newhome

That would be my assessment too. As it happens there is another thread discussing the same thing:

I've just read that blog and I can't see any clear rationale as to how a lorry arriving to collect muck on its own and not part of a combined 'groundworks' arrangement is zero rated, especially since HMRC even mentions muckaway as a service on which VAT must be paid on the reclaim form. That said, nothing ventured and at the end of the day it's what you can get your supplier to do in terms of invoicing that's important. If they will zero rate then happy days, if not then it's suck it up baby I think as it's not something where it is clear that it should be zero rated. For others reading here is the blog post that discusses this: And a post elsewhere that discusses the same thing: https://www.self-build.co.uk/question/vat-free-demolition-muckaway-new-build/ And here is a tribunal case which is not quite the same as the appellant was trying to recover the VAT from HMRC via the DIY Housebuilders reclaim process and was refused (and presumably zero rating at source had already been refused by the supplier). https://library.croneri.co.uk/cch_uk/bvc/2014-tc-04069 If you attempt to reclaim something that should have been zero rated at source (supply and fit for example) then generally HMRC will reject the invoice but in doing do will state that you need to go back to the supplier and ask for the invoice to be corrected if it is eligible to be zero rated. The fact that they didn't in this case means that they do not consider that these services that can be zero rated in this scenario I imagine. See this post for the an example letter that is received from HMRC during the reclaim process (see the reason code for invoices rejected - 2 or 3 are about VAT wrongly charged at source) https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/6851-a-guide-to-the-vat-reclaim-process/?do=findComment&comment=115967 And another https://library.croneri.co.uk/cch_uk/bvc/2011-tc-00873 NB - I don't suggest that you put through every invoice for which you have paid VAT to see if HMRC consider that it is eligible for zero rating at source as they can and do fine people if they send in multiple invoices incorrectly (a few should be ok I imagine).

Missed this important point. You can’t ‘claim back’ any VAT for services or labour as the reclaim process is for materials only. If you get wrongly charged VAT on labour or services that are able to be zero rated (erection of scaffolding for example) you have to ask the supplier to correct the invoices to get the VAT back.

Ordinarily it can't be zero rated but if you engage a VAT registered trader to do 'groundworks' that include muckaway then all of their work should be zero rated. Similarly if they are hiring in machinery alongside the groundworks you will enjoy zero rating on the whole invoice as the whole invoice should be charged at the lowest applicable rate. In your scenario they can't zero rate your invoice as it's just for materials (I think?) so it has to have VAT applied and thus you have to pay VAT on the muckaway. If they have zero rated the aggregate as some sort of supply and fit affair then the muckaway should be zero rated too if on the same invoice. A driver isn't providing a service if they are just delivering stuff. They have to be physically doing something on the build like operating a crane or whatever afaik. That said, if you ask and get away with zero rating then it may be worth a punt, but be aware that they can come after you for the VAT later if HMRC see that they have charged the wrong rate. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/6851-a-guide-to-the-vat-reclaim-process/?do=findComment&comment=115965

Me too! I won’t be scraping mine out afterwards though. It will have to do.

Not sure if this helps? http://www.woodworkersuk.co.uk/blog/tips-and-tricks/my-oak-has-gone-black/

Or in @Onoff‘s world scraping the new silicone out ?

Good! It would be just my luck to end up with a cheapo crap thing!

My kit arrived and came with these instructions. Doesn’t say Fugi anywhere in the instructions but it says ‘Cramer Fugi’ in the description on Amazon so I hope it’s the same thing.

Ha, good plan! And a bag of rubbish balanced on the bike as that's the way you are transporting it .

+1 - better to try to sort it out amicably if you can. Go round and have a chat explaining that you've checked with your solicitor and they have confirmed that it's on the deeds and you need access to do xxx. If they still won't budge write them a letter confirming this and saying that you've CCed your solicitor into the correspondence. It can get expensive if there ends up being a big dispute, not to mention a bad atmosphere amongst neighbours and you would need to declare this if you ever sold.

Not a lot of point on their own. The latter 2 are frequent flyer reward programmes so to make the most of them you either need to fly often and build up a large balance of points or collect points in other ways. That might be via a credit card, rental cars, hotels, money transfers, Tesco points or whatever but you have to have a strategy and know what you want to do with the points once you've built up a decent enough. Points for the sake of it are just well, pointless. Sometimes you can transfer between schemes too. Accounts generally expire if they've been dormant for a while (ie no point gaining activity) so be sure to understand what to do to prevent this from happening. Head For Points is a decent enough place to start. It's quite Avios centric but it has lots of other info too. https://www.headforpoints.com/

Would a highly concentrated solution of this work as a weedkiller on gravel?

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Be good if you can negotiate the connection as part of this though as if they are doing work to move the pole they may as well put the supply in at the same time. Also it saves a fight later if they move the pole and only then do you request the connection and you don't like the quote. Once the pole is moved they will require you to sign up to some sort of Wayleave agreement (I imagine) so you've then lost your bargaining power. @Christine Walker had a pole on her land and was quoted crazy money for the connection as they claimed that there wasn't enough capacity to just add her supply. So she used the lack of a wayleave agreement to get them to connect it for a lot less money. I'm sure it was more involved than that but that's the upshot in 2 sentences.

I would call them again and ask them to come up with a plan that allows you to erect the house as approved in a compliant manner. Do you have an electricity connection yet? If not negotiate a reasonable cost for this as part of the deal if they want to leave the pole on your ground. I wouldn’t go in heavy handed at this stage and ask them to remove it completely but you have that in your back pocket if needs be. @vivienz was able to negotiate a similar thing I believe although her case was quite challenging. It generally pays to play nicely at the beginning but ultimately without a wayleave agreement you should have a lot of leverage.

I use my back door mostly too as it’s nearer to the car and when I have the dogs it’s straight into the utility room. The only time I seem to use the front door is when visitors come ?

There is a similar type of scheme available from EDF but I’m not sure who would choose to pay thousands of pounds for EDF to use your stored energy for the benefit of others. That’s how I read it anyway. https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/battery-storage

So what happens if someone in construction is approached by AN Other to do some building work on their new build? Do they need to worry whether the owner intends to live in it, sell it, or rent it out to determine whether zero rating applies? Similarly does that apply to renovations too with reduced VAT of 5%? If the owner says that they intend to live in it but don’t and it is subsequently rented out (HMRC would refuse a VAT reclaim for such a scenario) is it the owner who is liable or the constructor? Presumably the constructor and they would need to persue the owner to recover the VAT?

Nice layout. Looks like a good use of space. The only things I would consider changing have been mentioned really, ie make the downstairs loo larger, add a plant room downstairs, move the hob to the island and maybe move the sink to where the hob is as it’s a bit shoved away in that corner. There is no need for a sink to be under a window, it’s not like most people spend hours washing up in this day and age. Maybe consider moving the island back into the dining room slightly too. One of the things I regret about my house’s layout is that I didn’t make the utility room larger. It needs to be a good space for muddy boots and general bits and bobs. When a house is mainly open plan it can get cluttered up with stuff so somewhere to store said stuff is useful. At the moment you only have room for the units and a small walkway by the looks of things. Also I echo the comment about evening up the size of the boys’ bedrooms. They may not care now but when they are older they might. I grew up with a bedroom quite a bit smaller than my brother’s and it always annoyed me lol. They will want room to do homework and have sleepovers in years to come. Even if you are not planning on staying there forever, evenly sized bedrooms are a bonus when you come to sell. In terms of splitting the large room, I wouldn’t do that. You will live in that large space most of the time I imagine and a large space will work well. Plus you have the bonus of a separate formal lounge when visitors come. I even call mine the visitors lounge as it’s the only time I go in there. @vivienz is changing the ceiling level in one of her open plan spaces to define the room better. That might be an idea for you to consider. What plans do you have for the build? Main contractor, self managed or a lot of DIY? What construction method?

I have that general arrangement too. I don’t find it annoying TBH. Never considered that it might be an issue really until I heard people mention it on here.

Have you finished it though? I've ordered the Fugi thingy. The kit with the silicone remover too as I've got to get out the shit attempt by the guy who came round to do some here. Even I can't be that bad (I hope!).

I had something that hadn’t been delivered when House of Fraser went tits up initially. I just called Barclaycard and they put the transaction in as a dispute and refunded me. It was under £100 so they didn’t need to and I was surprised but pleased.

That’s rubbish! But on the CC front just call the credit card company and report it initially and they will mark the payment as in dispute which should mean that they contact the company involved. They should also send you information about how to pursue the claim.

I would have to or it would nuke my nail polish ?? ?