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Live self-Builds - mod warning in post no. 1

[Deleted User]

Mod Note - 9/10/2012: This thread is for discussing the various aspects of building as they arise. Do not use this thread for "pre-building" queries. Such queries should be posted in their own threads.

How many people on boards are in the process of building their own homes at the moment, have recently completed or planning to do so in the near future.

I am about 3/4 of the way through a self-build.
It would be interesting to have a "live" list of current self-builds on the forum.

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just do it

Open A wrote: »

Did you know that self-buiders are to be phased out under the new building control regulations? http://bregsforum.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/self-builders-to-be-phased-out-under-s-i-80-bregs/

Yes

Open A

Fair enough

BryanF

Open A wrote: »

Did you know that self-buiders are to be phased out under the new building control regulations? http://bregsforum.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/self-builders-to-be-phased-out-under-s-i-80-bregs/

stop! copying the same post! please!

Open A

BryanF wrote: »

stop! copying the same post! please!

I have stopped - I posted this before your comment.

tates1979

Quick update - haven't got on here as much as I'd have liked!

Vast majority of blockwork done, first floor slabbed, roof membrane on and half tiled. Roofer hopes to be finished this week and then will hopefully move on to garage (nearly finished).

Windows and doors next and then hopefully we'll be weathertight!

Pic attached, frosty this morning!

tates1979 wrote: »

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster in this thread. Finally got started two weeks ago.

Building a 3100sqft approx house in the midst of the Sperrins. Site is sloping, and had a horrendous amount of overgrowth. It took a good week of our work getting it cleared with the aid of chainsaws, diggers and a bonfire (godsend being allowed to burn the waste) to dispose of unneeded branches (all felled trees have been stripped, cut and stored for future firewood).

We let the contractors cut and fill into the slope - the site itself has managed to take the vast majority of it without having to draw away. There were a series of three interlinked old stone buildings, these have been used to make a roadway into the site, meaning that some of the stone and hardcore originally priced for in the tender for the drive could be spread at certain areas of the lane.

I have attached a couple of pictures - one a couple of days into our clearing the site of vegetation and the second the site as was on Saturday. The site faces NNW, with the vast amount of glazing on the south / south west side. The front of the house is stepped into the slope down in order to integrate into the site, maybe have to grade some of the soil down. Will have a retaining wall at the slope face - and/or a series of planted banks and terraces.

Will keep updating over couple of weeks - will also be asking advice in other threads!

fclauson

tates1979 wrote: »

Quick update - haven't got on here as much as I'd have liked!

Vast majority of blockwork done, first floor slabbed, roof membrane on and half tiled. Roofer hopes to be finished this week and then will hopefully move on to garage (nearly finished).

Windows and doors next and then hopefully we'll be weathertight!

Pic attached, frosty this morning!

Looking at the window jams you seem to have incredibly little scope for insulating between the cavities - have you read the ACDs - http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,18751,en.pdf

specifically 1.24 and 1.25

tates1979

I think it's done as in 1.24, cavity closer block, 100mm partial fill kingspan already installed...

fclauson wrote: »

Looking at the window jams you seem to have incredibly little scope for insulating between the cavities - have you read the ACDs - http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,18751,en.pdf

specifically 1.24 and 1.25

fclauson

tates1979 wrote: »

I think it's done as in 1.24, cavity closer block, 100mm partial fill kingspan already installed...

are you building to part L 2011 - my understanding is that a 100mm cav partially filled will not pass the BER tests

tates1979

fclauson wrote: »

are you building to part L 2011 - my understanding is that a 100mm cav partially filled will not pass the BER tests

Northern Ireland, so not sure if that the same. 150mm cavity, 100mm kingspan (think it's K8).

liveandnetural

AntrimGlens wrote: »

Update as of today - insulation and plasterboard finished on friday, internal plasterers start now as i had to wait ages on the guys sealing the deck area to ensure no damp was getting into the rooms below. Three weeks will see them out then plumbing and ufh starts and floors poured. Walls pumped next monday, Kitchen is picked and getting a local guy to do it has saved approx £5k compared to the showroom people for the exact same kitchen.
My only fear is that everyones now saying ah this is when the big bills will start rolling in or the expense is only starting. I know everyones gonna shout at me and say did you not get a bill of quantities done at the start or employ a QS, well the brothers a QS and i did get three quotes from contractors to do the whole build and i think i'm fairly covered budget wise as i have prices for the plumbing, sanitary ware, floor screeds, doors and skirting etc. Only thing i haven't got price for is tiles yet although i have a price for tiling per metre.
Starting to get excited now and hoping for decent weather to get the outside rendered - elected for a weber finish after months of debating and viewing k-rend, STO rend and weber. Initially just wanted a sand cement floated finish on the exterior but my plasterer wouldn't do it as he says it will only crack and show up all the cracks and really didn;t want that.

class stairs do you have any pictures of it finished

fclauson

tates1979 wrote: »

Northern Ireland, so not sure if that the same. 150mm cavity, 100mm kingspan (think it's K8).

ok - I am talking in the south

kboc

tates1979 wrote: »

Northern Ireland, so not sure if that the same. 150mm cavity, 100mm kingspan (think it's K8).

How will you heat the room on the left most of camera angle with all the windows?

tates1979

Multi-fuel boiler stove, radiators.

kboc wrote: »

How will you heat the room on the left most of camera angle with all the windows?

AntrimGlens

liveandnetural wrote: »

class stairs do you have any pictures of it finished

So we made it....
We are now moved in, slept in the new house for the first night exactly 18 months from when we first broke ground. 18th December. A word of advice don't try moving house the day after both your and your wifes Christmas parties when you're hungover as a dog.
anyhow yes we are in and i honestly can't believe it, we had Christmas here and a new years eve/house warming party which was excellent, even if i did have to turn on the patio heaters.

So pluses - SPACE, SPACE, SPACE. a set of ten month old twins just don't know themselves in their walkers on tiled floors, the young lad is going round the place like the stig and loving it.
I love the kitchen, which is high gloss and has a built in pantry which is about the same size as our last kitchen, breakfast bar and super views to three sides.
I love the stairs and a credit to the guy who did them, he came up from cavan the day before xmas eve to do a few touch ups before the painter came to finish them, everyone who has seen them loves them and can't believe what they only cost. Still haven't found a carpet yet that we like for covering so they're still bare and waiting on the timber handrail, but i find myself sitting on the third step just looking round the hall and thinking of all the graft it took to get here and i just smile to myself, because the end result really is worth it.
i used to think that Grand designs and kevin mccloud talked a load of bollox about how a house could impact upon your life and how something from bricks and mortar could enhance your life beyond what you could imagine - now i believe theres quite a lot of truth in it.
For us as a family, i'm back on the home place and currently lambing sheep so a quick 120 second walk and i'm in the sheep shed and able to monitor things easily which means i'm fretting less about something being wrong and not there to check on it, which means i can spend more time in the house with the wife and kids knowing if i need to check on somnething its right at hand. The wife loves the space and being able to relax in her spa bathroom and being able to have people come and stay over is great, as previously we only had the two bedrooms.

Heating system is working super, although we'll still have to fiddle around with the controls to get it really right as the childrens bedroom is the only north facing room with a north window and would be slightly colder that the other rooms, its on a different zone so will be easy to rectify. the even temperature is brilliant, rather than having radiators, this morning it was 1 degree outside @ half five and when i came back in from the farm, there was no going and standing with my ass against a radiator, it was just lovely and comfortable.

Theres still a few snags to do, and the big room hasn't been touched until the wife decides what sort of style we want to do it in and i think we need to live here a year or so to decide on that and how the house fits us.
Budget - we ran over about 5% and that was as a result of the contingency going in the first week of excavation, so the whole thing cost £173,250.
I'll post more detail later and photos when i get the chance, but massive thanks to everyone on here for all your assistance and encouragement, even though we may not have communicated directly, knowing that other people had done it and learning from ye was something that is priceless. To those currently underway, don't get stressed about it, because no matter what you do and what you plan for something will go wrong and the sooner you realise that it is part and parcel of building your dream then the easier on you it will become.

Was it worth it??? Heres a photo of sunrise yesterday morning from the kitchen window and you decide..

just do it

AG

Big congratulations and I hope you really get the most out of the new build:). I can see why you would sit on the third step taking it all in - you deserve it.

893bet

Anyone else counting the cost of the storms over the last 6 weeks on their self build?

LCRS

Has anyone had a look through the new building regs? Pretty hard hit for anyone thinking of starting a self build now...

just do it

YIIPPPEEEE

samsclub

id ike to see more photos of before after on the self builds very interesting .

fclauson

LCRS wrote: »

Has anyone had a look through the new building regs? Pretty hard hit for anyone thinking of starting a self build now...

Self build is not really an option any more with the new regs

Happyman42

fclauson wrote: »

Self build is not really an option any more with the new regs

Allegedly!

Signed
P. Hogan.

Selfbuilder14

Hi all

We may be some of the last self builders for a while. We just made the old regulations and are due to start our large extension very soon. Very daunting we are probably going to take things slowly with my husband a civil engineer project managing and doing some of the build himself. How do you manage a build and work full time on the plus side I am a stay at home Mum atm with three young children. We have detailed design and a structural engineer and architect but they think we should not go down the self build route favouring a builder but the cost of doing it with a builder is more than our budget. How much can we save? Or is it not the matter of saving money but doing it ourselves.

Selfbuilder14

I should add that we are building a two storey extension with a curved barn shaped roof linked on to our seventies bungalow with a glass link which will also be the New position of our front door. It is a very exciting time. We have had to close off our secondary entrance a planning pre requirement and are more or less ready to start!!!! It will be a one off house we are building on 1500 square feet so our house is going to feel huge when we are finished. As we are all cramped at the momment I can't wait.

Quazzie

Any plans/elevations. Sounds like a fantastic build.

Are you living on site in the current house for the duration of the build>?

Selfbuilder14

Quazzie wrote: »

Any plans/elevations. Sounds like a fantastic build.

Are you living on site in the current house for the duration of the build>?

We plan to live in the house while we are building yes we have plans but not digitised on my phone. I will upload the plans when I get on the iPad later. We have a tight budget but hope to achieve our dream

Cork selfbuild

Arrived yesterday and starting tomorrow! We can't wait to be finally starting!

Quazzie

Cork selfbuild wrote: »

Arrived yesterday and starting tomorrow! We can't wait to be finally starting!

Find a post in the field, or a branch on a tree, basically something that isn't moving long term, and that you can put a camera sitting on in the same position every time. Then take a picture every day/every few days and it will make for an amazing time lapse of the full build start to finish.

Cork selfbuild

Quazzie wrote: »

Find a post in the field, or a branch on a tree, basically something that isn't moving long term, and that you can put a camera sitting on in the same position every time. Then take a picture every day/every few days and it will make for an amazing time lapse of the full build start to finish.

Yup the plan is to take it from 4 different angles and have a revolving time lapse!

So Day 1 down!

Didn't expect as much to be done, suppose as I didn't know better!

New entrance, triple existing gateway and driveway dug out plus 5 loads of stone.

Stripping top soil, all compacted with bucket at end of the day, very tidy...

All foundations marked out and pegged.

Steel, pipe work and cement etc arrived also at 7pm, wasn't expecting that either!

All finished for today, ready to dig foundations in the morning.

Villain

Well done Cork self build, can I suggest you have a pump ready if you get serious rainfall, which sadly is very possible over the coming days.

Cork selfbuild

Villain wrote: »

Well done Cork self build, can I suggest you have a pump ready if you get serious rainfall, which sadly is very possible over the coming days.

Ya wasn't expecting a bad 1st week weather wise mid may but its Ireland, good call!