Hillydevon

There seems to be a lot of love out there for sticking wood in the ground! I guess some might argue the owner will be long gone by the time they go manky, but I kinda thought better to keep wood up in the free air flow. As for the plastic spikes, that solves the rot problem but I see even 2250 is coming out at around £30, and even that might not give enough in-ground anchorage. All food for thought, though - many thanks for taking the time to contribute. Tim

Many thanks for all that input, guys! Agree that it needs costing, and that could vary enormously depending on whether the three elements in the mix can be sourced economically. OK, not talking about 50m - that's a substantial run! - but even 50ft wouldn't come in cheap, I guess, for a decent quality close-boarded job. Plus, as stated, that would still give a large surface area for high winds to hit, which is why I wondered about the hit-and-miss method. Should have said that it backs onto a garage block, hence (a) not the prettiest and (b) will have people trundling up and down it. Height, therfore, would be in the 6ft region, and really needs to be opaque. Also thought that many people seem to use gabions as features... benches, planters etc, so it would double as a host for some kind of climbing plant down the road (fingers definitely not green so nothing to suggest in that dept!) many thanks again.... more mulling in order, nothing set in stone yet ( no pun intended!!) Cheers, Tim

Many thanks for all that input, guys! Agree that it needs costing, and that could vary enormously depending on whether the three elements in the mix can be sourced economically. OK, not talking about 50m - that's a substantial run! - but even 50ft wouldn't come in cheap, I guess, for a decent quality close-boarded job. Plus, as stated, that would still give a large surface area for high winds to hit, which is why I wondered about the hit-and-miss method. Should have said that it backs onto a garage block, hence (a) not the prettiest and (b) will have people trundling up and down it. Height, therfore, would be in the 6ft region, and really needs to be opaque. Also thought that many people seem to use gabions as features... benches, planters etc, so it would double as a host for some kind of climbing plant down the road (fingers definitely not green so nothing to suggest in that dept!) many thanks again.... more mulling in order, nothing set in stone yet ( no pun intended!!) Cheers, Tim

Hi all. I'm helping out a friend who has a very sorry looking perimeter fence. It's a run of those el cheapo panels - about 15m - which have been battered to smithreens by the elements (quite exposed and does get a hammering). My thought for a low-tech, concrete-free solution was to fix posts onto breeze blocks using proprietary plate thingies, sit them in gabions and fill with whatever stone can be sourced. Then use scaffold boards horizontally, alternating them each side of the post to give a solid appearance but also allow air flow. Anyone got two cents' worth to chuck in?? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for those thoughts, SteamyTea! I hadn't heard of aerogel-filled glazing so will certainly pass that info on. Nor do I have any experience of thermal blinds... If they're effective that will certainly be another avenue to explore. I think they're set on keeping keeping it fully translucent, otherwise some lightweight, insulation-stuffed partial roof covering would be right up there. My son-in-law says his parents have a similar set-up that's comfortable all year round and that there's some form of "thermal glass". I think they have underfloor heating, though, and I'm betting that's got more to do with it. Daughter and son-in-law have bought an electric wood burner lookalike but in the cold snaps I'm sure that will be blasting away trying (and failing) to compensate for the heat loss. I did suggest the real thing but not sure if there would be a flue option. Thanks again!

Hi all. I know this is an old chestnut but thought I'd gauge up-to-date thinking on what to do about a polycarb conservatory roof to make it less thermally disastrous. It's my daughter and son-in-law's house and they inherited the situation.... Large add-on which is open-plan to the kitchen. Concerned me from the outset but of course looked and felt peachy when they bought on a nice Goldilocks spring day. A couple of (fortunately) pretty mild winters on, they are finding what those large temp swings are like in practice. And now they have a newborn to consider. As the room can't be sectioned off, and as it has a (pretty puny) rad working off the main CH system, I understand that it's classed as an extension rather than a conservatory. Whatever you call it, it takes turns being a fridge and oven. Not investigated what kind of foundations it's sitting on, which would clearly have implications for any remedial work. Ideally they want to keep it fully translucent (rather than replace with something more substantial and perhaps a rooflight or two). It's a big ask, as they say! Any new products on the market that would mitigate the worst of the temp fluctuations? All suggestions welcomed by me, the kids and my three-day-old granddaughter! Regards, Tim

There's a new one on me - added to the list, cheers!

Noted!

Thanks, guys... Much food for thought!

Just wanted to avail myself of the wisdom of (knowledgable) crowds before deciding where to purchase some new bathroom gear. I had made note to self a while ago about joyou, whose parent co. was Grohe so they seemed worth a look. But they seem to have ceased trading so back to square one. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Would-be selfbuilder, Midlander by birth but doing missionary work in Devon. This site, and its forerunner, is a mine of information, not to mention frequented by some nice people! Writer by profession, though always looking to improve practical skills/knowledge.