Mr Punter

Nice. If you have already lived there a while you will have a good idea of how you want it to be. Make sure you put lots of insulation in the roof and floor. I like that the open plan extension is done without creating more corridor.

The powdered lime is horrendous to inhale if you are using it and DIY mixing so be cautious if you are doing this.

You did not instruct the engineer, you just got another opinion. In the past I have bought a plot of land with full PP. When we later did a site measure the proposed house would not fit. I had no claim against the original designer as I did not appoint him.

I think he could have left the toilet with the varying gap and asked you to confirm what you wanted, rather than mastic in the panel pissed. Quick call / picture and it is decision made instead of bodge.

That is interesting. Quite unprofessional of firm no.2 as they should have assessed what was required of them when they looked at the job. Why did you not stick with the original architect?

If your house is well insulated you may find that heat from downstairs means upstairs rads are not needed. MVHR will not impact one way or the other and does not move heat around the house. The MVHR will do the bathrooms. In the kitchen I prefer a separate extract as I like to fry / char. The MVHR will not supplement your heating system, it is just for ventilation. It may have a small impact on your SAP calcs. The main benefit is controlled ventilation with lower heat losses. Like most mechanical ventilation there can be some noise when it is at full tilt. A bigger system with larger ducting can minimise this.

If you can easily quantify the total value of your claim, write to the other party explaining that these are the costs you incurred and you would like them to agree to reimburse you. Be polite. If you hear nothing, follow up with another letter or email. It takes ages to get anything heard in court, so leave this until you hit the buffers with the polite but persistent correspondence.

Is that just a steel lintel which has been rendered underneath? All looks fine. Plenty of bearing either end. I think the vertical gaps are weep holes, so leave them as gaps.

How do you fit windows with a wide cavity? I wouldn't want to sit them on a cavity closer over a 200mm void.

That is not how I see it. The architect does not deliver a building. There are lots of other professions involved. They will normally get others to do structural design and calcs, M & E, SAP, drainage, kitchen and bathroom layouts, QS works and landscaping. Often the various contractors will design their own works. There is no need to pay a premium for the work you have already paid for. Just agree this in advance in the fee discussions. Often the main plan is designed by the head honcho and the grunt work is done by the office CAD monkey.

Why not get her to quote for as far as the planning application stage and after that they agree to hand over CAD versions of the material should you choose not to go with them for building regs?

I have never heard of the firm. Integrated ones do close a bit more firmly without the furniture door but should still be fine. Yours sounds like Arkwright's till! I have never seen an integrated dishwasher without the door fitting kit and a template. Out of interest, what made you choose that brand?

I have used the bridge type cutters for 900 x 900 porcelain used as splashback. You need to be aware that the blade can wander on the cheaper ones. Our tilers just used a big Rubi manual cutter for 600 x 600. I cut out the sockets with a 4" grinder.

With the mortar, there is only a tiny bit needed. Apply this and leave it a couple of days before you silicone. https://www.toolstation.com/toupret-touprelith-f-exterior-masonry-repair-filler/p35114 For the silicone, you could run some masking tape 2mm either side of the join (a piece on the mortar and a piece on the frame) and use a mastic gun to apply a bead of silicone. Smooth it off with a finger. Clean your hands, then remove the masking tape. https://www.toolstation.com/premium-building-silicone-310ml/p97204

Having got the guys to use both the XPS type and the Hardie backer cement board type in the past, I would go for the XPS based ones as they seem far easier to handle, cut and fit.

Not yet but have spec'd it for a forthcoming project where we have to get a minimum 19% C02 improvement over part L 2013. I was also looking at Foamglas but the Marmox looks cheaper and has higher compressive strength.

The Fibolite blocks are made with expanded clay beads. They are not the aircrete crappy ones. The Marmox are good for a single course. Get your SAP person to let you know if they make any difference to your rating.

Do you think that is a bricked up fireplace?

You could replace the quadrant with a decorative plaster cornice to cover the error:

Yes @KevinG. I don't see the need in a concrete floor if the ground underneath is decent and not too wet. The walls are (I hope) supported on foundations, so the floor just needs to be stable, dry and well insulated.

A bad plan if the cases contain butter, otherwise suggest that BCO sticks to Building Regulations compliance.

It is difficult to match up sprayed paint finish. You need to lose the edges with some fine sandpaper and do as @joe90 says. It that a ceiling or a floor? It is a bit hard to tell in your place.

It is probably not going to happen as it is a terrace with higher ground and solid floors at the back. I would guess it is the same all the way along the street. I would like to remove all the floors, dig out at the back and get all floors levels to 130mm below where you want your finish. At the front you will need to make the level up and you could use hardcore from the back plus some MOT or sand. Use a wacker to consolidate the floors. Lay 1200 gauge DPM and lap up the walls a bit. Lay 100mm Kingspan type insulation. Lay 22mm chipboard as a floating floor, leaving a 15mm gap at perimeters and your chosen floor finish on top. If you have services running in the floor you can have some areas of, say, 2 x 50mm insulation and cut the runs out.

The reason for a ventilated cavity is to prevent water crossing into the structure. The cavity ideally needs to be next to the rainscreen - in your case the cladding. Given where you are with this, I would fill or part fill the 150mm cavity with Rockwool slab, fixed to the ply and cover with a fire resistant membrane. You may need a starter profile at the base.

The wall looks quite new. Maybe saturated / badly installed insulation and / or poor pointing.