The roof is coming...

After week 2 of the frame work, we were up to the wall plates, with scaffolding erected around the house and the internal bird cage - now the roof carpentry has started!

Scaffolding up, ready for the roof works to start.

There have been a few small complications with the frame, but this has been resolved and it was all fixed together ready for the roof. One the benefits of using a local company is that we didn't have to wait very long for it to be resolved and it didn't cause a delay to the project..

Last week felt quite a stressful week with lots to organise and arrange, but piece by piece it is getting closer to our finished home. I've learnt a lot this last week while discussing various facets of the building works, materials and more. Fortunately I have a lot of people to talk through most areas of the build and finishing. Utilising expertise from trades qualified and skilled in what they do is a key part of the building process, but I feel you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that at the end of it, it is our project and it will culminate in our dream home being developed.

After a bit of a mix up with the arrangement of the scaffolding supplier, I chose to arrange my own supplier. There were a few factors that influenced this, firstly they came highly recommended by several people I know and trust. Secondly they were competitively priced and finally I have had a relationship with them as a customer and have always found them straightforward to deal with. After being put back by a day, Boyd Scaffolding arrived on Thursday as agreed. They talked me through what they were going to do on site; and the scaffolding was up in 2 days. I wasn't on site while it went up, but they kept me up to date with information on progress and any queries they had.

Raised scaffolding at the gable ends

At the end of last week it was great to get up on the scaffolding to have a look at what the upstairs space might be like and of course the views we will get once the caravan moves! The kids were up this weekend and they hadn't seen it since it was just a base. A lot has happened in two weeks and they were quite excited by it all. 

Internal bird cage scaffolding inside the house.

Attic trusses being unloaded #ruraltrafficjamcaused

The roof carpentry has started this week, along with a spot of filming tomorrow.

Thanks for reading, Tim

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)