Full DIY House Renovation...

[Ian H]

Are you having to pay 150% council tax yet?

 

[Adam182]

Are you having to pay 150% council tax yet?

I believe that is after 2 years.

 

[dishman]

do you actually pay council tax at the moment with the house being a shell?

Our local council allow zero exemptions unless it is classed as uninhabitable I think, is that what you have done?

 

[Ian H]

I believe that is after 2 years.

Ah yes, I just re read that you havmd been on with it since last year.

Our council give a free month, then 75% for 11months, 100% for 12 months then 150% till you move in.

In my case they send a summons for non payment of 150% after you after you have had the house for a year.

 

[Adam182]

do you actually pay council tax at the moment with the house being a shell?

Our local council allow zero exemptions unless it is classed as uninhabitable I think, is that what you have done?

Yep, gone are the days of any exemptions when it comes to council tax regardless of the state of the house in my area.

Ah yes, I just re read that you havmd been on with it since last year.

Our council give a free month, then 75% for 11months, 100% for 12 months then 150% till you move in.

In my case they send a summons for non payment of 150% after you after you have had the house for a year.

I actually hadn't heard of it until recently, so its useful to know, I would move in before they had my pants down for 150% regardless of its state.

 

[dishman]

I think you can technically de-register it, if uninhabitable, so exempt. But, that means it will be "re-assessed" when you re-register it. That could mean it gets re-assessed as falling into a more expensive tax band. Especially if you have extended in the mean time.

Just be glad we do no have the system in the US (maybe depends on state) where the tax is a sliding scale which is proportional to the size of your home and is constantly re-assessed.

I read that in a lot of the US versions of "DIY SOS big Build" where they go over the top and turn a small house in a poor area into a mansion, that after the cameras have left, a lot of the people get into debt. First, they can no longer afford the new council tax rate. Two, some re-mortgage their new, very expensive home and then when they do come to sell, no one wants to buy it because the house is over developed for the area it is in. So it hits the price ceiling for the area.

 

[Adam182]

I think you can technically de-register it, if uninhabitable, so exempt. But, that means it will be "re-assessed" when you re-register it. That could mean it gets re-assessed as falling into a more expensive tax band. Especially if you have extended in the mean time.

Just be glad we do no have the system in the US (maybe depends on state) where the tax is a sliding scale which is proportional to the size of your home and is constantly re-assessed.

I read that in a lot of the US versions of "DIY SOS big Build" where they go over the top and turn a small house in a poor area into a mansion, that after the cameras have left, a lot of the people get into debt. First, they can no longer afford the new council tax rate. Two, some re-mortgage their new, very expensive home and then when they do come to sell, no one wants to buy it because the house is over developed for the area it is in. So it hits the price ceiling for the area.

That would have been a good idea at the start, I feel we are so far in now its not really work the extra hassle and potential of a higher band!

I've never seen the US version of DIY SOS but I'm going to check it out, sounds like they crazy on them.


Heres an update to around early December.

Most notable work is -

Gas Meter/Mains fitted
Bathroom battened, insulated with 60mm Celotex, foamed, taped.
Front Bedroom Bay/Rafters insulated with 75mm Celotex, foamed, taped
Kitchen floorboards part removed in preparation for UFH
Studwalls planed for a more plumb/uniform finish
Stud walls insulated with 75mm Rockwool acoustic slabs
Began insulating upstairs ceilings with 100mm Knauf Earthwool
Backboxes fitted/chased for Power/Ethernet/HDMI/Coax
Some of the conduit for Ethernet/Coax/HDMI installed
First fix electrics started (first professional on site)

Living Room -

Kitchen/Dining Room -

Bathroom -

​

Back Bedroom -

Side Bedroom -

Front Bedroom -

​

​

Landing - ​

 

[domdee]

Its going to be warm with all that insulation!

 

[Adam182]

Its going to be warm with all that insulation!

Hopefully! Got 38mm gyproc thermaline PIR for all external walls aswell which should improve things a bit.

 

[dishman]

I can see the interior lintels are timber. As you have upvc, did you check if they bothered to put lintels on the outer leaf?

This has been the bane of my life recently, so I have become an obsessed single issue expert on it.....

 

[Adam182]

I can see the interior lintels are timber. As you have upvc, did you check if they bothered to put lintels on the outer leaf?

This has been the bane of my life recently, so I have become an obsessed single issue expert on it.....

The exterior brickwork above the windows is a soldier course with a shallow arch (if that is where you mean).

I have recently fitted new Upvc double glazing throughout and didn't have any issues.

 

[Adam182]

Here is another update taken around January 2018 -

Most notable work is -

2x2 wood and lat added to rafters throughout to allow for insulation and 50mm airgap behind.
75mm Celotex between rafters fitted from eaves up into loft, Foamed, Taped (temporaily vented behind with pipe lagging)
All upstairs ceilings insulated with 100mm Knauf Earthwool
New VEKA upvc windows throughout fitting started
First fix electrics complete
Front bedroom chimney breast width extended with built in shelving (to allow for a centrally positioned TV to be mounted on wall inline with bed)
Front bedroom fireplace converted into DVD/Freesat shelving
All upstairs room walls brushed and sprayed with PVA/Water mix
All upstairs rooms Ethernet/Coax/HDMI/Audio conduit installed (fully serviceable at key locations to allow for additional runs/upgrades)

Back Bedroom -

Side Bedroom -

Front Bedroom -

Landing -

New windows -

 

[SUNRAY]

Loads of work ther, very well done. The only thing that springs to mind that I would have altered is the 4x2's for the loft floor, assuming they are as it's distorted by your fisheye views.

I renovated my first house in early to mid 80's while still living with M&D and also went a lot further than I ever intended, my one big regret was I got plasterers in to do odd bits and pieces and regretted not stripping back to brick.

After that I rewired and replumbed a friends house, all the removed lead cable and piping [electricity, gas and water], really crappy cast iron bath and all taps more than paid for all of the new rewire, radiators, copper pipes & fittings, bathroom suit & kitchen taps. The money went into a cadburys roses tin and there was loose change in there when I went to buy the chaffy combi which was pretty much the last thing to buy.

 

[Adam182]

Loads of work ther, very well done. The only thing that springs to mind that I would have altered is the 4x2's for the loft floor, assuming they are as it's distorted by your fisheye views.

I renovated my first house in early to mid 80's while still living with M&D and also went a lot further than I ever intended, my one big regret was I got plasterers in to do odd bits and pieces and regretted not stripping back to brick.

After that I rewired and replumbed a friends house, all the removed lead cable and piping [electricity, gas and water], really crappy cast iron bath and all taps more than paid for all of the new rewire, radiators, copper pipes & fittings, bathroom suit & kitchen taps. The money went into a cadburys roses tin and there was loose change in there when I went to buy the chaffy combi which was pretty much the last thing to buy.

Thanks, I'm with you on the 4x2s and I did very much consider it when I had it completely stripped back. Its a bit of a strange setup though (to my knowledge) because the loft floor 4x2s don't fall onto a wallplate on either side of the house they just attach onto the rafters. I wasn't confident the extra weight of beefier timber wouldn't put unwanted stress onto the roof with this being the case. My plan was to just replace them one at a time but I backed out in the end.

I've resorted to trying to stiffen up the current timber with noggins to take away some of the deflection.

Its a shame scrap value is on its arse now, I had a load, 3 sets of wiring including a copper cylinder and copper piping and then all the lead and a big heavy metal tank that was behind a fireplace, along with a load of appliances and 5 storage heaters, I got £45 smh

 

[SUNRAY]

Thanks, I'm with you on the 4x2s and I did very much consider it when I had it completely stripped back. Its a bit of a strange setup though (to my knowledge) because the loft floor 4x2s don't fall onto a wallplate on either side of the house they just attach onto the rafters. I wasn't confident the extra weight of beefier timber wouldn't put unwanted stress onto the roof with this being the case. My plan was to just replace them one at a time but I backed out in the end.

I've resorted to trying to stiffen up the current timber with noggins to take away some of the deflection.

I get this as my current house has sloping ceiling in the upstairs rooms but the loft is ridiculously small because of it.

Its a shame scrap value is on its arse now, I had a load, 3 sets of wiring including a copper cylinder and copper piping and then all the lead and a big heavy metal tank that was behind a fireplace, along with a load of appliances and 5 storage heaters, I got £45 smh

I had to have a boiler replaced in a B2L flat Dec 2016, the plumber was horrified when I said I'd remove the redundant cylinder and a few bits of pipe which amounted to about 4metres, allegedly he had already allowed for £50 scrap in the quote. When I took some other stuff for scrap I asked about cylinders several months and they said around £50 depending on what it is. The value of iron and steel is almost nothing, £2 for a dishwasher but swapped it for a 1/2metre length of RSJ instead to make some brackets. Some places won't take storage heaters if they are the 'brick' type as the cost of losing the disintegrating concrete outweighs the scrap metal value. I have now learnt the importance of separating different metals, armoured cable is worth a lot more if the steel armour is presented pre stripped. I took 3cwt of cast iron soil pipe and fittings, the only reason they allowed me to leave it there was for the lead used to seal the joints.