the roof. Combined with a warm roof (insulation at roof level) means the entire volume of the building is free to use as you wish.

 

Have a look at this page of my blog http://ardross.altervista.org/Wilowburn/insulating-the-roof/ 4th picture you can see the ridge beam, and there are pictures of the mezanine we have formed from one bedroom.

[Crofter]

Welcome to the forum. Nice to see someone else building a more 'normal' sized house- makes me feel slightly less like the poor relation with my 43m2 project!

 

Just to add another option to the mix on your roof build, I've gone for a sort of hybrid approach with a reasonably hefty ridge beam (but nowhere near as hefty as Dave's) and then collar ties on about every fourth pair of rafters. This leaves a lot of open space but is still plenty strong enough to prevent wall spread. This is all helped by my roofing material, which is corrugated steel- I would highly recommend this if there is any chance of getting it agreed to by planning, as it is light, meaning easier roof construction, cheap, and was really quite fast to install. In fact I'm so impressed by it that I would seriously consider doing at least some of the walls in corrugated steel as well, if I build again.