Our Victorian/industrial/canalside new build thread...
Discussion
OK, time for a bit of an update. Pictures tell a thousand words and all that...
The moment we've been waiting for for two years...breaking ground!
After a few days' digging...floor level marked by the red peg.
The first of many loads leaves site...
Getting there on the levels...
Thought I'd found a fossil in the temporary roadway hardcore. Got all excited...bloody thing's made of concrete and one of many strange fossil tiles!
Foundations dug and ply going in ready for the concrete pour. First bit of good news...we thought we were going to need piling, turns out the ground was much better than expected. Builder, architect, and building control all happy that standard foundations are fine. That's just made a big difference to the budget!
More to follow next week when the house foundations are in and we start to look at the garage base. Still a bit of levelling to do so we end up with a sensible garden, we'll obviously do that now whilst we still have the machines on site. But very exciting that it's now going to be a case of stuff being added rather than taken away. And positively surreal that this thing that has existed in our minds and on paper only, that we had no idea for over 18 months if we'd actually be allowed to build, is kinda physically there...walking from "room" to room is very weird!
The moment we've been waiting for for two years...breaking ground!
After a few days' digging...floor level marked by the red peg.
The first of many loads leaves site...
Getting there on the levels...
Thought I'd found a fossil in the temporary roadway hardcore. Got all excited...bloody thing's made of concrete and one of many strange fossil tiles!
Foundations dug and ply going in ready for the concrete pour. First bit of good news...we thought we were going to need piling, turns out the ground was much better than expected. Builder, architect, and building control all happy that standard foundations are fine. That's just made a big difference to the budget!
More to follow next week when the house foundations are in and we start to look at the garage base. Still a bit of levelling to do so we end up with a sensible garden, we'll obviously do that now whilst we still have the machines on site. But very exciting that it's now going to be a case of stuff being added rather than taken away. And positively surreal that this thing that has existed in our minds and on paper only, that we had no idea for over 18 months if we'd actually be allowed to build, is kinda physically there...walking from "room" to room is very weird!
economicpygmy said:
Looks like a nice plot.
Did the people overlooking complain, or were they the family you purchased the land from?
Don't want to go into too much detail here, however we have been as upfront and communicative as possible with all the neighbours. We had a real mix from supporters to objectors, however second time around the committee followed the planning guidelines to the letter and it went through. I genuinely believe it will smarten the area up no end from a previously overgrown field, and this will be our home...not a development for profit. Did the people overlooking complain, or were they the family you purchased the land from?
Hard-Drive said:
economicpygmy said:
Looks like a nice plot.
Did the people overlooking complain, or were they the family you purchased the land from?
Don't want to go into too much detail here, however we have been as upfront and communicative as possible with all the neighbours. We had a real mix from supporters to objectors, however second time around the committee followed the planning guidelines to the letter and it went through. I genuinely believe it will smarten the area up no end from a previously overgrown field, and this will be our home...not a development for profit. Did the people overlooking complain, or were they the family you purchased the land from?
economicpygmy said:
I ask as I would like to do what youre doing but finding the land and getting planning permission seems difficult. Good luck with the build and I look forward to reading the updates
It is tricky, both finding plots, and getting PP. We were very lucky with the plot although it still took literally years to get PP. And I get the feeling that with self build coming more and more into the spotlight, decent plots will become more scarce and prices will go up. I also get the feeling that the easiest way in, is to buy an older house, built when gardens were proper sized gardens, that also has no architectural merit or green belt/conservation/TPO nastiness, which needs total renovation with a view to knocking it down and starting again.
Hard-Drive said:
I also get the feeling that the easiest way in, is to buy an older house, built when gardens were proper sized gardens, that also has no architectural merit or green belt/conservation/TPO nastiness, which needs total renovation with a view to knocking it down and starting again.
My sister and BiL have just done this having spent years looking for a viable plot. Seems a shame to knock down a perfectly reasonable house (which it was, a 60s bungalow that had been lived in by one family, but had seen better days) but it was the only way to get land where they wanted with enough room for a garden and garage without competing with developers looking to put 4 or 5 'executive' new builds on the plot.Hard-Drive said:
Thought I'd found a fossil in the temporary roadway hardcore. Got all excited...bloody thing's made of concrete and one of many strange fossil tiles!
Ha ha that's hilarious. You assured us it was a minimum of 60 million years old! And its concrete..... Genius..... Looks like good progress though. Can't wait for a BBQ next summer!chrisga said:
Ha ha that's hilarious. You assured us it was a minimum of 60 million years old! And its concrete..... Genius..... Looks like good progress though. Can't wait for a BBQ next summer!
Trust me I felt such a plum! Don't think I'll be giving up the day job and becoming a paleontologist anytime soon!Anyway, here's some more concrete. Floor beams from the cretinous period I reckon.
More progress. Finished floor level will be where the top of the breeze block is on this photo...we will be going for screed and underfloor heating. A number of courses of blue brick will be going in soon, ready for the bricklayers to start at the end of the month, and then (weather permitting) it should really start to go up quite quickly. Drainage starting to go in now too.
Hard-Drive said:
Anyway, here's some more concrete. Floor beams from the cretinous period I reckon.
If you look closely you'll see that those piles of breeze blocks were put there in Neolithic times and align exactly with the sun and Stonehenge during the solstice. Edited by AC43 on Monday 14th September 14:55
AC43 said:
If you look closely you'll see that those piles of breeze blocks were put there in Neolithic times and align exactly with the sun and Stonehenge during the solstice.
Sssshhhhh!!! That's just asking for work to be stopped whilst an archaeologist double checks if that really is the case!Edited by AC43 on Monday 14th September 14:55
Blue bricks almost done. There's one course of blue plinth bricks to go on, and then it's on with the reds next week, and the "thin joint" blockwork behind. The "room" nearest the camera is the kitchen/diner, with space for the bifold door out onto the newly stoned patio. There's a corresponding bifold into the living room which also opens onto the patio. Ultimately the patio will have a simple retractable sail-cloth canopy, rattan sofas, lighting etc, and will be another outside room...just walk between the kitchen and living room via the patio in summer.
And, as this is PH, the most important bit...the foundations for the garage!
Double doors will be where the mini-digger is parked.
And, as this is PH, the most important bit...the foundations for the garage!
Double doors will be where the mini-digger is parked.Hard-Drive said:
More progress. Finished floor level will be where the top of the breeze block is on this photo...we will be going for screed and underfloor heating. A number of courses of blue brick will be going in soon, ready for the bricklayers to start at the end of the month, and then (weather permitting) it should really start to go up quite quickly. Drainage starting to go in now too.
Is that the Patio?
tty joke sorry mate thought it looked a bit like a patio Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff