Mr Punter

Have a look at Martin Goodall's planning blog http://planninglawblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/listed-buildings-and-their-setting.html If the building is grade I you may be in trouble. It may be that you need a statement explaining how the proposal does not impact so adversely as to merit a refusal. It could be that there are also some positive impacts.

You will prob have done the part R anyway. It is really only a hole through the wall. This is aimed at developers who would not otherwise bother.

Also they are branded as "Optima", which sounds more upmarket.

I do 8mm under doors but please bear in mind floor finishes. If I have 20mm engineered wood I lay this first, then door lining / frame on top, so calculate structural opening height from this. Flooring such as carpet can take a fair amount of height so the lining / frame height may need to be a bit taller or you will need to cut the bottom of the door to get the required space under.

We have fitted seven of these in new build houses selling at £650, 000 to £1,000,000. They seem fine and do not look out of place. We also used their solid worktops which are supplied by another firm and are also good quality. The main downside is that you need to get the design done yourself and you have to familiarise yourself with the website ordering, which I found a bit clunky. I also had a couple of deliveries after 8 in the evening and one on a Saturday morning which was inconvenient as we operate normal site hours.

Trees such as hawthorn and willow together with clay soil means that trench fill foundations may not be feasible even if the trees are a fair distance away. You may be OK with the passive slab approach but I have never had one designed. I am interested to see how you get on. The project we are just completing - silt under made ground next to a river - needed piles to a depth of 25m. Mucho costo.

What are you using it for? They are a bit of a learning curve and as other have said can be v. dangerous, especially if you are loading up to a scaffold. I hired and operated a 14m one for loading roofing materials onto a four storey building. We also got a Merlo rotating t/h with rotating forks for loading plasterboard into upper floors, but we got that with an operator as it was way beyond my ability. Great bit of kit. We loaded out over 40 packs of plasterboard and 14 pallets of insulation into 1st 2nd and 3rd floors in 3 days.

As long as the first floor is not needed to stabilise the walls I don't see why not. Could you not joist it out anyway though?

Have a look at http://tonyshouse.readinguk.org He achieved results of less than 1.0 with a brick and block construction.

That is interesting. I always followed the same reasoning about the liquid leaving solids stranded, but the system manufacturers and Building Regs make no mention of this being an issue. How steep was your blocked drain, and did it block in the same part of the run?

A while ago I spoke with someone at Polypipe and they said that this is not the case. Also, building regs do not state maximum gradients. It is however recommended that an access point is provided at a change in gradient.

We have had some for timber frame racking / sheathing and it got surface mould where OSB did not. Nothing like as bad as plasterboard though.

Don't use Fermacell as it is gypsum based and has a tenancy to go mouldy. It is also fairly expensive and difficult to cut. I recently used HardieBacker which is cement based but also difficult to cut. I cannot believe how neatly @Onoff has cut out the holes for the Geberit. Our tackers left gaps of up to 30mm on the basis that "the tiles will cover it"!

Sorry no broadband. It is engineered oak.

Photos 2 & 3 show them. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70745945.html They came from CTD. About £25 per metre. They are 1200 long 200 wide.

I have used wood effect porcelain tiles. They look great and you can treat them rough!

Unless there is a compelling reason for this, I would not bother. The skirting hides the gap between the plaster and the floor and protects the lower bit of wall from damage. Platerer likes to start about an inch from the floor because it is easier and does not pick up crap and drag it through the plaster. If you really want to do this, try a small room first. The plasterboard is well bonded to the insulation so it will be a bugger to do.

VCL on the warm side of the insulation, but a floor is a lot less prone to interstitial condensation than roof or walls.

No reason to keep the tank. Drinking water needs to come from the main in any case.

£900 is achievable if you do a fair amount yourself, ground conditions are easy and the house is simple.

I think B01 should be the same depth as the others but this was not supplied as part of the package so the builder got the nearest size conventional joist from a merchant, was unsure of how to make it fit, then sort of split the difference. Also I would be interested to know if the decking was D4 glued and screwed?

The GSE system is fully tested and certified as well as having an insurance backed guarantee. If you installed to the manufacturers instructions - which it looks like you have - you could look to them for a remedy. What you clearly need to avoid here is any risk of this recurring and I think it should be down to GSE to come up with a solution.

Regarding windows, unless it is a conservation area you can do your own thing. Have they requested samples of materials prior to construction commencement? If not, as long as the walls and roof are similar to the existing house you will be fine.

If you have a 300mm cavity, stainless ties will cost an extra £2.50 per metre and insulated ones an extra £7.50. Have a looks at http://tonyshouse.readinguk.org/ as he has done a conventional construction with concrete intermediate floors, which would help towards the solid feeling you are looking for.

What are you using the attic for? In my experience, unless it has proper staircase access it will only be used for storing crap / suitcases / skis / snowboard / old kids toys.