ToughButterCup

Good point Mike. I have 3.5tonne Land Rover. Ergo, I can only move a trailer with a digger that weighs 3.5 tonnes LESS than the weight of the trailer. Hence my Kubota 203alpha AND three buckets is bang on the limit for me. If @patp you have a bigger tow machine you can tow a bigger digger. Don't forget the bucket weight is added to the digger weight.

There are pros and cons to a decision either way. Local circumstances and risk appetite are important factors. Diggers damage things, break down, eat budget. But if you can mend things, maintain the digger and re-sell it at roughly what it cost - what's to lose ? Here's my answer: I took a year and many posts on BH on whether to buy, and then which one to buy: long story short, after 4 years, we're nearly ready to sell our Kubota. I have put 500 + hours on the engine, replaced the tracks, maintained it to a very high standard - dealer only on site servicing. Cost via the purchase route Initial outlay £13k Off the top of my head: new tracks, new track clips and a full 500 hours service £700. Replacement hoses £50. Bits and bobs - massive shackles, official Kubota lifting hooks £150. Massive lifting chain £100. Say £14k Sale: very worst case £10 k Nett cost: £4k Cost via Hire 500 hours (same engine hours as above) = 62.5 days For my type of digger, the cost is £150 per day plus transport : £210 62 * 210 = £13,020 Nett cost: £13k The kicker is that through the purchase route, the digger is available 24/7 at the drop of a hat - sometimes all that was required is a fifteen minute job with a digger that saves a two man / day job. And you cant get that level of utility with a hire digger. Nobody can arrange a hire to suit the requirement for a 15 minute job. Finally - and this surprised me most - most of the jobs done with the help of a digger had nowt to do with digging Lifting, smoothing, nudging, squashing, anchoring, hammering (posts), blocking, holding still enabling one-person working where two would have been required. Even my wife loves our digger " Best thing we've bought to date" she's happy to repeat to anyone who will listen. "Better than the scaffolding?" "Well just about, yes" The key thing is context. Perfect for us : maybe not for you. A 3.8 for £9k? Hmmm - I'm wincing a bit. How many hours on the engine, what are the tracks like, look at the track clips, and how sloppy is the main ring? Proportional controls?Service Schedule fully stamped? With your own digger there's one big disadvantage, yer mates all want to play on it- so I have a garden gnome ready for them. His name is Clarence. "If you can lift Clarence off the ground without knocking him over , you can have a play". To date, only one young lass has managed it. Diggers need a gentle touch.

That's what we are going to do @Gooman. SWMBO is on to it like a hawk(ess) . We're roughly two months away from a purchase

Yes, I meant duct. Here's how I solved the problem ......... The duct is insulated, and just a bit over 2" wide. I tried thumping the blockage hard by inserting a 22mm pipe inside the sleeve. I noticed that the insulation was moving a bit. Like this. So I grabbed the insulation and out it all popped. And of course, I was desperate to see the damn stone that caused me so much annoyance. So out with the angle grinder.... Nay friggin stone. The bend forced on the duct was so acute that it stopped the 22mm pipe going through. So what was the object in the image above? We'll never know. Presumably now, all I need to do is shove the right amount of 22mm through the the duct , cap it off (mechanical stop-end) fill the blue duct with foam, back-fill the trench and Bob's my Uncle? Do I really need to foam round the pipe in the duct?

Why every time I dig a hole do I run into problems? Have a look at this : That, my friends is a stone at the bend in our water services pipe. I was hoping that today's little digging escapade would be easy: dig down next to the house, find the end of the water services pipe (big blue thing with an insulated pipe in it), thread the blue 22mm pipe through it, and all would be well. But. I have threaded some flexible fiberglass rods down the pipe: no joy run water through the pipe: it flows - not freely, but it flows rammed 22mm pipe down the inside of the services pipe to try and persuade the stone to leave : no joy tried threading braided wire through the services pipe - in the hope that if it got past the stone, we could dislodge it. I'm going to have to take the whole pipe out aren't I? Poo.

Two years ago, when our wall blew down a load of drainage piping blew off the stillage into a fence : where I had - with great pride - planted a new hedge. Two years of growth later, I need some drainage pipe. Mustn't grumble : had a good hour's exercise getting it that far - fed a few flies on my blood and simply ruined my fingers nails, ruined I tell you. ..... Eat yer heart out @Onoff When it comes to procrastination, I gottcha beat. Admit it!

Thanks. Cheque is in the post Dave.....

Right folks, I'm about to take the Scolmore shilling. Before I do, tell me why I shouldn't use Mode Click Modules. Is there anything else I should have considered before I buy into Scolmore's offering?

As I understand it, it is possible to both flatten all the layers in a pdf, and then lock the file. So it may well not be possible to convert the layers, or even get access to them: they might have been destroyed.

Been all over my scaffold this afternoon. ?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/01/at-least-two-injured-after-scaffolding-collapses-in-reading

Walls built out of line. The started but unfinished jobs list The How-The-Hell-Do-I-Do-That? jobs list The gutter brackets that are still at the Blacksmith's shop

No. Yer a star! Time for some research....

Yes.

soap...

Hello @Roz, Errrm, sorry to ask, but, ermmm are there any instructions with the tap? Maybe a diagram perhaps? (Sorry)? Might you have the Amazon link still ?

Pressure washer? Tame servant?

You say potato , I say potahto.

And have it round my knees ?

We have tilt and turn windows. And , in our wet room, if we put our wash basin under the window (just about the only place it'll go) the taps will prevent the full-opening of the window. @craig is crying - I can hear his gurning from Lancashire. Is there such a thing as a low-profile tap?

No. Not mad. It's more subtle than that. The Devil is in the the detail, and the approach. Circumstances forced DIY on us. Long story short, I'm starting to forgive myself for getting it wrong first , second and third times - I've settled on a general approach to reduce the likelihood of mess-ups. Research like mad > take notes > network > ask on BH > where sensible, do a trial / small exercise which uses the same skills > re-plan. Just Bloody Do It > get it wrong > re-plan > re-do Stop feeling guilty about not doing everything else > enjoy what I'm doing Leave it for a bit > come back to it a day later and re-assess. If necessary rip it all out and start again if possible. That takes a bit of guts and not a few swear words. Just Bloody Do It. Again. It works: takes seven times longer than I think it will take (not joking). And on a good day, I allow myself to take a bit of pride in it. Stupid I know, but thats the truth.

Mine is £600 ish for 146 m square: about right then given the size difference.....

Respect: Sid would have killed me

The guy makes me wince, but here's the first of two videos which will make for pleasant fire-side watching this evening.... A colour designer (family friend) says that if you are going to use white, pick an accent colour and echo it - sparingly - round the house.

Welcome to the Oh Sh!t Club. There's hardly anyone on BH who hasn't lost many nights sleep trying to square the circles in today's kaleidoscope. A read of the BH blogs is helpful. Look at JSH's for a good story of how even a very competent person can walk slap bang into a brick wall. (The water supply saga) I bet you almost all of us have had - or are working through - a real humdinger of a problem . Turn a few of your unknowns into the opposite. Keep networking locally. Compromise. Be persistent. Good luck.