newhome

I haven’t got any cracking here and the frame has been up 9 years. It was boarded without being sat around too. My old house (developer built brick and block) had some cracking.

Given that both houses cost about the same to build I couldn’t really equate that given that the plywood box house had so much free labour. It’s hard to see where the main money is spent on these projects without a cost breakdown.

You may run into an issue both with building control amd HMRC. Building control may want you to apply for an amendment before they will issue a completion certificate and HMRC may not allow the VAT reclaim as you have built something that isn't 'lawful'. ie doesn't align to the planning permission. Not worth the risk of either IMO.

Welcome! Looks like an interesting project. One of our members, @jamiehamy, converted an old water tank. He has a blog here: https://theoldwatertank.blogspot.com/

I insisted on this too despite the OH’s attempts to persuade me otherwise. Resistance was futile of course (on his part) 🙂

I didn't pester anyone - they just contacted me. Guess these days business must be booming for them not to have to bother ..... Looks like this is the broker that cover was originally arranged through. https://www.julianharris.net/ Amongst other things this is what my policy noted on the demands and needs statement: Details about your home  It is a detached house, built around 2010 with 4 bedrooms.  The property is centrally heated and built with Standard Construction walls and Standard Construction roof.  New Property Under Construction.  Property locks do not meet minimum security requirements.  No burglar alarm installed.  Property is not in a Neighbourhood Watch area.  Unoccupied > 60 days in a row < 12 months. NB - Actually the locks did meet the minimum security requirements but they added that and as the quote was ok I didn't bother to get it changed. We hadn't moved in at that point hence the unoccupied note. In 2010 the cover was for buildings only and £438 for the year. It's actually less today for buildings, contents and accidental damage cover but given that it was unoccupied and we were desperate for cover it seemed a decent enough deal at the time especially when comparing to self build insurance.

I used 'Challenge Quoterack' for mine (a few years ago). Essentially I put in what I wanted and 3 brokers contacted me. I ended up with a 'normal' policy through Halifax that cost a bit more than a standard policy but not that much more. Just ensure that you are clear and transparent about everything and ensure that they add the right details to the insurance. For something so specialised I would probably put it all in writing so there could be no arguments about disclosure later. Quoterack

See here: What protection or support does HETAS offer after installation? HETAS strives to promote and monitor continuous improvement in the safe installation and use of solid fuel appliances, systems, chimneys & flues and in their maintenance. As such, we are keen to be advised of any non-compliant installation carried out whether by a non-registered HETAS or registered HETAS engineer. Please feel free to call or email us at any time for additional support or advice, before or after your HETAS installation takes place. Contact us If he doesn’t play ball contact HETAS. HETAS FAQs

Easy then. Tell him you need a valid HETAS sign off acceptable by BC by the end of next week or you will consider him in breach of contract. That’s pretty bad if he is providing you with invalid credentials.

That's often the case with health info though isn't it? Take any sort of health related issue that you have a relatively low chance of being affected by, and dramatically state that eating something or doing something increases the risk by what looks to be a large percentage, that in reality means pretty much nothing in terms of numbers. The greatest single risk factor for cancer is age and there is feck all any of us can do about that unless someone invents a time machine.

I have the Nilfisk E140 that comes in at circa £230 but it's pretty heavy to lift IMO (hubby chose it) and I would probably be just as happy (if not happier) with a smaller one TBH.

I have one too and was surprised that when I took it apart to clean it there was pretty much nothing to clean.

I just spent 2 hours this weekend blasting the moss and lichen away lol. Still more to do! I don’t think it uses that much water as the soakaway generally overflows when I use the hose for an extended time but 2 hours with the pressure washer and there were no issues with that.

I assume you have been living in the house since you bought it? It’s a pity you didn’t start the work before you moved in as you can reclaim all the VAT for renovating a property that has been empty for 10 years. As soon as it’s occupied if you haven’t started the work then you can’t. That would have been a 20% saving from the get go.

There are videos on Youtube showing how to use them for retaining walls.