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To understand what the optimal worktop is, you'd have to know what you care about. Separately, it'd be good to know if all worktops of the same material behaves exactly the same. For example - are all quartz worktops equally easy to stain? Does anyone know a list? I'd love to see something like: wood (type?) - easy to stain by water - easy to stain by curry - impossible to crack - heat resistant up to 100C corian - heat resistant up to 200C - impossible to stain by water.. - easy to crack .. etc Or am I wrong? Is there a perfect uncrackable, unstainable, super heat resistant material? Obviously price is also a thing but let's start with does it even exist?

As a sanity check yes.

Have you got a copy of SPONS? Maybe more useful at this stage than a spreadsheet.

Our planners wanted a professional company to design our root protection zone but I simply contacted the councils own department for trees etc and gave them a plan showing 1meter high sheep fencing on posts around the area and they agreed that would suffice, I then told the planners their own in house “experts” agreed with my plan which gave them no ammunition to make me spend more money ?

Resistant = resists, not 100% proof against, however the crazing of the surface is a good camouflage if you fail to use a chopping board. Objectively, on the Mohs scale of hardness / scratch resistance - where 10 is most resistant - Glass (and therefore glazed lavastone) comes in at 5 with marble at 4. Granite scores 6, Dekton is rated at 8, diamond at 10 (if you afford diamond worktops). However Dekton can chip, granite and acidic foods don't mix, etc...

I doubt that your project would be of sufficient scale for you to be treated as a wholesaler by manufacturers. In the event that you persuade them as a small unknown buyer you will be offered their worst terms (price & payment), even if you are buying by the artic-load. Transport costs have skyrocketed (along with demand for building products), managing logistics & customs would be challenging. As a self- manager of the project organising labour will be like herding cats. A job requiring a week’s labour from each of three trades could easily take over two months….. once you have found people to do it, which itself could involve several months wait. I have almost finished a self-managed build, it has taken well over twice as long as it could have if it moved seamlessly forward & has cost considerably over £2k/m2 (all costs, inc. fees & demolition, exc. plot). Access wasn’t ideal, the ground was good. The design could have been more cost-efficient (but we like it), the spec is pretty good, but not extravagant. There is a fine margin between confidence/optimism & delusion, misjudging it could be very costly.

I managed everything myself and procured everything that I was involved in apart from plaster procured his own materials. roofer procured his own materials. groundworker procurered his own materials stonemason procured his own materials.

no clue right, but that is so weird, I've never seen that - not that I have seen that many carpets before. but my gosh. i imagine the guy thought it would be stretched with the carpet (the underlay?). And this install, was £100 and it was a bodge.

Are you thinking it should be more or less. If you think it’s less in this current world we are in you are dreaming. the only way to bring it in cheaper is to do 90% of the work yourself or build something just as bad as the bulk house builders.

I've never worked through a Class R, so am not aware of the intricacies, but, if the land and building met the requirements for a Class R change of use to to flexible business Use, does it not meet the requirements for a Class Q to C3 residential? You've mentioned "dilapidated", perhaps Class Q has a higher bar for being structurally capable of conversion? Once the development is capable of being Used, within its new Usage category, the material change of Use occurs. But, that still allows a permitted (but not actioned) Change of Use to be taken in to consideration by the LPA when considering a subsequent Planning Application. ie. LPAs should consider an existing Approved Class Q as material, if a Full planning application is submitted for the site.

Your project appears, at this remove, to be complex. To me, that means you should consider appointing a local planning consultant. We are merely interested (not to say nosey) amateurs Have you looked at Martin Goodhalls blog. Here's what he has to say about Class R

I think it depends on the tank - not all package treatment plants are equal. For example, the vortex that @joe90 mentions above spurs the air from the blower off into three areas - one to breakup the incoming waste, one to aerate the broken down waste (where the main treatment occurs) and one for a vacuum to recycle the sludge back into the incoming waste (the vortex is a bit unique in this case as it is one of the few plants that can be adjusted for low occupancy). What should be common to all EN certified plants is that they aerate the waste, so digestion is aerobic, rather than anerobic as for a septic tank. Whether they then move the sludge about using air is a bit dependent on the plant I think.

do a sanity check Your purchase costs to date = X Your projected build costs at £2000 m2 = Y Does X+ Y = what the new build be worth ?

Is there a fan isolator switch (there usually is) If so turn that off, it isolates neutral as well.

You're fine, other than the obvious lack of hands on electrical skills.... Touching neutral or live to earth with the RCD on and the MCB off will inevitably ( nuisance ) trip the RCD. That's normal / expected, so nothing to worry about there. Yes, isolate the live, neutral and earth wires from the rose to the pull-cord and that's you done in terms of electrical isolation / making the pull-cord and fan safe for removal. FYI you should not be testing continuity with cables connected, as that can yield misleading results.

The RCD will trip if your neutral and earth touch even with the mcb switched off.

And you need the PVU glue too - expands and makes a mess but that is the idea.

Don't have a spreadsheet that high level but was in a similar position when we bought our plot with a tired 1950's detached 3 story house on it. At this initial 'either / or' stage then you're better off working to a £/M2 figure. Talk to architects and builders. Find local people who have done similar (self builders love to share stories). A couple of questions based on our experience. Is there a fundamental problem with the existing (aside from general condition) i.e. is it badly orientated on the plot, very poorly insulated etc? Do you have a scheme for the re-build vs the refurb, has an architect done some thumbnail sketches ? How radical would the refurb be? We have friends who basically ended up with about 3 walls and a slab before building back. In our case the existing was at an angle to the large garden behind it and was not cavity built. While we could have rectified that somewhat with refurb and extension, would have been a lot of work. The clincher for us was that a new build is zero rated for VAT, has fairly predictable costs and complexity (cost) can be designed in or out according to your budget. We were able to build a high performance (i.e. low energy), aesthetically pleasing house, well orientated on the plot in a reasonable time frame (12 months construction). Also included a basement which would never have been an option in a refurb. No-one could give us a fixed price for a refurb, new build elements (extension) were easier to cost but the problem with a refurb was you don't know what you're dealing with until the house gets stripped back and there can be surprises that cost a lot of money. We spoke to quite a few people who had completed projects and many said that they wish they'd been brave enough to just knock it all down and start from scratch. We certainly did not regret it at all, however it's a leap of faith to do it. A QS is indeed worth the money and are are often not that expensive in relation to the overall budget. However they will only work off a reasonably detailed set of drawings, which as you say also cost money and imply you have already received PP. They're best employed to get a working costing of the final scheme and to look for economies / opportunities to save money and to keep track of costs. I'd caution that if the cost of drawings or QS is putting you off at this early stage, you'd better get used to spending a lot more on services before a spade goes in the ground - it's one of the often forgotten costs in a project. However one benefit of demolish and rebuild is that all services and access is in place, often one of the largest 'starting costs' in a new build.

I'm confused by that image - that looks like a massive gap between the frame and cill - surely the sill gets mounted to the frame first so you shouldn't have that in the first place? And the gap in the sealant looks on top of what is a substantial thickness of sealant, + protected by a UPVC overhang - I'm amazed that much water can enter at that angle! If you're saying that the leak is coming in from the middle, rather than the edges (more usual) then it's likely leaking through a poorly sealed fixing (screwhole in the sill)? Otherwise I'm not sure how it would track to the middle without getting to the edges. If that's the case then just sealing the bottom of the frame to the sill might not help, since the water might be coming in from around the sash (is it an opening window? flush casement or storm proof?) , and trickling down the frame. Terrible drawing attached.

More common these days maybe to use Enthalpy exchanger rather than heat exchanger (so ERV rather the [M]VHR system), to recover latent as well as sensible heat from the outgoing air. This is generally not needed in UK with its low altitudes and moist marine climate. However if you're heating the house via forced air (i.e. if you were using FCU) then this can dry the air out more, so using ERV can avoid further loss of air moisture.

None on mine either - a condensate pipe to waste comes off the bottom of the unit though.

An example that may be of interest is Friends of ours have more or less completed there third self build The firs one in the 80s second late 90s Hes a now retired QS mans while they haven't done any of the work this time They engaged a main contractor Here goes They have built a 5-7 bed 3400 square feet I think that’s including the attached garage but not sure It’s a tradition built bolted kitchen and master bed The 6-7 beds cover the top floor No escape routes so can’t be classed as bedrooms 3 ensuite baths and one main The figure they are currently at is 370k No landscaping yet and a 50m2 bonded resin dry still to install and pay for 10 k in vat due back As I’ve said he hasn’t done any of the physical work But has done the drawings and planning But has found some amazing deals on materials

We finished our 5 bed traditional build two years ago at £820 m2 We are almost there securing a second plot and don't expect to spend more than a £1000m2 Good luck with your build 2k is a healthy budget

I don't know about other brands but the Zehnder has this built in: https://www.zehnder.co.uk/download/29630/118734/en_uk-72926.pdf "Humidity sensors to operate the unit in response to humidity spikes above natural background humidity levels as opposed to a single threshold humidity point to activate the high set point Humidity boost continuously monitors the humidity level within the home and looks for a man-made spike before boosting the unit, irrespective of distance or dilution" I also trigger a boost when the showers or hob or oven are in use. I haven't yet worked out a boost when the cat lays a stink bomb.