ToughButterCup

I'm just going to take my Stihl blower, a stiff brush a clay spade and spare bit of OSB - blow>shovel>sweep>mix>pour>level>cover> wait >polish my halo> uncover> tea, medals. I might scratch the date into the surface - or maybe play a game of noughts and crosses on the semi-dry surface.

Anyone know how to prepare the hole? ( Shaaadup @Pocster )

So it looks like I'll be Livestreaming from Potters Brook Potholes in 't mornin'. Fanx @Nickfromwales Has anyone ever watched concrete harden live on Tinternet? Suppose I'd better get one of my road plates to cover it for a while. That'll be a pig. 😳 You saw it here on Buildhub first! Might give the local paper a ring just to sex things up a bit eh?

Right oh, I get the hint. Lean mix it is with a water-filled plastic barrier on it for a morning or afternoon. Or Both 🤔 - but not overnight Piccyz to follow.

OK, lets see what's to be done here.... (Its here) My thoughts -- its a single lane track Dry Lean mix Fill Level mark with 'spare' road furniture for a while Wait an hour or so recover the traffic cones Deny I did it Blame @Pocster ( tell them he was waiting for hair to grow on it ???) For / Against / Dunno / Don't be so daft / Steal proper road furniture and block it off good and proper Your vote please.... PS : just drop a spare bag of cement on it?😑 ?

Folks ours are not as bad as East German roads in the 80s. Road decks that in a bit of sunshine melted enough for braking vehicles to cause a runnel across the line of traffic: meaning that at every single traffic light you drove over what looked and felt like corrugated iron sheeting. And that's the problem, generally our roads are reliable. Increasingly not so, but the vast majority of our roads is at least OK. Shoulder's aching now 😞

Ok, I bounced on impact, nuffin broken, just a lovely multicoloured bruise starting : but still - look at this Yes I was distracted, yes I was a bit careless, full of the joys of early Spring. Happy to be on my mountain bike, fizzing with annoying amounts of energy. So whatcha gonna do about it? Be positive: fill the damn thing Be normal: ignore it Be negative: moan about it. How about all three: Fill it, moan to the Council, and ignore the consequences? Advice from the Commentariat please.

I'm desperate to read @Pocster's take on this. I get the feeling he's a TechnoKing

I love to loathe tech stuff. So this article from The Atlantic magazine hit home with me. The text below is ChatGPT's summary edited and reformatted by me for easier readability. “Smart Homes Are Terrible” by Jason Fried argues that the current wave of smart-home technology often makes everyday tasks more difficult rather than easier. The author, a tech industry veteran, recounts his experience staying in a high-tech rental home full of connected devices and automated systems that, in practice: Require multiple apps, tutorials, or menus just to do simple things like turn on lights or set the temperature. Have poorly designed interfaces (e.g., unlabeled panels or touchscreen controls that aren’t intuitive). Create friction, lag, and confusion instead of convenience. Make basic actions harder than with traditional analog controls (like flipping a switch or turning a dial). Ultimately, he suggests that smart homes have become too complicated and unreliable — and that simple analog solutions often work better. 🏠 Examples from the Article Lighting panels needed tutorials just to operate. Television and kitchen appliances were complicated by app requirements and obscure interfaces. Thermostats and security systems involved navigating deep menus rather than straightforward controls. A digital lock on the gate didn’t work properly, forcing use of a traditional key instead. 🧩 Broader Context (Not Just The Atlantic) To balance the article’s criticism, here’s how smart homes are generally viewed in technology and industry trends: 📈 Adoption and Trends Many homeowners expect smart technology to become essential by 2030, driven by convenience, energy efficiency, and integration. The smart-home market continues to grow with devices like smart thermostats, speakers, and security systems becoming more common. 🔧 What Smart Homes Can Do Well Remote control of devices via apps or assistants like Alexa/Google. Automated routines (e.g., adjusting heating based on presence). Potential energy savings by optimizing usage. Security and privacy vulnerabilities if devices aren’t configured securely. Interoperability issues between different brands and systems (though standards like Matter are helping). The Atlantic Magazine February 2026

Good on ya. 10 years of DIY in and still enjoying it - mostly. Good for the soul, bad for the heart pacemaker. Ermmm, BTW , you haven't got a requirement for walk-on glazing have you by any chance? 😑 I'm asking for a friend you see. He got very upset (search on this site for 'walk on' or 'walk-on' or 'walkon') about his walk-on glazing and to cut a very long story short, well errrrm, it's reportedly still in his shed . Poor bloke. With a screename like yours, you aren't a tecchie by any chance? Anyway - welcome

Good. Some really interesting and thoughtful contributions. A self-build isn't merely about nuts bolts and how not to cross-thread them. So far, it seems to me to be generally accepted that in the self build context fizz is added to normal build problems by the contexts in which we work if we could damp down the fizz - or at least some of it - we'd be more able to focus on the build sharing problems online is easier when we ask technical questions about nuts bolts and crossed threads we're more reticent about the wider contexts Unless members take courage in both hands, they usually don't post about those wider issues. Buildhub is the one space (OK, online space) where you (every single BH member)knows they're among friends ; understanding friends. People who are likely to have very similar issues to those you're facing. A suggested format for some next steps. Read loads of posts and imagine the author of those posts that somehow click with you. Those that add a little more than just: Do-this=then=that=then=this . Drop that author a PM. Waste a bit of time chatting. Smell the coffee. Suggest a WhatsApp (or whatever) maybe. Listen - read between the lines. Get to know and trust a bit more. Share some hard issues perhaps? Meet at a neutral venue? Visit And all's not going to be happily ever after. But it'll have been shared. And you will have taken an appropriate risk and -who knows- maybe won.

Mobile Self Build Shed with sarnies by @SteamyTea MBSS with @SteamyTea's sarnies.

Self Build Buddies?

You're fast. I mean proper fast @SteamyTea

Ugh. The only way I know my way round that one is - acceptance and then to become absorbed in something else. In my case self-deportation to the North Pyrenees and a couple of months walking west to east along the GR10. @Pocster's post earlier mentions his variant of the same thing.