-rick-

An idea: How about removing the top wooden surface and putting something like quartz or corian on it? Keep the rest of the unit as is. That's about as bomb proof as you are going to get. Pricier than glass but you might find a keenly priced offcut the right size. Something like Corian can be cut easily. Does change the look though so maybe not what you are going for.

🤣 Definitely not 1. Glass is a good protection surface, not sure I've heard it done in a bathroom and fear water getting underneath (which would likely be a worse problem than not having the glass if you didn't notice it - and it's a pain to get at once everything is finished). My initial thought was a good application of latex type paint. Not waterproof but kinda close if you are good at keeping things relatively clean and hopefully moves with the wood. However, given your first statement, if you expect a collection of objects to accumulate and therefore maybe spills to get missed in the clutter I doubt it's a good idea. I've no practical experience doing something like this so just thinking aloud.

The amount you've got down for bathrooms doesn't really allow for much more than the most basic products (and it's tight even then). When it comes to choosing fixtures and fittings you may find that number going up quite a bit.

Ah got it. If each strip get's it's own control pin then anything is possible. Maybe the pre-built patterns don't work as expected but you could create custom ones. (Or have ChatGPT do it). Still if it's not off the shelf supported it's a hassle to make work. Anything is possible. Work out the required power and then you can minimize cable size within the profile. Could even look at using insulated copper tape (layers) to run the connection. Thinner wire comes with it's own limitations but it's a viable trade off for short runs. Assume you have 24v strips and not running more than 2-3m?

The signal wire definitely doesn't need to be that thick. But I'd be cautious about running the power from centre (test it first on a spare length of strip). If you can feed power from centre then you could easily get a thinner strand of wire for the signal. Having said that, be careful about the overall length of the signal wire. These signals are prone to interference and don't like long cables. Controller needs to be fairly close by. I wouldn't call it a known limitation as such. It's not going to get fixed, it's a fundamental part of the design of how the signalling works. If you feed two strips from a single signal the strips will be an exact copy of each other. ie. if you fed from a central position then a traditional chaser would result in the chase being from centre outward. There would be no physical way of having a chase from one end to the other.

I'm at the end of my knowledge. Hopefully one of the professionals on here will speak up with more details. Everything I've put above can help you verify Chartered engineers but don't think you need to be chartered to practice so long as qualified and that might be an area that's a little harder to check.

Dry ice I think, CO2 not H2O

In that case the reg body is: https://www.ice.org.uk/ This is all very clearly stated on the government website. All I'm doing is googling it for you. All these orgs will likely do is be able to confirm that this person is qualified/has active registration. You really need to check the insurance of the professionals use because if something goes wrong that's what you will be relying on. Mortgage companies, buyers will care about the qualifications.

Before engaging her you asked for a copy of her credentials and insurance right? What does she claim to be on her communications/advertising? If she claims to be a Chartered Structural Engineer then this is the professional body that you can check with: https://www.istructe.org/

It's this. Centre feeding a normal (non-addressable) strip is fine (and recommended on long runs). Addressable strips need to be fed from one end (and generally have a limited length so don't need anything else). The signal wire is not continuous. The first chip has a signal input and signal output pin where the output feeds the next chips input. You can, if you want, wire two strips in parallel but then each strip would behave identically, limiting the patterns you can make. (This method could be used to centre feed, if you cut the strips then layed one in one direction and the other in the opposite direction from that centre point.

Rather than spend time on current radiator. Just go buy a new one. Cheap (unless unusual type), easily available from places like Screwfix. Time spent fiddling now is just a waste. Fitting a new like for like rad shouldn't take particularly long.

Hmm, I was thinking the self regulating PTC kind. Just looked at the link and this type is controlled by a thermostat. Might be a bit difficult with insulation then. TLC seem to sell the self regulating kind on the same page, but then looks like you need to do the termination yourself which is a bit more involved than normal domestic electrics.

And then insulate the pipe with the heating tape on the inside

Infill frames around where windows are? A requirement that could be designed out with some thought. I think I've seen (online) something done whereby you build every frame the same, stand them, brace them (even board them). Then come back and infill support structures around windows (cutting the required i-joists then adding lintel support in one operation). Do it that way and you get a protected shell in very short order and then cut in access. But it might be my memory confusing this for something else.

Agree, though if you are paying for help in any form, then quicker is usually cheaper too. Simpler also = quicker. In terms of performance I expect you can get exactly the same performance from either option. I think it would be very difficult to build any wooden structure solo. Two pairs of hands minimum, so either there are two of your with a fairly unlimited time budget or you are paying for help/asking for favours (which have a limit). Then having a simpler structure that can go up quickly is a huge benefit. Building out of ICF as John suggests is much slower but a lot of it could be done single handed with only lintels, etc, needing a second pair of hands. But then you have to do the roof. Portal style, you build each frame on the ground then stand it up (and brace it). Repeat. Then you board. Single storey makes things a lot easier. One point with the portal style is that I have a feeling (but not at all sure) that you would be able to avoid the need for a big long beam along the ridge of the roof to hold the roof up as each frame section can be self supporting. You just need to brace them against movement. This could be a large cost saving (big glulams are not cheap or easy to install) This really isn't an area I can say much more about. Gus is the expert. However, my main concern from this thread is that finances are really so extremely tight that all decisions really need to be made on a cost first, performance second basis. Not saying you can't get a high performance shell, but a lot of the conventional approaches to achieving that don't really consider cost as a primary factor.