walls and barn conversion and BC

[LSB]

As part of our planning we have to keep the external walls of the barn.  But, these are single skin breeze block, so we are going to build a 2nd skin with cavity for insulation.

My question is, if you are building a new wall then BC look at the trench and onwards.

But, as we are only building the 2nd skin do we need an inspection by BC.

When I originally spoke to him he said that they only need to look at new walls, but at that time I hadn't appreciated about the 2nd skin.

 

[PeterW]

Engage your BCO, send the plans and then ask for an inspection schedule. That will then give you the answer to the question. 
 

In these sort of instances I would use a private company as they tend to be more forthcoming with the information and more flexible. 

[LSB]

5 hours ago, PeterW said:

Engage your BCO, send the plans and then ask for an inspection schedule. That will then give you the answer to the question. 
 

In these sort of instances I would use a private company as they tend to be more forthcoming with the information and more flexible. 

If I use a private company do I also have to take their warranty

 

[Temp]

No but it might work out cheaper as there would only be one lot of inspections instead of two. However you might consider more eyes are better.

 

[LSB]

16 hours ago, Temp said:

No but it might work out cheaper as there would only be one lot of inspections instead of two. However you might consider more eyes are better.

 

The thing is that we are considering not getting a warranty, we are going to be converting the barn step by step ourselves over probably 3-5 years as our forever hone.  So, a warranty works our very expensive and apart from the items that need legally signing off such as electricals and plumbing then we will be doing it ourselves.  

In that situation I'm not sure the warranty will mean much, it's going to be bad enough when we have to start paying building insurance.

As the barn is in one of our fields and we are not starting until next spring I'm going to get the insurance then.  We have been here 20 years and no one has ever shown any interest in it, so I don't feel that this is a huge risk until some thing starts happening.

 

[PeterW]

18 hours ago, LSB said:

If I use a private company do I also have to take their warranty

 

No. Private building control and warranty are two different things. Plenty of approved inspection companies out there, I use Meridian and always been impressed. 

[LSB]

2 minutes ago, PeterW said:

No. Private building control and warranty are two different things. Plenty of approved inspection companies out there, I use Meridian and always been impressed. 

thanks, I shall look into them, what is the cost of private inspection

 

[Temp]

6 hours ago, LSB said:

going to be converting the barn step by step ourselves over probably 3-5 years as our forever hone.

 

Might be worth  a look at some of the VAT threads. HMRC give you three months from completion to file your VAT reclaim but they have argued over the definition of completion when people take a long time to do the work or move in years before "completion". In some cases claims have been denied on the ground that the house was effectively  completed well over three months before the reclaim was submitted. It may help stave of problems if leave water and electricity idisconnected so it's clearly not officially habitable until nearer the time you are ready to get Building Control sign off and move in. That should also help to avoid paying council tax too early.

 

Likewise Building Control have been known to close a file if no progress is made for some time. Perhaps worth sending them regular updates to ensure they keep the case live.

 

 

 

 

 

[LSB]

On 17/10/2020 at 21:11, Temp said:

 

Might be worth  a look at some of the VAT threads. HMRC give you three months from completion to file your VAT reclaim but they have argued over the definition of completion when people take a long time to do the work or move in years before "completion". In some cases claims have been denied on the ground that the house was effectively  completed well over three months before the reclaim was submitted. It may help stave of problems if leave water and electricity idisconnected so it's clearly not officially habitable until nearer the time you are ready to get Building Control sign off and move in. That should also help to avoid paying council tax too early.

 

Likewise Building Control have been known to close a file if no progress is made for some time. Perhaps worth sending them regular updates to ensure they keep the case live.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this, we won't be moving in until it is finished, we are lucky that we live next door, but thanks for the heads up re BC 

We currently have electricity and water as a sub supply from our house so we can avoid implementing a new supply for quite a long time as the wall it enters the barn is staying.

I wonder how long I could get the new residents of our house to carry on paying once we've sold it ?

 

[Temp]

When you sell make sure your solicitor adds easements to the deeds to protect the services and your right to access them for maintenance.