Regardless of design mix top of foundation should be a minimum of 450mm from finished ground level...... this usually means 2 courses of concrete block below ground. At one end of the house there only appears to be one course.
Self build house - advice please
- Thread starter Colourjam
- Start date
Regardless of design mix top of foundation should be a minimum of 450mm from finished ground level...... this usually means 2 courses of concrete block below ground. At one end of the house there only appears to be one course.
Man of Honour
Your build is quite a feat, I’m looking forward to future updates. 
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 Jun 2006
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- 4,315
i also have no advice but im looking forward to see your progress, im very jelous...nice stuff mate
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Soldato
Awesome thread!
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Soldato
Nonsense its common to mass fill trenches to the top, concrete block is going to be no more resistant to frost than mass fill concrete. That's why its possible to specify C40 concrete.
Besides we don't know where ground level is anyway
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Soldato
- Joined
- 12 May 2005
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I can't add any advice, but very impressive.
First of all they are clearly not mass fill foundations (strictly speaking frost cover is 600mm to underside of the foundation but since foundations tend to be a minimum 150mm deep its normally taken as 450mm to top of foundation) and the susceptability of the concrete or blockwork is irrelevant its frost heave in the underlying ground. Secondly all I asked was if he was sure he had sufficient frost cover, judging from some of the photographs the original ground isnt far above the foundation level.
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Hello muckers,
As promised here are the pics of the roof going on.
Thanks for all your concerns about the foundations but there have been 3 different people who have signed this off as being OK, the builder, the architect, and the NHBC guy who checked the land before the concrete was poured and after it had set. As mentioned before too the land is very hard, once you get to a certain depth there is near impenetrable red clay... I don’t think the house is going anywhere, not that I'm an expert... but the experts I've spoke to say I shouldn’t have any problems.
There is also a fair amount of muck to be spread back around the house, most of what you see at the base will be covered.. at least those first two courses of bricks maybe a little more. I've attached a front elevation below too so you can see.
Front elevation
Crane Lifting on trusses
Next steps are to get proper scaffolding around the entire house and start permanently bracing it better and building in the Velux windows. After that we will be sheeting the roof, felting it, put on battens and adding tiles.
Cheers for all the interest I didn’t really think the thread would take off.
As promised here are the pics of the roof going on.
Thanks for all your concerns about the foundations but there have been 3 different people who have signed this off as being OK, the builder, the architect, and the NHBC guy who checked the land before the concrete was poured and after it had set. As mentioned before too the land is very hard, once you get to a certain depth there is near impenetrable red clay... I don’t think the house is going anywhere, not that I'm an expert... but the experts I've spoke to say I shouldn’t have any problems.
There is also a fair amount of muck to be spread back around the house, most of what you see at the base will be covered.. at least those first two courses of bricks maybe a little more. I've attached a front elevation below too so you can see.
Front elevation
Crane Lifting on trusses
Next steps are to get proper scaffolding around the entire house and start permanently bracing it better and building in the Velux windows. After that we will be sheeting the roof, felting it, put on battens and adding tiles.
Cheers for all the interest I didn’t really think the thread would take off.
Associate
Looks absolutely awesome - keep up the hard work 
And I echo the sentiments regarding Cat6 - 8 drops in each room
And I echo the sentiments regarding Cat6 - 8 drops in each room
Soldato
Id prob say..
Heat exchange system
Underfloor heating
Whole house wired for entertainment (possibly individual room controls)
Solar panels are quite good, as you can sell the power to the grid and pay extremely low costs per year for electricity.
The HES is something I definitely want in my home. I have watched every series of grand designs and have my plans for my home in many years time
I'm addicted to building my own home.
Heat exchange system
Underfloor heating
Whole house wired for entertainment (possibly individual room controls)
Solar panels are quite good, as you can sell the power to the grid and pay extremely low costs per year for electricity.
The HES is something I definitely want in my home. I have watched every series of grand designs and have my plans for my home in many years time
I'm addicted to building my own home.
Soldato
Lookin good... also, I just noticed all the trees nearby - they should make the place really nice to live around - I wish my house had more trees near it! do you own the land with trees on?
but back to gadgetry, all I'd do is put all the standard power, phone, etc sockets (and any others that you expect to be using straight away) in, then just have a pipe of some kind going to each room as proposed earlier so more cables can easily be connected if needed.
but back to gadgetry, all I'd do is put all the standard power, phone, etc sockets (and any others that you expect to be using straight away) in, then just have a pipe of some kind going to each room as proposed earlier so more cables can easily be connected if needed.
Associate
Always put more sockets in than you think you need. I have been hardwiring my house as i go. I have been putting 2 cat 6e lines into each room as these can also carry phone and alarm/house automation signals in the future if needed.i have also been wiring in surround sound into the rooms as i go for 7.1 to upgrade the ent system when units come down in price. I am using the central cuboard under the stairs as a central hub for the house for NAS storage etc. Install undergound networking and power to where you expect your garage/shed to be now as it is a lot less painfull than doing it in the future. you need at least SWA cable for garage/shed power. Go to your local libray for cable size due to voltage drop.
Looking very good so far good luck with the rest of the build
From experience if you think in the future you may extend put the plumbing in place now as the minimal cost will mean you will not have to rip the finished house to pieces to do it. If you intend to do house automation you will need to run an extra power cable to the light/equipment in each room from your central hub where you will house the control system
Looking very good so far good luck with the rest of the build
From experience if you think in the future you may extend put the plumbing in place now as the minimal cost will mean you will not have to rip the finished house to pieces to do it. If you intend to do house automation you will need to run an extra power cable to the light/equipment in each room from your central hub where you will house the control system
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Associate
Are you kidding? You are living the dream! Beats a TJ07 build any day of the week
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Man of Honour
I love underfloor heating!
This looks like it's going to be fantastic. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses.
What's your ETC?
This looks like it's going to be fantastic. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses.
What's your ETC?
Soldato
Looks awesome!
Has no-one noticed how good the photo quality is? Or is it just me?
Has no-one noticed how good the photo quality is? Or is it just me?
Unfortunatly not, we did initially come to an agreement with the lady next door who was willing to sell... the land has been unused for at least 50 years, but a friend of hers told her house would devalue significantly so she decided against selling. Fair enough but we had an estate agent view her property when she was keen on selling who said it wouldnt affect the value as the property already had a good sized garden. I think there will be scope in future to buy the land but not sure how much it will sell for if the house goes up too.
The Apple trees at the front of the house are mine though, mmmm apples!
Cool cheers, not kidding, its just with all the DIY shows etc I didnt think there would be a lot of interest.
We coulda been in by Christmas this year but because the mortgage company held us back for so long it's looking like February 2010 now.
Thanks. Could prob got the photos a bit better if I'm honest, there just quick snaps without much thought to exposure or light. The lens used for most of the pics is a Canon 24-105L, the wide angle shots were on a 10-20 Sigma.
Soldato
Any Updates??