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Just seen this highlighted on a tax & finance email I get, and couldn't see it mentioned here yet https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-diy-housebuilders-scheme-digitisation-of-claims-and-extending-time-limit/vat-digitisation-of-claims-and-extending-time-limit-for-diy-housebuilders-scheme From 5th Dec 2023 apparently: * The time limit (I think for all claims) will be 6 months from completion, not 3 * There'll be the option to claim online (which presumably will also let you see status etc) * They will apparently no longer require all the invoices at the time of submitting the claim. I assume that will put things on a similar footing to businesses, where they might inspect some claims/ask for a random sample of evidence, and potentially impose penalties etc if they discover you've claimed something you shouldn't have - they don't spell out exactly how that will work. So would still be important to make sure you have & have checked all the invoices, but no longer the need/risk to post off all the originals to HMRC and hope they arrive...

5th December it says, but what's the chance of it working?

Once the bridge unit is screwed to the adjacent tall units it won't need much more support. Our last kitchen had shallow cupboards as the bridge (to give the FF plenty of ventilation so were nowhere near the wall and were only supported by the adjacent units.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb690csw-185mm-electric-plunge-saw-with-2-x-rail-s-240v/3875P?kpid= Features a scribing function for splinter-free cuts and will cut 16mm close to a wall, yes I should have bought one years ago, too late now 🙄

Had a erbauer track saw for years and it’s been brilliant, great for trimming bottom off doors and skirtings (to slide laminate under) in situ.

I made this yesterday while waiting for the car to be fixed.

Hi @PXR5 You are of course free to leave the forum if you wish, but maybe once things calm down a little you’ll reconsider. People can be a bit pedantic but tbf sometimes posts are also a bit confusing. It’s always best not to take anything said on the internet or forums too personally. I think you’d find the forum useful if you are able to take the rough with the smooth. I’ve locked the thread for the moment.

Ages ago I wrote a spreadsheet for doing what-if comparisons to see whether it was better to invest in more insulation in the walls, roof, floor, fit better windows and doors, or fit a better MVHR system. Others have found it useful and I've been reminded that I've not re-posted it over here, so here's the latest version. It should be self-explanatory, you fill in the cells with your wall, roof/ceiling and floor areas, add the areas of each door and window, put in the U values for each and, if you can, get hold of the met data from the met office for your area (the data in there is for West Wiltshire, right on the border with Dorset). This isn't a thorough modelling tool, it just looks at heat loss fairly accurately but doesn't take into account heat gains, although there is a crude way of doing that by drawing a line across the seasonal plot at the point where you don't use heating and you can very roughly assume that anything above that line will be heating. Please feel free to ask any questions, but bear in mind I wrote it back when I was designing our house and haven't used it for a couple of years. so I may be a bit rusty. Heat loss calculator - Master.xls [edited to add latest version of the spreadsheet]

I did exactly the same, and have exactly the same loss. It still bugs me, massive insulation around the pipe, fastidiously applied... Nigh on bugger all difference! Grrr

I've said this on many threads before, we bought five of the basic dehumidifiers from Screwfix. Found them far more effective than the large industrial type units. And at 300w each, the five were able to keep the house warm when we moved in Feb 2022, with no other heating.

If you tweak the PID interval timer down from 200 secs, it will ramp up much faster…

100% insulate the hot circulation pipe at the very least, otherwise it's basically a radiator dumping valuable heat in a non valuable space!! Im also 90% sure it's in the building regs to do it as well....

Oooooooo nice ! Photos please ! 😗

i can try and take a photo of ours for you if you want? but won't be able to until Friday.

Because I had to push the units along ( out from the wall ) just so the tap clears the window on the adjacent run

Ooh, I don’t like those (Howdens use better ones IMO) Why (building that far out of square ? 🤣) pack out the wall as much as you need, crayon the edge of that hook, push the cabinet onto the packing and should leave a mark where you need to mount it. 🤞

I still don’t have the ASHP installed, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I have three small oil filled rads running on the medium setting and the house temp is 19°C. If anything it’s too hot. Humidity is pretty high with all the water that’s still in the materials so also have a big dehumidifier running.

& towel rail between pan and door?

I seem to recall our sliders had a gap of 10mm all round. They did remark that it was one of the squarest openings they'd ever measured so may well have taken a tighter tolerance than usual!

I'd be wanting a few more pipe clips up there. If it's a hot water recirculation system you absolutely would want to insulate. And insulate well. They are wasteful enough systems to start off with.

Choose a smaller tile? Big is certainly popular, but those are going to weight around 20 to 23kg per tile. That's not easy to handle or lay for the inexperienced / under-muscled.

IIRC it was around £2000. It worked fine, no smells, but you wouldn't want children playing in it. The maintenance consisted of thinning out the reeds every three or four years, which you had to be careful when doing, as you shouldn't get the water in any cuts, so it was a Marigolds job.

I saw that but sadly you are at the other end of the country for me!

Air to Air heat pump for the summer house independant of the main house.

No. @Dee. Don't let it intimidate you. You need A small sharp fine-bladed saw to cut the pipe A tee joint ( push-fit I suspect) and a couple of 90s (also push-fit) gloves and an old towel a trap for the sink connectors for the taps and a sod-it-I'm-going-to-do-this-grin on your face Heres a good online resource to review before you dive in I searched for >How to make joints in plastic pipes on YooChube https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plumbing+plastic+pipe+fittings Detailed photos will help us help you. Look at @Onoff's or @Pocster bathroom thread(s) for examples of how to illustrate your work (cockups) There's not a person on here who doesn't review what's on YT before they start a job. You are not alone Have a look at some of the results of this search https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/search/?&q=bathroom&quick=1&author=Onoff&search_and_or=and&sortby=relevancy

translated from steamy…People are trying to do their part since we destroyed the European economy by leaving. Really ?

I have a steel beam over my 3.6m sliding door opening, SE said I wouldn’t get any deflection, presumably because there are no rooms above. Sliders are being made with total 20mm clearance.

@Dee I really can’t see your shower or any basin having enough flow to pull water out of another trap, certainly can and does happen with toilet flushes but in your case I wouldnt bother. Text book installs and reality are different things, if this was my house I wouldnt fit an AAV

Would have thought the Dewalt website was your browser homepage 😁.

Reckon everyone needs a track saw, they are an absolute gamechanger. I've got a Bosch one it's ace, Corded though, but I can deal with that. To think I procrastinated for so long before buying too. I keep scouring amazon warehouse for 'used. like new' tracks and stuff. Although I've got 2 1.4m tracks I could do with a dinky one to go with. First rule of self build should be - Allocate 2/3k to tool purchase, then you don't need to feel guilty!

https://www.dewalt.co.uk/products/power-tools/saws/track-saws

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/south-london-builder-beats-hmrc-1m-tax-battle/ South London builder beats HMRC in £1m tax battle Gary Ives accused of flipping properties without paying dues on his profits A builder from South London has won a £1m battle with HMRC after being accused of flipping properties without paying tax. Gary Ives renovated and sold three family homes between 2008 and 2013, but the tax authority said these activities amounted to a trade and therefore the profits should be liable for income tax. HMRC claimed he owed more than £712,000, plus penalties of over £283,000 – a total of almost £1m. It put forward a second argument that – if Mr Ives was not carrying on a trade – then capital gains tax should apply. Homeowners do not have to pay capital gains tax on their main house under “principal private residence” (PPR) relief, but the tax authority believed the properties purchased were not family homes. Had it won this argument, Mr Ives would be charged around £400,000 in capital gains tax and around £160,000 in penalties. Stephanie Sharpe, of accountancy firm Moore Kingston Smith, said: “HMRC had decided at an early stage that the properties were not lived in by the Ives family or if they had lived there, it was as temporary occupation and not as a family home. “The HMRC officer seemed to be influenced by the fact that Mr Ives had described his self-employment as ‘builder’ on his tax return, but he mainly undertook plastering and odd job work, not major property renovation.” Mr Ives told the tribunal that the type of large family house he and his wife wanted was always out of their price range or did not exist, so they set out to create the perfect family home instead. However, financial difficulties and the desire to live close to family meant the couple sold up shortly after. “The broad facts are that each purchase was intended to be a permanent home for the family, but circumstances got in the way,” Ms Sharpe added. In 2008, Mr Ives and his wife bought the first property in Fulham as two flats for £760,000. A large amount of work was needed to make the place hospitable, so Mr Ives and his son moved in soon after completion to start the renovations. His wife remained in their previous property. However, the renovation was meant to be funded by the proceeds from the sale of this former family home – and when a sale did not come through, the couple ran into financial difficulties. The couple sold the property as a single dwelling in 2010 for £1.8m and then bought another house in Wandsworth in a partly renovated state. Mr Ives told the tribunal it soon became obvious the purchase was a “disaster”. Traffic noise and a lack of parking drove them to sell up earlier than intended, he said. They sold it in 2012 for £1.5m, having bought it for £750,000. A third property – also in Fulham – was much better suited to them, the tribunal heard. They bought it for £1.7m in 2012. However, by the time it was renovated, their adult children had decided to leave Fulham and the couple decided to move in order to be close to them and their grandchildren. They sold it for £3.25m at the end of 2013. A number of friends and family members gave evidence that the Ives had furnished the properties, as well as holding dinner parties there and hosting guests overnight. The tribunal concluded that the properties were not purchased with a view to make a profit in the short term, but had been bought as family homes and therefore the transactions were not trading in nature. It then decided that Mr Ives was using the properties as his residence and therefore no capital gains tax was due. Jeremy Johnson, of inTax, the firm that instructed Mr Ives’ lawyer, said they had encountered a number of cases like this over the years. “We have also dealt with cases where HMRC has challenged whether an individual has occupied a property to the extent that private residence relief would be due on any capital gain,” he said. “However, in relation to property, HMRC is frequently also interested in undeclared income or gains on second homes or rental properties.” He added: “We weren’t overly happy about needing to take this to tribunal, as it was very stressful for our client, but we are pleased that our client got the right result.” An HMRC spokesman said: “We are reviewing the tribunal’s decision and considering next steps.”

Thanks - this indeed was very helpful - looks like the answer is a resounding don't bother. Hopefully someone might be interested in buying my surplus EPS now - currently advertised on the Marketplace

I panicked because the installers ended up installing the doors a couple of mm higher than planned, so our gap was only 6mm, but engineer had specified 8mm deflection. Its been in for two years and all fine. It is annoying to end up with a 45mm surprise, but you will soon forget it. Agree you should move on. In future, insist on signing off on detailed drawings before handing over any money.

I am going into my first fully off-grid winter in southern Scotland (Glasgow latitude) so I can't yet be definitive (and even then it would be just the one year) but looking at the data I am finding that my PV production is quite a bit less than the estimate obtained from online tools like PVGIS. Two days ago my 1.9kW PV array produced 270Wh on a grey drizzly day. That's not enough to power the constant background load of charger/inverter (30W), UV water filter (30W), MVHR (15W) and system losses.

We had sliding corner doors, and had about 40mm on both sides against the vertical steels. I was annoyed at the size, but quickly forgot about it! Now with plasterboard and external trims and render you'd never know! Accept what you've got, nobody is going to replace them to gain maybe 15mm. Top rule of self builds... Pick your battles, and know when you're not going to win! Move on.

The main reason is that PV can reduce CO2 emissions (compared to natural gas) in 2 to 5 years, trees take 50 years. Rewilding desert regions can be a bit tricky as water supplies need to be diverted, and that can take away from food production. But of course we should be doing both, but not in a binary way i.e. if we can't have trees or PV, then we will do nothing. The fastest way to reduce deforestation is manage forestation and agriculture better, but that will take a lot of education.

The concrete slab and suspended ceiling is more than enough to pass the BCAR sound transmission requirements. We put in 50mm mineral wool as well, just to be sure. All good. I'm assuming your suspended ceiling will be a metal system? Fyi unless you've massive spans you'll be using 150mm precast slabs. Oh, instead of the 25mm insulation and 75mm screed, consider 50mm TLA, UFH, then 50mm liquid. Far faster job.

OK, thanks We are all correct. Anyone can apply for planning permission. You have to inform the owner. The application proceeds whether or not they comment or approve.

Self building creates resilience, and self builders have a lot more than most. We're used to getting on with it after hitting yet another brick wall.

keep at it, it's not quick and it's not simple. I've had plenty of moments where I've spent a day doing something, then ripping it down and doing it again because of an oversight, getting ahead of myself, or because it was just wrong! This forum is a great sounding board, and there are some threads that have a lighter hearted view on things that help take the edge off and help getting things into perspective with everyone's different journeys.

i defo hit the wall a month ago. Finally got my radiator system in and working after 6 months and at that point my urgency to carry on just nose-dived as the house was able to be warmed. Difficult on the dark cold nights to come in from work and start to crawl around the house for sure.

It is like driving a car, we just get better and correcting out mistakes without a fuss.

Every single proper self builder has several £uckMe moments. 8 years in and they still happen. At this stage in the game I'm just glad to get to the end of any one day without one. You get better at handling them, and when you can't there's oodles of help here.

Don't worry to much every single person sooner or later during their build hits the wall and questions why da fook did I ever start this. Just remember how far you have come and what the prize is at the end. It's not an easy thing to do for anyone even those with lots of experience of construction still find it difficult.

I would suggest that you fit isolating valves as AAVs are notorious for getting blocked, at least you can remove and clean them or replace them then.

With all due respect, why overcomplicate the things? My reference to the science was purely in the form of the general knowledge that a heat pump uses/needs more energy if the outdoor air is lower than when it's warmer. The easiest way to find an answer would be to look at some data sheet that shows the COP at different outside temperatures. @JamesPaThis mention of 2% improvement with every degree difference as rule of thumb, in the context of the topic, it kinda applies both external temperature runnigs and LWT.

We are starting our new build project very soon, its around 590 sqm project. We have gone through various options for heating like Borehole heating, Airsource, Ground source and finally decided to go with two boilers. I just couldn't justify the installation cost of these three and the running cost for ASHP & GSHP is almost 75% of the boiler running cost, so cant see where we save anything. Any suggestions? Definitely going ahead with the MVHR.

It should be 90% of the temperature of the extract air relative to the outside air (not absolute zero) if the flows are balanced, there's no condensation going on and so on. e = (Ts - To) / (Te - To) where: e = efficiency (as a proportion; multiply by 100 to get percent, of course). Ts = supply air temperature (air going into the rooms from the exchanger). To = outside temperature (air going into the inlet from outside to the exchanger). Te = extract air temperature (air going from the rooms to the exchanger). The exhaust air temperature (air going from the exchanger to the outside) doesn't matter, that's lost and gone. So: Ts = e × (Te - To) + To or, if all temperatures are measured relative to outside, it's simply: Ts = e × Te