LilttleVoice Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Hello! First post here, although I've been poring over the forum for a while. We bought a small stone barn and outbuilding with full PP in place to convert/extend in 2020, just as Covid was taking hold; unsurprisingly it took a while to get things going, finding a good builder proved more difficult than expected with some pretty gobsmacking variations in quotes! While we're not building to passivhaus standards, we are wanting the finished article to be as energy efficient as possible - just seems sensible to do as much as we can in this area, while we have the opportunity. So we're hoping to spec 3G windows and sliders, MVHR, and as we're in a non-gas village, ASHP. Just starting to mull over the merits of solar panels too. A couple of months into the build, so far so good, no nasty shocks yet (although we were held up for several months by what turned out to be an unnecessary, overcomplicated piling system that would have made a catastrophic hole in our budget.) Now the appropriate (and affordable!) foundations are laid and we're getting out of the ground, I'm sure I'll be looking for lots of advice as we get to the sharp end of making all the right decisions. LV 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Welcome and well done with the foundations. What is the backstory with that? Did you negotiate with your structural engineer or get a second opinion? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilttleVoice Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 2 hours ago, Jilly said: Welcome and well done with the foundations. What is the backstory with that? Did you negotiate with your structural engineer or get a second opinion? Quote Thanks Jilly. In Late 2020, the architect engaged a SE to plan the foundations, expecting some underpinning to be required down one wall of the barn. What came back after a couple of months was a complex series of piles with a ring beam - deemed necessary because of ground conditions and a felled willow tree in the garden, which had been removed by the guy who sorted out PP and sold us the plot. All supposedly cost effective. Once we eventually found builders willing/able to tender in June, they all questioned the foundations - silly money and just not needed in their opinions. The builder we ended up choosing knows the village well, was confident we’d find ironstone underneath - in fact he offered to bring his mini digger over and dig some inspection holes before we actually took him on. Got the the same SE back pronto for a site visit (turns out he hadn’t inspected in person as we thought), and he agreed on a simple slab. Not so much a negotiation, more of a climb-down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Wow, that was lucky! 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