Mr Punter

Sorry. @tonyshouse built his place using brick and block and is a very strong advocate. It is worth having a read as his place was very carefully detailed and performs very well. I don't have a preference for build method.

I have only done one ICF and that was a basement using Polarwall which uses XPS. Did not use much bracing. It does not use blocks but has rails that the insulations slots into. You have an inner and outer leaf, joined together with plastic ties and the middle is filled with concrete. I am not sure how it compares in price / performance but it may be worth getting a quote.

If you do lots of smelly cooking I don't think a downdraft or flush ceiling extract will work for you. Downdraft only really work immediately next to the source. They would not extract from the far edge of a frying pan for example. The further a ceiling extract is from the source the large and more powerful it will need to be to prevent the smells circulating throughout the room. If you look at any commercial kitchen setup you will get an idea of what is most effective. I would recommend a powerful fan is mounted on an outside wall and you use large diameter ducting.

How dare you! Wash your mouth out! Brick & block with extra wide cavity.

The zinc and the aluminium soakers seem to be OK. Cost about £1 each. You need to be a bit careful about mixing metals re electrolysis.

You can build a new house that is a perfect replica of what is there, even reusing some materials. You could even have some modifications. I think the old building has served its useful life and you would be better with something warm, dry, comfortable and cheap and easy to run and maintain.

Get in touch with your roofing materials supplier and ask what is in stock. It looks like those are plain tiles but I am no expert. It would be quicker to tile using a larger format interlocking tile. I assume you are going to re-felt and batten. Actually the roof in the photo doesn't look too bad.

Forget the softwood timber deck. It will go crappy in a couple of years. Infill with hardcore and slab finish.

If you are at the head of a very long run, you may need an open vent, otherwise the AAV will be fine.

You could terminate under the eaves and fit an external AAV.

Why not just have it outside all the way?

I quite like sand / cement / lime. Either leave plain (if you don't have exposed render beads) or paint. Applied by a top plasterer it will last over 60 years.

So they replaced every element, but it still retains the form and appearance of the original. I guess it does look like a conversion. Love the use of the pallets to hold up the roof. Proper farmer!

Good plan to use some heat to dry it out.

Not got a spare tile? I have not found the Magic Man type repairs very good for tiles. Can you replace it? I like the grout colour in this bathroom.

If I were your neighbour I would complain to the Council as they no longer have enjoyment of their garden without overlooking. That looks a lot more than 600mm. Looking at the brick courses and that you have five risers that looks more like 900mm high. Did you discuss with your neighbours, or just go ahead?

Update on this it was actually a mini pump station for drainage from a bathroom that failed. I suggested they buy a replacement pump.

Some nice, solid ground. Like if you dropped a sledgehammer where the base was going from a height of a metre, after 50 goes it would not be sinking down.

One or two pins missing. Make sure the acrows are tied together with scaff poles. Make sure they all are vertical and have a proper footing.

If it is softwood boards, no need to pre-drill. Leave the nails. Screws like these https://www.toolstation.com/floor-tite-tri-lock-pozi-screw/p51501 Make sure you hit the joists.

From the photo it looks like about 600mm from pavement to threshold. There is not enough room to make a ramp for a wheelchair and a standard wheelchair cannot negotiate steps. You would struggle even for ambulant disabled access.

Cut a piece of timber batten and slip it behind the existing plasterboard at an angle and fix through either end with a screw. If the hole if too fiddly for you to get in, mark it out and cut it bigger. Cut a new piece of plasterboard the size of the hole and screw it to the batten. Fill, sand, repeat. Paint.

I would make the porch bigger and have it properly double fronted. I had a Victorian house a while back that was a similar design but a bit smaller. Sadly it was on a main road, the chimneys compromised some of the rooms and it cost a fortune to heat.

I have tried a repair with a bag of the cold stuff but it was hopeless. Sticks to your shoes and gets trodden everywhere and it never seems to go off.

I prefer traditional screed. They do it readymix with fibres and drop it to site. It goes in a bit thicker. If the screeders are good it is a superb finish. I suspect it has better adhesion for tiles as it is not so smooth as the liquids.