Thorfun

How will starting affect CIL? And will you be able to reclaim the VAT if it’s done before the new PP is approved? these are the types of questions I’d be wondering about

What model and with how many hours on the clock? and I’d 1.5T enough? I had a 2.7T Kubota but had to sell it to help finance the build but am now looking for something to help with landscaping and other things. Just wondering if 1.5T would be enough

Have a look at crushed concrete with zero fines as a cheaper alternative to type 3. Might fit the bill for you. we were originally planning resin bound driveway but the build costs with the world the way it is means we have no money left for it so we’re looking at gravel instead.

Well they didn’t ask for small invoices but they weren’t all large large! Seemed to be around £500 and up. but I’ve no idea on the criteria they use to choose.

That wasn’t on the list of criteria you posted. 😂

No

These are them https://www.nationallighting.co.uk/nitropro-tri-wattage-360-recessed-fire-rated-4cct-8w-led-downlight-dimmable-ip44-matt-white?_gl=1*1u0yagk*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTY0MDY2ODc2NC4xNzQyNDEyNTEz*_ga_14DHPLMGCX*MTc0MjQxMjUxMi4xLjEuMTc0MjQxMjU0Ny4wLjAuMTk0NTU4Mzky

The ones we used are good. Wish I could remember what they were! SWMBO bought them so I’ll ask and get back to you.

i filled in my own demolition notice and don't remember anything to onerous. what's the part you're struggling on?

@Happyhouse if a protected staircase doesn't fit in with your aesthetics and design then you can investigate a fire suppression system. i honestly think for us it would've been cheaper to fit that than to go through all the hoops and costs to fit escape windows and exits etc.

Brinkley’s self build bible was my go-to book

G99 for us as we’ve got a 10kWp array

found it.

I did in depth calculations for the insulation for our basement taking in to consideration the depth of the basement and the insulating effect of the earth. but it was so long ago I can’t remember it! But I did have a thread on here about it which a search might yield. I’ll try and take a look if I have some time.

9/2/25: Claim submitted 11/2/25: Asked for 11 invoices (out of 610) 25/2/25: letter received stating payment will be made minus 4 invoices (which we will contest) 28/2/25: Funds in our bank account that's pretty darn efficient!

we have a basement......planned rooms are music room (which i'm currently boarding out), gym/golf studio, cinema and games room. plus our comms room and plant room and a loo which probably won't ever get plumbed in if i'm being honest. total area is approx 120m2 for us it cost us £200k to build the basement but i reckon foundations without a basement would've cost us about £50k - £60k as we would've had to dig down 2m to get to bedrock so the basement, using really good man-maths, only cost us about £150k. 😉 i can't wait to kit out the cinema but it'll be a while due to other priorities. as @Mr Punter says, we have 3m high ceilings in the basement. gives a really good sense of space. also gives leeway to reduce ceiling height to cover utilities or to add extra sound insulation.

We bought those XL Palermo doors through Jewson as they gave us a great price. architraves and skirtings were bought by my wife online. Don’t know where from though! I never bothered with a Howdens account.

Not sure how they could’ve checked for it. Even if they drilled through the floor it’s not sheets of asbestos underneath so chances are they wouldn’t have hit any. That’s life I guess. Never simple. Especially when you choose to self-build!

No. The area will be our back garden and we didn’t know about the asbestos until the slab had been flipped over so no putting it back.

A tale of woe and a warning to others for something I was unaware of…… demolition of our old bungalow was never in question so we did our due diligence and got an asbestos survey and quotes from demolition companies to deal with it and the demolition. All agreed on and in progress. they get to pulling up the slab and under the conservatory which was built at a later date to the original bungalow and they find loads of asbestos used as hardcore which was bound to the concrete of the slab. No safe way to pick it out without smashing the slab and potentially releasing those harmful fibres so the slab has to be removed onto an 8-wheeler and taken to a safe land fill at a cost of £4K!!! 😭 obviously it has to be done but it’s a real kick in the knackers and a cost I really can’t afford. so for anyone reading this that will have a demolition as part of their build keep a big chunk of cash to one side for unexpected asbestos removal. If you don’t find any then you have spare cash for something else or a holiday. Don’t be like me and have to go in to even more debt to get rid of it. 😭

never worry about resurrecting old threads. sometimes it's the best thing to do! 👍

Submitted mine this evening. Hope it doesn’t take long as I need the money!

our old bungalow is being demolished. I've always been interested to see how the external walls were constructed. turns out it's basically a concrete garage with about 25mm of glass wool insulation between battens with plasterboard on top. no wonder it didn't hold the heat very well!!

i admire you energy and enthusiasm to document and educate. i'm way too tired/lazy for that. 🤣

best of luck with this @MikeSharp01. like @G and J i'm capable of doing what you are but wanted a system that had professional support if required in case i wasn't around. i also needed it to work without me tinkering with it so it's family and visitor friendly. hence the Loxone route. i tried a homebuilt HTPC once and it worked for a while. but the frequent driver updates and tinkering just made it get forgotten about so i bought a black box that would do the job without my input.