Back to the future...

or maybe not?

I saw on facebook that last Tuesday was the date in which the famed (for people of my era) Delorean visited and it got me thinking of how I may have been watching our build being carried out if more of the things shown in the film were as predicted - for starters Mark & Pete, the builders, might have arrived on their hover boards...  I can't tell you how disappointed I am to find out that unless it is the date in Episode 3 where they don't actually name a date, I am 2 years and the best part of a month too early!

Even though the Back to the Future hoax has rendered me a bit disappointed this week has given me a glimpse into our future... in more ways than one!

We've both been off this week, so we could see things unfold, make tea for the workers, lean on a shovel a bit, and hand out Fliss' Bacon sarnies! Within the first two days of the week the house has been marked out, foundations dug and inspected by building control. Now we can start to see the space in reality.

 Part way through digging foundation trenches

Foundation trenches dug out and inspected, ready to pour concrete! The hole in the center isn't for a toilet  (thank you for that input Phil Clewer), but the newel post for the turn in the stairs

We also had the drawings for the frame through from Border Oak for us to approve. They were exactly what we were hoping for and gave us a little bit more understanding of how the mix of oak & soft wood frame would work together. On Wednesday we had a day off building activity on site, but we managed to squeeze in some filming for "Building the Dream" with cameraman Lee. It was just the three of us this time and we re-capped what had happened during the last filming session along with what was going on at present. It was good fun and felt much easier this time around - Lee also managed to have a bit of cake! We also signed off the amendments from Border Oak, because of the changes we made and received an idea of how the schedule of the build might work out if everything goes to plan. On Thursday, I had my chance to get behind the camera and film the concrete being poured. Not sure I will be the next "Lee Chapman", but gave it my best and we'll see if any of it is used when the cut is produced (yep another technical term I'm not sure is exactly right, but I know what I mean)!!!

The biggest bit of news of our story, isn't directly related to the build, however by way of a poem I wrote especially, I also managed to convince Fliss to agree to be my wife! Those that know Fliss well, know how fussy she is (especially Jewelry) so I had spoken to Darren Pugh Design to give him some ideas I had. How wrong my ideas were, but we have been over to design the ring, scale drawings will be done for a week Tuesday. Although I didn't envisage we'd be pouring concrete on the morning of my proposal, I had it all planned out and managed to keep it a surprise! 

So, all in all a very exciting week! Not sure I can top this one (for me anyway) next week, but will keep you up to date on how things progress with the block work on the base! The bricks and blocks have been delivered and are here ready to go. 

By for now, from a VeRy HaPpY mE!

Follow our build on Twitter www.twitter.com/fortyacresbuild 

Note to self: lights on in a caravan at this time of the year only means one thing...

...daddy-longlegs will invade!

With the exception of some soil being taken away as mentioned last week, my main physical activity this week has been removing daddy-longlegs from the caravan - there have been loads! It's been quite while since we lived in an actual house now, but I don't remember it being this bad before. Needless to say, I won't be leaving doors open and lights on in the evenings on any more! One thing that is useful to know though is that there is a common myth that they are highly poisonous but cannot bite humans, according to the University of California this isn't true...

With a big week looming, over the course of the weekend, I have mostly been me looking up at the sky and checking the weather forecast every hour, hoping that the weather will be dry for next week! The forecast is good, so we'll have to wait and see! While there hasn't been too much visible activity this week, there has been quite a lot that has been sorted and organised.

We've ordered the bricks from Travis Perkins ready to build the lower part of the building, to sit the frame onto. I wasn't too sure what time this needed to be done, but MGL builders have really helped to prioritise what to do and when. It's a god job too, because there is a local shortage of bricks and blocks - something I wouldn't have even thought could have been a problem. I am not sure if this is right or not, but I am lead to believe this is because of the regeneration of the old Hereford Cattle Market site. I don't think it will pose a problem for us, but it is another thing I would have expected to be very straight forward. 

We also managed to finalize insulation. It won't come as too much of a shock to those of you who are from Herefordshire, but we have chosen to use Kingspan Insulation. As I have said previously, wherever feasibly possible we will try to use local products/suppliers/trades and with Kingspan Insulation based just down the road in Pembridge, they were always on our wish list of products we would have preferred to use. That said, we looked at lots of options before deciding to go with them because with our limited budget and limited (but ever expanding) knowledge & understanding, we couldn't afford not to check and compare. When you add in the fact that due to an oversight on my part, I hadn't properly priced insulation as part of our original budget plan (we have a contingency built in to the plan, but insulation shouldn't be something that is a contingency)!!! With the budgeting we have tried to allow for worst case scenarios, but we might have had a real problem that could have held up progress and our budgets may have been seriously affected.

The Kingspan website, http://www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk contains a wealth of information regarding product options, properties & performance values and we utilised their technical expertise in planning what to use to give us the most suitable insulation solution. Using there recommendations along with some original suggestions by Jim Hicks/Border Oak, we have decided to go with the Kooltherm products. For the floor we will be using the K3 Floor insulation, to insulate the walls we will be using 100mm K12 Timber frame Insulation along with 37.5mm K18 Insulated plasterboard. For the roof, we will be using K7 Pitched roof insulation. We don't ever intend moving from Forty Acres, so long term planning is an important part of our decision making. Combining the Kingspan products will mean that the building will be very efficient, helping keep the long-term energy costs down.

I have spoken to several local companies this week to make preliminary enquiries about the stairs. We have a wish list, but depending on how the budget stretches we may need to make compromises with this one. We are also hoping this week to tie up our choice on roof light suppliers. 

Both Fliss & I are off work next week, which coincides perfectly for the start. We've got quite a lot we want to look at and MGL will be here Monday to make a start.This week will definitely be a BIG one for us!!!! By the end of the week we should have foundations in place. I can't wait to see that first digger bucket enter the ground as the foundations are started.

Weather permitting, by the next Blog installment we will have some visible progress!

Mistakes made, but new plans laid...

I said I would come back to re-visit the plans (again) this week and here they are dah-dah!

Pic: shows new fully glazed front oak section

The plans have proven to be a really tough challenge, and I wanted to share with you some of the mistakes I think we made and also what we have done to resolve those. 

Firstly, the outline planning was done by Mum & Dad. We are really grateful for this, because without it we wouldn't be in the position we are now - soon to be building our new home! That said our lack of understanding of the planning process has meant that, until now, we didn't make the most of the plans. 

There isn't anything wrong with the process we went through, but we did make mistakes. Here are the mains ones, I think could be avoided if we were to ever do the same again. Mistake number 1, we assumed the original drawing was exactly what we had to follow, which meant all building reg plans were done based on this plan. This isn't necessarily the case. Mistake number 2, we assumed that we couldn't have an upstairs so the plans reflected this. Mistake number 3, we failed to dream and envisage what it would be like. Mistake number 4, we should have had someone look over the plans with fresh eyes earlier, we have been very fortunate to have benefited from this as part of "Building the Dream." The consequence of our mistakes is that we will have spent more money on the planning process and drawings and we've also caused more stress than necessary for us and more time pressure for the architect. 

When we met Charlie he hit us with his suggestions with one foul swoop - part of which I am sure was for the benefit of the program, but after we had some time to reflect on them most of the suggestions will make a real difference. He suggested that we changed around the whole downstairs living space (the position of the kitchen, lounge, dining areas), this one we aren't planning on doing. He also suggested that we move the rear wall inline on the rear, either leaving a small oak porch on the rear or removing it altogether. We have decided that we like the frame as it is and will be leaving it as a porch (as shown below). Moving the rear wall in slightly will mean that there is less surface area to lose heat and we can have a turn in the stairs, which is something we really wanted! He also suggested that we glazed the whole front oak frame and to maximise the aesthetic impact and light into the building (as shown above). He added that we should take a section of the upstairs landing away, which will give us light upstairs along with also make the Oak frame entirely visible and not stuck in a cupboard. 

We had approx 2 weeks to get these plans tweaked to reflect our new ideas, and JJH have managed to come up with the goods in a very short space of time. I had been patiently waiting, for what seems like an eternity and the plans finally came through yesterday. For those with an eye for detail, you may have noticed that the building finish has changed slightly, to be weatherboard throughout. JJH made this suggestion because there wasn't a natural break on the rear because there is now a porch instead of being part of the centre on the house. Initially it took some getting used to the new idea, but having previously costed the build, this may actually save some cost on the external finish - which can be used somewhere else!

Pic: shows new exposed oak porch on rear of building and weather boarding change

We are both delighted with the new plans! Having a learnt a little throughout this process, I am not expecting them to be perfect and I am sure we will come across things as we are living there that we could have done differently. It's easy with the benefit of hindsight, but we haven't built or project managed a house build before!

To sum up what I've learned from the planning process I would say; seek advice from experts and people who have been through the same process, BUT don't take anything as gospel without checking and double checking things for yourself. Dream and have vision or seek inspiration. If like me you aren't particularly visually creative, look at magazines, the internet other people houses etc to get ideas - and don't be afraid to borrow them!

Now off on a different tangent, we've had confirmation that the base works will be started week of the 23rd September. Hitrees are also coming this week to take away a little more soil to ensure we have a decent amount of space around the building to have suitable paths. 

I really hope the weather holds up!!!

By for now, Tim

Pic: shows new downstairs window to east elevation (down the garden)

Lights, camera, action... The next Tom Cruise?

As you know we had our first filming session for the "Building the Dream" series, it was the first time for either of us doing anything like that, and what made it even more nerve wracking was that until this day we hadn't even met anyone from True North - and we haven't even seen an episode, because it hasn't been on air yet... Sorry if this goes on a bit, but I just wanted to try and capture everything that happened. 

After work at the Garage on Tuesday night, I went to help mum and dad do a bit more towards their move, but once it got dark we headed back to the van for the compulsory "tidy up, cobweb check & bathroom clean." I tried to explain that it was 3 men coming and they probably wouldn't notice cobwebs anyway, but alas my point was ignored so I gathered the feather duster to remove the webs. I wasn't feeling particularly nervous that evening, more curious as to how the day would unfold - all we knew was that the crew were going to be with us at around 10 am, with Charlie joining us around 10:30 and we would be heading to lunch around 12:30 at The Corners. Tidying and temporary removal done for the night, we went to bed.

I woke early (again), so got up to do a bit more moving/tidying. I think nervously excited best describes how I was feeling. When Fliss got up a little later, she didn't seem at all worried about the cameras, just wanting to make sure the van was clean... 

We had a phone call around 9 from Lee the director for the day to say traffic was bad and they wouldn't be here until 11ish. It wasn't a major problem because we had both planned for the day anyway... When the crew arrived, I don't know why (as only 2 names were mentioned when we were confirming things), I was expecting more than 2 people. Both Lee & Stoksey introduced themselves and immediately made us feel at ease, there was an energy that they seemed to generate. They were more or less straight to it, with barely even time to have a cuppa. We had a quick walk around the plot and Lee ran through what would happen, while Stoksey fetched the camera out of the van (slightly better & different to my Nikon) and set up checking light etc. Charlie arrived and we chatted for a while, mostly about cars and living in the Caravan & I made another cuppa (see I do make the tea). So far so good.

We then set about filming, it was fairly light hearted, with banter between the crew and Charlie. We were told to relax and ignore the camera and then it was shoved in our faces approx 2 feet away from us (very relaxing!!!) It started with a Q & A session where Charlie asked questions about our plans etc and after a nervous start I got into it a bit. Fliss didn't seem at all phased, which I have to say I was surprised about. This first part took a couple of hours and the questions & answers were asked several times and it was shot from several directions/ways. Once we shot a few rushes, yep I am now down with the lingo (although I'm not sure if it means the same as I think it does), we finished that segment and headed down to The Corners Inn. 

The next section of filming was focused on our plans. Both Border Oak & JJH Architectural Design had agreed to let the plans be filmed and used for the program. Whilst we waited Charlie spent some time looking over the plans, but no notes were made - I said that must be good news, Charlie laughed... we then re-started filming and we discussed the plans, I can't actually remember the discussion we had, but then Charlie began to scribble on the drawings. It seemed to be about 100 miles per hour, then he hit us with his suggestions. Silence. It felt like we were silent for about half an hour, both Fliss and I were stunned. I hadn't been expecting that and I felt myself getting agitated and defending what we had done previously. I really don't know why because it wasn't supposed to be picking apart our plans, and on reflection it wasn't even given to us in that way. I think it demonstrates how much this all means to me. We broke for lunch and once that was done, we went back and discussed his suggestions again on camera - it was at that point that it registered some of the suggestions he made were really good and one of the would transform the house, in our view (now we have got used to it), for the better. All I can remember thinking was, oh god, we've only got around 2 weeks to get these changes made before the building starts being produced - how on earth would this work as we didn't really want to delay the build any further... Thankfully after a few Emails and phone calls to Jim at JJH & Border Oak, I think we will be OK (I'll come back to this next week).

We then wrapped up the filming inside, Wayne Mills the new club house manager at Luctonians attempted a bit of discreet photo bombing, when moving the van (hopefully he managed to get in the shot) and we moved outside for the final bit of filming for the day. The last bit was a walk down the village, I assume for some kind of intro to the program.

We finished, sorted out the agreements and then left, with our own camera (not quite as good as the one being used on the day I might add) to use in between filming sessions. With the exception of a quick Oldfields/Markhams rescue for the crew (thanks Tavey for the lending the tools), who managed to push a step onto the tyre when going down a curb on the way out of The Corners, that was it.

I don't think Tom Cruise has anything to worry about just yet, but I don't think we did too bad considering! Next blog I'll talk through Charlies suggestions for the revised plans (again, sorry Jim).

Thanks, Tim

PS - The first series on Building the Dream will be on air on More 4 at 9pm Tuesday from next week (10th September). We'll be watching to see what we have let ourselves in for!

Over 750 & counting... the revised plans are also in...

Amazingly as I write this, I have had 754 Blog views in less than 4 weeks. A huge thank you for your interest and I will try my best to keep it interesting throughout the build! This week has seen little movement in terms of physical activities (thank god my office hands probably couldn't cope with another weekend like the last just yet), however significant developments on the plans! I also had a thought that I hadn't really told you how we got to this point.

Originally the outline scheme and plans were done by Border Oak for Mum & Dad and getting planning was a pretty long and drawn out process. Although there were several rejections, planning was finally granted on the basis of the existing Chalet (come bit of caravan, bit of block built and any other bit of material that could be found) being already there. They carried out the works to make a technical start so planning would be kept live and from that point stopped. The reason they decided not to do the full build themselves was because the Herefordshire planning office would only allow a single-storey sized building and it was a little too far off the beaten track to be somewhere to retire to. 

Original Border Oak Plans:


I moved onto the site into the Chalet initially, where Fliss joined me (it must be love to take that leap) and due to a leaky roof decided to side-grade to a Static Caravan giving a little more space and no leaks. During this process we've had help from friends, Ben Kuegler with the temporary electrics to the van, Chris Jones with the waste - making it livable for a short, well maybe long period. Ben Chambers of CES Electrical Services fixed the broadband for us and I am sure there were more!

Fliss & I took these plans and went on to the building regs stage enlisting the services of Jim Hicks at JJH Architectural Design, tweaking them to suit our preferences. I remember the meeting vividly, because we did it September 2012 straight from the Airport coming back off holiday. We went through the existing plans, outlining what we wanted and thought we could feasibly afford. As part of future planning we also asked Jim to sketch out how we could eventually put an upstairs in... 

Through a bit of hearsay, I had heard that there had been some changes in the planning rules, which could provide an interesting development. We decided to take some pre-planning advice (a paid for service provided by Herefordshire Council) and I submitted some sketches (I did freehand myself) to include some extra windows & skylights to the front and rear and an upstairs plan. Having been told before that we wouldn't be able to have an upstairs, I have to say that I was surprised when a letter came back saying "planning approval wouldn't be required." There are obviously conditions to this including no changes to the footprint and overall size of the build. Another stipulation was that the roof-light windows didn't protrude too much above the roof. The lesson learnt from this is sometimes you need to check for yourself, rather than listening to other people - definitely something I will be applying throughout the build!

We set about getting some more drawings done by Jim and submitting them to the council building control.

Here are the plans:


Downstairs there is going to be a main open plan living space, incorporating the kitchen, dining area and lounge. There will also be a shower room and two further rooms. Upstairs there will be 2 bedrooms, one with a walk in cupboard, and a bathroom.

Border Oak have also written to us to say that our frame will be started on the 21st October - hopefully this means that we will have a completed shell in place by November.

We have an exciting week ahead, because Charlie Luxton will be coming down with the True North crew for our first session of filming for Building the Dream Series 2!

Thanks for reading, Tim

A digger, 3rd acre and Gabion maker...

A full on weekend, with lots of help, Gabions, a digger and dumper, a rescue - and when you sandwich a bank holiday BBQ with friends in between (thanks Jay & Em), what more can you want? The weather held up in the main which certainly helped. 

As it was the last long weekend of year, we wanted to get as much done as possible. With help from Arnie, Dad, Mum, Dan (my brother) and a rescue from Ian Godding of Hitrees (thanks Ian!!!!) after a slight indiscretion with the digger (caused by loose soft soil and some rain), we are both really happy with what has been achieved at the end of it. We managed to make, locate and fill a enough Gabions to protect the roadside; back fill soil up to them to level the bottom end of the garden; dig out the back edge of the plot where our home will be; create a couple of new tumps of soil for later in the build & widen the driveway (and the gate post, but that wasn't supposed to happen)! 

Flat packed Gabions, being assembled ready to install by Fliss

As I have already mentioned we decided wire metal Gabion baskets because they were the quickest, easiest and most cost effective solution - but this was the first time I have used Gabions. Cost effective yes, easy and quick no! They we 3.5 mm wire, arrived flat packed, pre-hinged on some sides, with a big roll of wire to tie the other ends. Both mine and Fliss' hands were aching and sore from twisting the wire to lock the sides together (my excuse is office job hands). If you were using them on a flat surface, with uniform stone to fill them with, they would be really simple and very fast to put together - but we weren't. We were spanning an area of approx 7.5 meters this time, with a mixture of large and smaller stone - which was mainly recycled from a fireplace in a cottage that Mum & Dad had in Orleton. The edge where the baskets were being laid wasn't level, which meant using a digger and shovel (well Dad mostly on the shovel) to create as level a base to lay them as possible. The stone used wasn't ideal for this use because it was a bit too big and heavy, proving difficult to get into the baskets without bending them. However, because these weren't going to have a shown face/edge it didn't matter too much, but if we do decide to use them in a more decorative position, it would definitely need to be thought about properly and possibly even going for the thicker wire baskets. 

The stone is much travelled; being hand mauled onto trailers from Orleton to Forty Acres, to Luston and now back to Forty Acres with the assistance of trailers lent from MGL Builders & Roger Mellings Building. Lugging stone is hard graft when you have to hand maul it on and off trailers, into wheel barrows and finally into the Gabions, luckily everyone mucked in and we had a bit of extra help from Dan & Arnie!

During the weekend, with a whistle-stop tutorial on controls, I learnt to operate a digger and by the end of the weekend I was nearly able to ensure the bucket moved the right way first time - even when hopping between digger an dumper.

I tweeted a couple of pics over the weekend www.twitter.com/FortyAcresBuild 

During the next week or so we will be confirming drawings, trying to sort out the best options for insulation. For the next installment I will share some of the plans, until then bye for now!

Tim

A new 30-metre tape, a retaining wall, oh & Building the Dream

This week has seen some exciting developments already happening. We've taken delivery of gabions baskets, I have got a new 30 metre tape measure and we have had confirmation that our meeting on the 13th August has resulted in something very exciting!

Firstly my brand spanking new tape measure, this may seem trivial to some of you (most men though - and of course some women, will understand the excitement of taking delivery of new tools), but I have already put it through it's paces. I have used a full twelve meters of it to give us a real feel for sizes of the building and also the downstairs rooms! Visually when we measured the bedroom sizes it doesn't look big enough to fit a bed in, but again reaching for the tape it is surprising how much space there will be in our little house. 

We have also taken delivery of some Gabion baskets. We need a retaining wall for the bottom end of the garden to enable us to level the plot a little and give us somewhere to put the excess soil from where the building will be positioned. We have already moved quite a lot of soil, but even though Dad said I should have put a retaining wall down the bottom, due to timing we didn't which means we have to dig a bit out and put it in after. After looking at several options including block, sleepers etc, Gabions proved to be the most cost effective option - and because Mum & Dad already had a significant amount of stone available to fill them with, that is what we chose. We sourced them through a company not too far away, Fine Mesh Metals, in Telford. If all goes well we are thinking about using them to retain the soil at the top end? 



The final piece of news this week is pretty big! 

Over the last month we have had some discussions with a TV production company about a show they are due to air later this year. These discussions lead to a planned taster tape on Tuesday 13th of August, with the cameraman due to be with us in the afternoon. Sally from True North rang us a little before he was supposed to arrive to explain that due to a technical hitch (lost car keys), Lee wasn't able to make it to us. We both felt disappointed and I think Sally sensed it. Lee was going to miss out on cakes we had bought (luckily for him, but that is another story), we'd even tidied the Caravan! However, we were keen to do something while we were both here and conducted a video interview over the web. It wasn't ideal because the signal kept dropping out and there was some noise interference, but nonetheless Sally said she would see what she could do with it! I wasn't convinced what we had done would be any good so was concerned that it didn't give us the best chance. A week passed and still no news, a few days more went by and today I decided to make the call to see what was happening? Amazingly, Sally had worked some magic and was able to make a taster tape out of what we had and was just waiting for Channel 4...

When the call came this afternoon, I was feeling a little wary about getting the news. I had convinced myself that too long had passed for anything to happen. Today though we have had confirmation that our project is going to be filmed by True North Productions for a new Channel 4 series called "Building the Dream." It's exciting news for us, ultimately meaning that we will have a unique visual document of the build - from start to finish!

We will be part of the second series (the first series is due to be aired in Autumn) and they will be following our self-build, with filming throughout the process culminating in a 1 hour programme being shown at the end of it all. 

Busy weekend ahead with the digger and dumper ordered and I am sure I'll be measuring something or other!

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Tim