Building a dwelling house on the farm ...

Happy at it · Apr 18, 2017

Just thinking about a new house and was thinking on the best way to go about it, bringing in trades ourselves or to get a contractor to do all . Struggle to get enough time to get the work on the farm done as it is, so was thinking of the later. has anyone experience of building their homes and could advise either way?

Also is it possible, to claim any capital allowances for any aspect of the build. Having spoken to some, who have put the whole job through the farm books as expenses, I was unsure how this would ever stand up to an inspection....
Cheers.

lim x · Apr 18, 2017

If you don't know any trusted tradespeople I'd get a main contractor in....we found the trades unreliable and quality of work poor. I lost count of the times my OH said,"I'll redo it". They really can spoil your project and put you on a downer.

slackjawedyokel · Apr 18, 2017

We built our farmhouse five years ago. We were very lucky because there's a builder in our nearest village had built houses for three people we know and no-one has a bad word to say about him. House was built well and (approx) to time and everyone's very happy. We used the builder as a main contractor - much easier to have him chivvying the chippies, plumbers and electricians (I've used the same electricians and plumbers since on other projects and it's like herding cats).
Ours is a large stone /blockwork house and took around 10 months start to finish, including demolition of the old farmhouse and excavating a storey.

slackjawedyokel · Apr 18, 2017

My bro-in-law has been extending their house into old byres next door, handling much of the main work themselves (underpinning, shifting doors, landscaping), bringing in trades for plastering, windows, electrics, plumbing, tiling and so on. Nearly finished and it looks fantastic but they are entering the fourth year of dust and rubble.

Find a builder you trust and take it from there!

nick... · Apr 19, 2017

I'd get a builder too and pin him down to times aswell.id not use individuals as they all rake the pee and drag things out.half the chaps who done my pig shed devolopment took the pee despite knowing them and working with them for years.id never use them again and they cost me time and money.the rest were great and could not do enough to help.with self employed men you will find they are often unreliable too helping their regular customers before you.good luck
Nick...

Yale · Apr 19, 2017

Difficult one really.

We 'project managed' ours with the help of a one man band small scale builder.

We then got the different trades in while our guy saw to the in between stuff and carpentry.

Tried to do as much as we could ourselves however it was difficult to balance the farm and building the house.

This was 15 odd years ago and have still got some cosmetic jobs to finish.

Still Farming · Apr 19, 2017

Have you got planning .
What's your route in getting a new farmhouse.
Guess you already got a farmhouse there ?

Deereone · Apr 19, 2017

We built ours ourselves, it is very satisfying/exhausting.

Don't move in until it's finished or it may never be.

marcusthehat · Apr 19, 2017

We "built" our own house in 1996-2017, moving in before the winter of 1997.
Mostly "by the grip" as it is described over here.
As a result the house is still a "work-in-progress" despite the family having grown up and away to houses of their own.
Since I am retired I may actually get it near-enough finished for my own wake in 20 to 25 years.
Or that is at least my intention.
p.s.
The statement;
"You need to build a second version of your first attempt, on the exact same site, to get it right"
best expresses the frustration of getting it right first time.
good luck
mth

Lazy Sod · Apr 19, 2017

I bought a house and employed a local firm of builders to extend it slightly and refurbish it throughout. We moved in 5 years ago. By and large the tradesmen employed were very good, apart from the plumber who needed to go on a "how to tighten up joints" course. We had several water leaks, one of which completely soaked the newly laid bathroom carpet. It was lifted and placed on some trestles in the garage. Fortunately it dried out and went back down satisfactorily. The builder had to replace some of the chipboard flooring and redecorate the hall ceiling though.

My main complaint was the fact that the builder was too mean. I thought that it was a given that, these days, plumbers would fit shut off valves below each sink and bath tap. When I complained to the builder, he said that it was not a buildings regulation requirement. So that's all right then. They fitted a built in microwave oven that was much too small. I made them change it and they wanted to charge me for the refitting. I thought that the builder quibbled a lot about the inevitable snags and was too keen to charge for putting them right, particularly after some months.

The whole job took about 5 months to complete, and to be fair to them they had somebody there almost every day. We spent a lot on extras, adding to the original specification, that I drew up. When it came to the cost of the extras, I felt that I was at a disadvantage when it came to challenging the cost of them.

If I was doing it again, I would definitely employ some sort of professional consultant, not necessarily a full blown architect, to stand between me and the builder, to check on the work and back me up.

2wheels · Apr 19, 2017

don't pay the buggers until you get the completion certificate.

Deereone · Apr 19, 2017

"don't pay the buggers until you get the completion certificate.

"

You won't be able to claim your VAT back without a completion cert.

Sonoftheheir · Apr 19, 2017

My builder sent me monthly invoices for work done. Still was able to claim the vat back at the end.

Mine wasn't put through the Farm though. You'll have to speak to your account about how you could do it?

ollandroverman · Apr 19, 2017

Sonoftheheir said:
My builder sent me monthly invoices for work done. Still was able to claim the vat back at the end.

Mine wasn't put through the Farm though. You'll have to speak to your account about how you could do it?

new builds are zero rated

ollandroverman · Apr 19, 2017

2wheels said:
don't pay the buggers until you get the completion certificate.

You can hold a retention on the last payment to give incentive to the contractor/builder to finish the work to a good standard, but nobody is going to risk laying so much money and so many materials out on a job if the money isn't forthcoming.
Your builder is not a bank

nick... · Apr 19, 2017

Normally hold 10k for snagging.builder who i do groundwork fir normally sorts problems for up to a year
Nick...

andybk · Apr 19, 2017

yes did all the house (1000sq/ft )between father and myself and converted our large loft , did all except plastering and top of gable ends block work , even dug the footings , lived in a caravan , never want to go on a caravan holiday ever again though , just had to crack on late evenings + weekends , that said , excluding the plot it cost £12500 for everything except legal work this was 1990 though and into a recession, plenty going bust , so very cheap inputs , , blocks from local source (seconds but quality high density came out at 20p each even had enough left over to build father an extension ) , most everything else from sales and local ads (all new) . Have a lovely house now though no way could i ever have bought it or had it built .though hate diy / decorating now , much to wifes disapproval Worth doing if your keen , and hard nosed , just be prepared to screw all suppliers down till they squeek

suffolksmallholder · Apr 19, 2017

Probably the hardest bit is managing the project. If you can do this you'll have a LOT of work in a short space of time. Having all your materials on site is important. You can gather these over time but they must be there when you decide to start. If you can't or don't understand project managing a building project, employ someone who does.
The other important thing is to make all the importand structural/finish decisions before the start. Changing your mind is very, very expensive or you have to live with YOUR mistake! A QS is a good thing to have.
Otherwise it is a pleasurable experience. Don't run out of money!
SS

Turra farmer · Apr 19, 2017

Deereone said:
"don't pay the buggers until you get the completion certificate."

You won't be able to claim your VAT back without a completion cert.

If you use a reputable builder you won't be charged vat on a new build ,so will be nothing to claim back , use an nhbc registered builder to do the complete project ,

Turra farmer · Apr 19, 2017

2wheels said:
don't pay the buggers until you get the completion certificate.

Had a bad experience ?

Never pay up front I'd say

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