Oldsteel

Our finance was a development loan, effectively a bridging loan. It suited us because we couldnt satisfy the income requirements for a self-build mortgage, but did have equity in our house that we could borrow against. Whilst the interest rate is higher, you only pay interest on the amount drawn down. The company we were recommended was not the cheapest in terms of interest, but were flexible and were not 'breathing down our necks' at every stage of the development. Some providers we spoke to wanted us to employ a QS to examine every item of spend, that wouldn't have worked at all as you have more than enough to cope with when doing a self build. Happy to advise further, it all worked out for us and we are now happily living in our new house.

@Gus Potteryour concerns about spares availability are of course valid. And my daughters often say I am old crusty as well! However, if I held back on installing anything because of worries about spares in 10 or 20 years time the new house wouldn't be too comfortable. And I have found there is always someone on Ebay selling the spares required even if the manufacturer stops supply. @MJNewtonGood point, we will see in the summer if MVHR helps keep the place cooler. And it was during the frosty period this winter that I discovered turning down the MVHR got rid of some of those cold spots when close to the vents. Actually, when outside drops below zero the unit switches off anyway as it goes into 'frost protection' mode.

@jackthanks for the link. It does look complex though, and tbh we havent been that meticulous about correcting and saving invoices since the claim went in, probably looking at about £2k in claimable VAT lost. So a second claim would probably not be cost effective.

Agreed. This is the second house I have built fitted with MVHR (Zehnder Q350), and yes we struggled to meet the 8 ACH required by our BCO on our airtghtness tests (APT), vented cavities being the main culprit. However, after 6 months I have the balanced MVHR turned down to 1/3, all rooms in the house are dry, warm where required and fresh. We dry clothes regularly and fast inside, bathroom steam and smells clear within minutes, and my wife is looking forward to improved hay fever symptoms come the season. I have a recirculating extractor in the kitchen which stops cooking smells from escaping to the rest of the house and doesnt impact the MVHR airflow. The next test will be a warm summer, do I switch off the MVHR when windows are open?

Did you resolve this question? If not I can recommend our finance company, who were flexible and supportive throughout our buoild. We were in the same position as you, building on a plot bought with our house, and sold off the house when the build was complete. The paperwork was pretty intensive, but once we got through it with the help of a friendly broker at all went very well.

Got mine paid in full 1st week in March, so that's just under 6 months. But judging by recent posts they are better staffed now. We were meticulous with our invoices, went through them 2-3 times before submission to ensure they met the criteria. Sadly, excluded about £2k's worth on this basis, we had tried to police this when buying but with the stress of the build its inevitable we would drop the ball on a few occasions. But, it was paid in full with no queries. Now, the only question for me is should I have waited until final BR sign-off, which was 5 months after occupation? We had a fair amount of expense over that period, so lost out on VAT reclaim monies. But we were paranoid about the 3-month window and whether they would insist it was from moving in date ..........

Got my letter on Friday, hopeful that we will see something in 4 weeks or so ... I did call the previous week so agree with James, keep on at them. Depending on how quickly they are catching up, be prepared for a 3-6 month wait.

Like others, I did get through this week to the helpline and arranged a call-back on Thursday, which they did. Explained that they are now processing July'22, so they reckoned 2-3 weeks before they get to September. She confirmed receipt, gave me a claim reference number and said they have caught up significantly in the past few weeks, which hopefully will last and bode well for others.

Accepting the annoying fact they still quote 6 weeks on the website, I suppose the replies above are mildly encouraging in that they do appear to be catching up. @JamesPhad you received a reference number prior to your call? Also interested in the 'second claim' references, is this a repeat of the first claim or an additional one? We submitted within 3 months of moving in based on the valuation letter to be sure of staying within the 3 month window, but only got final BR approval two months later, rueing the lost opportunity to claim back subsequent VAT expense.

I know this a well known topic BUT would still like to know anyone's recent experience. I submitted our claim by registered post in September 2022, still heard zilch from HMRC, no reference number, nothing. All I have is proof of receipt of the package. I have been on the HMRC self build VAT forum and it looks like they are processing claims now from July. I am now looking at having to add the VAT reclaim part of our budget to a mortgage for the necessary 'finishing off' expenses. Has anyone been successful in claiming these costs back from HMRC? If so by what method? Making a formal complaint, or maybe contacting my MP?

Sent mine on on 15th September. As it got past the 6 weeks they still state it will take, I called them today, and the menu options say 'press 1 if you have got a claim reference number, 2 if you havent'. I haven't which is why I was calling just to check they received it (it was signed for on the 15th Sept). I pressed 2, being the honest chap that I am, and the message said 'We cannot help you (or words to that effect), goodbye'. It looks like they have even stopped providing claim reference numbers over the phone? Judging by previous posts, looks like it will be at least 2023 before I even know if it is in their queue. Why on earth they can't automate a message to confirm receipt I dont know. A private company could never get away with such appalling service. And in the meantime will need to take out an extra £15k on my mortgage. At current interest rates, thats a chunk of cash which of course will not be re-imbursed. Maybe a word with my MP will be the way to go as per @Jag. I will wait until a good few months have passed and give it a try. In the meantime I will take a look at the HMRC DIY forum, sounds like a barrell of laughs.

Good shout @Temp! Not doing your CIL paperwork properly could cost you dear, and must be done before you start the build. If in doubt ask your LA about it. There is also lots about CIL elsewhere on this forum.

We are half way through our build, using a main contractor, and the BR drawings have been invaluable. A BR drawing specialist (not a structural engineer) was recommended to me and he produced a full set of drawings for £2.5k. Our house is 200m2 and double garage on sloping site with fair bit of steelwork. No matter how experienced the builder is you will need these drawings not only during the build but also before you start to find and make minor changes that will save loads of time and money during the build. My philosophy is that it is much better to find mistakes at the drawing phase rather than during the build. By the way, we have also needed a structural engineer to advise/sign off on very specific aspects such as point loading for steels etc. The tech who created the BR drawings was very up front that we might need this. The choice is not whether you need BR drawings at all (BTW the BCO asked for these before we started the build), but whether you need just BR drawings or pay for a full set of construction drawings as well - the Rolls Royce option. A friend went ahead with a build just using the planning drawings and had no end of expensive problems during construction.

And its worth mentioning that in my experience not all 'materials only' suppliers are willing or capable of zero-rating invoices. I have the 'certificate' mentioned in previous posts, but from some suppliers its a flat 'no we cant do that'. In the current mad construction world the threat to go elsewhere, even for a large order, is met with a shrug. Kudos though to those who do listen and zero-rate no problem. For the rest, its an HMRC reclaim ......

So I meaured my flow rate from the old existing mains connection (that TW want nothing to do with) and its 28 l/m. Good enough I think to pressurise the whole house? Or is ot £6k to run in a new main? I know I would rather not spend £6k on water at this stage. The extras are already starting to build ...

No - local supplier did all the specs and quotes. And once you get to actually place the order there is a whole new level of detail, rightly so IMO.

Direct to TW via their website. Their service is pretty good, you need to pay about £100 for the survey but they respond within a week and keep you informed.

The more quotes you get the more you will learn what is good value. And quotes are free, your time spent will be worth it. And yes, different agents/distributors of the same product will provide varying quotes.

Same here. BC quite happy. All clay and sloping site, can’t see anything growing under there. By the way, BC strict on ventilation under the beams.

Interesting thread. We have an old supply to our site on 22m poly pipe with pretty good pressure - not measured flow rate yet. Builder suggested to get 32m supply run in for UVC. Cue Thames Water who came in last week, said existing supply pre-dated them taking over network and couldn’t say anything about the connection to the village main. They advised a new 32mm connection to the main and to disconnect the old one - and get this - the quote is £6k! The main runs the other side of the road and my guess is traffic lights and the whole piece. So decision time for me, Having read this thread am going to measure the flow rate before accepting TW quote. If I stick with existing we will be running 32mm from the meter about 20m down the drive to the house stopcock. By the way, measure flow rate with a bucket and stopwatch? Or is there a more accurate way?

By the way, yes you are right to steer clear of Munster joinery …

We finally started our new build at the end of May after getting pp in July ‘19. We had plenty of time to select and price windows - one of the major costs. There is no substitute for visiting potential suppliers, leaving drawings and requesting quotes. We were staggered by the difference in quotes, we needed 15 frames of varying sizes plus two large sliders, 3m and 6m. Quotes varied from £18k to over £50k, In my experience the companies that travel the expos (or used to), maintain large showrooms and produce glossy brochures are the priciest - guess who pays for the marketing! We looked at them all - and ended up with Rationel TG alu-clad for the frames and Visioglide for the sliders from a local joinery company - about £23k including installation. We were pointed in their direction by Rationel. Been very happy with their service and attention so far, acid test will be delivery and installation scheduled for September. And have the supplier install the windows and take full responsibility, being local they should be available and willing to rectify any issues.

@cbk I also have an interest in shadow gaps, but have not yet resolved how to make the junctions work between the skirting trim and around the doors/architrave. Is traditional architrave not compatible with shadow gap skirting? I dont want the gap going up and around doors, I dont think this would look right, if anything would give the place a commercial look. I guess we need to talk to a plasterer at some stage (our build starts in 2 weeks so we are some way off) but still have no idea how to implement shadow gaps. Maybe we could compare notes?

A bit behind on this thread, but we went through the whole SuDS nightmare with our build. LPA rejected the first attempt by a drainage engineer which included a hugely expensive concrete chamber (with a ladder to climb down into it - about 2.5m deep and 1.5m wide) with a hydrobrake to limit the output - I was kind of glad the LPA rejected it! Then I went the rainwater harvesting route but LPA still wanted the hydrobrake - pointless. In the end I had to employ new local drainage engineers who 'knew what the LPA wanted' and specified a 'swale', which is in fact the pond @Ferdinandrefers to! This last report and scheme drawing cost about £600 but indeed the LPA accepted it. SuDS was without doubt the most expensive, long-running and craziest of the 15 planning conditions we had to meet. And we live halfway up a hill, with a slightly sloping site and a stream at the bottom! Learning, employ engineers within the LPA area and quiz them in advance about getting SuDS accepted.

Well it may come to that if Self Buildzone don't get their act together