ToughButterCup

God, this place is full of ...... hard-bitten, no-nonsense, determined, sensible self-builders. Who knew?

Ooooooooh. You bad boy. (Standard practice in West Lancashire. Normal.)

Wot ee sez.....

You Gary and the OH are my idea of a Whirling Dervish. Some way to go to beat @Stones (6 self builds I think), but could I take this opportunity to ask what tablets you are taking at the moment?

Join the An-Ecologist-Shredded-My-Nerves club. I got so annoyed by the incompetence shown by mine, I paid half the bill because that was what I thought was fair. The key thing about ecology is that ecology-focused Conditions relevant to your site must be evidence based You say that the ecologist has found no evidence of bats. There's no evidence of tigers either, (I bet). And you're not being asked to erect a tiger-proof fence (I hope) In that respect your response above .... . is understandable (because you are keeping your eye on the main prize - Planning Permission). May I suggest you make sure you know when he is on site - make him give you a schedule shadow his every step when he is there make him give you the evidence and in the absence of evidence , relax and have a plan ready for when there is evidence Just double checking: have a look at planning permissions given round your area - say 5k or so. Is there any evidence of bat activity in those Planning Applications ? And if there is, what mitigation was conditioned? If there is no other locally recorded bat activity ...... and you have had a really good look in your roof space. It is very easy to be a really sloppy ecologist. First hand evidence available on request.

Could you tell us, is the positioning of a bat pole a precondition of your planning permission? Because if it isn't then I would be tempted to ignore what this ecologist says.

Welcome. Anyone could spend a month reading this forum from end to end, and still have more to learn. @Onoff's bathroom is a good place to start. Reading that thread will take a week.

20 foot scaff pole will do....

No end of suppliers online. If you have a minute and some scrap lying round the site, here's a video. But if - like me - you are anxious to do the right thing: don't. Because nobody checks your 'bat box'. You need to find a spare telegraph pole and pop it in the ground with what appears to be a bat box dangling off it. The problem will be finding an old cheap knackered telegraph pole, I think. Cynical? Me? Yes.

.... a little less thick I suspect

Yes. I have some 22mm OSB that has been outside for 4+(?) years supporting a pile of concrete blocks (set up on 2 by 4 bearers) : the surface is delaminating a bit, thats all. PS no additional water-repellent covering - just bare OSB.

I don't know - but i do know the HMRC has a helpline. 03003227073 . Its a simple enough question - hey, you might even get an answer out of them

After recently bemoaning the absence of sockets, here's the opposite problem - but caused by the same fundamental error. Changing plans. Arghhhhh. Looky here .... I'm ashamed almost to post this image: count the errors: shelf not level, tile needing to be cut, loop of spare wire over a kitchen worktop. On the other hand, I've had a long stint on the Naughty Step - and chastised myself thoroughly - for long enough. Every day for a couple of years I've looked at it and winced. Now, please help me dig my way out of this one. The best I can come up with is to tape the spare wire under the stainless steel shelf. But in a kitchen, that's not too clever an idea. It's wired into the same circuit as the kitchen lights, so I can't isolate the circuit at the consumer unit. And there's no way I'll get this through Part P is there..... Please help.

How can you make light of such a serious issue @SteamyTea ? Poor @pocster's budgie is having to put up with condensate on his pecker. He needs to get more air flowing round it, and all will be well. Lift his Dew Point and all that stuff.... he's well up to the job I should think.

Here's the answer Its also given on VAT431NB in the notes. paragraph 7 if I remember

@pocster , yer not going to like this but, I'm old, so I have a relevant story for ya ..... One of my first seasonal jobs was as a lifeguard (well, cleaner really) at a swimming pool that was heated by methane gass. All the heat we ever wanted, and all free. So of course we ran the system full throttle all the time. Loads of heat wasted, very happy swimming customers - but people in the viewing gallery - sweating after 10 minutes. Air temperature stratospheric. Double glazed in places by the pool, but not in the viewing gallery. Yes .... condensation aplenty. The dampness dribbled down the beautiful laminated beams causing a white trail of calcium carbonate left behind after the re-evaporation of the now re-warmed water. Looked seriously awful. Architect - make the fans bigger Pool manager - scrub the bloody beams every day (yep, me) Me - make the windows openable : there's more than enough heat - for free Fans made bigger, me scrubbing like a dervish, if anything the condensation got worse ( yep - bigger fans) Then one year during closedown, they told me that they were going to make the windows openable. BINGO Viewers in the gallery - very happy - nice cool breeze now. Wet swimmers walking past the open windows - very sad. Me very happy Make your window openable. - I know - I'll get me coat.

I think it was @ProDave or was it @jack who warned me: once you have agreed the design don't change it. Its hugely wasteful of money time and effort. "Will you design me a really nice laundry room: one that's super convenient and easy to use?" "Of course I will. We'll adapt the old piggery" An old piggery next to the plot was knocked down and rebuilt at the same time as the build. 8m by 3m by about 3 high. Smashing little utility store and laundry room. But tight. Very tight. Only just wide enough for both machines, and a real squeak to get the machines at the right height so the washing baskets can slide neatly under the machine. Emphasis - 'only just fits ' - in all sorts of ways Well, 8 years later, she's got it : unveiled with suitable fanfare yesterday washing machine and tumble drier at waist height under - machine storage for the washing basket water on/off easily reached power sockets jus' right utility sink within reach of both machines hot and cold water auto occupancy light (12 minute dwell time set (her choice not mine) hanging bar for drying damp clothes assorted shelving There I was like Mutley : Medals, medals, gimme medals. If not Brownie Points will do. Medals woman, medals. "Look sweetheart, see how the laundry baskets fit perfectly under the washing machine" Big smile. "Medals, medals woman." I didn't see it coming - it was a real blind-side strike. "Oh yes, that space under the machines is just right for our two flight bags" Reaches round takes the flight bags of the shelves and shoves them under the raised machines. Only one thing for it: don't show her how hurt you are. "Wonderful idea of yours darling - simply inspired" Its just another way of showing her how much you love her.

Not going for planning 10 years earlier. Both of us were over-focused on career paths. In terms of the build, not trusting my instincts more.

Do more and more of it on my own. It feels like hard-core DIY now, and after 8 years, getting a bit fed up of it. But, I never let myself forget how lucky we were to get permission at all. The guy next door didn't. How? Save up each month, cut back on the caviar and chips, try not to take things to seriously. And JustBloodyDoIt.

Mmmmm, but when on the same trip, the road leads (say) North, away from any potential glare, she still leaves it down. I point out that doing that makes obeying traffic lights a bit more difficult. And leave it at that. Knuckles just a little whiter than usual.

No, she always been photophobic from early childhood. Never complains about it - only reason I noticed was when, even on fairly dull days, she consistently put the glare-shield down while driving - almost always while driving south ( roughly towards the sun ). Thanks everyone for the concern and suggestions. The most difference for her was made by thinking about where she needs 'task' light (narrow beam, cold temperature) and where 'fill' (warmer, wider) lighting would be better. In each case recessed light source cuts glare for her by 100 %. Happy wife, happy life.

Naaaah. Moron? Thats the collective noun for a group of sober Corns. It's OK, I'll get my coat....

I'm really cheered to read that Peter. Perhaps they - and the Government need to move on from where they are though.... Have a read of what Martin Goodhalls Planning Blog says about the matter (March 2013) Especially the bit about Professional Standards among Councillors. He talks about the need to ensure Councillors are seen to be behaving honourably: (Downloaded 13/02/2023 https://planninglawblog.blogspot.com/search?q=corrupt ) I suspect that most of us would be happy with Councillors who could think straight and who were honest.

@Dave Jones, you and @saveasteading are saying the same thing. Just different words, and in a different order. (All the right notes in the wrong order : Andre Previn should have sued 🤪) If a material Consideration is raised, then it doesn't matter who says it. It mut be considered You are right, Parish Councillors are often less than helpful. But it is a scandal that Parish Councillors receive so little support in terms of training to do the job they are asked to do. And , by their behaviour, many bring themselves into disrepute (see above .... ' spoil my Sunday morning run' ) . Parish Councils let off steam - just like Social Media. Doesn't last long, but scalds when touched. And even if scalded, the burn soon heals.

Now that, that's progress. It points up what happens when nerds come up against usability experts. Not everyone needs to know what's happening inside a 'black box', but for those who do, then manufacturers need to take account of their requirements. Tell us: do the LEDs actually tell users anything meaningful?