bassanclan

I project manage a few small jobs (say 5 people working for a week) (not residential) for a small company of 25 workers. We generally charge 3 times the direct labour cost, but if it overuns into a 6th day I end up getting called into a directors meeting as the job has lost the company money.

Engineered oak floor is often 'oiled' finish so you may need some flooring oil. If you know what surface it has when it was first fitted that will help.

What do you envisage happening in the 3.5m space at the top of your diagram? I presume the 3530 space between the kitchen and the bifold doors is the dining area

There are millions of shower trays installed in the uk, only one is installed on a piece of laminate flooring underlay, maybe everyone else is wrong! The tray really needs to be rock solid which means bonded to the surface below either with mortar or tile adhesive. You have probably paid a couple of hundred pounds or more for the tray, but the manufacturer warranty won't apply if its not installed according to their instructions. Make a decision about if you need to move the tray and then fix it in its permanent position properly

I would confirm in writing to the architect that he has agreed to cover the cost of raising the height and then worry about the worktop potential damage later. He has basically admitted his mistake and if push came to shove he will have to cover the repair to the worktop too.

Fit your firring strips 60mm to 0mm 750mm long ontop of your rafters and you have a bit more meat

Say they have been fitted with Pilkington Aktiv self cleaning glass!

20mm celotex is not a lot! Is there any other insulation under that?

Maybe try the shapes of your preferred design, but the materials of the approved. I can see the planners might say your preferred design means the side gables look too dominant on the street scene or too bulky, by changing the material you make the middle rendered section appear the most prominent feature with the side wings blending into the background more. Overall I personally don't think the front hangs together exactly 'right' in either design, but maybe you have constraints that are not immediately obvious

If you lay it on something compressive it means it can move, if it means it can move then you have a potential water ingress. You need to measure everything, decide where you want it and go for it, alternatively raise it either using the leg systems or a solid timber or block platform

Could you live with smaller bifolds and u shaped kitchen? That would allow you a bit more room in your shower room to get the washing machine away from the open plan area which could prove very noisy otherwise.

The 3 phase bit should not cost more unless you want it installed across all 3 phases. You can put 4kw on one phase

Your local upvc manufacturer will be able to help

Planners will never agree to anything that needs mirrors to make it safe. If it is genuinely safe declare the visibilty splay/distances. (Doesn't mean you can't put mirrors up too, but just don't mention it!) If its not safe without the mirrors then a rethink is needed.

You can generally pick up an empty bottle from ebay or Facebook marketplace for £20-30 and then get it filled, cheaper than the alternative. Also your local tip might have a some "for sale"

What would be the percentage if you built the 6m extension?

If your diagram is anything like accurate, then your house already breaks the 45 degree rule or if not would certainly do so if extended 3m. I very much doubt a 7m extension will get permission, it would mean that next door have an awful outlook, but the only way to know would be to try!

What are the distances and i presume that your house is detached?

It is not their main residence! Their main residence is their RAF house. CGT will be payable, but only if the gain is more than £12300 (or £24600) if co-owned. If they have owned it for many years and used it as their main residence then the gain in those years would be CGT free. Also their PPR extends for the final 9months of ownership, so they are only looking at the gain in 15 months

If it was originally a garage later converted to a garage it is indeed an extension to the habitable space. Although it appears the council may have made a mistake in their description of the dining room reason for refusal, upon closer examination their overall reason for refusal would remain valid for a certificate of lawfulness.

The study definitely looks like an extension, both in the way the rooms are laid out and the way it looks from the outside. I would suggest that you need to prove it is original from1949 for the planners to believe you and your planning consultant should have foreseen this.

I used the R9, they are great windows but expensive.

The best answer is to let the person doing the most baking make the choice!

I went round with an angle grinder and put a clean cut in the concrete across thee doors as soon as the concrete had got just hard

You could have a log burner with boiler feeding into a buffer tank. Log burners with boilers work more efficiently when they have a electric pump but MUST work via thermo-syphoning (i.e. hot water rises) in the even of a powercut, otherwise they could cause the water in the boiler to boil like a kettle