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The house that boards built!

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    #122
    poochie2009
    Closed Accounts Posts: 59 ✭✭poochie2009


    thanks quazzie,
    much appreciated..that link you sent me helped me out big time.the pricing issue with regards concrete blocks and concrete is ongoing so far and i havnt recieved all the qoutes back but i hope to get them down like u said.
    as regards build insurance iv just got it for €220..thats the best out of 4 companys i checked.as long as the building isnt up to cill level then you can get covered and since i dropped off the raft timbers last nite for the foundation im well ok.
    id appreciate the pm that you are due to send me.if theres anything i can help with,dont hestitate to ask!


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    #123
    HobNob
    Registered Users Posts: 51 ✭✭HobNob


    Hi,

    I see some very intereting quotes for build insurance, all the quotes I've received are as high as 1400 upto 1800.
    this includes employers liability and public liability.
    (which I've been advised to get)

    Just wondering if the quote of 220 also includes these ?


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    #124
    poochie2009
    Closed Accounts Posts: 59 ✭✭poochie2009


    no that qoutes only covers the house and not public insurance.
    the public insurance side i have covered involving my father who is in construction sector.a bit complicated..
    i only had to get the cover for the mortgage


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    #125
    Marko_Man
    Closed Accounts Posts: 33 ✭Marko_Man


    This is a great thread loads of info that I can use.


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    #126
    sharxmayo
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭sharxmayo


    Quazzie wrote: »
    Just thought I'd add a list off all prices that I have gotten so far.

    440x215x100 5N concrete block @ 40.1c/Block*

    Concrete 25N @ €57.46 / cuMetre*

    Reinforceing mesh (heavy duty) 3000x1500 @ €35.25 per sheet

    Dumper hire for excavation work @ €88.00 per day

    Digger hire for excavation work @ €88.00 for duration of dig**


    I'll add and update this post as the build goes on. Please note that all prices include VAT and might be slightly reduced because my Dad and Sister are building at the moment too so all prices might include a discount for buying in Bulk. I'll try to specify where this is applicable.

    *Bulk price applies
    **From local or from friends so might be reduced price
    hi
    could u pm where u got those prices cause i'll starting to build next month.


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    #127
    muffler
    Registered Users Posts: 45,820 ✭✭✭✭muffler


    OK guys. I dont want to see this thread fail in its purpose. Quazzie started the thread to share the experience of building a house, to look for and receive advice from anyone and everyone who can help here and to report back on its update at various stages. The thread has been aptly named "The house that Boards built"

    I dont see any problems with people asking for feedback or recommendations from Quazzie whenever they can relate their own builds to a particular area of construction or a particular supplier/builder etc (PM's btw) but Id rather keep the thread free from others posting updates on their own builds. I know that sounds a little selfish but we all felt we would help with this one and in doing so the thread will provide a good deal of guidance to both Quazzie and others who are considering the same undertaking.

    We always welcome feedback from people who have undertaken the second most dearest thing they will ever do in their lifetime* so to that end could I ask you all to post updates of your own build over in the Live Self-Builds thread









    *Dearest thing in a life time is marrying a woman


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    #128
    A country home
    Closed Accounts Posts: 86 ✭✭A country home


    hi muffler, i kinda agree, i just think that builds get lost on the same thread. I want to ask, would there be a problem for say if i were to open one thread, and that if i had a question on my build that i could just keep going back and using the same thread? I not too sure how it works here. But i do feel there is tonnes of info to be read and ask about.
    let me know and i might just do it, rather than a new thread everytime. .

    Are you building at the moment?
    so many questions but can only type so much in a day. . c


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    #129
    muffler
    Registered Users Posts: 45,820 ✭✭✭✭muffler


    A country home wrote: »
    hi muffler, i kinda agree, i just think that builds get lost on the same thread. I want to ask, would there be a problem for say if i were to open one thread, and that if i had a question on my build that i could just keep going back and using the same thread? I not too sure how it works here. But i do feel there is tonnes of info to be read and ask about.
    let me know and i might just do it, rather than a new thread everytime. .

    Are you building at the moment?
    so many questions but can only type so much in a day. . c
    If you are looking for advice, feedback, input etc in relation to a specific topic then you may open a new thread. You can repeat this for various topics. Alternatively you can post in existing threads that directly relate to your query.

    I do want to keep this thread for its intended purpose so if you have any specific questions about using the forum then feel free to PM any of the mods here.

    Welcome aboard.


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    #130
    A country home
    Closed Accounts Posts: 86 ✭✭A country home


    muffler wrote: »
    If you are looking for advice, feedback, input etc in relation to a specific topic then you may open a new thread. You can repeat this for various topics. Alternatively you can post in existing threads that directly relate to your query.

    I do want to keep this thread for its intended purpose so if you have any specific questions about using the forum then feel free to PM any of the mods here.

    Welcome aboard.
    cool, thanks,


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    #131
    clevermike
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭clevermike


    Edit: Banned for advertising

    syd


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    #132
    BarneyMc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,504 ✭✭✭BarneyMc


    Hi Quazzie, is it possible you could post the final spec for the cavity wall you finally went with?


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    #133
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    BarneyMc wrote: »
    Hi Quazzie, is it possible you could post the final spec for the cavity wall you finally went with?
    No prob Barney.

    My final Spec is Inside - Outside
    Plasterboard - 12mm
    PIR wall insulation board - 25mm
    Air Layer between dabs - 20mm
    Concrete Block Dense 215mm
    PIR wall insulation board - 100mm
    cavity Unventilated - 40mm
    Concrete Block Dense -100mm
    External Rendering (cement/sand) - 19mm

    This should give me a uValue of 0.15 which should be plenty adequate for what I want. I got this spec after consultation with my BER advisor and also from consultation with different insulation manufacturers. This would be the road I'd advise as to achieve a wall specification that is taiilored specific to your build.

    My Floor spec is from bottom up:
    300mm Min. Compacted Hardcore.
    150mm Min. Reinforced concrete Slab.
    Radon Barrier.
    150mm PIR floor insulation board
    75mm Poured concrete screed incl. UFH elements.
    50mm Permiter insulation

    This should give me a uValue of 0.12 and should also be adequate for my build and what I hop to achieve.



    Prices per square metre:
    25mm+12.5mm PIR insulation board incl plasterboard
    €15.30
    100mm PIR insulation board
    €30.30
    150mm PIR floor insulation board
    €21.50
    I'm acquiring the perimeter insulation for free.

    All prices incl VAT and are priced per square metre.


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    #134
    BarneyMc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,504 ✭✭✭BarneyMc


    Great, thanks Quazzie and hope the build is going well!


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    #135
    soldsold
    Registered Users Posts: 552 ✭✭✭soldsold


    Hi Quazzie,

    Thanks for the price updates.

    What do you mean by...

    "Air Layer between dabs - 20mm"?

    and...

    cavity Unventilated - 40mm


    Thanks (and good luck!)

    Steve


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    #136
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    soldsold wrote: »
    Hi Quazzie,

    Thanks for the price updates.

    What do you mean by...

    "Air Layer between dabs - 20mm"?

    these are the dabs that are used by Xtratherm for fixing the insulated slabs to the wall. >>LINK<< These leave a 20mm Gap between block and slab.
    soldsold wrote: »
    and...

    cavity Unventilated - 40mm


    Thanks (and good luck!)

    Steve

    This is the term used by the cavity wall insulation provider. I think it just basically refers to a closed off cavity not exposed in any significant way to the elements.


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    #137
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    This thread was started by me here >>LINK<<
    I'm meeting my plumber this evening, and going through the system I have chosen.
    So far my the highlights of what he has quoted for are:
    Supply and installation of Geo-thermal heat pump.
    UFH upstairs and downstairs. Approx 265SqM
    Pressurised system.
    usual 1st and 2nd fix.
    300L tank


    Is there any particulars I should be asking about or anything I should add to that list. I'm always of the opinion that I should pay a bit extra now when its easier to install than have to change things later on.

    I'm clueless when it comes to plumbing so would welcome any feedback.

    So far he has quoted me €21k + VAT, for all named above with me supply all fittings separate. Does this seem reasonable.

    MODS: I hope you don't see this as double posting, I'm just trying to keep a record of all threads I started during my build on the main thread.


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    #138
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    UPDATE:

    Poured the finished floor level yesterday. I know this is going at an amzingly slow speed but there is a reason for that. I saved a further €3,000 by shopping around a bit more.

    My final figures for the plumbing cost is as follows:
    Supply of heat pump and UFH piping for Approx. 260sqM = €11,000*
    All Plumbing (incl. 1st fix, 2nd fix, fitting of Geothermal unit, supply and fit of 300L tank, fit of UFH and supply of all pipework) = €7000*
    *Prices are exclusive of VAT

    I also made another saving on the XT/UF insulation to the value of Approx €550 for the 145sqM.

    Because I have no overheads where I am and have no staff onsite apart from my Dad I'm able to take things at a slower rate and wait for the prices to match my budget.

    Next Up:
    Waiting a minimum of 1-2 weeks for setting of floor then the blocks arrive for the wall. Due to the basic shape of the house and the fact that the walls are straightforward enough the walls should fly to first floor level in about two weeks. I'm ordering my first floor now. I'm going with T-beam flooring with insulative infill. This will supply a base for a structural steel while also offering some additional sound insulation. I'm also ordering ESB installation as I hear it takes quiet a bit of time for it to be installed. The basics (Blocks, Cement etc) are being ordered and supplied on a next day turnaround. Some good to come of the recession I suppose. Also handing out tenders now for the roof. Its a simple A-roof with the exception of 4 dormers and a few Velux windows so I'll report back prices as I receive them.

    I'll also try and get a total price for the complete foundations and publish them here soon.


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    #139
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    Ok. Another Update.

    The ground floor walls are up. The space feels really cramped at the moment but all the lads on site are saying its a really big house and ironically the closing in with the roof and windows will make me realise that.

    It seems this build is going in stages of months rather than weeks. Thats probably down to my inexperience and thinking that order something today means I'll have it on site a week later. For anyone reading this thinking its easy, its not. If you have no experience at construction, personnel, or time management then hire a PM. I've my dad helping me (40+ years experience in construction), and without him I would be totally lost.

    The delay is probably also down to the fact that I'm willing to halt production for a few days at a time till I find a price or even a method that suits what I'm trying to do. For example, I got a quote for all the window heads that included some pretty high figures being quoted for the corner windows. Much higher than what I anticipated. Due to me working in the steel supply industry I managed to get the heads made up special order at about €1400 less that what was being quoted. I think holding up the build to allow for a two week turnaround on them is worth that. Plus with the weather as it is a lot of time would've been gone anyway.

    I'm in a kind of unique situation where I'm only paying a small mortgage as I'm still on first payment and paying really small rent so I can afford to do it at this stage. As the build goes on, and more mortgage is drawn down I don't think I can be so luxurious so I'll really have to get my PM hat on and get stuck in. At the moment I'm just glad I haven't made any big booboos (apart from some bad time management).

    What now?

    So steel is arriving this week on site. Being welded up and put in place Saturday (weather permitting) and then first floor arrives middle of next week. Then we'll be pouring the first floor late next week (again weather permitting).

    Budget

    Still pretty much on budget, a few things are working out more expensive, but a few are working out cheaper, so its evening out.

    Time Frame

    As stated earlier its totally gone out the window. My original moving in date was Easter 2010. I'm starting to think that maybe this is optimistic now nut, my main concern is getting it built to a good standard for as little as possible. Time frame comes a distant third in that priority list,


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    #140
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    Just a quick question. How do people get materials offloaded at their sites? I've a few tonne of steel coming tomorrow with only an old JCB and some sligns to take them off. Now it should be ok, but I'm just wondering what others generally do. Obviously lifting everything off by hand isn't a viable option for some deliveries.


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    #141
    muffler
    Registered Users Posts: 45,820 ✭✭✭✭muffler


    Most of the delivery lorries will have a hydraulic grab and can offload very quickly and if your blocklayers were nice to the driver and ready for the girders then he would even put some in place for them especially along the external walls (sold driveway permitting)


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    #142
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    Quick Update:


    So New Years has been and gone, and now we're back to work, right?

    Wrong. We're waiting for the first floor to be delivered bu with the ice thats out we can't reallistically get up on walls and starting walking ten feet above or the builders might just end up six feet under instead.

    Even if we did get the flooring up, we then need to install the upstairs UFH which can't be done because a pressure test in these temperatures is out of the question.

    I'm just itching to get going, and this weather is extremely frustration. :mad:


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    #143
    sydthebeat
    Subscribers Posts: 40,994 ✭✭✭✭sydthebeat


    realistically look at allowing another two weeks quazzie.

    possible spend the time re-checking quotations to see if anything better can be done??
    or visit sits / showrooms to check quality of products?


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    #144
    Wolfhound14
    Registered Users Posts: 100 ✭✭Wolfhound14


    Hi Quazzie, thanks for the great informative thread. I have been lurking on this forum for a few months with the occassional post.

    I got news from the architect today that planning has been granted (its my sons birthday today so celebrations all round:))

    I was wondering if you can PM me the details of your heating system i.e Heatpump supplier/manufacturer and I was also wondering if the €21K included the bore holes for the pump. I assume not, so if not can you tell me how much bore holes were?

    I probably have the space for horizontal, but we need to sink a well for water so will have a drilling company on site at some point.

    Thanks and good luck with the rest of the build


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    #145
    srdb20
    Registered Users Posts: 1,175 ✭✭✭srdb20


    Hi Quazzie,

    Can i get a copy of those details also please?

    Cheers


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    #146
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    Wolfhound14 wrote: »
    Hi Quazzie, thanks for the great informative thread. I have been lurking on this forum for a few months with the occassional post.

    I got news from the architect today that planning has been granted (its my sons birthday today so celebrations all round:))
    First up congratultions on getting the planning permission. This is when it starts to get really exciting. Try and enjoy it.
    Wolfhound14 wrote: »
    I was wondering if you can PM me the details of your heating system i.e Heatpump supplier/manufacturer and I was also wondering if the €21K included the bore holes for the pump. I assume not, so if not can you tell me how much bore holes were?

    I probably have the space for horizontal, but we need to sink a well for water so will have a drilling company on site at some point.

    Thanks and good luck with the rest of the build
    srdb20 wrote: »
    Hi Quazzie,

    Can i get a copy of those details also please?

    Cheers
    For some reason (probably an error on my behalf) I seemed to unsubscribed from this thread so I'm only seeing these posts now. I'll try get that info together this evening and I'll get PMs off to both of ye. Sorry about the delay.


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    #147
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    UPDATE:

    The concrete T Beams with insulation infills went in without much of a glitch late last week and it really closes in the dowstairs rooms but bizarrely seems to make them feel bigger. The total cost of the T Beams including the insulation infills was €2996 incl. VAT. So while it is more expensive than a timber joist floor I don't think their is any comparison between quality.

    N.B The price above does not include the steel, the 70mm screed or the ceiling finish below.

    In the space of two days it seems to have come on leaps and bounds and the plumber has been called and should be onsite tomorrow with reinforced screed being poured before the end of the week. Then it'll be another week (or two) off to allow that to set fully before putting blocks on it and restarting the wall build up. Hopefully once that braek is over it'll be pushing ahead till the roof is finished.

    It now time to start finalising electrical plans and sorting out a few of the finer details about that side. I know its probably a while off yet but I don't want to be left holding things up when the time comes due to under preparation.


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    #148
    Quazzie
    Registered Users Posts: 28,813 ✭✭✭✭Quazzie


    Long Story short - The frost kicked in and the concrete never got poured until last week. So after two months of frosty weather restricting us pouring concrete its in and drying and we should be able to push on with blocks from mid next week, weather permitting.

    Whilst I know its technically okay with precautionary measures to pour concrete during the weather we have just had it was felt by both me and my builder that it wasn't worth the risk considering where it was being poured. If it was a slab for a driveway we probably would've poured it, but if we poured this and it went wrong, the implications would've been in the tens of thousands had it went wrong.

    So back to where we are at the moment. Tenders are out for the roofing both in material and in labour. I'm getting two separate prices but also asking the roofers to supply prices of their own timber supply.

    I'm still toying around (and trying to get my head around) the electrical layout. I want to really future proof the house so that I never need to chase wires in the future. Really hard at the moment trying to think of what way to do everything.

    Lets hope the weather stays as good as it does now and my updates become a little bit more regular. Its really frustrating to watch at the moment, and I'm also starting to worry about the damage that exposure to the elements might cause to the already installed insulation.


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    #149
    johno2
    Registered Users Posts: 234 ✭✭johno2


    Quazzie wrote: »
    I'm still toying around (and trying to get my head around) the electrical layout. I want to really future proof the house so that I never need to chase wires in the future. Really hard at the moment trying to think of what way to do everything.

    I used to install data/CAT5 cables in old buildings and one method I used was to remove the skirting boards, chase a 10mm channel behind them, and tack the cables into that, before carefully replacing the skirting boards. It got me wondering why more houses weren't deliberately wired that way since it makes replacing wires or adding new ones so easy. Maybe it's against some building regs, but I think it it was done correctly with conduit it would be perfectly safe for mains power. Maybe that idea will be of some use to you.

    johno


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    #150
    Leadership
    Closed Accounts Posts: 457 ✭✭Leadership


    Quazzie wrote: »

    I'm still toying around (and trying to get my head around) the electrical layout. I want to really future proof the house so that I never need to chase wires in the future. Really hard at the moment trying to think of what way to do everything.

    Just had the same dilema myself and spent many hours investigating. What is quite clear is that there is no such thing as future proofing as I could run miles of cable and plan for a true smart home only for technology to advance in 5 years time.

    What I laid was the following:

    DATA - Didnt bother laying CAT 5/6 as wireless is fine for me. I have no reason to send HD video (requires two CAT 5/6 runs). If wireless proves unreliable then I could use a mains for DATA network.

    TV point 1 (Hi Spec) - In my family room/living rooms I have two (advanced) TV points, each point has 3x co-ax (HD Sat requires 2 and one for areial) and a CAT 5 for a telephone point. The walls are also wired with 2x Scart and 1xHDMI so a flatscreen TV can be mounted on the wal neatly. I have also laid speaker cable for 5.1 suround sound.

    TV point 2 (basic spec) - In each bed room, 3x co-ax, 1x CAT 5 for phone

    Multi room audio - I have laid speaker cable in 7 "zones" and even have cable in the garden to various points around the house. For my multi room audio I will use Apple air port express devices which will also function as a wireless repeater


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    #151
    NickTellis
    Registered Users Posts: 268 ✭✭NickTellis


    Leadership wrote: »
    I have also laid speaker cable for 5.1 suround sound.

    I'd add in a couple of extra speaker cables to make use of the advances in surround sound technology already available - 5.1 surround sound is already a bit dated with most new amps, blu ray players and discs capable of outputting 7.1... and beyond


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