LnP

Ask your architect or planning consultant to recommend. We were advised that the criteria for the phase 1 surveys are not completely objective, and some ecologists are more likely to require the much more expensive follow up phase 2 survey (dawn and dusk observation). Your architect or planning consultant should have had experience of the ecologists in your area.

I installed a Hikvision system as a lockdown project in my last house, 4 POE cameras with a network video recorder. I'm allergic to subscriptions which is why I chose a system with an NVR. The picture quality was fine, but I installed the cameras too high which meant I couldn't see people's faces well enough. I put the cameras about 3 m off the ground and they really need to be at face height, say no higher than 1.8 m. It didn't help that the ground floor was already about 800 mm above ground level and the camera I put over the front door looking down the driveway didn't get faces. They were easy to set up and I could view them over my phone, but remote viewing really only worked if I was connected to a good wifi. The cellular network was generally not good enough for the pictures to download. I'm not particularly techie though, so wouldn't be surprised if there are better systems out there.

I don't think this quite tells the whole story. The two projects selected by the government as track 1 industry clusters for decarbonisation, H2Teesside and Hynet in the North West (Stanlow), will indeed produce hydrogen by reforming natural gas, which will produce CO2, but the CO2 will be captured and stored by injecting it into existing depleted oil wells - so called blue hydrogen. The BP project at Teesside also includes a project for green hydrogen by electrolysing water using renewable electricity. They both anticipate blending hydrogen into the existing natural gas network, amongst other uses. ERM's Dolphyn project is an example of using off-shore wind to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis. The feasibility of blending 20% hydrogen into an existing natural gas network has already been demonstrated, e.g. at the Hydeploy project at Keele University. Hydrogen will play an important role in decarbonisation, especially since as mentioned elsewhere in this thread, there are doubts about the capacity of the existing electrical infrastructure. https://hynet.co.uk https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/what-we-do/gas-and-low-carbon-energy/h2teesside.html https://ermdolphyn.erm.com/p/1 https://www.keele.ac.uk/about/news/2021/september/hydeploy-trial/hydrogen-gas-blending.php

We're using a planning consultant and he advised that a pre-app was a waste of time and money. Regarding time, most planning departments are taking a very long time to process full applications at the moment, and pre-apps go to the bottom of the pile. Regarding value for money (professional fees and the applications fee), our guy told us that case officers are cautious about committing themselves, so just reply with a list of the policies you'ill have to comply with. He told us the days are gone when you could sit down with a case officer and get their input on whether what you're proposing would be acceptable. That's how it is here, anyway. Maybe different where you are. We're in a conservation area and were a bit unsure whether the architects we talked to had a sufficient understanding of what would be acceptable. We got the planning consultant to write a short constraints plan which we gave to the designer - maximin ridge height, footprint, position on the plot any overlooking issues etc. The fee proposals we got from architects included a fee for handling the planning application, writing the design and access statement etc, and we felt the money was better spent with a planning specialist. If you do decide to engage a planning consultant, you can find ones in your area via the RTPI website https://www.rtpi.org.uk. Our project is in two phases. We're first refurbishing a Victorian coach house which we'll live in during the build. The planning application for the coach house was submitted in September. It's very simple, non contentious, no neighbours objected and one supported. It recently made it onto the case officer's desk and she has proposed two pre-commencement conditions which would require us to make further submissions after the consent had been granted, which would mean further delays. We're happy to have a specialist deal with this on our behalf and we hope resolve them prior to determination.

Our last house was a 7 bedroom Victorian house with a cellar which we considered developing. Head height was good but it was a bit damp and would have needed tanking, as well as fitting out for whatever use we might have put it to. We got estimates for the work. We then got some estate agents round and asked them what effect it would have on the value of the house. It would have been a cheaper job than what you're looking at. They all said it wasn't worth it. It was a big house already and more than big enough for most families. They said it's not like adding a 4th bedroom to a 3 bedroom house. If you're considering it because you're hoping for a pay back, my suggestion is to get an estate agent round and ask them what they think about it.

@Iceverge thanks for your fantastic comments. There’s a lot to think about here. I especially like your suggestion about the roof lights over the staircase. I’m going to get the red pen out and do some sketching.

Interesting that you're going for day rates rather than priced work. Am I right in thinking that's unusual? What do you think are the pros and cons of day rates vs priced work?

Good comments thanks @CharlieKLP. I'll give some thought to how we might integrate things on the front elevation a bit better. I don't know that we'd give the style a label, but three of the late Victorian houses on the street have been described as Arts and Crafts. You could have a long discussion about what makes a style Arts and Crafts. Those three houses all have hanging tiles, but putting a few hanging tiles on a house can easily end up looking mid twentieth century "semi-detached suburban". Arts and Crafts half timbered can end up looking more like Mock Tudor ?. We're planning brick exterior and stone mullions on the bays. The brick will have some kind of detailing, but we haven't decided what yet. The rear elevation will be timber clad as a cost saving measure to avoid an additional steel beam to support bricks over the doors out of the kitchen/dining room. When you talk about the walls on the end of the house, are you talking about the gable ends? What are the challenges with that? The copings on the parapet verges would be the same reconstituted stone as the mullions in the windows on the bays.

This is where we're up to with the design of our new build timber frame house. I'd be very invested in comments. The views are to the rear overlooking a canal. The rear faces north. We like natural light. All the landscaping shown on the site plan is existing information from the topo. Apart from the outbuilding in the NW corner, it's all open to being changed. Compared to what's shown, we will move the house to the west by about 2 m and move the garage further into the SE corner. We'll also rotate the garage about 20' clockwise to make it easier to drive in. I've attached a street scene from a planning application from another house on the street. Our planning consultant tells us we have a reasonably free hand with the look of the house. The street scene is from our side of the road which is late Victorian, but the other side of is 1970s and a couple of the houses have been renovated with very modern designs. We're inclined towards something which is in keeping with the other Victorian houses. As well as layout functionality comments, I'm interested in ways to make the design more cost effective. This is the first time we've faced a project like this, so we're very open to comments, criticism etc, in fact hoping to learn from BH wisdom! Floor Plans 5.pdf 3D.pdf Street Scene.pdf

The following data on building materials price increases between October 2020 and October 2021 are from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Imported sawn or planed wood - 69.6% Plywood - 49.8% Fabricated structural steel - 16.9% Ready mixed concrete - 7.0% Blocks, bricks, tiles and flagstones - 6.4% What influence do you think this might have on the choice of building system for an inexperienced self-managing self-builder? Link to BEIS

Thanks. How often did you need to change the batteries on the GoPro?

I like the time lapse video. How do you make one? Do you need a special camera and video editing software? What do you recommend?

No, just fitting of roof sarking and membrane, though I guess that's "wind and watertight" isn't it?. And it doesn't include windows and external doors.

The free design service from Fleming was worth a punt and if their price had been say 10% over the prices on their website, I think we would have gone for it. Anyway now we'll pursue getting other TF companies to quote for a design we're getting finalised.

The £16,000 erection option doesn't include offloading the kit from the delivery vehicle or crane hire for the erection, which I hadn't expected. I don't know how much that will cost. It also doesn't include travel expenses for the erection crew. 4 people for 2 weeks could be another £5,000? It doesn't include scaffolding, site welfare facilities etc but I expected this so have them already in my budget.

That's right, and that's for their basic level of insulation - 120mm of factory installed PIR in 140mm studs giving 0.17 W/m2 degC. You can add another 50mm of PIR which they will supply for £2000 materials only, giving 0.11 W/m2 degC. The client has to fit it. I've been budgeting for the superstructure to be 25% of the total build cost, so if the TF kit price is a reflection of the market for everything else, the build cost will be ~£2,400 /m2. I was hoping for more like £1,600 - £1,800. I'm optimistic though that I can improve on the Fleming price.

We just had a quotation from Fleming for a timber frame kit. It's for a 236 m2, dual pitch roof, gable ends and one dormer. We specified attic trusses for future development of the roof space but a cold roof, i.e. insulation stops at the first floor ceiling. It's a simple rectangular footprint apart from a 3.5 x 7 m single storey extension for a family room. There are two steel beams, but several first floor walls are positioned over ground floor ones. Fleming offer two kit specification levels, structure only and full specification. With the structure only kit, the panels are shipped uninsulated and fibreglass insulation supplied on a materials only basis. With the full spec kit, the panels are factory fitted with PIR and it includes internal doors. Erection is about £16,000 extra in both cases. There are various other extras - posi joists, extra insulation etc. Fleming have a calculator on their website which uses July 2021 prices and for 236 m2 gives estimates of £55,224 and £80,004 respectively for the two levels, undoubtedly for a simple box shape structure. The quotes have come back at £85,573 and £121,551, i.e. more than 50% higher. The website calculator prices were similar to what I had estimated from data I'd collected from various sources so I was very surprised by the Fleming quotation, despite that our design is slightly more complex. I'd heard that materials prices, especially timber had levelled off or even eased a little in recent months. We used their free design service, so another reason for the unexpectedly high price might be that they might have got the idea they were in a single supplier situation. For copyright reasons we won't shop their design around for alternative bids, but we have in parallel been working with another designer so that we can get competitive bids from other suppliers - Potton, MBC etc. We might consider brick and block. I thought I'd share this experience and am interested in case anybody else is actively getting timber frame quotes at the moment.

That sounds like good advice. What information do you need to provide to a QS for them to do the cost plan? Would it be better to get the QS cost plan before you go for PP, otherwise if you have to downsize to meet the budget, you might have to resubmit?

Hi Deejay_2, I’m wondering if you nights be stirring up a bit of a rats’ nest by asking HMRC for a written response. It’s possible that they don’t have a written policy on this, but that if they have to write one it might not be the one we want. Given that the VAT accountants have advised that HMRC’s practice is to allow the reclaim in these cases, I’m wondering if it might be best just to rely on precedent in the unlikely event of a challenge. That might be a question to put to one of the VAT reclaim accountants.

Hi @Deejay_2, I spoke to Andrew Jones, the person Joe90 recommended. I also spoke to Claim it Back, www.vatclaim.co.uk 01427 839333, who advertise in the back of Build It magazine. I also spoke to somebody at a Build It show at Bicester. They were all confident I didn’t have a problem. I read your post following your conversation with HMRC. it’s a pity you didn’t get clearer guidance.

Hi @Deejay_2 I never followed up with a call to HMRC. But, in addition to the two I mentioned above, I spoke to another accountant who specialises in VAT reclaim and she confirmed that what we are doing (refurbishing an outbuilding to live in during demolition and rebuild of the main house), will not jeopardise the VAT reclaim on the new build of the main house. Your situation is slightly different, so I'd recommend talking to some accountants. I suppose that if you did the project in a single phase you'd get the VAT back on the garage. Splitting it in two might mean you'll only get the VAT back on the house. I'll be interested to hear how you get on.

Thanks joe90. He was one of the accountants I spoke to, and the long quote is out of his booklet ?

Good idea. Here's a fairly lengthy quote from the sales brochure of one of the accountants I talked to. It's a reminder to be vigilant about the reclaim process and keep good records including photos, but I think it's further confirmation that my new build will be zero rated, despite us living temporarily in the outbuilding. "HMRC will go to great lengths in an attempt to reduce or totally refuse your reclaim and it’s down to you or us to evidence to them that we are correct. This specific claim comes to mind because it has only just been resolved so it’s fresh in my memory. It has taken a whole year almost to the day to get resolved, but yes, the client did get paid. The client built a new house, an annexe, and some barns. Neither the annexe nor the barns qualify for VAT reclaim or zero rating. The client built the annexe first and moved into the annexe to live while the main house was being built. Then moved into the main house and then completed the project by building the barns. We presented a completion certificate to HMRC with the reclaim that was 7 days after the date on the completion certificate, so that’s 10 weeks inside the 3 month deadline for submitting the reclaim. HMRC investigated the claim, valued around £40k and advised they had evidence that the house had been lived in for many years longer than the date we had put as a moving in date and therefore HMRC felt this claim could and should have been submitted before the time it was. HMRC had viewed the voting register and the council tax banding list and as the family were living in the annexe, it proved they were living on site but not in the house. By total chance the client found a photo showing them at the annexe with no house in the background and took another photo of the site as it stands today, showing the house was in the background now, evidencing that the annexe was built first. We now thought and hoped this would allow the claim to proceed, it did not. HMRC came back with a claim that the reclaim included material for the annexe and the barns, neither of which qualify for VAT exemption or refund, which they did not. HMRC offered an olive branch by requesting the client make an offer of a reduction of the claim value and begrudgingly the client offered £2k. HMRC then hired a drone to take photos of the site from above and highlighted the square meterage of the barn and annexe against the square meterage of the house in order to try and get the client to increase the reduction further. This was now 9 months and 6 letters from HMRC into the claim, the client advised they would accept a £5k discount, HMRC accepted this. A year to the day of submission I had a discussion with a senior officer at HMRC and voiced my displeasure at their tactics in this reclaim and that person went away and looked at the claim. Three days later the claim was refunded in full, with no discount taken from the original submission. That was a result."

I've spoken to two accountants who specialise in VAT reclaim for new builds. One of them advertises in the back of Build It magazine, and the other was referred to me by a well known timber frame company. Neither of them could see any reason why living on site in an existing outbuilding during the demolition of an existing dwelling and its replacement, would jeopardise the zero rating of the new build. Both of them advised that the requirement that "any pre-existing building is demolished completely to ground level" is intended to mean that you can't use parts of the existing building in the new build. It does not mean that every building on the site has to be demolished. As I mentioned previously, if that were the case, if there was an existing detached garage on the site, you'd have to demolish it. It seems unlikely that that's what HMRC mean.

Interesting. I wonder if you wouldn’t mind sharing some more information about who you looked at, what you found and who you chose. Regarding the Potton show houses, I agree they are not as good as they should be. We were there recently and noticed things like render falling off, poor exterior paintwork, noisy MVHR. They’re still on my list though. These are aspects of the build which they won’t be supplying, but it’s definitely a mark against them.