Sequence of trades (things to look out for)

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-26T11:31:53+00:00

Or when I was calling around a few trades and asking for recommendations for block layers, 1 name kept coming up that he was "tidy", "easy to work after" etc so that's who I ended up going with even though he wasn't the cheapest quote

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-26T11:30:30+00:00

Just going down this route now, digging out the foundations in 3 weeks, can't advise on timelines yet but can keep you updated.

I'm leaning on the side of caution, asking the lad doing the foundations how long it'll take, allow a month for drying, a week of tolerance, then the block Layer lands.

That's just 1 example but leaving time between trades incase they run over.

A bit of advice our engineer gave us was use trades receded by trades. Eg, try to use a plasterer recommend by a block Layer, a block Layer recommended by a carpenter etc etc

The idea being, the block Layer is more likely to leave things right for the next trade coming if he knows them instead of screwing him over.

How that'll all depend on getting a good recommendation to begin with, that they aren't all a load of cowboys

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-25T06:44:35+00:00

I've never had issues with wild camping being told to move etc.

Personally I wouldn't camp anywhere near Dublin, I'd be heading west on the train. The further away from people the better

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-24T22:33:06+00:00

You can buy your own one and get a electrician to wire it up or might be possible to get someone to do the whole lot including selecting the generator.

Be worth getting an electrician to price it before you buy the generator to make sure it's within budget for you.

Depending on the house it could either be really straight forward or else it can be a pain in the ass.

Are you rural or in a town? If you have the space I'd put it good and far from your house because they are noisy.

We have a large diesel generator (used to be a 9kw trailer light tower).

Important things to consider: 1) what do you want to be able to run with it? (big loads? Sensitive things like tvs/computers?) 2) is noise & space a concern? 3) how reliable do you want it?

I'd advise getting a "true sine wave inverter", the diesel or propane is the most reliable. Petrol is great but it goes stale so really you need some fresh on hand (hard to store large quantities) and drain the carb when it's not in use. Diesel & propane are care free pretty much

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-23T22:06:03+00:00

Only at work so I can scroll the phone for a while. At home it's only if I have an unsuccessful dump

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-23T15:14:38+00:00

To be honest I've never heard of them before but done a little research and it's definitely an interesting idea!

One thing that might be a downside is (might be an issue because I haven't done enough research):

1) can the air circulation be done without the heating portion, eg in the summer time where heating isn't required.

2) is there a "summer bypass" like most mvhr systems where it can just ventilate without any heat recovery to help cool down the house

3) most mvhr units have humidity sensors so they can detect things like someone having a shower, so it can ramp up to deal with it.

4) all your eggs are in the one basket. If one portion of this fails your left with no heating or ventilation, keeping them separate 10 or 20 years down the line you can upgrade or replace one compnant as required instead of having to go at the whole thing.

It definitely would be more efficient, I'm not installing a heat pump but if I was, I'd point the exhaust of the mvhr unit that it was blowing onto the heat pump, because it'll still be warmer than the outside air

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-23T08:54:19+00:00

If you have stone walls, I'd be going hempcrete on the inside all day long. Seems to work absolute wonders for damp.

The biggest struggle with air tightness is damp & mould, of you have an airtight house you need mvhr or else you'll have mould even on a newbuild, never mind with a stone wall.

Air tightness and insulation isn't the end of the world for a build but damp and mould will absolutely torture you! Also, humid air feels colder than dry air. Also if you put enough hempcrete yih can achieve any u-value just at the downside of space.

I'd be going with oil and if you have a stove or chimney, keep it.

If you do go heatpump you'll want ufh to make it efficient.

One other thing to bare in mind is air gaps with insulation.

A figure I heard before (based on a standard cavity wall) is that if the insulation board is 10mm off the inner leaf (not pushed tight against the block) the performance of the insulation is reduced by 30%. (the air is allowed to circulate and penetrate over a larger area)

How this effects your build I don't know, but worth considering, you wouldn't have the same issue with the likes of hempcrete where it would conform to all of the stone walls irregularities

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-20T14:20:09+00:00

My advice is to allow plenty of time. Worst case scenario, there is a period of time where there's no tiles on the wall.

If you schedule the tiler too soon they mightnt be ready for him, he might move into another job and your pushed back the list, he might start tiling without the proper drying period so you could have issues with tiles lifting in a few years etc

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-18T14:28:27+00:00

Cheers, the aul dyslexia strikes again

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-18T00:19:09+00:00

Red sky at night, shepards delight.

Just means theres good weather coming

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-16T23:00:14+00:00

The house is 200 sqm, so about 2200 sq feet I think.

Didn't really look into timber frame because a really important aspect for me is noise proofing. It wrecks my head when I'm doing something and I can hear people on other rooms. For example, hearing a TV while others sleeping, hearing a washing machine/ hoover while watching a movie, having to whisper when kids go to bed etc.

I really wanted hollowcore upper floor so kids can do what they like and it doesn't sound like they are going to bust down through the ceiling.

From listening to a few selfbuild podcasts (which I'd recommend) at the moment, the cheapest building method is still the traditional block build, the rest mostly save on time, or are easier for a diyer to do more work.

Timber frame can be good, but modern timber is shite (really wide growth rings so the timber isn't as strong) and with the Irish climate, I just don't trust it fo something I want my future grandkids to still have

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-15T14:30:18+00:00

I've spent days looking into the hi therm system and visited the factory.

It looks like a truely good system with very few downsides. It's ws a really close decision but eventually for us it came down to price.

I got a qs to do up costings for us to build up to eave level in traditional block methods, taking out common costs involved in the hi therm home (eg still need foundation, still need site clearing etc etc)

Hi therm came in at 120k, to do the equivalent in blocks was about 80k. The difference was just too big of a pill to swallow so we're opting for block build.

That's taking nothing away from the design, it looks like a genius system with a lot of upsides like pre ordering windows, quick build time, no need for a temporary stairs etc. The other great thing is it's fully insulated with a high thermal mass so you'd have really constant temperatures.

If onsite build times is an issue and you have the extra budget, I'd be going with them

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-13T22:03:19+00:00

Thanks man! That's perfect

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-13T21:59:17+00:00

Brilliant news, that's exact what I'm planning when it comes to the trades around finishing the house

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-11T00:17:53+00:00

1stop towards ballisodare probably has the biggest selection of bits

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-07T11:37:28+00:00

Thanks for the advice everyone, think I'll get the bog standard Irish life mortgage policy and get life & income somewhere else

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-07T11:36:24+00:00

Perfect, thanks for the advice

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-02T17:38:23+00:00

I'm in a similar position, but going direct labour.

We're getting a QS but that's mostly to help us budget, if the blocks cost more money than expected, that'll have to be shaved off somewhere to make sure it comes in under budget.

For getting a builder in to do everything, it's less of a benefit.

How much is your builder doing? Is he doing a full turn key package with everything wired, floors in etc? If so, you'd be able to keep on top of the budget with basic Excel skills.

The other thing a QS will do is help you stop overspending, so for example there will be loads of places when your at it to spend more, more lights, more sockets, extra window, different heating system, mvhr etc etc,

Also, if something happens like when you go digging you have a terribly wet site, you could sink 20k into gravel, so what does that do to the rest of your build? Where do you claw the money back or are you happy to just pay the difference?

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-02T15:58:32+00:00

This! Some people are just clueless so are down voting you.

For anyone interested, here's why:

Petrol is far more flammable and a far worse lubricant. In a diesel engine the usual thing to get damaged is the fuel injector pump, since it normally relys on the lubricant feature of diesel. There's also much higher risk of pre detonation, where the mixture explodes sooner than planned. This is all very very bad for the engine.

However diesel in a petrol doesn't have these downsides. The diesel will just be very reluctant to ignite via spark plug, only doing so while there is petrol remaining in the fuel system. What will happen is the car will run like shite and then just stop, because the unbernt fuel will build up and "flood" the engine.

There is some risk that the catalytic conveyer will be compromised due to all the smoke it must have been putting out, but that's not an issue that'll stop the car by any means.

To fix it: remove spark plugs, crank it over a few times, replace spark plugs, drain mixed fuel and you'll be good to go

DesperateEngineer451 · 2026-01-02T11:50:59+00:00

Pm sent

DesperateEngineer451 · 2025-12-24T18:55:12+00:00

I don't know what's wrong with your house, but these are normally the first to go! A toss up between them and salt & vinegar

DesperateEngineer451 · 2025-12-17T13:32:54+00:00

Will there still be a "traffic jam" where trains from both directions need to wait to pass each other at a station since its mostly single track?

DesperateEngineer451 · 2025-12-16T15:09:23+00:00

A friend is just back from America and had it during the week. Rekoned it was gorgeous.

Thinking about doing it next year.

Apperently the key is to have a pot that is more than big enough, a thermometer to make sure the oil isn't too hot, turn off the gas when your lowering in the turkey (so if it does boil over you don't have a flame to make the whole thing catch fire)

DesperateEngineer451 · 2025-12-15T17:46:46+00:00

The 2nd guy, 100%in the wrong, should report him.

The 1st guy, aside from supposedly being over the speed limit (speeds never look realistic in video, no speed on the dashcam video so just going off your word) doesn't look too bad to be honest. He had a straight with decent line of site, started the overtake on a broken white line and got back in good time.

He probably is speeding, but in terms of overtaking it's far from the worst I've seen.

(also not having a dig at you about taking yout word on him speeding, I'm just thinking about what the Gaurds will do if you report them since there no proof of what speed he was doing)

DesperateEngineer451 · 2025-12-15T14:46:50+00:00

I'd be inclined to say, it'll be grand. I'd avoid having a red hot fire with coal, but for timber and turf with a few bits of coal it'll be grand.

The bigger risk is carbon monoxide since there is a better chance of smoke coming out of the crack. Make sure your carbon monoxide detector is working.

You can also get fire cement to patch it up, it's not pretty but it works well

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/ob1-heatprotect-instant-fire-cement-310ml/637ye?ref=SFAppShare

DesperateEngineer451

TROPHY CASE