newhome

After a fair bit of chasing I have finally received my structural warranty certificate from Build-Zone. To my surprise it’s dated from Nov 2016 and expires Nov 2026. I had expected it to start Dec 2017 as that’s when I got the completion certificate. I’ve no idea what the 2016 date relates to but surely this means I only have a 9 year warranty? Is this usual or a mistake on Build-Zone’s part? I’ve got to contact them anyway as they’ve put my husband’s name on the certificate too despite knowing the circumstances ... ?

Well you could try but see @ryder72‘s comment about HMRC. I got 2 free appliances but that was on a buy 2 get one free deal, nothing to do with the cabinets.

Hi @vivienz, it’s Scotland so may be different but I believe that @Christine Walker used a similar scenario to her advantage recently.

And up here I’ve seen several that have blown over within a few miles of here. The latest one I saw was one of a pair on the local sports ground. Lucky no one was hurt tbh.

Sparkle is good ???

Silver is the new white - innit?

It was a while ago so my recollection may be hazy but I don't think I was actually asked what I wanted the remortgage money for TBH. I think I said I was moving house if I said anything at all. I was offered 75% LTV back in 2009 but then the banks all went pop and borrowing became much harder. The only reason I remortgaged was because I didn't sell my house in time (due to the housing market having tanked). Ideally I would have sold well in advance of the money being needed. Thankfully the house sold a few months later but it would have been a complete PITA to have to keep paying a mortgage on a house we couldn't even live in due to it being 400 miles from where the plot was. Personally my preference would be to sell the old house, and be sure of having money in the bank before embarking on a self build, but that's just my personal preference. Can you even get a remortgage AND a self build mortgage at pretty much the same time?

So I've never done plasterboarding before but if I was going to try it I would have a go at taper edge, fill and sand from reading what's involved here. I've done a bit of filling and it doesn't look too bad if you get the sanding smooth. Worst case you have to cover with lining paper and emulsion but try for a decent finish with the sanding first so you can complete on your own. I know what you mean about not being able to get trades out to do small jobs which is why I have to try to do some of the things myself that take me out of my comfort zone. It's all a learning experience though and will help with the jobs you need to do in the rest of the house.

Well I don't disagree with you on the architect point for sure hence I suggested that they look at using a technician instead. Build costs (in general) tend to be cheaper in Scotland than much of the UK so the OP may well bring the cost in below their original figures, especially if they don't need a house of 200 m2 or whatever.

No one is suggesting that the OP shouldn't proceed with caution. In fact many posters have said that in their own way and suggested that this forum could be the place to check back when further details are known, but to start off with the fact that the plot price v build price has an unusual ratio when we didn't even know where the plot was at that point is, let's say, an unusual approach. When more costings are available then is the time to question the financials in more detail. After all we don't know what the affordability will be like as none of us are aware of the OP's circumstances, but to imply that simply encouraging someone to explore the idea is 'reckless' is way over the top in my view. We see many people here who explore their options, receive advice from many on this forum, and then given all the facts and arguments for or against decide to proceed or not. I take the opposite view and will happily try to provide advice on further exploring the idea so that a sensible decision can be made unless the plan was CLEARLY reckless, then I would say so. Now if the OP had bought the plot and had come here with no idea as to what could be built on it and for what money, then that would be reckless, but that's not the case and they are simply exploring options. Let's not kill that idea stone dead before all the facts and figures are known. Only when more detail is understood can better advice be given.

A self build mortgage is a drawdown so no one is borrowing that sort of money from the outset. You still need to be able to draw down the final payment to finish the house. So the OP is just asking a straightforward exploratory question. That comes across to me in the first post even though they’ve had to repeat it now for some folk. And it’s very easy to quote figures when you’ve only dug the foundations. People who have completed builds with real experiences like @Christine Walker who has 2 builds under her belt and embarking on a third, clearly has a wise head on her shoulders and is in Scotland to boot is where I would look to for advice.

The OP is exploring it as an idea and people are suggesting a few ideas as to what to do to see whether it is financially viable. It’s clearly their first look at it, nothing is set in stone and there will be a lot of thought going into whether this might be something they want to do. Presumably there will be further posts if they move to the next stage in the decision process and people here can provide more specific advice when plans are known. They are out meeting architects to see how much building a house might cost, not signing on the dotted line. And you’ve read it wrong anyway. The OP is not mortgage free, they even mention their current mortgage in the OP! I had no mortgage and a wedge of cash in the bank when I started my self build. Would you therefore have told me to run for the hills? On what basis? I have finished my build and still have no mortgage. And I’m sure @PeterW will be delighted to be called a retiree ?. I’m not a retiree either but can still see the benefit of building the house you want (if you can afford to) vs the house someone thinks you should have. But again it comes down to personal choice. Not everyone wants to build a house for the cheapest price they can. It’s a personal decision that only the OP can make.

Grey grout! ?

@nod has his quote now though and is presumably comfortable with it so it may present an opportunity to be creative with ‘free’ stuff if the company is receptive.

It doesn't sound like the OP has got as far as costings yet so there has been little planning done at all apart from possibly working out the top limit of what they can afford. It's no more than that just now, a maximum budget. It doesn't mean that's what the yet to be decided budget will be set at so let us wait until the OP has started some more detailed costings before telling them their plan needs adjusting.

That's pretty good. Mine cost me £1200 9 years ago. Some people have had quotes more than 10 x that amount. Mostly because the nearby supply has been at capacity so they need to pay for new provision to be made. So that is what to get them to confirm; that there is spare capacity within the existing infrastructure to allow your connection. The minute you have to pay for a new provision the costs skyrocket. This site is very good. There is a huge amount of information here already to look up and digest, and there are people here who can help with your own specific questions in pretty much every area of self building. Just keep asking (with a post in the appropriate forum ...) as this may well help you avoid expensive mistakes or give you options to think about that you may not have considered before. It's very easy to make a mistake, get taken for a ride, or simply be faced with not knowing what to do next and this forum can help with pretty much everything.

Looking good!!! Is that the sieve from the kitchen? Hubby was always requisitioning them for something. Even the expensive stainless steel one I bought that caused a row! Bought cheaper ones after that. There are a few abandoned wrecked ones I found in the garage ...

I don't think there is an official ratio, it's very dependent on where you are purchasing land and what you want to build. As @PeterW says a lot depends on whether you see this as a forever home in which case you may not mind paying more to build the house of your dreams, but if you want the house to be worth at least as much as it cost you to build so that you can sell up and move on one day your sums may have to be a bit different. It will be worth doing some early investigation on how much it will cost to connect services to the plot. Many people on here have had some nasty surprises in terms of how much the connections have been for electricity, water or sewerage so definitely worth getting some quotes in. That's the sort of area the architects won't help much with. There are other ways you can save money too, for example employing an Architectural Technician or Architectural Technologist instead of an architect, or getting one of the timber frame companies to do all of the plans through to building warrant once you know what you want to build. Lot of posts on here about such things.

I got a 'free' appliance - I just made sure it wasn't the £600 extractor (that doesn't actually 'extract' ). @nod maybe you could negotiate a free appliance or 2 if you pay a bit more for your cabinets if you get my drift ....

As above look on gumtree and eBay or put a wanted ad on the local FB site. Or even contact the local garage door company to see if they have something second hand that might suit. Customers upgrade doors and the old one gets taken away. Some are wrecks but some are just because a different style is wanted.

You may well have probably but you won't have any missed spots under the tiles which is surely what the buttering derisks so which is more important?

For sure, but I didn't want someone reading that you could claim back for fitted wardrobes without being aware of the significant restrictions. I guess you can get 'free' kitchen appliances when you buy the cupboards too ...

What you mean is, wait for the foam gun, use lightly, and avoid any giant foam monsters emerging from the abyss at all costs ? Sounds like you could crack on with the celotex @zoothorn while you are waiting and fill and small gaps once you have the gun, the right foam and gun cleaner.

Lol you can do what you like then cos you ain’t claiming the vat back! ? I haven’t altered mine though.

Mine are over 1m and haven’t sagged, and I am the world’s worst person for overloading them with stuff. Haven’t looked to see how they are fixed TBH but hubby knew I would put 3 tons of stuff in so possibly fixed everything accordingly. I agree though, you can do what you like afterwards in terms of adding internal fittings or otherwise. My wardrobes came as part of the TF kit so it would have been a nightmare to try to separate the cost of the wardrobes from the main invoice if they hadn’t been supplied as eligible items.