ToughButterCup

He didn't want the job did he. Another small sign in relation to the skills shortage ... dear old George Eustice would agree with you. In the interest of balance, in Ze Vaterland vee also need about 1.5 million skilled immigrants a year. Vorsprung durch Immigration ! Who else is gonna build your Audi for ya, eh?

I had some lovely sole for supper the other day: aren't they bottom feeders?

Good lad. Yes, lots to do. Make time to appreciate what's done though eh ....

Yes. Forget it. Crack on. Enforced ? After yer done and dusted...... Just get it done pronto Tonto.....

Oooop North we use buckets, not barrows. Ya wanna see the size of my biceps ....💪

A trifle harsh ... but in this case, fair.

While @Temp 's a dvice is exactly the correct thing to do, nobody - but nobody could argue that the work already done and signed off does not constitute an official Start. Self-building is jangling at so many levels. We understand that. Good luck with the build. Ian

Hmmm, the paper-work - where the hidden FookOops are - is likely to be just as hard as the physical works. Come on, we want pictures - romantic sunsets, dusty, swifts screaming, strongly cross-lit images , long tables laden with bottles of local rough wine and cheese smelling to Hell ..... so we can all fanatsize about how we'd [... ] come and offer to help over the summer .... eh bien?

Welcome. I sense some interesting posts in the future ... Eh bien vas y!

Welcome .... Here's a start. Yes, the Internet is full of shared ignorance, but we all have to start somewhere. https://ggle.io/5yOQ

Take the Long View. To try and take my own advice , I now ignore the daily press (almost: apart from R4 natch) and read at media like Unherd , The Atlantic , Tortoise Media , The London Review of Books , Conservative Home , The Socialist Worker and Private eye . Once a month I make myself look at this (I can't bear to name it, so you'll have to click or guess) . I have to go for a long bike ride to cleanse my system afterwards. Yuk, yuk, yuk. All the more important for me to read it because I disagree with so much of its output.

Looks like a really nice neat job. You should be proud of yourselves.

That depends on the size of the job ... Ours was for .385 of a hectare, 8 cores (and one free one) the cost is detailed here (£1260). I no longer have the contact but the company was based in the NE ...

Good to see another member of the SleeplessSelfBuilderClub. Welcome.

Talked this issue through with SWMBO the other day. She made a good point - " Do I tell you what you should have in your workshop, Festool this Festool that .... ? " And quick as a flash I replied "Ermmmmm, dunno wot you mean .... the tools you buy are just as expensive as mine though " Took a while to calm that one down ....

And the brickie was a failed teacher?

Your partner. Forget everyone else. Honest - not tongue in cheek.

You're describing the norm for this sector. What do your finger-tips tell you about this builder? Spot-on so far, and prepared to keep the job going is what I see at this remove. But you have a valid concern. How complex is the roof : beaver-tail details front and back, complex hips, or a 10 meter straight run - no chimney? If the latter - fine. If it's complex, talk to him about the support he may need .... Asking that may get a reassuring response - he's done several like this before. Here's your real problem Skype? Teams? Google chat? Phonecall? Facebook?

Dunning Kruger Level 1 folks all over the place, here as well as everywhere else. They are normal. They are me - sometimes. We don't have to look too far from our own doorstep to find many others - (the local pub will do ) In relation to what we do - self building - I know I spend my time mostly on the way up to Mount Stupid [ as in : How hard Can It Be? ] and too often sliding down into the valley of despair. [as in : Look at the Mess I made Of This, Help Me Here Please! ] The brilliant thing about BuildHub is that there are so very many generous people here who - seeing members like me flailing around in the Valley of Despair - who are more than prepared to grab me by the scruff of the neck and pull me up the slope of enlightenment. To me, that's the definition of Kindness. We can all see those - others always (?) - at the peak of Mount Stupid ( for example I cannot imagine how @SteamyTea puts up with my stupidity about electrical terminology) . But all too often I lack the kindness - the effort - the time - to help folk make the next step along this particular rollercoaster. Even when I can see the plot of route they need to take. To suceed, all I need to do is nothing. [ As in stuff it, I know the answer , but I'm not going to contribute to the discussion ] So, @MikeSharp01, we are becoming something of a joke eh? [ As in sliding to the Valley Of Despair] Who do we ask to help us on the next step towards Sustainability?

Yes @Temp...good point. I've been encouraging people to read this book for many years.... It's been in print since 1950 ISH. Essential reading for politicians.

... unless you have to ....like water companies or railway companies or energy companies. Sometimes nationalisation works, sometimes it has to be made to work for a bit, others it is indeed best avoided.

Ah, Mike, we're just procrastinating. And the time to procrastinate is now! Don't delay !

Ended up casting a corckscrew tie-down for dogs into an old plastic bucket. The grandchildren need another one for the ' sails ' on their pirate ship..... Easy on the oars there Donal', easy lad.

In a fit of misplaced energy this morning I mixed this much too much mortar I usually have a couple of 'jobs' for extra mortar and concrete. But I'm out of ideas this morning .... Apart from casting me and my boots in a large bucket and jumping in the river Lune ..... anyone got any creative ideas please..... ? !

Yes it is.