Cpd

Welcome to the forum, a jcb is definitely a serious way to start ! Look forward to seeing some pics.

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I have lived to regret this sentence on a few occasions in my life ......... i now preach “assume nothing “ cpd.

I live on the west coast of Argyll and over the last 7 years have sunk all my savings into my project and now the project grinds on very slowly as and when funds are available, any sort of end game is years and years away...... the only positive thing about squandering a small fortune on the place is it’s my forever home and hopefully my children will take it on one day..... If I was to sell tommorow I would loose so very much ...... your position sounds pretty precarious and your going to need to do some serious costings before putting any more money into the project so that you have a clear understanding of how much it’s going to cost to get it into a liveable condition or sellable condition if that’s the end game. Once you have these costs you may decide to cut your losses and sell it at a huge loss or get it livable and then put money into it as and when you can or borrow some seious cash. My experience is with old buildings and renovation and its all costsed me so very much more than expected.... and will continue to absorb all my spare cash for years to come..... but I love it and the life I have chosen and treat the whole thing as a hobby..... an expensive one.

I have a soon to be repaired core drill with 100mm bits that would make quick work of it. pick up rings on a trailer and get another company to drill your holes while on the trailer, will only take a few minutes.

I got two from my local BM..... I spotted them at the back of the yard and as they looked like they had been there for some time I offered them £50 for both. They were happy to be rid of them and gave me a lid as well ! They have Built in ladders ... My plan is to use them to make a plunge pool outside my sauna fed from my spring....... all still to be done but hayho I have the basics and they were very cheap.,

About £15 for a 25 kg bag

https://fosroc.com/product/show/conbextra-uw I have used this on various jobs in Australia. great product

Cant help but what area are you talking about ? Just trying to work out the cost per m2, also was this supply only or supply and fit ?

I expect this is the air gap below the joists..... but I may be wrong.

If it was me a would be tempted to look at using unrelated larch, but getting it cut from a local mill might be cost prohibitive. Larch works well out of the ground in a well vented environment.

Not sure I would bother.... it will be a lot easier for the company to do the work and they will need a digger anyway to load up dumpers and trucks..... I think you should leave this job to the contractor and then if you only have a few other jobs just hire one in as needed. Buying diggers from private adds can be very risky And by the time you pay a professional to check out a few diggers that cost will also mount up. I love diggers And have been using them for 25 years on and off and really really need one Now.... but to get something decent in the size I need I am looking at about 15k.And just don’t have the budget. I am going to hire one as and when I need it. Not trying to put you off but seriously consider if you can justify it.

from what I remember your right that you don't want rainwater going into your septic tank, I guess it puts to much flow through it and causes problems with the leach field but I am not sure About specific reason.....

I think that is a cultivated rambling rose of some sort, the dog roses I know have a much more simple petal formation, either way it’s doing great and look fab.

Cheeper than buying two new doors.....

Can’t you just get the certificate from DOOR STOP direct, explain the situation and hopefully someone can see past the red tape and send you a certificate......

I installed two tank, the first 3000 litre tank is for back up and acts as an initial sediment catcher, the second is 5000 litres. I have installed both with Purge taps at the bottom so that I can empty either one independently. i have a tap on the outlet pipe so during maintenance I can shut this to stop any crud from going into the main pipe line. my water comes from the spring where I have some basic wire filters into the tanks and then the overflow runs into a small 500 litre tank that I have as an Independent water pipe installed for the garden and for the kids to play with, that way if they forget to switch of the hose or I forget to switch of the garden watering system I will not drain the main tanks. having an independent line or a pre filter take off like this is a good idea as when your doing anything that requires a lot of water you don’t have to run it all through the filters and potentially shorten there life, obviously if you have super clean water this would not be a problem. when you come to purify the system the VERY BEST and easiest Way is to use MILTON disinfectant fluid, trust me on this one...... I mix the Milton with a bright food grade dye so that I can easily see when it’s reached all the outlets, I have LONG runs to various buildings and I needed to keep topping up the filter housings with MILTONS So that the whole system was full and could then sit for the correct time before flushing out. If you did not have the dye you would NOT know when to add more disinfectant. The dye is also good as when you are flushing the system out you can be sure you have completely flushed it at all points as the water will run clear. When you clean the system your going to be putting a lot of chemicals into your septic tank / sewage treatment plant and this could kill off all the stuff you need to brake down the waste.... I am considering the possibility of building in some sort of diverter so that should I need to re clean the system I won’t bugger up my septic tank.

Welcome, I got my place 7 years ago with about 5 acres of ground. The ground was completely untouched and was a mix of bracken covered hillsides, extensive boggy ground and bare sheep eaten grassland..... i had dreams of rolling lawns, wooded hillsides and more formal areas..... after a huge amount of work by myself and volunteers it’s really starting to come together with thousands of trees planted and more lawn than the kids know what to do with ! Where there is a will there is a way. Best of luck and put up some photos.

I had some black mould on some ply wood and wanted it gone so I sprayed it with a good quality thin bleach and it looked like new ! Not sure if this would work or if it’s necessary but could be an option if you needed it gone. (I say good quality as I also tried using tesco own brand thin bleach When I run out of good stuff and it did next to nothing which was mildly alarming......)

I have lived in tiny homes, cabins and caravans for up to two years in a single stretch and I would go as far to say that I prefer living in a small cabin / caravan / tiny home to living in a standard size house, but I do need additional outbuildings for all my worldly junk ! It’s definitely not for everyone but I really think that there should be more opportunities for people to live in this way if they want to, how you do that without encouraging cheap slums to pop up everywhere is another story. I have various friends that live in tiny homes and they are all very happy with the lifestyle, most of there homes cost about 10k to build and they live on land with permission from the land owner but without the authorities blessing..... I think that generally this lifestyle is frowned upon and the regulatory system is stacked against people wanting to live like this. (Rightly or wrongly I am not sure !) The people I know who do live this way could NOT afford to build a standard size house, let alone buy an expensive plot and did not want to spend there hard earned money on renting. They now live happily without causing any trouble to anyone and are not in debt for the next 25 years paying of a mortgage. I just think that we need to think outside the bubble when it comes to affordable home ownership, it would be great if buying a small plot of land and putting your tiny home on it could be done all in for £50k as this is a figure that many would find achievable.

could be the easiest and simplest way. Once it’s all tied together, filled with rock and back filled I expect it will very good for a long time.

Had to google that one ! i agree that hog clips could be a bit naff....maybe keep them for the initial put together and then use something more robust. I am leaning towards heavy gauge Mild steel galvanised Line wire And just come up with a simple way of twisting it on, that way I can quickly cut x thousands of bits at a specific length and just go from there. the sack ties are new to me as is he twiddle tool so am a bit reluctant to order up a load if I don’t understand it’s function for my specific job..... Anyone got one I can try out ...... also I have seen galvanised wire react badly (Deep rust) when I have used stainless steel tie downs, (I now use a bit of hose pipe to create a separation between ss and gal fencing wire) anyway thanks any advice as it’s a new project and it’s good to get some collective input. Col

i have just used about 6 thousand of these attaching rabbit netting to my stock fence ! This is the product I use. i turned up at my 80 year old dads yesterday with a bunch of stock Netting, various wire and clipping options And explained what was required.... he will build the prototype and then when I give it the seal of approval will launch into full time construction!. The basic idea is to use two layers of sheep fencing for each tubular cage, the mesh is smaller at the bottom to stop lambs getting through so I will flip over one layer so that the smaller holes are at both top and bottom and also offset the vertical wires to create much smaller holes, hog clip it all together and then attach them all together with heavy gauge galvanised wire, if required I could also run a full length run of stock netting along the front to even it all out and help bind it all together. I will use heavy gauge galvanised high tensile Steel netting as I think this will have the longest life span. Will report back with photos as the project progresses.

you seem to be miss interpreting my picture, I am VERY aware what a dry stone dyke is and I clearly stated what my picture Is..... Not sure I understand where the next line fits in. I would also point out that dry stone walling, be it retaining or free standing is all about the key word (dry stone) there is no mortar used. The shape of the stones is irrelevant, my picture is of a dry stone retaining wall, those stones did not just magically come in that shape..... I worked every single stone by hand from Very rough Semi dimensional stone To the sizes and shapes I wanted to create the perfect curves and to have flat courses Running through it as this was the style this specific job required. If I wanted it to look more natural I would have done something different, like below. i am starting to look seriously at making my own gabions and will post some pics when I have my prototype ready. pic of 2 meter high dry stone retaining wall I built in australia 8 years ago

Thanks for the extra info folks, I like your creativity @SiBee the log filled baskets will be a great insect habitat, I think the iron in the rocks has caused a reaction with the galvanised surface of the baskets and is something I Had not thought about....I have similar shite rock with iron parities in it...... and I live within a few hundred meters of the sea..... thanks @vfrdave for the link still depressingly expensive for a 1x1m wire box...... Like me back when I was running my company cost would not have been a problem but there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then and my cash reserves went with it.... I really like the idea of the sheep netting and I think it would be a good solution to some of the areas that are not so much structural, like retaining the bank behind my proposed polly tunnel, I have some left over high tensile rylock from my garden fence (450m.....) and will have do an experiment To see if this is suitable. Growing various climbing/ draping plants on and over them could go a long way to making it look good. @scottishjohn some good points made and as a stonemason I am capable of filling the baskets Well, it’s all a bit frustrating as given the time I would just build Dry stone Retaining walls But I just don’t have the time as I have so many other pressing projects and retaining these areas is key to getting those projects started.... Covid has left me without an income and I think I just need to bite the bullet and accept that some projects will need to be delayed, only buying the bare minimal baskets and look into alternative solutions like the home made basket idea. when someone else is paying me to build a wall for them I have all the time I want but can only dream of having the time to do this on my own property, pic of low retaining wall I built in Hornsby NSW Australia about 8 years ago.