eandg

Sorry, I was referring to self-build only.

Most lenders in this market (with the sole exception of Ecology AFAIK) don't lend on more than 50% timber cladding. So if you are going timber-on-timber then Ecology may be the only game in town.

How did you get on?

Thanks all - and yes, will explore with merchants on their credit checking. And hang off opening a credit account until the mortgage is through!

Hi I will definitely get that contact from you though I think our local branch will be a few over from you. I'd quite like the credit option (which would definitely help with a few cashflow pinchpoints - e.g. ordering bricks before the revaluation and staged payment for having the shell up - so we're not waiting around for weeks while the shell gets battered by the wind and rain) but for the likes of plasterboard, paint and sundry items should be fine to pay in cash. In the first instance I'm just looking to cost items to provide a costings plan to the lender however.

Any recommendations and advice on engaging with merchants? And do they credit check prior to opening accounts? I don't want to open several just now for the purpose of costings if it could jeopardise completing on a mortgage. Thanks.

I read your blog with real interest as I am interested in doing much the same. Was installation fairly straightforward, including around the windows? Did you get quotes for roofing to know how much you may have saved by DIYing the installation? p.s. looks great!

As an urban slummer I've never quite got my head round 1.5 storey, room in the roof type properties. For some it may be a planning requirement but for the bulk who go 1.5 presumably it's because it's a fair bit cheaper in terms of materials (particularly brick/cladding etc)?

Technically the cash is returned to a bank account of your choosing at closure and only the bonus has to be used in conveyancing. For the Lifetime ISA the bonus is added to the account at the end of the month when you made a deposit and the full sum needs to be used in the property transaction. I didn't realise I had to transfer my Help to Buy ISA over to the Lifetime one by, I think, January of the first year of the LISA so missed out on maybe a couple of grand worth of extra bonus which grates a bit. And currently have £2k sitting in a LISA from the top-up I made in the March and can't access. So not sure if my current self-build self is up or down but at least I should get a good weekend away at 60!

Lifetime ISA might be better (not checked if that includes land but think it replicates Help to Buy) as you can plank £4k in a year compared to £200 a month with Help to Buy.

Hanley also lend in Scotland though my experience was they'd only lend about 75% of what Ecology would to us.

In shape, size and first floor layout it is very similar to the plans we have sketched (and are having drawn just now) so it goes without saying that I think it looks really good! Love the idea of sectioning off the snug/bedroom and downstairs shower room from the rest of the property - we also have a downstairs shower room and separate snug-cum-spare which I'll have a look at again to see if it's possible to section that off. First instinct is it might not be.

Thanks all. Ferdinand, it's happening (to some extent) in Scotland already with minimum EPC ratings coming into force across all tenures, with owner-occupied homes to meet EPC C by 2030, where cost-effective and technically feasible. The devil will be in the detail but it may well force a sea change in attitude to energy efficiency and its economic value in homes.

I'm trying to compare the cost of a system with a u-value of 0.10 which is approximately 5.5k more expensive than one which has a u-value of 0.15. Are there any ready reckoners about to calculate payback of the additional capital cost?

Thanks, I should probably have looked before I presumed - see the standard ducting is only 75mm, for some reason I thought it was much bigger. Should be fairly straightforward then with a bit of foresight in the detailing. While on that, does anyone know where I'd start getting costs for precast concrete to negotiate down?