Hi we can do plain silks as we use them in our hand painted wallpaper. Unfortunately we have a minimum order of 7.5sqm (which is 5 linear metres) as we have our own minimum orders to work by. We work at £110/m for plain silks. If this is something you would be interested in then just let us know or just call to chat through some requirements. best regards Eades

Hi Tani Our garden is west facing & we have a window either side of the bifolds. We chose not to have roof openings to avoid extra heat from the sun. We are also considering adding an pergola/awning or something similar so that we can have the blinds open in summer without the hot sun streaming in. I am not a fan of hot weather (hence the integral blinds & air con) so avoid it as much as possible. I’m a bit confused what you mean about access to the traffic door...ours is by the kitchen end & is ideal. I’ve added a few pics so you can see our set up.

Thanks Jonathan, good to hear that our budget doesn't sound way off! We know we're in a pricier part of the country, but have been shocked at the quotes received so far. I didn't think our design was that elaborate! We have one steel where we are opening up the back of the house to push the kitchen out, plus a vaulted ceiling there with a couple of Velux windows. Our plan includes a couple of new french doors, but not bifolds or anything, so no major glazing costs. One things that could push costs up is our extension roof as its a slightly odd design (flattened a bit at the apex) due to jobsworth planning officer. We were also hoping to have it vaulted with one Velux, so there may be costs there with insulation, wiring, beams etc, although the engineer didn't think a ridge steel was necessary. There are no major plot limitations or access issues. We do need our existing tandem garage demolishing, plus removal of possible asbestos roof and moving the manhole to the new side passage. We also know that one corner of our new kitchen will need deeper foundations due to our leylandii hedge (which we'll probably remove at some point anyway!) - we've already had a fruit tree removed so it didn't impact the other side of the foundations. We have also asked for under-floor heating in the kitchen and know that we'll need to move/replace our boiler and possibly have a new consumer unit. We also asked them to quote for a couple of "extra" bits, like replacing the existing ancient front windows to match new ones, refitting current family bathroom, and stripping out some ugly wood cladding in the hallway. So I guess there are some issues and extras there which we need to explore further..... but we thought we had allowed for some of them by setting our budget around £100k and holding £50k back for spec decisions and unforeseen bits and bobs. We will definitely be speaking to the first builder who quoted £155k ex kitchen and bathrooms, as his quote was the most thorough and we had a good feeling about him. I think perhaps there can be some further discussion with him around costings and where we could make savings (or put things off until a later date). We were keen to get all quotes in before entering discussions, but the remaining two are taking an age.......

When I had my kitchen changed, I ordered the units myself, as well as the worktop, sink, taps and appliances. Things like plasterboard, cement, etc the builder bought it. My builder was my brother, and he called in the trades such as electrician, tiler, plasterer etc. He is a brilliant builder and is a “one man band” with a labourer who works for him. He has all the contacts for the other tradespeople (sub contractors) and he calls them in when required, so although they are self employed, they work as a team as required. I paid each tradesperson direct. It really works well but occasionally someone doesn’t pull his weight and they are replaced. I don’t think you will find contractors who employ their own tradespeople unless it’s a very big company? Even big house building companies tend to use subcontractors for certain jobs. This is just my experience but then I know I am very lucky to have a builder brother. It will be interesting to see what other Houzzers suggest. I’m sure you’ll get lots of advice on here!