Proper craftsmen - in England ? Is that meant to be some kind of joke ? They are paying enormous sums for little more than rabbit hutches. The average dwelling size in the UK. is 76 sq. metres, compared to 109.2 in Germany, 115.5 in the Netherlands and 137 in Denmark. Even those tiny rabbit hutches are the most costly in Europe to heat. The average share of household spent on energy in the UK. is 11.2%, compared to 7.4% in France, 5.2% in Germany and 3.4% in the Netherlands. Over 10 million British families live in a home with a leaking roof, damp walls or rotting windows - they are also the worst insulated in Europe. The British may be ok. at building grand projects - but why can't they build residential houses any longer ?
It is amazing how when you ask a normal person how their house build is going, you normally will have the response of, (a) it is going well, the foundations are in and the brickwork is up to wall plate level, or (b) much slower than I hoped for, due to bad weather, materials not turning up on time, or labour failing to turn up when promised. In a spirit of goodwill I asked you that question SH. What did I get in return? For information purposes French house prices are rising, but at realistic rates. Little point in seeing them rise in double digits if when you move you have to pay the inflated figure on the new property.
The ability of craftsmen is not gauged by the size of dwelling they are working on in the UK. My new house when completed will be 370 sq. metres plus triple garage. The problem in the UK is the cost and chronic shortage of building land. My slightly less than half acre plot is currently valued at £1.2 million with PP. The government could produce more land by relaxing the rules governing the green belt but this is politically dynamite especially for the Tories. This is obviously one of the reasons why the UK rejected the idea of uncontrolled immigration from the struggling EU.
Although average French prices rose by 1.8% last year there were some alarming falls in some areas, Chateauroux -13.4%, Ameins -8.8%, Poitiers -5.6%. Not so good if you live in those districts.
This is rather stating the obvious - all countries have regional variations, try looking at the state of house prices in Blackburn, Wigan or Halifax.
I would have thought the size of the falls in some French areas over a one year period would appear to be quite exceptional from a UK perspective.
And still no response to how is the house build going. Two months ago you told us that you would have no time to contribute to these conversations as the build was about to start, and you would be fully occupied. Judging by the amount of time you have spent here since then, I can only assume that as a self build project it is not going well. Of course I could be totally wrong, and a photo that you could easily post would show that. Not a lot to ask I would have thought.
We started work on the new garage block two months ago, as it was near trees we have had to use piling and beams, complete overkill for an oak structure. The building inspector is now demanding a borehole soak away for rain water, extra cost extra delays. I have been helping put in oak retaining walls around the garage, great fun. I will post a photo tomorrow as you are so interested.
As someone who knows about building and planning regulations I do understand the problems with trees that have to be preserved quite rightly. I have seen that everyone who takes on a self build project takes loads of photos, so I will be interested as you say. I am not so sure however where the craftsmen have come in however.
We have taken loads of photos and some videos. There are some very large oak trees in the neighbouring AONB woods. The structural engineer even agreed it was overkill to pile but all involved just cover their own backs. The house does not need piling. There is skill in creating a base for a preformed structure, with not much tolerance. I have developed several properties and have certainly experienced varying levels of skill amongst tradesmen, it is a joy to watch the good ones. The chippies are due after Easter to put the kit together. I dread to think how much the main oak beams weigh, I have been struggling with small oak sleepers for the last week. Rest day tomorrow.
If you think it's a problem there, you should try living here. Although if you did, under the housing rules, you wouldn't be able to buy a house or even be able to be in our equivalent of a council house for at least 5 years. You'd be classed as "non-qualified" so you would be in the worst rental accommodation with exorbitant prices. When I first moved to the island, the length of time you would have to live here to become qualified was 20 years. Luckily, my ex-wife was born here so my qualifications were through her. When we separated, the qualification period had been reduced to 15 years and I'd only been here less than 9 years but it wasn't an issue as we were still legally married. When the divorce was finalised I'd been here 12 years but was able to get qualies in my own right early as both sons were born here and I was able to prove that I had lived here all that time.
