Roselea

Category: Orders and Procurement

  • Last Chunk of Material Finally Arrives

    Early this morning, the last of our building material arrives! At 8:51am, the lorry came reversing down our Loke, loaded with all our timber planks! They were: 4 large pallets of 63mm CLS treated timber (2 pallets) and 89mm CLS treated timber (another 2 pallets).

    Lots-of-CLS-Timber

    Lots-of-CLS-Timber

    Plus also delivered loosely, 20 lengths of the 150mm by 50mm planks, 2 lengths of 75mm by 50mm planks and 34 lengths of 100mm by 50mm planks, all of which are untreated.We moved all the odd sizes over to our timber storage yard (our swimming lane!) so they are now under cover from the weather.

    Some-100-x-47mm-timber

    Some-100-x-47mm-timber

    Some-150mm-x-47-timber

    Some-150mm-x-47-timber


    It is interesting to note that the treated timber pieces were done on the 22nd March (shown on a label stapled to the packs), but we ordered the timber way back on the 14th March. The treatment plant was up in Hull of all places! We assume that the liquid chemicals (which contain Copper, Benzalkoniumchloride & Boric Acid ) which were vacuum impregnated into the timber needed to be dried hence why it took 2 weeks from treatment date to delivery today.

  • Cement Boards Arrives

    This afternoon, the cement boards, 70 sheets of 10mm thick by 2400mm x 1200mm, arrived and unloaded onto another prepared patch of ground.

    Cement-Boards

    Cement-Boards

    In fact, we counted 73 sheets! It seems that the manufacturer provides sacrificial boards on the bottom and top of the pallet. We had one and a half pallets so that meant 3 extra sheets. That’s Nice!

  • Remaining Plywood and PolyStyrene Foam Boards Arrives

    This morning, we suddenly heard a “beep” “beep” while we were still indoors and discovered that the next delivery load of building material was arriving! Quick! Put on Shoes! Rush Out!

    We had the polystyrene foam boards, the 120mm thick ones, all 20 sheets of them come, bundled into 4 packs of 5 sheets with cling film wrapped around the each pack. Then, the driver tried to unload a complete pallet of 12mm structural plywood boards and we said “Stop!” “We wanted only 30 more sheets, not a whole pallet of 75!” “Oops!” said the driver and he put it back on his lorry and drove away back to his yard.

    He returned a little while later with just 30 sheets and plonked them down on our large trolley. We then pushed them around to our Wendy house storage where we keep our supply of 18mm thick OSB boards and loaded the 30 sheets in there for now, fully protected from the rain.

    Insulation-for-Inside-Rafters

    Insulation-for-Inside-Rafters

    The polystyrene foam boards seems to have some sort of additional black beads mixed in with the regular white beads as you can see from the picture. There is something on the web saying that these black carbon beads are there to improve the compression strength of the foam. Very Pretty anyway!!

  • First Delivery Arrives – 300 Sheets of Plywood

     Today, we had our first delivery of the huge order of building materials we got coming, namely the 300 sheets of the 12mm plywood. It should have been 330 sheets but the builders merchants seems to have mixed up their numbers somewhere!

    4-Pallets-of-Plywood-Delivered

    4-Pallets-of-Plywood-Delivered

    We also got our 20 planks of the 100mm x 50mm treated timber come as well plus 2 bags of cement, so we can get on with the first job of bolting down a line of wooden footplates on top of the concrete block wall, all the way around the perimeter of our house. This first layer of timber will be seated on mortar and the height adjusted so that the height will be exactly the same everywhere.

    But we need to cover up our two stacks of plywood first, making a miniature house framework for one of our stacks, and covered up with a sheet of tarpaulin.

    Pallet-of-Ply-with-Frame-and-Tarpaulin

    Pallet-of-Ply-with-Frame-and-Tarpaulin

    The framework was constructed using our old stock of 63mm CLS timber pieces, cut and nailed together to provide a 8feet high by 5 feet wide structure and will have a separate “door” flap to allow us to grab some plywood when we need it etc.

    The second stacks was wrapped up directly on the two pallets as these ones won’t be required until we have the roof rafters constructed and nailed into place later on.

    Pallet-of-Ply-wrapped-in-Tarpaulin

    Pallet-of-Ply-wrapped-in-Tarpaulin

    It was a chilly day with a stiff breeze but at least the sun was bright and strong!!

  • Part 1 – Exterior Building Materials Are Now All Ordered

    This morning, we had the confirmation of prices for the rest of the building material for constructing the exterior skin of the house. Nearly everything needed to build the complete ‘shell’ of the building is now ordered…

    Below is a summary:

    Now we wait for all this to arrive!!

    320 sheets (4.5pallets) 12mm x 2440mm x 1220mm plywood £4220
    448 lengths (1 pallet) 38mm x 63mm Treated CLS 4.8metres £1784
    320 lengths (1 pallet) 38mm x 89mm Treated CLS 4.8metres £1705
    70 sheets (1 pallet) RCM CEMBOARD 10mm x 1200mm x 2400mm £1147
    20 lengths 47mm x 100mm Sawn Treated Reg 4.8metres £143
    2 lengths 47mm x 75mm Sawn Reg 4.8metres £10
    35 lengths 47mm x 100mm Sawn Reg 4.8metres £235
    15 lengths 47mm x 150mm Sawn Reg 4.8metres £151
    20 sheets 120mm x 1200mm x 2400mm Expanded Polystyrene £239
    6500 nails 50mm Hot Dipped ring shanked Airgun Nails £55
    6500 nails 60mm Hot Dipped ring shanked Airgun Nails £61
    25 litres Structural grade Crossed Linking Non-Creep Wood Glue £196
    120 tubes MS Polymer Construction All Purpose Glue £210
    Total: £10156

  • Ordering Starts at Last

    Today, at last, we have started the ordering process! We have got the last of the prices in and we have selected our suppliers.

    The first item ordered is 320 sheets of 12mm Structural Plywood

    we will be ordering these items shortly….

    a pallet load (440 lengths) of treated 63mm by 38mm CLS timber

    another pallet (320 lengths) of treated 89mm by 38mm CLS timber.

    And finally, 70 sheets of 10mm cement  fibre boards.

     

    We have already got our special MS polymer glue, all 120 tubes! Plus 13,000 hot-dipped nails too!

  • Day 1 & 2 of Processing Quotes

     Over the last couple of days, we have been receiving a number of quotes for our materials.

    Today, we had a good price from our own local timber merchant (in Great Yarmouth) which is quite nice. They offered the cheapest price on the CLS timber, both treated and untreated. But they weren’t so hot on the 12mm plywood – they were £3 per sheet more expensive than the cheapest!!

    Also we got more prices for our cement boards and another localish firm (in Newmarket) came back with the cheapest so far AND they included their delivery and crane facility in the quote too!

    But one of the biggest shocks we have received (so far), is the price for the Cedar Shingle Tiles. Several years ago, probably about 5 years, we were getting a price of about £35 for British sourced Cedar tiles and Canadian prices of about $30. All these prices are for “bundles” and 4 bundles covers one hundred square feet (yes imperial measurements!) so one bundle covers about 2.28 square metres of roof area (and slightly more on walls). This works out that we would need about 235 bundles (including the garage) in total.

    But the shocking discovery, is that ALL the prices has gone shooting up, even in USA and Canada! It is now more like £50 for British and $60 for American and the exchange rate is not good at the moment too!

    But hold your hat again, these prices are for untreated ones! We need to have at least a third of the bundles treated for fire retardant to conform to the building regulations, and, wait for it, it’s doubled!! Yes the price doubles!! OUCH!!

    Roughly, the cost would be running around £16,000 just to buy the Cedar tiles!! AND we were originally thinking of using fire retardant treated Cedar tiles for all our external covering, we felt happier with the house being better protected against the risk of fire nearby. This would now make the price nearer £25,000!! Oh WOW!

    So, putting a grim face on it, we have resumed investigating alternatives. We had previously explored the possibilities several years ago of course and we rather liked the all timber approach but after that shock .. we are re-examining some other options!!

    Roof Options as follows: (prices are approximate and for each square metre)

    • Concrete tiles : £8
    • Red interlocking clay tiles : £20
    • Slates  : £25
    • Treated Cedar tiles : £45

    Wall Options:

    • Slip Bricks : £15 to £20
    • Solid coloured panels : £30 to £40
    • Cedar treated tiles : £30 (less needed)

    We are analysing all these options and talking among ourselves to get a sense of which one to go for! Phew!!!

  • Day 1 & 2 of Sending Quotations All Over the Country!

    Yesterday, we started the process of asking for prices for our material we need.

    The timber quotes have gone off to lots of suppliers, mostly in Norfolk as timber is common. But for the more specialised pieces like the fibre cement boards, we are having to send requests for quotes all over the country.

    One supplier in Kings Lynn was very helpful as they are major timber house builders and a piece of valuable advice we picked up, was to use treated timber for all our outer skin that faces the weather, because insurance firms do not like the idea of untreated timber, even though designs are very careful on this aspect and plenty of fresh air is always allowed to circulate around the timber to keep it dry and free from damp and rot. But insurers are a paranoid bunch!

    It seems that the price different between untreated and treated is about fifteen percent (15%) so this would add, for example, another £500 on a £3000 order of the 89mm CLS timber.

    We don’t need to go any further in the use of treated timber for the inner walls and floors as it is well protected from the weather and besides, we do not wish to live in a closed environment with chemicals impregnated in the walls and floors!!

    Some early numbers coming back are as follows:

    • £17 per sheet for 10mm cement boards
    • £12 per sheet of 12mm plywood
    • £1 per metre for untreated 89mm CLS timber
    • £0.70p per metre for untreated 63mm CLS timber
    • £1.15p for treated 89mm CLS timber
    • £0.83p for treated 63mm CLS timber
    • £5.80p per metre for 200mm wide LVL structural beams

    Today, we have send more requests for prices on glazing bars, I beams, more timber and laminated glass for the Sky Light.

    One surprise we discovered is that the structural LVL beams are made in 12metres (37feet) long single pieces! Wow! That’s one long lorry! We will have to walk each one (there will be 9 of them!) down the Loke and each will weigh about 45kg each but that nothing compared with the Steel pieces we have already staggered around with!! The LVL beams are so long that we will have to halt the traffic so we can swing around to line up to the Loke! We might end up bringing the battery circular saw and a tape measure to slice some of them into smaller pieces. Phew!

  • Days 6,7 & 8 – Analysis of Sky Light is Done and Grand Totals are Added Up

    Yesterday and early this morning, we carried on with the analysis of the Sky Light module and what it needs. We were discussing moisture control and making sure we can avoid condensation forming on the glass. We just wanted to make sure that it will be controlled to the lowest minimal levels so we don’t have to climb up two stories to reach these Sky Light windows too many times! For example, it is the case that naked timber breathe moisture so this can draw humidity from the air (both outside and inside) and eventually put water between the layers of glass. So we are coating the timber in waterproof paint that can survive for 25 years in the sunshine like two part resin.

    Anyway, it is a complex area of the build because of the glass and we worked our way through each of the issues of dealing with the glass and waterproofing against rain and moisture etc.

    The list below is a summary of elements in the Sky Light:

    • 46 pieces (65 metres) of glazing aluminium bars anodised white and 13m of ridge cap.
    • 126 metres of 100mm by 50mm planed timber
    • 50 metres of 150mm by 50mm planed timber
    • 50 metres of 63mm CLS timber
    • 15 sheets (44 square metres) of 12mm plywood
    • 6 sheets (17 square metres) of 10mm cement boards
    • 5 litres of the non-creep structural wood glue

    This concludes the big analytical task of quantifying the timber we need for doing the outer walls, the roof and sky light module. Also, we have some idea of what we need for the internal walls and flooring so we can present a single order to be priced on from various suppliers and get a better bulk discount we hope.

    So below is a summary of the total numbers of the various items we will be ordering:
    (standard lengths is 4.8metres)

    • 600 lengths (1.79 miles) of 25mm by 38mm treated Timber battens
    • 20 lengths of 63mm by 38mm treated CLS Timber
    • 20 lengths of 100mm by 50mm treated Timber
    • 900 lengths (2.68 miles) of 63mm by 38mm CLS Timber
    • 350 lengths (1 mile) of 89mm by 38mm CLS Timber
    • 32 lengths of 100mm by 50mm timber
    • 12 lengths of 150mm by 50mm timber
    • 100 meters of 200mm by 38mm structural laminated veneer lumber (LVL)
    • 70 meters of Oak Planks
    • 180 sheets of 12mm structural plywood
    • 70 sheets of 10mm cement boards
    • 150 sheets of 15mm cement boards
    • 115 sheets of 25mm cement boards
    • 150 sheets of 18mm OSB3 boards
    • 250 bundles of Cedar shingles roof covering
    • Lots Double glazing units of various sizes
    • 125 litres of non-creep cross linked structural wood glue
    • 120 tubes of MS polymer Structural glue
    • and thousands of hot-dipped galvanised ring shank 50mm nails!!

    This would be split into several orders as we don’t have enough room to store everything at once! It will be broken up into as follows:

    • Outer Wall and Roof plus  Sky Light
    • Oak timber for guttering
    • Double glazing Glass for outer wall and Sky Light
    • Cedar tiles for outer wall and roof
    • Inner walls and flooring (both ground and 1st floor)

     

    Now perhaps you can appreciate why it has taken 7 days so far to build up this order, just the sheer number of different pieces of building materials, and getting the logistics sorted out too! Phew!

  • Day 5 – Analysis of Sky Light and Rafters

    We continued with the task of picking out all the individual pieces of the roof structure, completing the analysis on the structural beams (ridge, hip and valley beams).
    These beams are made of two very strong Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) flanges, 100mm high by 39mm thick, ranging in length from a few metres up to 7metres. These flanges are sandwiched by two outside layers of our 12mm structural plywood, and inside the boxing, are lots of noggins made of 89mm by 38mm CLS timber pieces positioned vertically in every place where the ends of each rafter comes down and joins onto these beams and are nailed and glued together. As you can see, these beams are a major load bearing members of the roof to carry the weight of all the rafters and tiles that will be put on the roof.
    The summary of pieces are detailed below:

    • 36 pieces (200 metres) 100mm high made from 19 pieces of LVL 200mm by 39mm beams
    • 35 sheets (105 square metres) of 12mm plywood
    • 11 litres of non-creep cross-linked structural wood glue
    • 150 noggings (38metres) of from the offcuts of the LVL flanges

    Then, the second half of the day was spent on analysing the Sky Light which we have right on top and down the whole length of the roof. As a reminder, it is 2.5metres (8 feet) wide by 18metres (60 feet) long of two lines of slightly pitched glass (10 degrees angle) meeting together at the middle and highest point of our house. This Sky Light is mounted 150mm (6 inches) above the tiles of the roof, being made of a vertical structure sitting on top of the steel I beams and glazing timber bars coming down from the main horizontal wooden ridge beam, which are screwed on top of the steel Cross Spars elements going down the length of the Sky Light.
    The results of this analysis will be revealed tomorrow!