Temp

Zooming in it looks like it might be rebar?

If I'm looking at the right thing... they have left and right hand models. Would be easy to plumb them in wrong but not sure what effect it would have..

Last page has some info on brick/stone slips.. https://www.nudura.com/media/1880/14_0_exterior_finishes.pdf

Not me but google found.. https://www.brickslip.co/video-pst/icf-insulated-concrete-form-brick-slip-system/ But ask Nudura as they must have some idea. Their web site has pictures of houses with what looks like stone on the outside.

I think the name is going to be something like a Lamella Wall light but I couldn't Google one.

Apparently you can do a bronze patina on steel so perhaps try that? Edit: 25mm x 2mm drawn steel strip is still £9/m on ebay. If its 1.5m high and 20 strips wide that's still £270 just for the steel front.

It looks like the slats are twisted? I was going to suggest a load of brass strip twisted and pattinated to look like bronze but the brass strip is probably > £20 a meter.

I assume there is no mains gas available? Ideally you would add a load of wall, floor and loft insulation and install an ASHP. But If you can't do that I would stick with oil. Check the condition of your oil tank as well as the boiler.

Just seen that the limit can be more than £30k and potentially more than £60k.... https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/75A

PS: I wasn't worried about the height as I needed planning permission anyway. That might be more of an issue for you.

This is the basic idea of what I built... The basic frame was 4x2 and 4x4 in the corners. Clad with 12mm WBP plywood and a vapour permeable membrane (VP400). Then battens and cladding boards. The WBP prevents racking due to wind loads. If I was going to insulate it I'd put a DPM down inside then insulation and boards but it was intended as a workshop. Construction was interrupted a few times by..

S75 might not cover something like a £10,000 deposit on a £70,000 order because the total order is over 30k.

Its also very important to conform to the rules or section 75 will fail to cover you. I believe the credit card must be in the name of the person placing the order (so not your partners card). It must also be a direct transaction with the company (so might be a problem if ordering a kit from a local representative if they don't work for the company directly). The card must also be used for a deposit on the kit not a seperate design fee or similar. If I've missed anything I'm sure someone will pick me up on it.

I have 80mm of insulation below my UFH and if building again would put in 120mm+

You could design your own. Use a 3D Printer service to make them and cast your own. However small block pavers are normally thick for a reason. It helps keep them flat, so I'd be nervous about the long term stability of this particular design..

Yeah they won't until you hire them. If the planning condition doesn't specify what type of survey then I would get these 4 companies to quote for an "Preliminary desktop study" as that's the cheapest. Pick one of the quotes to accept and hire them to do the desktop study. Ask them to send you the report. If the report doesn't find anything submit it to the planners with the application and fee to discharge the condition. If the desktop study does find something or makes recommendations for more work come back here for suggestions. If they recommended massive amounts of work it might even be worth getting another co to do a second desktop study in the hope they will recommend less expensive work. Otherwise send the study report back to all 4 companies to quote for that next stage. Take it one step at a time. No need (yet) to spend a fortune digging on site.

Sorry I meant I put DPC band on top of the brick course then the timber wall plate. Its hard to drill 12mm holes in exactly the right place in the wall plate to suit the 12mm bolts cast into the slab as they may not be perfectly vertical. So I drilled oversize/clearance holes around 18-20mm in diameter and used large 40mm square washers under the nuts to bolt the wall plate down.

Back in the 1970s my father and I made about 15 sqm of coloured paving slabs ourselves. Used home made wooden frames. Even mixed the concrete by hand. Quite hard work but not impossible. Might even be able to use several of these as moulds instead of imprints. Lots of different patterns available on the web. https://www.manomano.co.uk/p/crazy-patio-driveway-concrete-paving-garden-path-slab-brick-floor-tile-mould-38825559 Have you considered just pressure washing what's already there? Replacing the pots with planters and making a bin store? Perhape even a small shade tolerant tree in a big pot? Would probably make quite a difference.

So have they already done a desk study to justify that? Our plot is next door to a church. The desk study showed no evidence our plot had ever been owned by or otherwise connected to the church so the planners were happy no further work required. However when when we needed a water main diverted the water co insisted we needed a watching brief due to the proximity to the church. Wouldn't allow the work without. The Archaeologist had a 1 hour drive to get to us. Several times people from the water co arrived, sat around for an hour or more and went away again because their JCB was needed on another job that day. I still had to pay for the Archaeologist and his travelling time. When the JCB was available every scoop was carefully examined and the Archaeologist frequently stopped the driver and jumped in the trench, only to pull out what he called "granny's tea service". A trench I could have dug myself with a digger in two days took about four times as long and cost a small fortune. Nothing found.

Isn't the underground stuff stronger but more extensive? Not sure if you can solvent weld it?

What does the wording of the condition say? If planning permission was granted less than 6 months ago you might be able to appeal the condition on the grounds that its not clear enough to be enforceable. Depends on the wording. Normally you start with the desk study and see what that turns up. The person doing the desk study will normally advise in their report if more work is required. If none then submit the report with an application to discharge the condition.

+1 If it does heat up faster that might be useful if both of you are out at work in the daytime ? In my opinion UFH works best for families with one person at home most days. It's less efficient if you are both at work. For example many people have UFH on setback at night. Then set the UFH to come on at say 5am so the house is warm when you get up, then an hour later you go off to work and the now hot slab continues to heat your house while there is nobody home.

I'm not sure their plan to avoid cgt works as it's hard to argue the barn is part of their Principle Private Residence if its a seperate title but that's their problem. Are they proposing to merge the titles at the land registry before/at sale to you? Then you split them again? I think you need to look at the most recent consent on the barn. If its for change of use or conversion to a dwelling, then it will say its from ??? to a dwelling. It remains ??? until the consent is implemented. I suspect ??? Is not Residential or Planning Permission wouldn't be required for change of use or conversion.

For me the issue would be having to walking around the dining table if this is a frequent route. So I might move both doors to one side. But that's just me.

Can you post a link or photos to the one you wanted to fit? I think most gas fires are either designed to ensure fumes go up the chimney or have a catalyst that turns the combustion products to water vapour and don't need a chimney. The latter can cause condensation problems if there is inadequate ventilation.