BTC Builder

So would the summary be, avoid and stick to polythene trays above the radon tray? I noticed NHBC are now saying polythene trays should be avoided which probably contributed to the architect specifying zedex.

I'm already doing that with the radon barrier. it's a detail I've never seen before, radon barrier across level from internal to external skin at dpc level, then a tray down from the first course internal to dpc external. Two trays if you will.

A bit of a strange one. My drawing says to use "high performance Zedex DPC or similar approved" for the all dpc/tray at dpc level. I've never heard of this product and none of the local merchants stock it. When reading about it, it says that it does not conform to BS6515 standard which is what I'd associate with "normal" dpc rolls. Anyone any experience with this stuff? I'm a bit wary of it tbh. I'm also installing a radon barrier which is perhaps why they've put this Zedex stuff on the drawing in addition to the radon barrier.

I've said it in a thread of my own. CIL is a scam. The self build exemption is full of pitfalls and booby traps which councils will happily allow you to fall into. If you're exempt because you are self building, you should be able to claim the exemption you're entitled to, even if you've started in error without the correct paperwork due to poor advice from architects/designers or plain ignorance. I had someone reply telling me that CIL is in fact not a scam because councils need money. In your case, you've received some truly awful advice in this thread with regards to applying for demolition and replacement dwelling. That's the worst thing you can do. What will happen is, the council will gladly allow you to walk down this path, then when it is approved, the CIL officer will be in touch and say something like, "oh no, you've already started the build and you can only claim CIL exemption before any work commences, as per government guidelines. It's a real shame and I don't want to do this, I really don't, I swear, but that will be £52k please." They'll have you by the bollocks and there'll be nothing you can do. All you can do is fight this now to stay within your current approval which didn't trigger CIL in the first place. Of course the council want you to do a new application which will trigger CIL and will legally allow them to bill you £52k. It makes a wee bit of sense when you think about it that way.

Just getting on with it could prove to be a costly mistake. There'd be an obvious second floor staircase in the large gallery entrance that the bitter architect across the road, who put an objection in would soon notice. Old bugger would gladly report it, especially after I, a bricklayer, made him look a fool to the council when I countered his objection.

Having finally secured the funding for my build, it turns out I've got a bit more money than what I expected when I originally put in planning permission. I've now decided that I'd like to put attic trusses on and claim an extra two rooms. The problem is, I wanted to start in a few weeks. I've already got the cil exemption but I'm not sure how it would work if I need to do a modified application for the additional rooms. I certainly don't want to fall into the trap of having started and then the council wanting £50k+ from me because my exemption is for a "different" application. Can anyone offer any advice? Do I have no choice but to wait until a new application is approved?

That's pretty much how it ended. What if I die? How will my wife do it was the quick summary. In the end they refused to look through the lense of doing it myself, it had to be through a project manager, paying a premium on everything. I've found another lender now who appears to be on board.

which is completely irrelevant to my original point which was that if I were to halve the size of the house by making it a bungalow, the roof would remain exactly the same and the "cost per sqm" would not halve.

I'm a builder, I've priced everything down to the last wall tie. No service connections are required, everything is already here. I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about RE roof. It's a trussed roof with no habital space in the loft. If I made the property a true bungalow, the roof would be exactly the same...

How much do you think concrete blocks, sand and cement, plasterboard, tiles, concrete, trusses and floor joist cost?

You have no idea what you're talking about.

it's worth north of £1,000,000 when finished.

my home won't meet the sap score required. I couldn't even get building regs without a heat pump. with 100mm cavity pir, insulated boards, areated blocks, heat pump and a roof full of panels, I still couldn't get the sap score for ecology

No idea, this only came about late Friday so we'll have to see what happens during the week.

That's all in, although there aren't any service connections required or any prelims required.

I'm 6 weeks into an application for a self build, tax returns checked and approved etc, and the qs check, if you can even call it that, has just completely messed it up. Labour costs are minimal, around £30k, as its going through the family business, it's materials only really. The total estimated build cost is £200k, £170k of which is materials. The broker (who I won't name but has been very helpful, no complaints) came back to me and said the qs has said estimated build cost is £400k-£700k based on their own cost per sqm. As far as I'm concerned, this is nonsense. That's the price an indulgent accountant or lawyer might pay a project manager to do the build for them. It's not the price i will be paying, not even close. I've been very clear about the minimal labour costs to the broker, but it seems the lender has just ignored them. I also find "cost per sqm" a very strange way of costing up. It's a two story property, so if I were to halve the size of it by making it a bungalow, the build cost would not halve as the foundations, roof, and floor slab are the same regardless. Conversely, going from bungalow to two story does not suddenly double the cost. Are there any lenders who actually look at your costings (or will price it accurately themselves) rather than just doing a basic cost per sqm?

When I said 165 sqm, that's the ground floor space for the underfloor heating, then there's the upstairs which is the same size with another 4 radiators and 4 bathrooms radiators. I'm assuming the smallest heat pump will not suffice but am happy to be proven wrong.

That's perhaps a bit optimistic, especially as I don't want the cheapest, nastiest ashp, and I'll need a 200l cylinder. Having just had a look at screwfix though I was pleasantly surprised by the prices, maybe it will come in under £10k all in.

£10k was a number I put in for easy maths, but if someone were to offer me a heat pump, tank and underfloor heating system suitable for 165 sqm for £10k then I'd take their hand off.

Thanks everyone for the help. I guess I need to be more assertive when saying it's 0% vat. I should point out that the guys who have been round were probably only in their mid twenties, new in business and didn't really understand. I don't understand it myself fully, hence why I offered to buy everything myself. But using my sums earlier, if someone buys £10k + VAT worth of kit and then passes it on to me for £10k, they then have to find the extra £2k VAT in the interim until the claim it back I guess I need an established tradesmen who's done this before and isn't penny pinching to the point where they can't make up the short term VAT

So is it normal for a plumber to buy a heat pump for £10k + vat and then pass it on to the customer for 10k and pay out the 2k vat themselves, to claim it back themselves whenever they do their next return? Am I missing something here? I've had two plumbers round and both seemed very perturbed about the idea of zero vat and were saying things along the lines of "oh well we do vat returns every few months so can sort you out shortly after we've done the work" which doesnt sound right and a bit of an accident waiting to happen.

I'm starting my build in a few weeks, and the only personnel I don't have on board yet is a plumber. I suspect I'm putting them off because I've told them I want a price for labour only (vat free obviously) and I'll get materials, whatever they want. I've explained that I want to be in complete control of vat return to HMRC and I don't want to be waiting on anyone for receipts or for them to do their vat returns as it's time sensitive. The less points of failure, the better. As the plumbers quite rightly want to spec the ASHP and underfloor heating, they probably can't be bothered with me getting involved in purchasing the materials. I was wondering what approaches others have taken in a self managed build (I'm the builder and will be purchasing everything at trade price) in approaching plumbers and the best way to go about it?

The cynic in me worries that this is another booby trap. On the one hand, it says granted on the portal. On the other, the actual decision letter is not, nor has it been sent to my architect. This is one of the reasons I started this thread, is this potentially an elaborate loophole? I'll email them tomorrow about this very issue.

Wow, I can only imagine that paranoia. My CIL officer has been neutral at best, certainly not helpful. The email debacle "oh but we've sent it three times now" has lowered my trust in them even more. I can receive all emails from them other than the one that contains the documents I need, how very odd 🤔 When the documents came through the post, I emailed for confirmation that my exemption was in place and all I got back was "you need to follow the steps laid out in the documents we sent you". I don't trust them at all.

I don't actually need the manufactured joists, building regs drawing states 220x75mm c24 at 5.3m long, 400 centers. That equates to 75 of them which will come in at £3.5k At that price, I wondered perhaps if manufactured joists may be a better option. I imagine a company making them would be able to spec them themselves with a layout plan.