Hello - Future Self Builder in Perthshire

[Pasty]

Hi All. 

We are hoping to be first time self-builders in rural Perthshire/Stirlingshire next year....when we find a plot of land.  We have a design/layout in mind though appreciate this will probably need to be amended to allow for the aspect and topography of the site.

Whilst the search goes on we have time to absorb plenty of knowledge from the experience of forum members.  Questions of help will no doubt follow

 

Thanks

[Kelvin]

Welcome. Also building in Perthshire. 

[saveasteading]

Welcome:  lots of good advice on here.

The most important being perhaps that you don't know yet how little you know.

Oh, and don't expect to make money.

[SteamyTea]

11 hours ago, Pasty said:

Questions of help will no doubt follow

Start to think about the energy usage, the choice of foundation type can make life easy or difficult.

But as you don't know the ground yet, you will have to learn about all of them.

[Ecthelion]

On 10/09/2023 at 07:53, Pasty said:

Hi All. 

We are hoping to be first time self-builders in rural Perthshire/Stirlingshire next year....when we find a plot of land.  We have a design/layout in mind though appreciate this will probably need to be amended to allow for the aspect and topography of the site.

Whilst the search goes on we have time to absorb plenty of knowledge from the experience of forum members.  Questions of help will no doubt follow

 

Thanks

Exciting times! I built in Ayrshire and learned a couple things. Things I would recommend if building rurally are:

 

do underfloor heating.

 

get an ASHP - you will get £9k grant from Scottish government and with zero rate vat that should cover pretty much the full cost. I can highly recommend the Grant Aerona R32.

 

getting the ASHP unlocks funding for solar panels and batteries. You would get £1250 toward each and the remainder as an interest free loan payable over 10 years. So if you have a south or even SE or SW roof design them in. I got the ones which sit in the roof rather than on top and they look very neat. 

Put data cabling everywhere alongside the electrics. Cat 6A. My biggest regret is not doing this. We have 1gb fibre but have to rely on mesh system and front haul so we don’t get the full benefit, maybe we will when WiFi 7 comes out but that’s going to be an expensive upgrade. 

 

If you are having a wood burner and it is more central in your house rather than on an external wall you can get additional heat benefit upstairs with louvres and things rather than having the flue just encased behind plasterboard.

 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Ecthelion

[saveasteading]

39 minutes ago, Ecthelion said:

- you will get £9k grant from Scottish government

Only for an exchange from an  existing boiler isn't it?

[Ecthelion]

8 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Only for an exchange from an  existing boiler isn't it?

Oh. Good point. I’m not sure. My mistake.
 

I think there are other schemes though and if it’s zero vat rates could still be better than oil. I’m assuming an absence of access to gas, which was the case for me.

[Pasty]

Thanks all and  @Ecthelion for the photos.  Good pointers on the data cabling and wood burner.  We don't have a house design as such yet though I hadn't planned to put UFH upstairs so the wood burner tip might work very well.

 

 

[Ecthelion]

15 minutes ago, Pasty said:

Thanks all and  @Ecthelion for the photos.  Good pointers on the data cabling and wood burner.  We don't have a house design as such yet though I hadn't planned to put UFH upstairs so the wood burner tip might work very well.

 

 

Aye we don’t have UFH upstairs either. I’ve only ever see that once, on a TV show and it seemed absurd. Unless maybe just the electric kind in bathrooms etc. We went with radiators upstairs and Karndeal tiles in the bathrooms. They don’t really get cold like traditional tiles.

[Ecthelion]

On 10/09/2023 at 09:19, saveasteading said:

Welcome:  lots of good advice on here.

The most important being perhaps that you don't know yet how little you know.

Oh, and don't expect to make money.

Agreed on the money. It will be better in the long run and you will get the house you want, so that is the benefit at the moment. Material and construction costs have put paid to making immediate money on a new build. 
 

Our house without the garage is 294sqm and the construction cost all in was £300k in 2016. 
 

I feel very lucky, it would closer to £450k now and barely viable. I would still do it though for the aforementioned benefits.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Ecthelion

[Kelvin]

57 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Only for an exchange from an  existing boiler isn't it?

No for self-build too. We’ve got it. 

[saveasteading]

I've asked the team, and It turns out I didn't have all the info. We have split the project in 2 sections and can only get one grant, so are going for it on the bigger section, as yet not installed.

 

[Jenki]

I was told we were eligible for the grant , but it needed to be MCS installed, which I declined.

[Ecthelion]

1 minute ago, Jenki said:

I was told we were eligible for the grant , but it needed to be MCS installed, which I declined.

Why wouldn’t you want it MCS installed? 

[saveasteading]

46 minutes ago, Ecthelion said:

Why wouldn’t you want it MCS installed

If they happen not to be the best, or are overcharging because of their certification.

 

[ProDave]

When I fitted my PV there were no grants, the FIT had only just stopped.  So it was no brainer to DIY install it as cheap as possible.  The only incentive then to use an MCS company was if you wanted to be paid the insulting price of 5p per kWh for anything you exported.  I just self use nearly all of it.

[ProDave]

9 hours ago, Pasty said:

Thanks all and  @Ecthelion for the photos.  Good pointers on the data cabling and wood burner.  We don't have a house design as such yet though I hadn't planned to put UFH upstairs so the wood burner tip might work very well.

 

 

We don't have any heating upstairs.  Build your house properly insulated, air tight and with MVHR and upstairs heating us superfluous. Unless you like a particularly hot bedroom. 

[Ecthelion]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

If they happen not to be the best, or are overcharging because of their certification.

 

I see. The way I did it was I researched the pumps, picked the one I wanted, (Grant Aerona) then searched for a grade 1 installer for that pump and that they were MCS certified.Then I just put on the paperwork for the grant what the pump was and who the installers were.

[Ecthelion]

45 minutes ago, ProDave said:

When I fitted my PV there were no grants, the FIT had only just stopped.  So it was no brainer to DIY install it as cheap as possible.  The only incentive then to use an MCS company was if you wanted to be paid the insulting price of 5p per kWh for anything you exported.  I just self use nearly all of it.

I get 15p with Octopus.

[ProDave]

30 minutes ago, Ecthelion said:

I get 15p with Octopus.

You could only get export payments if you used an MCS installer.  the small amount I export the payment would necer pay back the additional cost of an MCS installer vs DIY.

[Ecthelion]

10 minutes ago, ProDave said:

You could only get export payments if you used an MCS installer.  the small amount I export the payment would necer pay back the additional cost of an MCS installer vs DIY.

Fair enough. Export wasn’t the main driver for me. I wanted away from oil and the volatility of oil prices. So ASHP combined with solar and battery has done that in my case. 
 

The 3 measures have added value to the house as the infrastructure costs (interest free loans) don’t pass to any buyer and the improved EPC from CC to BA also adds some value. 
 

For a lot of the summer I was only paying the daily standing charge as any background use of the grid was cancelled out by export. Winter will be expensive on electricity but probably less than I would have spent on oil. 
 

It all hinged though on the £10,500 total in govt grants. 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Ecthelion

[Jenki]

2 hours ago, Ecthelion said:

Why wouldn’t you want it MCS installed? 

Inflated costs.  My 4kw PV, ASHP and cylinder, UFH will /is DIY install and it will cost less than £7k, but self build is horses for course's.👍

 

[JohnMo]

18 minutes ago, Jenki said:

Inflated costs.  My 4kw PV, ASHP and cylinder, UFH will /is DIY install and it will cost less than £7k, but self build is horses for course's.👍

 

I'm in the same boat, no MCS installs, my build started with 3.1kW of DIY solar have since added another 3.6kW of DIY solar and a self installed ASHP. No grants or long loans bothered with. All in about £9k. Have also added a battery, so no export anyway. During summer, once battery charged, ASHP will be on cooling duty.

[Amateur bob]

On 18/09/2023 at 10:57, Ecthelion said:

Agreed on the money. It will be better in the long run and you will get the house you want, so that is the benefit at the moment. Material and construction costs have put paid to making immediate money on a new build. 
 

Our house without the garage is 294sqm and the construction cost all in was £300k in 2016. 
 

I feel very lucky, it would closer to £450k now and barely viable. I would still do it though for the aforementioned benefits.

450k? id that getting a builder to do complete job? using different trades and organising yourself should come in a lot cheaper than 450k

 

founds and services 40k

timber frame 90k

roof 30k

electrics 20k

plumbing 20k

windows and doors 25k

joinery 20k

cladding 20k

sewage/drainage 10k

landscaping 10k

kitchen/bathrooms 20k

 

total 305k

these are my rough calculations mabye im out on a few things? happy to discuss them as planning a build myself

 

 

[Amateur bob]

On 10/09/2023 at 09:12, Kelvin said:

Welcome. Also building in Perthshire. 

im perthshire too have you started the build yet? what sq m