Mr Punter

You can often just clad the existing timber with the powder coated aluminium.

@Triassic did you get a design and spec for cavity barriers / fire stopping?

Oak worktop might also work for you as treads. How are you fixing them? Have you worked out the weight of steel in that thing?

It would be possible to separate the air flow from the rainscreen and the roof void. Having fire resistant breather membrane on the timber frame would also help. Once the walls are alight the roof would not be my main concern. I have used the intumescent stuff between dwellings in a terrace but it is very expensive and probably not needed here.

75mm stuff is easier to cut, but you can always foam the edges. I have noticed a difference in the foil facings where some of the wrinkle up but I don't think it makes much difference which brand if it under concrete or screed. If the concrete has mesh you will be fine. Get it specced by your SE. Sometimes there can be a point loading issue if you jack up a heavy vehicle.

Surely it would be the plumber who was negligent though, as long as the main contractor checked he was gas safe and insured?

So if, for example, an unvented cylinder explodes because it has not been installed correctly, who is to blame?

Interesting that members here have variously blamed the site manager, bricklayer, building control inspector, bean counters and the MD of the building firm. If the responsibility to get this designed and fitted lay solely with the timber frame contractor the issue would probably not have arisen. I can't imagine how it would be if things like structural design, gas connection and boiler commissioning was just left to anyone on site, regardless of any subsequent inspection regime.

You can remove the wall and replace with a fence as long as you are not listed, conservation area, PD rights removed or covenant in your deeds restricts this.

I like an upside down house. You can have underfloor heating with pretty much any floor type. The downside with beam and block is that the underside is ventilated to outside so when it is windy the slab will get colder than if it were ground bearing. It may be handy for a slope though, especially if you cut and fill. Be very wary of solar gain. It can be a real problem, especially if you have south-west or west facing windows upstairs. I would not bother with UFH on the first floor, just rads. We have an upstairs kitchen and the rads are rarely used.

There is no need to flex muscles. These fire barrier omissions are made out of ignorance, not for cost saving.

The issue with the firestopping just affected timber framed houses. The reason it is being omitted is that nobody knows who is responsible for specifying and installing it. It should be part of the timber frame design and install package, same as truss clips, joist hangers, holding down straps etc and all can be inspected after timber frame erection is complete.

These should be taking half an hour if it is 100mm blockwork. Maybe the core bits are hopeless?

I have an RK front door with automatic motorised lock. We have an external call point intercom and handsets on 5 floors. The motorised lock completely locks / unlocks the door. We have set the handsets so they can talk to each other. We have a special signal for mealtimes etc. so saves yelling.

Not so here. Firestopping is often not clearly shown on drawings and not installed by the erectors. Often you are supplied with bags of the plastic socks of varying sizes without any instructions as to where, who and how it is installed. Making it part of the timber frame supply / erect package, to be inspected as part of the signoff, would make sense. It is even less clear what should happen with rainscreeen type cladding, as this requires airflow from bottom to top.

If you use stainless and set them out nicely I think the shiny finish can look good. It dulls down after a while in any case. Is this for vertical cladding?

We have a peninsular with the return 950 deep for seating. I like it because it gives a good run of worktop and with it wrapping round it is all within easy reach. I like sink and hob on the same run of worktop. I am not keen on the current fashion of a bank of tall units housing numerous ovens / fridges etc with no adjacent worktop. I have put islands in before but it is definitely not the best solution for all or even most kitchens.

@lizzie can you still use the ovens etc when you have 4 seated?

Often privacy issues relate to back gardens. Is there anywhere in their back garden that any window overlooks? A block plan and an elevation of your house may help.

Can you run a vent to a wall that does not face the road, or duct through the roof space and out through a soffit on the other side?

I didn't know it has to be a C by 2030. I suppose there will be exemptions if the improvements would cost too much. New boiler and controls will make quite a big difference to the score. If the increased rent return covers the conversion of the loft it is probably worth doing.

It is worth going straight through with the centre drill bit then drilling the last bit from the outside to make a neat job, unless you are a plumber so you can just smack a hole through and leave it to someone else to make good.

Biggest unknown will be asbestos and you MUST have an asbestos demolition survey carried out before you do any work.

I have used a silane / silixone type cream on an old building to help prevent brickwork saturation. I think the insulation claims may stand up for porous brickwork solid wall construction.

Unless the cost is more than 15% of the total build cost, get a mains connection. The borehole nearly finished off @JSHarris and he is one of the most resourceful members here.