First self build - a southerner in Lancashire

[Nelliekins]

Hi all. 

 

2 years ago, my wife and I put in sealed bids for a 3 bed detached house - which needed a lot of work doing, but had plenty of space to extend - and the plot of land that used to be the side garden of the same house. Our plan was to extend and renovate the house, and have a nice garden for our 2 girls, my observatory, etc... 

 

Only something didn't work out to plan. We got the plot, but NOT the house. So we decided to build a new house. 

 

We are fervent Grand Designs watchers/readers, so we thought "ooh let's do an ICF build". We found a specialist ICF builder, recommended by all the big ICF firms in the UK. All our plans seemed foolproof - good builder, decent plot (11m wide and 55m deep, perfectly level) and me to project manage (I have project management skills from my day job developing software). What could go wrong? 

 

A good question... Here's the list (actually this is just the first part of the list - there will be a LOT more to come in later posts) :

 

1. It took 5 months to complete the purchase because of issues relating to the deeds for the neighbouring house, and party wall negotiations, and things of that ilk

 

2. Having taken 5 months, our builders had moved on to another job, so they would only be able to advise, rather than do the work. That meant I became the builder (albeit only part time because I was keeping my day job) 

 

3. Local planning dept prevented us from accessing site (we had to cut down a hedgerow to get access, but we had now entered bird nesting season) until August - another 3 month delay

 

4. Our groundworkers had to move onto another job because of this 2nd delay, so we ended up finding a firm from 40 miles away to do the works,... But finding them meant more delays, so we didn't break ground until 9th October 2017.

 

So 10 months had elapsed, which was pretty much our projected build time for the whole project... Now we were digging out our basement (oh yeah - my wife thought a basement would be a good idea) in the horrendous rain from the end of last year. We were short on money so had opted for a battered slope excavation, rather than sheet piles (2 separate firms had suggested prior that any sheet piles would be sacrificial because we'd never be able to get them out of the ground again - more on this later). 2 months and 74 wagons (of the 32 tonne variety) later, and we had a hole (2 actually - one in the ground and a bigger one in our finances!) 

 

Oh, those sheet piles we couldn't afford... We ended up with 22 sheet piles in at the front of the excavation to shore up. This was necessary because the 13-tonne excavator was trying its hardest to slide in the mud into the hole we dug, and the clay banks kept caving in. As it turns out, the sheet piles came out fairly easily. So if anyone tells you sheet piles are going to be sacrificial, they're probably lying so they can sell you steel. We pulled ours out with the excavator, but if necessary we could have cut through next door's phone line and got a 50T crane on site that would have plucked them straight out of the ground, and the cost to repair the phone line -and- hire the crane would have been under £3k as opposed to £50k for the steel. 

 

<deep breath, before part 2>

 

[Nelliekins]

OK, so we have a hole in the ground. It's a biggish hole - the basement is only half the width of the house above ground, but it's still 20m front to back and around 5m wide at the bottom (and battered slope on 3 sides at around 30 degrees). 

 

By this point, I have also spent over 8 weeks arguing with my structural engineer about some of the steel he's put into the ICF parts of the build. Arguing to the point that I get my builder-turned-consultant to meet the engineer to explain what he wants by way of reinforcement is neither possible nor necessary. The engineer refutes this opinion, so I get the ICF manufacturers to tell him he's mistaken, whereupon the engineer withdraws his services and threatens legal action if I use his designs... Even at this point, he hasn't twigged that I couldn't use his designs any more than I could fly by flapping my arms a bit.

 

(In case anyone thinks I am being harsh here, the engineer has specified 16mm steel every 150mm vertically in a Logix ICF block that spaces the steel every 203mm. There is no physical way to insert at least 5 of the steel loops because they fall in exactly the same place as the plastic webs that hold the ICF blocks together, without which the blocks simply fall apart.) 

 

The next engineer took 3 days to spec the steel reinforcement for the same columns, and came up with calcs that justified 12mm steel every 203mm - fancy that! The lesson here is to find an ICF specialist engineer not just a regular structural engineer - it will save time, money and possibly your sanity in the long run!) 

 

The 300mm slab gets poured - another mistake: we should have insulated under the slab. However I didn't think it'd be cost effective because we were 3.5m below ground and therefore insulated by Mother Earth already. If we had insulated under, our energy bills would likely be quite a bit lower, but you live and learn! 

 

Oh, and maybe I should have paid more attention instead of getting all giddy like a teenager at prom, because if I had I would have noticed the groundworkers slopping waterproof concrete (that cubed as C68) into the sump pit at the back, where the perimeter drainage emptied into! Have since had to break that slipped concrete out with SDS chisels and a breaker bar... 

 

December 2017. We build the ICF walls for the basement. 10" thick with 2 faces of 12mm steel debar at 200mm centres both horizontal and vertical. Our onsite training in ICF construction has the boss of the ICF firm himself on site, helping to build the walls... Except he misread the plans for the house. At the back of the basement, we have a lightwell, which serves as a 2nd means of escape from the basement, but it's clearly an external area because there is no house above it... Only our onsite training guru treats this as an internal wall, and has us construct a T wall joined only by pockets of concrete, instead of a full joint that would be watertight... My fault - I should have realised at the time that this was idiotic, and would completely negate the point of using waterproof concrete because there would be a gaping hole in the back wall of the house (which we are still fixing now, though having internally tanked the basement at least the water isn't visible any more!). 

 

January 2018 arrives, and we pour the rest of the footings for the house (the basement is only half width). All goes well, apart from a tremendous excess of concrete dropped into the concrete pump hopper. He dumps it in the front garden (and nearly a year later, it is still there - I call it "the monolith" for no other reason than it's about 2m long and weighs around 5 tonnes). 

 

Then the house starts to fly up (comparatively!). Well, once the ICF blocks arrive anyway... But at this point in the build, I am getting very used to delays, even if it does take 11 weeks for the blocks to arrive from Dorset...! 

 

Tune in next week for another thrilling instalment! 

Edited December 27, 2018 by Nelliekins
Punctuation and grammar!

[Ferdinand]

Welcome to the forum. WE love new people.

 

IT sounds as if you have been a little derailed by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, but at least there wasn't a badger sett where you wanted to dig your hole. IT happens to the best of us, and if you are managing your own build you should at least be aware that it could be 2-3 years not 1, and also that taking time gives the opportunity to spot an issue before the next issue appears on top of it.

 

But this place has a range of experiences and professional opinions that can help if you ask.

 

The South and Lancashire? You are now double enemies in Yorkshire unless carrying a pudding and wearing a cap, or at least bearing a stick of rhubarb.

 

THis looks like a well structured story, so may I suggest you get a blog from the off (ask a moderator such as @PeterW), which will help keep a coherent account rolling?. The first two posts here would be fantastic starter articles.

 

And we love photos, too.

 

Ferdinand

Edited December 27, 2018 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

One initial question, how are you handling the Buildign Regs insulation requirements for your floor now that you have poured a naked slab?

 

WIll you be doing another slab at Ground Level, but insulated this time?

 

And what stage are you actually at now?

 

Ferdinand

[Nelliekins]

Hi Ferdinand,

 

Thanks for your kind words. TBH I was just writing a brief summary of the events to date, and would then give me a reference point for the multitude of queries that are building up as I approach completion of the build.

 

I've already glossed over some of the anecdotes and minutiae that have sent me round the bend. If there's an appetite for my ramblings here, then I will gladly look to make it a blog (albeit written with the benefit of hindsight, since the events documented so far are all from a year or more ago!) 

 

As for pictures, those I can supply by the bucket load once I migrate them from my old phone... 

 

Neil. 

[Nelliekins]

2 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

One initial question, how are you handling the Buildign Regs insulation requirements for your floor now that you have poured a naked slab?

 

WIll you be doing another slab at Ground Level, but insulated this time?

 

And what stage are you actually at now?

 

Ferdinand

Ooh good questions. 

 

1. We have 125mm of rigid insulation between slab and concrete floor - Building Control signed off on that quite happily (as did the planning dept, who get to stick their oar in since we have a planning condition that states we have to match or exceed CfSH level 6 in terms of overall TER/DER/EPC... Otherwise we can't live there!) 

 

2. Ground level is split 50/50 between an internal floor over the basement, and 175mm of rigid insulation on the "non basement" side of the house (50mm below the block+beam and 125mm above). 

 

3. We are watertight, first fix well underway, kitchen installed and part plasterboarded. I am doing the plumbing, electrics, heating design (although I am at an impasse with that atm) and lighting design (we have to have 100% LED lighting as another planning constraint). 

 

Neil. 

[Nickfromwales]

50 minutes ago, Nelliekins said:

heating design (although I am at an impasse with that atm)

A problem shared  

Welcome, and please do a blog. We can start with a picture of your giant brass balls maybe? ( you self building, basement digging lunatic )  

Youll fit in nicely. Grab a chair. 

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, Nelliekins said:

Hi Ferdinand,

 

Thanks for your kind words. TBH I was just writing a brief summary of the events to date, and would then give me a reference point for the multitude of queries that are building up as I approach completion of the build.

 

I've already glossed over some of the anecdotes and minutiae that have sent me round the bend. If there's an appetite for my ramblings here, then I will gladly look to make it a blog (albeit written with the benefit of hindsight, since the events documented so far are all from a year or more ago!) 

 

As for pictures, those I can supply by the bucket load once I migrate them from my old phone... 

 

Neil. 

 

If you'll forgive my candidness, it is a pity you were not here 2 years ago.. you have completed the cost-unpredictable stages, and we may have been able to help you save a lot (like 10s of k) of money by asking awkward questions and referrals to good contractors etc.

 

However, that is a literally sunk cost, and we go on from where we are, and hopefully can help you save another lots of money from here.

 

F

Edited December 27, 2018 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

12 hours ago, Nelliekins said:

Ooh good questions. 

 

1. We have 125mm of rigid insulation between slab and concrete floor - Building Control signed off on that quite happily (as did the planning dept, who get to stick their oar in since we have a planning condition that states we have to match or exceed CfSH level 6 in terms of overall TER/DER/EPC... Otherwise we can't live there!) 

 

2. Ground level is split 50/50 between an internal floor over the basement, and 175mm of rigid insulation on the "non basement" side of the house (50mm below the block+beam and 125mm above). 

 

3. We are watertight, first fix well underway, kitchen installed and part plasterboarded. I am doing the plumbing, electrics, heating design (although I am at an impasse with that atm) and lighting design (we have to have 100% LED lighting as another planning constraint). 

 

Neil. 

 

RIght. 

 

1. Oho. Aha. 

 

So when did you get Planning Permission? Exact date.

 

AIUI CFSH cannot lawfully and enforceably be used in a Planning Condition in England for a planning decision reached after March 28 2015 (ish). And an unenforceable condition is unlawful anyway. See here:

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/its-official-goodbye-code-for-sustainable-homes/8680639.article

 

If that is the case and your PP is after that date such a condition is null and void, and you can probably stop juming through some spurious hoops (after taking advice).

 

Therefore you probably need to check the exact facts on your date and the applicability of the CFSH, then if I am right have a polite conversation with your planner, then if your planner sticks to the guns take a cluebat out of your briefcase and apply it to the occupit with a modicum of vigour.

 

The basic issue is that CFSH is horribly out of date, and was horribly over-complicated even back in 2006 or so when it appeared.

 

(I was in construction at the time and did not like it. The problems stuck out a mile.)

 

Most of the basic bits of CFSH Level 4 are in the Building Regs now, I think, anyway.

 

2 Sounds Ok as long as it is high end insulation. That amount of eg eps would afaics not do it, if you are on the 2013, or maybe even earlier, regs.

 

3 Is this for internal or external lighting?

 

I do not see how they can condition the technology, as it is acceptable in planning law to achieve the outcome by a satisfactory alternative means. They could probably condition for eg glare next door to an observatory, or nuisance for neighbours, or arguably to prevent disturbance for bats or badgers, but there would have to be adequate evidence that it was a material planning matter (ie not de minimis).

 

Not a huge issue, imo, as LED is the best solution for nearly everything, but perhaps a small red flag concerning your planners and their excessive enthusiasm to micromanage your project.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by Ferdinand

[ToughButterCup]

Y' awreet lad ?  ( @Nelliekins ) 

 

Also a southerner in GOC, also using ICF, also got a monolith's worth of concrete dumped in 't frunt gardin,  also had an SE who flounces when his 'calculations'  are shown to be Gruffalow Balls,  also got 'experts' around us whose expertise is probably in breaking wind  - and most telling of all -

 

we have both seen what's round the bend, because the building sector sent us there to have a look. Thus far, we survived.

 

Welcome,

Ian

[Nelliekins]

6 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

A problem shared  

Welcome, and please do a blog. We can start with a picture of your giant brass balls maybe? ( you self building, basement digging lunatic )  

Youll fit in nicely. Grab a chair. 

Hi Nick. 

 

Not sure the moderators want a photo of them on here! ? Besides, it's too cold for that kind of malarky - there would be condensation all over them in a flash! 

 

So @Ferdinand said to speak to @PeterW

about the blog... What happens to my (apparently well-regarded?) introduction? Should I just write the blog, and put a post at the bottom of here directing anyone who wants to share more of my suffering to the blog? 

 

Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride! 

 

And don't worry, I am away from the build for a few days (enforced break to see family down south) and so plenty of time to get onto heating design! FWIW I have lurked here for many months, and fully intended asking you guys about my ideas for heating! ?

 

Neil. 

[Nelliekins]

@Ferdinand we got planning permission for reserved matters 18 months ago, based on outline permission from 2015 IIRC.

 

As it happens, we had already been told by the planners themselves that CfSH was unenforceable... Their (cunning) solution was to include a planning constraint to achieve 19% more efficency than the DER/TER that was previously mandated by CfSH level 4, which our planning officer said would make us effectively as energy efficient as a home that achieved level 6 (but without all the woolly bike shed nonsense).

 

Regarding the insulation, it's 50mm of PIR under the floor and 125mm of EPS70 over the floor (and under the UFH set in Tarmac Topflow). It was what the EPC consultant advised would get us through planning, so we blindly stuck to it. Its got a U value about 0.14, which isn't great but will suffice. Our roof is designed to be 0.1, and the walls 0.17. Glazing is pretty good for double glazed at 1.2 (which would have been better if we hadn't sunk so much money into groundworks).

 

Neil. 

[PeterW]

@Nelliekins you’ll find people will follow where things are pretty quickly ..!

 

You’ve been set up with blog rights - go the the blogs page and you’ll see a “create blog” link.

 

 

[newhome]

Welcome! Be good to link the intro into your first blog post. We like a good blog on here, especially one with lots of pics 

 

I'm a southerner who went north too, although in my case a bit further north into the Borders. Looking forward to reading the next instalment. 

 

 

 

 

[Ferdinand]

4 hours ago, Nelliekins said:

What happens to my (apparently well-regarded?) introduction? Should I just write the blog, and put a post at the bottom of here directing anyone who wants to share more of my suffering to the blog? 

 

I would say just copy the posts across with some piccies, then use the forum for questions, and the blog for a record or for what you have learned which may help others. The blogs are more useful as a longer read, whilst the forum is like fishing for goldfish at a funfair.

 

4 hours ago, Nelliekins said:

As it happens, we had already been told by the planners themselves that CfSH was unenforceable... Their (cunning) solution was to include a planning constraint to achieve 19% more efficency than the DER/TER that was previously mandated by CfSH level 4, which our planning officer said would make us effectively as energy efficient as a home that achieved level 6 (but without all the woolly bike shed nonsense).

 

I would doubt whether *that* is enforcible as it seems contrived deliberately to preserve a law which has been abolished, though if the OPP was pre-April 2015 they may argue that CSFH applies under "legacy project". But if you have a working understanding with the Council that will save you the unnecessary bits, then it is probably better to put the effort into building it.

 

F

Edited December 27, 2018 by Ferdinand

[ADLIan]

@Nelliekins

I often see planning conditions asking for DER 10% (seems to be their favourite number) better than TER and/or DFEE 10% better than FEE. I suppose it depends how exactly the planners have worded this condition - if it states DER/TER equivalent to Code Level 4 (or similar wording) then its probably enforceable. It does however show a complete lack of understanding of the CfSH - Code Level 4 is a world away from Code Level 6 as table below from the last version of CfSH in May 2014;

 

 

Getting a 19% improvement of the DER over the TER will be tough and probably not possible with fabric (insulation, glazing, air infiltration etc) upgrades alone. You will probably need to look at high efficiency heating (heat pump?) and/or renewables such as solar PV. I suggest that you clarify the exact requirement of this conditions (perhaps post extract here) and have your SAP assessor look at it asap - it will be tough and potentially expensive this far into the build.

[Nelliekins]

7 hours ago, ADLIan said:

@Nelliekins

I often see planning conditions asking for DER 10% (seems to be their favourite number) better than TER and/or DFEE 10% better than FEE. I suppose it depends how exactly the planners have worded this condition - if it states DER/TER equivalent to Code Level 4 (or similar wording) then its probably enforceable. It does however show a complete lack of understanding of the CfSH - Code Level 4 is a world away from Code Level 6 as table below from the last version of CfSH in May 2014;

 

 

Getting a 19% improvement of the DER over the TER will be tough and probably not possible with fabric (insulation, glazing, air infiltration etc) upgrades alone. You will probably need to look at high efficiency heating (heat pump?) and/or renewables such as solar PV. I suggest that you clarify the exact requirement of this conditions (perhaps post extract here) and have your SAP assessor look at it asap - it will be tough and potentially expensive this far into the build.

 

Here's the original outline planning decision notice:

-----

11. The approved dwelling shall achieve a minimum Dwelling Emission Rate of 38% above 2013 Building
Regulations (equivalent to 19% above  Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4) and shall be constructed in accordance with the details provided within the submitted
Regulations Compliance Report, Predicted Energy Assessment, DER WorkSheet and TER WorkSheet.

Reason: Policy 27 of the Adopted Central Lancashire Core Strategy requires new dwellings to be built to
Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 however following the Deregulation Bill 2015 receiving Royal Ascent it
is no longer possible to set conditions with requirements above a Code Level 4 equivalent. However as
Policy 27 is an adopted Policy it is still possible to secure energy efficiency reduction as part of new
residential schemes in the interests of minimising the environmental impact of the development.

-----

The original outline planning application was dated January 2015, which is probably why it was included. 

 

Interestingly, we applied for a revision to the reserved matters a few months ago, because we had increased the footprint of the building by approx 1m2 through the use of thicker ICF walls... I just looked and the planners have omitted any reference to efficiency whatsoever in the -latest- approval - does that mean we can ignore the matter entirely???

 

 

[Nelliekins]

Just a heads up to everyone, the blog has now started...

Clancutt Lodge

3 entries so far, you will find a bit more detail than in the posts above... At the moment I am working on my phone, so hopefully the grammar isn't too appalling! When I get home in a couple of days I will start pulling together more photos etc, and writing with a bit more thought.

Enjoy!