Mike

Yes - they're more easily stolen: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/news/how-to-protect-your-heat-pump-from-theft

That depends on the manufacturer's recommended clearance below the hob and the height of the drawer, but it's possible. That's the way it's often done. Again, check the manufacturer's minimum clearance.

I wouldn't choose it. The type of surfacing, at least in a front garden, is a key aspect of 'kerb appeal' which affects the value of the house. To me, imprinted concrete devalues the house as it always seems a poor imitation of what it could have been if the genuine materials been used. I've also seen several that have cracks running through them, which makes them look more fake, apart from being tricky to repair. They can also be slippery when wet. And they still need intermittent cleaning and resealing, so not entirely maintenance free either... If you do choose it, then at least make sure that you have plenty of movement joints.

I put a couple of old steel lintels on eBay for £1 a few years ago - they went for £1 after a few weeks. Could be worth a try.

I agree that it's not worth worrying over. For future info it's worth knowing that you can buy Artex removal gels that prevent dust from forming, as well as making it easy to scrape it off.

You can't put it in Zone 3 - there isn't a Zone 3 any more! But you can put it outside Zone 2. You'd have to calculate the distance to know whether you can put it opposite the shower. Worth knowing that the zones normally don't go all the way to the ceiling, so if you don't mind it high up, you almost certainly have more flexibility. Search the web for 'bathroom electrical zones' and you'll find various examples and explanations.

Solar control glass would have been very useful on my current project - in summer. However I decided against it because it would have cut the light transmission through the window from something like 82% to 54%. I don't want to loose that much light.

Standard doors every time. Sliders are noisier and often don't fit well, and pocket doors present additional problems for cleaning and maintenance.

Partial underpinning / soil stabilisation raises new issues. You need the entire building to act as one structural element for it to remain stable and crack-free. There's a risk that the part of the building that has been underpinned swaps from being the least-well supported part of the building to the best-supported part, which could still cause differential movement. That's not to say that it should never be done, but it does mean that whoever is designing the solution needs to have carried out a full investigation first. Personally I'd be wanting an independent structural engineer to be doing that, not a contractor.

It's easy to make your own from regular PAR timber for way less than £80. I've also seen them made from plywood. But don't use MDF - it doesn't have the strength to hold the hinge screws.

Underpinning methods vary, but it's very likely that the floor along at least one side of the internal walls, and quite possibly the perimeter of all the ground floors, would have to be broken out anyway in order to undertake the underpinning, so it's a good idea to replace them entirely. You also need to be sure that the new floors aren't going to move; movement in a floor with UFCH pipes embedded in it could eventually be very problematic.

Agreed; the underpinning needs to be designed to suit the specific building and circumstances. Presumably just a pre-purchase visual inspection?

I once did exactly that, albeit with the neighbours agreement in advance.

Yes, concrete foundations for me too.

That's a start but I would expect (though only from the very many press stories on the topic over the years, not personal experience) that it will be for a substantial premium. You may also find it difficult to move to another insurer in the future, leaving you unable to avoid whatever future premium increases are demanded of you. Not to mention the added difficulty of eventually selling it; once a house has been underpinned it's going to be labelled that way for decades into the future, whether or not there has been any movement. And any further settlement after underpinning, while it shouldn't happen, would only add to these issues. Unfortunately I completely agree. Underpinning can almost certainly solve the problem technically, but not financially. Rebuild and take advantage of the opportunity to achieve - ideally exceed - current insulation requirements, and the 0% new-build tax rate.

Nothing that would stop me doing it! Provided your new timbers are correctly dimensioned and you insulate it to at least Building Regs standards, of course. It costs more to build and a little more to heat, and there's a loss of storage space.

If that's all you're doing, I'd suggest using pencil and paper, unless you particularly want to learn CAD. Personally and I use TurboCAD but, like most CAD software, it involves a very steep learning curve.

France has some strict laws on defects liability & hidden defects that kick in once a house is eventually sold - you can't just sell 'as seen'. So, if there's any doubt about the quality of the work or whether or not it complies with building standards I would get a professional survey done so that any issues can be resolved during the completion of the work.

Yes, I'd have done the same.

However some (all?) water companies set your standing charge according to the pipe size - or, more accurately, the meter size. If the cost is a concern, a way around that is to to use 32mm pipes, but ask them to fit a 25mm meter. That will still improve the flow rate somewhat (compared to 25mm), but clearly not as much as 32mm all the way. If you can't it's not a problem to join it. The last one I put in has 2 joins after the JCB driver went through it. Don't ask...

Yes, do get confirmation of this. +1 Or get a 110V scaffold hoist for an easier option.

No minimum, but how badly do you need the space? You'd need at least 600mm to erect a narrow scaffold tower or squeeze through with a wheelbarrow. And the roof will normally have an overhang.

Yes, sometimes used for niche applications such as window reveals, where thickness available is limited. I may well use a small quantity in that application myself in a few months time. Likely to be too expensive to use more generally, unless you are in a high-value city-centre apartment where every mm² has an equally high value. They're non-toxic - at least the normal silica based ones are - but the you don't want to be inhaling the dust while installing it.

Permavent also have a product for plain tiles down to 17.5° : https://www.permavent.co.uk/products/plain-easy/

If there's a suitable local contractor, you could alternatively use a suitable sprayed PU foam insulation, rather than a screed.