Week Decisions

I've just woken up at 6:00 am and today is my 39th birthday!  I feel pretty good waking up early having slept through the night not thinking about house issues.

The house has immersed us in the cycle of having to make decisions.  I thought that we had done lots of research in years gone by but until you get into the detail and finally make a decision it just doesn't stop.  Take one single element i.e. we (Flora mainly) really wanted a rainwater harvesting system rather than Matt's strategically placed raised water butts.  It took not only the internet time but many discussions with Gary and Dave and then more time with the tree expert from the council who was worried that our C graded trees were being possibly affected by the large hole.

Quick summary of where we're at: -

1. Block work about 7 ft in height.
2. Windows and doors finally ordered apart from garden door that may be made separately.
3. Wood burner stove - from Stovesonline now ordered (double insert back boiler).  It's going to give out 5 kw to the room and 14 kw to the thermal store.  I thought we were going for the smaller version 5kw and 10 kw but maybe it's better to have too much than too little?
4. Kitchen 'range / chimney' insert dimensions adjusted and starting to be re-built.
5. Money leaving our bank account at a fast rate of knots... mortgage application sent to the Ecology Building Society.
6. Kitchen confirmed from Howdens but need to get Garry to order it and confirm the trade price.
7. Accepted expensive water connection quotation from Wessex Water.
8. Sent Gas and electricity paperwork for estimates.

Flora and Tilly standing in the kitchen / dining area

Things to be done soon: -

1. Expensive seasoned oak beams to be ordered for above the cooker.
2. Make a decision about the fireplace wood storage.
3. Order the MVHR (mechanical ventilation heat recovery) from the Green Building Store.
4. Confirm prices of wavy edged oak weather boarding.
5. Research more plumbers that can instal solar thermal and back boilers (easier to find fairies at the bottom of the garden).
6. Come up with a estimated lighting cost from the Original Lighting Company. Went up to London for the Olympics and at the same time visited their showroom to take some pictures.

Looking from the dining area to the play room and beyond to the sitting room

Week 11 - 1st week August out of the ground

Week 11 - August

Time rushes by when work cranks up and then you've also got lots of ringing around to for the house thus the last thing on my list is to actually record what has been going on!

In a month things are looking really positive having now poured a considerable amount of concrete and the weather for a short spell decided to clear up with a week of sun.

Concrete piles being delivered - early July

17th July after considerable amount of rain the cellar still looks good - had to be pumped out again

Looking at the wood store & utility room then the trench foundations for the kitchen and dining room

27th July - all the concrete has finally been poured!  Aircrete blocks can start to be laid.

South west corner of the house showing the monks stair indent

1st August it's starting to look more like a house!

a)  Things that I've just completed and feel considerably more relieved by finally doing so: -

1) Gas application - this shouldn't be too bad considering Dave thought (as did everyone else) that the large concrete bollard thing next to the site was water when in fact it's mains gas!

2) Electricity - day after I posted the application they've already contacted Garry so I'm impressed but we're see.

3) Water application was a pain in the arse asking for schematic which yours truly attempted to do and come up with a simplified version.  They've also made contact.

b)  Things to do.

1)  Windows - Having been badgered by Flora who is understandably apprehensive about the cost of triple glazing I finally got ringing the various other companies.  Having sent a few emails about 5 weeks ago and received nothing telephoning is certainly the more effective way.  Two alternative companies we going to obtain quotes for are the Passivehaus Stove in Devon and Rawlinton in Bristol.  We're going to do a whirl wind tour at some point in the next few weeks to see the actual windows.  I can't decided whether having aluminium powder coated is better than painted.  Essentially the former doesn't need any maintenance which sounds great but it may only last 30 / 40 years where as the painted wood version needs reapplying every 5 years but may last considerably longer.

2)  Heating systems - Stovesonline have been really useful talking about installing a double insert stove with back boiler. I hoping they're be able to recommend a plumber who might be able to design and commission the heating system.  I've had a quote from Celic Solar who seem pretty expensive but they may be in the end the ones to go for.  Passivehaus Store also have a non anti freeze system which apparently makes a low maintenance opinion.

3) Flora is researching the kitchen having gone to Howdens and spoken to Andrew about other ideas.  She's come up with the good idea of making the kitchen range area more interesting looking by adding a fire place / kink to hide the extractor fan.  The range / induction cooker has so far been sourced.

4) Lighting - we were recommended to look at http://www.lightingmatters.co.uk which for the first time I've actually come across a lighting website that I thought had some wonderful ideas.  It actually got me excited rather than down hearted to think we might be able to have some of these in our house.  We both agree that we're spend our money on the main communal areas with ordinary lighting upstairs.

Week 6 - More concrete sir?

Just a quick one really.  Dave and Garry have been carrying on this week building up the block walls so now it's looks pretty good but with a huge amount of concrete!  What can we expect if you want to reinforce a deep hole I suppose but it's a bit annoying.

Nigel Davies the QS met with Harry yesterday to indicate that we can indeed probably afford the house!

I met with Celtic Solar (can't remember his name) on Monday.  He was very knowledgable having a good answer to my questions and concerns.  The solar thermal panels could be positioned on the south facing side with the PV panels (which I still think is viable 10 yr pay back) on the south west side.  He did think that in colder times we're probably have to use the gas boiler as the wood burner back boiler output will not be enough.

Looking more like a cellar

Enjoyed a few hours this afternoon with Polly and Isla up at the Ropewalk watching the steel reinforcing mesh be fixed into place ready for the concrete base layer to be poured tomorrow morning.

Week 4 - Jubilee bank holiday & rain

Jubilee Bank holiday and a change of weather

Week 4 - 6th - 8th June

Hurray! Work on the site began again in ernest trying to make up for the days lost which didn't help the rain coming in off the Atlantic in a series of depressions.  Garry, Dave and JJ carried on through it all.  I only stopped a few times really to have a look at the larger digger and the solution coming in the form of a big steel frame being placed into the ground in order to act as a temporary retaining wall.  After that it sounds like the initial concrete is poured for the base, then the block work starts going up and then at some point lots more concrete will be poured on the outside of this frame at which point it gets lifted out before said concrete sets.  All sounds ok in principle but these things are heavy and it certainly wasn't helped by the torrent of rain coming down and is unfortunately predicted to also fall for most of the forthcoming week!  That's it time to take the Eore (?) principle of luck that will be probably be the wettest summer in living memory and only stop raining when the roof has been put on.

Don't get me wrong ground works is a very essential element to any build works but frankly it doesn't make great opportunities for images!

On a research front Flora has got a clearer idea of ranges / cookers having visited Spillers of Chard. I agree with her that an induction hob sounds good which all seems to easy surely we should arguing about something not agreeing all the time (ok most of the time she's very patient).

I've just found a company that says it's very good at dealing with multiple connections rather than going to all the different utility companies deal with just the one.  With my experience over the past few months of trying to deal with SSE I would be delighted if there was another solution.

Week 3 - wot no work

Enjoy the sun! A perfect time to build a house.... 

Week 3 – 28th May to 1st June

No work has taken place (Monday as will not this week) apart from the meeting with two ground works firms.  In summary is means good news as Dave and Garry will be able to carry out the work themselves with the only real cost coming from additional plant hire, time and materials so yes there is an extra cost attached but certainly not at what I was thinking £10,000 - £20,000 more. I estimate somewhere in the region of about £5,000.  I’ve decided that you can’t really think about building a house unless you think of chunks of £5,000 or probably most things it’s more likely to be £10,000. Which doesn’t mean I want to spend this money it just seems to be the way things go!

Week 2 - a hole of a problem

Week 2 – The hole gets bigger.

The hole is getting bigger which is causing quite a bit of speculation amongst the parents at the primary school. Then quite suddenly there is a noticeable line in the soil.  One side of the soil was very noticeably different to the other.  Apparently, everyone thinks that the rock was quarried out a long time ago and backfilled.  We what can you do?  Get angry?  Nope, I’ve been frustrated enough with the PV panels at Mill on the Brue to last me a lifetime!

Met with Nigel the QS who seem like a good person to have on board. He’s going to talk to Dave and Garry and Andrew next week in order to get the detail.  Well I just hope he comes up with a figure that we can afford, as it’s too late now.

The hole situation has meant that the building works has had to stop on Thursday.  The structural engineer came out to see and discuss the matter with Dave and Garry plus Harry.  He’s approached two companies that specialize in more difficult ground works.  Garry said that if the cellar hadn’t been excavated then they might have never known the true difference of the soil.  The worst case scenario would have been to see the houses’ back break if and when the foundations on the weaker ground subsided.

Centre of image the distinctive line marking what is thought to be the boundary between old quarried backfill (right of line) and virgin soil.