ToughButterCup

Wrong technical term : Midge Repeller ....

Yer a Whirling Dervish man.... Next time put the Littl'un in a sling on yer back and go to work instead of slacking at home eh?

The surface drain drains to ? A soak away? If so all you are doing is tidying up innit ....

The business case for self-build scaffolding (like Cuplok - other brnads available) is compelling. I've had mine for eight years now. While we're getting rid of building kit slowly, I'm loathe to sell our scaffolding. We have two indispensable stillages made out of the stuff. And its in use today because we are at last rendering. Read @Conor's last paragraph immediately above. If you've mastered the trick of lining everyone up and you are ready to go - fine - hire. But if not, put a few thousand aside.

If only I had just one job to do, I would/ could/ might/ should. But I'm still thinking about it. And Mishal ...

Bet the window cleaner doesn't charge much .....

For that job spec, hire one.....

Yes @joe90, I'll try both methods on the Piggery before I do it for real on the house. To Infinity and Beyond !

When work delivered is what they know to be below par, they don't derive any professional satisfaction. They deliver a detailed glimpse of themselves -their behaviour- to all who are willing to look at the signs. And because most people don't care to look, let alone form a valid professional judgement on the work presented, some trades folk - not all - simply don't bother. All the while forgetting that their work is what they are. For all the world to see. Doctors, plumbers, chefs, lecturers, typists [...] Thats the rationale for Professional Peer Review. Healthy, challenging, supportive when necessary. We all need a nudge sometimes. God knows I did (do). Which is one reason why I submit my cock-ups for examination here.

In this case @joe90, all the insulation is on the outside (about 200mm) , and therefore there is next to no chance of the drill being deflected. Inside start I think ...... 110mm of concrete 40mm beyond the outside of the block.

You Bad Boy . Everyone else..... he's just winding you all up. The chances of that ('...invariably...' ) being the case, is close to negative infinity.

Gonna over-think that one......😉

Boys, boys ...... here it is...... and joy of joy the instructions are in English! Legible, readable, well written English - wiv pictures, proper pictures taken by a photgrapher.... one with a camera and lighting system. Godda be grateful these days Thanks @Conor Less need for a pillar drill now.....

and It doesn't matter. Every thread generates a reaction in the original author's mind. And it's up to the thread originator (OP) to evaluate the responses. Even 'wrong' contributions -provided they are relevant- could well be useful . It's irrelevance that sometimes grates.

I suppose I mean that Self-Building makes the need to Plan For Failure very clear. Maybe not planning in a formal sense, but this thread shows the power of just asking others for an opinion (or plan) . I went from a state of 'Shit how am I going to do this ?' to -now- quiet confidence that I'll get it done resonably well. Just because the risk has been shared a bit.

I need to add another 'type' Just met an old geezer in his van. The conversation went like this .... Red van pulls up outside our place while I'm taking a delivery: the lorry is blocking the road so the van has to stop. Driver: (65 + , overalls, dusty driving cab, loads of half empty coffee cups on the dash, 3 days stubble where he consistently misses while shaving, invoices everywhere like confetti). Never met or even seen him before. Window winds down slowly (by hand) "Av yer had yer 'ip dun yet ?" I grin "Which one you on about ?" "Wa?" "I've just had my second one popped in .... end of March" "Me 'n all: in Kendal (hospital) wi' Mr Stewart" (The Worlds Best Orthopedic Surgeon) [....] "Aye lad, ah jus need me prostrate dun now 'an ah'll bee reet". Roars off using the van's clutch as an accelerator. I'm holding on to my withers laughing, and trying not to wet myself. Type? Lovely Old Tradesman Geezer

What I like most about her is the disarming way she skewers some Ministers....

That was a cruel post @SteamyTea, cruel I tell ya. I'm damaged for life now.

phone calls trips to the BM networking administration the costs associated with the mental stress of building research time the stress imposed on partnerships the effect of the build on children the time wasted on Build Hub 😉

Self building is as much a test of character as anything else. We can't control everything , so we have to keep up the pressure on ourselves to perform well. An impossible standard for others to match. So in attempting to work with others, disappointment is built-in to our job. Normal therefore. So we can plan for it. That's the theory anyway 😔

@SteamyTea, I didn't know that you are brilliant. Is it natural or did you have to work at it?

Here's what I have written about Durisol. There are 189 hits on this search (Search> Durisol > author search> @ToughButterCup ) - so I think it's fair to say I know my way around a Durisol block. I have made every single error there is to make on the system, from simple sloppiness, to under-ordering - to allowing a complete wall collapse. Blow-outs, some spectacular, others piffling. But it's hard to separate my initial incompetence and naivete from the merits or otherwise of the build system. I now - after eight years with the stuff - have absolutley no doubt whatever that an experienced builder who has built a few houses in the system can build a very airtight, highly insulated house with Durisol. No doubt at all. The principal issue is that the system is marketed as suitable for first-time - (and likely once only builders) I was (but am no longer) the very weak link in the chain . The cost of that experience has been bourne by my long-suffering family who have constantly believed in me, grinned and bore the substantial errors and ommissions, and continue to sing

OOOoooooffff keep calm Ian, keep calm. Shut yer eyes man, and recite the nine times table. Backwards (All my year 2 children could do that at the end of the academic year)

👨‍❤️‍👨 Working for you would be worse though..... trees are heavier than mortar

Hmmm, yes, I thought about that. It strikes me that I'll have the opportunity to make a deliberate mistake with a small diameter drill and then see how easy (or otherwise) it is to correct it. I'll drill some experimental holes on the piggery to see what happens.