ToughButterCup

He has been known to wear clothes .... I mention this because Sam can be a given name to both sexes ?

Gordon Bennett, all I did was make a cup of tea and bingo, there's the answer .... Thanks boys.

I am trying to draw some simple wiring diagrams. To do that I'd like to use standard wiring symbols to construct an image something like this. I don't have access to a proper piece of design software, but I am competent with PhotoShop. Does anyone have a link for the images used in the standard electrical services legend? Or if not, then a link to a pdf which contains them (so I can duplicate them for myself) Thanks Ian

First Aider Chainsaw proficiency Gym club membership and Courses (fitness Courses) ICF basic competence ( Durisol) Shower tray installation Many many hours of YouTube self- directed study: all of @constructionchannel's videos, Peter Millard, SkillBuilder, and many German training videos On line SketchUp courses Several hours watching scaffolders erect Kwik Stage scaffolding ( yes: I got a good few old fashioned looks for doing that) A good few hours walking round building sites - with permission. All in all- over 4 years - about 3 months work.

Tja! Eichhörnchen

Bang on. We had endless irritation because on our application, the illustration of our house showed the correct colour for new cedar (WRC) - not the faded grey we knew would develop after a few years. We wanted to make the point that our house would fade into the background. As a consequence of the foregrounding of the building (because of the colour, the eye is drawn to it in the illustration) the Planners decided to ask for a reduction in what they called 'Massing' - nett effect - lose two rooms and gain a flat roof. And that is causing endless hassle. Still. Keep detail to a minimum: just enough to get through. Thats an art.

And that's exactly the point. You say Tomaytos, I say tomaaaaatos. How the Hell can @Robert Clark guess which way the Planners want him to pronounce the damn word?

Dave, let me let you into a secret. .... Thats not going to go down well. She wants stone shelves? Give her stone shelves. By Friday. With a smile. Fitted Saturday 9.30. Latest. You have been warned.

When in Rome ... don't do what the Germans do: behave as if locals really dont matter.

Try putting it (on its own) in the dishwasher on a high temp wash. Done once a month, sorts it out luuverly.

I see no mention of 'wow' anywhere. @Robert Clark, access the document referred to immediately above (if your area has one) and then follow those guidelines. If there are no guidelines, then ask them what is meant by '....they say any scheme must be of the highest quality ....' As written above, you cannot be expected to follow non-existant guidelines . You appear to have been put in an impossible situation. Put the ball back in their court. The only other thing I can suggest is to do a comprehensive review of what has been recently (2 years or so) been deemed to be acceptable in your area and draw conclusions from that. Might be worth doing anyway....

A mouse or bankvole or two every night, a rat or three every week, baby ducklings when available, the odd mature wild duck, moorhen feet and beaks in the summer, distressingly - swallows and redwing in season Avoids GCNs - bugger- and dislikes frog . And still has the temerity to moan like an oft abused refugee when we get up in the morning- got us well trained

Or rather I need to have one of those wooden rules that proper chippies use as well as a steel rule. The steels I use keep breaking. Including my favourite Hultafors rule. Recommendations for one of those folding wooden rules? Ta!

I come from a culture where no plan=no work. An outline plan is always a the White Board. When folk are on site they are all -gently- briefed and given the correct tools I am slowly learning to supervise and support as unobtrusively as I can. And I expect I'll get that balancing act right just as we finish-

+ a million

Yep. And then, when that's done, at least in my Case, I dont (cant)manage the workflow well enough to provide a constant Stream of low-skilled jobs - without stopping what I should be doing. The problem is me, not them. Just wait until the next house. They're going to be transformed into whirling dervishes

There ya go. Knew it was our fault. I'd agree with you John if my German family didn't moan about exactly the same thing among the people employed in their company. Even in a society which values practical skills. I wanted to emphasise how difficult it is for self builders to manage the family dynamic in the pressured environment of self building. The problem here is poor management, not low skill levels.

But everyone wants to help' Its a minefield. Ifeel awful if all I need is some muscle and hard work. And they dont know how to shovel (say) gravel so that their back is still usable after for hours of the same hard graft.

A chance? Yes- with a relaxed planning regime. How? Buy and wait. We did that. (30 years wait). One changed sentence in the planning law made it possible. ... presumption in favour of Sustainable Development...

My my what an unexpected minefield. Delighted that they come and lend a hand. Delighted to be able to do jobs I couldn't do without their physical help. Lift, shift, move, squeeze, jiggle left a bit, right a bit. But beyond that... I hadn't realised that unskilled help from a relative is just that. The same as unskilled help from anyone else. It's me that got it wrong. Putting someone Whose main job is to move electrons round a hard disk in charge of a speed square is a recipie for repeat cuts on the same bit of 3 by2. It's all the fault of teachers innit? I mean vey dun lern Um nuffin veez days do um?

Na und? ( tr. So what pal?) A German biochemist once told me that you never know which enzymes Unilever slip into washing up liquid. He worked for them. Safest always to rinse - twice.

... A useful exercise in self- discipline then, @jack ?

And the neighbour has access to the detailed plans with all the levels marked ? Really?

Could not agree more. If your site has a slight slope your scope for losing it is greater.

But they'll know how much others will pay for it. In other words its value.