This is the road that runs in front of the house.

The front view of the house with the windows showing now.

The house is up to the level of the bottom of the windows now. This is the side of the house viewed from the neighbouring field.

The builder wants to know if we are having range cooker or not - it will affect where he puts the flue. We were thinking of just having a wood burning stove in the kitchen - not a range. Now we have to decide a bit sooner than we thought. If we get a range - it will probably be a Stanley one - see website..

Moving Doors

On Friday TC - our builder - just happened to mention that the door from the kitchen to the utility room could do with moving a few feet. Now - I respect his views and ideas - so we went back to revisit the kitchen layout. We thought we had it fairly well sorted back in February - but out came the rulers and the free kitchen planning tools . In the end we decided that really the door needed moving in the opposite direction - so we will have to let the builder know soon . He hasn't done the internal walls yet - so we are not too late!
What else will we wish we had changed after it's built??

A close up view of the front wall of the house showing the cavity wall insulation ( Kingspan tw50 ) and the steel wall ties.

The garage is also starting to take shape too.

A view of the building from a bit further back (This is the fromt of the house)

The walls are taking shape now. It's amazing how many blocks can be laid in a couple of days. No work done today though - it's raining.

We Need to choose a front door too!

In Sickness and In Health

I haven't managed to get to see the progress with the blocklaying - which started on Monday. With trips to hospital and a tummy bug myself - we've not had the time or the energy to get there. The builder has started on the Garage (probably because the insulation for the house hadn't arrived). The insulation came Monday lunchtime - so maybe they have made a start on the house by now. I will report progress tomorrow hopefully with a picture or two.
By the way - Sean (our son) has torn a tendon in his knee and will be in a plaster cast for 6 weeks - so that should be fun!!

Blocks Delivered

Two loads of concrete blocke were delivered some time yesterday. I went to the site to check today. There are about 2500 blocks. The sand has been ordered and should arrive Monday. The cement and a few other things will also hopefully arrive on Monday along with the Insulation.
I would have had a picture of the blocks - but the weather was so wet and windy and cold I didn't bother.
I need to think about organising an electrician and plumber soon - they will be the next things to be done when the roof is on. It won't be till mid to late January - but it's best to have them lined up ready to go.

Cavity Insulation

The partial fill cavity insulation for the house will probably be provided by Kingspan Insulation. They seem to be the favourite around here - and they are an Irish company.

Ordering the Blocks Tomorrow

TC the builder phoned this evening to say he would be ready to start laying the blocks next week.
So now I have some orders to place.
The concrete blocks - 2000 for now - need to be ordered.
Also cement , sand, plasticiser, waterproofer, damp proof course, Insulation boards, steel ties , flue collars, flue gathering.
I will be getting in touch with 3 different suppliers in the morning (or sometime tomorrow). Hopefully early next week I will have some new pictures to show.

Snow Falling

The First snow of winter is falling here inthe West of Ireland. It's sleet really - so it's not settling.
We are still waiting a few more days before thinking of laying blocks. The foundation was only poured 2 weeks ago - so we will give it another few days before blocklaying begins.
Waiting - again. More time to look at other important things like heatng , flooring, tiles, bathrooms and fitted kitchens.

Best Place to Live in the World?

Bloomberg.com: U.K.: "Ireland is considered to be the most attractive destination in the world for quality of life because it ``successfully combines the most desirable factors, such as low unemployment and political liberties, with the preservation of certain cosier factors such as stable family and community life,'' the Economist said "

So we did make the right move then? I just hope this doesn't mean Ireland will get overcrowded!

A Self Build Book

This book called Building Your Own Home has had some good reviews on Amazon. It is available at the moment within 24 hours and costs under £18.00. Amazon do free UK delivery on orders over £19.00 .

Geothermal Heating ?

This site Alternative Heating & Cooling Ltd., Skibbereen, Co Cork, Ireland is one of the many providers of the increasingly popular Geothermal Heating. It's something I have considered then dropped - but I am looking into it again. It could cost more than double the price of conventional heating systems - but you should get the extra cost abck in savings in a few years. Especially if oil prices keep rising. It is an attractive option - but there is always the fear of the unknown.

Brick and Block Calculator -

Before building any structure it is essential to estimate what materials you will need so you can estimate the cost and order the correct amounts.

Block and brick built homes are still the most common in Ireland.
Every house will be different - but a  20 sq metr wall will need 200 blocks sized at  440 by 215 mm

This calculator will work out the number of blocks or bricks you need to build a wall. For a whole house you will need to add up the length of all the walls internal and external. Brick and Block Calculator -

Windows and Doors..

This site Swedex.ie has a good selection of doors - a bit different to the usual solid pine that everyone seems to get round these parts. Not sure of the prices though - some further investigation required. There will be about 14 internal doors in the new house we are building.

Planning the Kitchen

If Ikea had a shop in Ireland I might get the Kitchen units from them - but mainly because Irish law doesn't allow shops to be built over a certain size - Ikea won't come to Ireland. his doesn't stop us from using their handy kitchen planning software - which you can find here :
IKEA | IKEA kitchen planning tool

View from the back of the site

This is the view from what will be our back garden.

Foundations down

The foundations as at 6/11/04. You can see our youngest son sitting on the corner.

Heating with Oil Boilers

The choice of fuel in the West of Ireland is either Oil , Solid Fuel (Coal/Peat/Wood) or Electricity or LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas). Oil is still the cheapest option - but will it be that way in a few more years?

I have considered Solar and Geothermal energy - they are the cleaner options but more expensive to install and there is a limited number of people who will be able to sort out problems quickly if there are any.

I will probably have an oil fired boiler - there are loads of choices. The most efficient make (and they are Irish) is GRANT according to the SEBDUK - but they only show boilers available to the UK.
My local builders supplier mentioned a make called GERKROS - also made n Ireland - he said they were better than Grants. I think the condensing boilers are the most efficient - but more expensive to buy. But they may cut fuel bills by 30% .

UPVC Doors for the House

We will need to start thinking about windows and doors next - they will be installed as soon as the roof is done (maybe before). We have thought about wood - but with the dormer windows it will be hard to paint or stain them - so UPVC is probably the best option. Black UPVC is common here in Ireland - it looks good with the white painted houses. You can also get coloured UPVC doors - blue , red, green, black .
This supplier of UPVC doors don't deliver to Ireland but they do have a wide range .
UPVC Doors Online

Waste Water Treatment

Balmoral Tanks - Environmental Tanks - Continuous Aeration Plant (CAP)

Out here there is no mains sewage. Many older houses have septic tanks which basically just store the sewage and let the "effluent" gradually flow out .
These days you nearly always have to get a "proprietary treatment system" which makes the effluent cleaner and less polluting. Better for everyone - but a bit more cost for the builder. Then again - there are no annual water rates or sewage charges to pay to the local Council (yet) - so we will save that way.

At least the Balmoral site gives you prices - many don't.
There is a supplier about 25 miles from here - so we might well end up getting one of these...

Sewage Treatment by Klargester Environmental Ltd

Sewage Treatment Klargester Environmental Ltd

Looking for sewage treatment plants on the web today. There are about 10 to 15 manufacturers who supply Ireland. Many of them are fairly new - but this lot based in the UK have been around a lot longer. They have a base in Northern Ireland - so they may be able to supply me. All depends on price too and running costs. But reliability is very important. I don't want to biy something that has only been around a couple of years and find that in 5 years time I have a sewage pond in the back garden !! .

Concrete Curing

Not a lot happening with the house building right now. The blocks cant be layed till the concrete has set fully (cured). The "official" time lapse is 28 days - but less than that may be OK. I told the builder not to rush.
In the meantime bills have to be paid for the digger and the stone and the steel - and the first stage payment to the builder. The next order will be for the blocks. We will need around 4500 of them - which is going to cost about 2200 euro. The weather is fine and sunny here today - Christmas isn't far away ! I have started thinking about heating and windows and waste treatment systems (no mains sewage where we are). Also roof slates need to be ordered and insulation. It's going to be a busy few weeks.

Help with Planning the Bathroom

A bit early for this - but Armitage Shanks have a great site for planning bathrooms . They have a pdf printable file of cut out sinks and baths etc - to scale - to play around with on a grid . From Armitage Shanks.
We are planning to have 3 en suites as well as a bathroom - so we will need someting like this.

Cavity Insulation - Full or Partial?

The house is being built with concrete blocks - with a cavity between the inner and outer wall.
The cavity needs insulation - one choice I have to soon make is what type and even what brand.
Now - a week ago I wouldn't have a clue about this - but my builder mentioned that other house builders localy were starting to use full cavity insulation - blown in through holes drilled in the walls after the house has been built. This is instead of the "traditional" insulation boards attached to the inner wall - leaving an air gap (partial fill). I found a few sites recommending both - but eventually decided to sticke with what you can see. Kingspan - (they may be biased) - did a few "white papers" on full cavity insulation - and they highlighted the problems with it when it is not correctly applied. Also - apparently the NHBC don't allow it in new houses in Scotland because of the extra rain and wind which increases the risk of moisture entering the insulation and making it through to the inner wall when there is no cavity. If it's not good enough for the Scottish climate - then I don't think it will go too well here in the wet and windy West of Ireland! (It's not always wet and windy .)

See more here http://www.fmb.org.uk/publications/masterbuilder/november03/30.pdf
and here Kingspan White Paper

I will probably be using Kingspan or possibly Hytherm

The foundation before the concrete was poured (taken 3/11/04)

The final finished "raft" foundation for the house, Taken 4/11/04. Just need to wait a couple of weeks now before block laying starts.

The foundations - viewed from above. The steel reinforcing is being put together by the men,

The Foundations being put down - 30/10/04. The radon barrier is the yellow plastic sheet under the piles of brken stone. The wooden frame will keep the ready mixed concrete in place.

This is the house site as at 30th October 2004. The foundations were just started.

A firm Foundation

Well - the foundation for the house and garage are now completed. The steel reinforcing took a couple of days to put together by hand . The reinforments go under each wall and the chimney. The concrete arrived last Thursday - it took about 60 cubic metres to do the house and garage. The garage is about 3m by 10m and the house is about 16m by 9.5m . The wooden shuttering to support the concrete was removed on Friday - now we have to wait for the concrete to cure - officially that is 28 days - before block laying can begin. We might start a bit sooner than that.
The concrete used was 30N (Newtons) strength. Physics was never my strong point - but basically the strength of concrete is measured in Newtons.

Pictures of progress to follow soon.