Its been very difficult to summon the enthusiasm to write an update ‘cos there’s been a series of calamnities that has virtually ground the build to a halt and cost a fortune. Before I drive anyone to pick up a rope the one good bit of news is that we have some accoya cladding on the walls and it looks superb. So, where do we start:
Weather:
The sheffield region has had the worst weather in perhaps 10 years with extensive flooding, the River Don bursting its banks, 1000’s homes abandoned. Last thurs saw 100mm+ of rain in the day when the monthly average is 90mm. We are fortunate that the plot is on a 15o slope so the water has flowed down the field, across the garden, through the house and under the static caravan. At the same time the house is sodden with only a third of the roof on, and I am concerned that the exposed wood roofs and floors are getting damaged. The joiners perserverve in miserable weather, all credit to Jimmy and the lads for sticking with the work when I’m sure they would prefer a warm cosy shop-fit.
Windows:
This is a story in its own right .. the FUXXERs go bust. After extensive research in June I chose the Reynaers window system and Rohaus to manuf/install. I went with Rohaus thinking they would be the safest bet as a larger one-stop company and handed over a £34k deposit in July. Martyn at QSP rightly would not touch a 50% upfront deposit with a barge-pole so I took it on paying by credit card. I hope to see most of the money returned but its above the consumer credit act levels.
All structural openings were ready mid-sept and we requested the survey to measure the detail openings. They dithered and faffed and finally measured 2 wks later, they then continued for fuk about ’till we got the results of the survey a further 3 wks later and they lied stating they had ordered the glass. A week later I got increasingly frustrated and constantly tried to email and call the directors. Finally in desperation I rang Reynaers and complained to the Rohaus account manager about the breakdown in trust with Rohaus. Joe assured me all was well with them, but 2 days later Reynears received a letter says Rohaus has ceased trading.
Fortunately I received a quote from another Reynaers agent Kompass and Steve has responded very positively, with a site visit/measure within a week. The aluminium material is mostly available at Reynaers but the manufacturers and installers are booked up and we are unlikely to see the windows before the New Year.
Watch this space, in the best scenarios it will cost 7-10k and a 3 month delay. In hindsight I clearly picked the wrong company, but once the deposit is paid there is nothing you can do.
With this in mind I then chased the garage door I had ordered to find it would be 3 weeks later than first expected. The woodburning fire was ex-stock and 2 days delivery .. haha, no chance, its 12wks. I’ve just ordered all the bathrooms materials with a 10 day delivery .. we’ll see.
Cladding:
QSP costed the cladding on the design information provided back in April. It transpired the architects had not designed in sufficient detail and had not considered the vertical weight of the cladding system. Significant further fees were paid for a complete design with a resulting potential doubling of the build cost and time. We are months and 10k’s of cost behind plan.
The corten framework is completed, measured up and some 50 corten panels are being cut and folded as we speak for install in a couple of weeks.
Most of the accoya framework is done but there is a lot of faffing required as build tolerances between the windows and floors have to be taken out to fit vertical cladding (advice – go horiszontal!). Accoya is just about the most expensive cladding material available but it is eco, superbly engineered, no maintenance and a long life. Unfortunately in unpacking the accoya to fit we have found up to 50% of the cladding is warped and unusable. The timber merchant and accoya manufacturer have been out (‘never seen anything like it guv’) but its added time and cost again.
First Fix:
The sparky I first agreed to work with is no longer interested so I’ve found some-one else. The plumber is not returning calls. I’ve lost patience and have done 80% first-fix electrics and 40% plumbing. This, with stud walls built and pocket door frames installed (Eclisse .. pleased with them) some progress has been made on the internals.

Due to the issues QSP and I have now have serious problems in project and cost overruns that we must resolve and get the build revitalised at the worst time of the year.
Its clear we will be spending winter in the static so we picked up a load of carpet offcuts from Mintons and spread them all over the van.
Like an idiot back in March I naively thought the build would be coming to a close and booked a big ski touring trip to Kazakhstan. Do I go or not ?? Next week will tell.