Gone West

Hi and welcome to the forum. I would add waterproofer and not worry too much about the concrete being wet. There are some useful videos using a shiny board in the mould to create a smooth finish.

I removed our asbestos roof tiles. I wore the full kit with mask etc and damped down the tiles before removing, even though it was outside. I then gave them to the asbestos removal team, who were stripping the inside of the bungalow, and they bagged them up. They seemed a lot more casual about handling the asbestos (Chrysotile) than me.

Took down some architrave in our last house and on the back it was signed and dated 1900.

I've decided it's pointless trying to use cost/m2 as a comparison. I can make my costs/m2 vary significantly just by how I measure the area, whether I include tools I bought to do specific jobs, what paperwork I include, whether I include demolition. Do you include renting or buying a caravan while building. What standard of finish, will it be upgraded at a later date, so be done cheaply initially. How many storeys to the building. Too many variables to be useful.

Our BCO wasn't interested in the water usage either. I just told him all the taps and showers were aerating and water usage would be low. I guess we were lucky as I never did any calculations nor worried about bath sizes etc.

The instructions for our MVHR came with a crude setup to get started, which we ran for a couple of months before we moved into the house. We then set up the system for the BCOs final visit which we ran for about a month and then changed it to PH rates. It worked with each of the setups but it is quieter with the current setup but without measuring the CO2, power consumption etc I don't know how much difference it really makes.

That wasn't the case for me. I had all the results ready to show him for building regs. compliance and he wasn't interested. So after setting it all up for SAP, which he wasn't interested in, I set it up again for PH rates which it's been running at for eighteen months without problems.

It's pretty straightforward. My blog has details of how we installed our MVHR and commissioned it.

In June the hedgehogs turned up before it got dark and we sat outside and watched them. As you say they seem to a have a routine. Ours trundle round the garden have something to eat and drink and then disappear into the verge on the other side of the lane.

Hi, welcome to the forum. The only timber roofing I've seen over here are cedar shingles, not that common though.

I don't understand, have I missed something? I thought the only difference was that the centre pane was either clear or satin. Why has one got softcoat and are the spacers the same?

A superb looking house in a fantastic setting.

How much better is the citric acid when heated rather than cold?

Is that because your car is electric and it's for weight saving.

How true.

Presumably all car bodies are galvanised these days.

I remember in the 70s using a IIRC pink gel rust convertor based on phosphoric acid. I can't think of the name. After that I always seemed to be using copious amounts of Waxoyl. Cars always rusted away in those days. Don't see many rusty cars any more.

Hi, welcome to the forum. Good luck with your project.

Apparently they shouldn't be fed mealworms for the same reason as not feeding them peanuts. I can't imagine a few mealworms or peanuts in their diet would cause serious problems. Another important requirement for hedgehogs is a place where they can drink. We have a large, 350mm diameter, heavy saucer which the birds and hedgehog use. http://www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/feeding.php

They get the bird's peanuts, in fact they eat anything left on the ground that the birds have missed.

Is that £1150/m2 just materials and labour for your VAT reclaim or does it include all costs for paperwork, utilities, landscaping, tools bought for specific jobs etc.

We've got some great footage of the hedgehogs in our garden. We put peanuts out for them and we've filmed them fighting, mating etc. We've also caught on video voles and a pair of mice that pinch some of the peanuts before the hedgehogs come. I'm hoping to have time to make a hedgehog house for them to hibernate in this winter.

Sorry, I didn't notice in your original post. I don't have a gap between cladding, mine is just T&G cedar.

To be awkward I have a combination of your two choices. Wall, membrane, battens, membrane, cladding. To be different I do have EWI between the battens and then counter battens before the outer membrane.

Hi, welcome to the forum. I would check carefully that there isn't any asbestos.