newhome

Yes. A few miles up the road. Massive local employer.

The power station up here is fully staffed. They have contingency plans in place that if the situation became extreme involve testing the teams and essentially locking them in until the pandemic ends. It’s nuclear so they can’t just lock up and leave!

Conversely the amazing sickness policies in some companies seem to ‘encourage’ some employees to take full advantage of the policy often timing their time off sick to coincide exactly with the significant period for which they are eligible for full pay. There are many however who choose to have contractor status (admittedly well remunerated ones). Until IR35 (was supposed to) put a stop to it we had contractors who had been with the company for years in some cases but never wanted to go permanent. IR35 persuaded many of them to convert to permanent but there were still several who decided to continue contracting via an umbrella company. That may not have been the smart move in the current situation as the expected economic downturn post coronavirus will undoubtedly lead to cost cutting, and in such circumstances contractors are generally the first to be let go.

True, but people place value on different things based on how important something is to them. For some a kick arse tool is of great importance, others have horses, designer handbags, flash cars et al. You can buy cheaper versions of all of those things (well the horse might be a cat instead ? ) but ultimately we all place different values on things. From the comments here it would seem that many people believe that MVHR is worth it for the air quality alone whereas others would be quite happy with trickle vents. It doesn't make one view invalid - vive la difference.

There is also a certificate you can use at the back of VAT Notice 708. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buildings-and-construction-vat-notice-708#section18

Looks lovely! For info since you mentioned VAT there is a VAT sub forum that has a guide to the reclaim process but you have to have made 10 posts to view it.

Welcome. Fancy telling us something about your build?

Sounds like it could be a good thing for you then. Let us know what the deal is (and terms and conditions) when you get something formal through.

This company @zoothorn? http://www.ces-limited.com/products/

I think that there are companies around that will fit an ASHP free of charge but you have to sign the RHI payment over to them. Also not a good plan if you intend to move within 7 years. They generally require the prospective client to pay a small fee, something like a couple of hundred pounds a year I believe as a maintenance charge. So I’m guessing one of those companies. The company would need checking out with great diligence IMO. There were plenty of rent a roof companies installing PV and getting the FIT in the past. This is an extension of that.

There will be local variations with the cost of trades generally. I imagine that Edinburgh prices may be higher than in other areas of Scotland. @AliG has built in Edinburgh and he has posted extensively so probably worth reading through his posts specifically as well as general topics posted by others.

Mine took them 3 years in Scotland. In the meantime my solicitor retired, the path of a right of access was screwed up (goes through the middle of my garage) and now it’s down to me to instruct another solicitor to sort it. I’ll do that when I come to sell (or next door come to sell) as it’s causing no issues currently. Complete pain though.

Nope, I suspect that many believe the sales patter.

Developer new build. Garden swept away in Storm Dennis. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-03-04/homeowner-s-warning-about-buying-on-floodplain-after-garden-of-dream-home-swept-away-in-floods/

According to HMRC’s list batteries are excluded but it’s not clear whether battery storage is included in this. I think the only way to be sure is to write to them and get something in writing. Even if someone else managed to reclaim the VAT it doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will be able to. A lot seems to depend on how closely they look at your claim. Things you can claim for

Nope. Both @Redoctober and I used Scottish TF companies (different ones) and neither included it.

Welcome. Assuming you are talking about a timber frame then yes it just the frame, no foundations unless your contract states that. Services are excluded too. For mine it didn’t even include the roof sarking that is required in Scotland before tiling. You really need to clarify absolutely everything when dealing with trades and suppliers. Make no assumptions and if you do validate them quickly.

Sounds like a great project. Just a small note. Don’t make reference to the hair salon in the plans. If HMRC get a sniff of it being for business use they can deny your VAT reclaim. You are allowed a single home office and remain eligible. Call it a utility room or something domestic sounding.

I think the industry has largely rejected installing these and Ofgem don’t ensure that there are installers available so you may struggle.

Does the Daiken not have an onboard meter for performance? I think most MCS installers haven't bothered with MMSPs as there are paperwork and other obligations that come with them that make them not worth their while bothering with.

My OH used to do work for the rich and famous including several premiership footballers, and a couple of team managers. Lots of his work came from accountants too who seemed to have mountains and mountains of cash but they were canny about paying it out. And a few villains too lol.

At circa 100k a week I doubt that he was too worried ?

The highest paid sole traders tend to come in at under 1200. The 1500 tends to be to a company. Those are 'consultants' mostly - a mix of change management and tech. That said the vast majority of tech are between 400 and 600 and the majority of change managers 500 - 700. It's all changed with IR35 however and they are now either employed via an umbrella company or we parted company today in fact.

I paid £1000 for one guy who spent 2 half days here. I had known that it was that much but had no idea how long it would take. He worked like a maniac and wasn't particularly careful. I heard a crash in the lobby and when he had left he had clearly dropped something on the tiles, chipped one of them and then covered it up with silicone without owning up to it. Not impressed! I also have my expensive additional heating controls that weren't needed (and got ripped out). Or as @Nickfromwales put it "The second bill confirms he should have got back in his van and left the better man. Nearly £700 for him to chop some unnecessary equipment in and make it worse imho. He may have looked like a knight in shining armour at the time but 'cock' still seems fit from where im sitting." That said we have contractors at work that are charged at circa £1500 a day.

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