Roundtuit

This. It needs support wires as it climbs by twisting around itself, but it doesn't cling to brickwork. Will look bare in winter, but you get the pay-back when it flowers.

Pleased you've got the fridge sorted. I wouldn't try to proof from the inside of the house; pest-proof the outside to stop the little feckers getting into the building fabric, and get a few traps down to clear out your current visitors or you may be replacing your replacement cable in the near future!

You really need to mouse-proof the house, not the cable, for all sorts of safety and health reasons, and sort out the current infestation ASAP if you've had mouse damage to new stuff within two days.

Has the doorway been moved? Looks like there is no significant lintel/support over the opening, so perhaps those struts are to stop any movement of the vertical steels around the opening.

Maybe the opposite. Our frame came with PIR factory-installed; very tight and accurately fitted, and foamed in for good measure. I'm pretty sure they weren't geared up for a rockwool or cellulose solution, so the job would maybe become less appealing for them if that was the choice.

There's a +5mm tolerance on the PIR boards, so I wouldn't attempt full fill.

Typically I think 140mm studs are filled with 120mm PIR due manufacturing tolerances, then we lined with another 40mm. I'm sure there are other rockwool/cellulose options you could look at with 300mm to play with. A 50mm cavity between frame and outer skin is required if you have masonry I believe. Mixing insulation will probably need some sort of condensation risk doing to avoid a dew-point in the wrong place.

Minor set-backs my friend! Seriously, I'm sure half of us have had that 'wtf did I start this for' feeling when waking in the small hours soaked in sweat and dreaming of -insert current snag here -. It's hard to keep perspective when it's your life/money/sanity, but it will be worth it when it's finished and the PTSD subsides 🙂

Anyone wanting to reasonably accurately calculate rebuild costs surely?

Maybe. Depends on why your house needs rebuilding, but I don't think it's an assumption you would make when calculating reinstatement costs.

Plus plot clearance and any additional costs associated with a brownfield site. Assuming the key requirement of a reinstatement cost is for insurance purposes, I wouldn’t want to estimate on the low side. It might not make a huge difference to costs as policies tend to have an 'up to' limit in quite broad brackets. I know for sure that if I had to rebuild my place I would not be hands-on again, so insurance would need to cover a builder and their profit margin.

Come on; stop beating around the bush and say what you think 😄

Bespoke, so they can build what you want. About 18 months ago, the frame was just under £19k erected, and included timber for studs, joists and cladding, but it is quite big: effectively 3 bays plus wood store each end, and storage space up top. Still progressing at a snail's pace as a 'spare time job', but looks more like this now...

Oak frame kit, delivered and erected in 2 days. Finish at your leisure via trades or DIY!

Don't forget to factor-in a ventilated cavity behind the cladding.