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Because of our budget, there's some hard decisions and trade-offs to be made. Grateful for any constructive comments! Remaining garage size It's a double-length garage - 9m. We could just convert half of it, leaving the front part as a regular-sized garage, but that will leave us tight on space. Instead we're leaning towards taking around 5.5m, making the front part just a workshop and store (and hopefully, micro-brewery ?. Floor will be raised by 100mm using PIR with 18mm chipboard on top, and external walls with timber frame and PIR. Roof to be raised by our tame builder. Shower location Due to the 3-gabled chalet roof, there's not many places where a shower can be put upstairs. There's no scope for an en-suite that we can see (unless we shelled out for a dormer, which is likely to be beyond our budget). The only option for an upstairs shower seems to be to move the bathroom wall into the 3rd bedroom, making it smaller still. The other option is to have a downstairs shower room in the garage, but that's then eating into kitchen/dining room space. Kitchen/dining room configuration The existing kitchen is long and narrow, but we aim to widen the room by taking out the built-in cupboards and moving the door back slighting into the hallway We'll then knock through the current utility room The new space is actually larger than the existing kitchen. Do we move the kitchen into the new space and have the dining room where the kitchen is? Could seem a little odd to walk through the dining room to the kitchen, plus we'd have to install a new kitchen pronto as we'd be wrecking the orginal (and that's not in our short-term budget) Would like big (possibly 4m, 5 door) bi-folds onto garden, and a big (3m x 1.5m) roof lantern in new converted space on flat garage roof. Lowest u-values we can afford. Leaning towards keeping the kitchen location where it is, sink relocated to window, and with a small utility room in old garage space Insulation Uninsulated concrete ground floor - which might be tricky to raise and too expensive to lower for insulation. VIPs too expensive to do throughout (but considering 10mm for kitchen) Cavity walls are already insulated Roof insulation needs topping up, and lap vents installing in roof fabric Heating and hot water Existing system is warm air, with electric immersion and cylinder for hot water. Boiler replaced within last 12 months, but the system can't easily be extended into the new conversion space. So we'd need a combi-boiler just for the conversion. Floor drop in garage isn't enough for the insulation that would be recommended for UFH House isn't well-enough insulated for ASHP As a result we're leaning strongly towards simply a new modern combi-boiler and wet rads throughout

Well that tops off a really crap week! Just had the fitters come and fit the last doors ....INCLUDING the specially made aluminium bifold Of course like everything else outside the house ...it is in "chartwell green" ...UPVC doors, Windows, Rafter Feet, Fascia Board ....EVERYTHING Off i went to make them tea and butties and when i came back BOOM...WTF ...I hope thats plastic film i asked! >No my friend ....its the colour I said ...it is NOTHING like chartwell green >I agree my friend So why have i got it > We dont make these doors is aluminium you need to talk boss...is special made to order Yes i remember >and we gave your wife a colour swatch and a form to fill in why, just make them the same as the PVC ones you supplied >because they only do the RAL colour ..so you have to choose close match well she never picked this >ok , you call office, i am only fitter so after an hour.... i got a scan of the order and sure enough she wrote down swatch RAL 6021 which according to the internet is the closest RAL colour to chartwell bloody green but she SWEARS the swatch was nowhere near as dark as this So ...i am sure she cant live with it ....see picture .. They will not refund our £2k as we chose the colour So i guess we have to change the colour ourselves.... Anyone have any ideas? ...only the outside PS ANYONE ELSE WANTING TO FALL INTO THE CHARTWELL GREEN CLUB. REMEMBER THIS ....I HAS SPOKE TO A LOT OF PEOPLE AND CHARTWELL GREEN IS N-O-T A RECOGNISED COLOUR IT DOES N-O-T HAVE AN RGB OR CMYK VALUE ... WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT ANY COMPANY DOING A SIMILAR GREENY SHADE CAN CALL IT "CHARTWELL GREEN" SO BE AWARE ...IF YOU DONT GET A FINISHED PAINTED/COATED SAMPLE OF WHAT YOU WANT ...DO N-O-T BUY IT

Well, I think I have asked something similar before on the BH forum ...and it ended in me googling a load of info on Level access thresholds etc. the Building inspector came over last week ...to check the roof and structure and I was talking to him about low thresholds as i am STILL worried about water ingress and DPC differences and stuff ..He didn't seem to think it was difficult ...In fact didn't seem to flinch or question But he DID say the way he would cope with it ....which i suppose translates to "you better do it this way" He basically suggested an ACO slot drain ....Which I havd already surmised ....but then told me to basically FOLD the DPC into a C shape at the thresholds not sure what he meant there ...I should have asked ..I am guessing that it meets the REAL dpc at the lower level and then scoops up and into the brickwork just UNDER the ACO ....maybe The problem I have (one of loads) ...is that the wife "wants" these lowered thresholds at the back ...but there are 3 doors there ...so I suppose to keep the patio level it would be wise to do them all ? Otherwise the patio line at the house will be going up and down like fiddlers elbow ....not a good look But then again ...would this mean running an ACO across the ENTIRE back of the house line ..sounds mad i know ....but I am scare dto death of breaching the integrity of the DPC layer ....but also dont want rainwater backing up into the doorways These pics should help explain what i mean ...yellow bits are doorways ....red bit is the extent of the patio and i suppose that pic is how they might look