Day 162

I calculated the number of days using this site - timeanddate.com

Plastering has started inside now - after a short break for Easter. I hope you didn't eat too much chocolate?
The electrican promised to come and do his final bits - but no sign as yet. He still has a couple of weeks I suppose before the plasterer gets to the room he hasn't done.
I've been ringing a couple more Waste Treatment plant suppliers . Someone from Envirocare is calling round tomorrow (yet another company owned by Kingspan !) I also rang Klargester (also owned by Kingspan !!) who should be calling round early next week.

We have been looking at flooring options - tiles and wood in all rooms - no carpets. I've been reading that solid wood layed on concrete is not a good idea- and that the engineered "semi solid" flooring is best on concrete.
The dampness can ruin a solid wood floor.
I bought a wheelbarrow and a spade today - to do a bit more clearing up of all the dust and rubble that is inside the house. Everyone leaves a mess - but no one cleans up !

We need to start thinking about flooring soon. I found this site today - no prices mentioned though.

Five months since building began.

It is about 5 months since the first bit of digging began on the site.
The house building has progressed quite well considering we did it all through the winter.
The weather and Christmas caused a few delays - so we have been quite lucky to get this far in 5 months.
The next important stage is the internal plastering . Then the electrician and plumber will be coming back to do their second fixes. The concrete ground floor will then be layed - followed by the outside drains and paths. We still haven't chosen a waster treatment plant - the man from Bord Na Mona had to be put off for a day - and he never got back to arrange another date.
I was looking at these sewage treatment plants months ago - and had a few leaflets and a couple of site visits. I am not impressed with most of them - they just want to give everyone the same - but they should be advising on the suitable system and percolation area for each unique site.
I will have to make a choice after Easter.

The slates al on the roof - taken 2 days ago. Just a bit more to do to finish off the roof - and the gutters to be fixed.

The dormer windows were plastered at last - so the final roof slates can now be put on.

Upstairs plasterboard fixed - taken last week

Floor Screed

Natal Portland Cement :: Sand-Cement Floor Screeds

A detailed document on floor screeds - the next job after the plasterer has finished - which will be 3 or 4 weeks yet.

Latest progress

Not much new to report. I got my hands dirty - one of the few times I do - doing a bit of cleaning up at the weekend. Rubble and insulation and bits of plasterboard - all moved from upstairs. Upstairs is ready for the plasterer now - but he wants to finish outside I think before he goes inside.
The electrician still han't quite finished the first fix yet - he has one bit left to to - the mains cable from the meter box. Should be finished this week.
Once the plasterer starts downstairs it won't be long before we will get the plumber and electrician back to do their second fixing . Then the concrete can go in for the floors downstairs. After that we can start tiling and painting upstairs . If we keep on top of things it might be June of July when we can move in - but it could be August or September.

Oil Storage Tank Regulations Ireland

Taken from the Dept of Environment leaflet-


Note 1 . An oil storage tank not exceeding 2500 litres capacity which serves a dwelling house does not require a bund. An oil
storage tank which is not provided with a bund should be installed on or above a non combustible base which extends out at
least 300 mm from all sides of the tank.

A bund is a cavity to catch leakages. - Must be able to hold all of tank contents.

I might be able to put it beside the garage - the wall is concrete so no danger of fire there. Not sure about the overhanging guttering though?

Advice for self builders

This guide is aimed at house designers in County Clare - but there are lots of good points for anyone thinking of building in rural areas. It's a large pdf file - so you might have to wait a while for it to download.

Moving on..

The house is progressing quite well at the moment. The plasterboarding is complete inside now - so the plasterer can start inside in the next couple of days once it is tidied up a bit. The electrical first fix is almost done - just some tidying up to be done. I now have the job of putting in some insulation in the roof space - glass wool type. I have never done it before - so that should be fun!
St PAtricks day on Thursday - so that will be a quiet day as will Friday.
I'm meeting a rep from Bord NA Mona tomorrow to see about a waste treatment plant . I still haven't chosen one. Basically I want the one that is the least hassle to install and reliable .
Also need to order an oil storage tank so that the builder can build a little stand for it to rest on from concrete blocks.

Furniture Shopping

Visited Carrowkeel Furniture today (about 35 miles away) to look at furniture obviously.
Their website is really good - you can see almost everything they stock on the site - with prices and sizes too. But you still need to visit to see and feel the quality. We got a quote for a load of studd - beds, 3 peice suite - leather, dining table and chairs , chest of drawers and stools , They deliver free within 50 miles and any assembly needed is done for you.
The boys went to see SpongeBob Squarepants while we looked.

Upstairs plasterboarding nearly done.

The upstairs plasterboarding has almost been finished now. It's been slow going - with loads of angled cutting of the boards and the insulation beng needed. The builders don't normally do this job - but they gave me a price for doing it and I told them to go ahead. They should be starting on fixing the plasterboard to the ground floor ceilings on Monday. That should be easier because it's all straight cuts. They are running out of plasterboard - I left it to the builders merchants to work out how much would be needed from the plans. They must have miscalculated by a long way. I had to order 36 more sheets today too.
The electrician called today - twice. He should have finished the "first fix" by Monday.
The plasterer also called today - he wants some better sand for the final finish on the outside of the house. I ordered 15 tons for him. He has done the 2 dormer windows now - so the final bit of slating can be done next week too. I had to order 600 extra "slates" today too.

We had a look at some furniture shops yesterday - sofas and dining tables and beds. Nothing bought yet - just looking for now.

Plasterers Progress

Plastering was underway at full speed again today. The dormer windows have had a coat each - but need another tomorrow. The outside of the whole house and the garage have had the "scratch coat" applied now.
The interior ceilings and stud walls will be plasterboarded tomorrow and Saturday - following on close behind the electrician who is back from his trip to see Man Utd lose in Milan.

The plasterer can start inside as soon as all the plasterboard has been fixed in place - this should be Monday - we hope. I like to see something being done every day now.
We need to get going with things like the drains and sewage works outside soon. Also need to organise digging of a trench for the electricity supply.
The waste treatment plant also needs organising - I am ringing an agent from Bord Na Mona to talk about their Puraflo system tomorrow. It's basically a peat based filter system with a controlled pump from a septic tank.

Buying Kitchen Appliances

We were out ordering kitchen appliances today. The nearest "Currys" is about 40 miles away. We went there last week to check prices - but we ended up buying from a more "old fashioned" type furniture and electrical store - where you can expect a bit knocked off if you buy a few things. Joyces of Headford - also stock the solid fuel Range we are getting - so we thought if we are getting something that expensive they will knock a few Euros off the total.
We ordered the bathroom sanitary stuff here too (five toilets and five basins and 1 bath!).
The prices were quite competitive to start with - and they did knock of about 150 euro or so .
We ended up spending just over 8 grand (euro) there - with the Range clocking up nearly half the total.
We got lots of Bosch stuff - Washing MAchine, Drier, Dishwasher, Fridge. They are not the cheapest make - but we had a Bosch washing machine inEngland for about 7 years and had no trouble with it.
They will deliver for free (over 30 miles away) and will hold it all till we need it - which won't be for at least 6 weeks. Ten percent deposit - rest after delivery.

Must go and check the bank account now!!

Getting Plastered Again

The plasterer came back today after a few days absence due to frost and cows calfing - and a child's confirmation to celebrate. A quick visit this evening - and it looks like he ha sstarted on one of the dormer windows. We need these doing soon - so the builder can finish the tiling of the roof.
The electrician has nipped over to see Man Utd lose to Inter Milan - and he is due back tomorrow.
The roof insulation is almost finished (it should be done as I write this). The fixing of the plasterboard to the ceilings will be starting tomorrow and should be done before Friday.

Some Figures for the build.

Over a year ago when we started thinking about getting a house built - we were encouraged by a price from a builder of 100,000 euro for a similar house to ours. This excluded finished floors, kitchen, tiling, fireplace(s).
We had a few more quotes for contractors to build the whole house - these ranged from 127000 euro to 201,000 euro !!. A big price range for the same house plan and basic materials.

We then got a price for labour only from a builder who would build it to roof level and then leave us to organise tradespeople to do the elecs, plumbing, plastering, carpentry, floors, kitchen.
We checked out the other potential costs on a few websites and with a local man who had just built a similar sized house. As late as August 2004 - we decided that this was the route to take. It looked like it would work out cheaper than all but the lowest priced builder - and this way we would be more involved with the quality of materials and the finer details of the house.

What actually happened?

We are still a fair bit from completion - but we have a much better idea of the expected final cost.
The house is a dormer bungalow with a hip roof. Constructed in concrete block cavity walls on a raft foundation. The roof is covered with concrete "slates" . The windows are UPVC double glazed Pilkington K glass. There are 4 bedrooms, (3 en suite), a bathroom, a kitchen and adjoining dining room, utility room, wc, a living room and a study /office room. There is a separate garage with a storeroom . The heating will be by oil fired boiler backed up with a solid fuel range cooker. (No mains gas where we are)
The bathroom suites will not be anything fancy.
The waste water will be treated by a waste treatment plant in the back garden (the house is miles from the nearest sewage system)

We are on target to get the actual house built (excl garage, gardens, driveway,kitchen, tiling, flooring) for 123000 euro. This is the "base" cost which we can compare like for like with the original builders quotes. This cost is fairly unlikely to rise - since we have had quotes for most of the outstanding jobs.
This is not the final price yet though - so don't get too excited!
We have to add on tility connections, legal and planning fees, Garage, Fitted Kitchen, Range Cooker, fencing, driveway, landscaping, tiling, flooring - to arrive at something liveable. Then we have to furnish it. The total estimate at the moment is close to 180000 euro - and that is with nothing fancy in the line of furniture .

More detailed breakdowns of costs in the next few days when I get time.

State of Confusion

A bit of organised chaos this morning - but it all worked out OK. The electrician ws on site by 9.00 - not sure when he arrived though? He didn't have his mate with him though - so things will take a bit longer. The builder turned up just after 9 with his 3 workers ready for putting in the insulation - but they had to wait a while for the electrician to finish one room .
The kitchen fitter also arrived around 9.00 to check if the plumbers had left enough room for the built in oven. The electrician got me worried yesterday - saying it wouldn't fit.
I was a bit confused about exactly where all the insulation and plasterboard were going to be fitted - so I had to make a quick visit to the builders merchant to check what his plans were for the stuff he sent. We had discussed it - but it seems a long time ago now. Also there were some nails missing form the delivery yesterday that I had to pick up.
So - the final plan is - Kingsan TP10 between rafters (80mm) , TW52 under rafters (38mm), 200mm glass wool above the ceiling in the loft bedrooms with foil backed plasterboard underneath. Then - 150mm glass wool in the stud dwarf walls with normal plasterboard. All the stud walls between the upper rooms will just be plasterboard - no insulation.
The roof void outside the livable space upstairs wil have 200mm glass wool between joists. I might put another layer of it on later.

Hopefully this will proove to be more than enough insulation. It is one of the most expensive materials for the house. There is still some more to go in - under the ground floor screed in a few weeks. (I still have to sort out someone to do that.)

One Two Three O'Clock Four O'Clock - Rock?

The electrician - still hadn't turned up by 2.30pm - so I rang him and he was still at another job and wouldn't be here till 4.00pm. I was getting worried that he wouldn't have the upstairs done before the builders come back to fix the insulation.
Eventually he arrived at 4.30 and said he will be back in the morning at 8.00 am.
He gave me his word that he wouldn't delay the "slabbing". I'll be up there myself early to sort out with the builder what insulation goes where.

The insulation and plasterboard arrived this evening too. it filled the lorry.
In the roof - in the bedroom area - I am using Kingspan Thermapitch 80mm betwen the rafters along with Kingspan insulated plasterboard (37.5 mm thick) below the rafters.
I am using 200mm thick Glass Wool in the stud walls in the attic living space - with foil lined plasterboard. I am also puting insulation between the two floors - it is probably not needed under the bedrooms - but it will help with sound insulaton.

Electrician delayed.

The electrician just called to say he won't be here till lunchtime! It's going to be a rush if he has to get upstairs done before tomorrow morning. Either that - or it isn't a big a job as he made out?

The insulation for inside the roof is arriving today too. More money for Kingspan . I should get some shares in that company. The house will have about 5000 euro worth of Kinspan insulation in it!

Latest Progress

The Plasterer started work on Tuesday. Frost has delayed him a bit because the frost can damage the plaster. He has done a thin "scratch coat" to 3 sides of the house and 2 sides of the garage. The first fix plumbing is complete - that is all the pipework installed upstairs and any pipes running in the walls have been done downstairs. The wall chasing for the electrics has been done and the electrician is coming tomorrow to do his "first fix". He was expected yesterday - but rang to say he was busy. Things are getting tight - because the builder is hoping to come back on Saturday to do the insulation and the plasterboard or "slabbing" all through the house. But he needs the electrician to have done his bit first.
The electrician has promised to have finished upstairs by Saturday morning.
If the builder can't get his work done next week - he is busy on another job for a few weeks. We need to get the inside plasterboarded so the plasterer can start inside. Hopefully it will all work out this weekend??