Mr Punter

You can only use rainwater for limited non-potable applications, such as loo flush and washing machine. You will then have a third water system in the house. If it runs dry you will need to top it up. The water must not be left to stagnate. You will need to store it, treat it and pump it. I have looked into this and you are wasting your time and money.

My son is a building services engineer. He just does the electrical design and other engineers in the firm do mechanical stuff and thermal modelling. They do deal with housing but it would be for multi units, blocks and high rise, where there is more to consider. For a one-off house you are probably better off discussing with the plumber and electrician where you want sockets, rads, boiler etc. Your architect ought to be able to give some indicative locations. You can mark up a plan by hand. Get your MVHR firm to do the design for this. They will charge but it is worth doing. SAP calcs are very cheap and you can shop around for a quote. You need them for Building regs and warranty.

Another vote for pre-making the corners and fixing at an angle. 200mm screws will give the correct fixing, with 50mm embedment into the studs. Again, pre-drill everything.

The idea of the standard is that is give assurance that the battens have been properly graded and will be safe to use on the roof and also to walk on and maintain in the future. No BS5534 stamp, no good for roof.

I have used Build Zone this time. I just shop around for quotes. I prefer actual insurance cover rather than relying on a claim on someone's professional indemnity insurance.

No you want the screw to be able to pass through the material. If you pre-drill, you can just secure each batten with the top screw, then load the rest of the screws in the holes, plumb up the battens and have a screw fest without picking up screws / drill.

You could pre drill all the battens at once. Maybe stack them and do 3 at a time. Easy to get the spacings OK and you can set them up at worktop height. Cut to correct length.

It can depend on your proposed floor finishes eg if you have wood on top you may want nosing in the same material. I guess you can always lay it to the edge and cut back if required.

Yes. Obvs drill the battens with 6mm bit.

Sadly not idiot builder proof! Was the UPS commissioned as I would expect the battery to last at least a week. Basement waterproofing with a high water table is no mean feat. Internal drained membrane and pumps is the lowest risk system so hopefully you won't have any further issues other that the maintenance costs.

I have had a very similar look on some granite tiles when they were installed and after about 6 months it faded away. Do you have an up-to-date picture?

Larger holes with a diamond core drill seem easier. We have used granite tiles on jobs but the whining from the plumbers etc about drilling them drove me crazy. Can you get a separate contractor to do the drilling or specify by others?

Yes I don't like the layout of the American fridge freezers with ice makers. I have a Samsung one and I would not have another. If you do end up with one, get an extended guarantee. We have a 5 year one and they have replaced loads of bits already. New door because of faulty design causing it to rust, plastic surround on the glass shelves broke, so new shelves (we bought 5 of these for the development and they all had the same defect. New ice maker. We are 3 years in. They look OK but are not reliable. It used to be that fridges lasted for ages.

@ashthekid why the dislike of res bars? They do a decent job of decoupling, which is key to blocking transmission. Failing that, an independent wall with, say 50mm metal i studs, 2x 15mm plasterboard and Rockwool infill. It depend on budget and sacrificial floor area. For the ceilings you could do a separate metal frame ceiling. Again depends on how much budget and headroom you have. With flats we do res bars and 2 layers of 15mm soundbloc on the ceilings plus 28mm acoustic overlay boards onto 22mm chipboard for the floor above.

I put some of the self adhesive plastic smoke seals around some doors in our house. It stops the doors making much noise when they are closed and really helps with sound, even though the doors have a 10mm gap under.

That sounds like a fatally flawed basement design. Is it the case that if you ever have a power outage it will flood? For drying I also like open windows, but if you cannot get much natural ventilation a combination of dehumidifiers and heaters works well. We had a flooded new build due to a leak at first floor which pissed in overnight so it was like a rainforest on the ground floor. 2 big heaters, 2 big dehumidifiers on 24 x 7 and 2 weeks later it was dry. We didn't even need to replace the ceilings, just a re-dec.

I have some frameless style glazing but it is not sealed unit it is 25mm laminated so no issues with misting. They used an ali channel set into the brickwork so the ali is not visible.

You could buy a counter top or under counter ice making machine. Then get a big integrated fridge and freezer.

Often the assessor will ask "Did you make any changes from the design stage assessment?" You answer "No" They will need your airtightness test and will then issue the final sap / epc.

Why not fix a pair of handles vertically back to back? Fit the stop so the handle does not foul the frame.

I wonder if it would be possible to have some insulation blown in? Could be cellulose or mineral wool.

A Hilti / Spit gun is not dangerous if you use it correctly.

I have used the GRP composite doors and they seem easy to fit and low maintenance. Probably about £500 + VAT and fitting.

If the DPM under the slab extends up the sides of the slab you can lap it with the DPC for the blockwork, although you may need to some additional paint or stick on membrane if the 2 would not otherwise meet. Rendered single skin block is fine for a garage. You will need some internal piers as the walls are quite long. If you have a metal roof you can get panels sandwiched with foam insulation, which prevents condensation forming and dripping down.

Could you make the internal walls a bit deeper to accommodate the ducting and vents? The supply vents tend to be located at the opposite end to the doorways.