Mr Punter

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.

I understand that different LAs take different stances on this, where some are willing to accept a completed shell, others completed foundations and some may even ask for it to be completed and occupied for a period of time. I suggest that @JamesHopeful has a chat to the LA explaining what he wants to achieve and see what they suggest. There is no point in imagining that they will not enforce as this seems to be one area that is not so subject to budget restrictions.

Normally the PD rights that are removed only cover extension and enlargement. Solar panels, rooflights, windows etc are normally still OK to add.

Sounds like overkill. I have only used these on the floor and we laid them in tile adhesive. Adhesive plus screws may be best, but 150 centres is intense. Not so bad if you are fixing down onto a timber sub floor but too much for a wall.

Hi Josh As others have suggested, the glazing will probably lead to overheating. There are solutions such as SageGlass, brise soleil and external shutters but they are expensive and best considered early on. The plans look like traditional blockwork walls, so you might want to look at fully filled rigid insulation or if you increase the cavity, polystyrene beads. Traditional render and set internally is best for airtightness. I don't think the cars will fit the garage. Maybe 2 doors or one much wider? A lovely big house.

Maybe you could just have 8 around the edge and 2 in the middle.

With those washers I would just drill a 6mm hole through the board for red plugs and 50mm x 4mm stainless screw and plug through the board. They give you 100 washers, so 10 per board. 1 in each corner and the other 6 spaced around the edges. You could squirt a bit of ct1 in the holes if you want.

It is not going to happen as the first floor walls are built off it.

If the soil conditions are suitable I would look at building the whole thing on stilts using screw piles as suggested by @JSHarris.

If you are able to rule out UFH and tiles, you could get some insulation on top of the floor, then finish it with an overlay board and LVT (Amtico, Karndean etc) and heat with radiators. If you can live with the floor being 60mm higher, you could use 40mm thick pir type insulation (Kingspan, Celotex, Xtratherm etc) at a cost of about £7/m2, but the insulation improvement will be OK but not great. The fitting, overlay boards and finishes will likely bring the cost up to £70/m2. If you are feeling flush, you could use Kingspan Optim-R 40mm thick which will be four times better at insulating but will cost an extra £130/m2 or so.

Sometimes they use a tool to create a slot in the screed while it is still green

I think the issue that makes this difficult to rectify is that the first floor walls will be built up off the offending 18mm chipboard, which is probably glued to the floor joists, so the chipboard cannot come up without taking out the roof and walls. Overboarding is the only option. I am keen on 22mm Egger Protect, glued all edges and to the 18mm and screwed. Perhaps get them to compensate for the required door adjustments.

Any structural engineer experienced in steel framed buildings would be able to design this for you. You could contact a firm who do agricultural buildings and see if they could recommend someone.