ToughButterCup

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.

Just had a venerable member of the local Mafia (the 'NdrahangetaInMyBackYard group) walk past our build..... No prompting, no previous, no altercation, no nothing and then this "What are you putting on your roof?" "Oak shakes as explained on the planning application" "Well, I could forgive you if you were putting slates on like everyone else" "Well If I pay the pizzo, would you forgive me? After all we're only a thousand miles or so from Corleone" Is what I wish I'd said. As it was, she got away with a simple tight-lipped stare from me. What gratuitous nonsense have you had to put up with from random passers-by?

That generosity is exactly what encourages people to read this forum.Thank you. Ian

Self interest requires self control. At so many levels and so many ways in this entire affair, self censorship has failed. It is too much to ask. The argument for independent high-standard regulation is compelling. Time to admit we got it wrong.

The company is indeed Helical Systems. Very helpful and prompt when last I contacted them.

I'd forgotten that sketch. In my case it wasn't the breaking top rail, rather the second rail, the below-knee-height one that did for me. And if I remember correctly, she did look after me well. But, at this remove, maybe that's fantasy.

The pilot drill size is critical Pete. Got it wrong once and the roof (lean-to) got wrenched off. There might be guidance somewhere about the correct pilot hole size.....

Wooden posts are fine for a couple of years; after that, you forget them and then, when you least suspect it, leaning on that particular wooden fence, drink in hand, romantic interlude warming up well, your eyes looking into the depths of your partners' , the thing breaks and you fall into a gorse bush. Not fantasy in my case. Fact. Gimme concrete every time.

Simple question: simple answer. Concrete posts. If ya wanna get fancy, then paint them.

I was also struggling to see what was complicated about it. But then, I'm only a Domestic Client ....

Our Winter Garden - outside the heated envelope of the house - is a steel-framed construction. It will be open to the elements, and intended as a filter for the light from the south: all the rooms open into it or have a window onto it (except two). Debbie's keen on gardening. Me? Hmmm. Lots of people have been round to poke and stare at the build, among them a couple of local builders..... Talking about the Winter Garden, I mention we have been told that the steel frame for the garden needs to be built by a CE marked and Certified company. Cue snorts of derision, sucking of teeth and pithy Lancastrian. Who's correct? The builders or the ones with PII (Professional Indemnity) cover? WinterGardenIllustration.pdf

Hmmm, bit like the Internet cabling which is alleged to be all copper. I have it on good authority, that aluminium is a common substitute.....

Occasionally we employ a local lad to do odd jobs round the site - help clear up, stack palettes and so on. Its been a couple of weeks since he came to work. On seeing the newly built house he asked what the blocks were made of. I explained they were made of wood chips, cementified and then pressed into shape and dried. Then they were stacked and filled with concrete. "So these is wood, is it?" "Yes" " Hmmm, aint never seen a log cabin built like that" Got any similar pearls of wisdom ?

@NSS, that looks really well. Dog's Gonads in fact.

@dpmiller, @JSHarris, @jamiehamy, @Peter M, @Onoff, @Bitpipe, @Crofter, @Temp, @Barney12 and all of you: you speak in tongues. Piccies, gimme piccies of what you's all gabblin' about; please!

I can't believe I gave mine away to my son. What a STUPID thing to do. The chances of me rescuing it now are zero. I could easily pinch it back, but it wouldn't be worth the years of grief. However, a Christmas Present plan opportunity presents itself: maybe it's not all bad....

Don't worry Faye! @Mrs Construction Channel, we're on your side.... we'll come and set you free!

Yes, I could tell that you were going to enjoy that: 'sod-it-I'll-do-it-myself' writ large all over that post a couple of weeks ago.....