ToughButterCup

Well, there you are @Lincolnshire Ian, and That Councillor will have friends. It won't be too hard to work out who they are. If you look at the others on that committee and their political affinity, it shouldn't be too hard to read the runes. Key point; is his(?) objection Material to your application? If not, you've nowt to worry about. If so: deal with it .

Here Be Dagons. If ever there was an instance where micropolitics will play a role in the outcome, it is here. Is the Objection material to the application? PS Can't wait for @IanR and @Temp to get their teeth into this.

It may or may not be. You @Pocster are a legend. We all know that, you know that. But the BCO doesn't. Convince him of your legendary status as somebody who conserves energy - nervous energy - and just bloody does it instead of worrying about it. Better put JustBloodyDoIt - JBDI

Thanks @SteamyTea. Your sign will go well with the current one John (referred to on the notice) is still alive. But now he only visits when there are big boys toys to play with. He can sit in the cabin, heater on Radio 3- full volume He's due (as is the digger) on Wednesday, digging out for the steps. 9:00 a.m. Sharp. He spends half his time talking to the passers by. Gets on far too well in my opinion with some of the little old dears who walk past. They bring him biscuits and cake for god's sake. Mustn't grumble. 😔

Thanks very much @Ferdinand . Yer a proper good-ideas generator......

Morning! Now that looks like fun. Is the oak local, or French maybe.....?

There are many benefits to a sloping site. Not least to assist in our SUDs program. The slope towards that sycamore tree in the background hides a pond. That takes every drop of rainwater from our roof. The slope hides all sorts of small horrors (to be dealt with in due course) and provides privacy and shelter for many. (PS @JohnMo, that's a wonderful build and site)

Storm Warning.....

Update. Last night did not entirely go to plan.... Lemme explain. Paint and brush duly hidden under her duvet. Sleep on my part feigned. Lights out. She discovers the offending articles and promptly drops them on my pillow. Bugger. Didn't see that coming. "But you forgot to bring me a screwdriver to open the lid ...." That didn't go down too well. Its 7:30 am, and I've just finished painting the five small patches of Polyfilla. Need to go and bring her breakfast in bed now. It never ceases to amaze me how much effort it takes to avoid doing really simple quick jobs.

Not to be outdone, she has a variant on the same theme too... 9 years ago, "Dwahling, dearest, please put these gabions in" : Last weekend - please take them out. "Its Ok, love, I'll play the tart for you if you do..." (Damn that Penelope Kieth woman) Tell yas all wot: if we'd have paid someone else to put them in, they'd still be there. Thats fer boody sure.

Yes. Yes. Its fine where it is. My CBA affects me more on Friday than any other day of ther week.

Sorry Dave. But can I borrow her for a week please?

A Northern Self Builder has recently patented a new Procrastination Technique. @ToughButterCup, 71 , from Lancaster has been unveiling his new technique on a packed village hall carpark somewhere in deepest darkest Lancashire. The location is being kept secret on National Security grounds. A local police chief said; " Ah maaaht 'av ter kill ya if ah wuz ter tell ya where ee iz. " The technique is being called Extended Simplicity. Take a simple job like painting over some filler. All that's needed is paint and a paintbrush. The necessary precondition - and this is vital - is deep CantBeArsedNess. (CBA) After 9 years at it, tough buttercup has been in what is called the CBA State for quite some time. His supportive partner has been worried about him for some time. So she decided to bring the paint and brush in from the workshop and put them on the dining room table. They remained there for a week. From there they made their weary way to the foot of the stairs. Yesterday morning they were at the top of the stairs. This morning after a heavy sesh in't boozer last night, they are on @ToughButterCup's bedside table. Tonight, just to spite her, I am going to put them in her side of the marital repose system. And switch the lights out and fein sleep before she comes to bed. That's a genius idea don't ya fink?

Thanks a lot @Ferdinand

Normal is hard enough for me on my own. I can get some help, but it's only ever available when I'm knackered. Or it's too expensive.

They do what the designers tell them. No female designer, or family orientated person would have made that usability error.

I've been continuously building for just long enough now for us ( well, HerInDoors) to want to change the gabions we installed 9 years ago. Annoying doesn't come close. The job of removing established gabion baskets was so much easier than I thought - shove two crowbars through the basket, digga, straps , snap shackles, normal shackles, a bit of Oomph - jobs a goodun. 4 gabions; several GCNs, a good few toads, a Jeremiah (Bullfrog), loads of snails eggs, lots (3?) of frogs and a pissed off normal newt. I should have remembered to classify our gabions as a hibernacula (newt refuge) for our Ecological Mitigation Strategy. When almost constantly wet, gabions are an excellent refuge for wildlife. Loads of mosses in the gabions that remain.

Thanks everyone. Ian

Oh Fer FooksSake.... 😑 I'm a Bear With A Very Small Brain. Thanks @Russell griffiths

I'm just about ready to put some garden steps in. I'm following the published guidelines for Accessible Garden Design. Context: Old - replaced hips - reasonably fit - tow ramp access to other house doors Spec: 1200 wide ( minimum) handrails risers 150 ish. tread (going) 700 or maybe a bit less but not much fall of (max) 1:50 on each tread step lights ( in the risers ) So far so good. But do I need to put in a ramp to one side? What have you done about that ?

Could not agree more. I use it every day (as does my OH) She is resposible for Academic Standards at an HEI in the north of the UK. AI is a complete and utter nightmare. I always mistrust AI responses - so to check I skim them and run them through another AI. And then compare . And do another check. In this case less than 5% difference, and in this totally routine - Raise a Complaint - process the content stands up to quick inspection. In terms of the mere typing It makes the difference between making the time to help anothe or BH member or not.

Yes, OK. Lets reframe the issue and attempt to turn what I suspect is something like irritation into something posistive. Lets start with an End In Mind: To Determine whether or not HMPI is unreasonably delaying the Validation beyond the stated timescale of [.... I've forgotten ...] weeks Because I haven't got the time, and this sort of issue is probably about information handling - and standard stuff at that - I ran the issue through ChatGTP. Other AIs will probably do a better job: but 'tis what I've got easy access to..... Here's the ChatGTP response (My emphasis for those who want to skim) https://chatgpt.com/c/6729ef30-bb14-8004-b20b-ebae04634a7e downloaded 05/11/2024 We (BuildHub) have about 5,000 (?) members, of whom some at least have experienced delays - unreasonable delays - in the processing the paperwork. See Point 2 above. How about starting a thread on BH asking directly and succinctly about the time it takes the Planning Inspectorate takes to validate an application? Thanks @Tetrarch Take it away @Alan Ambrose

Got a part time job as a standup comedian then have you? Earlier in the build, I walked round the site and quietly cleaned up after every single tradesman Until the money ran out. When all is said and done I pay for their skill. That said we currently have the sparkles in. Two smashing lads who work for a local company; they hoover up after themselves! Christ on a Bike! All those thousands of little bits of copper wire. They get everywhere. Found some in my knicker drawer. Ouch. They illustrate the rule. Owners clean up because customers pay for the skill - trades untidiness is an honourable tradition to be held in great esteem. Because it reminds us that we should bother about them. And know sod all ourselves.

Early on in our build I would occasionally go and stand outside the HERAS of a local building site. And I would look really carefully at what everyone was doing there and see if I could apply any of the things that I learnt on our site. Occasionally I would pop in and see the s ite foreman and ask if I could have a look to see how the site was organised. As a result of those visits I; Made myself a site stillage Made a site storage plan. Made a scaffolding store. Stoned the walkways around the outside of the build Bought track-mats to put in front and behind the stillage so that access to the contents was quick , easy and cleanable Kept the road outside our site spotlessly clean no mud, no dust, no stones. Put some flood lights up, battery ones with a Bluetooth connection so that over the winter they came on and switched off randomly. (Bosch) We could also switch them on from inside our house. Made a concrete overspill 'pond' for the when the concrete wagon mixer needed to flush its pipes. Later I turned that concrete 'pond' into a flat area for storage and for a temporary work surface. Stupidly I put a whole load of waste rebar in it without thinking through the consequences of what would happen when I came to break it up. Live and learn eh.... I put some wheels on the bottom of for HERAS panels so that moving it was quick and easy at the beginning and end of each day. I also made a safe place for van drivers to pull off the road and make their delivery in safety.

'... How do people in their 60's even do this?!!...' By planning for it. I don't know of one builder over (say) 50 who isn't careful with their upper body. If it's not backs, then it's shoulders or necks. And I'm just about the same as you are: cursing quietly when [...] clicks in. That's what young folk are for - saving our backs. Learn the warning signs, sign off straight away, not '...Oh I'll just [...] ...' For me, it's the single hardest lesson of the build so far. And nobody can see anything except my refusal to get on with it. SWMBO notices the analgesic consumption, but that's about it. Now I look at jobs done in both haste and pain and repent at leisure.