About to begin work- please help! Now with photos

[oxalto]

It does look like a very interesting house - and what a project you have there.
Good luck with it all and do keep coming to us with questions!

The funny thing is that the outside looks very much better than the inside, which looks more like the "ghost" part of the pictures Gareth has been prompting us to look at (except in the previous residents' challenging colours)! I'll keep pics of those for when I start with the interior questions!

General update then: I've got BiffVernon to ask about windows, others to ask about Carpentry, but not too many offers of a good local builder used to using lime mortar, or a Carpenter who specialises in timber frame repairs. Any suggestions anyone, please?

 

[Feltwell]

As a matter of interest - did the council do the "less than fantastic" work after listing and without LBC?

My first LBC application was for a local authority for an alteration to their listed town hall, and I can say with certainty that the CO made no special exemptions (and neither should she have done). What we were doing was not very controversial though.

 

[Juju]

These are builders in Witney who have worked on listed buildings in/near my street but I have no idea what they're like other than that the properties look nice afterwards from what I can see!:
RMD Builders
Wychwood Building co
A E Oliver

Juju

 

[JoceAndChris]

The funny thing is that the outside looks very much better than the inside, which looks more like the "ghost" part of the pictures Gareth has been prompting us to look at (except in the previous residents' challenging colours)! I'll keep pics of those for when I start with the interior questions!

How lucky you are to have a historic interior! Sorry I can't help with tradesmen, but I would say go slow and take your time in finding the right people. And if a tradesmen says something historic and interesting is finished and has to go, get several other opinions before acting on that advice. I'm amazed at how much of the elderly fabric here has been given a death sentence by tradesmen looking for more work, and then been pronounced to be fine by more conservation-minded individuals.

 

[lou]

Hi Oxalto
Your house looks really interesting - with lots to do. After 18months, we recently got LBC and are just discovering the joy of zero VAT rating on all alterations and, I don't know if this applies to your new home, but we have also discovered that we pay VAT at 5% or less on almost all other work because the building hasn't been lived in for more than 2 years. Definitely worth ensuring that your builder/s are OK with this before starting any work because they have to purchase everything on your behalf and reclaim it.

Good luck with it all.

 

[oxalto]

As a matter of interest - did the council do the "less than fantastic" work after listing and without LBC?

My first LBC application was for a local authority for an alteration to their listed town hall, and I can say with certainty that the CO made no special exemptions (and neither should she have done). What we were doing was not very controversial though.

The council did indeed do all the work with no LBC but the council that owned it was not the same as the one that LBC came from - that's Oxford for you! The one LBC application that they did make was for the roof back in the 70s. We had to get the VOWH to come and agree that they wouldn't be prosecuting us for any other violations of LBC and forcing us to put it all right again. that said, most of what we want to do is exactly that! the worst crime was repointing the whole exterior in concrete quite recently. Thankfully they seem to have done a lousy job of that as well and most of it is flaking off, ready to be repointed in lime come the Spring. Our CO has required that we show a patch of the lime mortar for approval, however, as part of our approval!

 

[oxalto]

Hi Oxalto
Your house looks really interesting - with lots to do. After 18months, we recently got LBC and are just discovering the joy of zero VAT rating on all alterations and, I don't know if this applies to your new home, but we have also discovered that we pay VAT at 5% or less on almost all other work because the building hasn't been lived in for more than 2 years. Definitely worth ensuring that your builder/s are OK with this before starting any work because they have to purchase everything on your behalf and reclaim it.

Good luck with it all.

Excellent advice re VAT. I had definitely planned to look into this.

 

[AMc]

Once you've paid 20% on materials you won't be able to reclaim it as a self builder doing a new build or residential conversion can.

The builder doesn't reclaim the VAT - the builder doesn't pay VAT on their purchases and they charge the appropriate rate e.g. 0% rated for alterations and 5% for repair work on the building that isn't an alteration providing it meets the unoccupied rules - get that confirmed in writing before you start. The builder must be VAT registered and it is them (and their accountants) that have to be happy with the ratings of the work as they are liable for any mistakes.

[I am not an accountant or tax expert but have had some experience of this and the HMRC helpline was less than helpful]

 

[Lime]

I must say that the pictures remind me of a property I bought 40 years ago in similar condition.
I can still feel the buzz of excitement I felt then.

When using the phone in that old house, from that position it was possible to see 13 different wallpapers (all ghastly) and 9 hardboarded old doors all with nylon ballcatches fitted in place of the original locks.

(except in the previous residents' challenging colours)

Would orange be one of the colours? :roll:

 

[Flyfisher]

Good VAT advice from AMc, which exactly matches my experience. There seems to be no mechanism to reclaim any VAT so you have to ensure you are not charged for it (where appropriate) in the first place. Thus, a discussion with all contractors is essential before the work begins.

 

[oxalto]

A good number of people have been offering advice on VAT relief, but I am really unclear as to what rate things may be charged at. My understanding is that any new work is 0% rated, any alterations are the same (what consitutes an alteration?) and repairs are usual 20% rate. However the house has been unoccupied for over 2 years (over 3 years for one side) so would that mean that all work which would normally be 20% falls to 5% or not?

Clearly I need to ensure that all workmen know and agree to do the zero rating in advance, but if I am buying things myself at a building supplier, can I ask for VAT to be removed? Is it possible for a private individual to become VAT registered and is it worth bothering? How wide ranging is VAT relief? Can one expect to get a skip VAT free for all alteration and new work - it would seem only fair!

 

[El Greyo]

Hello Oxalto

There seem to be a few of us not far from Oxford - we're just south. I remember seeing your house advertised for sale as we had an eye out at the time for an old house (and we got one).

We are getting John Guest (http://www.oxfordlimemortar.co.uk/)to do a bit of brick work for us soon. He hasn't yet done the work but he specialises in lime and old houses. We had him round to look at our house and had a good chat with him and he certainly seems to know his stuff. He might be worth contacting although he's got a long waiting list.

 

[Maddie-Rose]

Hi I'm also new here

Just wanted to say, your house is beautiful, good luck with the long road ahead with doing it yourself. I'm still going 15 years on! But it will be so worth it in the end..

 

[Absonoralonee]

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[middi]

What's that !!!!!!, Jamaican Russian ?

Middi

 

[oxalto]

I must say that the pictures remind me of a property I bought 40 years ago in similar condition.
I can still feel the buzz of excitement I felt then.

When using the phone in that old house, from that position it was possible to see 13 different wallpapers (all ghastly) and 9 hardboarded old doors all with nylon ballcatches fitted in place of the original locks.

(except in the previous residents' challenging colours)

Would orange be one of the colours? :roll:

Orange and every other colour under the sun (or not known to nature) as ling as it isn't a normal pleasant one! It seems that they decorated the whole house using sample bottles of plastic paint. They also had a slightly concerning penchant for stencilled fairies.....
My wide has been getting to work with the steamer and is gradually winning the war on plastic paint! She is actually grateful for the areas od woodchip wallpaper which do at least come off easily!

 

[oxalto]

Hi I'm also new here

Just wanted to say, your house is beautiful, good luck with the long road ahead with doing it yourself. I'm still going 15 years on! But it will be so worth it in the end..

Thank you! We had a really good day in the house yesterday and I'm feeling energised again now. I'm sure that there will be many highs and lows over the next 25 years in the house! We're making one area into a Granex for the in-laws and intend to move into there ourselves in our dotage. We're in our early 30s at the moment!

 

[CatherineB]

Granex, I like that, haven't heard it before!

Not sure whether your other half will appreciate being called your WIDE, though :wink:

 

[Penners]

Granex, I like that

I don't. Sounds like a high-fibre breakfast cereal to me.

 

[Penners]

The builder doesn't reclaim the VAT - the builder doesn't pay VAT on their purchases

Having posted an unhelpful grump above, I should just try to be a bit more helpful by clarifying a small aspect of AMc's point. In order for this whole zero VAT thing to work, your builder must be VAT-registered. Not all of them are.