@Dan - after renovating six houses I have become quite confidant at sourcing materials and that can save a fortune. By using people direct we get exactly the products and look we want, the only headache is co-ordinating it all. I am pretty blunt about communication as I have found that if there is not a company in charge you have to be prepared to do some chasing up. I try to eliminate anything that has a 'middle man'. For example, I used a company that makes windows in Lithuania and fits them, no commission etc. Flooring all came direct from the importer, everything is researched. We are currently doing the garden and have even managed to get soil for free from a groundworks company who would have to pay to dump it. We treat all of our contractors really well, even stretching to bacon sarnies and cream teas and now most of them we would consider friends. To be honest I am in awe at the skill of some of these people, plasterers, carpenters, etc, they are craftsmen.

I'm no expert but it doesn't sound too bad for the work that needs to be done. We are 1.5 years into a build and thought once the dry shell was up that was the major expense/work...it's not! I think at the stage you are at we had spent about 40% of the total build budget (included drains and services to site) We are planning on a total spend of £1500 ( no vat) per m2 but that's with us doing all insulation, plasterboarding and lots of other work... Basically on site working everyday. Probably if a builder was doing the whole thing we would be close to £2000 m2 but would have been completed in half the time. The house does have UFH and triple glazing, I've looked for the best prices on everything but it's all good quality. Material prices seem to be rising a lot too. Have a look at this article https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/the-basics-of-understanding-build-costs/

Sounds like there are several things to take into account: 1. cost - it could add cost to move the manhole 2. time - it may delay the project on site to do it 3. technically possible - usually it is possible to reroute drains and make sure you have drains and rodding eyes outside of the building, it depends on the site and location of waste outlets, the pipe falls, etc... - quite a lot of technical things to take into account. What you can do: 1. Check your contract and drawings - should they have done this work and is it work they included for in their tender: if so they have to do it at no added cost 2. again looking at your contract - if the work is included then it's up to them to manage their time and if this is not an extra piece of work then they can't claim for an extension of time to do this 3. check with your building control officer (as suggested above) to see if there is a solution which meets building regulations - building regulations apply for any drain regardless of if it's a shared or private one. Also if you used an architect or an architectural technologist then they should be able to answer questions about the drains. Good luck!

I'd go for option 5 for upstairs as you can make the attic room into a bedroom further down the line. I wouldn't want a windowless bathroom and it'd be easier to run plumbing directly over the former bathroom. Honestly speaking, £11k is not going to cover the upstairs bathroom and kitchen unless you're very handy and are going to do most if this yourself. Even then a new kitchen will blow that budget. I would do the upstairs bathroom and use whatever you have left to rip out the old bathroom suite, lay some lino and have a WC / utility room with the hopes of a bigger renovation of the kitchen/dining/lean-to space further down the line.