Temp

PS: If you wish you had mains gas for cooking consider a dual fuel stove with an LPG hob running on cylinders. Cylinder gas is too expensive for heating but fine for a hob.

We went with a thermal store which stores energy for both the DHW and UFH. That's because I was concerned our oil boiler would short cycle on and off too much without one. The burner in an oil boiler always runs flat out when lit. It doesn't modulate up and down like a gas boiler. So if you have a powerful burner to provide loads of DHW in a combi it might cycle on and off too much if/when the heating load is very small. Short cycling is s bit like stop start driving in a car, it's less efficient than doing fewer longer burns. That said you can lose a lot of heat from a thermal store and it's associated pipes and pumps. Who knows what the right approach is. We're happy as our TS gives loads of mains pressure DHW and the boiler doesn't cycle when just one loop is calling for heat. However our bills are still higher than I expected.

To be honest I've seen far worse lead work then that. The tiles are interlocking tiles not plain and.. http://www.roofconsult.co.uk/articles/tiling/tips29.htm So I don't think the top cover is wide enough but not sure if that's the problem.

Who owns that wall? If it's yours I'd be tempted to rebuild it now rather than wait for it to fall down in a few years?

I guess it might be possible to amend your PP to make it a phased development. I'm not 100% sure that making it phased would be enough. It would allow phased payments but not sure if they still count as one CIL. That might make your exemption a problem. Hopefully the council will understand what you are doing and see sense. Perhaps they would accept an amendment simply stating the grant should be considered to be for 4 separate houses each of which can be separately constructed with any conditions applying separately to each house? I think others in your position should put some words in the planning application that states the intention is for the development to be split and plots sold separately, perhaps even requesting separate CIL calculations. This sort of thing would probably go in the front of the Design and Access Statement.

Glass reinforced concrete bench.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3WpKI0YwNY

I agree with @PeterW that sounds more like a leak. Lead flashing isn't rocket science but its amazing how badly it gets done. Generally flashing should be made of separate sheets called soakers that are overlapped and interleaved with plain tiles so that water running down gets diverted to the outside. Sometimes another sheet of lead is put over the top of the lot but its the bit underneath that's the most important. With wavy pantiles you may only need the one piece top sheet but that's not sufficient with plain tiles. Go carefully in this weather.

You don't need to be totally finished to get a completion certificate. We had no kitchen, a missing wood burner and two bathrooms not finished when we got ours. The downside is you (probably) can't claim VAT back on anything purchased after completion. In my case during the final inspection they checked... Coated glass (tested every pane with a meter, didn't care one was wrong way around) Safety glass (kite sign or similar on every pane) Electrics (paperwork) Pressure tested drains (we had to provide the kit, think toolstation/screwfix sell one) Ventilation (some questions asked during walk around) Apart from a visual check I think that was it. These days you might need a bit more?

Looks like things changed back in 2014.. https://www.clarkewillmott.com/news/the-2014-cil-amendment-regulations/

Think I would write to the council asking them if they can treat each plot separately without you having to make four separate new planning applications. Some counties allow staged payments, others insist that's only possible if a staged development was part of the planning permission.

Guess I was wrong about 50mm traps. I didn't think you could remove the water seal tube through the top on those.

Might be worth getting a second opinion/quote but could be he's right. Is there any lead flashing between chimney and roof and is that in good condition?

I think it's a risk to buy stuff after the date of the document used to prove completion. If HMRC refused those items I can't find anything written down that you could use to argue your case. I'm concerned some people might have gotten away with such items simply due to poor checking by HMRC.

Where are you seeing water on the inside? Chimneys can leak in a lot of different places. This is how the NHBC say a chimney should be built.. https://www.labcwarranty.co.uk/blog/how-to-ensure-your-chimney-is-constructed-correctly/

The rules are very ambiguous. When we made our claim all the guides and magazine articles said you couldn't claim for anything after completion. Newsgroups and forums recommended purchasing materials before completion just to get the VAT back. The claim forms say you aren't allowed to claim for work done on a completed house purchased from a developer (but I recognise that's not the question). The forms also say "A building is normally considered to be completed when it has been finished according to its original plans." But what plans would they be? Planning drawings never show enough detail to determine completion accurately. Building Control drawings aren't even mandatory. In my view the only safe thing to do is buy everything you want to reclaim VAT on, then get a completion certificate and reclaim within three months. Anything else, for example buying stuff after completion, is a risk. As is moving in early and getting a completion certificate years later. I'm concerned that some people may have got away with claiming stuff purchased after completion simply because the person handling the claim at HMRC missed it.

Perhaps the rational is that people who buy tall trays don't care about height so don't need top access traps.

Just remember you can't reclaim VAT on items purchased after completion. At least you can't normally but there are exceptions.

Is space an issue for your site or is it your budget that's dictating the size? You might find a simpler design allows it to be larger. I'd agree with others that some of the rooms look too small to be practical. I mentioned it before on another thread but some CAD models of furniture (chairs, beds, baths, tables, even cars) are on the small side compared to what many people actually buy/want. The two back to back WC will be difficult (but not impossible) to construct. You would need to accurately position pipes coming up through the floor slab early in the construction phase.

I would encourage you to spend some money with the Architect. Give him your wish list and ask him to do two or three floor plans (only). If he's any good he will come up with ideas you haven't thought of. If this is a bungalow could you put guest rooms in the roof?

Why have the ends shrunk back? Manufacturing defect?

Have a look at the headings on the claim forms. HMRC say you can use a spreadsheet to file your claim if you use the same headings (and the pages of questions at the front). In my day there were two forms, one for reciepts that show the VAT itemised and one for those that just show the total Inc VAT. I think this was only to make manual calculation easier? If using a spreadsheet splitting them like this would be pointless but I don't know if HMRC still insist you split invoices in this way.

Good question. I believe its from first breech. So if the planning conditions says "before work starts" or "before occupation you must do xyz" then the date you start work or occupy the house would be the date of first breech.

+1 My TV aerial is in the loft. I replaced a foil covered panel with one without foil and it works ok. The foil covered insulation in the walls seems to block 4G and wifi pretty well.

Some 50mm traps have better flow rate than some 90mm traps... McAlpine have 90mm traps rated 24, 34, 26, 42, 50 L/min and 50mm traps rated at 40, 50, 54, and 56 L/min Yes I do have that the right way around! https://mcalpineplumbing.com/traps/shower-traps-accessories One issue is that many traps have a small Euro spec pipe coming out (38mm?) and a 45 degree adapter to suit UK pipe sizes (approx 40 or 50mm). So there is an inherent restriction compared to others. Note that (no?) 50mm traps are top access so you need a plinth with 50mm traps.

Are you allowed to hide external meter boxes? If so how about leaving it single and cladding the outside with something to cover the meters with and provide an access door? I'm thinking modern style oak cladding. http://www.orlestonetimber.co.uk/Cladding/Machined-Cladding-/?wizid=istn3jg7o8dkr3irknfuacdfr6