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Honestly. Needed background/sky line of planets etc. Claudes first "demo" was basically like a BBC BASIC attempt. 2d circle and some ellipsoid clouds. Exactly what Chat would do i.e. CHEAP AND CRAP. Getting chat to improve on that is possible but hard work. Had a proper chat with Claude and it did a new "demo ". Took every technical detail in for how to render at low cost but look stunning. It's new demo blew my mind! To be clear these aren't static renders these are cheap to render 3d meshes. Claude's been busy now for 18 minutes as it integrates this into my procedural worlds!

10K is correct. That's what I charge.

@Wadrian . I did it. That's all you need to know for how easy it was. I think from memory and some years ago unit and pipework maybe 3k ish.

seems even manufacturers are going to need to retest or reformulate their products for our planets ever increasing temperatures

18mm OSB painted white? Easy to fix to.

Some ICF suppliers will provide a design layout, for illustrative purposes only, perhaps that can be had and use that and their own ignorance and on you can get

Can this not be done under a building notice ? Is that still allowed? 30 years ago we built a much larger side extension under a building notice with a very good builder and it was a cost effective way to nearly double the size of the house.

Like these charcoal blocks. Basically as @Russell griffiths says finish slab inline with internal wall

One approach is to look at what the cost/sqm is going to be. Compare with the cost/sqm of similar property on RightMove. Think about long term needs/plan. Yes moving costs and stress are high, and there can be reasons to 'build at a paper loss' if other factors come in. But you should know what your economic justification is.

Are you any good at plastering? If not then I would go for a rolled on finish somewhat like artex or masonary paint.

Good morning . I would like to apply a thin coat of render or plaster to cover up the brick and make nice, unified walls in my garage/ workshop. All I want to achieve here is a reasonably smooth white wall and to make the place brighter, more enjoyable to work. The internet says the cement render should be applied at a minimum thickness of 16+mm in 2 coats. Silicone renders are faff with fibre mesh. At that point, I am leaning towards something like Toupret Joint, Skim & Fill product, which can be applied to anything at any thickness (it would eliminate all the hassle with reinstalling electric sockets etc. Is there any better way of achieving what I am looking for? Is my current idea wrong for some reason? All advice is welcome.

Spot on as usual. There has to be someone on a build that is good with detail and can discuss detail. I mean 'detail' can actually just mean having actually looked at the drawings at all ! When seeing previous work and customers definitely go prepared with list of specific questions and willing to dig down a bit. A quick look around and general chit chat with Mrs Smith isn't going to shed much light. Can they give you an example of an issue that came up and how it got resolved ? Did they have effective review meetings ? Was the actual builder on site - every day - once a week - once a month ? Did people turn up ? Did anything get redone or corrected ? Costs ? Schedule ? If the customer doesn't know then chances are they can't really give any insight into the builders competence. Perhaps the foundations are made of cream cheese - Mrs Smith wouldn't know.

This is going to be very expensive to build to turn a smallish bedroom into a bigger one and add a porch - if you ignore how much you've already spent, are you 100% this is the best way to improve your house and meet your needs? Sunk cost is painful but not a good reason to keep spending more money. I appreciate I'm not in your shoes but I struggle to see this being worth the cost and disruption

Have you also covered your roof light?

I think you may need additional funding to stop the project running into the sand. If you share some figures it may help. You will need to get valuations that are in excess of the amount you have spent, so including a proportion of the future finished value may help.

Presumably all bills are paid so you have invested deeply. I can see that this very small extra floor could greatly improve the upstairs room. The SE sounds OK. Don't burn bridges but ask for all the work so far and you will " come back to them". Did the architect select them? So may be close, which isn't bad in itself. Ask for all thearchitects's work too, incl any correspondence. Same excuse.. it's on hold but I'll have what I've paid for. I fear it will be surprisingly little. Especially ask for all enquiries and responses re building over the drainage..... I do think that should have been concluded before planning. Talk to the architect ASAP. Then find that builder. The cheapest is unlikely to be best value but you never know. £20k + vat, off the top of my head, to include bco , and that should include all except an SE visit. But do nothing until the drain issue is permitted.

+1 The extension only gains about 4m2 and you have to mess with joining ceilings and floors, plus insulation continuity. Nightmare of a job.

Now I’ve seen this, the architect is appearing to be another self-perpetuating over inflator, as this is just soooooo simple and straightforward. Local, reputable builder will do this with one eye closed. M&E??? “Where would you like the 3x switches and 3x sockets, sir?” 🤦‍♂️. Get a set of construction drawings, A3 for your reference, and laminated A2 for site / contractors use, and sit with the builder to go through every stitch of the detail (when vetting builders) and see what they spot, comment on, and how engaged they are. Then, when you’ve decided on ‘the one’ you need to go and see their previous work, in person, and possibly align so its the right time of day to speak to them face to face to see if it all went well etc.

Turn the membrane upwards against the outer side of the outer leaf of blockwork, then lay your driveway up against it.

I bought mine from Outsourced Energy, not sure if they still sell them. Hep2O do them. Also a quick search https://www.google.com/search?q=valved+water+manifold&client=ms-android-oneplus-terr2-rso3&hs=auXV&sca_esv=3b84e253abc71a61&sxsrf=APpeQnuZRlilx-yilcXRHpmgyLjX5DCNig%3A1783403463600&ei=x5NMarudJImchbIPtaSIsAI&biw=360&bih=664&oq=valved+water+manifold&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIhV2YWx2ZWQgd2F0ZXIgbWFuaWZvbGQyBxAjGLACGCcyCBAAGAUYDRgeMggQABgFGA0YHjIIEAAYBRgNGB4yCBAAGAUYDRgeMggQABgFGA0YHjIIEAAYBRgNGB4yCBAAGAUYDRgeSIkuUNAiWMokcAF4AZABAJgBgAKgAaIEqgEFMC4yLjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgOgAsQCwgIEEAAYR5gDAOIDBRIBMSBAiAYBkAYEkgcDMS4yoAeyEbIHAzAuMrgHuwLCBwUyLTEuMsgHHYAIAA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

Thanks @JohnMo any recommendations on where to source manifolds for this in uk? I can find lots of ufh manifolds but struggling with domestic water distribution. Thanks

Very true. A 3x MPPT hybrid inverter may be a better solution. Assuming a DC battery. If AC coupled battery any 2x MPPT inverter in addition to the existing inverter would be fine. Just need to manage the export limit.

Chat GPT... (Gonna be above that every afternoon from Wed through to the middle of next week. FFS. How long does it take to lay a floor ? About 6 months. 2 Weeks work and 5.5 months playing the hokey cokey.)

Yes Have a laugh at the pic. NASA operation sun screen - see pic - £10 off Amazon but too flimsy to tape to the outside in the breeze. Not sure it was doing that much but today was cooler. A bit like that foil they wrap round people with hypothermia.

Guy just said 'I am not doing that'. Seems difficult to square with Amtico recommending dry laying and the contractor being an Amtico Premier partner. You would have thought he could at least say, 'it will take longer to lay that way so there will have to be a price increase'. It would have helped if he had at least said something like, these planks vary a lot, do you want to have a look before and as I start laying ? When I raised it he said 'I can't take these up again'. Once his boss came to look at the manufacturing faults they had spotted (but only mentioned to their boss and not to me). The boss said these will all have to come up - and come up they did. Kitchen fitter called today too, saying he intends to come early. Tomorrow I am calling the kitchen company to bend their ear. I have had to wait 6 weeks for them to get missing parts. I sent them a gantt chart showing the earliest 2nd fit date. They are supposed to be coming later not now. I am not having it. They insisted on being paid 100% on delivery. Now I have 90% of a kitchen, they couldn't even be bothered to tell me when the parts had arrived, and they want me to renegotiate dates with their sub contract fitter. As ever, once people have your money they take their eye off the ball. This job isn't running to other people's convenience, it is running to a sequenced plan.