# Starting new build in November wise?



## hivas9 (31 Oct 2011)

As title says looking to start building in November but am worried about foundations cracking. Is there any way to work around this. I'm keen to start as i need to sell existing house to fund last part of build which is an infill beside existing house.  Very worried about continuing drop in house prices?


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## onq (31 Oct 2011)

We don't discuss house prices on AAM.

You are building at the wrong time of the year for traditional construction.
If you are doing this as a self build, you are walking into a whole world of pain

- Open trenches will require the additional expense of de-watering.
- Difficult to properly compact the ground when its saturated.
- All new building materials will be saturated as they are laid.
- Temporary weathering will suffer from November gales.

These are just the obvious issues arising from weathering.
There are newer forms of building and building programmes that may address some or all these issues.
They centre on minimizing the time on site and maximizing pre-fabrication time and transportation to site of "pods"
Traditional build can suffer at this time of year, with delays and consequential issues for drying out of the house when its weathered.

All that is a given.

Your real problem us that you need the sale of one house to finance the completion of another - how is that financially possible, do you have alternative accommodation arranged?
If you do, will you expect people to buy a house with an unfinished building site immediately adjoining - think if this as the sale of a product - would you buy in those circumstances?


ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon                               as a defence or support - in and of itself  -         should       legal        action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in                               Real Life with rights to inspect and issue        reports    on     the         matters    at      hand.


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## hivas9 (31 Oct 2011)

I'm looking to do a timber frame and get it weather tight in the shortest time possible, complete the boundries and then put existing house up for sale. With the view to complete 2nd fix etc.. after house is sold, to fund the remaining jobs. But my concern is doing this during the bad weather is it to much of a gamble to attempt! 
   Just on property prices. i wasn't looking to discuss the market just the worry over falling values and the need to finish the job before more major drops. As this affects the budget to finish new build.


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## onq (31 Oct 2011)

I'd be wary of building using timber component assemblies in wet weather.
Timber absorbs moisture and should be allowed dry out before enclosure of elements.

You cannot fix plasterboard or place insulation next to wet timber or close up the construction.
This Report may shed some light on the problems and benefits of timber frame construction.

This report seems to be part of a longer document and you can hack the url to discover more.
This is the contents page from this link entitled Timber Frame Housing Report - Contents
Its about mid way down the page and not well differentiated so you'll have to look for it.
This part is particularly relevant to what you are about to attempt (last page of first link)

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_  The Irish weather also impacts on the construction industry in relation to site conditions. The timber frame manufacturers express their view that erecting of the basic structure can be done in a number of days after delivery of the timber frame kit on site. Speed of erection is thought to limit exposure to weather and to provide an enclosed environment for the follow-on trades and internal fit out. This is seen as an advantage of timber frame construction.

  The Consortium has conducted extensive investigative research on timber frame housing construction in both Ireland and other countries. Initial findings suggested that environmental factors such as wind- driven rain, humidity and drying times were important factors in the performance of timber frame construction in countries with similar meteorological conditions. This initial study lead to the Consortium’s assessment of performance failures in countries with similar environmental factors to those found in Ireland.

  Assessment of these (incidents) failures leads to the conclusion that damage to timber frame buildings was caused by water intrusion beyond new cladding systems. These new cladding systems, which were widely implemented overseas, were directly applied to the timber frame structure and utilised materials that were relatively moisture and vapour impermeable. A high degree of reported failures were attributed to three factors: the cladding system used; poor quality control during the installation of moisture protection elements within the wall, floors and roof construction; and regions frequented by wind-driven rainfall, high humidity and a low percentage of dry days. This combination of factors leads to fungal decay of timber frame buildings. Detailed assessment can be found in Chapter 5 and Appendix 3._

=======================

In general, if you can erect it and weather it between showers, you may be okay, but you have to install windows and doors and weather-seal it as well and you should not trust the building paper to repel horizontal wind-blown rain.


ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon                                as a defence or support - in and of  itself  -         should       legal        action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in                                Real Life with rights to inspect and issue         reports    on     the         matters    at      hand.


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## hivas9 (31 Oct 2011)

Hi ONQ,
              Thanks for the links and some food for thought. I haven't committed to anything yet so well have a read of these before i go any further. But i was originally impressed with the high u-value ratings of timber frames houses and the fact of off site construction hopefully meaning a better standard of insulation.


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## onq (1 Nov 2011)

You'll have very little insulation if the frame gets soaked on site and entrapped moisture will cause a lot of problems if its sealed in.
Before that you'll have problems with the slab unless its detailed correctly for wet-weather pour and you control site conditions.

You need to take competent advice on this from a good structural and civil engineer who has experience in one off housing.
Its your call on how to proceed, but I'd include a crystal ball and Jean Byrne's phone number in your list of essential items!




ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon                                 as a defence or support - in and of   itself  -         should       legal        action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in                                 Real Life with rights to inspect and  issue         reports    on     the         matters    at      hand.


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## hivas9 (1 Nov 2011)

Hi ONQ,
             I'm looking at using a company to do the whole job so i won't be managing this myself sorry if i left this out, had a read of the reports and seems the detailing of cladding and exterior finishes are important and as i'm near Dublin which has a lower rainfall and wind driven rain which is a plus.

But i do have concerns about the frame being exposed to the elements and this seems the critical point of the process, you don't happen to have Jeans B's number


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## onq (1 Nov 2011)

Correct, I don't. 

Its the luck of the draw how the weather hits it, but the drying out before closing up is very important and so are temporary weathering shields to close opes if the windows are late - they should be detailed to through water back out, as opposed to let it in.


ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon                                 as a defence or support - in and of   itself  -         should       legal        action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in                                 Real Life with rights to inspect and  issue         reports    on     the         matters    at      hand.


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