canalsiderenovation

Definitely! I'll find something else suitable seems to be lots of alternatives as long as it's dark brown that's all that matters.

It's nowhere near the water, opposite but not even close, infact it's the furthest point away from the canal. We have used creosote on our summer house multiple times since we have moved in which is closer to the canal (it was already done by the previous owner and we just continued with it using up what was left in the garage (I do wonder if it is the creosote substitute because it's the stuff seen on sale in shops around here). When we pulled down the sheds pre demolition everything was done in creosote - it still smelt of it when we got rid. I'm presuming dad means the creosote substitute type stuff because he can't get the proper stuff anymore though he use to have it when he did more agricultural work years ago. I remember me and my brother and sister travelling in the back of cattle box from a farm when he was doing some work and us finding it all very funny and complaining of the smell (not of cattle but of creosote - I'm sure this wasn't legal)! I'll double check though don't want to harm any wildlife as we have ducks that visit every day - our chickens are not impressed.

I bloody hope so, full credit goes to my dad! I'm an expert in mixing concrete though and lifting and shifting.

Ok so about half done and here's a glimpse of what we have done today and what they will look like with the fence panels bracketed on. The wooden posts are fixed onto the barriers/posts, not concreted in rather just for appearance. Really pleased with them and went for feather edge panels over waney lap. They will be sprayed with creosote or my dad said he does his with old engine oil so I'll opt for this easier job next weekend!

Saga is still ongoing.... We have a new smart meter being installed on Friday which will hopefully be the most up to date meter. Octopus have been very difficult to contact and I've been in direct contact with the CEO, or at least someone senior than the customer service advisors that sign their emails 'love and power' ? The have confirmed 'there are many customer accounts which have been affected by this' - as in the double billing issue - which would have been useful to know before I moved to them and relied on the app. As yet they cannot generate an actual bill based on my use but hopefully with the installation of a new meter this problem should be sorted. I've asked for significant compensation based on the stress this has caused to the point of obsessively measuring the electricity use and the fact that it took multiple phonecalls and emails to get someone who actually knew there was a problem despite it clearly affecting lots of customers and being dismissed multiple times. The initial compensation amount was £50 which I said was insulting so they asked me how much I wanted and I'm waiting to see if they will agree with my figure. I've had notification from Octopus with the 8 week letter that from 4th June 2021 I have the right to refer my complaint to the Ombudsman Services so let's see what happens. If I don't get agreement that's where I'll be sending a letter to. I presume they won't want it to go to the Ombudsman but we will see.

? Nope, and he is in Staffordshire and I should be an expert in pottery (I confess I did work in a pot bank and was pretty good at it)! Dad was raised on a farm and is very good at metal work (infact he's just brilliant at everything)! Although he should have retired a couple of years ago he is still very much working full time self employed as a mechanic with a lot of agricultural work so all the ground work, landscaping etc is now in his hands and he has all the equipment etc. On the plus we have gained lots of extra tools now - the track barrow is my new favorite thing and my cement mixing is as good as my cake mixing after a couple of dodgy mixes. So far I've kept out of the digger as I've got visions of me crashing into the house....

Thanks for this suggestion. I'll look into the cost of these too bad how it compares.

We are having a small gravel path all around the house, 1 metre wide maximum which we will put plum slate in (to help with drainage) and the other side is grass. Edging stones are quite expensive and Dads latest suggestion is sheets of metal which he can cut to any size, and then get galvanized cheaply which can be bent etc to suit and will be fine to strim against etc. We know for our drive etc we will need to have proper kerb stones and this won't be suitable for this. Anyone used this? Thoughts?

I think it's hard to show in the picture as we have planted lots but the embankment is very steep and sloping and we did want something more heavy duty. I'll definitely update with the finished product but as we only have dad on Saturdays it may be another 3-4 weekends. They are actually surprisingly easy to install if not just a bit heavy mainly the moving them from where they got dropped off to the other end of the garden but between me, my dad and wife we have managed so far. Concrete in posts every 158 inches and then just lifting and bolting them on. The guy we got them off threw in an extra 3 as some were a bit bent. We probably have some from the A30 ?

Oh yes!!!

Our neighbors on the towpath side said they heard a group of walkers debating what was happening. I've got some traffic cones here too ?

So, put in a few barriers and thought I'd share pictures. Had quite a few looks from people on the canal at the weekend! The plan is for them go be two high, so a barrier needs to be on the bottom. Dad is then going to attach some 2ft high panels like this below so you won't see the barriers. We estimate the total cost will be just over £2500 for the whole 90 metres.

Just unloaded: 47 x 4.3m crash barriers, 20 odd posts and an enormous amount of bolts all for the grand sum of £1500 delivered which was the most cost effective solution we found. Cement and gravel/stone ready and the plan according to dad is to attach some kind of wood to them so it's like picket fencing using some kind of special type of screw (forgot what he said). I've no idea frankly what this will look like but my dad's got a vision and it will look amazing (apparently)..... I sense this is a project @ToughButterCup would love! Showing off the muscles after unloading them all! I'm glad this is hopefully going to be a cost effective solution because we have marked out our patio and path to pergola, another seating are etc and we have around 90m2 - and we want porcelain!!!! How bl00dy much?

I'll have to have a look or ask, would be useful to avoid a repeat of the past two weeks.

Not sure to be honest but given it was turned off at mains (fuse box) it wouldn't have made any difference!

Very true! ???

After an unsuccessful visit by the plumber last week with lots of head scratching we were still waiting for a solution. Last night's toilets all started backing up and we still have the issue above but noticed the utility sink drain outside wasn't going down either. Guy who did all drains and septic tank came out today. The issue.....Get ready for this you won't believe it... When the electrician came out 19 days ago to work through some final issues/snagging he turned off the fuse to the treatment plant/pump but didn't tell anyone or turn it back on. It took 19 days of not having the treatment plant or pump working before everything slowly started to back up and not flow. Flicked switch back and hey presto everything hunky dory. Spark must have flicked it off at some point. He's coming back on Wednesday so I'll be having words!

On don't jinx everything @SteamyTea it's not leaking - yet!

This.... Bit of gurgling and movement. Toilet water levels following plunging are a bit low in the ensuite too. VID_20210427_101832.mp4 Which we have asked the builder for time and time again. We have sent a sternly worded email to the builder about outstanding work, render, EWI etc and hopefully this will trigger some sort of action and this is now added to the list.

After the same issue last night I've just plunged the shower with the plunger @newhome recommended. Plot thickens ... Best way of me describing is by highlighting the plans with the areas. In the ensuite where the bath is, is where our shower is as we switched them round. When I plunge the shower the toilet in the cloaks makes a gurgling sound and water rises and falls so what I'm doing in the shower in the ensuite has some impact on the toilet in the cloaks! The toilet and sink in the vanity unit in the ensuite - the same room as the shower is not impacted at all strangely.

Oooh thanks I always have a good supply of those in as it's my go to for cleaning. Cheers for this.

We both have long hair so I suspect that could be the problem but we do regularly clean the plug bit - pic below. I've tried the normal plunger just and whilst nothing seemed to happen it is flowing down far better. Thanks for the link I've ordered one as I suspect we may need one in the future!

Thanks There is only me and the wife and it's our ensuite so straight to option 2 then. We have a normal type plunger so I'll try that later before we buy one of those posh things. Will also try the suggestion by @Onoff too.

We can't see any obvious issues and all other taps/bath (in same room) seem to be ok.

Thanks, currently looking into options and weighing things up.