Knocking a house down

[difflock]

Unless it has changed, even a private individual, building a house to live in, can reclaim the VAT. Very common over here in N. I.

But not if renovating, which is a shame.

[peds]

21 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

 

Looking at your pic, and not knowing what sort of machinery you might have, my very first thought was, what a super task for a 6/7/8 series MultiOne with a range of suitable attachments (other, less capable brands exist) 

Ahh, I'd love some new toys, the problem is passing it through the budget with the wife. It's a small building, I'll be gutting it into the skip with sledge, pick, and elbow grease, then when it's ready we'll be getting a fella with a JCB to knock the walls, carry on with the lane, and prep the site for groundworks and foundations all at the same time. 

 

Wouldn't mind a wee loader in the future, but there's a few purchases in line before that.

[doobin]

Hire in a digger with grab, it'll only take a day. Sort the burnables, scrap and rubble out, you'll barely need a skip.

 

A MultiOne would be a help, but an excavator 3-5t with rotating/demolition grab would be even more help.

[lux]

I heard that (in the UK at least) they're are significantly tax incentives for knocking down/rebuilding compared to renovation. How true it is I don't know

Much cheaper. It’s exactly what I’ve done.
For a start you can reclaim your VAT

[peds]

35 minutes ago, doobin said:

Hire in a digger with grab, it'll only take a day. Sort the burnables, scrap and rubble out, you'll barely need a skip.

 

A MultiOne would be a help, but an excavator 3-5t with rotating/demolition grab would be even more help.

Thanks for the advice. We are trying to keep costs down as much as possible, but I can definitely see where putting a bit of money in would be worth it. That would make taking the roof off a lot easier. 

[doobin]

5 minutes ago, peds said:

Thanks for the advice. We are trying to keep costs down as much as possible, but I can definitely see where putting a bit of money in would be worth it. That would make taking the roof off a lot easier. 

I don't know how it works in Ireland, but over here skips are expensive as they have to factor in landfill tax. Skip companies laugh all the way to the bank when people put metal or rubble in a skip.

[Joe Newton]

1 hour ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

You can reclaim VAT on a commercial (possibly domestic too but not sure) new build project under most circumstances. 
 

Thats 20% straight away! 👍🏻

Something about the vat on a self build is zero rate for materials and labour, whereas you'll pay the full 20% on both for a renovation

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

18 minutes ago, peds said:

Thanks for the advice. We are trying to keep costs down as much as possible, but I can definitely see where putting a bit of money in would be worth it. That would make taking the roof off a lot easier. 

As Doobs says, mini digger self drive - certainly round here - is literally as cheap as chips! If you can combine the machine with a good driver you’ll save a bundle over skip hire. Probably something like a 3 or 4 to 1 cash saving I’d suggest. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by kevinjohnsonmbe

[Peasgood]

If you took the tin off carefully by hand someone would buy it off you, again might be different in NI but I doubt it.

They would probably buy any substantial roof timbers if they are anything other than rotten, looks like they should be ok under that tin.

The larger rocks should be re used as you have suggested you will, the old thatch/sod/turf roof should either spread on the land and disappear or maybe even burn.

The more modern extension roof would be ok for hardcore somewhere, the drive for example and maybe the wall material too depending what it is. I would minimise anything into a skip purely for the price and maximise reusing materials for the same reason.

[Macpherson]

You might be lucky and find some nice stone which you may be able to reuse as features in the house you build.. Lintels, quoins, cills etc.

 

I don't know what your local stone is like, but over here the older houses had first pick of what was lying around when they were built all that time ago, and often a lot of it is very reusable.

 

Obviously I've  no idea of your plans but you may get enough good stuff for a feature fireplace, porch or something, letting the old house live one.

 

I too will watch with interest, cheers.