tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83948458584126924462024-08-30T15:36:23.566+01:00Catch up with developments on my new self-build project where I will take you through all of the stages involved in building my new home. If you are thinking of building your own home then hopefully this blog will give you a good idea of what to expect!Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-78285695555790025192010-11-24T16:24:00.000+00:002010-11-24T16:24:48.598+00:00

It's about time we celebrated the project success so far with a little song...this one is called the "Window Song" by a little know band who go by the name of The Kooks... Although I said the building was water tight I was not strictly telling the truth.  In fact we've taken a massive gamble the last few weeks to commence plastering and internal wiring without windows!  Yes

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-43032570593903286982010-11-24T16:17:00.000+00:002010-11-24T16:17:12.041+00:00

With the new boundary fence in place it was time for Derek and the team to get back to the main task in hand and start the process of plaster boarding and skimming out the rooms starting upstairs and working the muck down as always. At the same time James the sparky started wiring the main socket and lighting circuits. For the first time since we started the build the stress levels have began

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-64697234611246308642010-11-24T15:48:00.001+00:002010-11-24T16:33:05.313+00:00

Well not quiet! The build is progressing really well now and Dereks view is that he should be practically complete by mid-Oct ready for us to start moving in and completing final finishes such as interior paint work, lighting, flooring and external driveways and patios. So we need to crack on and get our current house that we renovated ready for marketing. One of the key factors that we wanted

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-86423010777143780452010-11-24T15:26:00.000+00:002010-11-24T15:26:40.183+00:00

Well after yesterdays fiasco with the UFH I totally forgot that I'd scheduled the water board to lay the water mains down the drive today!  SO we've now got three dirty big gaping holes in the drive at 10:30am and the screed delivery was due at lunchtime - OMG!!!! And to make matters worse Derek wasn't on site today either so I had to negotiate with the screed company to take the long

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-85799515622641368742010-11-24T15:03:00.000+00:002010-11-24T15:03:53.561+00:00

Now that the roof is on and the building is water tight work can begin in ernest on the inside. We have been remarkably lucky weather-wise with the build so far. In fact this has been one of the driest summers I've known for Halifax in quiet some time...let's hope it stays that way. First job on the list is installing the Under Floor Heating (UFH). After weeks of umm-ing and aaarrggh-ing coupled

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-20460343804921759202010-08-04T22:04:00.000+01:002010-08-04T22:04:52.106+01:00

As you can see from these recent photos the main roof is now complete along with the guttering (so many styles to chose from) and the water tables (I mentioned these little babies a few posts back).  Water tables are basically solid slabs of stone used more for decoration that anything practical but you gotta admit it really finishes off the roof over the gable and besides this is the main

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-46321562768533970532010-07-28T22:55:00.001+01:002010-07-28T22:55:39.487+01:00

Whilst Paul and Derek argue over who gets the short stick the tile supplier is busy shipping the tiles to the site ready to be installed on the newly felted and battened roof.  I really can't remember who got the short stick but things did get ugly not long afterwards. For sixty Derek certainly gives the "young-uns" a run for their money on the roof - I guess that were the dancing comes in

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-89796546291456997482010-07-28T22:39:00.000+01:002010-07-28T22:39:55.729+01:00

Construction is a funny business because at each stage of the build different trades come and go but I have noticed a bit of friction between the various trades - a bit of class war you might say.  Reminds me of the infamous John Cleese sketch with Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker "I know my place". In fact this photo also reminded of the sketch too....alas it's all in the mind.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-33041228234591057422010-07-28T22:18:00.000+01:002010-07-28T22:18:21.252+01:00

A man like Derek needs something to reflect his image - I've got a lovely Skoda in the forecourt if you're interested?  Still the personalised number plate must be keeping the value on the van...you are long overdue a new work-horse. Still things have progressed really well whilst I was on holiday with the main roof timber structure now installed it's suddenly starting to look like a normal

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-60497535945765566562010-07-15T20:39:00.000+01:002010-07-15T20:39:56.693+01:00

...well at least until I get back from my jollies so there will be no more posts this next week. "Don't worry about a thing", "enjoy yourself", "have a great time", "I'll only phone you in an emergency", "We'll still be here - even if your house isn't" were some of the well wishes and back slapping we got from the building-duo of Derek and Paul as we got ready to leave for a week in Majorca -

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-36334407387625454892010-07-13T22:04:00.000+01:002010-07-13T22:04:21.789+01:00

Not that I was out walking the dog the other day but I wanted to see what the house looked like from the different vantage points around my neighbourhood (or street scene as the planning officers at the local council refer to it). I'd like to think we're conscientious developers - after all this house is going to be around long after I'm "deed" and I wanted to leave behind a legacy to

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-41420431532249871342010-07-13T21:47:00.000+01:002010-07-13T21:47:53.940+01:00

...after many weeks of travel the third wise man (actually Duncan my architect) finally arrives to complete a modern take of the infamous biblical scene - "And lo, the brickies were abiding their walls by night"! Having worked on the technical drawings I think Duncan was pleasantly surprised how well the build had progressed in such a short time and finally could see in all it's glory the mass

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-60068779396928360432010-07-04T21:44:00.000+01:002010-07-04T21:44:23.830+01:00

Well I couldn't afford the third wise man so I had to make do with Dexter (Dereks new nickname from my kids) and Mick-the-Mick (he's browner than a chocolate brownies).  Derek is the one in blue and Mick is modelling a little dusty salmon pink number. I'm not sure what they are doing (HSE - the kick-board has been removed temporarily whilst the stone was lifted into position before being

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-87946568600468001382010-07-04T21:32:00.000+01:002010-07-04T21:32:30.074+01:00

Dunno about you but I have never given scaffolding much thought until I got the bill - £2,000 for an 8 week hire. Well call me cynical but where else can you get that sort of money for erecting the scaffold in a day then leaving at the customers site until finished at which point you spend another day dismantling and moving to the next paying customers site.  No storage costs, no maintenance

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-78862974618858946932010-07-04T21:15:00.000+01:002010-07-04T21:15:25.566+01:00

Well I hope to have many more floors but your first is always the best!  Seriously Derek and his gang have been very lucky with the weather as we all have.  I really could not have picked a better time to start building - no torrential and persistent downpours rendering the building site a mud bath.  Just day after day after day of beautiful British sunshine!

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-11336929017519165822010-07-04T20:54:00.001+01:002010-07-04T20:57:02.229+01:00

A respectable smash hit movie of the 1980's relaunched the career of Michael Douglas and catapulted Kathleen Turner into instant stardom.  This romantic comedy....woah...hang on a minute...not that romancing the stone!  Look if you really want to know what the hell I'm talking about pop over to YouTube and have a gander at the trailer to refresh your memory (Romancing The Stone Trailer

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-35481694658604600292010-07-04T20:27:00.000+01:002010-07-04T20:27:35.937+01:00

Apologies to those who are following this blog for not publishing any blogs for the best part of a month.  Unfortunately things have gone a bit craz-eey at work lately and bloggin has been the last thing on my mind. Anyway you will see over the next few posts that things are really starting to motor very quickly now and the number of minor (and sometimes major) decisions we're having to

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-51444760729608210252010-06-09T23:01:00.000+01:002010-06-09T23:01:23.577+01:00

As part of the new Building Regulations all new build houses must provide details of energy efficiency they are targeting at design stage and then have this checked for compliance at completion.  In addition you also need to conduct an Air Leakage test too.  There are yet more professionals offering up services to complete these for you and by the sound of it it's not something you

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-24003353712326209252010-06-09T22:49:00.001+01:002010-06-09T23:04:19.595+01:00

One things for sure I'm starting to pick up the building trade lingo now - life will never be the same - I've even started noticing the different types of stone course used, whether it's dressed or sawn and I can now name the quarry certain houses are built from.  You start comparing build quality and can see where builders have cut corners by not mixing the stone off pallet. Anyway I

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-31798145610046124032010-06-09T22:24:00.000+01:002010-06-09T22:24:06.627+01:00

They say that the two areas where money is made or lost when building is getting out of the ground and internal finishes.  You have far more control over the latter by simply compromising on the luxury items such as the100" Plasma TV you've always dreamed of, the grand staircase, the antique oak flooring, the granite worktops etc. BUT the one thing you cannot compromise on is the foundation

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-61706910223187884222010-05-22T08:25:00.001+01:002010-05-22T08:26:52.122+01:00

...and I' not referring to the British pop group of the 80's who had a smash hit with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" back in 1982 (click here to watch the video).    Er back to reality - we encountered are first small challenge of the build so far.  The private drive to our new house is er, well ... a tight fit!  To be precise it's less than

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-55827747723364103022010-05-19T20:51:00.000+01:002010-05-19T20:51:45.415+01:00

What a difference a day at work makes - NOT!  At times rapid progress is made but then on others not much happens at all.  Today was a case in point.  Even though we're only at the end of Day 3 - I must remember this project is nothing like building computer systems for the banks!  Looking at the pile of muck now completely blocking the site entrance (I'm sure Andy knows what

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-38575932971126800732010-05-18T21:57:00.000+01:002010-05-18T21:57:07.856+01:00

Groundworks is the term used to describe all the stuff builders do beneath ground level.  It's what my house will be built on so needs to be done properly.  It's a right mixed bag involving excavation, drainage, services, concreting and blockwork - a dirty job even when it's not lashing it down - but someone's got to do it.  With the advent of small machinery it's now possible to

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-30187352013020831872010-05-18T21:12:00.001+01:002010-05-18T21:15:18.120+01:00

Well after weeks of planning and preparation work has finally got under way today to create the entrance to the site so that the groundwork contractor (Andy McNair) can start the task of site clearance - getting rid of the vegetative layer - that's soil to you and I and levelling the ground ready for setting out - that's marking where the house will sit on the plot. I suppose I can now say my

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394845858412692446.post-33234867088240839922010-05-16T12:55:00.000+01:002010-05-16T12:55:05.608+01:00

With a building plot in my possession the next step was to produce a house design that would compliment and fit proportionally in the surrounding area and obtain the all important full plannin permission from the Local Planning Department.  As you will have seen from previous posts the local area is made up of mixed housing stock - bungalows, post-war semi-detached and detached right upto to

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07737326098744145041noreply@blogger.com0