Mr Punter

The coving adhesive is really strong when it sets. If you DIY this, wipe off any excess as it will not sand. I have taken off coving where it feels like it is holding the place together. Is the ceiling high? It is no fun climbing up a ladder with a bit of plaster moulding loaded with adhesive. I would not contest the price. Not that much in the scheme of things.

I have seen it where all boards are glued, the first board also gets a nail, then after it is watertight the whole lot gets screwed. I am not sure the screws are needed, just what was specified. These were collated ones with a square drive head that was non standard size. If they missed a joist they would not sit flush and were a bastard to remove.

Be good to find an installer that is able to fit a few makes. Daikin, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Panasonic etc. You need an FGAS installer. You can only DIY the prep work, not the fitting. Just a unit in the main room would be cheapest. The bedroom will need little / no extra heat. Electric towel rad in bathroom. You could get the whole lot supplied and fitted for between £1,000 and £2,000 if you shop around.

That is a fair sized garage! Another vote for air-to-air. Domestic hot water is often an issue for smaller flats but the air-to-air won't work for this, so you are down to resistance heating either instantaneous or store in a cylinder.

The 6mm T&E will be fine for this. The Sparky should make the choices on cable sizing, runs, isolation etc. It is his job to know.

Not mine, just Googled. 98% are left hand. I guess it is simpler that way. With the one below you may be more restricted with components that can be handed either way? A plumber may give a proper answer, but they are too busy counting money at the moment.

I don't understand why it would take a few years. Also, the options are finite. If you submit an application it will normally be determined within 6 months (often 3), even with amendments and committee. If it is refused, the appeal process should be perhaps a month to prepare and submit and about 8 months to determine. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/appeals-average-timescales-for-arranging-inquiries-and-hearings The taking years would only happen if, for example, you were trying to build outside the settlement boundary.

I would say no hardstanding has been installed. The only hardstanding is the tarmac which was existing. Hardstanding is for parking motor vehicles. DON'T go down the planning consent route.

https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/b/Festool?wblb=5_Festool

I have had a Miele, Jura, Delongi and am now on a Melitta. The Melitta is the best for milk frothing.

The front elevation is visually poor. If you look at any house it is the main thing that will either draw you in or put you off. Yours will not win any beauty contests. Even if you make no other changes, sort the front.

Another vote here to stick with the combi. Spend the money on better insulation and airtightness. If the motivation for the ASHP is to be more environmentally friendly, perhaps fewer baths or look at fitting waste water heat recovery instead.

Just re-read and 20mm of insulation is pathetic, especially as you intend to heat the floor. This would only be acceptable in, say a bathroom. In a larger room it is stupid. 15 years ago we were doing 75mm floor insulation.

I would just fit the Aico ones. They are reliable and decent value. Get the mains lithium ones. Nobody will notice whatever the aesthetic thing with the lights is supposed to achieve.

As discussed before, I think you will do better to demolish and design and build from scratch, saving the VAT and no longer constrained by the existing footprint. You existing consent will be a great help. I would still be interested to know what you had in mind for curtains / blinds for the upper floors with the glazed gables and dormers?

Welcome If the couple in the CGI are representative of you then well done! Most of us are late middle age and many are coffin dodgers. A great looking house.

I often see traditional screed specified at 75mm and liquid screed at 50mm. I guess you could shave 10-15mm off these but any more may be risky.

I think you are better off just doing what you can afford. By the time you get to phase 2, your circumstances may have changed. Kids grown up, job changes, win the lottery, sent to prison etc. Also, consider if there are similarly enlarged houses in the road, and their value.

Yes it is condensation. Moist air from the warmer ground rising to hit the freezing underside of the OSB, condensing and freezing. Flat roof will tend to suffer more than pitched. No wind currently, so the ventilation is not doing much.

It looks like it is external, travelling up the cladding on the right and into the batten space on the roof. The flush PV system is probably all plastic and looks to have added some fuel. Slates and rooflights look OK. Even the battens are sort of intact.

I doubt you will get anywhere near with your budget but you could certainly make some big improvements. The floors will be a challenge as you will be looking at around 200mm insulation, so if they are concrete they will have to come up. If you do internal wall insulation you could be looking at losing 150mm from each outside wall. If that does not work for you you could look at external wall insulation. You would lose the brick finish but the internals would be unaltered. It looks like you have a decent eaves overhang. Hopefully there is enough room in the loft for sufficient mineral wool. The windows look OK and you may decide to keep them. You will probably need to redo the flat roof with a proper warm roof.

Yes but there is no point getting them out for a valuation for a £10k draw if they are costing you £400 per valuation. Get to know them and make sure they include everything in their valuation.

Ask them to give a price for each valuation. You can then weigh up when to do the drawdowns.

With the passive slabs you may have to remove a lot of material and fill with compacted stone. If you are piling, the augered method causes less disturbance to neighbours than driven.

The guy in the shorts has done well not to fall in. Was this knock down and new build?