H Brooke, Have you tried an angle grinder on the ridges, very messy though. if you could smooth off some of the very proud joins you could use a thin plaster board sheeting with appropriate glue which is applied by putting a big glob of it here and there, I know they do this on walls Adding a cornice and ceilings light that only reflect light down and not up would also help cheers

Hi Jenn, If the house design allows for it, why not look at a compromise and have high ceilings in the larger spaces or perhaps look at skillion roofs with sloping ceilings in the more prominent spaces. That way you wont change the roof line if that is already confirmed and the stud height could stay the same for the wall linings etc. Don't forget though, anything that varies from standard will cost more and have extra things to consider - like Dr Retro mentioned. In a living room or master bedroom with high ceilings, window and door heads at 2000mm high look completely out of proprtion with the space and then what does that do to the outside appearance of the house and then extra cost for window treatments etc. The list of considerations goes on. The reverse is the case for the small rooms. Do you want 3000mm high ceilings in the powder room and laundry etc? Whilst it might create extra storage oportunities, high storage is the least convenient to access. It might look great though for a full height library wall with an access ladder!!! The potential options are endless. Also, if you want something non standard and a great quality home, is the builder the right person to be designing it for you? There are awesome builders everywhere but generally designing is best left to the designers if you want something a bit more than standard. Good luck, Christine.

There are so many variables and ways to build things. Building succesfully is very much working well in three dimensions and understanding the structure, and the waterproofing required in three dimensions. Your question suggest that you are only thinking in terms of heights and brick courses, but there are lots of other things happening that would suggest that you get a section of the house and post it with dimensions. Most building professionals work in millimetrres rather than brick coursing. So converting your dimensions to millimetres - 28 courses is 2400mm, which is the minimum height for a habitable room ceiling. Six courses of brickwork is 514mm for the window opening, however your glazed area will be less than this due to the width of the window frame. Your 3 courses of brickwork which is 257mm should be enough for most steel lintels, unless you have a really wide opening for a window? You also need to allow for flashing if the clerestorey is above another roof running into the same wall - if this is the case you may need the full 47 courses. I would be asking your designers why they need 47 courses, as it is a lot higher, and there may be problems with setback issues? Is it a flashing issue? Is it a window opening width and lintel issue. I am afraid you haven't really supplied enough information or images to explain about the clerestorey window so it is impossible to answer precisely. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visist

This wasn't your question, but looking at a possible boxed out window in the open plan kitchen dining living it shows just how limited you space is. The following 3D overview shows a boxed out window seat. I have run the kitchen along the same wall as the new window, The Island is 2m x 900 with 1m between the wall base cabinets and the island and 1m between the Island and the wall where your plan shows cabinets. If you have/had cabinets along the other wall as shown on your floor plan they will be 600 deep this would make the island 1400 x 900 which is small. Has your kitchen been renovated and were you considering that, if not. Looking at the overall size of your open plan area I would be considering 1 or 2 large stacker doors to open up to the rear alfresco, that's what I would do but you need to choose what will work for you PS I think that the boxed out window at the front of the house is a lovely idea but possibly not right when it faces West.