How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

I find the planning pretty stressful. It's kinda putting me off the next steps.

I like the idea of no tank, would make the room it is in much better.

No plans to move for 5 yrs. It really comes down to initial cost.

For whats it's worth i never regretted spending the money - but this was ~10 years back

Need a new boiler, can either replace like for like or could go for a condensing boiler.

Advantage would be saving on running costs, removing of airing cupboard and water tank in loft

Disadvantage - cost, plus I hear it can cause issues with old and crappy central heating (which we have)

Any thoughts/experience/words of advice?

If you've got an unpressurised feeder tank in the loft I'd look to get rid of that. Then you can decide between a combi or a system boiler + hot water cylinder. We have the later, there is something nice about getting hot water instantly to the hot taps on the same floor as the cylinder (so first floor bathrooms) and it NOT firing up the boiler to do so. But then you have a big old heavy tank.

That said having the feeder tank means you can pump to your showers which is nice if the water pressure isn't great.

Assume when you say condensing you mean combi though, because every boiler will be condensing these days.

If you go for combi be mindful that if there are very long pipe runs you might be waiting an age to get hot water through the taps.

All boilers now condense, you cant fit a non HE boiler. It'll be more expensive to upgrade the system and combis now are light years better than they were.

sorry, yes - considering getting a combi boiler which means i can lose the cold water tank in the loft and the hot water tank on the 1st floor. Boiler is currently in the kitchen, and new one would be there too. Short run to kitchen and toilet sink, bathroom isnt directly overhead, but approx 3 meters horizonally away.

If space is at a premium and the water pressure is good and you don’t mind the hot water lag at the taps or it can be minimised by short pipe runs then combi is probably the way to go.

Once the infrastructure for a tank/s is gone it’s a pita to put it back in so worth verifying that your pressure is good.

Had the first non microwaved meal for about 3.5 months yesterday.
Excited to get the extension finished off now…

Flooring, worktops, skirting boards, hob, sink, and decorating left to go.

And then sorting out the wrecked garden, and making some custom units for the tapered utility room.

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Nice ovens bro

Thanks!
Need to work out how to disassemble the oven doors though. A couple of flour mites (or similar) have managed to get in between the glass and aluminium panel, and have died, so want to get rid of them.

In other news, got some Quickstep Alpha Vinyl laid, with just the utility and hallway to go.
Also the worktop people called to say that the quartz we wanted is having stock problems, and won't be available until mid October at least.
So either we wait, or we change style.

It was a fairly neutral 'carrara' - https://www.istones.co.uk/quartz/carrara.html

We've been offered 'Venato' -https://www.istones.co.uk/quartz/venato.html

Not as nice I don’t think but maybe liveable?

I like Neptune

Ild wait.
Get some cheap wood/composite wood as top in the meantime.
Real venato marble is very nice, the quartz variant is meh imo.
The multidirectional veins don't make any sense too.
Alternatively something (dark) gray of interest? Poured and polished concrete?

Silestone Lagoon is pretty similar to your preferred quartz although no ideas if quartz is in short supply in general. Saying that, a month is pretty short in the grand scale of things - I wouldn't compromise on the finish you want.

To be honest I’m not massively fussed about the worktop colour, we chose the Carrara because it was the least controversial choice, and probably easy to live with.
Practicality and budget was more of a factor.

Sometimes wish I had more interior design sense, but maybe fortunate that I don’t as I spend plenty on other things…

Also pretty fed up with not having a functioning kitchen for 18 weeks now, only just got back hot water - new boiler commissioned 2 weeks ago.

I liked the idea of polished concrete and also the other surface types like Dekton and Corian, but turned away from them for durability/maintenace and also higher cost.

We were originally going to go for laminate, but a bit of budget opened up for Quartz. We’re getting a pretty decent deal at around £2.6k, which is handy as we are at the last dregs of our budget!

I have a decorative gravel front garden. Weeds everywhere, plastic liner under gravel is shredded, soil mixed with gravel.

What is the most stress free way to make it nicer? Thanks

So a combination of shit project management from my construction company and supply issues caused by the lorry driver shit show means it's looking like 6-8 weeks from now for my windows and balcony doors to come for the loft. Company have said they want to crack on with plastering now and then fix any damage from the window install later.

What's the best course of action here, will it be a shit bodge job or can it be done well, what effect will not having windows have on the drying process? Matters are complicated further as we desperately need the bedroom that the stairs up to the loft were built into back as we've got 1 bedroom from me, my wife and our 2 babies atm.

What I want to say is get the bedroom and stairs done and leave the loft until we know when the windows are coming, but if getting everything plastered now and waiting won't make much difference then happy to go with that, any advice would be much appreciated.

Arguing your point with builders is a pain in the arse when you haven't got a clue how it all works but the one thing you do know is all they care about is what's most convenient for them.

Very limited space in the bathroom in my flat. Here's a proposed new design by me. What do people think?

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The door may snag on the loo when you open it, wonder if switching the lo and sink round would make more sense?
If that was my space I'd go smaller sink, to make the room feel bigger and use the wall space better while also swapping sink and loo round (maybe).
Gimme a sec...

Yeah had a play... maybe build the wall out to house a narrow cistern and have a short projection wall mounted toilet and continue it on up the wall to be a wall of shallow shelves.

But connecting to the waste will be a challenge...

How about a pocket door for the entrance?

Can you move the soil pipe OK? You might need to elevate it a little for sufficient drop.

Maybe a bifold door for the shower so it doesn't impinge on the rest of the room

what effect will not having windows have on the drying process?

Depends on the weather and what sits in their place as protection.

I'm not a plaster, but I can't see an issue. If anything you'd hope it'll give more time for the plaster to dry and cracks appear allowing them to be made good while people are still on site, instead of waiting forever for them to come back for snagging.

Also idk if the plasterers are theirs, but if they're external, plasters can be pretty choosy and hard to get hold of. So that might be why they want to get it done when they can.

Also idk if the plasterers are theirs, but if they're external, plasters can be pretty choosy and hard to get hold of. So that might be why they want to get it done when they can.

Not being able to guarantee dates for plasterers later down the line was what i was told but I'm at the point where I don't believe anything anymore.

I can well imagine.

As a counterview /anecdote, when I was labouring for my mate's building company there were plasterers booked for a job. Everything and everyone needed to be gone for them to go in. Either the electrician or plumber (can't remember) was finishing something off in one of the rooms. It would have been absolutely possible for them to start at the other end. They just said, "we said it needed to be empty. We'll come back another day." and they left.

Maybe lose the towel rail.

A corner loo might give more space.

Or just go for the toilet / shower combo.

Moving the soil is a pain though.

Combining the utility / bathroom could work and add more absolute and functional space.