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Just a thought, Dave, but if your tenants have said they wish to buy the old house in 2 years time, would they be prepared to pay a bit extra each month (₤x) on the agreement that you deduct ₤x (x24) + 10% from the agreed sale price 2 years hence? It might not make a big difference but it could help pay for some more materials to keep the build ticking over and would give you certainty about their intent.

I'm with @ProDaveon not borrowing - but I'm going to join the crew and give a bit of tough love. In effect, any borrowing be an advance on the rent OR even better, the proceeds of the sale of the house. If you have an asset such as a house sitting there with no finance owed and you're not going to at least entertaining using it (directly or indirectly) as a security on a loan to finish the house, then you could be a long time in the caravan. If you want to see the project through, it's my view that you are going to have to compromise with yourself here. Of course I don't know all your circumstances but regardless - please make sure you're not being stubborn and doing yourself out of enjoying your new house sooner. I did a course years ago and it really got through to me that when you're stuck, if you don't do something differently, you're unlikely to get a different result. Think outside your own box. Doing the same - we could do the first BuildHub crowdfund - you set it up (plenty of sites out there), I'll put in £1k. How much do you need to be in a position to get certification to live there?

@ProDave , in theory yes but in practice it is possibly more complicated. Your current garage wall has a thermal resistance of about 4.5K.m2/W (15mmOSB 190mm Frametherm/timber), the unventilated service void only contributes 0.18K.m2/W, or about 4%. 82mm of Frametherm 35 has the same thermal resistance as 100mm of Pavatex, so 100mm in practice. Putting this on the outside will 1) lose floor area in garage and 2) require larger timbers to attach plasterboard? If the service void is 47/50mm I would put 50mm Frametherm here and 50mm on the outside, adding 2.68K.m2/W (2.86-0.18) to the thermal resistance where Pavatex would have added 2.33. If the service void is only 25mm I would put 25mm of PIR/PUR/Phenolic in there with 50mm Frametherm on the outside, adding about 2.25K.m2/W (1.0+1.43-0.18)

You can NOT claim back VAT for anything other than materials bought in your name, delivered to your site (as detailed on the invoice) and they need to be consumed in the build and not removable - it's all detailed here. However you should be able to get supply and labour price VAT free from your scaff firm (similar to a contractor hiring some plant for a job they're doing for you). Some take more persuasion than others. They may want to see your PP approval as proof. There's always the cash in hand option also. 3.4 Services excluded from zero-rating 3.4.2 Goods on hire Goods hired on their own are always standard-rated. Examples include the hire of: scaffolding, formwork or false work (although the service of erecting or dismantling can be zero-rated where all the conditions in sub-paragraph 3.1.2 are met)

It's the modern British equivalent of Godwin's Law.

When I started this thread I had no idea it would go the way it has gone. One thing I have learned - and in learning I have coined (not BIT) a new word for the dictionary. 'BRENTROPY' after James R Newman, and to a certain extent thermodynamics, in that every conversation tends to Brexit unlike entropy in James's definition where everything tends to "death and disorder". At the core of my definition however lies the concept of uncertainty which seems to not unreasonably sum it up. Ho Hum.

Dave. I'd snap my right arm off to be able to build my own home, so chin up mate. The glass is always half full so be glad your not employed by someone for one ( with the sword of Damocles swinging over your head ) and not unsure if your job and income was safe. If you have to have the turkey in the 'van then embrace it and enjoy it, the build isn't going anywhere. Just go on and listen to the horror stories of self builders shafted for all their money and left with nothing, life savings in tatters and non-mortgageable home etc, and youll soon realise your position is actually quite enviable. Your build is on a ratchet, it can only move up a notch every time you do a bit more, and you've saved a ? load of money already by being a tradesman, so by your own admission are further ahead than you thought you'd be which is a huge positive . If you have to drip feed it then at least it's still getting fed, so stay positive and keep your spirits up. It's the wrong time of the year to be gloomy ? What assurances do you have of the tenants buying after the 2 year period ? If it's zero and based on a handshake then put the house back on the market as if they don't buy you'll be kicking yourself. Being nice is one thing, but if their serious when they see the for sale sign in the garden they'll make good on the promise and chuck some money on the table as a deposit. Get them a contract that says it's non-returnable and tell them to piss or get off the pot. £10k sounds like an achievable amount and if their as serious as they suggest won't cause any problems. There's too much riding on faith otherwise Chin up

that must have been very hard to write.. I can only hope you somehow get the break that you need. at least now the lurkers in the Scottish highlands know there is an electrician that is worth PM'ing for work

This post is summary of the Principal Designer thread. The purpose of this summary is to assist members and guests decide for themselves how CDM2015 impacts their build project. The summary is offered as is and should not be interpreted as authoritative advice. As is normal in asynchronous online discussion, the thread sometimes changes its focus a little. Where those changes occur, the content has not been summarised. Discussion of this issue is particularly relevant to us because we are a self-build forum, whose members are assumed not to be professional builders, or -in relation to building- have any technical understanding or capability beyond simple DIY . To be clear, the following assumptions are made; · A client is a Domestic Client. The distinction is central to all that follows · The Domestic Client can choose to apply for VAT relief in due course, whereas a Client cannot · The Domestic Client is not engaged, or about to be engaged, in a business related to the build (because they will then be a Client, not a Domestic Client) The thread started with a question about the role of Principal Designer. The examination of that question inevitably lead to discussion about how the role related to other key aspects of the legislation. There was some reference to the history of Health and Safety legislation, but it was pointed out that over time, the general emphasis had not changed. If you qualify for Domestic Client status, then a contractor working for you carries the main responsibility for Health and Safety. It was in the detailed examination of the term ‘responsibility’ that a good deal of discussion arose. Several members agreed that the legislation was poorly drafted for our sector of the market. And in the context of a self-build forum, where many of us will be doing things for the build on our own (DIY) as well as employing contractors, it is easy to see a rich source of confusion. For example, self-builders might be tempted to become involved in the build in a way which implies technical competence and so enhanced H+S responsibility. A strong warning was given to self-builders to avoid becoming involved in technical aspects of the build to the extent that they might be considered ‘ a responsible person’. And that includes the self-builder being trained in a relevant build subject to the extent that he or she might be assumed by the courts to have more responsibility than a Domestic Client would be expected to have. Perhaps the simplest articulation of how CDM responsibilities can be operationalised was in this post (@jamiehamy) ‘… We have only used contractors for the steel frame, lifting in floor beams, ground works/drainage and electrics - and each time I've made it clear that the contractor is responsible for operating safely and I do not dictate how they complete the activities. I don't supervise on site and most certainly do not manage their work or how they work - they have a deliverable and it is their responsibility to complete that. Where required, I offer safety equipment, ask what they need me to provide to work safely and healthily, I find out if they are dependent on me for anything and let them get on with it. Maybe I should do more in writing but I choose reputable contractors and all work is fully invoiced…’ In terms of prosecution for H+S breaches, providing the Domestic Client has fulfilled their duties (not covered in detail in this summary) prosecution is highly unlikely. Domestic Clients should make sure the site is safe and secure, tidy and clear of obvious hazards. There was some discussion based on the meaning of a series of CDM-specific terms; Project Manager, PD, PC, Client, Domestic Client, Business or Business Activity, Contractor, design, designer as well as others. Please refer to the full discussion for a more detailed discussion. But it was convincingly argued (with supporting evidence, and some unevidenced dissention) that a Domestic Client cannot be either a Principal Contractor or Principal Designer. Additionally, there was some discussion of official legal documents related to CDM2015. In summary: be sure to understand the meaning of the term Domestic Client, and to maintain that status throughout the build. Any competent person with whom you have a contract to complete work on your site should be capable of working safely. Offer support to fulfill H+S requirements, but never offer advice or direct work or manage the process. If, after reading this summary you feel you need to, take care to seek advice from more than one reliable, authoritative source. Paying for advice does not guarantee its accuracy or authority. Source url forum.buildhub.org.uk/ipb/topic/2376-principal-designer-role/ Bibliography. HSE (2015), Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, HSE Books downloaded 04/05/2017 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf See especially Appendix 6. HSE (2015), How CDM 2015 applies to Domestic Clients Appendix 6, Figure 1, in Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Download the flow chart (from our server) here HandSforDomesticClients.pdf HSE Construction Discussion Forum (accessed 04/05/2017)

Some of you will remember roughly 2 years ago my "and then there was one" post. That was the point we realised our old house was not going to sell any time soon leaving us short of funds. At that point we laid off the builder (amicably) and since then it has been me and SWMBO working on the house so there are no (or minimal) labour costs. Well now, we have reached the inevitable conclusion to that. The pot is empty. Seriously empty. It could not be more empty. The sad reality is now we cannot afford even to buy materials to continue the build. So how far did we get? Probably a lot further than I honestly thought we would, but that does not ease the pain. We have a house largely finished externally. Fully insulated and air tight. Upstairs has been plasterboarded and plastered and we have a staircase. Upstairs is also mostly wired. There is no plumbing, apart from a toilet downstairs and temporary plumbing for a washing machine. No hot water system and no heating installed. Downstairs remains a bare shell with just the air tight membrane on the walls and the sub floor OSB flooring. All I can do now is work, for others, and earn money. We need that to pay the bills. We are resigned to a cold winter in the caravan, with no prospect of even partially moving onto the house for the foreseeable. I won't post too many personal details. We had expected hoped for a little windfall that we thought was coming our way. We now don't know when, or indeed if that will actually happen. If not, the only source of funds is to cash in a small pension I have from a previous employment, but I have another 4 months to wait before I attain the age that allows me to do that. Unless the windfall does happen, it is going to be a very long, cold and frustrating winter.