House build

[Colin Grigson]

Whilst the screed dries out properly we’ve made a start on the construction of the small pool. It was dug out yesterday and the spoil removed and we’re now ready for the concrete base that may be poured later if a pump is available … we need to get these larger projects complete before we tackle the facade of the house in a couple of weeks time - I don’t want concrete splashes up the new finish

 

[JhnBssll]

There's 3 months of digging there at JhnBssll speed... Impressive!

I look forward to your updates, it'll be sad to see it finished in some ways haha

 

[Colin Grigson]

There's 3 months of digging there at JhnBssll speed... Impressive!

I look forward to your updates, it'll be sad to see it finished in some ways haha

That took just over two hours yesterday with 2 earth moving tippers rotating taking away the spoil - they’re a well organised outfit the diggers …
‘sad to see it finished’ you say …. depends on your perspective I suppose … I won’t be sad, but not pleased when it’s done either - more relieved it’s done without major issues - so far at least
To show some solidarity, I’ve asked the builder to leave a small piece of porch flashing … a house is never ‘finished’

 

[irw]

Whilst the screed dries out properly we’ve made a start on the construction of the small pool. It was dug out yesterday and the spoil removed and we’re now ready for the concrete base that may be poured later if a pump is available … we need to get these larger projects complete before we tackle the facade of the house in a couple of weeks time - I don’t want concrete splashes up the new finish

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That's the small pool? How big is the big pool?!

 

[Colin Grigson]

That's the small pool? How big is the big pool?!

The hole is big, but you’ll see as the walls go up that the pool is considerably smaller than the hole required for its construction. It’s final dimensions will be 6m x 3m x 1.5m deep - somewhere to cool off rather than swim lengths in

 

[gzoom]

you’ll note my location is Slovakia so the methods and sequence of the build may be a little different to that in U.K. and elsewhere … it might interest someone … it might not

Am not at all jealous of the progress you have made.....We had planning permission approval for our house build nearly 3 years ago now here in the UK. I contacted our builder again just last night, still no idea on start date, even getting a quote from the steel company is proving almost impossible at present, thats before we get into the 30-40%+ increase in build price over the last 18 months!!

All I can still do is look at our planning drawing and dream .

 

[Colin Grigson]

Am not at all jealous of the progress you have made.....We had planning permission approval for our house build nearly 3 years ago now here in the UK. I contacted our builder again just last night, still no idea on start date, even getting a quote from the steel company is proving almost impossible at present, thats before we get into the 30-40%+ increase in build price over the last 18 months!!

All I can still do is look at our planning drawing and dream .

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Prices have gone crazy for materials … subbies here are leaving quotes open for days / weeks rather than months and it’s strictly ‘money for materials on the table’ with order so they can secure their price. I don’t know where this will end but I echo your 30% - 40% increase in 18 months - there’s no end in sight to the increases and to people (like us) already committed to a build it’s a real headache - contingency monies are being used up for inflationary price increases. Your plans look great by the way - where in U.K. will that be ?.

 

[iandg]

Prices have gone through the roof - and delivery times. 50 sheets of plasterboard, 8 weeks delivery. We started a renovation in 2019. Budget £150k needed a £70k mortgage (getting a loan for a non-habitable property is another story) to finish the project. It's taken 3 years to get from this

To this

 

[Colin Grigson]

Prices have gone through the roof - and delivery times. 50 sheets of plasterboard, 8 weeks delivery. We started a renovation in 2019. Budget £150k needed a £70k mortgage (getting a loan for a non-habitable property is another story) to finish the project. It's taken 3 years to get from this

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To this

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That’s an incredible transformation Ian - hat doffed !. It’s often easier to build from scratch than restore / renovate to that degree - I feel your pain regarding the budget pressures

 

[Colin Grigson]

My guys have got their ‘second wind’ … at this rate I’ll be sipping a Margarita poolside on Tuesday
They’ll fill the cavities with a strong concrete mix in due course - that should keep the potentially frozen mass of earth on the outside at bay …

 

[alicat]

They’ll fill the cavities with a strong concrete mix in due course - that should keep the potentially frozen mass of earth on the outside at bay …

I'd be more worried about what will keep the water inside...

 

[Colin Grigson]

I'd be more worried about what will keep the water inside...

The pool liner should do that. The pool is built so strongly in case the ground around it freezes - the forces of freezing earth are incredible and can easily crack a non-reinforced pool - in temperate countries you don’t have to worry about such things but here it’s not uncommon to have -20’C in winter.
Have you packed your water wings alicat ?

 

[alicat]

^^^ thanks for the explanation, @Colin Grigson.

Have you packed your water wings alicat ?

Going to look for them now!

 

[bruce1530]

I remember a local farmer telling me about building a "slurry pit" with a similar construction to that small pool - dig a much bigger hole than you need, pour a concrete base, build a block structure to enclose the slurry, backfill the walls with some of the exavated dirt, leaving a "pool".

He then went on a trip to a supposedly "less industrially developed" region and watched them build a similar construction, using just concrete and a tractor/backhoe. Mark out your 6mx4m (or whatever) shape, dig a 12 inch wide trench around it, about 2m deep. Fill trench with concrete and let it set. Excavate the dirt from the middle. Pour a concrete base.

Not as pretty as his method, but much cheaper and easier.

 

[Colin Grigson]

The fireplace is being fitted this week - the design has changed a little from the original due to a change in cladding material around the sides of the fire … the choice was stone or plastered but with a fire resistant ‘spacer’ to absorb any fluctuations due to expansion once the fire was hot - having seen the ‘spacer’ material we’ve opted for stone at the sides … I haven’t described it well but it should become evident once the stone is applied … in the meantime the 14.5kw fire is being built in … it draws cold air from outside via a trunking run under the floor - this will chuck out more heat than your average ‘tea-light’