saveasteading

Composting information on Gardeners' World tonight, BBC2 . Really interesting. About 15 minutes in.

Because most builders have no training, and not the slightest interest in it. I've even had concrete gangers who clearly think I'm deluded, and they will nod then ignore. Of course concrete dries, what harm is more water. I guess everyone knows (not understands) that drying happens with heat or wind. Not many will have understanding that chemical reactions happen. They suddenly take it seriously when told that if they add any water to the mix, they won't be paid.

@JackofAll A heart isn't enough. So to emphasise @Nickfromwaleshas it dead right on all counts. In reality concrete doesn't shrink much after the first month or so and that is a chemical reaction, not evaporation.

It's good that the concrete has added fibre. That gives crack resistance. 8m x 8m. It is just about OK at that without contraction joints. I'd suggest you leave it a month or so before doing any aesthetic remedial or colouring work.

What a shame. Not to diminish the issue, but I suspect most people won't notice any problems, and it works physically in providing a hard clean surface. What are the approximate sizes, in width and length?

It's a good thing. So much power available and so much better ecologically. But I do think it is a local resource and local people should be charged the real cost, and not the price based on gas.

Moray has yet more power as of this week, none of it needed locally. Nearly all being sent Spouth. There should be a meter or 2 at some point between there and London. "It's Scotlands wind". Logically there is slightly less wind reaching the land. news item.: Moray West in the Moray Firth has 60 turbines each standing 257m (843ft) above the surface of the sea, making them the tallest turbines to be installed in UK waters according to the operator. Ocean Winds, the consortium operating the wind farm, said it would have capacity to generate up 882MW of electricity - enough power for 1.3 million households.

The tanking needs to be outside or it will be forced off. Unless using Newtonite which catches the water inside ....but that's for a tunnel not a house. Waterproof concrete works for dams, pipes and tanks, keeping water in, not out. But it is not damp-proof. We don't see the dampness because it evaporates It requires a huge amount of small diameter reinforcement to make the cracks tiny. I wouldn't trust bitumen paint as cracks could form or widen. For complete water exclusion I used an expensive membrane that was wrapped under and around the concrete, and allows for future movement. Worked really well. And the concrete must extend above ground, leaving a very simple, non tech, interface. And any drainage be pumped out and over the concrete.

What are "these"?

Polyethylene, which I think the cheap ones are, gets munched, and I think shrinks and stiffens over the years. But it's much cheaper. I don't know what the difference is between what is called "economy" and " bylaw quality".

A joint between civil engineering and building. You're right. This sort of thing goes wrong through lack of forethought or understanding of the power of water to get past an obstacle. Easily designed out but difficult to put right after the event. Then someone wants to cut holes through it. Was expensive tanking the solution?

Is that dry graphite powder in an aerosol? This is at B and Q so might be easier to get. Also it's a known brand, and not Amazon.

Panic...the key wouldn't turn and we were locked out. OK try my key. Same. A bit of fiddling and it worked. But it is a worry. Then trying it lots of times seemed fine, but maybe some gunk had moved OR I was getting the angles right. Looking at the keys, they aren't quite the same, and both look rather simple. One is probably the original and has worn. The other may be a copy of a copy. Maybe we should copy the one that is working slightly better. Do such 'security' locks wear out? Will a scoosh of oil sort it all out or just delay the day when we are locked out? The lock will be about 15 to 20 years old. Change it?

The only problem with the dalek is that I have layers. 6" of grass cutting which becomes a part composted mass, 8" of weeds which disappear beautifully, then weeks of household veg waste ...which attracts rats. Mixing would help a lot. Lots of worms in and under. Slow worms inside last year. Rats (small, country ones) this winter...but can't really complain.

Being a suspicious type, I immediately assume that paint on masonry is to hide something.

We don't know the geometry. That tie seems to preclude movement. Maybe your SE can propose alternative bracing, esp if you can have a division wall there.

\\im going to try this. The blue bin filled from kitchen and gardening, then transferred to the dalek after initial fermentation. Now looking on Marketplace for a £5 blue bin.

Any repair or maintenance issues?

Or a metre or so vertical pipe with bag over it It's It's very visible so less likely to be bumped That's why I read this stuff. I'd never seen or thought of that. A wet and dry, bagless machine is cheap too.

When brown bins were introduced the promise was of we subscribers being able to get the composted product very cheap. This never happened as I assume businesses found they could give it a name and sell it at £5/ bag. But we have together stopped the use of peat and saved the peat bogs. Well done us. Anybody tried sheep wool compost? Expensive, but looks and feels like quality.

I meant woody prunings that are going to break down but slowly. That's why they sometimes go through twice. I make no attempt to turn the contents. In the perfect world I would have 2 timber bins with removable fronts in 2 parts, so the stuff can be turned. One can be emptied for use while the other continues in use. If these are substantial (1m3?) they won't need insulation. These could be beautifully made, or 5 pallets.

All the sloping timbers are under loads trying to make them level, thrusting out at the walls. The cross ties resist that thrust, triangulating the forces. If anything it seems low on such ties. Yous SE is maybe even being pragmatic in not saying to add more...I.e. it's working, so leave it be. The roof space has not been designed as a room, and sometimes you have to accept the limitations. Better than it falling down. No. He is is giving best , expert advice, simple as that.

It has to be polyurethane foam, and closed cell. What claims do they make? If you have plenty of garden space then you don't need this. I have a couple of the tardis ones. they take all year to fill, as the bottom rots down. then I empty them and put any unfinished composting back in the again. They take all the kitchen veg and soft garden cuttings and weeds etc.. Sticky stuff goes in a bigger bin and I shovel the good stuff out of the bottom and let the rest settle. I got about 8 barrows of amazing compost this year. It has only saved me £100 of commercial stuff but very satisfying / sustainable, and I think it is better.

I kept the offcut from ours. It is an overhead one. It is a plastic sheath, filled with fibreglass strands enclosing three hair-like coloured strands of what I assume carry the data. No metal. Underground spec may be different.

I saw some advertised recently. Maybe the info was out of date. Ply is still imperial.