PNAmble

We also used Glenn, with both of us self employed with different company structures he really helped us get what we needed.

Our builder installed this system, https://www.greenroofsdirect.com/products. but we added additional soil under it and put down additional wild flower seeds. it’s sitting on a single ply (memtec) warm roof. only a small area. The photos are April 24 when it was laid and June 24, by July it had lots of cornflowers and other plants. It’s still going strong and will need to climb on to cut it down in the next couple of weeks, in preparation for winter. The builders laid it, we could have done it, but as they were up on the roof we thought it easier for them to do the lifting.

Northumberland refuse to engage, they won’t even engage over discharge of conditions. Yet the sign all decision notices saying In dealing with the application we have worked with the applicant in a positive and pro active manner and have implemented the requirement in paragraph 38 of the National Planning Policy Framework They continually reject discharge of conditions applications when a simple ‘can you submit document X’ would solve the problem. When I complained they said ‘you are welcome to submit applications as many time as you require to clear a condition but we no longer engage in the process as we don’t have the resources’. So each time they request additional documents to clear a condition it costs me more money.

I’ve just checked our certs. We didn’t have a separate one and BCO / SWarranty has signed all certs off.

We had to fill in a costing form, which we used a combination of builders quotes, a very early QS estimate, and our own costings, I've attached the form we had to fill in - we had a broker helping us. they then sent a valuer to the plot - which we already owned. Harpenden insisted that a 20% contingency was used as opposed to the 10% on the form . This was unsurprising as it was just as the costs were increasing on almost weekly basis! On the basis of this, they calculated how much they'd lend us, with respect to the valuation, loan to value, and affordability. Timber Frame costings form.pdf

We had nearly turn key solution, they provided the M&P labour but we pretty much managed it, and also managed the kitchen and bathroom and externals. It all went through the books of the builder to help us with cash flow re VAT. Mortgage with Harpenden, and Mayflower as a broker.

Probably, ask your mortgage provider. Mine used a very high level builder’s proposal had about 10 line items and I think 4 of those were provisional sums. I was told that all they wanted to know was that you’d thought about it, because the underwriters will make assumptions on your cost of build using industry standard £/sqm irrespective of what you provide them.

https://directnine.uk/products/poe-texas-gigabit-poe-splitter-inwall-usb-charging-port-fast-5v-usb-charging-and-rj45-power-over-ethernet-output-for-wifi-internet-router-camera-phone-network?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAp5BeSog5eB1kb7ZriLjL380rXEor&gclid=CjwKCAjw_4S3BhAAEiwA_64YhkP5X_uZ9rZxzk71r1BQh_tZbIibveTOQIf-5tX3dmE7VD40d2AYSxoCOmcQAvD_BwE Would this work ? not a standard size though..

Pocket sliding doors work well if you are tight fit space especially in en-suites. Maybe consider for bed 2 and 3.

So. Horses for courses. Read the question and don’t assume your solution is perfect for everyone, an upside down house is very different than the bog standard ‘x up’ ‘x down’ built on a flat plot.

one of the things with a passivhaus ‘style’ house is that once its operating the temps are the same throughout the house. Probably a degree different across rooms (upside down house), whilst you manage solar gain etc. our downstairs north facing bedrooms track very similar to our living area.

I’ve just completed an upside down passive standard house. put a few radiators in running at 37/35 @ -3. Will find out during winter if all ok, but full modelling shows it will work. Very happy that the expectation is that the bedroom floor tracks about a degree less than the living floor.

He’s building an upside down house. Why would this be the answer? I’ve just finished building a passive standard upside down house and the last thing I’d want is UFH in the bedrooms. Sometimes ‘your best solution’ isn’t everyone’s best solution.

I agree with @Bozza , it’s a complex financial transaction and depends on company structure and personal tax situation. You will need good professional advice .

a mortgage company will take your last two or three years of accounts and average it; I (limited company) had to wait until my 2nd year accounts had been completed. My partner (sole trader) had to get an accountant to certify her last three years of accounts. They won’t care what you pay yourself. It’s about your business account/ profit.

What do you mean a surplus ? Effectively the lender cares about 3 things. 1) affordability 2) the end valuation 3) your ability (risk) to finish with your and their money.

a bridging loan is based on valuation not affordability, pretty expensive option. id talk to a broker (recommend mayflower).

Yes, and I’m likely to do that. However Mayflower are doing all the running around and looking at the options. There is quite a difference in interest rates between a good mortgage and a self build one. some SB mortgages also have specific ‘drawdown stages’. Harpenden don’t care it’s just based on valuation, depending on your build and finance that could be important.

For a broker I can recommend mayflower. We are both self employed, we ended up going Harpenden as they provided a larger lending capability. It took about three months to get it all sorted. You do have to pay a broker cost but in our case it was money well spent and they will also help us convert to a standard mortgage once we get structural warranty signed off. some lenders won’t lend on properties with a flat roof. One thing is that most self build mortgage were over 2 years, ours was built in a year so also look at the ERC terms.

My passive standard house doesn’t have a UFH because it’s an upside down house, so a battery, EV , PV and ASHP with low flow rate radiators does work for me across my financial and environmental goals. given that energy prices and how tariffs work will change significantly over the next few years as more dynamic pricing is introduced as opposed to broad TOU tariffs currently in play, I think batteries will become an important element of home energy management along with V2H and V2G. just my opinion.

It doesn’t apparently, it’s quite a popular feature request.

Yes, absolutely. Almost 100% of my electricity is cheap rate or free (from solar).

We bought with planning. In the end it was someone elses design and no matter how we tweaked it was never going to work - not to mention we really didn’t get on the original architect. start with a blank piece of paper, and assume you’ve just got some land. It is difficult as you’ve probably paid ££ to buy it with the permission. But in the end you’ll need to do all your own reports etc , and whether it’s 1,2,3 years you’ll live the house you designed not something you compromise on.

We had similar, unless we went with the same architect we couldn’t use the plans, in the end we changed the whole design and went with a different architect. you may want to investigate some of the reports eg site survey, ecologist etc as they are likely to be in either the sellers or architects name and won’t be something you can rely on unless you can get the properly transferred by the original company.

What was your as designed SAP ?