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During our test the guy sealed all MVHR vents, and any other bits which looked suspicious to him. We plugged all sinks and showers, sealed the extraction hood over the hob, and sealed the loft hatch. Dont have any trickle vents but would probably close them as well. They normally take a preliminary reading, just to see how bad it is, and then three proper readings which go into the paperwork, and apparently select the best result achieved.

We struggled to find the exact we needed (somehow our dimensions did not match ANY of the decent trays we looked up), so ended up with https://www.tradewetrooms.com/wetroom-kits-and-wetroom-trays/?filter_brand=tough-x just cut to size.

Yes, you are right - that was a spare panel and some cutouts. We had a brilliant tiles supplier who dispatched the tiles to us, and then called saying one of the large panels arrived to their warehouse damaged so they would proactively replace it, but send the damaged one as well as it is large and we may wish to use the cutouts. So we had nowhere to put them and they are still residing under the breakfast bar. Once the garage is finished, they'll be moved there for storage and I will FINALLY be able to sit properly at the breakfast bar! The blue worktops are still in place (Cambria Skye), and dearly loved, and the family now know that as soon as one STOPS seeing the blue upon entering the kitchen - it's probably high time to tidy up dishes and rubbish from the surfaces to reveal the colour :))))))

Am planning a topiary parterre with pockets filled in with annual/perennial flowers for colour. Any point using garden fabrick right under the topiary lines (and at borders) to prevent weeds, or would it seriously interfere with moisture level etc? Read various advice on the internet, mixed opinions.

Looks like dragon eggs there on the floor :))))))))))) father of dragons :)))

I am quite longlegged (i'd like to think ??) and if I sit diagonally I can strech my legs fully. I prefer sitting very deep up to my neck to lying stretched with ... er... you know... bits sticking out :)))

Thank you!! It's Minoli (TM) Agata Azul porcelain tile. Fell in love with it once I discovered they come in huge slabs 1500mm x 750mm - our ensuites are very narrow at 1550mm across, so these tiles fitted us perfectly. A real godsend. Our tiler was particularly happy once he realised he just needs to stick 4x on the wall and the job is done! Pricewise, they are surprisingly cheap compared to the wow effect they produce.

The toilet is a TOTO washlet. Again, too much travel puts fancy ideas in your head! It's bloody expensive but again once you try it - a regular toilet feels like a torture rack in a cold dungeon A bit of a complex installation as it requires additional water supply and an electricity supply. Remote control is mounted in this case on the vanity unit side.

@recoveringbuilder it is, yes. The one we've got is a Duo Plus https://www.omnitub.co.uk/products/omnitub-duo-plus and it's 750mm in its narrowest part. HWMBO actually drove 3hrs out into the depth of Somerset last year to their warehouse and sat in each bathtub they had on display, and could not pack him back into the car - he was so enjoying himself.

We went for a Japanese soaking bathtub (I was very opposed at first, but...), and I SOOO love it! It's roomy. It's exceptionally easy to get in and out (with problem knee that's important). It actually covers you up to the neck with no bits sticking out and getting cold. Will never go again for a standard long bath in my life black or white

Our stairs is nothing fancy, a standard Stairbox product with oak treads and handrail (which I would prefer to leave unpainted) and softwood risers and balustrade (to be soon painted white). Can't decide on the treatment for the oak treads - they clearly need some sort of varnish (or oil?..) to be dirt-resistant but keep the natural wood look. Got 3x samples of some hardwax oil (??) from Stairbox, can't tell the difference between the samples we painted. Not sure it's the right product. Never before had any experience with natural wood treatment, so am at a loss. Help, please...

https://decoramo.co.uk/products/orbital-led-hanging-lamp?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAiAkan9BRAqEiwAP9X6UVH-yRmgqeaYVgBvru5sl3pktSf6kzzkwt7z76JHHEgfaTgMU82vNRoCDXsQAvD_BwE&variant=29997518258264 I've seen these in small spaces and in larger spaces, and look equally stunning if you carefully select your combination of sizes. We got our modest pendant lights from The Lighting Superstore which seemed quite reasonable on prices.

We've just fitted a side-hinged Carteck (Teckentrup) door for the rear (garden) end of our garage. Paid £1300 (installed by our builders so installation not included in this price). I must say I absolutely cannot understand what all the fuss is about. The door is very basic, I can't say it's particularly reinforsed or of some uber-smart design. Just.A.White.Metal.Door. Honestly, I would probably price it at £300 tops, not £1300 (but us being self-builders and buying all things new we probably just got carried away. Oh well). Our front sectional garage door is by Hormann and only £200 more expensive - but it's automatic, all singing and dancing so the price is somewhat understandable. But the rear door is disappointing. Oh, and the sticker on it says it should be cleaned thoroughly every two months!! And tiniest specks of dirt should be wiped off immediately with clean cloth as soft as baby's bottom, lest the guarantee would be voided. I mean, seriously? wiping a garage door every month with triple-ply soft tissue? For that price?..

Still not fully unpacked and cleared but the closest we are now to being decent. ?

We went for DIY Luca gloss handless + quartz worktops, and I sooooo love it. Also love all the functional units, the way they all play along - I have soo much storage space now and the drawers exactly where I want them for my personal ergonomics. We've been admiring the gloss of our high-gloss kitchen - up until we've discovered that actually they are all covered in thin plastic wrapping which we didn't notice (us being too preoccupied with getting the build done and chasing our electrician for the certificate) - and now we started to peel this stuff off (from all 36 units - takes a while!) - and it's even glossier! ????love it even more

Hi and welcome! An acre plot sounds like a dream Can't comment on Scandia Hus, but to be honest, if you survive until the watertight stage, you won't need a PM - by then you will be quite confident to finish the whole thing (as long as you pay attention and learn from Day 1).

Sisters :)) Same experience here, although nipped in the bud. Early on in the project whenever the builders and our PM and myself would get together, talking as a group they completely ignored me (regardless of me having more info and thinking times quicker then all of them put together). They just do not hear when a woman is trying to put in a remark or make a suggestion. All full of themselves. I had to seriously raise my voice on one occasion and very loudly and clearly state that I WANT TO SPEAK and I WANT YOU TO LISTEN CLOSELY. You should have seen the look!.. Since then, we've changed the builders to a really nice one who actually maintains eye contact when listening and makes a real effort to answer specifically. I've had the same experience in my 20 years of corporate City meetings - whenever you are in a meeting room full of men, you don't exist until you put a double effort into being heard. Boys club. Read somewhere that men are not wired to hear female voice frequencies Actually lowering my voice when talking REALLY helps - this is astonishing. On a positive side, our local timber & builder merchant shop (a large one) is really female-friendly, and I am always treated with respect. By the end of the project they know my name, ask after the family, the son, the cat, the neighbours, etc. I only have to walk in and say "guys, I need this thingy... you know... the square white one with a metal thingy on top" (or close), and they immediately produce that very thing, and we joke about it. Really nice as a result they got £££'s worth of our business in the past 6 months.

Do you consider a storage battery? Our array is c.6K, and on a very good day we are up to 70% solar-powered-only, but on bad days (like this week) we are barely 4%. Normally any surplus in our circuit goes into our Tesla Powerwall, which then discharges into the house either during the night or at least half-day next day. Without storage we won't be that efficient.

We've had off-plans SAP done early on, together with provisional EPCs and water consumption calculations. During the build some things changed. I went back to the SAP guys, they sent me a questionnaire (very very detailed) where I put in all the fine specs of the newly installed/changed items (eg water softeners, different bath / washlets / MVHR / Solar PVs with exact capacity, etc etc etc). Then they sent in the air test guy who did the test and said we are within the initially planned parameters. Next day the SAP guys issued the as-built SAPs, the new realistic EPCs (even higher than we thought!) and new water calcs based on the exact items installed. Am now putting together a huge pile of stuff to send off to BCO... Good luck to me...

Congratulations! That's exactly what we've done. Please post pics as go progress, we here love pics Good luck.

We took on a PM as he was the guy who designed our house and helped us with the planning permission. We had zero experience and probably had too little trust in ourselves. Same as @lizzie, our experience with our PM was a costly disaster. If I were to do another one, I'd go with a very good builder (now that we've got one), and PM ourselves. This is the only way I can see to get exactly what I want, have the right level of involvement in decision-making, have control over the project and procurement and not being taken for a ride on every aspect. I admit, paperwork is tedious, lots of reading required, but manageable. If we were to build something more complicated than a standard shoebox house, I'd probably have someone with strong knowledge of building regs on hand on a hourly fee to go to if I had a question, but not more than that. What would be essential for us is having a very good bulding control officer who would be thorough enough to ensure no corners are cut.

1) Probably, but not for the whole house as we'll never be able to afford one. However in the hindsight, probably we could if we ditched our PM early enough... :)) 2) For a consistent / nicely flowing look of the interior, making professional suggestions in some areas which we won't otherwise pay attention to, for integrating various elements consistently, for bringing in cutting-edge thinking as we don't really follow the trend too intently. 3) I would imagine, listens to the clients and helps materialise their vision adjusted by professional opinion and within a certain budget, to make best use of the client's limited funds. 4) no idea, but a good one I would imagine expensive? £10k+?? 5) If I had absolutely no idea what to do with a blank canvass / no vision for my own needs and preferences. 6) Houzz, word of mouth 7) No project is too small, but it all depends on my budget. Some people may hire one to design a cat's nook... ? (a) as above (b) £250?? In our case, we went with very simple clean choices for the majority of areas, focusing on some outstanding key features. I wanted my library and hallway done in Robert Adam-esque style so I went for dusty pastels, swag&drops and crystal lights, bedrooms are simple and clean on walls with key accents on sumptuous textiles and carpets, and bathrooms are themed (a Roman-style for my ensuite with warm travertine and mosaics, a cool icy one for HWMBO with white lappato marble and agate feature wall, and a simple marble with mosaics for guest shower. Downstairs WC which the cat uses is a bit psychodelic with royal blue upper walls, white gloss metro tiles and 3D floors :))). But we've travelled alot and some of interior designs were brought in from the places we stayed in. A professional designer would probably have done a much more consistent and sleek job, but we are naturally eclectic so suits us. Soft touches are still to be added as I have tons of stuff to hang on walls!

Have you already had your windows ordered and installed? We integrated blinds inside the windows between panels of glass and we love it. Had to do it as we also have tilt&turn windows so didn't want blinds in the way (had it in the old house in a box above the window and hated it).

Goodness, the prices! My largest tiles were Minoli (TM) Agata Azul 75cmx150cm for the feature wall, and those were £80 a piece and I was tearing my hair out as that was extremely expensive. Shop around, you'll definitely find much better product at much more pleasing prices without sacrificing your concept.

wow, looks great! How do you plan to do the ramp up to the entrance door (build regs)? Shepperton is just round the corner from us, not that many people here are from inner London Welcome!