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Trailer and a skeleton kit and then plod on with the rest DIY

I would use steel rod. I don't think you will drive a wooden dowel through 3 sleepers unless it's loose, and that defeats the point. You can hide the steel with a wooden plug afterwards.

Isn't the whole thing just a collection of panels bolted together? If so, you should be able to dismantle it, put down some more slabs or blocks and then bolt it back together again at a higher level. This might require replacing the piece of felt going over the ridge, though.

Yes, I made one using 150mm Pir lined with plastic in the inside with a metal and wood cage around the outside, Access is via an insulated airtight lid on the top and a removable panel at the bace. It works really well and gets up to some heat ! You have to stand back when opening the lid as there is a fair blast of hot steaming air on opening! It’s great to use it during winter when the other compost heaps slow down. When it’s full I just leave it alone and after it cools down (weeks / months ) the compost worms move in by there thousands and do the final processing! I then mix this 50/50 with existing soil and plant straight into it with very good results. I also have two other compost heaps, one in a twin wall plastic bin and the other a pallet box lined with ground fabric, all work well at different times of years and for different jobs.

Sounds like it’s an Estimators Online or other type of standard quote system. I have to say in these sorts of circumstances go with your gut feel ... it will probably be right !

My brother had one of those Ring doorbells fitted when they were fairly new. It was the day the kitchen was being fitted and the builders were on site and answered the doorbell. Little did they know my brother who was at work had his phone and could see exactly who was at the door and them confess they had just dropped and damaged one of the cupboards and say to the other guy "don't worry, they won't notice".....

That was my thinking. Part of it will on on the concrete path, but may put some blocks there.

stone with no fines (sand or small particles) allow any moisture to fall through so the timbers remain dry, as long as it’s not the lowest part of the garden that floods ?.

Mine is only two courses high but retains stones and gravel. I just counter sunk the heads and used plenty of screws to hold them together. Timberlok sleeper screws are pretty tough. Plenty strong enough to hold sleepers together but i found they were prone to shearing if I didn't drill pilot holes. Mine are proper hardwood reclaimed sleepers. I had to drill top sleeper, insert screw, hammer head to make a mark on the sleeper below, then move the top sleeper so I could drill hole in the lower one.

On drainagepipe.co.uk, while reading the support and instructions page (for me, rare, I admit) I bumped into this ; Theres a support video too: punch line : " The choice is yours" Does it matter then? I suspect not ... And if that's the case then isn't it an argument for Multifit ? I think @pocster (?) and I should use Pushfit maybe?

I've grown to like solvent weld. Secret is to dry assemble everything and put alignment marks so you can reassemble it quickly and accurately with the glue on. Don't be too mean with the glue either.

Yes they are

I find a belt sander removes more than an orbital sander, mind it looks a bit flaky so might not take a lot of sanding. Give it a go by hand and see how “sound” it is. Try https://www.toolstation.com/aluminium-oxide-sanding-roll-115mm/p59877

The main issue is that timber (looks like softwood loglap planks) is desperately crying out to be sanded back to bare wood and re coated with a good outdoor wood preservative. That would be my No 1 priority job. It is always going to suffer from rain bounce wetting the bottom planks unless you raised the whole thing on a brick dwarf wall. fitting some guttering to the roof would reduce that a lot and would be my No 2 job. Notice the back, where there is no run off from the roof, is looking a lot better. It's difficult to see what base it is on. I think it might just be gravel? Digging around the outside and filling with stones to make a French drain would help keep the ground dry and there looks to be plenty of room to do that with the building in place.

Is there any way of digging a French drain round the outside and letting that drain somewhere downhill? That would keep any water level below the timbers, if not you could jack it up but not sure if floor timbers were man enough?. Can you dig a test hole to see what’s underneath?

Thank you it was last valued about 2 years ago market is still quite strong here but no doubt it will not have moved at all since last valuation or even dipped slightly. Not sure on how to play it really, borrow back before as ‘extension’ or do I get part way through knocking it down then remortgage as a new build. Not sure which way will be less hassle

I love solvent weld, I use it for most waste runs and use a compression where I need to have the ability separate something or may need into it. You cannot mix solvent and push-fit without the adaptor pieces or a compression fitting. I did a lot of push-fit waste years ago and compared to solvent weld it feels a bit inferior. I always put in screw in blanking ends too - T here and there with a plug seems like a good idea for getting in in the future for blockages, I also always try and engineer enough pipe between tight joints so that if needed, I can cut it off hard up against the fitting I am removing and still have enough of a stub of pipe left I can weld another union on.

920x200 is not too long. Maybe you mean 1920x200? I would use a long level to mark your cuts the use an old wood saw to cut it.

I suspect the dowels will need to be quite a bit smaller than the hole or you will never get them in.

We have our build date starting in late July, fingers crossed this can still go ahead. I had planned on selling some shares to fund some of the build/ rent a second property but they have halved so also abit worried. still need to borrow back 50-60k via remortgage so hopefully this will be ok

On my recommendation a mate used Bedec Barn Paint on his previously painted fence and gate. He wasn't impressed as despite keying the surface it didn't seem to take. We tried it here too on a previously wood stained / pu varnished door. It covered OK but seems easy to scuff and chip. On new or previously untreated wood though it's brilliant imho.

I am reconstructing a terraced house and English is not my native language so it is pretty rough.

@tonyshouse I dont mind the grey, I'm going to clad our annex in Siberian larch. @scottishjohn you have a good idea with fibre cement. Higher quality than PVCu and nice finishes in any colour with a relatively low cost I think. I had previously looked at cedral cladding for the house some time ago but never really followed up much. But it might be the perfect match for that no-maintenance/quality/cost triangle @Russell griffiths mentioned.

Hi All, Just joined to say thanks for the info you've all shared. I've succesfully installed my AX-09 now As it still wasn't clear to me how to set it in cooling mode, i tried the A4 terminal which was suggested a couple of pages back. And, i'd like to share some new info too: With 24v on the A1 and A4 terminals (And A5, for negative of course) we have cooling too, woohoo. Cheers!

Bedec satin black barn paint on my gate 6 years now. 3 coats on new, reject scaffold boards. Even the 1st coat covered like magic. Then: Just now (after a wash for the photoshoot, bird sh!t really shows up on black ?): Before Bedec I was a Sadolin man. Always thought it took too long to dry. With Bedec you can get 3 coats on in a day and it's water based.

Neat plumbing.

I was meaning when at the last minute SWMBO changed the layout of our en-suite. And before that, changed the layout of the main bathroom. By the time I got to solvent welding the bath and basin waste, the layout was set in stone (or set in welded PVC)

One advantage of push fit 110mm is when "someone" changes the position of the toilet, it's easy to undo it and move it.

Every day, sort of marking your territory? My Mum used to get given rhubarb for years by an old Dutch neighbour. She remarked one day how it was the best tasting rhubarb etc. He revealed his secret "Every evening I wander up the garden when it gets dark and..." ?

Oh yeah? Cum ooop'ere and say that, pal. Dare ya!