Jilly

But the problem is that the heat pump has failed AND the loops in the ground are suspect. Patching the loops would be a good idea if the GSHP was working properly, but to buy another and find the loops are leaking would be stressful to say the least. I have a friend who has just replaced their GSHP, at approx £9k, I don’t know the details but think it was about 10 years old. It’s a worry if they are not repairable.

Bad luck, but still, if they were no good, although painful, it might be for the best

Hello! You will have many advantages over many of us first timers who have learnt as we went along. I suffered from the ‘design by builder’ error on a few occasions because of the teeth sucking at my suggestions. The only thing that worries me is your intention to borrow so much. It could put you in a financially risky position in these volatile times. Build-as-you-earn and live on site is the slow/lower risk way forward (but also has some draw backs).

I would spend money draught proofing and insulating the house, and then leave very clear instructions on how to use the storage heaters…

Have you looked at Kingspan Kooltherm K03?

Hello!

I’m glad it’s not just me! It’s harder for women as some of the chaps are so sexist, I hated those conversations when I wanted something done correctly and had sleepless nights before deciding to let them go. I don’t know how people can be off site with their build. Everything is soon covered up…

Aside from this issue, if you complete there are VAT implications too for the ongoing works.

If you can’t tackle it yourself you might need a small one man band type builder who can turn his hand to most things or who has contacts he works with (try to get recommendations from friends for someone good/reliable/trustworthy) to come up with a solution as @Crunchynut has suggested, rather than trying to get a plumber and roofer to work together. You might find it difficult to get a price as they don’t know what they will find. Hope you have another toilet for now…

Yup we’ve had people caught out on here before. A chap had bought a plot for £10k thinking he could build on it, had not done due diligence, and it was essentially one of a strip in a carved up farmer’s field. Roughly speaking, in the Home Counties, land with planning can approach £1million/acre

Not sure of the terminology, but the procedure when I did water and electric connections was that I had to pay for both, then water claimed the difference from electric because they shared the trench and then they reimbursed me. As I understand it they make you pay for both in case of a stuff up, so it's your risk if two digs are needed, but in practice it should be ok. I had to deal with both companies and pay for both connections before they would liaise and share the info about the road closures etc.

The last thing you want is the neighbour suing you for 'right to light' as you build or as you complete. I was under the impression that once it has planning, it's too late, but it sounds like the neighbour is determined...

Might not be to your taste, but how about a caravan (ostensibly as a rest room) and store your belongings in a container? These are usually allowed on building sites for secure storage. Sorry to push you on this, and might be none of our business, but it feels like a red flag that you've borrowed heavily just for the land... Have you got cash for the build? If you are also going to borrow for this, plus rent a house (unless you have a mortgage free property to live in), if you did your financial calculations when the interest rates were didley squat, you need to do them again as you could get in big trouble half way through if something unexpected happens. There are various ways you can protect the downsides, all with pros and cons. For example, you can part build to get some of the building liveable and do the rest when conditions are more favourable ( but you can't get VAT back on the second part for the build). Or you could build the garage first if there is one and camp in that. These ideas allow you to build as you earn, which is much slower, but cheaper because you can source deals, wait for builders etc. Project managing yourself (or after 'watertight' is common) and saves a lot but depends on your occupation. Inexperience can be expensive too. Don't forget to explore CIL and get exemption. For most self builders, if you don't have the cash, roughing it, to some extent, is the answer...If you are building just to sell on, tread carefully, it's difficult to do at the moment. However, you might be less perfectionist than those of us who are in for the long haul which will probably save you (some) of the sleepless nights...

Read up about living on site in a static caravan as delays can happen and it can save a significant amount of money plus it keeps your finger on the pulse. With the best will in the world, builders don’t always measure properly/ follow plans/respect neighbours etc If it wasn’t included in the planning it should be easy to add it as it’s usually permitted. Your neighbour will be watching, so everything needs to be by the book. There is also a thread on ‘things we would have done differently’ which is very helpful. Self building can be v stressful, all the best.

😂predictive text has mauled my presumed misspelling of ‘submission‘

Did the light issue come up on planning? I wonder if the original survey is included in the documents on the on line salivation?

Agree, ask the ecologist if there are alternative solutions. We have two raised bat tiles on the roof, they look quite sweet, and we have dry ridge, plus a box on the house and another in a nearby tree. An architect in Grand Designs designed neat little slits in the wall of a house. Might any of these be acceptable instead? If your Natural England licence (costs about £900) has been granted tho, I think it will be too late (I don't know if another submission is allowed).

There was someone on here who did pretty well being off grid because they were used to living on a boat and so minimising their electricity usage.

‘Independent’ inspectors have too much of a conflict of interest imo. How could you expect a BCO to be strict with a developer who is paying them and they want to secure further inspection contracts? The Council run BC’s are truly more ‘independent’.

A secondary/ submeter off the main one might be a possibility in your situation?

Get a few quotes as I had three which went from £15k to £30K for a small extension

An approach which is more insulated from interest rates is to save loads by living on site in a static, and go slowly, ‘ build as you earn’ in effect. By trying to stay out of debt and avoiding loans if possible, you can take your time researching prices and doing as much as possible yourself. This approach is tough and isn’t for everyone and depends on your income and ability to rough it.

Minor thing, but watch out when the ufh is laid, as I'm assuming you wouldn't want it in the larder? A neighbour's builder made that mistake and he (neighbour) nearly had a nervous breakdown over it.

Mind you, that would make the living rooms face the OPs house which might be less acceptable. Be careful to only object to proper planning considerations.

When you do the deck, make sure you have some way of accessing it in case you need to rod it…