Temp

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/south-london-builder-beats-hmrc-1m-tax-battle/ South London builder beats HMRC in £1m tax battle Gary Ives accused of flipping properties without paying dues on his profits A builder from South London has won a £1m battle with HMRC after being accused of flipping properties without paying tax. Gary Ives renovated and sold three family homes between 2008 and 2013, but the tax authority said these activities amounted to a trade and therefore the profits should be liable for income tax. HMRC claimed he owed more than £712,000, plus penalties of over £283,000 – a total of almost £1m. It put forward a second argument that – if Mr Ives was not carrying on a trade – then capital gains tax should apply. Homeowners do not have to pay capital gains tax on their main house under “principal private residence” (PPR) relief, but the tax authority believed the properties purchased were not family homes. Had it won this argument, Mr Ives would be charged around £400,000 in capital gains tax and around £160,000 in penalties. Stephanie Sharpe, of accountancy firm Moore Kingston Smith, said: “HMRC had decided at an early stage that the properties were not lived in by the Ives family or if they had lived there, it was as temporary occupation and not as a family home. “The HMRC officer seemed to be influenced by the fact that Mr Ives had described his self-employment as ‘builder’ on his tax return, but he mainly undertook plastering and odd job work, not major property renovation.” Mr Ives told the tribunal that the type of large family house he and his wife wanted was always out of their price range or did not exist, so they set out to create the perfect family home instead. However, financial difficulties and the desire to live close to family meant the couple sold up shortly after. “The broad facts are that each purchase was intended to be a permanent home for the family, but circumstances got in the way,” Ms Sharpe added. In 2008, Mr Ives and his wife bought the first property in Fulham as two flats for £760,000. A large amount of work was needed to make the place hospitable, so Mr Ives and his son moved in soon after completion to start the renovations. His wife remained in their previous property. However, the renovation was meant to be funded by the proceeds from the sale of this former family home – and when a sale did not come through, the couple ran into financial difficulties. The couple sold the property as a single dwelling in 2010 for £1.8m and then bought another house in Wandsworth in a partly renovated state. Mr Ives told the tribunal it soon became obvious the purchase was a “disaster”. Traffic noise and a lack of parking drove them to sell up earlier than intended, he said. They sold it in 2012 for £1.5m, having bought it for £750,000. A third property – also in Fulham – was much better suited to them, the tribunal heard. They bought it for £1.7m in 2012. However, by the time it was renovated, their adult children had decided to leave Fulham and the couple decided to move in order to be close to them and their grandchildren. They sold it for £3.25m at the end of 2013. A number of friends and family members gave evidence that the Ives had furnished the properties, as well as holding dinner parties there and hosting guests overnight. The tribunal concluded that the properties were not purchased with a view to make a profit in the short term, but had been bought as family homes and therefore the transactions were not trading in nature. It then decided that Mr Ives was using the properties as his residence and therefore no capital gains tax was due. Jeremy Johnson, of inTax, the firm that instructed Mr Ives’ lawyer, said they had encountered a number of cases like this over the years. “We have also dealt with cases where HMRC has challenged whether an individual has occupied a property to the extent that private residence relief would be due on any capital gain,” he said. “However, in relation to property, HMRC is frequently also interested in undeclared income or gains on second homes or rental properties.” He added: “We weren’t overly happy about needing to take this to tribunal, as it was very stressful for our client, but we are pleased that our client got the right result.” An HMRC spokesman said: “We are reviewing the tribunal’s decision and considering next steps.”

Seen one triggered by carpet moth.

I don't see the attraction of wet rooms. Do some people like wet socks 😞

My guess is someone called building control and said you have started building the house or left it ambiguous what you are doing. The BCO looked up the address and gave you a call because he hadn't got any info on the site. I would write him a letter or email thanking him for the call about you site (address) and to clear up any misunderstanding. Tell him you are currently only doing site preparation work, and that you will of course be applying for Building Control Approval before starting work on the house (just as soon as you have the information he will need ready). Apologise if any of the neighbours have been causing mischief. Its good to keep on the right side of the BCO as they can sometimes bend the rules for you to get you out of a bind. They can also make you jump through hoops if you annoy them.

I'm in East Anglia. Lot of clay here and soakaway don't always work. The didn't on my site but there is a piped ditch along the edge of the road we were allowed to discharge into (after offering to install a rain water recycling tank). Fortunately we have mains sewer for foul water. Definitely ask the seller if a Percolation test has been done or consider getting one done. Perhaps ask the seller if he has access to a digger as that would reduce cost. They will ask if you have one when you ask for a quote.

I would ask the planners what you need to do for them to agree you have started. The law just refers to "development" but in many cases they want. 1 ) All planning conditions that say "before work starts" or similar to get formally discharged. Otherwise your start isn't legal. 2 ) BCO to have given approval to start (not necessarily plans spproval). 3) Foundations dug, inspected by the BCO and poured. If you want to do something else that might be considered development to avoid the 3 year limit expiring it is possible to apply for a Certificate of lawfulness on the grounds that work has started. For example I've seen a wind farm do this with just an entrance and the first 50m or so of road. Such a Certificate is really the only 100% guarantee you've started.

No it's just a general principle. All walls, floors ceilings etc should have an insulation 8layer in the sandwich somewhere. One side of that insulation is the warm side and the other side is the cold side. As a general rule the warm side shouldn't be ventilated but the cold side can be (in some cases must be). In most Beam and Block floors the insulation is on top of the Beams and Blocks so the void under them would be on the cold side of the insulation and ventilated. If the insulation is on the floor of the void the space above it is on the warm side and shouldn't be ventilated. However this would be an odd set up. Hence both @ProDave and me would like to know exaxtly what the Beam and Block floor make up is.

That sounds odd. With a beam and block floor the insulation normally goes on top of the beams with a 2-4" screed on top of that insulation. Is it possible the 1m void under the floor was originally fully filled with some sort of insulation fibre that has got wet and slumped down into a layer that looks like a quilt? I hope not.

+1 These can sometimes be ridiculously expensive or simply impossible. Check you have the right to lay services over land between you and best connection point. If in any doubt about any service ask on the forum for advice on alternatives.

The government decided the rules on barn conversions should be relaxed some years ago but not all councils and planning officers are so keen. Is it a Class Q approval or regular Outline Planning Permission or ? If the barn has planning permission for a conversion make sure its sound enough to be converted. Would it need underpinning? Some councils appear to consider underpinning as evidence it needs too much work to be "converted". Others take a more relaxed view. So if down the road Building Control demand it needs underpinning that might invalidate your planning permission. Yes its quite possible for Building Control to insist you do something that the Planning Department won't allow. I think this is quite rare but quite problematic when it occurs.

Not sure where you mean but there shouldn't be ventilation of the warm side of the insulation. The cold side can be ventilated but not the warm side.

Just a heads up... I went to a few carpet shops and about half told me that ALL their carpet and underlay was suitable for UFH. What they mean is that the carpet won't be damaged by your UFH not that it will let any heat through. The manufacturers data normally has the TOG info in it but many shops seem to throw the data away. You need to be sure anything they tell you applies to the carpet you are buying. Match up the part numbers or order codes with the same number in the manufacturers data. I asked one sales rep about the TOG value and she went to investigate, came back with TOG=10 on a post-it note claiming its fine for UFH. Some carpet is made in two versions, one with a hessian back and one rubber. The hessian backed has lower/better TOG. Beware that the small print on the order form may allow the shop to supply either version. If you want/need one or the other make sure that's noted on the order. Some low TOG underlay is a bit thin. I recommend trying a sample of the exact underlay and carpet combination under bare feet to confirm it's the feel you want and not too hard. It's worth finding a sales rep that knows about UFH.

Chain saws blunt quickly if they are cutting soil. I think a reciprocating saw with more easily replacable blades is the way to go if cutting at ground level.

Switch from sliding to regular hinged opening.

Can you put a regular switch on the wall outside? If the wiring is already done perhaps these wireless switches.. https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Manufacturers/Quinetic/index.html?ad_position=&source=adwords&ad_id=642283137569&placement=&kw=quinetic wireless switch&network=g&matchtype=b&ad_type=&product_id=&product_partition_id=&version=finalurl_v3&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6kiZcjq6JtX4GowmQxXTYmfY9EYOxW5HPzGHAg4qD98fqh93JnhLOsaAuP2EALw_wcB Powered by the force of your finger I believe.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03595-1 A prototype, described in a study published last week in Science1, uses electric fields and a special ceramic instead of alternately vaporizing a refrigerant fluid and condensing it with a compressor to warm or cool air. The technology combines a number of existing techniques and has “superlative performance”, says Neil Mathur, a materials scientist at the University of Cambridge, UK. Continues..

Remember to turn your level 180 and check again in case the kids have used it a baseball bat.

To fit our shower trays we removed a section of insulation under the tray. Then dry fitted the shower waste pipe and the lower part of the trap so it's in the right place. This was loosely supported in position at right height but in a way that allowed it to move vertically bit. Then fitted a frame of pressure treated 2*4 or similar and 18mm WBP ply to support the tray at the right height. The WBP had a clearance hole in it that allows the trap to sit at roughly the height of the top of the WBP/underside of tray. It should be possible to pull the trap up about 0.5" further to allow for the thickness of mortar/adhesive used to fix the tray down. Test you can fit the tray and screw the top part of the trap through the hole into the bottom part. Remove tray and plywood and glue up the pipes. Replace plywood and put rags in trap to stop debris getting in. Screed floor to top of plywood. Fix tray (with mortar/adhesive) and immediately screw in the top of the trap to be sure you can before adhesive sets. Check it level. The heights need to be planned carefully to take into account of the screed and tile thickness plus fall to the drain. It's a bit different for a linear drain but a similar amount of planning and prep is needed before screeding.

Our bathroom have some boxing along the wall below window sill for the concealed cistern. Either side we have an access hatch which houses isolation valves for basin/WC and shower. As that's where the split/joints are. Also has the "horizontal" 110mm run for WC to stack.

We also have B&B first floor but used 50mm insulation. You can run water supply pipes in the insulation but best sleeve them with conduit. Maintain insulation on hot pipes. Can also run them up walls in slots cut in block work, we did this for wall mounted basin taps. If you have lots of space you can even build a false wall/service void with battens and Hardi backer board or similar. Waste pipes need a fall on them which will mean they need to run in both insulation and screed. 50mm diameter pipe is recommended. If you want a wet room or low profile shower tray (eg walk in with no raised plinth) the waste pipe to the trap needs special planning and prep before screeding. It might even need to go through the floor and run to the stack in the ceiling of room below. Our's didn't... More info on request.

If it doesn't work I'd follow @Adrian Walker suggestion and use the reed to switch the power to the coil of a 230V relay. It says the reed should be enclosed so put both in one box.

Darn it, arrested by the unit police. Guilty as charged your honour 😄

Not familiar myself but it could be they are correct. I found this which suggests 0.5m or 3m between cable and roof... 0.5m clearance for roofs not normally accessed. 3.0m for accessible areas like balconies Page 11 says "Solar panels should be treated as normally accessible objects as per Item 1 of Table 2 in ENATS 43-08 or, where WPD is building or refurbishing a line over an existing solar farm, Item 2.1 of Table WPD 2 in Section 4 of this document." https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/downloads/63817

John Lewis sell a double dishwasher in a single unit. So you can take plates from one, use them and put them in the other. Probably ok for a single person in a small kitchen? Kids wont remember which is the clean/dirty half. https://www.johnlewis.com/fisher-paykel-double-dishdrawer-built-in-dishwasher/p3096098

https://www.voltimum.co.uk/articles/technical-guide-installing-cooker-circuit