Alex C Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Hello I came across the ebuild forum whilst researching lending and warranties for timber frame timber clad builds. I had already met the MBC guys at a trade show and had them price my frame and slab, so was pleased to hear good reports about them on the forum. I knocked my existing house down in March and MBC started the slab 2 weeks ago just as the other site stopped. With no where to post any longer I set up my own blog at http://www.passivehouseselfbuild.co.uk/ which I will try and keep up to date with progress and my thoughts along the way. I spent the morning today connecting the ufh pipes to pressure test tomorrow for the pour on Tuesday. Exciting times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Hi and welcome to the new forum. Sorry for the interlude, but we are back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alphonsox Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Welcome back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Bit of bad luck Ebuild going down when it did for you, but we're pretty confident that this forum will be robust, as it's going to be owned and operated by the members as soon as the Forum Foundation Group have got things settled down and settled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Hi Alex.. exciting times indeed. I have my own MBC timber frame being erected at the moment in Scotland so it seems that we're a couple of weeks ahead of you. I've built an MBC frame recently for a client (through my architectural practice) so happy to help with any questions you have. Good luck with the build. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triassic Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 StuartM, you're building an MBC house in Scotland, wow some here will be jealous, as MBC have declined other opportunities recently to work in Scotland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Hi Triassic, I was with the owner of MBC yesterday and he was doing a bit of a grand tour meeting new and existing clients so your comment is a bit of a surprise. MBC are just off site with another house we worked on in Scotland and I hope to use them again for others in future. They seem keen for the business here after doing a cluster of houses in the central belt recently so I imagine if they have declined some work recently perhaps it was small projects that didn't quite stack up financially? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Probably easier if there's a critical mass in an area. Also, Scotland's a big place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Logistically, Joe couldn't make the sums work for anything North of Edinburgh, at least while the frames were being built in Cahir and the erection crews were coming over from Ireland for each build. With the new Gloucester factory opening soon, and UK based staff, I suspect things may skew the economics towards moving further out. Our frame was made in Cahir, so took the best part of 24 hours to get here. Had it been made in Gloucester it could have been here in around 2 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 All I know is that Orkney was a step too far for them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Welcome back Alex! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 22, 2016 Author Share Posted May 22, 2016 Hi Stuart. A couple of the guys drove from me in Surrey to Scotland for the day to pour a slab then came back again the next day. I assume this was for your place. Still working on the best way to control heating and have found a mixer manifold that goes down to 20 degrees to run off a gas boiler, but that's for a thread elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Hi Alex. Yes they mentioned they'd been In Surrey after being in Wales for a bit. Hope your place is progressing ok - good luck with the manifold - we don't have mains gas so have had to work hard to make it viable with a combined ASHP & MVHR. We're planning to be PH certified so it was a bit of a challenge. My place is quite non standard as we demolished an existing building and retained 3 stone walls. So the slab and frame is being built behind the existing walls giving us all a bit of a logistical headache. Hope to find some time to cover some of my project on another forum when I find some time. Here's a sneak peak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 MBC would not quote for me as I was too far north (north of Inverness) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Passive slab all ready for the pour. Just finished pressure testing the ufh pipes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaway Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 (edited) Hello everyone, good to be back and it's reassuring that those with experience are available to comment, support and guide us. Thanks for the gang that got this website up and running so quick. I'm the Wales MBC timber frame mentioned above with foundation in and Brendan and team due back weds this week to start the timber frame. Edited May 24, 2016 by Leaway photo added 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alphonsox Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Welcome - and good luck with the build, Lovely location Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaway Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Latest photos posted https://www.flickr.com/gp/142924974@N08/Ng5F80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Yes.....not too shabby at all 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaway Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 MBC frame progressing well - 2 days in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Looking well. I'll need to get a dog. They really add character to photos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 A dog is for life, not just for TF erections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 I'm doing a block build so it will take that long i might get through a few dogs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 On 22/05/2016 at 22:43, ProDave said: MBC would not quote for me as I was too far north (north of Inverness) That reminds me of Alan Clarke in his diaries noting that that was where Government secure mobile phones stopped working, so it was a good place to have a country estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 55 minutes ago, Ferdinand said: That reminds me of Alan Clarke in his diaries noting that that was where Government secure mobile phones stopped working, so it was a good place to have a country estate. They stop a bit further South, in my experience. Coming back from the North the work 'phone would start ringing coming down the hill towards Fort William, usually around the Southern end of Loch Garry on the A87. There were times when it was very nice to spend a couple of weeks in an area where there was no contact from work at all. For some reason Government took the invention of the mobile 'phone as an indication that employees were paid a salary and expected to answer the 'phone 24/7, 365 days a year..................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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