Don't waste your money rendering the bricks - that look will go out of fashion. Don't replace your tiles with a colourbond roof either as that would be giving you an inferior roof and colourbond roofs are noisy. Replace your front door and try and choose wrought iron bannister railing. Then start off fresh with your front garden; soften it with magnolia shrubs, white agapanthus and trailing plants such as erigon to trail over brickwork in the driveway. Your bricks show a lot of character; please don't render them.

Hi there - exactly the same thing happened to us and I was devastated to see the aluminum strip. like you, this wasn't discussed. So disappointing when you pay so much for a new bathroom. Can you tell me whether you ended up painting over the strips? I'd love to hear what you ended up doing and how it looks, four years on. My sister says she is sure we can paint over them. But I"m so disappointed as it's not the look we were after. We are stuck with our bathroom company who are also doing our bigger downstairs bathroom so at least I can make sure they use white edging around our window. many thanks

I wouldn't use putty though. Spac filler perhaps? But honestly, it would take a huge amount of work. If you paint the walls a mid range colour (darker colours hide sins), or at least a fresh coat of paint, add your furniture and style nicely, the rooms would look lovely and those wretched cover strips would become much less noticeable. Why not try living with them for a while and see if you still feel the same?

From our experience builders are not big fans of shower niches, particularly if located close or directly under the shower head. From the builder's pov, a niche is more likely to leak and cause a call back during the warranty period (assuming the work is warranted). Grout is porous and therefore will allow water/moisture to penetrate to the substrate, which may cause an issue on a mitred joint. Understand your issue, particularly if the niche is in line with the grout line of the tiles abutting it; the change of substance from grout to sealant will be noticeable. Common practice for corner joints is that the tiler would use some form of extruded aluminium or plastic profile to act as a flashing and to also help align the tile joint. The flashing will help prevent moisture from penetrating the substrate, however a caulked joint will be far more effective. Would suggest using a hybrid sealant instead of a silicone based caulk. The hybrid product is better performing. Use a sealant that is colour matched as close as possible to the tile or to match the grout used elsewhere. Good luck.