newhome

Yes you can still claim for eligible things purchased after sign off up to the point you submit the claim (must be sent within 3 months). Nails, sealants etc are incorporated so claimable. Sandpaper and white spirit are not so not claimable.

My house is constructed that way and it was timber frame, roof and then the blockwork. The breather membrane keeps it waterproof for a while.

Another £50 off £100 purchase if you have a business account and sign up to Amazon Business. Ensure that you follow the instructions carefully. Amazon Business offer

In theory that extra money should also cover the VAT the supplier has to pay on the 'free' appliances as they won't have been bought in free of VAT.

You can only claim for plumbing things (taps and sinks), appliances that provide heat (so a combi range / heater thingy for example), and ventilation, ie extractor.

And the fact that once you’ve started a warranty will cost more. We had to pay extra for the warranty as the foundations were here already.

Nope unfortunately not.

Congrats! @Onoff‘s kid was big enough to help finish the build at the end ?. Could be a strategy? ?

Yes but it would be better to stay in your existing house, save like mad (and evidence of regular savings may help when you come to get the mortgage as it demonstrates an ability to live within your means), and hopefully increase your earnings to a level at which 100k becomes an easy amount to obtain. Where is the 100k savings? Equity in your existing house or in a savings account?

Culture something grim on the blind then she may be compelled to change it ?

Shelves over the bath, and that blind hasn’t grown on me ?.

Depends how you do it. If you buy materials and get someone to fit them (or fit them youself) then yes you have to pay the VAT at standard rate and claim it back once the house is complete so you will need more money to cover this. If you get a VAT registered builder to work on a supply and fit basis then both the goods and labour will be zero rated meaning you don't need to find the additional VAT money. Lots of info about the VAT reclaim scheme here:

Mine was about 25% of the overall build budget.

I don’t think there is a clear answer when it comes to fixed price vs time and materials. I’ve had good experiences with both and poor ones too. Ultimately it comes down to the tradesman IMO. There are those that drag out a job to get paid more if it’s T&M and those who rush a fixed price job to get it done quickly and demonstrate lack of care. The best thing you can do when building is try to employ recommended trades and keep hold of the ones you trust that do a good job.

This thread might be useful to read

I love DPD. They always deliver around lunchtime and I don’t think they’ve ever let me down. Amazon always used to use them here and that was great but they appear to have switched to Hermes who delivery at random times. Up to 9pm! Did have a Tesco delivery at 23.45 once when the driver broke down. In fairness they did text me but the time kept getting later and later. I did not want to be putting shopping away at midnight!

A house half the size doesn’t generally halve the cost as there are economies of scale to a degree. Service connections of 20k for example add double the amount per m2 to a 150m2 house compared to a 300m2 one. But you have to compare like with like so the same type of finish etc. As others have said it depends on many things including where you are in the country, availability of trades, how much you decide to do yourself, the shape / complexity of the design etc. Timber frame and brick and block tend to be specialist skills so not that many people tackle those jobs on their own (there are a few who do but they are generally pretty skilled beforehand). There seem to be quite a few people giving ICF a go on their own though. There are loads of things you can do yourself inside though if you have the will to learn and accept that the build may take longer as a result.

Bet this is fueled by the Help To Buy scheme. Crazy that it’s restricted to new build homes IMO. Desperate to buy in Rochdale

Welcome. That seems realistic depending on the complexity of the house being built etc. Once you upload the plans people on here can advise and suggest ways in which you can potentially economise.

That’s too organised for me. Why have a collection of black buckets when there are 100s of more obscure hiding places to choose from! ?

That’s generally the best approach I feel. Or do what I do and order a new one as you can’t find something whereupon it turns up almost as soon as the new one arrives! ? Leaving the drill outside in the pi55ing rain for 3 days probably wasn’t the best plan though. It’s now in the boiler room hopefully drying out!

How do you ensure that you grab but do not cut? Is it a case of not grabbing too hard? ?

What do they all do though? Some of those things talk about cutting edges, yet other pliers there don’t seem to cut anything? That’s the local Asda’s range of tools btw! Probably crap but they are shiny ?. I think I have most of those tools already somewhere or another but they are not shiny as well used. I can’t get to grips ? with most things like that!

A man after my own heart! I generally try to use the multi talented screwdriver for many jobs where a flat one doubles up as a scraper, a chisel, a paint lid remover, weed digger upper et al, and the pointy ones do hole punching amongst other things! ?

So why are they called waterpump pliers ... ?