I can give you the opinion on clearance reduction as most US codes and testing agencies see it. http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/irc/2012/icod_irc_2012_24_sec007.htm The short story is that a 1" air gap is required behind the heat shield, and something more substantial than foil. TABLE G2409.2 (308.2) REDUCTION OF CLEARANCES WITH SPECIFIED FORMS OF PROTECTION Should give you a good idea of what "should" be an acceptable means of reducing clearance. Think of it as a double boiler system. If you put a pan directly on the heat, you can burn things very easily. But, if you put one pan inside another with boiling water, then it keeps things from getting too hot.

Hi. in terms of interiors I would guess people would like to understand how to identify and mix undertones, what colours to use depending on the light in the room, what proportion of colours to use in a room and how to make the house flow etc. On the flip side if you opt for neutrals how do you get a scheme to work. I'm sure I'm not alone in that the colours I wear are definitely not the colours I would use in my home so although clothes are based on what would complement your eyes, skin tone, hair colour, figure etc how does that translate into interiors (although there is a proportion of black in both :) )

Brilliant things to consider Minnie thank you. Only 4 of us in the house, and we do have a seperate dining room. I only want casual bar stool seating for the kitchen but am struggling with where else to place 4 bar stool. Haven't got the width of room to have them all down the side of island facing the wall of units, plus I really like the sleek look of an island and didn't want to interupt that streamlined look by having seating around one end in an L shape. Can't thing of any other option unless someone can thing of something to consider I'd be very grateful. I had my heart set on a mirror splash back but got put off as people said I would have water marks on it all the time from the sink.....is that everyone's experience of a mirror splashback or might I have made a hasty judgement? I was thinking of a washed light grey oak type flooring or a warm oak flooring but was worried if I went for oak ( this would be my colour preference) that it wouldn't work as I will have nothing else oak in the room. It's a south facing room, sun all day and evening so was thinking of a off white light grey tone on the walls and lots of chrome......again struggling to know how to incorporate that and what to put with it colour/ accent/ decor wise to make it feel comfy and not clinical. I'd love dark coloured glass slider but all windows in house are white so I had discounted it. Minnie thanks a million for taking the time on your bumpy train journey to post, I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have your input

Hi again, That makes a big difference and if the budget is not limitless then I would definitely explore what you can do with the existing space before you look into extending. If you look into that and it doesn't work, then you know that you really do need to extend and you know it will be a great use of your budget. Extending will take up a large chunk of that budget (great breakdown suggestion by Jonathan!), so if you don't really need it then personably I wouldn't do it as it leaves you less for everything else I know for us that looking at an architect for deciding on how to reconfigure the space would have eaten into a large chunk of our money! (He had about the same budget as you) we did explore this and got several quotes - which I hasten to add varied a lot! Both a concept planner and interior designer will be able to look at the available space and come up with 3D images of how the space would look and suggestions to reconfigure what you've already got. Put very simply a concept planner will give expert advice on the layout and an interior designer will do the same as this but in addition to that, work with you in all of the interior styling (electrics plans, colour schemes, lighting plans, all your carpentry specifications, furniture, soft furnishings and a lot more!). Clearly the second option is more costly than the first and it is very personal preference on whether you feel you're capable of pulling everything together and getting the 'look' you want without any professional help. I am rubbish at this and was scared to death I'd have spent all this money on the practicalities but would end up with something quite 'flat' if I didn't get help on how to style it all!! There are a few different concept planners on here (Karen from OnePlan mentioned above certainly gets excellent reviews) and also interior designers (Gina from Create Perfect was who we used and we opted for the concept planning plus styling package due to my rubbish ability to pull everything together as a whole look!) Having a professional on board for all of the interiors finishes was a must have for me but this isn't something everyone needs and is a very personal decision!. The cost difference was far less than I expected between the two options, so somehow I even convinced my hubby it was worth a bit extra :) It is definitely worth noting that not all concept planners only offer just the space planning so make sure when you are looking at quotes etc that you get quotes for the different options they offer. I know Karen from OnePlan pointed earlier this week that she can also offer all of the interior design services. They key here is knowing what you're getting for each quote so you can truly compare like for like and don't end up wasting any of your hard earned money :) Also make sure you ask about Trade discounts! Gina passed all of hers onto us so we saved a fortune (thousands not hundreds) on ordering all the things we needed! I'm not sure everyone offers to do the same but it really does add up, so make sure you ask the question when you're comparing quotes. You can do all of the above very early on and I know we started doing this before we even moved in! As it definitely all takes longer than you would think! The next key question to answer if you do go down the concept planner or interior designer would be: Does your new use of the space involve changing any structural walls etc (opposed to just stud walls)? If you are changing structural walls then it is very likely you will need a structural engineer to provide the calculations to your builder for any steels etc (you would also need this for building regs). Our costs for this element were around £1,500. Coming back to your original question on an architect the one thing to keep in your mind is that you will need a basic set of drawings for giving to your builder and also buildings regulations (if there are structural changes) as it will form the contract between you. Because we worked with an Interior designer who did the concept planning for us first, we were just able to tell the architect what we wanted for the drawings so our cost was just £500 for the drawings in comparison to the quote of over £5,000 when we were looking at them doing the design too! A lot of architect's will also recommend (as already seen above) that you have a architectural survey done first- this is so they know what they are working with in the first place and in very simple terms is a version of a floor plan that they can then use for designing from. This can be an expensive option so again, just be certain you would need this (our quote for one of these was £1200 on top of the architect's design fees) I guess one of the early decisions you'll need to make is whether you do want a concept planner or interior designer on board and if you do go down that route you can start very quickly to look at the different layout options they can give you. Clearly if you decide against that then just going straight to an architect will be your first step and I agree with a lot of the comments above about the sooner the better and going for someone you really 'click' with. From a personal perspective I found having an Interior designer on board from day 1 has been the best money we spent through the whole project- this was quite new to me and just having someone there every step of the way was a lifesaver. It also ensured we made all the right decisions at the planning stage! All the trades (not to mention kitchen companies etc) ask you so many questions both beforehand and actually as they're going along and there are so many decisions to be made- it astounded me! Having someone available 24/7 (and this is why getting the right person on board is so important!) just took all the stress away for me. Any decision or thought or panic I had along the way I would just send in real time (WhatsApp!) to her and have a reply in minutes! Having Gina there gave me the advice (and in some cases reassurance) that we were making the right decisions and I know it's saved us a lot of costly mistakes! It's also made what could have been a very daunting process a lot of fun and really quite enjoyable. I take my hat off to anyone who can do this all on their own but for me, spending a bit of money upfront and having someone 'holding my hand' so to speak all the way through was the best money we've spent out of anything! I also secretly know I couldn't have made it look how it looks now on my own in a million years! Hope it all helps, it is only my experience but if it can be of any help to anyone else in a similar situation then all the better. Claire