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That's a significant investment in a tree. I thought twice about naming my house after a tree on the plot. It lasted 10 years then died on me. Just this week my boys have dug out the stump.

Ok now I'm back home I've done some googling and found there is a change coming in the construction industry BUT it shouldn't affect self builders... Note the dates changed to Oct 2020. https://www.rousepartners.co.uk/construction-reverse-charge-vat-accounting/ Neither appear to apply to sales to self builders who are the "final customer"...

If I remember correctly the VAT threshold is about £80-90,000 a year (turnover). Hard to believe they aren't VAT registered if they are supplying the frame for a few houses a year?

In that case I agree with others. Not heard of any changes. Ask them for a link to any HMRC documents? If you get this wrong and pay them vat when you shouldnt you can't reclaim that from HMRC. HMRC will refer you back to the company to reclaim vat paid in error.

If they are based in NI then I've no idea how it's meant to work.

Where is the TF company based? If they are abroad then the rules may well change. My understanding is that for high value items vat would be charged at the port of entry. They would call you up and you would have to pay it over the phone to get delivery then reclaim it at the end. _if_ I'm correct you have to agree the co won't charge local vat (eg Belgian, or French) or you could pay vat twice and only the UK vat could be reclaimed.

+1 Definitely raise it off the ground somehow. If you go for hardcore and blocks put some DPC on the top before laying floor beams/frame.

Our builder was the PM. He employed two people full time, one was called his site foreman and the other was called a carpenter but in reality the two did most jobs from digging founds to tiling the roof. They installed windows, first fix plumbing, floors the UFH and many other jobs. He subcontracted a team of bricklayers and plasterers.

Recommended reading.. https://www.labc.co.uk/news/how-avoid-defects-claims-flat-roofs https://ebcsltd.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/13flatroofs.pdf Make sure you understand the difference between a so called warm and cold roof construction. Traditional cold roof types must be correctly ventilated to minimise risk of condensation forming in the roof and rotting joists. If you have the height available a warm type is recommended these days.

Mine is only two courses high but retains stones and gravel. I just counter sunk the heads and used plenty of screws to hold them together. Timberlok sleeper screws are pretty tough. Plenty strong enough to hold sleepers together but i found they were prone to shearing if I didn't drill pilot holes. Mine are proper hardwood reclaimed sleepers. I had to drill top sleeper, insert screw, hammer head to make a mark on the sleeper below, then move the top sleeper so I could drill hole in the lower one.

I've grown to like solvent weld. Secret is to dry assemble everything and put alignment marks so you can reassemble it quickly and accurately with the glue on. Don't be too mean with the glue either.

I now you can score and snap plasterboard but i'd be surprised if the insulation breaks cleanly? How about a TCT blade in a circular saw or jigsaw?

How about... https://www.groundscrewcentre.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAjwpqv0BRABEiwA-TySwRQly7S-8aIkKWuxzkvfamDes5CVh0gzudITiXFKI15PMhEWxPBZhBoC1NIQAvD_BwE I've no idea of the cost.

If the woods aren't considered part of your garden then the planners may take an interest. You might not need planning permission if the shed is to store equipment needed to maintain the woods. For leisure purposes it probably does. Read.. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/owning-a-wood/woodlands-and-planning-legislation/

+1 If all three houses are on one Planning Grant proceed with extreme caution. People are running into problems and loosing their self builder exemption for trivial reasons. As @Moonshinesaid to qualify you must accept liability for the CIL, claim and be granted the self build exemption, then notify the council of your start date. If you do any work before that date you loose the exemption. One man notified the planners of his start date by email and not on the right form. After he started work the council hit him with a £49k bill. It went to court and he lost.

You could probably design the garage walls to be retaining walls and tank the outside. Something like.. Proper foundations. Double thickness wall in engineering bricks to 150mm above soil. Paint on tanking outside down and over top of foundations. Lay perforated pipe wrapped in geotextile in sand around outside for drainage. Stone free soil back fill. https://www.labc.co.uk/news/retaining-wall-basics

PS: Right now I'm having issues with what I think is under extrusion. See the inside of the lid that's not painted. I'm getting very visible print lines. Previously it's not been anything like as obvious.

I find print quality varies quite a lot. Rounded edges are also worse than beveled because of the layer/contour lines. This time I printed it with fast/low quality settings and then sanded and painted the top. I used Acrylic spray paint from Wickes. Works well but the cans are a bit big/expensive for a one off. Some people go in for "smoothing" using Acetone vapour dipping but I've not tried that. Google smoothing 3D prints or see YouTube video.

Skip to 3:45 in this YouTube video. Says you can press button to turn on/off....

Here is my first attempt at a One Button radio for a relative with dementia. It works but still needs a few tweaks. The top hinges up to provide access to the normal buttons. I need to add a catch so it's not quite so easy to flip up the top and mess with the settings.

Looks like oil is under cutting solar... https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/03/31/jordan-switches-off-all-large-scale-solar/ Jordan switches off unsubsidized solar projects The Middle Eastern kingdom has ordered the shutdown of solar wheeling facilities which use the grid to connect to energy offtakers. The move has come in response to tumbling electricity demand after the nation halted all non-essential industries as it tries to limit the spread of Covid-19. Snip The kingdom relies on fossil fuel imports for 80% of its energy mix and will benefit from a rock-bottom oil price at the moment as regional neighbor Saudi Arabia tries to stare down petrochemical rivals the U.S. and Russia by refusing to reduce production levels despite demand tumbling around the world.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/25/garage_conversion/2 https://www.labc.co.uk/news/garage-conversion-tips-from-our-building-control-experts But then..

It says.. So appears to excluded mortgages.

First thing to do is find the original planing permission for the house. Check the exact wording of the condition and how many parking spaces are required. It might be they only ever required two including the garage.

Plannings are sometimes used as a hardcore, farmers use it (and other types of hardcore) to reinforce dirt roads. You still get potholes but they can just be filled in with more of the same.