JamieL

Why not make the hedge part of the wall then? Round here they would use a cornish hedge (hedgebank/wall) for that sort of thing. Or rather half of one for a retaining wall. You might struggle to find someone who knows how to build one up there though...

I'm not actually sure the architect is the person to talk to about the balcony. You want to talk to a structural engineer as it is basically a structral issue. No doubt your architect has one, but they may not have talked to them yet if you're only at pre-planning. Keep pushing. Or post on this forum specifically for solutions to that problem to take back your architect. @JSHarris often seems to recommend building a physical scale model to help with visualisation. Not sure you need to go that far for this one. One method is to print out the outline half a dozen times without the internal walls then hand draw various combinations of internal walls. Go all Blue Peter and cut out a scale outline of a bath, sink, bed etc. and move them round till you're happy.

There is certainly plenty of space for a bedroom, dressing and ensuite within the space you have allocated at the moment, but you are right to want to reduce the size of the balcony. Ignoring that for now, you've got endless possibilities, just depends on how you plan to use it. The ensuite is too small for a free standing bath, but both the dressing room and bedroom are generous so you can borrow from those spaces. Use one of the online room planning tools to have a play around (I found roomsketcher.com to be very simple to use, but there are loads). You can shift internal walls around very easily on those tools and they have little models of most furniture to see how the space looks furnished. Incidentaly, I don't think your pocket door will work there, it is retracting into the sloping ceiling. Not a fan anyway (what happens if the mechanism sticks?) As to the balcony, there must be a creative solution here. As you say it is too long, even with skylights in the balcony your view from the bedroom will be tunnel-like. I'm guessing you have vaulted ceilings, so just make the support a feature beam. You could make it out of oak, or clad a steel A-frame. It could be a lovely feature. If you can't reduce the size of the vertical supports each side move the side wall in so it lines up with the front of the pillar so it is not visible. Extra eaves storage space then too.

On this basis: You provided a larger dimension than they were expecting. Anyway that is irrelevant as your diagram above is perfectly clear. You have told them that the width of the room is 3646 (in block 1 for example) and they have decided to provide joists that are 3560. Which is obviously going to be too short.

In fact on that basis you'd expect to be supplied with joists 100mm too long if they wanted the dimension to the inside of the wall plates and you supplied the dimension to the outside of the wall plates.

Yep, that is clearly nonsense from that builder. I think you have concluded that PP is not needed, so stick with that. If you're in any doubt the planning portal website is very simple and straightforward to use and clearly explains when you need PP and when you don't. As for building regs, I gather this is an extension to your detached garage not your house, in which case it may be exempt under class 6. Again all this is just from the planning portal. CLASS 6 Small detached buildings 1. A detached single storey building, having a floor area which does not exceed 30m2, which contains no sleeping accommodation and is a building— (a)no point of which is less than one metre from the boundary of its curtilage; or (b)which is constructed substantially of non-combustible material. 2. A detached building designed and intended to shelter people from the effects of nuclear, chemical or conventional weapons, and not used for any other purpose, if— (a)its floor area does not exceed 30m2; and (b)the excavation for the building is no closer to any exposed part of another building or structure than a distance equal to the depth of the excavation plus one metre. 3. A detached building, having a floor area which does not exceed 15m2, which contains no sleeping accommodation.

I like your inspiration photo, but the difference with your design is that you have indoor/outdoor space upstairs only. Depends how you live, but I would guess that you will spend very little time sitting upstairs outdoors. If you want to sit outdoors you would be better somewhere downstairs where you have easy access to the kitchen for refills and can wander in the garden if the mood takes you. And with that long, enclosed balcony your view from the bedroom will be limited unless your go outside in your PJs. So, why not make the upstairs balcony area your bedroom and if you want an upstairs balcony stick an actual balcony on the end which will act as a roof for a small outdoors area in front of your dining room sliding doors. Or just a Juliette maybe. The current bedroom then becomes dressing/ensuite and BR2/study goes where the current dressing/ensuite is (or you could put the gym there). Then you can make that Airbnb space a little suite so your guests have some space to sit without being in your way. Also, I'd want a door from the kitchen to the living room. Do you need to go from the cloak room to the bathroom? Maybe loose both bathroom doors and put one opposite the kitchen door.

Seems a lot of work for a temporary fix. And what if when you get the tiles off you decide the sarking boards need replacing? Surely quite likely they will be rotten in a few spots. Also I would worry about gaps between the sarking boards, would the spray foam not squeeze out through any gaps? My go to temporary fix would be rockwool between the rafters. Better than nowt. Thinking outside the box do you actually need the loft conversion in the short term? Or could you just use it for storage for now and do the whole job properly when you have the time/money? If so you could just put normal loft insulation in under the floor boards and leave it unheated. Depends how hard the floor is to lift of course.

Here you go: https://science.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-permanent-reusable-glow-stick-286139/ Recharges with sunlight. No idea if it actually works, but fun to try.