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Our BCO said walls over 11-12 meters long need an expansion gap so we have one on the back of our house. (Elsewhere I've seen 15m mentioned). Makes sense for it to be more or less down the middle.

Perhaps check with the window company if you have selected on already.. Some only have a limited range of sill projection mouldings. The drip groove on the underside needs to be far enough out.

Not sure I understand about the steps and pillars but... Building up the area to the height of the patio needs to be done correctly or it will settle unevenly. I would expect hardcore used to be laid and compacted in multiple layers not all at once. Eg 2-3 inches laid then compacted with a vibrating plate. Then another 2-3 inches, repeat until the right height.

Perhaps worth a read... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-registry-plans-title-plan/land-registry-plans-title-plan-practice-guide-40-supplement-5#updating-a-title-plan https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-registry-plans-title-plan/land-registry-plans-title-plan-practice-guide-40-supplement-5 I believe you need to generate two title plans based on the OS maps and apply to the LR have both title plans updated. The LR should create "vector title plans" if the drawings you send are consistent with the OS maps. If not they may need to do a survey.

On your line drawing (black background) what's that at floor level below the purlins? Are they going to be steel beams? If so it might be possible to support the purlin either side of the stairs on that beam and remove a section of purlin. However it's not quite that simple. The rafters without a purlin may need doubling up for example. You could also consider a dormer or velux in that area which would also require a section of purlin to be removed and possibly a rafter or two. You will need to discuss with an SE if you want to go down any route that cuts or removes the purlin. And as @the_r_sole says the purlin might not be the limiting issue.

Can't really tell from the photo but how deep is the tray? Looks almost flat? There are seals like this one... https://www.theshowerseal.co.uk/shower-seals/shower-seal-h1-4-6mm850.html ...that have a drip/deflector but they really need a barrier/upstand to deflect it over. You might need to run a bead of sealer along the tray just inside the door to form an upstand so the water drips off the deflector on the tray side of the upstand. This won't work on the small part that pivots into the tray.

Presumably once it's installed you can switch supplier? £4000 for a 400m run is just £10 a metre. Not many other utilities would charge so little.

I think for £2k I'd go for it.

+1 Any glass in a door (or 300mm either side of a door) below 1500mm must be "safety glass". Could be toughened or laminated. Elsewhere it's any glass below 800mm. There should be a standards mark on every pane. If you are fitting the glass yourself don't stand panes on a hard surface as tiny scratches or chips can cause toughened glass to shatter. Different rules apply for glass in fire rated doors.

I don't know about that adaptor but I sometimes split things into several parts to be glued together later because it either allows you to avoid printing supports or produces a better print quality.

My kids didn't like playing rugby on artificial turf. Too many carpet burns.

Somewhere I have a book titled Discovering Timber Framed Buildings by Richard Harris. Not quite what you need for your project but worth a look if you really want to get into the history of oak buildings in all their complexity. Perhaps take a look at "Learn to Timber Frame" by Will Beemer on Amazon. I've not read it though. I'm imagining something in green oak with posts around 125-150mm square posts and beams the same by 200mm deep. Perhaps not quite that big. Mortise and tenon pegged joints. Good excuse to buy some new Sorby chisels :-)

Not quite sure I understand what you want to do. Do you want to raise and level an area of grass 6m x 4m roughly in the foreground of the photo? I definitely would not put MOT Type 1 hardcore under turf. MOT type 1 isn't even guaranteed to be permeable. I'd use topsoil only, perhaps use different grades/quality to save cost. Will it need a small retaining wall after it's been raised? Can you get bricks to match the existing wall?

Sadly both Planning and Building Control are under resourced and overworked. Years ago you could get lots of free advice from both. These days it's a different matter. Planning will hardly talk to you until you pay the pre-application advice fee and even then they aren't always very responsive. I was over a year in the pre-application stage but that's an exception. Building control are usually more helpful but again they may not want to spend time on a development that hasn't yet got planning permission especially as you haven't paid the fee yet. Where there are structural questions or similar design issues Building Control will check the design has been done and validated by a suitably qualified person but might not actually check the details themselves. They may give some advice but will be reluctant to be in any way "responsible for the design". They expect "you" to submit a design package that meets the regs and is supported by any necessary calculations. They don't always have time to explain how to change a non-compliant design to make it comply. When an architect designs a new house he does so with knowledge of the building regulations to avoid problems later. You might have to hire someone familiar with the building regs to provide input for your planning application. Then submit the planning application. Once thats granted proceed with the Building Warrant Application. I should add I'm more familiar with the system in England. Others here know Scottish regs.

If its a timber barn it might it have value to someone else.

I think what helped us was our architect producing a so called street scene drawing. This was a black pen ink and green watercolour sketch showing our house, the church on the left and 16C cottage on the right. It was largely imaginary because there was/is nowhere you could/can actually stand and see all three buildings side by side due to trees and hedges, but it showed how the style of each went together. I think a large part of its success was the use of ink and water colour to give a more consistent style to all three buildings. It probably wouldn't have worked as well had he produced a photo montage or an accurate computer model. As for a D&A statement I think that would depend on the plot and the reasons planners might have for rejecting. For example if they have already said you are unlikely to get PP because of xyz then I think you need to address xyz somewhere in the application. The D&A statement is a reasonable place to do that.

If you happen to have one of those soldering irons that heat up "instantly" you, can replace the bit with a length of piano wire formed into a loop with shoulders. Run that down the PIR for nice neat u channels.

Be careful what you use. Cats sometimes like gravel or shingle. Too much like cat litter. I'd be tempted to hire a digger and a skip, get the rubble/concrete out and some new topsoil in so plants will grow. Another possibility might be raised beds made from railway sleepers? Kids might use them as seats unless you get lots of trailing plants in them.

I know there are lots of companies that make metal cladding but I don't know if there are off the shelf designs for a porch like that or if you need an architect to design something bespoke. The detailing will be important not only to prevent leaks but also how it weathers. One source lists a few suppliers of metal cladding.. elZinc (example. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAMuyVHFMQp/) KME Mazzonetto NedZinc Prefa

According to this.. https://www.onedome.com/search/property/F4912CDCDA66EC_943877?utm_source=trovit&utm_medium=affiliates They were build by Palmer Homes.. https://www.palmerhomes.co.uk/ Perhaps they would tell you?

Self closers aren't required in a normal house but might be in an HMO or similar. The whole door and frame needs to meet the required fire rating. The door manufacturer should provide instructions regarding the installation and the glass spec needed to achieve that if they don't provide it with the door. I might be wrong but I have a feeling glass may need to have wire mesh in it? Or perhaps that's just FD60 not FD30??

If you have the headroom it might be better to work out how tall the new joists would need to be if the existing ceiling joists don't carry any of the load. Then put the new ones in 1" above the top of the plasterboard. Dont bolt them to the existing joists (except perhaps at the ends). That way there is no new load on the existing joists and fewer cracks in the plaster in rooms below

Yes. I would also show them the valuation as 22% is quite a chunk. Just remember they may decide to take it off the market for a year or two.

+1 Doesn't need to be super thick. If it's going to be hot weather you might consider getting enough to put some on top of the screed as well (as soon as it can be walked on). That will help stop water loss and slow the drying a bit to reduce possibility of cracking. Where two rooms of screed meet at a doorway consider forming a deliberate "crack" (aka expansion gap) across the door. Otherwise you may get a nice curved crack like we did !

+1 It's planning status is now "separate dwelling" so as far as the planners are concerned you are free to split the title and sell the annex as a separate house if you wish. If that's what you plan to do then remember you may need Permission from your mortgage company and they may want you to repay off a fraction of the mortgage with the proceeds of the sale. You may also need to split the utilities so the annex has its own water, electric, gas, sewerage etc After the title is split you should probably tell your insurance company about the change from detached to semi-detached.