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Dear all, as some of you will know I have been fighting for planning permission down in Devon and Torridge District Planning department have fought me all the way, even slapping a demolition order on a garage I was building under permitted development ( I appealed that as well) . Well I did my own appeal ( not difficult) and of four points the council original refused planning permission for they capitulated on three of them after I presented my evidence ( they had this information all along) . I have just received an Email from the Secretary of State inspector to say she supports my appeal on all grounds with no condition other than those already agreed with the council. She also mentioned the councils objections that I proved we're not valid supporting my evidence. Torridge council has such a bad reputation for being a PITA. You cannot go into a builders merchant without hearing builders complaining about the council. After the build I intend taking my story to the local press, " is Torridge Distrct Council planning fit for purpose, I think not" just to show they are wasting council tax on fighting planning appeals where planning should've been approved. I have also heard from my architect that the government are going to take Torridge into " special measures ". So, hip hip hooray, now the serious questions on this forum will start to appear.✌️

Just a few new photos of current progress. Tanking was completed and polished concrete slab finished at 2am on a Friday night a few weeks ago. Which meant standard house construction could finally begin. Things have progressed well with no major snags at this stage, up to first floor level now ready for block and beams delivery on Monday. The Steels that arrived were a fair bit more substantial than we were expecting. Lots of fiddly work at this stage but after the 1st floor is in place I'm hoping progress will really ramp up. Roof trusses are ordered for delivery on 4/12/16 so currently still on track to be some form of watertight by Christmas. Large Velfac sliding doors that are going on to the balcony won't be delivered until w/c 9/1/17 so full watertight won't be until then.

Well, progress of sorts, with BR agreement to the plans and finance decision in principle all fine. Getting builders quotes has proved very problematic for some reason, which wasn't an issue I foresaw. Out of 12 who responded via those check-a-trade and trusted people web sites, only 2 eventually came through with anything, one very detailed and very good, who is so busy they could only offer to do the founds, another who I really liked when I met the owner, but whose quote came in one day and was just a sum, no breakdown, and so it would not seem safe to rely on, and useless for out building society (who want the most detailed cost breakdown imaginable - just one tiny example being the roof vents have to be costed separate from the slate, and lead work and soffits separate from barge boards etc - all elements having to be priced separately for the building soc.). Was recommended a third builder by a friend, met the two guys running the firm on site, impressed by their attitude and previous work.... waiting a month for their quote with promises each week that it would arrive "this week", but a month on no sign of it, so all held up for nothing. So have had to go back to square one looking for builders! Very frustrating. It also makes a mockery of claims that the building trade is suffering a downturn really, they clearly have so much work on they're not really looking for any more. Though I cannot do any ground works without an archeologist present, I have been able to grub out a broken down dry stone wall on site ready for the waller who says he will do it between Christmas and the new year, so last weekend I had some stress relief at actually being able to do something real toward the house. I have to say we are almost crackers with the frustration at all the delays.

To answer my own question, mostly dead. Not the thousands of dead wasps I expected and a nest the size of a space hopper. A few hundred dead bodies and there's a balloon sized nest tucked in the ridge near the brickwork. Small amount of moisture, well wasp shit, below it. Noticed one or two still twitching so went and got the Raid AND powder. Blasted it and a short time later started to hear some buzzing within the nest. I have repaired to a safe distance until tomorrow. I now have phantom itchiness as though a wasp has crept onto my person and is toying with me before stinging me. I am going to have nightmares tonight about being b***-f***** by a 6 foot wasp.

I joined the "poked them with a stick" club. Our previous house had a wasp nest in the roof void above a bay window. I put on all my motorcycle leathers, gloves, helmet, boots. Got SWMBO to tape up all the joints with masking tape. Then I squirted half a can of Raid into the void, before poking the nest with said stick to really stir things up, then emptying the rest of the can. Sure they swarmed around me, but then never got in. I nearly suffocated and sweated like a pig though.

Vigorous aerobic exercise for an hour will sort the irritation out.

I won't be intentionally doing that again

Famous last words!

Nothing deters them. One tippy-toed through our kitchen the other evening. Bless her. Stunning dress on: orange against black, kept her peace, just looked beautiful. Lesson there somewhere.

+1 to the Makita 18v range. When you buy a new bare tool (I have a bit of an addiction) they send you a pamphlet with all the different tools that the 18v batteries work with. It's mind boggling. I don't know whether to go for the bicycle or the coffee maker next.

I think maybe your neighbour will appreciate you having a tidy garden. Here are some hedge designs I think you may wish to consider that will be visible from his/her property:

I have a Dewalt cordless drill which is excellent (not as far ahead relatively as the Metabo from the 1990s which died three years ago), but very good for the size. But I heard things about Dewalt going for a less high end market with their newer products in the last year or two, so I am not committing to them long term. They can be the mistress. That was from my local trade powertool centre who maintains his Dewalt 'ticket' so he can access repair services etc for customers on dealer terms. So it looks like Makita, as a better "spouse". Ferdinand

And I can imagine the suppliers having a margin of allowable movement or something to get out of warranty claims

Haha my Dad turned up on site on Friday and his very first comment before even Hello was, "You're gonna wish you had holes in that beam!"

If it's really bugging you you could get a cheap cut off stand if you've already got a 4.5" grinder? Something like this but there are cheaper ones on EvilBay https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/einhel-ts-125115l-angle-grinder-cut-off-stand/?da=1&TC=GS-060521040&gclid=CNDLgY6vmdACFVQ_GwodePgD5A

But for the good advice and support on here it would be very easy to be misled by planners. Also it helps to have a good moan with like minded people. Gary

I've fitted them for the acoustic quality, and can report no real difference. In the pics if there is no silicone / sealant then it's just because it hadn't been done yet . Every job needs to be sealed so you can't pee down the gap after too much ale I always fit the pan loose, squirt sealant / silicone between the pan and the wall, then fully tighten. As the sealant oozes out you clear it away with baby wipes / tissue and CT1 multi solve ( if you've used a non silicone like CT1 ) and then level and give a final tighten. I always clear as much silicone / other away from that junction as possible, leaving just a functional seal down the sides, but on the top I tool the silicone to leave a flat flush surface so there is no 'trough'. Leave to cure for 24 hrs, and job done. If the silicone is breaking away then I'd be a bit concerned that the pan may not have been fully tightened back. They do move a little though, and you have to have balls of steel to give the final few turns of the fixings. If just a quick finger of silicone has been applied, rather than my method of sandwiching it between the two mating surfaces, then I'd fully expect it to come away / split. Needs redoing IMO.

Found that photo of the Geberit components: What bit leaked on the earlier Geberit frames then? Vaguely remember something about this on the other forum. Just wondering as these are the UP200 cistern, 0.98m high, 150mm deep frame. (But then I do have the wall depth to cope). Nick, what wall hung wc is that in your post that I just liked?

There are more I can keep posting them until you get the trap doors out of your head not one of these has any other access than through the flush plate. Bingo.