Mr Punter

What do Building Control say? They would normally insist on a full specification plus structural calcs.

With a standard softwood timber frame it is always mechanically fixed down to stop it moving. Did the oak frame come with a specification covering this?

I agree. At least self builders can still do the labour intensive stuff if they are hands on.

I am about to fit some GRP external stair tread covers. They use them on railway concourse steps and stadiums where they have thousands of people walking on them. I bet single ply and roofing felt would not be as tough.

We will probably find out it was Thermalite blocks and the plasterboard gave a better fixing!

Yes you need to apply to the Sewerage Provider for a new connection. They will have a form where you indicate how you will connect and pipe materials and sizes (existing manhole, new manhole, external backdrop, splay, saddle etc). It is fairly inexpensive. They rarely inspect the work, but do take some photos as evidence.

First off, what's with the footwear display? Regarding drainage, if there were no issues before there should be none now. Best have a fall away from the house. I would be tempted to leave a 100mm wide channel against the walls and fill with pea gravel in case the walls get saturated above DPC with splashes but it depends how exposed they are.

No so much. You need a hoarding but don't put it on the road unless you get a licence and comply with attached conditions.

You only need a licence if the hoarding is on the road, but you must make sure the work site is secure to avoid unauthorised access and separate the site from the public.

Sounds like they were a bit lazy. You may get some cracks up the join.

You may find that single room split AC is the way forward for cooling. It can sometimes be simpler not to combine different functions in a single system. The nice thing about it is the pipework is very small bore and very well insulated. I would not run cold ducting inside a warm house.

To be thermally efficient I understand that the glass units should be within the insulation zone, whereas if flush with the brickwork they will be in the cold zone. I have done some a bit like this in Velfac but used a small cill projecting about 25mm:

I have seen an install where the UFH pipes floated to the surface of the concrete. Very very bad.

I have found that if the drainage system gets blocked it can have a knock-on effect further upstream as the pipework seems to get out of kilter. We have had blockage in the main below ground run and if it backs up it can mess with other properties even after the downstream blockage is cleared. You son requires some "education"...

You won't be quick enough to get this nicely in the mould before it sets.

Yes this is normally the drain or the AAV. Lift a manhole lid.

Yes the composite ones stay in place better.

I would just use a couple of furfix / wall starters spaced 60mm apart for that bit. 5 minutes work.

Where does the downpipe connect to internally? Can you not excavate to connect to the same pipe underground but have an external gutter and downpipe?

Hope they had a load of retarder in the mortar...

I like cooker hoods to have stainless steel grease filters that go in the dishwasher and are externally vented via min 150 dia ducting.

Does not look like you will need to dig down too far - maybe a metre?

The rule seems to be only mastic the outside. In this case, just run the mastic up 50mm vertically between the glass and the profile and any water in the profile should drain back out into the tray.

You will not get a premium for eco stuff. Nobody looks at an epc. MVHR is just another thing to go wrong. Timber frame and brick or block outer leaf is acceptable to most. Sounds like you already have a tiled pitched roof. I am not sure if metal floor, Hardie cladding and renderboard is a great deal kinder to the environment.

At least if you are the one who plasterboards the ceilings you will not struggle to find a joist.