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ToughButterCup

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Everything posted by ToughButterCup

  1. ToughButterCup
    What are friends for? They are the ones who come to your gate, ostensibly for a natter, and say "Well, yer not going to want to hear this, but......" Yes, I haven't lined my containers ... yet. Oh that most important little word. YET. And now's the time to prepare for winter. John's (my mate) absolutely right. I have to line it Off to the BM, and bought myself £81 quids worth of pure joy. And on the way back fell to wondering what to stick between the ply and the container, if anything at all. Bitpipe I remember bought a DampStick. And on his recommendation I bought one.... haven't used it yet. I've bought some 5.5mm ply and some 2 by 2. I've researched the issue on Tinternet (YooChube) here, here and here (the last of these YT vids is eye-opening for me anyway) and on Goooooogle and this article seems to be the most objective one of all. Lining it with mud is one option, I understand. Hmmm, that's got potential hasn't it? But there's nothing about lining a container for OUR needs. So, with luck I feel a checklist coming on. Anyone got any ideas, tips, please?
  2. ToughButterCup
    Got me hooked , too.
  3. ToughButterCup
    It's called Joined-Up-Thinking. How desperately damn stupid.
  4. ToughButterCup
    Oh, and if you get your electricity through a Bulk supplier (PM for details if you like) you get 5% off at B+Q. So, what happens if I go on a Wednesday? Get 15%? (I might be over 60 if you look at me in the dark)
  5. ToughButterCup
    You know how to tweak a man's ire don'tcha? Still, if I can't take a joke, I shouldn't have applied for PP should I?
  6. ToughButterCup
    And that's what we are working towards. As sheer luck would have it we have an area of garden (orchard) that was a deep 'pit'. The previous owner filled it in with rubble, hardcore, gravel, the odd old gate post and dozens of tonnes of mushroom compost. And we've had a trial pit dug to 2 meters + (the original level) to look at the water table level. To date completely dry, even in heavy persistent rain. Talk about lucky........
  7. ToughButterCup
    Hmm, a very important lesson for everyone Dave. Silly, isn't it that the regulations vary by administrative area rather than the local geology.
  8. ToughButterCup
    PMSL
  9. ToughButterCup
    Productivity in relation to cost (cost effective by another name) will differ by [self?] builder won't it? In our build, can't afford a foundation made to the highest spec, but many others could. So cost effectiveness is a subjective measure. What's OK for me, isn't for others. And I'm almost sure J was focusing on just the numbers - so that that logic can inform the decision about how much money to invest. J's contribution is just a framework on which to hang a very personal decision.
  10. ToughButterCup
    Ahhhh! Thanks! Decent honing compound....? Like (say) valve grinding paste, or toothpaste, or ... ideas?
  11. ToughButterCup
    What a good idea. It's a good idea because it adds value for our members The only hiccough I can see is that the list will need to be maintained. But on the other hand it's a topic that will be referred to a good deal I am sure. So, I'll pin the topic and keep a close personal eye on it. Thank you Ferdinand. Ian
  12. ToughButterCup
    SuDS: Sustainable Urban Drainage System and Off Mains Drainage. Here be Dragons. Call me naive, but here's how I found out that I had responsibilities in this area. That was in July 2014. And since then, I have been working on it sporadically - there has always been a brighter fire burning at my feet. But now that my EPS application has been delayed (please don't ask me for details: my doctor has told me not to talk about it ) I have bitten the SuDS bullet. Part of my strategy in dealing with the issues surrounding SuDS is to listen to interminable discussions at Parish level about local planning applications. For some reason - without rationale or considered argument - almost all housing development is held to be a bad thing. Not exclusively, you understand, but generally it's a bad thing. The Fylde Peninsular (where we live) was the dumping ground in that last Ice Age for a good deal of what became clay - Glacial Till. And that makes drainage difficult. And so soak-aways are a bit of a problem. Not to mention off mains drainage. And so when, at local level, with a good deal of huffing and puffing, opposition to development occurs, most of the opposition focuses on completely irrelevant issues such as this example. SuDS is a standard requirement. Off mains drainage (locally) and SuDS cannot be avoided. And if you can't sort out a soak-away because of the clay you can't have a house. And here's how the trap is set. The details for SuDS and Off Mains drainage are agreed at planning level, but enforced by your BCO. So -stupidly in my opinion- you can commit to all that expenditure and actually build the house but fail to provide the necessary documentary evidence until sign-off looms large. No SuDS, no off mains, no house . Not a lot of people know that. Quite why, I'm not sure.
  13. ToughButterCup
    Hello Mike, Here, have a look at this, and this (the phase two study) We are on quarry spoil; and so potentially contaminated land. Which is a bit of a harumphhhh because lead was found .... 1ppm above the reporting threshold. Annoying because the core was taken just outside the shed door... and I know the old geezer who used the shed used to clean his paint brushes out exactly where the core was taken. Bummer. Cost is detailed here.... (January 2015)
  14. ToughButterCup
    Well, I think it's very nice. Don't you listen to that cruel Welshman.
  15. ToughButterCup
    The answer depends on the amount of time you have spare. Crofter (above) makes a really important point. The process sucks time out of your life like almost nothing else. Your LPA website will have many examples of the process and the outcome. And the will be many local planning agents who will give you half an hour free advice. Go to three and you'll have an hour and a half's free advice. Read widely, network widely, and maybe spend the money saved on the build.
  16. ToughButterCup
    9Kw? No problem, leave the doors open all year, open all the windows, and turn the MVHR up full. Easy
  17. ToughButterCup
    Stones, Warby. Exactly.
  18. ToughButterCup
    Well, that takes the biscuit.
  19. ToughButterCup
    I had exactly the opposite: they wanted a chocolate box hamlet. I reminded them that the street in which the Councillors all (by chance) lived had examples of design and build from every century since the 17th. I'm just too optimistic about people's ability to think.
  20. ToughButterCup
    Sitting in another Parish Committee meeting (I'm not a councillor), I regularly hear invalid reasons for objection put forward. The best of tonight's crop were; '.... the design includes a lift.... and I think it's going to be used as a care home...', and that from a Councillor So, I spent a few moments googling 'invalid reasons for objecting to planning applications' And this is what I found; Martin Goodhall's planning blog K S Law's site Clackmannashire's planning site Designing Buildings Wiki The Government's own advice (read 'What Cannot Be Considered') I spoke up, and said that I thought speculation about motive for the build was probably unwise, and might well be improper (impugning the application). Got shot at for saying that. That's absolutely fine by me. It's a privilege to be taken to task for openness. None of us is getting older are we? None of us are going to need a lift in our old age. Everyone uses stair-lifts. What's the 'worst' reason for objection you've heard?
  21. ToughButterCup
    Hi, no cover over the wood yet, but a bit of cover is planned for the winter. Not sure how yet, but I'll get that fettled soonish. Yes, it's really nice when you pick up a piece of wood which was so much heavier. That's my real damp meter. My forearm. But I do have a super-cheap Aldi Special.
  22. ToughButterCup
    Hi. I'm making my own cladding from stock oak, and larch. There are a few bits of sweet chestnut and hemlock lying about in the yard too. Wood dries out in the air naturally, even when it's raining. I have a nice little damp-meter which shows me my oak has dried from about 29% down to 18% in a few months. It hasn't rained much recently , it's true, but cutting through it when wet shows very little water penetration. And what little there is evaporates quickly. The main thing before use is to store the wood flat and distribute the weight evenly. Woods with a high tannin content; oak, sweet chestnut, larch last longer than most others
  23. ToughButterCup
    Hi, Your logic is exactly why I chose the digger I bought Weight of the trailer 480Kg (I may have remembered this wrong, but I won't be far out) Weight of digger 2000 kg (add fuel and hydraulic oil I think) Buckets (dunno) 200 kg ish Ramps 150 kg Towing vehicle Land Rover, permissible towing 3500 kg So I have a little bit spare. The key thing is to keep the all-up weight to be towed to below 2.6 tonnes: it makes the digger far more saleable. Most people who can tow, are limited by the permissible tow-weight of the towing vehicle.
  24. ToughButterCup
    No. We already own the land
  25. ToughButterCup
    I agree. Currently (as projected) the work is coming out at £2300 per square meter. I hope to shave £500 per square meter off that
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