A Country Home

A country home

hi all,

i am about to start my own home.

I will ask all my questions on this thread, so please feel free to confirm, read questions i have asked, and more so the replies, ill will put a title with each question.

first one i have is the councils finished floor level, it specifys 88, so what then should the site be once i have it levelled with the machine, 87. is there a rule of thumb, its a raft going in.

much appreciate any answers.
mark

Clarelassie

Hi A Country Home,

It all depends on what specification is on your raft foundation drawings and what insulation thickness you are putting in. I know that in our case that the finished hardcore level is well over a foot below the ffl. There is the steel and concrete base, then radon barrier, 100mm of insulation and then a couple of inches of screed floor level - possibly more, I am a novice and we are about to pour our foundations in the next day or two ourselves, so literally learning as we go on.
I would recommend you get an engineer/architect to check your levels. We are going the contract route for the house, but still have our engineer checking the floor levels - he also drew up the spec for the raft foundations, so knows exactly what levels each of the above stages should be.
Good luck with it!

No6

Mark

Firstly have you got someone supervising your build with PI cover, if you do then direct your questions to them, thats what you are paying them for if not get someone quickly. The levels should be what are shown on the drawings by the person who designed your house, the council do sometimes condition different levels if they feel its too high or too low but 88 what relative to what? (I know its 88m but what datum is it relative to?)

A country home

thanks all,

in relantion to what the council are making reference to, if i read your post correctly, we have a hill at the back that reches 198m and we are on the flat at 88 but then drops away to 75, so i dont really know what its in relation to,,

ill will have the pros look at it.. .

ps, im sitting here looking at the rain thumping down, and wonder is starting in the next 5 weeks a good idea, i mean its hopping. .:mad:

A country home

Hi all,

Next question i have is in relation to the engineer which specifys the raft. My engineer for the house (pans/submitt to council etc) told me that in order for him to certify the house, I would need to use a qualified Raft engineer to do the raft drawings, this i am ok about. but, its when he tells me that i have to use Mr X and his number is bla bla bla, im thinking "can i not price around for this job", this Mr X is quoting 1000 + vat. . .

Question, can i use someon else, qualified of course, but just price around.

appreciate your time on this. . .;)

Quazzie

You can price around as with any aspect of the house. However I would consult your engineer as to why he recommended that particular guy. Maybe its just that he just has a good working relationship with him, and they pass each other some work now and again. I wouldn't think there is anything shady on it as both their PI's are on the line.

Your engineer has to however accept certification from anyone thats qualified to issue it. So price around by all means, but unless there is a substantial saving to be made, I'd stick with his recommendation.

Penn

A country home wrote: »

Hi all,

Next question i have is in relation to the engineer which specifys the raft. My engineer for the house (pans/submitt to council etc) told me that in order for him to certify the house, I would need to use a qualified Raft engineer to do the raft drawings, this i am ok about. but, its when he tells me that i have to use Mr X and his number is bla bla bla, im thinking "can i not price around for this job", this Mr X is quoting 1000 + vat. . .

Question, can i use someon else, qualified of course, but just price around.

appreciate your time on this. . .;)

He has said that you HAVE to use Mr.X? That seems odd. You should be able to choose who you want provided they have the correct qualifications and PI. I'd question your engineer about this. Unless its one of the conditions of your planning I can't see why he'd make you pick a specific raft/structural engineer

(Is there such a thing as a raft engineer? Surely any Chartered Engineer could do that?)

Penn

A country home wrote: »

hi all,

i am about to start my own home.

I will ask all my questions on this thread, so please feel free to confirm, read questions i have asked, and more so the replies, ill will put a title with each question.

first one i have is the councils finished floor level, it specifys 88, so what then should the site be once i have it levelled with the machine, 87. is there a rule of thumb, its a raft going in.

much appreciate any answers.
mark

The finished floor level should be 150mm above ground level. So if your floor level is 88, your ground level around the house should be 86.5. The rest of the site doesn't have to be a specific level unless stated as part of your council, just make sure the slope of the site directs water away from the house so you don't get wet shoes in the morning when you step outside (as well as damage to the house and other such insignificant stuff when compared to wet shoes )

sas

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

(Is there such a thing as a raft engineer? Surely any Chartered Engineer could do that?)

That was my initial reaction too.

I have hired a structural engineer to supervise my house. He is designing the raft.

What type of engineer have you hired to supervise your build that isn't qualified to design the raft?

I'm not doubting, just confused.

A country home

awh, many thanks and much appreciate the replies. well, i dont think there is anything going on regards the recommendation. I was just wondering why was it put that way on the fone. . . thought they were far and few between.. .

well to be honest, my brother-inlaw used the same engineer to draw up the house plans as i did, and he told him to go and use the same person, but i dont know who told him whether it was the engineer or a friend, but that there was very few of them in the west of ireland. (now this is what i thought was total bull and what made me post this)

I might make a few calls, as with everything else, price around. ..
thanks for the quick replies,

PS, i thought i was in the wrong job there for a sec. . . only 7 or 8 raft/structural engineers in the west of ireland. . :rolleyes:

Clarelassie

We paid our structural engineer a separate fee for designing the raft foundation which was 750+vat. He is going to be over seeing the signoff on the rest of the build and we are in Clare. Where are you based?

You should be able to get another quote off some other engineer cheaper and then go back to the one you would ( or your architect would) prefer and see if he will match it. It is your money after all and there are a lot of costs building - might as well start as you mean to go on by keeping them down where possible.

A country home

Hi all, I am interested in looking at alu-clad windows, but dont know where to start looking for them.

I have on my list 2 companys to enquire about "mar" and "Rat" windows.
I am unsure can i post co names.

What I would like is the names of other companys, (i am not looking for advice/opinions/sales pitch) I just want names. I am located in the west of ireland.

Again, I am not sure can names be just given. you might have to PM me.

all help would be grate full.

muffler

A country home wrote: »

Again, I am not sure can names be just given. you might have to PM me.

PMs all the way please.

Cheers.

A country home

i have builder lined up. what is the normal payment schdule? i had imagined something like, once foundation is in pay x, once walls are up and hollowcore on pay another x, then once the roof is on and the walls up stairs are all in pay the final x?

i have a contractor lined up for foundation, walls and roof. would be great to know average payment terms.

sinnerboy

usual arrangement is to have all work items priced .
then monthly payments based on % completion on each item minus 5% retention
continue untill all items are completed - release half of retention then
wait 12 months - release other half of retention

onq

A country home wrote: »

Hi all,

Next question i have is in relation to the engineer which specifys the raft. My engineer for the house (pans/submitt to council etc) told me that in order for him to certify the house, I would need to use a qualified Raft engineer to do the raft drawings, this i am ok about. but, its when he tells me that i have to use Mr X and his number is bla bla bla, im thinking "can i not price around for this job", this Mr X is quoting 1000 + vat. . .

Question, can i use someon else, qualified of course, but just price around.

appreciate your time on this. . .;)

Okay, all the red lights on my board just lit up.
Why would any competent engineer suggest using a "raft engineer"?
Seriously, I'd ask your engineer for a look at his qualifications right away.
Also its not usual to have two separate structural engineers working on a small house.

ONQ