ProDave

Can we have some basic measurements, the length measured horizontally from your front wall to the boundary (hold the tape measure up at the boundary end to get it level) And the height from the pavement level to the existing ground level at the house. Again while you have your tape measure held horizontal for that first measurement, use a second tape measure to measure what height you have to hold it above the pavement to get it horizontal. Then @Onoff can re work his drawing to the actual scale. It would then give an idea of what height retaining wall you are likely to be looking at and whether it is viable or not. All the pictures give the impression of a very steep slope to your garden at present.

Thanks @Onoff for the drawings. If you want to to plan this you really need to know how deep the foundations are, then you can draw a drawing like @Onoff did a few posts up but properly to scale with your actual site measurements and foundation depth. If your proposed parking space does not cut into the bit below the 45 degree line, then everything is fine. If it does, you will need a structural engineer to design a retaining wall. You might well find because the house has been built on a slope that the foundations are already deep. An alternative might be to lift some floorboards in that bay window and see how deep the void below the floor is, that will perhaps give an idea of the foundation depth without digging a test hole.

Before you go much further I would do a test dig adjacent to the house to find how deep the foundations are (dig down a small hole by hand and see how deep before the bricks start stepping out wider or you hit concrete) Then you need to apply the "45 degree rule" Project an imaginary line from the foundation depth down at 45 degrees and that is the soil you must not disturb without proper structural engineer input. If your neighbour is doing the same then you won't need a retaining wall between you so that is some cost saving but you will both need a retaining wall between the parking area and the house, and at the side between the parking area and the path to your front doors.

Thanks. That's the "missing manual" that covers the version that I have. The bypass control terminals as shown uses two inputs called "heating" and "cooling" I could not get mine to do anything with those. If I activate either, nothing happens. I assume it does some sort of automatic control but I have never seen it explained what or how. It was only by experiment I found that the "not used" terminal activates the bypass manually and instantly. If you get the click but not the whir whir I suspect something is broken, or just stuck? It might be worth taking the lid off to see if you can get at the mechanism, see how it is supposed to work and see if anything is obviously stuck.

Hi Matt I would be interested in seeing a picture of your circuit board and connections. I have seen 2 different versions but as yet only seen one version of the manual, and my circuit board differs to the one in the manual. When I activate the summer bypass with the undocumented connection as you have tried, I hear a click, followed by a whir whir for a few seconds as a small motor moves the bypass flap to the bypass position. And when you deactivate it, the same click, then whir whir for a few seconds as it moves back.

Alternatively send a set of drain rods down with nothing on the end and hammer at what they come to a stop at and see if you can get any movement. Mark how far the rods go in, pull them out and measure, That will give you a good idea where they got to and where to dig.

Give divining a test. Get two metal rods and form them into a long L shape. (I use two old straightened out bucket handles) Hold the two short bits of the L with the long bits pointing forwards. Then slowly walk over a known submerged object like your water pipe. See if the rods move. I didn't believe it until I tried it and it works, but don't ask me how or why. I am told you can detect almost anything so think about what you are hoping to find.

Fill the ducts completely with water from the inside. Wait for a damp patch on the ground to appear outside. Go divining for it (when full of water) Have you tried divining?

Yes be very careful. Dig too close to the house without a retaining wall and it could end up VERY badly. Definitely a case for structural engineer input and I would not expect this to be a cheap job. And don't forget you need permission for a dropped kerb and might need planning permission for the parking space. Stupid alternative suggestion, can you not just get the council to mark a disabled parking bay on the road outside your house? that seems normal practice here on streets that don't generally have off road parking.

Earth bonding all good. No idea if there is an anode, no mention of one in anything that came with the cylinder.

It's mains water so there is bound to be a certain amount of air in it. It's mild steel screwed into stainless steel.

^^ Yes that was what he was using. I had never seen one before and a quick search for "handheld electric saw" did not show one either.

So while we are talking electric "chainsaws" I just saw my neighbour cutting fire wood. I have never seen anything like what he was using before. It seemed to have some form of "chain" that ran between 2 large pulleys and the open bit of "chain" was what he was cutting with. The best way I could describe it would be a hand held band saw. Anyone know what it was?

I have not yet found a SS one. The original one, supplied by telford with the cylinder lasted about 10 years, and the bladder went. If I could buy a SS one, with a replacable bladder I would (or would if I expected to be owning the house for very much longer) It seems daft that the UVC is SS and let down by a bit of mild steel rubbish. How anyone thinks that is going to last a long time with potable water (i.e. there won't be any rust inhibitor) beats me. The local plumber recons the merchant where this one came from less than 2 years ago will be open on Monday. If so we will have a discussion.

The biggest issue with illegal "residential" moorings on canals and rivers, with boats that never move, is just where do they pump out their toilets? (and I think we know the answer)

@joe90 Is the dumper now working?

The ones that scare me (And I won't do it myself) are those that hang from a tree by a rope and use a chain saw one handed.

Chainsaw 102 Keep your trousers outside your boots (otherwise your boots fill with chippings)

I was watching my BIL sawing his firewood and he just put the saw down without putting the brake on. I told him he should use the brake. "Why, the chain has stopped"

Tenant in our rental house phones this morning, water dripping through the ceiling. It's the expansion vessel in the top of the Telford UVC leaking AGAIN. It has rusted through at a weld where the threaded coupling is welded to the body of the vessel. No doubt rusted from the inside, This is less than 2 years old, replaced when the previous one leaked in the same place. I was shocked when the previous one rusted through and started leaking. Even more shocked that this one, failed at less than 2 years old. Of course the plumbers merchant I bought it from is shut, otherwise I would be arguing with them (I probably will when they re open) And I can't find a plumbers merchant open today. I will be trying again on Monday to find anybody open in Inverness that has one. Until I get a replacement the tenants have no hot water (they do have an electric shower they can use) Screwfix have one listed but not in stock and saying Friday. Can't get to speak to them. Utter shambles we are in, but the point of the thread is my disgust at the lack of quality of much of the stuff being sold. And yes it was an expansion vessel rated for potable water. Toolstation have one but don't say it's for potable water so I assume not.

A petrol chan saw won't stop the chain instantly just by releasing the trigger. That's what the physical chain brake is for.

This is the sort of thing that is available up here, seculded but not totally isolated. This one needs a lot of work though https://www.hspc.co.uk/Detached-Cottage-For-Sale-Rowan-Cottage-Strathnacro-Glenurquhart-IV63-6TH

Another thought. In the Tyne Valley west of Newcastle, (we have relatives there so know it quite well) there are a number of settlements of "huts" in the woods. They were built originally as weekend retreats for the heavy industry workers in the city. Their planning status is strange. You are allowed to live in them and maintain them, but not to demolish and completely rebuild them. Access to most of them is only on foot via public footpaths, though a few of them that are close to a road have been "maintained" in a creative way that almost equates to rebuilding. I don't know if they ever come up for sale. It might not suit you as they tend to be in small groups of huts more of a community than complete isolation.

What is your budget and do you mind where in the UK you live? Up here in the highlands there are some really truly isolated houses and we have one of the lowest house prices of the UK.

I would say £300 per day would be plenty. But this is "the south"