Ferdinand

@andyscotland AIUI, PIR does not expand .. it shrinks over time, so you are possibly going to get a gap there that you do not want. This has been discussed a couple of time iirc over at the Green Building Forum years ago. By now the spec may have been tightened but it used to be expected to shrink up to 1-2% ie 10-20mm on a 2.4m sheet. The spec now is more like 1% max, I think. One fix was to let it shrink before install. Another was to use a flexible foam. I would welcome some input from someone with better and more recent knowledge than me on this. This is one of the reasons I incline towards rock wool or similar for use underfloor or overceiling in renovations. F

We probably need to define eye level, here. For me: Below worktop is obvious, though using an upper shelf in t’oven makes a difference. Worktop level is clear. Eye level for me means wall cupboard height. Ie above about 1.4-1.5m I would not put an oven at wall cupboard height, unless perhaps I was going to do the 4 or 5 oven thing, and the high level one was for lighter stuff. On the OP, I currently have a range cooker .. a Rangemaster Kitchener 90 which was 999 from Curry’s. Gas burners, 2 ovens and absolutely fine for 5-6 years. Probably bog-standard for reasonable Range Cookers, and the bits that have loosened up are a slight vagueness in whether rotary switches are in exact 1,2,3 position etc, and the chrome has worn of the spark button. Previously it was a 4 oven Aga which included an extra 4 burner lpg gas hob. Personally I would go with Induction, but I do not do the majority of the cooking. If I was wanting decent and initially inexpensive eg if I had spent the kitchen budget on a House-fluffer for the previous place, it would be separates, as a decent unbranded 5 burner gas job can be under 100, or an eBay range cooker. Ferdinand

Welcome. Can you actually reclaim that? Perhaps in law the overcharge is for "work" which the Council actually has not dome?

Is @AnonymousBosch not a spcialist in online learning? It'll be sorted out before you can say Cinzano. ?

The thing to check is whether they do a full credit check or a ‘soft’ check where there is no record of it. Explanation of the type so far CC https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/ F

There is a whole big thread to do with this kind of thing, also things like how to get an extra 10% off at Wickes in addition to the 10% on your Trade Account etc. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/426-creditdebit-reward-cards-discounts-etc/ It does not get the attention of the Weekly Offers thread as developments are slower. Ferdinand

Go for it, and reckon to use the back of some panels for practice first. The length of that playlist is a hint at the possible learning curve. Not sure how it would work with the solvent based stuff, but if it is a £40 one then you can probably afford to throw it away for the potential cost saving on some sealer and the experience ... if it all goes horribly wrong. I have even more respect for Peter Millard given that he showed how, when he dove straight in with the high end powerful one with no mask or gloves or anything, he ended up with the inside of his workshop looking like an igloo. ? Ferdinand

Cheaper option for you, @pocster, might be to get dressed.

Not only is Orville still in mourning for Keith Harris, now you have made him cry as well. You brute.

TMI. Maybe.

I did a "layering up reno" on a 1970 bungalow in 2017 ("Little Brown Bungalow"), which has many similarities and a couple of differences (mainly suspended floor, and I did not use overlay ufh *this* time - I will do so next time as I have enough answers now to give me confidence), that we chatted about on here. But let me make like Eric Morecambe and answer all your questions, but not necessarily in the right order.. For ufh imo there are two things: the overall output is modest, and you lose a lot of heat downwards. For it to be effective and affordable, you need a house with decent quality fabric, and that must specifically include the floor. If you have not got those, then you either need to mitigate, not bother, or accept a potentially cold house and / or high bills. The target I adopted was current new building regs standard for the fabric, and accepting that I would need to compromise so would still hopefully be better than renovation regs standard. My compromise was that I accepted the existing walls with a poor u-value of 0.55 (=brick with cavity insulation), but did better on the roof, floor and windows.` 1 - You need to consider how far you can "profile up". I discovered that doors with trimming margins of more than 65mm are hard to find without going custom, and I still have a 1m high stack of 50mm celotex sheets to remind me. You need to work to 50-55mm in your spec, not 65mm, unless you have doors I did not find or have solid wood originals that can be cut back more. In addition to your extra floor, you need an opening / ventilation gap, and also a trimming contingency for eg if your carpet is fluffier then expected. If not you could be up a gum tree without a kangaroo, with your doors disintegrating because you had to cut off too much. My doors came from Todd Doors; other suppliers are mentioned on the forum. I had to trim an extra 5mm of 2 of mine, due to higher quality underlay and carpet than planned. There are ways to make floor surfaces thinner, but you may need eg something over your ufh system before you put a carpet on it. Will leave that for another post. 2 - Will you personally fit your lower ceilings etc? My doorways ended up as 1.92m, reduced from 1.98, but I am only 1.75m so it is OK. If you happen to be 1.93m, then you will be doing in a policeman's bob everytime you go through a door, which is not OK. Similarly ceilings - mine came down to 8ft exactly, but eg 7'6" would only work in a cottage. 3 - IMO 30mm of Celotex is not enough. You want something more like 75-100mm or equivalent. But there are alternatives. These are all dependant on having decent insulation everywhere else. a - Use a product like 25-30mm of aerogel, say Spacetherm or ThermaSlim. But that will cost at least £75 per sqm. How much do you like ufh? b - Raise the height of your door frames by one course of bricks if your ceiling heights can take it, and have enough insulation. c - Use "perimeter insulation" - installed as a 18" to 2ft deep ring outside your walls. That will cause the heat to stay under your house, and act like more insulation as the ground is warmer 2" down. d - Accept that the ufh is background and that you will lose 30-40% of your heat downwards, and fit eg a log burner for winter. e - Fit rads. (I would do these in order bacde or bcade depending on the project.) 4 - It sounds as though you should take a look at the other thermal elements - wall, floor, windows. 5 - Whatever you do, thorough attention to airtightness detail (and appropriate ventilation) is important. Also consider what will be done when you have to move on from Gas. 6 - Recommend that you thermally model it using the @JSHarris spreadsheet. In summary - yes you can make it work, but if your fabric is going to be largely unimproved then perhaps go for oversized rads. But it is worth doing the fabric properly if you plan to stay. My opinion is aim for an EPC of C (=75-80) or better. The two threads that might be useful, which include before and after photos on the LBB, and also my actual floor buildup, and the one I would use for ufh, are: Ferdinand

So what is a roof with "gutter cutter" (aka Half Dormer) windows called ?? F

Can somebody give me a quick definition of the difference there?

Read this thread. I linked a couple of long lists on there. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/9921-self-build-mortgage/ At a Self Build event last month, Penrith BS told me that they allow you to borrow against land value ... will probably need PP in place ... and consider the whole country excl. Northern Ireland. The devil is, however, in the detail. So homework to be done. Ferdinand

You need to be on Houzz or Pinterest for that one, I think. Or for the kitchen, this is OK - but she is a bit keen on brands. https://www.madaboutthehouse.com/how-to-plan-the-perfect-kitchen/

It says: "The results displayed are based on the Homebuilding & Renovating Build Cost Calculator." https://www.jewson.co.uk/working-with-you/for-self-builders/preliminary-planning/calculators/build-cost-calculator/ Not sure of the significance of that. I tend to use the calculators at whatprice.co.uk. F

You would use the GIA - gross internal floor area - of your house. That is the dimensions inside the external walls, but includes all habitable floors, Though the tolerances on this calculation will be so huge depending on circumstances that it is really a very wide ballpark figure.

Welcome.

@Anitha TBH I think this is now back to you. The project looks doable, but I actually question whether you need to extend at all - depending on what real size things are on an accurate plan. Certainly, if budget is that tight, I would do it without an extension initially as a risk-control measure, and probably leaving nearly all walls in place. The immediate thing you need is kids in separate bedrooms. I think you may find it beneficial to look at the BBC prog "Your Home Made Perfect", where they focused on gains from reconfiguring spaces as much as they did on extending, and on limited budgets. BBC site here (lots of clips): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00048xh Copies of Ep 1 and 2 here on dailymotion. Good for giving you knowledge of possibilities. In accordance with the law of sod, the best one about bungalows is Ep 3, which is not online. They are also looking for participants, and make their series quickly. That might work for you, as they seem to be a more genuine programme than most of the others. But the way I would do this low risk version to get the bed and a better space at far less than your budget is 0 - You will need to consider Electrics, Underfloor insulation, wall fabric etc before you start. And be ready to have these things done as and when needed. Also get an informed opinion on whether there may be asbestos in the building before you get mentally committed to buying it; for me that would likely be a showstopper. If it is less than say 30 years old you are very likely not to have it. This low risk version would be OK, but the bigger version could be tricky and need expensive professionals. 1 - Move your existing kitchen into the dining. Make the new arrangement such that it will not prejudice anything you *might* want to do. 2 - Make old kitchen into suitable bedroom, but you will use it as your temp. lounge. Keep kids in current bedroom. 3 - Turn Loo and laundry into family bathroom. 4 - Do whatever you will do to lounge, if necessary sealing off archway whilst doing it. 5 - Unblock archway and reoccupy lounge. Move kids into separate bedrooms. 6 - Have a garden party. That gives you your basic requirements and then you can do all the rest over time. Could be 15-20k and only 2-3 months. As you add on bits eg extension or knocking lounge into hall or removing ceiling each will add more cost and time. Or you could do this and take a breather for a year and then have a new push. The other way to approach this would be to do the "building" work first in a similar order eg extend at front whilst you are in the temp. lounge, and do finishes and interiors later. Avoids another lot of major disruption later, but is higher risk. Do you feel lucky? Or the above could be modified to do bits now, depending on scope, vision and budget materialising etc. Project Management is critical for tight control. Execution needs to be quick whilst your house is a minor building site. Over to you. Ferdinand

Cheers all.

? You can park that one until you start building it, unless your planners are control freaks. Ignore mischevious people stirring. (Unless you think that the door surround porch wall should really be a different colour too ?.) TBH I do not think you can judge this from the picture so there is IMO no point in trying.

So I would view this as a solid first step that may lead to more later, and your kitchen extension will give you the opportunity to think some more. F

WE WANT FLOOR PLANS. WE WANT FLOOR PLANS. ?

But - colour can come later, if it is not going to be a material. It could be the door. Or you could treat the porch as basic plus cladding. So for now have a Fog Cutter cocktail to celebrate getting through the Design Fog, and relax for a couple of days. F

I think it looks great. And in 5 months. I think that shows the value of taking *some* time, but not enough to go beyond the short term. On March 7th you nearly promised us a sight of the plans of the inside. Come'on - show and tell , F