ToughButterCup

I've a teenager who turns up on a Saturday : picks his nose incessantly and tells me while attempting to mix mortar - straight-faced - that "This shovel doesn't work ... " So I tell him we need 2 buckets of sharp sand, and 2 of 10mm pipe bedding , and another single bucket with cement. " But you've not got enough buckets for all that " Imagine the innocent pleasure to be gained from watching him pick his nose again after putting his fingers in the cement ... "Soft stuff this cement innit ...... " I've never seen a teenager do a war-dance before. Twat. Followed by me shoving his head in a bucket of cold water. According to him, my shovel works now.

I don't think it matters much. The thing is not to allow 'dead air' in that space. Think shoes after a day's wear - no matter how clean they are, they'll still be holding moisture, and thus bacteria that tend to whiff a bit.

I'm laying a path at the moment, and because the stone varies in size and depth, it's rare for me to mix exactly the correct amount of mortar. Years ago @TerryE gave me some excellent advice about using up excess concrete. Make a 'concrete flush-pond' he suggested . Levelled off , the excess concrete flushed from the concrete pump made an excellent temporary work area. It was excellent because it gave us a small stable base outside (3 by 3). We were particularly grateful to be able to cut insulation accurately on a table saw in the open air for example. So I was wondering if anyone had a similarly bright idea about how to put left-over barrows full of mortar to good use. I've made some tie downs : plastic mayonnaise tubs filled with mortar with a dog-tether ( spiral anchor) set in it... useful as a counter weight too. I've also out of sheer badness filled a 2 liter water bottle with mortar, and when set, stripped the plastic off it, painted it and the watched the grandchildren reaction when told to...go and fetch that bottle.... Ideas anyone?

In a similar situation , this is what we did. Not exactly the same.... but bits of it might help

Two commonplace Logical Fallacies in one short sentence. Not bad. Most people use one per sentence. '...because ...' is entirely wrongly applied in this case. '... can...' needs to be explained in the context of all five people using the road. Dickheads exist. They are excellent at getting us to exercise our diplomatic muscle. You may want to be a good neighbour @qamar : my experience of two similar cases of neighbourly behaviour is that as one problem is solved, the originator develops another gripe.

It took 8 full years of building to mix exactly the correct amount of mortar for the job. 8 full years. Normally, too much - what a waste. Often too little . Oh FFS. Anyone know the trick of how to mix exactly the correct amount of mortar for any give job?

I've written a checklist about diggas here on BH somewhere...

That was not the case for us.

Network. Find out who he/she's had him work on their projects before, and who he works with (other trades folk). Listen. As written, I'd be very tempted to ask someone else to get the job finished. However, I (we) can't see the full picture - for example, who does he 'drink' with in the pub in the evenings? Are they the people you'll need to work with sometime in the future? Will you need to employ him (or someone with his skills) again? How many other (say he's a ) carpenter(s) does he work with? Will he put poison down about you, or do they all know this bloke as a bit of a [...] ? For a small amount of money, it's a finely balanced decision.

Exactly. Router, > old bit , > 20mm, > lap in, > mastic, > cover with batten, > fasten. > clean up. 1 man, half a day, 10 meters.

Does this help? I'm almost sure we recessed the VCL into the wall, sealed and battened over the top 75mm ish? We also used an expensive oil-based compound on top of the sub-deck that 'improved the breathability' according to the roofer.

No. But 3g windows are much harder to smash right through. Ask me how I know

Great to see your progress and optimism. You'll need to remember that in years to come '... Between us we are working incredibly effectively. Long may it continue....' That's the key to success

Steel Wired Armoured cable is what you need ( SWA). There are loads of YT videos of people doing the same job Why SWA - because in years to come you never know who is going to put a spade through the cable - hell it might even be you.

Another of those clutching-gonads videos. Its a bit like seeing a car accident. Makes you drive more carefully for a bit. I was pleased to see the operator stand up at the end......

Hello. Access is unlikely to be a Planning issue. Why do you think it might be a problem?

In haste... Look up the NHBC standards.....

I forgot that @BigBub 😑... thanks

Welcome. Nothing like starting with a bang eh? To help you we need the following detail: unless you want us merely to speculate ... The Delegated Officers report The Planning Officers original report The Decision Notice. In general terms ( speculation) , it seems - as written - that two officers offered different opinions on same topic. Its what they wrote - and how they phrased it - that's very important.

How many joints will there be in the pipe that'd be under the road? 0 ? Forget and carry on ... Several? Suck your teeth for a bit longer.....

Give us detail... summat to get our teeth into, otherwise we're just guessing - and so not helping as efficiently as we might.

Hello, welcome. My Groundworks truisms. An experienced person and his machine will do it -better- in a tenth of the time it takes you to do it on your own. Buy a digger anyway.

After 8 years I've just about stopped doing that. Much to SWMBO's relief. My 'line' was to say that it should be a criminal offence to leave a digger unused in a field where passers-by can see them. Diggers should either be hidden or in use, and NOT left out in the open to cause distress to needy non-digger owners. Mind you, my mate has a 60 tonner out in a field within sight of the motorway: every time we drive past, Debbie dares me not to look. Fail every time. He won't let me play on it. Wonder why.

Imagine you had the responsibility for maintaining the services under the wall. If the wall incorporated a suitable duct or 'bridge' through which the services pass, then that would enable the ducting to be maintained. They may never ever need maintenance - but that is irrelevant. On our site, water and electricity pass under a properly specified building foundation in a suitably designed duct (specified by the relevant authority). Ring them or write to them and ask, or get your builder to do so. The Water and Electricity people are keen to help usually - for obvious reasons.

Welcome. You've had a hard time - you're amongst friends. Many of us have similar stories to tell. One way of making progress is to take each point , and list the arguments the Officer made rejecting your application. For each point, in as few words as you can : list the ways in which you have sought to address those arguments look at recent builds where the LPA has not followed the advice given to you (I see you've started to do so already) I 'see' more clearly in some form of table: arguments for in one column, against in a parallel column. That technique reduces mental clutter. Present that table to a Planner (whom you employ) - with the end-in-mind being - If we present this case for Appeal, is there a chance of winning? If you can clearly show that Planners have applied different criteria for your Application than those used in other Applications, then you've stated to weaken the LPAs case. Brevity and clarity of presentation are powerful tools Good luck, Ian