ToughButterCup

Write one yourself ? What have you learned? Mistakes. Successes. What worried you most? How did you work out your compromises? Was it worth it? @JSHarris's effort and generosity cheers loads of folk up. Whenever I'm a bit down I remember his fight with the bore hole. And then I feel better. Give it a go. Cheer us up.

A small in-build redesign means that part of the temporary window frame has to be taken out to enable someone to reach underneath it and take out the insulation. It is to be replaced by concrete. Simple job : two hours. That was agreed in late June. Here we are early July, contractors back on site, and two hours after they'd started, I noticed that they weren't taking the frames out to get at the insulation. A quiet word later and it's being done. Frames on their way back in. If I hadn't been there, it would have cost us an arm and a leg to remediate that one. It's taken three years to get the stage where I say TGIF. I can't say you all didn't warn me.

Waste PU from the Durisol blocks. I'm chipping the wood bit: makes a beautiful surface - you can walk barefoot on it - messy, but comfortable. I could chip that too, I suppose..... but how would anyone use the resultant chipped PU? Anyway, I intend to bag it for a while until inspiration dawns.

Use Sketchup. The twist is needing to use Layout for (paper and dynamic) presentation. PM me for a resolution to that problem

But imagine going into Timsons to get that sign made up..... " Nahhh mate, 'snot fer me its fer next door; she's too embarrassed to ask you to make it..."

BTW lavender works best for mozzies and the like...... a small bowl on each window cill. And geraniums outside the windows if possible.

@Ferdinand, we know when the foxes might well be poking around in our garden: the scent of mint wafts towards our house: if the dogs also bark, we can be certain. While appreciating the offer, locally mint is abundant, not to say a weed. Now lemon or apple mint, well that would be nice ... I need a good dose of mint now to calm the nerves: Sketchup has frazzled me all damn day. Trying to squeeze quarts into pint pots, while not fully conversant with the software. Arggghhhh. Cross ventilation and opening windows (tilt and turn) it seems to me will be essential. With wafts of mint on the breeze, hopefully.

Hi, yes, you are correct. the temperature will be even through most of the house. We went to visit the delightful chap that opens his house every year at Denby Dale. Very informative. He openly admits to having his window open a touch every night. Indeed when we were there, he had both his bedroom window and another window open a bit. Go and visit him. He is very entertaining. @JSHarris (and others) will point to the fact that doing so unbalances the system. And of course they are right. The owner's argument was: so what? Make the system work for you, not the reverse. I am putting in the infrastructure for the MVHR, this year (ducting), but not the box (Genvex). We'll wait and see what the house can do on its own. We have planned for many of our windows to be openable so we can create natural airflow (chimney effect), but we don't know what the reality of living in our new home will be. We plan to record a series of parameters (temperature, RH, CO2 and others - not sure how many yet) for a year or so, and then on the basis of that evidence and the PHPP exercise(s) we ran, specify the box to be installed in 2018. Don't let MVHR rule you. Yes, we might have to wear a pullover or two for one winter, or go and buy £40 of oil filled heater from Aldi in November. That's a small price to pay for evidence-based expenditure.

Come on you pair of old farts; @Ferdinand, @Onoff, just do it! Extended pub lunches indeed. @Onoff, your comment about diet is too close for comfort. Meat flavoured meals, rather than a main portion of meat, very small amounts of alcohol, half-size portions (think Kids meals) and the odd day of 600 calories only clear my @MikeSharp01-esq spark plugs

You are doing it now. Right now. Reading this.

Nail on the head. You are not alone thats for sure. Novelty attracts. But sticking-to-the-knitting is what self-building needs. I think that your thread on the bathroom is a good way of drawing everyone's attention to progress, and an excellent (if virtual) way of not doing it on your own. You see your project anew in the light of all the comments. I used to worry about site visitors. But I have had a lot. Every other day two or three. Even if it just a quick reach through the gaps in the HERAS to poke an ICF block. And I realise (in hindsight) that even negative comment about the build or a detail or an error is in fact a useful motivator. Networking does it best for me. How about you?

Just do it.

This phenomenon is exactly why I started this thread. How do we all motivate ourselves to '...just do it...' despite how you feel?

Carole King Carol King: Beautiful does it for me sometimes... not always. Give it a go here

Oh... If only. We're building in our garden. I can't decide if -overall- that is an ad or disadvantage. Progress, or the lack of it stares out at us every moment of every day. We just can't put it down. I'm also clear that here am I grizzling like a nipper when in fact I'm immensely lucky.

3 years into the build and my standard stock of self-motivators is running low High energy music Three cups of coffee, not two Procrastination - and just a little bit of self-loathing resulting in whirling dervish readjustment Reading Buildhub posts: You did what? Oh thats a good idea! Hmmm, mustn't forget that Go for a walk with the dogs Do the ironing: the world is a better place when you stop doing that Go to the local shop and buy a cheese and bacon turnover, some Lucozade, and a choc bar Clean the bathroom thoroughly: (as for ironing) Its no accident this post is written on a Monday morning. What do you do to motivate yourself when energy and spirits are low(ish)? Ian

All of them are mine. So how do I prove it? I don't know how long I been putting off photographing all the serial numbers on my tools. This is the nudge I need to get the job started. Hmm, and I was stuck for something to do today, I really was. Thanks @Crofter Ian

So, there's no point to a weight forward hammer.........? Shame. I won't need to buy one

A what? Is there a Weight Backward version? OK, googlied it.... What difference does a weight forward make?

Think about it.... How much of this sort of security can you provide for the price of CCTV? Lots. Good luck Ian

It was on the basis of exactly this advice a couple of years ago, that we invested in some expensive locks and chains and secure (no such thing really) storage. And both our dogs (farm dogs) are in kennels and runs right next to our site stores. Any attempt at theft will have to be noisy. Thats the best we can hope for. Our son is a local copper, his partner a CSI. They both say that a balanced approach mixing high quality insurance and low-level theft prevention is worth the investment. We are right on what they call the M6 Corridor crime route. And most of the proceeds are distribute in the local ports within hours. The high speed rechargeable angle grinder plus ultra thin cutting disk is the key weapon to resist. More than one layer of protection slows the thief down and makes the process noisier. Cover your chains with anything that will clog the grinder blade. Add dogs to the mix if you can. Geese are the best, but messy, and problematic in other ways. You also need some luck.

You guys have forgotten how much you know..... Cast resin joint? How, what with? Do you smoke it?

Interesting '....eg a view over fields...' I occasionally employ a teenager whose dad is one of the biggest estate agents in the North West. I was discussing this topic (he reads BH as a guest he tells me) with him the other day. "Biggest mistake people make on buying a property is to think they have also bought the view. If they want to protect view, they need to buy it." Made me think, did that. He's right.

Maybe the difference in our approach, @Nickfromwales , is accounted for by my age: I'm too long in the tooth to threaten old biddys. She did have the grace to beat a hasty retreat. She probably heard my ill-disguised laughter. And I don't suppose she'll be asking for another lift to Lancaster anytime soon either. Bless her.

Exactly what happens to us. I'm so tempted on such challenges to say something like.... "Would you make comments like that to someone you respected?" A wise line manager told me once to 'develop a thicker skin' She was right. Must put it back on.