I'm sure it'll last longer that the current crop of F1 tyres - in all seriousness though is this a new build? Is it a concrete floor? Concrete absorbs water. Without a floor coating the water vapour will evaporate and not cause any damage. If a flooring material is installed that stops the vapour from escaping you can experience a build up of water vapour which will turn into a high ph water solution and cause blisters and damage the floor coating - this is a very basic explanation. More details can be found at - Koster Flooring Systems If it is installed like a vinyl flooring would be then it will be a waterproof covering but as mentioned above problems can still occur. I would be happy to discuss your project with you - mike@kosteruk.com Mike

BTW, the kitchen bar that separates kitchen from dining/sitting has a black/white/grey granite counter top. My furniture : sitting area combo of light pine, sunkissed burtch and local hemp with the wine, natural, black (dramatic IKEA chair with stark black cushions) and a multicoloured pillow accents. dinning is a family heirloom walnut gate leg table and chairs stained that older almost black brown that is wearing off. Unfortunately from days gone by I have a complete set of white dishes with blue trim ( my colours used to be yellow green and blue) and quite a bit of blue and white accent pieces. is there any hope? I must admit that I am seriously considering putting the Ecuador materials and wall hanging into the bedroom and reverting back to the pale butter yellow walls and blue green scheme that I used to have. the granite counter top I could see as just another black accent as in a floor lamp and electronics???? and perhaps the top of the half wall?

Hi, I love this thread. let's look at the options and assume it is permitted development. Costs lay mostly in: -workmanship -rent of equipment -materials -design and pretty much in this order. Most likely you'll have to knock down a wall and put a steel support. Remove the wastage. These operations must be done by a contractor. If you have a team of good willing friends, you could dare to go for self-built, fully or partially, or at least let them help out for the internal finishes, as the first option could be quite a responsibility. Equipment is what it is, if you need to dig you can't use a spoon. Materials can vary broadly. Terrifically cheap solutions would be walls in adobe, cordwood or strawbale. Or find any depot that has some old stock of stuff to give away. Or multiple solutions can be worked out to combine different technologies. Either way, the new "skin" has to be complying with the regulations and pass the building control inspection, some calculations would be useful (read: architect). And remember that permitted development is "like for like", so the outside walls should match the existing (render or brick). Good luck and let me know if you need more inspiration or want to share what happened to the project in the end :)

Thank you to both of you. The colour palatte is really useful. Ive been looking at different materials, mostly natural stone or porcelain cladding. Im also considering a rendered wall. I took a drive round the neighbourhood today to see what I liked the look of.