ETC

Thatcher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Sugg

I just love this type of debate. Architects may as well stick their finger in the air and make a guess at %cost fees. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - this is a very lazy way of determining a fee for services and is in no way reflective of the time or effort required to do the work. Get the architect to give you a fixed fee cost. It will either be more than it takes to do the work or they will end up losing money. For example an architect does a door or window schedule - the sizes are specified and the material but there could be thousands of pounds difference in cost from a supplier - and you end up paying a premium just because you picked an expensive product.

That’s a small kitchen. if it was me I’d leave it as it is until I could afford to do what I wanted.

@EinTopaz

The builder should have closed the cavity at the top with a half-hour fire-resisting cavity barrier. You have plenty of options but I suspect the least time consuming will be a bagged fire barrier. If you put one in you need to close the cavity before you extend the insulation between the rafters down to the eaves. You can use a strip of 12mm thick calcium silicate board - Supalux or other equal board. This might be the easiest in terms of space but it could tern out to be time consuming.

Just tank the wall. Speak to Visqueen and they will do you a detail.

Granny and sucking eggs - have you asked the insulation manufacturer to do an interstitial condensation risk analysis? Most will do this for free.

It looks like it might just be the top board that’s loose. Pause the video. Pull it back in place as best you can and fill any voids with mineral wool/rockwool. Extend the PIR between the rafters to the wall plate. Seal the top of the cavity wall with a bagged cavity barrier. Don’t block the eaves ventilation.

Roof and wall insulation should overlap. The wall insulation should be tight against the inner leaf. I suspect the timber batten was an attempt to close the cavity at the eaves for fire. Don’t use foam. Get the works done properly.

There are quite a few many of which wouldn’t be that suitable for a dwelling. The most notable would be design and build but there others like management contracting. The traditional procurement process which separates the design process from the construction process is the most common for run of the mill one-off housing.

Should be a drawing by your agent.

Pity.

If you have a bungalow and are creating another storey upstairs then no problem. If however it’s a two storey house and you’ve converted the roof into another storey creating a third storey then you’re in trouble-you need a protected staircase and all doors (apart from bathrooms) onto the protected corridor need to be fire rated.

You need to look into the NEC suite of contracts. The JCT contracts are a bit ambiguous and you would need to appoint a contract administrator and your drawings and specifications would need to be complete before you enter into the contract. With some JCT Contracts you will need at the very least a schedule of works and at best a full Bill of Quantities. Essentially the NEC contract will list everything and this is where you need to get your agent to identify everything from architraves materials and finishes to door handles and to list them in the contract to be priced. This means if you remove this item the cost will be removed. Stay away from Prime Cost or Provisional Sums - they’re just figures builders put into cost breakdowns to cover unknowns. If it was me I would look into hiring a good QS to cost the job, prepare a contract, to tender works packages and to keep an eye on costs during the build.

You’ll need a protected staircase.

If it’s an existing building you won’t need to show that the DER<TER which SAP will do. You do however need to show that you meet the minimum U-Values for your elements of construction and you can if you wish use SAP to illustrate this. I would suggest that the simplest thing to do is to submit U-Value Calculations for the floor, the walls and the roof.

1. Is it rain water and not condensation at the eaves? 2. Has the felt at the vent locations been cut properly? If not water could be getting in at those points. 3. If your going to do work to the ridge consider a dry vented ridge rather than mortar.

Irrespective of where the applicant has drawn the red line you OWN the land and the work cannot go ahead without you either giving consent or selling the land. If the application gets approval you will have the upper hand and may be laughing all the way to the bank!

The other medal won’t be far behind it. 🏆

Your medal is in the post.

Joining the DPM in the upper floor level with the DPM in the lower floor level.

No DPC?

How many posters knew EXACTLY what their floor finish was going to be at BC submission stage? Architects can only determine FFL to screed if finishes aren’t determined.