Chippypete
24-Jul-12, 14:42
Hello everybody!
My name is Pete and I would really appreciate some honest help and advice. I currently live in Romiley which is in Stockport, Cheshire and after many, many conversations with my parents, we have decided that we would love to live in Caithness.
We aren't well off financially so we can't really afford to pop up a lot to get a feel for the place but I've spent the last few months trawling the internet for videos, photos, history and property available in Caithness so I sort of feel that I know the area!I'm a country person at heart and always have been. My Mum grew up on the South Downs in Surrey and my Dads side of the family had a farm in Derbyshire so the country is in my blood and the calling is getting stronger for all of us every day. If you want to know more about me then have a quick look at my profile page.
Right, now to the matter in hand. I want to build a house on my own from scratch and I need advice from anyone who has done a self build either flat-pack style or from raw materials or anyone else who may have local knowledge on the subject. I have never built a house before but between my Dad and I, we have remodelled, rewired, replumbed and practically rebuilt the house we are in now and big projects don't daunt me in the slightest.
I already have a design and rough layout for the house (nothing too big or fancy, a 1 1/2 storey traditional crofters cottage is what I aiming for) and I'm totally flexible about wether it's made from timber, bricks or blocks. Whatever is easiest to get planning permission for is fine by me as long as its considered a permanent dwelling (I don't want to be forced out of my own home for two weeks every year!). I would prefer to build from timber as its the material I have the most experience with but as long as I end up with a home then I don't mind.
I'm hoping that anyone else who is thinking at going down a similar route will find this thread useful and informative but if you would rather PM me about certain things then go for it. Anyway, I'm sure that I will have a lot more questions but here's a few for starters.
1. In your experience, how flexible is Caithness Council regarding planning consent? For example, if I submitted a plan that specified natural slate tiles and due to finances I had to use man made tiles, do you think this would be a deal breaker? I know it wouldn't be allowed in conservation areas in England but I'm hoping that Caithness CC are more open minded.
2. Nothing to do with house building but what are broadband speeds and reliability like in Caithness? The sales side of my business is mainly online so this is quite a major consideration for me.
3. I've read a lot about this next question and there doesn't seem to be a consistent answer for anywhere in the U.K. How much does it cost to get electricity, water and a phone line connected? Let's say it's around 50 yards between the mains connection and the house and I dug the trench for the water and electricity. It sounds like some suppliers just think of a number and multiply it by 100! I've seen prices for hooking up electricity range from £500 to £35,000 and it doesn't always cost more if the house is further away from the mains connection.
4. Has anyone used Norscot either for a kit home or components or do you work at Norscot? If its not possible for me to build from scratch, I would like to put my money into the local economy if at all possible.
5. Which builders merchants would you recommend? The most important thing for me is one that delivers when they say they will.
I think that will do for the moment and if you need any more information from me, just let me know. I've never posted on a forum before so please be gentle with me! I've been reading a lot of other posts on here and you all seem like nice, friendly people and I hope that if everything works out, I can thank you in person one day!
My name is Pete and I would really appreciate some honest help and advice. I currently live in Romiley which is in Stockport, Cheshire and after many, many conversations with my parents, we have decided that we would love to live in Caithness.
We aren't well off financially so we can't really afford to pop up a lot to get a feel for the place but I've spent the last few months trawling the internet for videos, photos, history and property available in Caithness so I sort of feel that I know the area!I'm a country person at heart and always have been. My Mum grew up on the South Downs in Surrey and my Dads side of the family had a farm in Derbyshire so the country is in my blood and the calling is getting stronger for all of us every day. If you want to know more about me then have a quick look at my profile page.
Right, now to the matter in hand. I want to build a house on my own from scratch and I need advice from anyone who has done a self build either flat-pack style or from raw materials or anyone else who may have local knowledge on the subject. I have never built a house before but between my Dad and I, we have remodelled, rewired, replumbed and practically rebuilt the house we are in now and big projects don't daunt me in the slightest.
I already have a design and rough layout for the house (nothing too big or fancy, a 1 1/2 storey traditional crofters cottage is what I aiming for) and I'm totally flexible about wether it's made from timber, bricks or blocks. Whatever is easiest to get planning permission for is fine by me as long as its considered a permanent dwelling (I don't want to be forced out of my own home for two weeks every year!). I would prefer to build from timber as its the material I have the most experience with but as long as I end up with a home then I don't mind.
I'm hoping that anyone else who is thinking at going down a similar route will find this thread useful and informative but if you would rather PM me about certain things then go for it. Anyway, I'm sure that I will have a lot more questions but here's a few for starters.
1. In your experience, how flexible is Caithness Council regarding planning consent? For example, if I submitted a plan that specified natural slate tiles and due to finances I had to use man made tiles, do you think this would be a deal breaker? I know it wouldn't be allowed in conservation areas in England but I'm hoping that Caithness CC are more open minded.
2. Nothing to do with house building but what are broadband speeds and reliability like in Caithness? The sales side of my business is mainly online so this is quite a major consideration for me.
3. I've read a lot about this next question and there doesn't seem to be a consistent answer for anywhere in the U.K. How much does it cost to get electricity, water and a phone line connected? Let's say it's around 50 yards between the mains connection and the house and I dug the trench for the water and electricity. It sounds like some suppliers just think of a number and multiply it by 100! I've seen prices for hooking up electricity range from £500 to £35,000 and it doesn't always cost more if the house is further away from the mains connection.
4. Has anyone used Norscot either for a kit home or components or do you work at Norscot? If its not possible for me to build from scratch, I would like to put my money into the local economy if at all possible.
5. Which builders merchants would you recommend? The most important thing for me is one that delivers when they say they will.
I think that will do for the moment and if you need any more information from me, just let me know. I've never posted on a forum before so please be gentle with me! I've been reading a lot of other posts on here and you all seem like nice, friendly people and I hope that if everything works out, I can thank you in person one day!