Budget London Rental

We’re on the home straight. The house looks absolutely fabulous and now that all the major building works are over we have decided to finish one thing at a time, so this month have concentrated on getting the front garden finished for a number of reasons:
1) the weather has been great
2) there was a fantastic sale at our local garden centre in Cruise Hill where we bought conifers for as little as £16, small topiary balls which would normally be around £20 were on sale for £6
3) we really wanted to create some off street parking
To start off with, we laid the geotextile fabric down to stop the weeds from growing up through the gravel drive. We then recycled some of the rubble and building materials and use them in the driveway. For example the sand, left over from the renderers, 2 tons of it to be precise, was raked out to flatten the drive. We then used Joosten GS Panels www.joostenkunststoffen.nl which look like plastic egg boxes, to go on top of the sand. These soak away panels are an important part of the points system for Code 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. It requires that the ‘grey’ or waste water produced by the house must not place an additional strain on the local services; it has to operate independently; be self sufficient. These Joosten panels help the rainwater to drain away, solidify the gravel and stabilize the ground. I think they’re great. They were recommended to us by the engineer at the planning stage and cost about £10 per square metre but its worth it because it saves the gravel, keeps the drive looking nice and so in the long term it will probably be a cost saving as the gravel will stay looking nice for much longer. After all that, we laid 3.5 tons of 2mm gravel on top them all. We collected the gravel when we needed it which was a cheaper way to buy as it cost us £30 per ton as opposed to £40 had it been delivered in one go. We had sleepers which we bought 4 years ago for just £1. I knew they would come in handy and they have! We’ve used them to define all the raised beds front and back and planted everything we had bought up in various garden centre sales. We also used all the bricks from the pub renovation to make up the flower beds.

The finishing touches have been made with gorgeous Georgian style gates which we bought on ebay for £60. Barry drove all the way to Stoke on Trent to pick them up. It was a 7 hour round trip but worth every minute. They look fabulous and really finish off the front of the house. We have also been busy buying and selling things at auction including a table and chairs for the kitchen. I like the idea of things being reused. We throw away too much and recycled materials also add character to a home.
The grand finale for this month was when we said goodbye to our caravan. It was sold on ebay for £175. We bought it for £270 4 months ago, which means it has only cost us £95 to live for four months… Not bad for a London rental!

Italy… well perhaps not.

We were going to go to Italy for a break this month to celebrate the end of the major building works and take a well earned break but alas, it wasn’t to be. Too much work to do which was a bit of a disappointment but even so, the rewards have been many… Within two weeks all the second fix electrics and plumbings were 70% complete and as soon as we had hot water, we dragged the mattress in from the caravan outside and enjoyed our first night in our new home. What an amazing feeling that was!

We have also managed to enjoy the thrill of making few savings as a result of a little recycling and some chance meetings on a shopping expedition: We re-used some of the wood flooring the builders were throwing away during the pub demolition which not only looks great but saved us a bob or two; Barry and Nick have laid oak flooring in the dinning area in the kitchen and also in the lounge which also looks wonderful; then one day, on our way up to a garden centre in North London, we came across a granite supplier – Granitedirect.com who supplied all our granite worktops for just £1,000 – a total bargain!

We did have a mild moment of hysteria at one point which was quickly replaced with total euphoria. It was the day the glaziers finished their work. They had been onsite for 2 days fitting all the window panes throughout the house and then putting back every single one of the 1200 pieces of beading which we had taken out and painted. Barry asked them for the paper work for the glass as proof that we had ordered and fitted, the highest quality, Argon filled glass which we needed to get our pass for our Code assessment. This glass, supplied by Pilkington, has a very low U value which means that it is extremely airtight, something that can earn several points as part of any Code assessment. The trouble was, the information on the paper work wasn’t tallying and so for one nasty moment, we thought we had fitted the whole house with the wrong glass! Thankfully after several phone calls and checks of the various emails and order forms we’ve collected over the months, we found the proof we were looking for so could all breathe a sigh of relief! The glaziers went home, and we enjoyed a well earned glass of wine and a take away from the local Chinese.

The biggest high this month, was when the scaffolding came down. It was like unwrapping a present. Not only could we see the house properly for the first time, but by removing the extra 2 metre width that the scaffolding took up, it made the house look even more spectacular on the plot. We’re tired but delighted after all the work done this month.

Swings & Roundabouts

This month the focus has been on getting all the second fix work finished, the drylining, and the blockwork and rendering done so that a first coat of paint could go onto the outside of the house. Its been busy, but worth it as the house is really beginning to take shape.

Potton arrived with all the second fix joinery including the stairs, skirting boards and doors to be fitted throughout and outside. Their recommended carpenter, Tom, who was doing all the second fix carpentry, was amazing. Every morning, without fail, he turned up at 6.30am. He worked tirelessly throughout the day and did a beautiful job. He even helped me by creating a miniature door for the under-stairs cupboard. It looks like a mini front door which we will put a knocker on and at Christmas time, dress with a wreath so that our grand children can have a ‘build in’ playhouse.

Meantime, the plumber and electrician have been working hard to get us to the point where we have lighting and heating and the dryliner, Danny Bramley, has covered up all the extra insulation in the walls which we painstakingly cut out and put in last month. (All that work and nothing to show for it!) Danny has been great though, not only has he done all the drylining  but he has also done some fantastic work putting up coving which has been meticulously crafted and finished off throughout the entire house.

Our jobs continue to be ordering materials and making sure that the trades are onsite as and when they need to be but, this month, I have been doing some tiling, a job I haven’t done in 30 years, which I have to say, I have really enjoyed and so will get on with doing the tiling throughout the house as it will save us a few hundred pounds.

Everything has been great except for one hiccup with the company supplying the steel lintels for the windows and door frame. They made three attempts to bring the right material and each time the lintels were wrong. So, rather than waiting for a fourth delivery, which, could also have been wrong, we went with an idea that the blockworkers had to solve the problem. To cut a long story short, they suggested cutting down the steel lintels that had already been supplied. We checked the idea with Potton and they were happy with the suggestion so we then negotiated with the company who supplied the lintels to let us have the last delivery free of charge.

All in all it meant that we had the money to pay the blockworkers to fit the lintels. It cost us about three days in time but after paying the blockworkers we found we were about £500 better off…. Great news as it gave us a little extra to spend on other things!

We’ve learned that it’s often like this… what you save with one deal you spend on another. It’s the only way to stay within your budget and keep to the build schedule.

Getting our hands dirty

We are now over half way through and bang on schedule. The beauty of building with a timber frame kit is that the trades can work on the house, inside and out, in tandem. As such we have had the carpenters, the plumbers, and electricians working inside, while the roofing and the block work has been going on outside. (The roof, by the way looks fantastic! Just what what we wanted. Those tiles really make the house look as though it has been standing for over a hundred years.)

In between these jobs, to save money, we have been doing as much as we can to help. As one of the points we need to achieve the Lifetime Homes element of the Code Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable homes, we have had to sheet out all bathroom and utility room with plywood. The idea is that there is a wooden structure on the walls that is strong enough to cope with reinforced handrails should an elderly or disabled person need them.

In addition, before all the plasterboard could be fitted, we needed to go round all the external walls with extra 30mm insulation and fill all the walls. This was a weekend job which we managed to get done by the skin of our teeth thanks to the help we had from our son in law, Nick. After that, we went around and took photographs of the inside of the walls to remind us where all the cabling and pipework had been laid, so that there are no unpleasant surprises when shelves or pictures get put up once the house is built!!

Throughout the house the electrician has laid cables for low energy lights, another feature we have opted for to achieve Level 3. We may also be able to get points for the quality and quantity of natural light in the interior under the ʻHealth and Wellbeingʻ section which, given the size and number of windows throughout the house, is entirely feasible. So far so good. The house looks great. The roof is nearly on and now that the dryliners have finished, the rooms have all been defined properly so our house is really beginning to take shape.

Rising from the ground…

Over the last few weeks we have quite literally watched our house rise up from the ground!

At the end of week 1 the ground floor was up, by the end of the week 2, the second floor and by the end of week 3 the roof on and we could see the skeleton of our new home. Amazing!

This all took place once the scaffolders had put up scaffold around the slab. The Potton kit then arrived on the back of a lorry and from that minute on, the house began to take shape. It’s a day I doubt we will ever forget. The skill with which they manoevered both the truck and the forklift on the site was incredible. There wasn’t much room to play with and yet they moved each part of our timber frame kit off the lorry and onto site with effortless precision. Within hours of the kit arriving there were walls marking the boundaries and rooms for the first floor of the house. All we could do is sit there soaking up the moment. It was pure theatre!

From that moment on the erection team, which consisted of just three guys, worked tirelessly. They were fantastic and so was the weather for the entire three weeks they were on site, so once finished it seemed only fitting that we cracked open a bottle of champagne with them to celebrate.

We have been sleeping on site in our ebay caravan since the kit arrived which has been an adventure. It’s been great as we have been able to keep an eye on the site AND it’s easy to fall out of bed and onto site for a 7am start.

Every day there has been something to do. Evenings are spent searching the internet looking at materials we might need and the days are spent organising the various materials and trades that need to be onsite throughout the build. In the middle of all that we have made the odd visit to garden centres or auction houses to snap up any bargains on offer. It’s one of the ways we hope to save money. We have picked up mature plants and shrubs for a fraction of their normal cost; much better than buying at full price when we come to landscape the garden at the end of the build! Not suprisingly the garden is now full of plants. We have planted all our borders with trees and climbers to provide us with some privacy and the rest are in pots waiting for planting out once the house is finished.

One of the key jobs we have had to get done in the past few weeks was to paint all the beading on every one of the windows ready for when the glazier to comes in. So as soon as the windows were in, we painstakingly removed every piece of beading and have now painted all 1200 of them which will have to be put back once the window pains go in and the frames have been painted. According to the glazier, this will save a lot of problems, time and effort later on. I hope he is right because it has taken hours!

The only delay we have had so far has been with the roofer, who was due to start a week earlier than he did but couldn’t as he was delayed on another job. In some ways it was a blessing as we were undecided about roof tiles. But, with the help of Terry Mahoney at Potton, we settled on a wonderful Fresco blue grey slate roof tile, imported from China believe it or not. Not only is it cheaper but it also looks beautifully weathered so we hope that it will serve to make the house look like it has been there for ever and a day. Will keep you posted!!

In the beginning…

We’re finally on track to build our dream home, and although it’ll mean living in a caravan for four months or so while we project manage the build ourselves, we know itʼll be worth every minute. We’d pursued various sites over the years but for one reason or another, they fell through. It wasn’t until a local developer advertised a former pub for development in Barnet, near to where we live, that we heard about this land – the old pub garden.

As we managed to find out where he lived via the land registry, we popped a note through his letter box expressing our interest, and he rang us back that afternoon. We met the next day and within a week had sealed the deal.

We wanted to build with a package company, because it enabled us to see exactly what we would be buying and looked at a few before choosing Kingspan Potton. Weʼre fans of Georgian architecture and were impressed by the homes in their Heritage range, some of which give a smart nod to this enduring style. We liked two of their designs, and worked with the team to tailor a set of plans for our home, cherry picking our favourite features from the two we liked.

We worked with a local architect to get the plans accepted as we are in a high profile conservation area. Potton then worked very closely with us to fine tune the design, they help in all ways to get the home you really want. For us, it’s all about family, and although our four children are all grown up, we wanted somewhere we could all relax together when they came to visit. Weʼve also included a useable space in the roof that Gill can use as an art studio.

Initially we submitted a set of plans that were quite conservative with regards to the look of the house, thinking they’d be more likely to go for it, but they weren’t totally happy with the symmetry, so we produced the full Brandham B design we had our heart set on, and incredibly they loved it. Because it’s a conservation area, the plans had to go through various committees but fortunately jumped through every single hoop with flying colours. This was back in October 2009.

With planning achieved we could finally order the timber frame, which had a lead time of a couple of months (this could vary, depending on the self builder’s timeframe). In the meantime we had to prepare for the ground works, erect fencing and start a tree planting programme to the boundary of the site, so we were kept very busy through the winter months. Kingspan Potton gives you an invaluable guide to building your own house which tells you what to do and when to do it and that’s become our bible. It includes a recommended list of tradespeople, too, which we’ve used as we wanted to know that the people weʼll be working with are used to working on timber frame builds.

We had to sell our previous home in order to fund the site purchase and the build cost for our new home. The site cost was £400,000, our build budget is £200,000 and allowing for fees etc; we expect the total finished cost to be around £650,000. Both our sale and purchase were conditional on obtaining planning permission for our new home and with a flexible purchaser and willing vendor the whole exercise was quite straight forward. When we had completed the sale of our house at the end of October we took a 6 month rental on a small flat in the same road as our build. We found a bargain caravan on e-bay for £257 and 9P! which we decided would be good to live in on site both from a security point of view and to be constantly on hand for the various trades. Barry made a call to the Council to check the caravan would be OK and they were fine. At least the weather will be warmer while weʼre roughing it, although the lack of a shower is a little daunting – thank goodness our eldest daughter lives close by!

As we have had running water and electricity connected to site we are self sufficient and Barry even managed to persuade a very helpful BT engineer to link up telephone and internet to our caravan.

The first stage of the work – clearing the land and laying the foundations – has just finished and we have to say that building in a pub garden is full of surprises! The contractors discovered an old air raid shelter and remains of a stable while clearing the site and excavating for the foundations. It must have been a pretty big shelter, although all that’s left is a reinforced concrete wall. But we had to get the building inspector in to give the go-ahead to demolish it and hire extra machinery, which cost a couple of days delay and of course the cement required increased dramatically. But that’s building for you – you have to make allowances for the unexpected.

In all, the site clearance, trench foundations and getting the block and beam floor in has taken about four weeks. Now the contractors have finished, the next stage is for the scaffolding to arrive, then the kit for the timber frame, which will take two or three weeks to put up. The whole build is scheduled to take around 16 weeks – although I’ll be wanting to move in way before that. The way I see it, we’ll be in as soon as we can get a foam mat and sleeping bags in there!

Coming soon…

We’ll be blogging the progress of our dream home self-build home very soon. Please bookmark us.