epsilonGreedy Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Now that I have a foundation dig day booked (9th July) , let's call it D-Day, when should I start ordering other principal components for a brick and block construction? I have a day scheduled for the mains electric connection (29th June). Portaloo hire company said they just need 4 days notice. Building control diagrams are in prep. Private building control inspector is assigned. Neighbouring plot builder says I can tee off his builders water supply. Mains sewerage connection is out of my hands because the cost was incorporated into my plot purchase. I think it is time to think about ordering: Beam & block floor. Blue engineering bricks for below dpc. Foundation blocks (its trench fill so not many needed). Air bricks and telescopes, roll of dpc and membrane sheet. Hardcore for deliveries to stand on. Some pipes and ducts for through foundation services, this is all a mystery to me at the moment. Cement mixer. Site insurance. Got a 90 day lead time on wooden sash windows but non material planning amendment pending before those are ordered. What have I overlooked with respect to my water-tight before Christmas target? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Get your site insurance BEFORE you start. Some get shirty if you have already started. Surely you should not start until your building control have all the drawings and have signed them off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Are you buying a warranty? If so now is the time to arrange it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 18, 2018 Author Share Posted June 18, 2018 5 minutes ago, ProDave said: Get your site insurance BEFORE you start. Some get shirty if you have already started. Yes this is my current top priority, it will be in place well before a blade of grass is touched. I trimmed the roadside hedge last week just to ensure a litigious cyclist would not sue if his Lycra shorts got ripped. 10 minutes ago, ProDave said: Surely you should not start until your building control have all the drawings and have signed them off? My private building controller says I can dig and fill the foundation trenches with just the foundation diagram released. His attitude is that he and I are a joint team battling the evils of modern officialdom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 18, 2018 Author Share Posted June 18, 2018 5 minutes ago, newhome said: Are you buying a warranty? If so now is the time to arrange it. No I am skipping this and hoping the newbuild really is my "forever house". Cannot believe I am using such a cutesie term, I must be watching too many TV property programs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 1 minute ago, epsilonGreedy said: No I am skipping this and hoping the newbuild really is my "forever house". Cannot believe I am using such a cutesie term, I must be watching too many TV property programs. It’s a term more commonly used in pet rescue. Wonder what we are all being rescued from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultramods Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 @epsilonGreedy Are you using any materials that need to be shipped from China for example, as these can have long lead times? The granite blocks for my build have a 12 week lead time from China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Do you need to get bricks, roof tiles or whatever agreed by the council? Doors are coming from the window supplier I assume? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 If you work on a day to set level pegs and get the site ready for pour, that would make it Day 1 oversite and clearance Day 2 trenches Day 3 inspection / completion & dig for ducts Day 4 Levels, washout area, confirm calcs, set ducts and pipe entries Day 5 pour founds I’d make sure the deliveries were for a couple of days after pour just in case there are issues as you need access to get the concrete wagons in place. I take it you already have wheelbarrows, shovels, hose pipe, rakes etc..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 12 minutes ago, PeterW said: Day 1 oversite and clearance Not much of this todo, the seller of the 4 plots put in a communal access road last year. The rest of the site is mown grass with a 300mm gradient across of the foundation foot plan. 17 minutes ago, PeterW said: Day 2 trenches Digger man thinks this will take just over a day and he suggested ordering concrete for day 3. 19 minutes ago, PeterW said: Day 3 inspection / completion & dig for ducts Got the inspection covered, "dig for ducts" is a missing element of my plan. 25 minutes ago, PeterW said: Day 4 Levels, washout area, confirm calcs, set ducts and pipe entries Ducts worry me because I assume with trenchfil some of these will be set in the concrete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 22 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: Digger man thinks this will take just over a day and he suggested ordering concrete for day 3. Is he placing the concrete then ..?? There is no contingency and it’s not like you’re on a fixed price penalty contract to completion ... 23 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: a 300mm gradient across of the foundation foot plan. So from a quick guess on your plans that is 24 cubic metres of spoil to remove from the oversite, before you’ve got into digging out founds. Where is all that going ..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 48 minutes ago, PeterW said: Is he placing the concrete then ..?? There is no contingency and it’s not like you’re on a fixed price penalty contract to completion ... No his remit is dig only. Every one else I talk to says leave foundation trenches exposed for a minimum period possible. I only booked the concrete yesterday, not too late to bump that date. The spoil is taken care of, a local farmer wants it for another project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 20 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: No his remit is dig only. Every one else I talk to says leave foundation trenches exposed for a minimum period possible. I only booked the concrete yesterday, not too late to bump that date. The spoil is taken care of, a local farmer wants it for another project. Yes they mean a day or two not a week or two. Unless its very sandy and the edges are unstable I would leave a couple of days to get things finalised and not be in a rush. You have no idea (unless you’ve done test trenches..?) what you will find and that means you need to plan for the unknown. Is the farmer carting away for you ..? If so, is the JCB loading for him and when ..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 If it's currently in mown grass, is there not topsoil worth banking and retaining? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Depending on your soil type heavy rain and make the sides fall in on open trenches. You want them left open for the least amount of time you can. As for all the items you need on your list take your self on a nice wee drive around all the building merchants in your area and go and ask for the manager and explain your doing a self build and what kind of discount is he able to give to you if you buy the majority of the what you need from him. Be open and honest and say your also going round the others in your area and will pick whoever will do the best deal. Also don't forget as they all want your money they will be rolling out the red carpet so don't be taking how they treat you then as an indicator on how things will go in the future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 16 minutes ago, PeterW said: You have no idea (unless you’ve done test trenches..?) what you will find and that means you need to plan for the unknown. Three years ago an archaeological dig commented on the especially thick top soil layer at my end of the field. My building control inspector inspected the foundations at a plot 40 meters away and is relaxed about what we will encounter, I am in the dig and discover camp. 18 minutes ago, PeterW said: Is the farmer carting away for you ..? If so, is the JCB loading for him and when ..?? Yes though previously the farmer and JCB man were not entirely in sync on the loading issue. They agreed a plan though I did not understand it at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 19 minutes ago, dpmiller said: If it's currently in mown grass, is there not topsoil worth banking and retaining? Probably though I wonder how much I will need at the end of the day or where to store it on my 0.2 acre plot. I also acquired two or three tons of fire wood recently following a fortuitous set of events, this will need to be stored on site by the start of autumn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 22 minutes ago, Declan52 said: As for all the items you need on your list take your self on a nice wee drive around all the building merchants in your area and go and ask for the manager and explain your doing a self build and what kind of discount is he able to give to you if you buy the majority of the what you need from him. I keep postponing this task for some reason, probably due to it been an unfamiliar business environment and I do not yet know all the trade lingo. Yesterday I arranged a long term loan of a beat up transit for my self build which means I can now start to store lighter materials in a secure building at my current address. Going to need a lot of drainage and other underground plastic soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 9 hours ago, ultramods said: @epsilonGreedy Are you using any materials that need to be shipped from China for example, as these can have long lead times? The granite blocks for my build have a 12 week lead time from China. Nothing more exotic than slate, wooden sash windows and thin-joint block bonding. The NuLok tiling system appeals but cooling on that due to local agency matters discussed elsewhere here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 22 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: Going to need a lot of drainage and other underground plastic soon. Buy it online and buy decent stuff (Brett Martin, Osma) and not the S***fix cheap crap. 23 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: probably due to it been an unfamiliar business environment and I do not yet know all the trade lingo. Find your nearest MKM - the branch managers / directors look after self build personally and they are great to deal with. Go in to a TP or Jewsons and try it on and the bull$h!t detector behind the desk will go off and they will shaft you .. they have SB accounts but you need to go in open and honest first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hecateh Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 3 hours ago, PeterW said: I take it you already have wheelbarrows, shovels, hose pipe, rakes etc..?? Because , unlike my builders, you will not have access to a garage full of customer tools that you can appropriate at will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 11 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said: No I am skipping this and hoping the newbuild really is my "forever house". Cannot believe I am using such a cutesie term, I must be watching too many TV property programs. Just bear in mind if you will need a mortgage, you will need some kind of a warranty. Ours is a forever house too, but we have to have a 10 year warranty to apply for a mortgage at the end. Congrats if you are paying for it all through savings! Wish I could! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 16 minutes ago, divorcingjack said: Congrats if you are paying for it all through savings! Wish I could! "All" is open to debate. Savings should get us to a habitable shell of a house. After that I will have to work to finish off each room. I am on the cusp of the generation for whom retirement is a vague distant concept that will never arrive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 That was our plan too ... LOL! “Budget” is also open to debate ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 2 minutes ago, divorcingjack said: That was our plan too ... LOL! “Budget” is also open to debate ... Eek. The £2000 for the warranty is money that could fund a swanky bathroom or MVHR, even so this is not the prime concern. I was talking to another self builder the other day who was stung for £10K additional build costs when the building control inspector and warranty inspector had a dispute about how to build the house properly, poor guy was in the middle of this professional crossfire. And finally there will be additional set up costs for even a small mortgage. Building a house is hard enough without of posse of yapping middle class clipboard huggers steeling one's build budget. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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