Sue B Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Hi everyone. We are just in the initial planning stages of building our new home. We have built once before and never intended to do it again. Then we decided to downsize and go mortgage free. A move from Denham to Christchurch happened and we now live on a beautiful plot of 1.5 acres, near the sea, in peace and quiet. The dwelling on the plot at the moment is classified as a temporary structure and is not mortgageable. However, it is very comfortable to live in and we can continue to live in this while the new house is being built. We are looking to build in SIPS but also interested in ICF. One of our big problems is going to be a mortgage, we are currently mortgage free but will need a mortgage to build. I am 55 and working, my OH is 57 and looking for a job but finding that difficult down here. We will contact BuildStore nearer the time but I can foresee issues with length of time for repayment. We know we will not be living here for the rest of our lives - 1.5 acres will be too much for us to deal with in future years and we are hoping for 10, maybe 15 years here. Planners are a bit “tricky” of course and added to that is the re-organisation of the local authority - Christchurch is going to become part of Bournemouth next year which I suspect will improve the situation. Finally, we are on green belt and within 400m of an SSSI - just to add to the fun. We are one of the few plots on this lane to have got planning permission so we are very lucky. Look forward to seeing everyone’s progress Sue 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Hi Sue. Youll have a bit of company as a few members are in your locality. You’ve found THE forum so ask as many questions as you like. Measure thrice, cut once, cut well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoveringbuilder Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 You seem to have done more or less what we did, we had self built twice then decided to downsize and bought a cottage with two acres, within a very short time I realised I couldn’t live in the small space so We chanced our arm and applied for planning, it took two applications before we were successful as the two acres was classed as green belt .we are both 58 and working but again we didn’t have long left to take out a mortgage that would be affordable so we split up the ground and sold the cottage with some of the ground and moved into a caravan and that’s where we have been since May however we’re on the home straight now and hope to be in soon, it’s been very tight getting it in on budget (what we got for the cottage) but it is do able and I don’t think we’ve compromised on the spec, we have oak finishings and will have an oak staircase and a bespoke kitchen, it’s been a roller coaster but all in all I’m pretty happy with what we managed to do, a 260m2 house for the price of a 95m2 cottage.Hope all goes well for you, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Well, @Sue B, and @Christine Walker there's life after self-build is there? Thats good to know. 1 hour ago, Christine Walker said: [...]it’s been very tight getting it in on budget [...] it’s been a roller coaster [...] 1 hour ago, Sue B said: [...] Look forward to seeing everyone’s progress And we're all so nosey here on BH that we'll be following yours too. Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue B Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 Well things are starting to move forward (in my head at least). We have spoken to Build Store about mortgages and my fears have been confirmed - we are going to have to get a move on and get started ASAP to get a mortgage that is affordable because of the length of repayment allowed. We will also have to cut costs. Originally we were intending a very hands off build using SIPS. The budget constraints now mean that we will have to do a lot of work ourselves. That has prompted us to look seriously at ICF builds again. We saw the Durisol product at the HB&R show in Bath recently and really like the product. We have since looked at Velox and I think I may prefer it. We are going to look at a property very local to us tomorrow who have built a summer house themselves using Durisol and are now in the process of building a house in it, using day rate labour to actually get the shell up. They are at first floor height without a concrete pour yet so very excited to have a look at it and see how the blocks are standing up to the weather we are suffering from at the moment. Not sure if the owners are on this forum but will find out tomorrow. We are also looking for anyone who is using Velox in the local area for us to visit, I'll be asking the question on the ICF area shortly as I think I have seen someone based in Hampshire using it - Hampshire is pretty much at the end of our plot and over the common land and river Avon so not too far away at all. Finally, I have been reading lots of interesting posts on here - the VAT one is excellent and very helpful. The mention of a blog by @JSHarris by a few people, led me to read that over the space of the last week. First off, I am in awe of your single-minded tenacity and abiltiy to solve problems and come up with creative and innovative solutions. Most of it went totally and completely over my head but I couldn't help reading bits out to OH everynow and again with us both giggling at someone having bits from a deep sea scuba dive 30 years ago in the workshop - "as you do" that are waiting to be used for an entirely different purpose. My Dad would have been hero worshipping you. He could never throw anything away "that may come in useful one day". Excellent blog and well worth the read - thank you for taking the time to write it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 9 hours ago, Sue B said: Not sure if the owners are on this forum but will find out tomorrow. If they aren't, then invite then over! ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 @Sue B, Thanks for the kind words about the blog, seems a long time ago now. You're only around 40 miles away from us, and are welcome to visit if you wish. By complete coincidence I grew up in Denham, then Gerrards Cross, and a few days ago was listening to a recording of me from 1963, reading the lesson at Denham Parish Church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvincentd Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 There's another one (or maybe the same on?) just off Lulworth Avenue right on the corner of the Hamworthy Park carpark, i'm 99% sure is a durisol build, I saw blocks going up in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue B Posted December 9, 2018 Author Share Posted December 9, 2018 @mvincentd - that is the one we went to look at. Their planning decision is expected in January when they can hopefully pour the concrete. The blocks have been up for a while and they are looking out over the harbour. The house will be stunning once built.i don't envy them in the caravan all winter though. We ar lucky in that we should be able to continue living in this structure while we build. We have to remove this structure within 28 days of completion so if anyone knows of a way of getting a 20ft wide structure down a track probably no wider than 12 ft, they are welcome to a build home that is much more comfortable than a caravan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue B Posted December 9, 2018 Author Share Posted December 9, 2018 @JSHarris - we were actually in New Denham which is the other side of the Denham roundabout. A little place called Willowbank where every house seemed to suffer from subsidence. The original houses were all built in the 1920s with very little foundations. When the environment agency did flood relief works, the water table dropped and the bungalows all started to crack. The place is basically an island with the grand union canal on one side (our garden backed onto it) and the other side of the island had the river colne as a boundary. One road on and off opposite Rank Xerox UK head office. A lovely little gem of a place within walking distance of a tube station into London. I cried when we shut the door for the last time there even though we have a lovely life down here. That house was designed by me over a period of two years before I got it right on verion 32. We spent 12 very happy years there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I know the area well, but from before the M25 was built. One of my school friends got his first job at Rank, back when it was still Movietone, making cinema newsreels. My father used to go fishing in the canal. We lived in Higher Denham, right on the bank of the river Misbourne, and I used to get a (steam) train from Denham Golf Club one stop down to Denham to go to school as a small boy. We moved to Gerrards Cross when I was about 11, and I lost touch with everyone I knew from primary and junior school, until recently, when I've tracked down some of my old school friends on the internet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam2 Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Hi @Sue B we're along the coast (Lower Parkstone) and have planning but doing that again as we enjoyed it ? Expecting to use ICF, there are a few builds around the area - local firm within couple of miles from you ICF Homes. They have a few sites may be worth looking at their work if interested. Also local firm in Poole is distributor for Logix ICF and an insulated slab product - name slips my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue B Posted December 11, 2018 Author Share Posted December 11, 2018 I’ve seen your plans - they look very interesting. Harbour views are beautiful in your area. We are considering 2 ICF products - Durisol and Velox. Both made of the same “stuff” but different shapes and ways of getting them together. We have been to see the Durisol build in Lulworth Avenue - that has been standing for a couple of months with no concrete pour as there has been a planning issue. The blocks seem very solid even without the concrete. i haven’t searched for any local ICF builders as we are intending to build ourselves (very slowly) but interesting that there is one so near. We may well have a chat to them to see if they have ever used any other ICF product. I suspect that they are Logix users? We too have planning but it is horrible. Trying to do something a little more to our liking at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 6 hours ago, Adam2 said: Also local firm in Poole is distributor for Logix ICF and an insulated slab product - name slips my mind. The insulated slab is Isoquick and they were the company who installed ours, which was the first in UK back in 2010. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue B Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 I am thinking about doing a blog - how do I create one on here please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 7 minutes ago, Sue B said: I am thinking about doing a blog - how do I create one on here please? I'll do it now - should be active in a couple of minutes time. You can just create one once I've changed the settings for you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue B Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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