Ferdinand

I happened to be in my local Howdens branch yesterday in search of light coloured Quick-Step Uniclic Laminate Floor. This is the full range (I was told), but not all branches stock all of them. Prices in my Howdens without underlay are around £18 per sqm inc VAT, but the VAT may not be reclaimable. Obviously colour reproduction from poor light to dodgy phone pic to colour autobalance to your screen to different lighting means that a physical sample of the one you are thinking about is important, and it won't look like that anyway in your new house ?.

Be inspired to take all the time you need. Perhaps consider making it one of your bespoke elements, and ask a local craftsman to come up with ideas in keeping with the design. Why not have a stained glass panel of canal life in it? A fantastic way to root the design in its locality. In the meantime some weasel words: "A suitable front door, modern in design but in tone with the context and location, will be fitted. The exact design will be chosen as the build proceeds, due to expected changes in the ranges offered by door manufacturers. We hope to consider using a local artist and/or craftsperson to contribute to the design." (ie: 'Please bugger off with your pre-emptive micromanagement; we will not be deciding yet because it is impossible to decide yet, and it is our decision not yours, and you are not William Morris, Edwin Lutyens, or Kevin McLoud').

Quite like the look of those . Have just been helping a family member recarpet their house, and it involved dismantling and remantling a former flat-pack wardrobe with two full size mirrored doors. Weighed a bleedin' ton. Carpet fitter walked in and said "I'm not doing that" despite it being in the contract; at that point no one has anywhere to sleep so you cannot exactly walk away. I like the multiple sliding doors and zero wardrobe floor that can just be treated as another area to do with floor-covering. Occam says "separate wardrobe floor not needed". Win. The only reason I can see not to have one is that if it is not built-in pro-developers would not have to pay for it. Ferdinand

Or sticky nipples from Amazon at 10p each :-). (Admittedly more suitable for where doors open and hit another unit). https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07F5XXCWH/

So to pursue that you need an alternative solution that meets his needs as well as his (the engineer’s) idea does, assuming that he has got his understanding of policy correct and it has not changed, and that meets your needs better than his current conditioned solution. Is that perhaps the start of a conversation, rather than the face of a brick wall? F

Small developer equals niche, so I think you need to define your idea of Buyer, especially if we are in eg Watford, Guildford or St Albans. They want walkable facilities, and their current perceived needs met, plus perhaps a few obvious future needs. Flexibility for the future that does not impinge on current needs-meeting. Things that matter are Perhaps kitchen, bathroom, master ensuites, integrated external space, some things better than expected to give the wow / warm fuzzies on viewing, maybe ability to choose some things, maybe storage are some other things. There was a very interesting 100k Home episode on last night with a couple Building a 130sqm bungalow in Torquay. Lots of good ideas. Ferdinand

I think that Standard Size savings are more likely on doors or perhaps high end 3G, or products used by big players in the larger project market eg housing associations, rather than self-build. Might it be worth talking to someone in that market say Eurocell rather than the likes of Rationel etc. Another option used by a couple on here have been dark coloured upvc and/or the 2G units that are now able to get to around 1.0 as a u-value. For uPVC I think that the processes are now so tuned for volume that there may not be too much fat left to cut. The last house I did ... put te full quote on the forum somewhere ... came in at about £170 per sqm for 2G with 2 doors and a set of French windows in the quote. I think the custom turnaround was only slightly over a month. The variations just on quotes are at least half or double, so there is much to be gained by sweating it. Two threads very worth reading, including an amazing chart by @Visti comparing umpteen quotes for the same job. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/6509-how-much-of-a-difference-does-3g-make-over-2g/ https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/1639-cost-for-good-quality-triple-glazing/ Ferdinand

If you end up with normal worktop I would suggest looking at the kind of wood type finish used by @zoothorn in his kitchen recently. Think it was cheap etc. Do you have any Multipanel offcuts? They would do it, depending on finished edges required etc. Ferdinand

That is like early Top Gear ... “I went on the Internet and I found ... “. I might self-divert with Kitlers (“I Can Haz Poland”) or Karma Sooty of amusing memory. F

A family member went on a mushroom identification course some years ago,and enjoyed it.Then came up with mushrooms for some time. There are also blogs around that can be a good source.

Welcome to the forum. Good lists above, and there are hundreds of items where you can spend or save money, and a lot of things you do not need at all, or where alternatives available. My advice to spend your time generously before you start. As this is probably a one-off unless you plan to build several houses, you will not get the opportunity to learn from mistakes ... so you need to avoid the mistakes. Another side of that is that you have high financial and other disk, My comments given budget constraints and that you are probably doing some stuff yourself. Here are my 7. 1 Put the infrastructure in place to get good value automatically ... eg Trade Accounts, habit of thrift. 2 When to hire and when to buy then sell ... eg diggers, scaffolding. 3 Build a fairly detailed cost model in advance, and use this as a tool in learning about / managing your build. In taking on the PM yourself if you are, you are taking on from scratch a task that a pro would treat as varying between 1-2 days a week. 4 Decide not to eg embarrassed when asking ‘stupid’ questions. 5 Identify the basics eg insulation and finishes eg stairs that you want to send money on, and save the money for that. 6 Have a large contingency eg 15-20%. 7 Do not change things after you have committed to them without a damned good reason, but be aware it might be needed. 8. Remember that original estimates will not stick, especially given timescales and thinking later. Another reason to spend more time thinking in advance. 9. Get a mentor / sounding board from somewhere. Ferdinand

Have prices. My home branch says that after my 80%+ (!) discount the price including underlay and VAT is a little under £20 per sqm on an order of around 50 sqm. The branch at the other end comes in at just over £20 per sqm, about £1 per sqm more than the first At B&Q, there is one product which is the closest at about £22 per sqm incl. underlay, and one .. Andante Oak.. Which is a near equivalent at around £17-18 per Sqm. All are real Quickstep with 20+ year guarantee, AC4 rated. F

I like a deep desk, as I use a larger monitor. There are other adjustments that can be made eg remote keyboard on knee and a pull out mouse shelf. F

You will need to check that too, for when it gets broken. (Said the clumsy person).

They would like that .. it is smaller and you can see fewer neighbours from upstairs :-). F

Welcome.

Not this time, unless we decide it is too ambitious for this trip and start again for a future time. Technically I could probably carry about 625kg in the new car, which might be enough. F

Helping out a friend 100 miles away, who does not have an account. I am travelling on the train ? , and cannot bring half a tonne on the Midlands Mainline.

Thanks both. Does anyone have experience of buying it from Howdens?

This week I am helping a mate lay a floor over about 55sqm. He wants to use a Quickstep Uniclic Oak. Versions are available from Howdens or B&Q, the latter at a little under £20 per sqm. Two questions. 1 - Has anyone used the Howdens Quickstep Laminate products. Ie one of these. It is a genuine Quickstep product. https://www.howdens.com/flooring/laminate?atr_flooring_locking_system_sm=Uniclic How was the price and performance? 2 - Can I use my Howden’s account at a different branch on the same day? I know I will probably have to set up a local account. Cheers Ferdinand

Thank for the heads up

There does seem not seem to be any space around the double basin in shower 2. Where will all the gubbins go? I do not know what others think about the working area that is needed, but eg where will you stand things. Hopefully the middle oval is the basin , so there is space around. F

Examples of something interesting. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/422001427561512622/

A couple of photos post restoration and a maintaince cycle this summer, where we repainted completely and changed a few details that were not quite right from the 2010 restoration.The 2010 restoration was done to the roof off floors up new drains level. The new paint was done this summer, which is actually an 8 year cycle. The cladding has been where the paint from the 2010 restoration was weathering badly eg where the wind whipped round that front corner and the overhang finishes. Now it is sharp again. Everywhere not covered had paint that was still pristine, so hopefully repainting can be once every 10 or 12 years now. As you can see that back wall *could* be a graffiti magnet, but it is an ok area so we have only had 2 occurrences in 20 years. As I say detailing is critical, especially concerning runoff and staining, and would have a long term strategy to allow for a new finish in a few decades, which will also affect design details. As I say, consider gloss surface bricks which will last a century or more in pristine condition .. see London Tube Stations for example. But please so something interesting. This in white brick was dad experimenting when he was about 32. Still have a dozen of the original bricks which are for maintenance should they ever be needed. Make it pleasingly different to all the others. Bugger fashion and things inspired by Tracey Island. Ferdinand

That is the sheen from an anti-graffiti product which means graffiti can be power washed off and then just repainted with the product. That prevents any graffiti being absorbed. That wall backs into a public footpath between backs of gardens which is not overlooked, and has been graffitied twice that I can remember. Ferdinand