Steve Firth wrote:
John Williamson wrote:

If it comes up almost as cheap as buying somwehere older and doing it
up, I'd maybe prefer it.

It will cost more than you think and far more than any armchair pundit
imagines.

This is good as a rule of thumb guide:

http://www.potton.co.uk/self-build/case-studies

By the time I've finished, a five bedroom house build with four
bathrooms and five reception rooms will end up costing me about 250,000
pounds, excluding the price paid for land.

You're not doing it roight.

Dew yew mearke sure your plot is heavy claay. Git a heavy harse with big
hooves - Suff'k Punch or one loike thet.

Tearke topsoil orf an area - the laarger the hus, the laarger the area.

Mearke a troff noine inches by noine inches in secshun and as long as
yew loike. It shud be divoided intew tew fut secshuns with short planks
thet slot intew the trough. Tew mearke things easier yew mearke one side
removable.

Now git yerself sev'ral bearles of strore and hev them cut intew short
lengths. Then - and not before - git a skipload of cow****.

Run watter on the claay, throow on some of the strore and then sovel on
some cow**** and walk the harse rund until the claay, strore and cow****
are pugged intew sloshy stuff.

Shovel slosh intew the troff and tamp it down, and leave it tew set.
Turn out blocks and stack under cover, with airways betwin, tew allow
them tew droy.

Repeat, until yew hev a girt deep pit, and enough blocks for yore hus.

Shud yew be unearble tew git a harse, a cement mixer will dew, but yew
dew need a couple of big rund stns - not quoite bulders, but big, so as
tew pug the mixture tergither as the mixer turns.

The blocks will build the worls (though these days yew dew need a
cavity), and yew build them before they are roightly droy, yewsing claay
and cow**** mixed tewgither as mortar.

The blocks hev better mechanical and thermal properties then any other
man-mearde building material according tew the South Norfolk Planning
Department.

The cow**** boinds the clay and as it drois, it expands, whoile the
claay contracts. Learter, the cow**** decays, leaving the clay full of
minute airspearces, mearking the blocks foine at insulearting.

The only droreback is thet yew must not let the blocks git wet. Whn I
proposed building with clay lump, teh Planning Dept Inn Spectre said:
"Now thet's the sort of development I like tew hear of."

Outside worls are yewsually rendered - but the mistearke many pearple
mearke is tew de it with cement. It wunt stick: yew needs Worlcrete or
similar. Then it is parnted with pitch.

My present cottage is red brick, clay lump and flint - cool in summer,
warm in winter...

HTH

--
Rusty