newhome

I’ve used that but it doesn’t help with the light coloured grout in high traffic areas (fine in the bathrooms). Mine was Mapei grout so should have been ok. I used some stuff called Rubi Net grout cleaner that was ace but I don’t seem to be able to see it for sale now. These days I just bleach clean it using a brush, and seal it again.

My kit was about 25% of the total build costs. What is the total square meterage of your house? 116 x 2? A realistic cost would be circa 1600 per square metre but you might bring it in for less than that if you do some of the work yourself, purchase materials economically etc. Costs of trades will vary depending on location.

Mine is flexible adhesive and all 5 bathrooms upstairs are done the same but it's the 2 largest ones that are starting to show the issue (one more than the other). That may be to do with the size of the floor area or as @Ferdinand says the humidity as those are the 2 bathrooms I use. I don't use the others unless I have visitors. It's not too bad just now but I can see the grout cracking and feel them moving a bit where that is happening so I imagine it will only get worse TBH.

I have one acrylic bath and one steel. I actually prefer sitting in the steel one but the acrylic one is ok.

Things that didn't go to plan on my build: One of the builders 'fell off' (no one saw him) the scaffolding 10 minutes after arriving on site for the first time. He sued us as we had insurance whilst his employer (who apparently had no insurance) denied all knowledge of having employed the guy and said that we had employed him direct. The case was still ongoing literally years later. buying cheap wall hung cisterns to save money - a false economy Buying a heating system that no one could install up here leading to lots of things being bought that weren't needed, and the system not working properly, then throwing good money after bad to try to get it fixed to no avail, until @Nickfromwales and @PeterW trawled all the way up here to fix it a few years later. Putting the MVHR in the loft in an inaccessible place so I can't get up there to check it or change the filters Echo the issue with @Ferdinand's floor tiles. The main bathroom here has started to show that issue. They were installed by a tradesman so just not done correctly. Not putting enough insulation in the floor. Walls and roof were well above building standards but the floor has the building standard minimum and with UFH it's not enough. And not things I did but are costly beasts if they go wrong ... not sending the VAT reclaim to HMRC within 3 months of completion leading to a refusal by HMRC not completing the CIL paperwork in the right order or not sending completion evidence in time leading to the exemption being cancelled

Yes indeed, I think if you don't need to wait to do the VAT reclaim then you should do the reclaim then if you can and buy as much in the way of materials to finish things off as you can afford before you send it in. I don't supposed we'll see the outcome of the first such tribunal case for a while so it's running blind a bit until then, and of course that first case may bring good or bad news for the self builder.

I just got round to watching these. Someone should keep a copy of the second programme and play it to the VAT tribunal if HMRC refuse their VAT reclaim on the basis that when a house is occupied you are accepting that it is habitable. That was an extreme example but wasn't far off where we were when we moved into the house here. Kitchen / family room complete and the downstairs shower room sort of complete, and there was hot water but other than that nah. We stuck in a bed and a sofa and that made the house at that time. It was still more spacious and comfortable than the caravan. The floor wasn't even down upstairs. Had a few boards over some of the joists. There was an absolute ton of stuff still to do. That's the reality for many self builders especially when they have to sell their previous property to release funds to finish the new one. That programme brought that to life really well. I admire the guy whose partner left him but he still got on with the build, and he knows that he will need to complete the rest as and when time and money allows. It's a pretty lonely experience trying to finish a build on your own and he was on his own for most of it.

Also if you demolish and do a new build you will be obliged to meet current building regs in respect of the foundations / insulation levels in the floor / slab. Not sure if you were planning on bringing the insulation level up to current standards (assuming it doesn’t meet those already).

That's a relief cos I now don't need to stress about getting the screws out!

I have a UC24YFA

HMRC fixated on the electric blinds because there had already been a case at the Upper Tribunal whereby Taylor Wimpey tried to zero rate all kitchen electric appliances such as washing machines etc. and they lost the case. Taylor Wimpey vs HMRC In the electric blinds case, HMRC tried to suggest that the eco home in question wasn't any different from the 4 bedroom Taylor Wimpey homes in the case referred to above. Luckily the tribunal disagreed and stated that an eco home is a distinct category of building. That has more significance than the electric blinds really as if eco / passive / sustainable homes had been judged the same as a bog standard 4 bed developer built house then who knows what HMRC would be refusing in the future! Had the appellant actually provided any proof that electric blinds were ordinarily incorportated into an 'eco' home I think he may have won his case but after the 90 days he was given to provide the information he hadn't come forward with anything so he lost the case.

I have a pair of ugly galvanised gates at the back of my plot that the railway put in (and own). I had them clad in timber and they look a whole lot nicer now. Blend in with the wooden fence.

I don’t disagree but HMRC decided that electric blinds were not ‘ordinarily incorporated’ so refused the VAT on them. The first tier tribunal asked the appellant to provide evindence that they were ordinarily incorporated and he failed to do this. So sounds like supply and fit and thus zero rated is the way to go.

Well I have MVHR and open windows in summer when it's hot inside and cooler inside. I also switch summer bypass on the MVHR to help. I also have integral blinds but in 2G glazing, not 3G. If I ordered again I would have electric blinds to the rooms I use the most (mine are all manual) although I notice that HMRC refused the VAT reclaim on electric blinds recently however these could have been separate blinds rather than integrated.

They provided the damn thing so whilst it would be very convenient for them to say that it's not their problem they have sold you something that is unfit for purpose so it is their issue to sort.

This is the 3rd time you’ve posted the same thing? ?

TBH I imagine they get so many people complaining and threatening them they just ignore most of it until enforcement action is taken. The majority of people won't go as far as that. Here's another site that mentions court action etc https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-managing-2/fix-problems-in-a-new-build-home/

I can’t help with any of the other complicated stuff but be very careful about how the Planning Permission is drawn up if you want to reclaim the VAT. The property needs to be able to be sold separately from any other properties or business, have no conditions of occupancy (like for the use of someone working on a farm for example), or anything that links it to a business. If it has any of those type of conditions HMRC will refuse the claim. There is a guide to the VAT reclaim process here. The first post makes mention of planning permission restrictions that would make a claim ineligible and the 6th post down highlights the cases that have been to a tribunal and most of them have been refused. If you know that your planning permission won’t have these restrictions then that’s fine but I thought it worth mentioning. And some specific cases that were refused due to conditions attached to the PP http://financeandtax.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/judgmentfiles/j9599/TC05626.pdf http://financeandtax.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/judgmentfiles/j10009/TC06040.pdf

You need a RICS accredited surveyor I think. https://www.ricsfirms.com/residential/moving-home/surveys/rics-consumer-guide-home-surveys/

OP doesn’t own the house yet but is in the process of purchasing it.

Think my post above this covers this? LABC are saying they are only responsible for the issues with the house thus their recommendation only relates to addressing that aspect. The developer however IS responsible for providing you with everything they sold you being fit for purpose including the deck.

I kind of accept that LABC may not be responsible for the deck although they will be responsible for the issues with the damp so this is what I suspect their report is based on. The developer however sold you the house with the deck so they are indeed responsible for it and should therefore be responsible for rectifying the issues it causes to the property AND providing a deck that is fit for purpose IMO.

To be honest you may need to get a surveyor in to do a full assessment. At least then you have something concrete to put to the builder / warranty provider, and it would count as an expert opinion, not just quotes from builders that however good they are could be argued as just their opinion. There is a post here where someone did that https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/9265-new-build-quality/?do=findComment&comment=157804 Hopefully you have been doing already, but put every contact with the builder in writing. If you have a conversation with them follow it up with an email to confirm the conversation. On the insulation front, when I bought my previous house from a large developer it had no insulation in it at all, despite the fact that we were handed a guarantee for the insulation. It appears that they had ‘missed’ installing any insulation for a whole group of houses. You could ask a surveyor to assess that aspect too as a new build these days should be pretty well insulated if it conforms to building regs. Tell the builder and LABC that this is the route you will now go down and will take them to court to fix the defects plus you will expose the house builder for their poor quality, and LABC for signing off houses that are sub standard.

I looked at the LABC warranty. It’s clear who is responsible initially but LABC ‘may’ be able to help through conciliation which means nothing TBH. It also notes that it is restricted to issues in their technical manual. It says elsewhere that things like central heating, appliances aren’t included but these look more structural so surely would be. Problems within the Defects Period During this period the developer is responsible for rectifying any defects (which are deemed to be a failure to comply with our Technical Manual). You must report any faults to the developer in writing as soon as possible, making sure you keep a copy of this correspondence. If you have reported these issues to your developer within the Defects Period and either: a) They have failed to rectify them within a reasonable time period, or; b) They are unable to rectify them due to their insolvency Then we may be able to help through our conciliation service. Please note that we will only be able to assist with issues governed by our Technical Manual. LABC Warranty

Goodness that is very bad. I would quit talking to the builder, get a different builder in to quote to remedy the issues, and then write to the builder formally and tell them that you are going to take them to court. Unfortunately unless you got something in writing that cosmetic things like cracked tiles would be fixed I think you’re probably stuck with those but there seem to be quite a few structural things that you can potentially claim for. I know what it’s like struggling to get a developer to fix issues but mine were nowhere near as bad as yours seem to be. A Google search turned up this site if useful http://m.brand-newhomes.co.uk/taking-a-builder-to-court.htm