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Incidentally, just to completely Ferdinandize this thread, I was essentially declared clear of the Hairy Cell Leukemia this afternoon.

No problems with them, all flat and appear to be hard wearing as they have 4 dogs regularly tramping over them!

You forgot "jobsworths" ?

I built a one bedroomed timber framed, latch clad tiny house for £30,000.

Grip that metal thing with mole grips...and twist gently left and right. Worst that'll happen is you'll leave a bit of metal in there that'll rust then show through the grout line later on! ...or you could break the tile...

You've a lot of big windows and bifolds on the ground floor. I can't tell where north is. Has overheating been modelled? You'll need to spec very high spec triple glazed units if you don't want over heating in the summer and big heat losses in the winter. Our 3G bifolds are coming in at just under £10k for 5m span for top spec. In such a large house, insulation and airtightness will be critical in keeping running costs down. Has your architect discussed this with you? What levels of insulation are you aiming for? As for layout... It's all a bit ordinary tbh.. but I've a irrational distaste of square, hipped roof houses! You've limited scope with that form and they all end up the same. Is that a planning restriction or choice? I'd be expecting a large walk in wardrobe/dressing room for the master, and the 8m long living room is too big unless you plan to separate it with furniture like a tall bookcase.. You'd be looking to have at least 3m high ceilings in there or it'll feel like a cave. I don't think the kitchen is optimised. You'll want to see a kitchen designer sooner rather than later. Never found architects any good at kitchen layouts. I'd have a separate walk in larder/pantry rather than a single utility, and have the functional areas and island much closer together. You've space for a decent sized island with informal dining table attached (opposite of a breakfast bar). Function of utility and pantry are very different and you've got the floor are to easily have both. Boot room? Always good to have the mucky stuff come off in the same place in the house so mess of shoes, coats etc can be contained. A must in our design brief.

Just the first time...

I originally wanted to build straw bale (been on a couple of builds as a volunteer) but health and age (and Devon is sooo wet) precluded that method. If I was young and fit (and had the money) it’s what I would have loved to do. I even priced building a protective scaffold house so I could build “indoors” and not be controlled by the weather. Dreams eh!

Just to add a bit more for you freshy, in addition to the other comments. I’m assuming you have a big budget because you’re looking at building such a big house. As a result you want to build something impressive. That’s understandable. But big is not always impressive, I once went into someone’s self build who clearly were wealthy and their living room was easily 8x8m. It had two sofas and a tv in it, plus a couple of bits of furniture. It looked like a looted furniture store it was so unwelcoming. Unless you specifically need something so huge with so many huge living rooms downstairs, I would think about the space a bit more. A house of that size demands an impressive master suite with walk in wardrobe/dressing area. You definitely need a large family bathroom. Upstairs has a feel of a Travelodge. You need more storage both downstairs and upstairs. Double height / vaulted hallway? If that design was done by a qualified architect as a blank page creative design, I’d be a little concerned unless he was specifically told to draw that layout. With that size of build you could easily build something stunning.

I seem to remember flagging up issues with removing adhesive and the levelling things...

Noticed our skip company will take plasterboard in the skip but now say no foil backed boards or insulation backed board off cuts in skips. @Taff if you are doing this yourself why not line the room with vertical battens and infill with 25mm insulation and then tape it, allows you to easily first fix everything too. Then it’s a simple job to fit standard boards onto the battens and also allows you to do detailed air tightness at the junctions.

I just received mortgage offer today from ecology...so far so good. As per above. Build loan are part of buildstore....they are part of the buildstore process that will force you to pay 600 quid for a budget and cash flow...which is ridiculous. Fees for buildstore are at least 1500-2k mich more if you need an advance type mortgage. Ecology...300 quid. Plus 450 for valuations. Super easy so far. Recommended.

I've heard more bad than good about them...a lot more to the point I didnt even bother speaking to them. I heard nothing but good things about Ecology and as it stands they were the only ones I approached. Remarkably easy to deal with, all done via email and a couple of Skype calls. There's a few options out there but for me, I can thoroughly recommend Ecology.

I think it will have to be. If the Building Owner is to be given new responsibilities some legislation will be required so he can pass on the costs. In my relatives case the maintenance charge is nothing to do with the Freeholder. Until recently maintenance went into a fund (possibly a trust) managed by a residents association. The things they could collect funds for was limited by wording in the deeds. I don't think the freeholder has any powers to collect "maintenance". Indeed I have no idea how the freeholder pays for insurance given the ground rent for about half the flats is now £1 a year (which he doesn't collect). For another flat the leaseholders are shareholders (£1) in a company set up to administer maintenance. Again maintenance of that block is nothing to do with the Building freehold owner.

+1, my new build is brick and block with 200mm cavity, it’s the attention to detail that makes it “passive” and very comfortable to live in.

My preference these days is brick and block with a 150 or 200 blown bead cavity. It is quick and easy, and with adequate detailing can be airtight too. It’s also cost effective and a “known method” when it comes to finding trades.

This is an M10 coach bolt in stainless steel. See the square section on the shank, under the head? You drill a 10mm hole then tap the bolt home. The square wedges in the round hole and stops it turning whilst you wind the nut on. The one above has makers marks on the head but you can get them without. I used them on my front gate. Gives nice pinpoints of light against the black (imo). If using bright zinc plated coach bolts you can coat the shaft in grease where it passes through the wood.

Made to make your eyes water ...

Yeah...the time was THEN not NOW! ?

What will happen WHEN @Onoff breaths it in? - asking for a friend.