selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Hello everyone!! New to the page so thought I would introduce myself and our project. My husband and I have purchased a plot in Aberdeenshire, full planning passed Feb 19 and currently awaiting building warrant. Currently in the fun stages of tender and mortgage applications!! Our home will be a 4 bed detached approx 190m2 internally with a detached double garage. Timber kit (Val u therm) with full timber cladding on the outside, slate roof on the main sections but also a large sarnafil rubber flat roof. We will have an air source heat pump, triple glazing and aiming for EPC A with the house being south/ southwest facing. Hope you folks will be a wealth of information as this is our first self build project although we have renovated properties before. Have found everyone in the self build community so welcoming and helpful up until this point. Its lovely to be in a place with like minded people! So hi everyone ? looking forward to reading about all your projects! Chris and Anita 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Hi and welcome. It sounds like you are aiming for a good house. The only thing I didn't see on your list which I think is a must have, is MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) If you had not thought about now, start designing it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 Hello and thank you! Yes we had looked into one and originally, had the specs drawn up and visited a few houses with one to have a closer look, it really came down to a budget decision for us which was frustrating but the reality of self building I guess. Means we have to be careful and not go to airtight but will still be well below regulation standards. Look forward to looking at your own project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 I will be surprised if you actually achieve an EPC of A without mvhr. Once you get to a good level of insulation, the heating losses are dominated by ventilation loss. There was a discussion about this recently. It's easy to model your predicted heat loss and play around with the numbers and in my case not having mvhr would easily quadruple my heating costs. It's a double edged sword as well, one local builder here strvied for the best he could get without mvhr, then had his air tightness test done and was told by building control it was too air tight and he must fit mvhr, which effectively as a retro fit late in the build was a lot harder than had it been designed and built in from the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 Hia, Only have our SAP calcs done by the engineer to go on I'm afraid at this stage and this is what was predicted with what we gave him.... In speaking to builders we found the same tho...one of them said he would struggle to build a house with enough holes in it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Not going for MVHR seems a bit short sighted, IMHO, given the significant improvement in air quality it provides. The energy saving is a bonus. You almost certainly won't get close to an EPC rating of A with just a heat pump, trickle ventilation and mandatory extract fans (and all those mandatory extract fans mean you're going to have several holes/ducts to ventilate the bathrooms, utility room, WC, kitchen, anyway). Even with MVHR getting to EPC A is not that easy without adding a reasonable amount of PV or other renewable generation. I'd have thought that an all-electric house without renewable generation might struggle to get much better than a mid-range EPC B, TBH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 completely agree there are significant benefits to having one.... unfortunately as in any self build there has to be compromises and this was one we had to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 1 minute ago, selfbuildaberdeen said: completely agree there are significant benefits to having one.... unfortunately as in any self build there has to be compromises and this was one we had to make. I would be looking for a different compromise. Something you can change later, like perhaps a cheaper kitchen that in the future you could upgrade? If you later decide to add mvhr it will be a lot harder than changing a kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Good point about the relative cost, @ProDave. Finding a kitchen for a couple of thousand less would pay for a basic MVHR, and the kitchen could always be upgraded later. We could easily have saved double this just by opting to fit slightly less expensive worktops in the kitchen, and they would have been easy to swap later if need be, whereas fitting an MVHR system later would be a bit of a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, selfbuildaberdeen said: completely agree there are significant benefits to having one.... unfortunately as in any self build there has to be compromises and this was one we had to make. I have one here that my hubby fitted so it was just the price of the kit in terms of cost. Maybe you could look at how much it costs just for the kit itself and see if you could fit it yourselves to keep the cost down a bit. Unless you are going mostly turnkey self building is all about constantly rejigging the budget. I ended up compromising on a few thing here (some of which I would not have done if I'd had the benefit of hindsight and been on this forum at the time!). My kitchen ended up taking the biggest hit but it's actually fine and I really don't miss having top end units TBH. Oh, and welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 Everyone is after my kitchen ? We already plan to complete all the internal fit out ourselves. We will plaster board, plaster, decorate, fit woodwork, fit kitchens and bathrooms and complete all flooring. We will also complete all decorative landscaping, driveway etc outside. Kitchens and bathrooms will be sourced ex display, reduced cost etc already and installed over time. Even if and EPC A is not achieved this is not the end of the world for us. We never set out with a specific goal in mind regarding this. Any thing will be better than the drafty granite property we are coming from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedreamer Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Hi @selfbuildaberdeen welcome to the forum. Lenders can be limited in Scotland, I went with the Scottish Building Society. It was a struggle to get a self build mortgage, but got there in the end. I'm building a house out of necessity as the property prices are to expensive here on Skye. We are in our early thirties so don't have a huge budget and not fitting a MVHR and won't have a high air tight property but like you our heating bills will not be comparable to the old solid stone croft house we used to rent! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishjohn Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 i,M afraid you are not listening to the advice you are being given from many sources you started off by saying "first self build " well if you not going to listen why ask for help? "fabric first " is always the way to get a good build retro fitting some things is very expensive --so do it at design stage post up your plans and then wait for comments and suggestions is the best "free advice "your going to get . If it is purely money --then don't start yet -save up some more .plot is not going anywhere 2 hours ago, selfbuildaberdeen said: Means we have to be careful and not go to airtight biggest mistake you will make . do some more resreach --please !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedreamer Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, scottishjohn said: i,M afraid you are not listening to the advice you are being given from many sources you started off by saying "first self build " well if you not going to listen why ask for help? "fabric first " is always the way to get a good build retro fitting some things is very expensive --so do it at design stage post up your plans and then wait for comments and suggestions is the best "free advice "your going to get . If it is purely money --then don't start yet -save up some more .plot is not going anywhere biggest mistake you will make . do some more resreach --please !! Did they ask for help? Looked like a general introduction to me. Fabric first and having a generally efficient property is a good choice for all. But we all have different motivators for self building, some folk are prepared to spend a bit more on energy bills etc. As example we spent a bit more money on a longer access so we would have views and privacy. We could have saved this money building closer to the road and invested in MVHR and looked onto other property. Ultimately a self build is an individual project cover the core costs, then it's up to you to decide where to make the investment, no point comprising on some think if you will be unhappy at the end. Sounds as if the original poster has done some research on MVHR systems. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultramods Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 (edited) 31 minutes ago, scottishjohn said: i,M afraid you are not listening to the advice you are being given from many sources you started off by saying "first self build " well if you not going to listen why ask for help? "fabric first " is always the way to get a good build retro fitting some things is very expensive --so do it at design stage post up your plans and then wait for comments and suggestions is the best "free advice "your going to get . If it is purely money --then don't start yet -save up some more .plot is not going anywhere biggest mistake you will make . do some more resreach --please !! I think this is a little harsh, this post is @selfbuildaberdeen introducing herself and her build. Having said that I do agree with everyone stressing the importance of putting in MVHR now. I bought the DIY kit from https://www.bpcventilation.com/ for around £4k for a 325 sqm house. My dad and I installed all the ducting and the unit in the loft over a weekend - Posi-joists made the installation of the ducts easy. Edited May 25, 2019 by ultramods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 49 minutes ago, scottishjohn said: i,M afraid you are not listening to the advice you are being given from many sources you started off by saying "first self build " well if you not going to listen why ask for help? "fabric first " is always the way to get a good build retro fitting some things is very expensive --so do it at design stage post up your plans and then wait for comments and suggestions is the best "free advice "your going to get . If it is purely money --then don't start yet -save up some more .plot is not going anywhere biggest mistake you will make . do some more resreach --please !! Im sorry John I was only introducing my project and did not ask for anything specific. I respect everyone's opinion we just have to do what is best for us is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 28 minutes ago, ultramods said: I think this is a little harsh, this post is @selfbuildaberdeen introducing herself and her build. Having said that I do agree with everyone stressing the importance of putting in MVHR now. I bought the DIY kit from https://www.bpcventilation.com/ for around £4k for a 325 sqm house. My dad and I installed all the ducting and the unit in the loft over a weekend - Posi-joists made the installation of the ducts easy. Thank you for your post. It is alwyas an option for us to install this ourselves and tbh something we had not considered. I will look into your link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishjohn Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 1 minute ago, selfbuildaberdeen said: Im sorry John I was only introducing my project and did not ask for anything specific. I respect everyone's opinion we just have to do what is best for us is all. no need to aplogize in any way -- its all your choices-its your build and your money I have already been chided for a harsh response getting the plan correct before you start cannot be over stressed ,as getting things wrong now will cost you double later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultramods Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, selfbuildaberdeen said: Thank you for your post. It is alwyas an option for us to install this ourselves and tbh something we had not considered. I will look into your link I think a lot of people on here have used BPC. You can send them your plans and they will design the system for you for about £100 (which is refundable if you buy the system), they will provide updated plans of where everything should be installed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 58 minutes ago, Thedreamer said: Hi @selfbuildaberdeen welcome to the forum. Lenders can be limited in Scotland, I went with the Scottish Building Society. It was a struggle to get a self build mortgage, but got there in the end. I'm building a house out of necessity as the property prices are to expensive here on Skye. We are in our early thirties so don't have a huge budget and not fitting a MVHR and won't have a high air tight property but like you our heating bills will not be comparable to the old solid stone croft house we used to rent! Hi @Thedreamer Sounds like we are building for the same reasons. Not aiming for a ground breaking design just something that works better for us and is affordable where we live Im currently waiting to hear back from the Scottish building society too.... how did you find them to deal with in general? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, ultramods said: I think a lot of people on here have used BPC. You can send them your plans and they will design the system for you for about £100 (which is refundable if you buy the system), they will provide updated plans of where everything should be installed. This sounds promising, thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexphd1 Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Hi and welcome. Their are a few of us on here from the shire which has been handy (for me anyway) for info/contacts. As mentioned above mvhr is worth reconsidering, but bpc are pretty expensive but do provide a good service and guidance for self builder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedreamer Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 3 minutes ago, selfbuildaberdeen said: Hi @Thedreamer Sounds like we are building for the same reasons. Not aiming for a ground breaking design just something that works better for us and is affordable where we live Im currently waiting to hear back from the Scottish building society too.... how did you find them to deal with in general? To me they were the most cost effective option available. But the amount we could borrow was limited, seem to be a strong emphasis on stress lending including expenditure on fictional nights out and holidays etc. Fortunately we had the land, have limited outgoings and benefited from a croft house grant so got there in the end. We have a six and four year old, so didn't have two full time salaries but wanted to build a family home whilst our kids were young. So although the plot would still be there and we could have saved more, the reason for self building would not be the same if we waited longer! In reality we are probably self building twenty years too early in terms of finance and experience, but we had the dream at 22 and are close to achieving what we want and should have a relatively small mortgage. Our other option would have been to move away from our crofting community and be crippled in debt living in a modern poorly constructed developer house. We are working on a contractor basis, with a RICS quantity surveyor providing inspections as this seem to be more cost effective than using an architect or large builder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Thedreamer said: To me they were the most cost effective option available. But the amount we could borrow was limited, seem to be a strong emphasis on stress lending including expenditure on fictional nights out and holidays etc. Fortunately we had the land, have limited outgoings and benefited from a croft house grant so got there in the end. We have a six and four year old, so didn't have two full time salaries but wanted to build a family home whilst our kids were young. So although the plot would still be there and we could have saved more, the reason for self building would not be the same if we waited longer! In reality we are probably self building twenty years too early in terms of finance and experience, but we had the dream at 22 and are close to achieving what we want and should have a relatively small mortgage. Our other option would have been to move away from our crofting community and be crippled in debt living in a modern poorly constructed developer house. We are working on a contractor basis, with a RICS quantity surveyor providing inspections as this seem to be more cost effective than using an architect or large builder. YES! I totally get where you are coming from. We are 29 and 36 so quite young in the self build community also but as we have no children thought it was the best time in our lives to do it. Thats not to say we wont do another one later in life but right now its about building a home suitable to grow a family in while we can finance it. We both work full time, have no debt and have sold our house to be able to pay for the plot, services, all professional fees and part of the build costs. For our ages I think we are doing pretty well tbh! As we have never done a self build before we have so far chosen to keep on both our architect and QS.... this is majorly expensive but it is either that or pay for our inexperience via mistakes down the line. Thank you for letting me know about SBS.... I will be sure to let them know about our extravagant nights out and imaginary holidays each year Edited May 25, 2019 by selfbuildaberdeen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfbuildaberdeen Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 15 minutes ago, Alexphd1 said: Hi and welcome. Their are a few of us on here from the shire which has been handy (for me anyway) for info/contacts. As mentioned above mvhr is worth reconsidering, but bpc are pretty expensive but do provide a good service and guidance for self builder. Hello, I was hoping to get in contact with those in the area so thank you for your message. We try as best as we can to work from recommendations in regards to trades and such so hopefully it will be useful ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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