Roundtuit

Nah...looks off to me too. More like an a 'artist's impression', particularly as one of the kitchen above-counter sockets appears double-up through the photo montage...

That's the only one of three that made decent progress, and that's still probably the case 3 years on tbh. I did make an early mistake of using garden soil for some planting, so maybe a nutrient overdose.

Wildlife pond. 2 years and 2 months between pics.

At risk of going off-topic... then there's the upfront cost for a minimum delivery (500 litres?) to consider. I don't use oil, but I can see why people find themselves having to live in a cold house for a while.

Does it need repairing? What do you want to achieve?

Absolutely, but no easy fix without stripping back to what was supposed to be the airtightness strategy...

If you've got air circulating behind the plasterboard it could be coming from anywhere, and potentially multiple leaks; service penetrations, joist ends, window reveals, poorly taped joints etc... I'd just focus on the sockets where you can feel a problem and seal them up as best you can.

What's the wall make-up out of interest? Dot and dab? Timber frame? Service void? Which ever, I suspect the fix will the same 'sticking plaster': remove socket/back box, fill all gaps with something (foam, airtightness tape, mastic, all of the above), refit.

More details of the period and listing would be useful, but I'd suggest that the width of those openings isn't original so any replacement will be equally 'unauthentic', if visually more pleasing. If you're also in a conservation area, what's in adjacent buildings may also have a bearing. Have a chat with the conservation officer, some of them are almost half-reasonable. Failing that, secondary glazing is actually pretty good.

The timber might be sound and just needs a clean up, but I'd want the wardrobe out and plasterboard gone so you can see the full extent of the situation. Sometimes trades offer advice based on the time and resource they have available for the job, not necessarily what they'd do if it was theirs..

Apologies... ignore some of the above; I think I was looking at the adjoining property. Last sentence still applies though!

Difficult to guess from the pics really. I've had a quick look at the brochure, and I'd guess it's older than Victorian, at least in part. There's a lot going on with different levels, brick arches, basement etc and a bit of historical movement wouldn't be unusual. It wouldn't put me off, but I'd definitely be taking professional advice and budgeting for worst case.

I packed a load of offcuts into the space under and around the bath. Theoretically, the bath water may stay warmer longer. Practically, I've kicked the can along the road for a few years. Win-win!

You can't see the side walls properly, but you can see the tiles. I'd expect to see flashing over the tiles, but maybe there's some sort of tray underneath?

My first observation is that they haven't used the ventilation system as specified, and secondly, there doesn't appear to be any flashings on the side walls which seems odd. Have you had the conversation with the contractor to ask why they deviated from the drawings?

I forget the detail, but someone locally installed 6ft electric gates within about 2m of the highway. They were caught out and had to apply for retrospective permission. They successfully argued that the gates could be operated by remote control on the approach so that no road obstruction would occur. Utter bull$hit, but they got it passed...

Yes. That's what self-building does to a previously rational person though. The big question for me is: are they stainless steel to avoid rust streaks on the render in 20 years time?

Years ago we where having some walls re-skimmed after damp proofing work in a 200 year old rural end-of-terrace house. I floated the idea of a 'rustic' finish, and the plaster refused without hesitation: "There's enough character in 'ere without f***ing the plastering up". 😆

Has the BCO not indicated what would be acceptable? Maybe have a look at metal galvanised stud systems? Might be a bit more expensive, but for a small area wouldn't break the bank.

They're for tying a brick skin to a timber frame during construction, so not really suited to your application IMO. You'll need to return the stud wall to the brick wall (where you have circled blue) to close the cavity, so use a strip of dpm between the timber and brickwork. That should stiffen your stud wall up enough to use maybe one intermediate bracket, and finish off by using the window board fixed to both inner and outer skin.

If you want to sell at some point, a surveyor might want to look up there. I can't really envisage loft access not being a good idea.

For good measure, I'd also cut the concrete/paving slabs back by 6 inches adjacent to the brickwork and fill with gravel to reduce rain splash.

My advice is to take on board whatever @craig suggests. Unless your agreement with the installer included improving building fabric to mitigate existing cold-bridging, then you only have some minor snagging issues that you could probably have resolved yourself with some expanding foam and sealant in the time taken to craft your comprehensive and eloquent posts!

I was reluctant to pay someone to do something I could do myself; did one ceiling with a roller and realised how long it was going to take to paint the whole house... Painters are not that expensive and come with all the kit 😉

The old classic: lt is easy; it's like riding a bike, except the bike is on fire, you're on fire, and everything is on fire because you're in hell...