Q: We plan to build an extension in our back garden but there is a manhole cover where we want to put it. What do we do? A: The situation depends on whether the pipe and manhole it provides access to relates to a drain or a sewer. The difference is a simple one – a drain serves only your property while a sewer serves two or more buildings. Building over a drain is relatively straightforward in that it doesn’t involve having to deal with the local water company – though you will still need Building Regulations approval. You can divert or span existing drains as you wish – ultimately if you get it wrong, you’ll be the only one to suffer. When it comes to sewers, which don’t affect your property alone, a responsibility lies with you to get approval from the water company when building within three metres of a sewer. Each one has their own procedure but, depending on the width of the pipe, they will offer a form of prior approval system for smaller pipes. Larger pipes will need a more formal ‘build over arrangement’ or diversion design, which will be individually negotiated with the company in question. It can cost hundreds of pounds and take weeks, occasionally months, to process. Hence the importance of contacting your water company at the earliest opportunity as you plan your project.
Q: We want to convert our loft but have no idea what it might cost. Can you help? A: Loft conversions can vary significantly in size and scale – from the relatively modest adaptation of a loft in a terraced home into a room with rooflights, through to the fullscale construction project of a Mansard roof which looks much like a whole new storey on top of the house. The basic version, with new staircase, floor structure, insulation, new electrics and plumbing circuits, the creation of a bedroom with en suite, and a couple of rooflights for windows,
DID YOU KNOW? For ire safety in lot conversions, all habitable rooms must have an escape window, and the loor, stairs and doors of rooms on the route downstairs must have 30-minute ire resistance. Intumescent paints or stains for woods and metals add another level of protection. 157
FOR MORE PROJECT ADVICE, VISIT REALHOMES.COM/ADVICE
can be achieved for as little as £25,000 to £35,000. This figure can be reduced by taking on some of the building work yourself. The addition of dormer windows instead of rooflights can, depending on the size of the dormers, add another £5,000 to £10,000 onto the costs. A good benchmark budget for a full-service loft conversion should therefore be £45,000 to £55,000. A more significant loft conversion, which might involve major alterations/ rebuild of the existing roof structure, re-covering, new external walls and so on, might easily come to £100,000. One of the key variances that it’s difficult to predict is the cost of the labour. In the south east of England as well as many richer parts of other major cities, ‘package’ loft conversion companies are incredibly busy and, as a result, able to inflate their prices as demand increases.
#SOREALHOMES
Q: Is there any way of not paying VAT on my extension project? A: Unlike building a new house from scratch, alterations to existing houses (including extensions) are liable for VAT at the current rate of 20 per cent. It is, of course, illegal to avoid paying due tax, and all materials will be liable at full rate (people building new homes claim the VAT back). The interesting area comes where the builder might not be registered for VAT – i.e. has a yearly turnover below the current threshold for charging VAT, which is £85,000. In this case, a non-VAT registered builder will not be able to charge you VAT (even if they wanted to) and therefore you will save 20 per cent on the labour element of the project. You will most likely be paying for materials directly with the suppliers in order to reduce the impact on the builder’s turnover. In some cases, the builder might offer to carry out some of the work for cash (unlikely for a whole extension project but not uncommon for additional jobs over and above the initial contract). As the onus is on the trader to declare income and deal with any tax implications, there is no liability for you. However, you should be careful when paying cash for building work in that it’s likely there will be less recourse if things go wrong.