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Haha, wondered if you'd say something like this. You can have fun or efficient not both

Yes. Another way I've seen this explained is which of the following is the more efficient way to drive 100 miles: 1. Drive at 70mph constantly (maybe occasionally slowing down a little for traffic but basically staying at 70) 2. Everytime you see a gap in traffic you floor it accelerate as fast as possible until you hit traffic then you stop the car, wait for another gap to open up then floor it again.

While I've not got a project yet I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to do and the idea of shadow gap really appealed but was definitely put off by the maintenance/fragility aspect. I think a good middle ground is to have wood skirting but end the plasterboard above it and have a shadowgap between the plasterboard and skirting. Skirting takes the bashes/wear and tear but you still have a flat-ish profile wall. Thinking about construction, seems relatively simple to do with careful planning, but time consuming. So either a significant cost if paying someone or significant time investment if DIY. Bit like this (though I would have the wood proud of the plasterboard by a couple of mm)

Soft as pine, less knots? At least that's my initial reaction. Sapele is hard as oak, easy to machine and few knots. Cheaper than Tulipwood. But, BIG BUT, comes from old growth forests in Africa and it's now listed as vulnerable so at the very least need to be careful tracing sustainably managed supply and even then are you contributing to an overall market that is problematic. Edit: open pores though so more work than tulipwood if you want to hide the grain.

Also, depending on tiles used the top cut edge might not look great. Looks good if done well though.

Sure. To be clear, I wasn't saying you should accept it, I was saying that was my initial thought. Having read this thread I changed my mind.

The pro tilers on youtube make it look so easy. Then you watch an amateur try and do the same thing and it gives you pause.

Hi @zoothorn It's obvious you are on a budget that is tighter than most. But you are also talking about spending what are large amounts of money on things like new concrete floors and solar arrays. So if you have some savings but not income then you've got to think whether spending the savings on improvements pays for itself. Without knowing the details, my gut says you might be better off keeping the savings and putting the interest you earn towards higher energy bills, than spending the savings on solar or a new concrete floor. Or at the least you should give it a go so you can really compare costs. If you've seen offers of 'free' or heavily discounted solar then do be very careful, those often come with strings attached and may not be a good a deal as you might think. As @Nickfromwales says if you can get a government funded install for free or very low cost then that may well be worth it but other offers not so much. The other thing about solar is your roof needs to be in good condition. I guess your property was re-roofed in the 80s so might be all good but if it's showing signs of age you wouldn't want to put solar on it without first fixing the roof (or doing a re-roof and solar at the same time).

Honestly, it's more professional to decline work you don't feel comfortable with than to take it on and make a mess of it/slap in an inappropriate solution. Sounds like they had the right questions to ask but relied on slapping the answers into some standardised template which couldn't cope with your setup rather than understanding in detail. Keep hunting for other firms. Would always suggest multiple quotes in any case.

Not trying to put you off but with all the positive stories on ICF maybe it's worth highlighting that it doesn't always go completely smoothly and it might be worth checking out some cases which were a bit difficult so you know how to avoid those situations. I think @ToughButterCup had a somewhat bumpy ride with his.

You always learn something new on this forum. I looked at the photos and my initial thought was 'looks pretty good compared to some of the things I see around here, this is probably something that is annoying now but you'll forget about it in a couple of months and it'll be fine' and yet others are highlighting lots of issues.

I guess. So we are talking (from https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/outbuildings/is-building-regulations-approval-needed-for-an-outbuilding): So @Glenn when you say large, how large?

In a shed?

@CJO Welcome! I didn't realise you were here. It's good to see someone who is documenting their journey on youtube on here!

Yes, BB's clarification helped and definitely seems doable, but if that seems too much there are wireless options to explore. Not at all, take your time. I can't speak for others but my goal in participating here is to help you get to the point where you are not cold after summer. The time between now and then is for exploring, learning about the system and trying things. Good principle and I think it will click for you soon. But if after some more back and forth it's still not clicking then you might find just trying to do what we suggest might help clarify things. Learn through doing rather than studying.