Bobbo completely renovates and extends his tired 1950s bungalow

So after starting this thread full of excitement and more than a little trepidation, I have been pretty quiet of late.

Recently I have been starting the process of getting the building regs approval off the ground and have come up against a problem, our architects. From the very start of this process, we have made it clear that we want to do as much as possible of the construction using timber. I am a chippy and the more work I can do myself, the more money that we can save on the labour bill, It's not a hard concept to grasp. We've just received the first draught of the building regs drawings and I'm really not happy at all. The last time I spoke with the architect, we discussed at length what my wife and I wanted, which was constructing the ground floor extension as cavity wall faced with brick and the first floor was to be constructed entirely using timber. The drawings that we have received are for all the new construction to be rendered fucking thermolite block.

I've tried calling the architect but he's not picking up his phone.

I shouldn't have to fight to make my voice heard at this stage of the game.

As I see it I now have 2 choices:

1. Jump up and down and make them see that I'm not a happy bunny. If I do this I will need to be ready to keep doing it until I get what I want. I'm not sure that I've got the energy for this, especially given the money I have paid them and continue to do so.
   
2. Sack the guy and start again with a different firm. This will mean paying someone to reproduce the plans that have already been approved by planning.