Ferdinand

My total worktop length is 89m of 600 deep, plus a 900 x 1400 island, and a 600x600 cubbyhole which used to be a built-in microwave. Plus a 600x600 Ikea moveable trolley which fills in the gap at the end, with a microwave on it. Of that more or less fixed 1m is sink + drainer. 1m is TV and charging gubbins. 1m is range cooker. 600 is kettle, tea, teapot, cafetiere etc. 600 is Gaggia machine. 600 is bread, trays and toaster. Island is used for storage and transient things. F

There is also the possibility of a Superloo from Japan / Korea? Do these incorporate sensor controlled adjustable hydro-flo? Or you could fit a Shattaf (bidet shower) to your loo, which would give you a tool for a long-range loo post-clean. They are used by half the world. (New York Waldorf) Ferdinand

Is there a chance of your piece being 450mm too long lengthwise, or that your hob is 1200 x 450?? I need a 1200 x 450mm piece :-). My local workshops little man in his little unit - "Offcuts will not be that big. I reckon £300-400."

I was in Bathstore the other day, and he was waxing lyrical about "water entry holes all the way round the rim". Or phone up McDonalds and see who they use? Very Hitchhiker, but there it was a Dirty Telephone that killed us off. Try Megabad - I once had a *huge* lecture from a German housemate on this subject, including a thorough examination of the insufficiently cleansed loo. F

Yep. Given you only need a guestimate (+/- 10-20%) as we all have different amounts of different junk in our kitchens it can only ever be comparable meaningfully with those error margins, it was just a nice round way to estimate. I have a big chunk of worktop given over to a Gaggia Coffee Machine, a microwave, a TV, a Lazy Susan, and a toaster - for example. Also you can always play games with hidden worktops or having a recessed worktop where a built-in pven might have gone, for example. Ferdinand

Add up the metre run of all your base units and multiply by .6 or .5 to allow for hobs and sinks etc.

As a cheapskate, I never consider anything except French Doors. Until I build my Para 79 Haese in the Peak District. F

Just buy some bloody spiral bricks. https://www.ibstockbrick.co.uk/kevington/specialshapes/spiral-bricks/ If you really want to do it properly, build it solid out of blue engineering bricks, then carve it by hand into statues of a pair of bobbing dogs, and 2 sausages forever just out of reach. F

I think the one in the case already had Planning. And I think that conceptually the SDLT thing would come under ‘matters not relevant’, as do eg neighbour disputes about boundaries.

it is actually quite spread out, but the test is ‘suitable for use as a dwelling’ on te day of purchase, for residential SDLT to be applied, and it was a 150k transaction including the 3%, I think. The HMRC came up with lots of tangents. The applicant made this case, and the place had had an intrusive asbestos survey, and white asbestos was exposed: It s a good read. Expect ‘suitable for use’ to change to ‘capable of being used’, to try and catch more in the net.

I refer my Honourable Friend (and all the other Honourable Friends) to the calculator I mentioned some time ago ?. Yes... by the lorry. It was me started on bulk bags, as I happened to have the numbers in my head.

That is interesting. I wonder if other factors are at play? Perhaps the thing they are avoiding is the 3% Supplementary SDLT for a second Property?

One of these might help http://www.pavingexpert.com/calcall.htm However, I make it 8m2 per bulk bag at 50mm deep which is approx 10m2 at 40mm, so that gives the quantity ish of bulk bags. On driving over pavers, is it possible to do something really simple like start at the other end? Alternative might be to get 90% of sand, and accept barrowing the rest .. or have project B waiting for any leftovers. Ferdinanf

This is potentially relevant to Buildhub users who have purchased, or are purchasing, existing properties (derelict or habitable), in order to repair or replace them. It concerns whether you pay the Residential Rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax, or the Non-Residential Rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (which are lower). (Gird your loins - slightly - for this, and get a cup of whisky plus a couple of Jaffa Cakes.) This post is General Information only, and does *not* constitute advice in any form. It is about a Court Ruling from January 2019 in the First Tier Tribunal Tax Chamber called HMRC vs Bewley, which changed the Liability for Stamp Duty Land Tax in England in one case where the property was found to have been unsuitable for use as a dwelling, and so the (lower) non-residential rate should have been applied. This level of Court is not automatically precedent-forming though decisions may 'be taken into account' by other Courts; the Upper Tribunal, where a case goes when Appealed from the First Tier Tribunal, is precedent-setting. For two groups of Build Hubbers, it could affect people who buy buildings on plots to demolish, or perhaps people who want to pass a plot or building-on-a-plot on for the purposes of developing more than one dwelling. There is potential, for example, for the vendor to sell the property in an uninhabitable state by doing various things, and the price varying to allow for the lower amount of Stamp Duty which may be due, or perhaps for an indemnity against a higher tax bill considered (if such an agreement is lawful). The status of a building would be changed by an application to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). On Buildhub we have had conversations about what makes a property uninhabitable in connection with liability for Council Tax, for example the absence of a potable water supply. This conversation is similar, and eventually will be about what prevents an empty or derelict property from being suitable for use as a dwelling. I am not launching into my own discussion of that, beyond noting that factors that may end up coming into the future guidance which may eventually be published by the Tax Authorities if necessary may include things such as "is there a kitchen", "is there a bathroom" (both of which affect 'mortgageability'), and potentially "does it have planning permission yet". I will simply post the summaries of the Ruling. What about the potential impact? The difference between the Residential rate of SDLT can be substantial. The potential savings for people buying expensive plots look to be quite tasty. Note - these rates quoted below are basic, partial information for illustration; there are exemptions and special cases by the bucketload - and you do need to check properly. Residential SDLT Source :https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates Non-Residential SDLT Source: https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/nonresidential-and-mixed-use-rates HMRC vs Bewley Summary and Resources: The full decision is here: http://financeandtax.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/judgmentfiles/j10915/TC06951.pdf The existing VOA Guidance relating to Council Tax Liability for Properties in Disrepair or Derelict is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-tax-domestic-properties-in-disrepair-or-derelict/council-tax-domestic-properties-which-are-in-disrepair-or-are-derelict Some notes from a 2018 meeting of Tax Authorities on the meaning of "residential property" subject are here: https://www.tax.org.uk/sites/default/files/SDLT Section 116 FA 2003 meeting 11 June 2018 summary points FINAL.pdf (document itself) Winding Up It would be useful to have some of the Buildhub hive mind on this, especially as this is not an area of specialist knowledge for me. We have discussed this issue wrt Council Tax, and mainly at the end of the build, for example in this thread by @vivienz. But we have not - that I am aware of - considered so carefully unsuitability for use as a dwelling at the start, and with respect to Stamp Duty. Another category I am not aware that we have discussed is Stamp Duty liability on properties gifted. In general this is one to be aware of, and then probably discuss with advisers. The difference in SDLT liability in the case discussed was £6k. I have discussed this wrt England (and probably Wales if they have not changed that bit yet !), but the "Notes form a 2018 Meeting" link above shows attendance by Tax Authorities UK-wide. For example: Has anyone successfully applied to have derelict properties defined as unsuitable for habitation and removed from the 'register' at the VOA, and subsequently reduced their SDLT liability on that basis? Has it been done with kitchen and bathroom removal, rather than roofs and windows?

That’s the one. Watching people cope with tricky situations is a good way to learn. ? I think the lesson there is planning and don’t try and cut corners or innovate on things that can go very wrong very easily. Eg When playing shinty, skimp on your socks not your support strap. F (* Shinty is a Scottish Highland game superficially similar to hockey, except you are allowed to use both sides of the stick, tackle with the stick, play balls in the air, and shoulder barge, for a start. Field Hockey is for wusses.)

In general a step up to a raised area of bedroom floor or raised en-suite will be easier than cutting holes in the floor itself, since the former will be less disruptive to the structure. Ferdinand

So what price (ish) is sapienstone? I will be after (possibly) a piece approx 1200 x 450mm for my new bathroom, to be mounted on a vanity unit. I am losing the battle between sngnle-piece integrated sinks and bowls-on-a-board. Ferdinand

I think you need a London basement not just a basement. There are a few on Grand Designs, including the chap with a movable tiles floor that went down and turned into a swimming pool (Kensington or Chelsea, next to the railway iirc), and another chap (2018?) who did a real budget build in the East somewhere near the DLR. Ferdinand

Alternative: shift loo through 90 to be on the other wall, and use a side-exit soil pipe if needed. Ferdinand

This to me looks horribly complicated. As it stands I would say your sales prospects will be substantially damaged just by unknowns. Or if this is your consortium then they all need to be on board. Aiui It is the nature of things that any sales taxes you impose eg an overage will just come straight off the price. If you face them with an unknown risk eg if it depends on them they applying for PP then it will be really difficult to determine values. IMO Take some weight off the overage; it is perhaps too much of a one club golfer as it stands. Personally I think that attempting to apply a sanction to people building an extension in 2069 is rather outrageous. I would perhaps suggest limit the max size of plots you can sell in the agreement, or use an option agreement. You could put such a limit in the deeds. Do you have good legal advisers on this? Overage agreements are notorious for unintended loopholes. They should have wordings in their desk drawers. A further area of uncertainty is how your council deals with planning gain, S106, affordable etc for Self Build projects of several houses. No one has a reliable or predictable model of process for that, yet. Ferdinand

Why is this thought to be unusual? Cities are full of them due to eg neighbours or conservation areas or overlooking. The Healthy House in Grand Designs last year S18 Ep3 had this arrangement, as you could also say for the early Passive Haus in the Cotswolds built under that barn etc. The design key is to put it in a big enough landscaped hole to give a two level garden, such that it does not feel as if you are a shrub being planted in a flowerbed ..rather than use a conventional basement. https://www.granddesignsmagazine.com/grand-designs-houses/397-grand-designs-third-episode-2018 But doing one for the sake of doing it would seem a little eccentric. If it is for privacy reasons then there are probably better above ground ideas such as the interesting parallel view windows invented for the GD chap who built his house in Southwark in the ‘inner space’ of about 30 houses in a block of streets, and around an inner courtyard. If you are talking earth sheltered then that is a different type of ballgame. Ferdinand

Auto opening on the Passive Cat Flap. They usually come with remote as well as RFiD control, so it should not be that difficult. Simples. (This is a suggestion not what I do, since my former cat is pushing up bamboo. I open windows manually or turn up the PIV setting, which can shift a lot of air.) Ferdinand

Thanks. Good comments.

Does the 28 day exemption apply to lakes? I would expect it too, so you could split it into 13 different ownerships and move it every 4 weeks. A bit extreme. (?) Ferdinand

Bugger. Forgot that it was a Thursday again. F