daiking

To resurrect this topic, the main wall (approx 1m) is on hold but I am looking for a little feature just to support the edge of the lawn so it doesn't migrate down the bank to the stream. Every 'professional' suggests sleepers but this seems OTT and expensive. I've seen this arrangement for flag stone retainers on paving expert http://www.pavingexpert.com/featur06.htm but this also involves quite a bit of work with concrete. I do however have a stash of used scaffold boards and probably have enough to double up over the 15-20m length I need and wonder whether this would work? Concreting in some short posts to hold the boards? I tried taking a photo of the bank but it is so overgrown you can't really see the scope of the job - which I don't think is that great. I think that just running the grass down the bank a little would hold it all together.

@Stones I have 2 boys, aged 5 and 9. The scale is a bit out but there will be plenty of room to play football. i am intending to keep the pointy end quite natural as its pretty sided by the trees anyway and the area in front will house the shed and a barked area. I think there is potential for a zip line along the stream boundary... @Ferdinand I am currently battling a holly tree that I've taken many branches off and will cut down this weekend. There is probably little to keep in the garden save the big trees. We cut 5 large trees down before we started building an to be honest we should probably cut another one down to stop the birds crapping on us where we intend to put a lawn seating area.

garden scheme.pdf

This rumbles on, 18 months after 'building' stopped (I don't think finished is the right description). We're looking for someone, not too cheap, not too expensive who can put an arm around us, answer all our questions and have the knowledge to solve all the garden things we don't understand or know what we want. Its like searching for a unicorn. The house is at street level and the garden was originally a little lower (300mm or so) next to the house and fell (gently) away in 2 directions toward the stream that goes along one of the borders. The garden had not been tended for 40 years previously so despite being cleared before we bought it (except a number of large trees) it was never a proper garden anyway and extending the house in 2 directions just made it worse. We'd like to put a patio (at close to internal FFL) outside the bi-fold doors we have and simply clear and turf the majority of the rest of the garden and take it from there. This patio would be around 1m higher than the garden so requires a retaining wall but not very high and only holding 4m or so of earth between the house wall and it. I also suspect we will need a retaining feature along part of the banking that goes down to the stream just to keep the turf in position. So having failed to find our unicorn, we're going to (mis)manage the project ourselves. So I've been forced to skip my entire squirrel stores of building surpluses so we can clear the garden as far as practicable so we can get some groundworkers in to demolish the garage, scrape several inches off the top and bring in tonnes and tonnes of topsoil before I have a go at turfing approx. 200 sq. m. of lawn. The main patio area and retaining wall can wait for another time, its more important after waiting for so long to get a functional garden. Also there are a number of decisions to be made and issues to sort for that project. Even so, I need something small and basic retainer wise for the lawn which will be plenty to be getting on with. As an aside, the garden has been impossible to keep on top of this year. All the weeds have exploded, 4 or 5 times more than last summer, especially my invasive balsalm. I've had to give up pulling it out as I have nowhere to put it so I've been pulling the flowers off and occasional spraying.

I've been waiting on finding some (un)professionals to sort it out and have now given up. Need to start a new thread.

And the rest....

I might try that. Manchester water is pretty soft but I'm buggered if I can de-scale our coffee machine enough to turn the light off.

I've always understood these as guidance, not maximums but I shouldn't be designing kit or processes that exceed them without very good reason. Something I read recently in a toolbox talk type LFE was that guys in their 50s are 4 times more likely to have an accident than those in their 20s and 30s. The particular chap who was the focus of the TBT was a 50-something American chippie who fell down a lift shaft.

I was intending to use a brush but that's what I had in mind

There isn't one yet but some sort of solid paving/stone unless we were to run out of money before getting there. This is my upfront planning to know what I need

On my earlier .Gov.uk link it points you toward a 5 page form for weed killing near a watercourse, no mention in the EA booklet I saw. Will have a proper look later. Supposed to be working now...

We don't really want decking. Substantial groundworks to make it solid and close to a stream, we risk 'wildlife' under a deck next to the house Assuming something like that along the wall but doesn't deal with the air brick. The other airbrick is under a door how do we put a step there?

I know but that basic guidance doesn't seem to be available after some more inventive goggling, thanks to north Tyneside for hosting it. EA say ******* nuke it with roundup. nothing to worry about

I started out here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-the-spread-of-harmful-invasive-and-non-native-plants and it seems the top hit for dealing with invasive species near water from those links, for booklet 895604 cannot be found

I'm not even sure this question belongs here but it relates to a brick of sorts. On one side of our house I'd like to have a patio area as near to the internal FFL as possible. In reality this will be, one brick below that level but effectively the same level as the DPC. However, (isn't there always), there is are 2 airbricks along this wall and they are also under the DPC. One of the airbricks has a pipe through the slab leading to the original house suspended floor void, the other doesn't. Without the airbricks I was assuming there was some sort of drain detail that could be used to bring the patio right up to DPC but I'm not sure of what detail I would need to adequately ventilate an airbrick that is 'below ground'. The NHBC guidelines show a 600mm sunken area around the vent before raising the ground level - which would somewhat ruin a level patio.

I could probably get way with spraying mine but the stuff that's growing on the banks of the brook would be a problem and if I leave that, it'll get worse and worse. From what you're saying I could also paint the leaves of those plants or a regular basis and see what happens. I don't think there's too much in the way of aquatic plants but there is wildlife and as much as I hate the ducks that wake me up at half 4 in the morning I don't want to poison them.

Fosters can shingles

About the only thing I am doing in my garden at the moment is fighting a losing battle with Himilayan balsam that has spread from the banks of the brook that runs outside one of the boundaries of my garden. This year it has spread far further into my garden than last year. Thus far I have been pulling the developing plants out and putting them in my garden waste bin but this is possibly not the best route and pretty soon I will have more than that volume to deal with on a weekly basis. Which leaves me in a quandary, burnt it or weed kill it? It certainly does not seem to be something that would burn without considerable drying and I am conscious of weed killing so close to the brook. suggestions?

There's an election on, one must be seen to be doing something. But if I were Brazilian, I'd keep my head down for a few weeks. Dont think I'm planning on heading to town for about 3 weeks, anyway.

Sounds like quite a night out

Hadn't seen this thread before but have similar issue. Kitchen window approx 6' wide, 3' wide. 3 sections, outer 2 tilt/turn, middle section static. Curtains would not suit at all. We're not overlooked but I may give privacy film a go. In addition my wife has suggested some sort of voile/translucent material applied to the individual window but i suspect, blinds might be better.

Its the only willy waving can I muster. 2 of those 'Bake Off' ovens I tell you!

Catalytic is fine although the surprisingly frequent requests for an eco-clean can be annoying. Wonder if that's a problem in a passive house?

Only 67 litres, deal breaker we have 2 x B47CR32N0B (I think) and they do make food taste better. And I have to say we bought NEFF and Bosch from our kitchen supplier who were better than any prices I could find online.

Don't suppose anyone has a Which? membership and wouldn't mind checking their iron info.