bassanclan

Assuming that the only reason for refusal is the highways issue, I would check what the council's highway requirements are, show how you are going to meet them and resubmit your application to the local authority. (I think it will be free). Halfway through the 8 week period ring up and find out the lay of the land and if it is likely to be refused again, then send in your appeal. Or you could appeal and resubmit simultaneously.

Not necessarily two zones, unless you wanted different temperatures in different rooms, but definitely two circuits/loops, you wouldn't want 200m in one loop

You can get away with around 65mm of liquid screed with reinforced fibres, but you will need to hire a machine to scrabble the "wax" which forms on the top (unless you are laying carpet, then really what's the point of ufh) This is what I did, but didn't take the laitance off for a few months which proved to be a right pita. Tarmac topflow.

How did you finish the "celing" of the alcove @Nickfromwales did you leave it as is or tile?

Have you looked at lpd doors, they are ok, or Todd doors?

Swimming pool is a good idea actually! Duck pond would be a cheaper alternative, depending on fire requirements for water cleanliness etc Is there a nearby brook/stream which you might be able to divert, or get a wayleave to put some sort of pipe system in place?

There's no substitute for going and seeing what you are buying and getting it there and then, but depends where you are etc. Have you looked at Howdens/Magnet trade where you are usually buying from stock?

i wish i had ewi, it seems pretty much any clown can throw that up, but apparently forming a freehand wet external corner is beyond the skill level of many-a-renderer

I had intended to leave the render unpainted, but I'm now going to give it a coat of cream self cleaning paint (after priming the beads). I can't do much until I get the repairs done

So a couple of renderers came to look at how to fix it. Neither were willing to give a price because they didn't know how much work would be involved once they started hacking of the dodgy areas. So I paid a surveyor to come and give an expert opinion - £5000-£7000 to fix it!

A picture tells 1000 words

A conservation area is an area where the planners have deemed the buildings and environment to be of particular merit to warrant conserving. To that end any alterations which alter the character of that area are likely to be resisted and more likely to be refused. For example something as simple as erecting a satellite dish can be problematic. By the sound of it you don't really have the experience and knowledge to get this through on your own and you need a planning consultant.

Good choice on the large door, I'm sure you won't regret it or ever wish "if only I had two singles"

If you are paying £1000 for a concrete pump, you can get 12 days of a labourer who could be mixing concrete all day to fill the blocks as you go. I paid £400 cash for a concrete pump.

I had a thought about that and realised I was talking rubbish! It was too early in the morning for my brain

If you have a system with a thermal store, ufh etc it's all filled with antifreeze and inhibitor, however if you introduce a tmv, then surely you are introducing clean cold water into the system and diluting the chemicals by an unknown amount. Or is it not really cold, but simply cooler water from the bottom of the thermal store you are introducing?

Well at least it's not your fault. I managed to knock down a 4m long 1m high wall when lifting the beams for the block and beam floor into position. I thought it would be a great idea to use a loop strap around the digger bucket, but as you can imagine a 5m concrete beam is not that stable when picked up in such a fashion! There is nothing you can do about what happened all you can do is make sure that the remainder is safe and then get it rebuilt and filled with concrete asap.

Window companies really are the worst part of the building trade. I'm just settling the dispute I had with my r9 window company from May 2016. Still waiting for a vat reciept, fensa certificate and warranty.

Given where you are at the minute I would try and get a few more noggins in if you have access and then go for vinyl or (robust) tile effect laminate.

+1 to digger & driver. It will work out much cheaper for you

The etching primer instructions generally say to abrade the surface with sandpaper/scotchpad etc to get the shine off the upvc. This would take a decent amount of time. I would also need a clear coloured etch primer and have to hope it didn't attack the surrounding render (I presume it contains acid)

I don't know why they didn't use beads on the heads and reveals. I'm not happy as it is, I've found someone that knows how to form wet external freehand corners who has done a lot of work on conservation buildings etc, so hopefully he can sort it out

The rendering saga drags on. After scraping all the silicone out the joints, the contractor has rendered the whole house, but it has taken longer than he expected. There are a few areas for snagging, such as patching up and squaring up some reveals and heads, but he's walked off the job. Am I being too picky? Is there an acceptable tolerance for render e.g 10mm in 5m etc?

Start with the contractor, they will get in touch with Parex, who will send a rep out who will know what has caused the problem and suggest a fix.

I haven't seen any of those panels I like the look of, certainly not more than large format porcelain & epoxy grout. I just had an email about some 1200x2400 porcelain tiles, god knows how much they are though!