ToughButterCup

The reply to @pocster immediately above applies. BUT. I recognise the importance of the pinned post written by @newhome A Guide to the VAT Reclaim Process , where she says The difference in our case is we haven't finished the build (and won't for some time to come) but have still applied for the VAT refund before '... the finish according its original plans ...' (HMRC VAT Form VAT431NB; Notes, page 6 and 7). In simple terms, once we were informed of the date of occupancy, we have tried to honour the letter of the guidance.

Yes, @pocster , you were asleep as usual ?. The BCO route is one way of indicating you are finished. However, there are several others as detailed below Here's the relevant bit from the form you have to complete; This is the key issue The 3 months will usually run from the date of the document you’re using as your completion evidence. Here's a photo Oh, that word 'usually' (above): needs to be read in conjunction with the notes provided in the main VAT thread.

No, they haven't refused it. Yet. They are asking why I applied in July given that the start date for the 3 months was in December of the year before. They are also asking us to list the items purchased between the Effective Date of Listing and the date when I applied. (First week of July 2021) The answer is it; took 5 months to tell me that - between them - the LA and the Valuation Office took 5 months to tell me that the official date for Occupancy was 1st december 2020. I was told on or just a bit later than 21st April 2021.

In our case that acceptable evidence is the Notice of Making a New Entry into the Valuation List ( rather than the Completion Certificate because we're skint) That Notice took 5 months to get to us: 2 months too late to apply.

How to set up a failed VAT reclaim application process in one easy lesson (pay attention at the back there please .... @pocster ) In brief: make the date of Entry in the Valuation List four months before you (the Valuation Office) tell both the Local Authority and the Council Tax payer have an HMRC employee who is asking why I applied more than three months after the date I was told of the listing , and 8 months after the actual listing was made by the Valuation Office, but less than 3 months after the date that the letter telling us arrived. It took the Valution Office 5 months to tell both the LA and me of the listing Another way of saying the same thing is : disqualify the claimant from applying by not telling them about the listing for 5 months. As far as HMRC are concened, that's already two months late Facts: Date of Entry to the Valuation List (called the Effective Date of Alteration) : 1st December 2020 From that date, the clock startes ticking: you have three months from that date to get your claim in. Date which the Authority (Wyre) and I were told of the listing : after the 21st April 2021 (letter dated 21st April 2021) - I make that 5 months later To add insult to injury the HMRC are asking me to list the (planned) works carried out between 1st December and the date I applied for the refund. They already have that data: all they need to do is look at the spreadsheet submitted: each entry is dated. And all entries are listed in date order. All the employee has to do is read the words and numbers. Which makes me suspicious. Are they lining themselves up to deduct the VAT claimed for items purchased between 1st December 2020 and the date I applied for the reclaim? Can't take joke? Honestly, there's no need to submit a VAT reclaim. Nobody forces ya! Make life easier, do without the money -

I had no idea that some semi idiot-proof scaffolding (Kwik Stage, CupLock) would be such an excellent investment. Add a few well -stacked and scrubbed boards, and four well-oiled wheels and you are away. Heavy - yes, but thats what wives and children are for. Somehow, most months, I have a little less scaffolding than I had last month. Twice a year locals come and ask to borrow some. Not all of it comes back. I have never leant the scaff ladder out. I just can't ever consider being without enough scaffolding to work safely anywhere on the house. For a DIY Max build, the business case for some kwikstage or cuplock (or similar) is compelling

And the weather forecast for you is .... (I suspect) cold northerlies for a bit: no energy in the air. Dehumdify then.

And when will that be? I ask because opening the doors and windows is cheaper and extremely effective.

Looks like a job for our cat. He'd sort that in a day.

Exactly what I did.... ours have wheels on , used for all sorts of jobs on the site. Well worth the money.

@olivia982, believe me we try hard to reduce waste or to reprocess it ourselves. But it takes time and money and planning. And on DIY Max, there's not much 'space' for that. There are loads of small things you can recycle yourself; wood sheeting, screws, various bigger bits of timber, post stuff on Freegle, FB and other sites, but that doesn't amount to much. We give away wood off cuts to local families with wood burners. If we have skip I put up a notice advertising that we are keen to recycle. Locusts descend fairly pronto. We used several hundred tonnes of MoT1 (thats at least partly recycled stuff) for the base, and our wood block ICF system uses (or at least used to use) recycled wood. In all, I recon we've used at least 500 tonnes of recycled material (400 for the base +100 for the blocks). We will also be recycling our own heat soon: (MVHR) A lot more could be done.

Love ya digga man .... I think our water table is similar to yours, but your ground looks problematic. We used wooden shuttering for a while, but I gave up on that: unwise, but we were lucky. Being the courageous man I am, sent SWMBO down the 'ole to see how deep it was ? As you can see, the shuttering was a little on the light side. And I did bring her a cup of tea while she was down there. It was the one job with a digger that truly scared me. Had I used your shuttering system, it would have been so much easier. I chained concrete fence posts to the edge of the tank (to act as ground anchors) , lowered the assembly in, and then concreted the lot in. Years later my shoulders still ache from that job. (Couldn't get a mixer lorry anywhere near it)

The German site talks about " Wir bauen Gesundheit" We build health (as in wellness) My (German) reaction to that is hmmmm .... Some German bread has been rebranded as (in translation) Protein Bread. Rye breads and the like ... same stuff as it always was - its just that normal bread isn't the mood of the moment In short Eco in this context appears to me to be a reaction to the mood of the moment. Eco is where its at. Huff and Ecofritz and others from Germany have always built to higher than UK insulation standards - because it's 'kin cold there in winter. Triple glazing is the norm....

Yes, but the details will have to remain private. If I could annonomise our detailed numbers, I would publish them. But it feels like inappropriate disclosure to detail every small transaction. Its too 'exposing'. Many people lurk on BuildHub. Broadly, - taking out the costs of the collapse - we are on target for £1745:00 per square meter (More than double @nod's figures) Dunno whether - for an complete novice - thats good or bad . It kind of doesn't matter because once you start the project, there's precious few exit points. You just have to keep going. Discussion of costs is always complex because there's no standardised way of accounting for them. What is a legitimate cost centre for a self build? Phone bills? Garden gnomes? Travel to Planning Department Council meetings? So you use the HMRC list (of allowable costs for VAT purposes) as a basis, but that misses out very large cost centres. So I used @Jeremy Harris's model as a starting point and adapted that in the light of a couple of other spreadsheet models. The other thing - of which I'm certain - is that I've made errors in calculation. How large they are, I'm not sure, but tiredness alone will account for some - or many - errors. Now, those errors don't matter. We're nearly done building, I'm already looking for something else that pushes me really hard. Its got to be both hard physical work and intellectually challenging. To answer @KayleyH directly, the good bit isn't stopping, it isn't the house on its own, its the process of getting from idea to reality. Once I 'get there' , I for one have to find something apprpriate for a 68 year old to keep pushing myself.

That's the delight. No. It's her smile ....

Just clearing the site today and it occured to me as I filled the skip (last one?) I know what I paid for every bit of 'rubbish' I threw away ? The early evening sunset on the cladding knowing everything about a house knowing I can pull myself up from major disasters being grateful for all the friendship of the vast majority of (chatty) passers-by. the banter on BH knowing what some locals really think of the house, as opposed to what they say in public fora all the well-meaning advice from everyone who offered it the silence from those passers-by manage to read my non-verbal cues @SteamyTea, @PeterW, @Stones, @ProDave, @Dudda, @jack, @Moonshine, @scottishjohn, @pocster, @Onoff , @Jeremy Harris, @Construction Channel, @the_r_sole, @Crofter, @Ferdinand, @MikeSharp01, @newhome , @Declan52, the Mods, The Foundation Group (I've missed some I'm sure) , all people who have bothered to give me their time and thought my mates who come round and (mostly) help. If you buy a digger, they just want the keys. the ability to keep going under pressure: if I didn't have that pressure, I'd become a fat(ter) slob the knowledge that I'm probably over-priviledged: at least very very lucky. Retiring the day we got PP and done nowt else but this for the last 5 / 6 years. I've lost count of the passers by who stop and talk wistfully about their dream of being able to do what I have That gorgeous lass who jogs past the site in top to toe super-tight lycra, smiles widely, says Hi. She melts my withers every damn time. That do ya?

Did you mean Torx Head Spax screws? Because if you did, so have I. Expensive. Thats why I pick the buggers up.

Yep: you've never ever got the right width, length, head type, drive type, metal type . Ever. Universal Law (Newtonian discovery) . Including screws in stock in Builder's Merchants. So the formula is; Use what's in the (bottom of your tool bag, + nick your dad's screws ) when he's not looking, * (pick up every dropped screw) Or more simply : RSS = (BTB + DS) * (AllDropped Screws) I discovered this just when I started to suffer from Osteo Arthritis - its the (pick up every dropped screw) that's the hard bit.

In haste, yes, there is on this site In the site search engine, use the search term 'spreadsheet' wont take you long to find and download it. Google will find it too. Ian

Thanks @Declan52. Problem solved. What it is to have mates who know their way round machinery eh? He popped round , sat in the cab, grinning his head off , gave it a huge amount of revs and slammed the arm into the release position. Bob's Yer Uncle, Fanny's Yer Aunt. Celebratory coffee. Christ I've learned a lot on this build. Aside: A common thread with the practical problems on site ... almost all of them occur when I am really tired - I've worked another 21 stretch. Not a good idea. How many times do I have to go round this desert to learn the lesson?

Monday morning hissing down with rain, eyes full of sleep and I've autohitched the bucket on the wrong crossbar Anyone know how I might be able dig myself out of this hole......? Pretty please.... When I try to unhitch it, the auto-ram system doesn't engage .

Hi. Come on then, what's behind the screen name? I mean for a start, you've more than your fair share of letter Ks.....?

No. But if they can, they will. If you are asking yourself the question, then in all likelihood, they will

Ahhh @CalvinHobbes, best thing now is to go and do a freefall course. Then when you've done that, train to be a lion tamer. Scare the sheet out of yourself. Distraction is what's needed now. Keep yourself too busy to care. Hard work. Then in a few months, check the Decision Notice.

I can't provide a technical answer. This may well be one of those FerFookSake moments. If your assessment is correct, you are well shot of that brickie. He left before the embarrassing error became public. Gutless twerp.