Dreadnaught

In my opinion, the only options are obtaining comparable quotes or, as said, value engineering. It takes a surprisingly long time to save money and I work hard at it. It took me ages to eventually find an architect I was happy with, at a price that was attractive. And the same is now proving true for my timber-frame supplier. (I have only come a cropper once so far: with my drainage engineer has turned out to be a poor fit. I clearly made the wrong choice there.)

Interesting thought. Roughly how much was it and what distance @Russell griffiths? PM me if you prefer. Those are good points. Thanks.

Good point. But fortunately the roof joists will be full-filled with Warmcel insulation so the pipe will be very well insulated. I'd also run the pipe towards to the top of the insulation so its on the cooler side of the insulation. (I would also use a continuous pipe run as it ran through the joists, no joints. I wouldn't want to risk any leaks or have any joints that I cannot access.

Don't forget that it will need a condensate drain.

I am planning my water connection. Water main is in the access road. My utility/plant-room is on the opposite side of my plot (15 m away) right across a root-protection area (RPA). Which option to choose (see the image): Dig a 15m long trench across my plot for the water pipe, 750 mm deep, right across the RPA, with my arboriculturalist breathing down my neck. Dig a 3m short trench to the nearest part of the dwelling (a bedroom). Bring the water pipe inside the thermal envelope. Run a water pipe from there to the utility/plant-room through the posu-joist roof (its a bungalow with flat roof). Any problems with Option 2?

Big news for home automation: "Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance and board members form working group to develop open standard for smart home devices". Zigbee wins!? https://www.connectedhomeip.com https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/12/amazon-apple-google-and-the-zigbee-alliance-to-develop-connectivity-standard/

Good video! Interesting to see he puts even the 200 mm inlet/exhaust ducting in to the web-joists. I had planned for my build that it would go below the ceiling, boxed in. As his is a single-storey building, I wonder if he using blown-cellulose insulation in among the joists (a cold roof) or whether he has a warm roof with the insulation above the joists. (I am going for a cold roof for my modern bungalow.) If a cold roof, I wonder if the ducting could compromise the insulation.

@Nickfromwales, if you are iPad-proficient, consider Morpholio Trace and just import a set of plumbing symbols to you liking. With it you can just overly a PDF of the client's floorpan (or any pdf template) with lines and symbols as you like, and share easily. Its a superb app and getting a lot of buzz. https://www.morpholioapps.com/trace/

A helpful thread like this deserves a mention of SPONS: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Spon's_Price_Book. My own view on QS's based on my experience preparing my current project was that, as I was using a somewhat unconventional building approach (timber frame and near-passivehaus, etc.) that the output from the QS may not resemble reality. The world of building is dominated by larger projects. QSs are part of the suite of consultants who attend them and that suite is what the entire industry is geared around. As I researched my project, I learnt that this suite was pretty well ill-suited to a single one-off bespoke house run by a self-builder. The usual fragmentation of the project into architect, QS, contract administrator, project manager, and the various engineers, etc., means that each individual parts becomes too small for each profession. It is barely worth their effort. And there are really no generalists who cover all the roles for self-builders. I also support the idea that an QS creates the mother-of-all shopping lists but are only helpful in terms of budget by setting a tentative ceiling. For tendering, I plan to work hard on producing tender with my architect's help packs for each chunk of my build. I believe a good tender pack leads to a smooth tendering process and can help achieve lower prices by reducing the need for the bidder to pad the bid because of the risk generated by vagueness and a lack of precision. For my budget, I tendered for many of the big items early on in my project (some a year before I obtained planning), and so increased the chance that my evolving budget will be born out in reality but I am still constantly re-iterating my budget as new information becomes available to me. I mark each line item with my level of confidence for it. Its like flying a plane under a bridge. Hands firmly on the controls!

I have someone to recommend, PM incoming.

@Thedreamer tangentially related to your question, when I was visiting another BuildHuber further along then me, on the subject of bath sizes I was told that 1.7 m is ideal length. I suppose it is subject to personal preference and perhaps you are taller than average but have you considered that a 1.7 m bath might be ideal for you and yours?

Cheap at £580: https://www.thewrightbuy.co.uk/cookology-90cm-touch-control-induction-hob-downdraft-extractor-fan-pack Rubbish?

I paid in 2018: £1,320 for legal fees, inc VAT, and £303.25 in search fees.

Quick one. Does anyone know a reliable architectural technician near Basingstoke in Hampshire or near Cambridge in Cambridgeshire? Work needed: Tweaks to a planning-approved CAD-design for a 3-bed bungalow. Detailing, such as brick counting, metal cladding, and bespoke alu-coping. Take engineering drawings from a timber-frame SE and prepare full-plans building-control drawings. Many thanks!

Oh no, that was just a website tool. The colour palettes seems to be: … much less Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Good recommendation. Thanks. I see it comes in matt too and "Dulux Easycare Kitchen paint is an exceptionally tough grease resistant paint.": The colour choice, however, looks a little bit primary but the may just be my screen:

Thank you all. Very helpful. You have certainly got me thinking about the right issues I think. These thoughts have prompted me to rethink the hob's location. My previous idea was to have it against a wall but that is directly beneath a roof window above. I now realise that that roof window might be difficult to clean and may quickly become dirty. Might therefore be better to move the hob to the island (with my vent in the flat ceiling above). I also like the idea of using a wipe-clean gloss paint in the area around the vent itself. Good idea @Conor.

I am no expert. This is my aide memoir. From it: your water could be 50 mm shallower. And spacing of BT Intercom and light circuit could be 100 mm. Don't know about 3-phase.

@vivienz ah, hopefully not. Truth be told, I don't really cook an awful lot so I could probably get by without one at all. I am expecting that this arrangement will be superior to no hood at all and I wondering if it will actually prove surprisingly effective with a decent flow rate using the fan @Mr Punter suggested.. And, after all, I grew up in a house without a cooker hood at all without too many visible effects on the decor. Hmm, perhaps I am deluded.

Thanks @Mr Punter. Helpful. Good point about the hood. I am relying on the fact that the hot cooking-oil should rise up, rather like a mushroom cloud. I have a hunch it will be moderately effective even without a hood. You are quite right, it will need a fairly high flow rate to work well and some escape in the room will be inevitable. Good recommendation on the fan. Looks ideal! As a grease filter, which did you use: fleece, metal or baffle? The baffle one's might look rather nice on show in my ceiling I think.

Sure @Moonshine. I'll send you a PM.

I don't really like the look of cooker hoods, especially those above an island hob. Not to mention that they are expensive. So I have been researching mounting an extractor grill in the ceiling above the hob instead. Seems easy to do. Just mount an egg-crate grill with plenum containing a grease filter in to the ceiling. Run ducting through the web joists to the adjacent utility room and a second exhaust grill. Locate a variable speed fan in the utility room so it is quiet. Put a variable switch near the hob. Flawed idea?

When it comes to Amtico, would it be fair to say that other LVT brands, such as Karndean, Polyflor and Cavalio, are just as good and that they are all somewhat commoditised for a given price point (and wear-layer thickness)? Has anyone any comments about "Click Smart" style products? Are they worth considering?

Very soon after the frame goes up, before any first fix work.

My inexperienced assumption has been: (i) first fix plumbing and electrics (through the web joists); (ii) outer shell walls and ceilings complete; (ii) then MF framing for stud walls. Happy to be corrected.