Ferdinand

@AliG >By the time the cute hands over the sides you Cannock another 100mm off that. Quality . Mr iPad had an iPad?

How much extra space do you need inside? This idea would give you about 2.7m extra front-back dimension to the outside face of your new house wall, which is the same inside if the new wall is the same thickness as the one you remove. You could turn your retaining wall into a stepped border to give a feel of more space. Or move it back at greater cost. I think you need to start by thinking in more detail about what you actually need / want.

Welcome.

As soon as people start climbing it is a team of 2 or 3, at 125-175 each at least per day plus all the rest. Soon adds up.

And spend half an hour rewiring it afterwards when you want a shorter one.

I was thinking 1000–1500 based on what I paid for my last big one. May be worth asking if him taking the wood will make a difference .. he may or may not change his price as he will also be selling firewood. F

I standardised on Makita power tools 18 months ago when my Metabo tools had finally become too old. So I have about 4 batteries, and no need to buy any more than a bare tool here. Also, I don't exactly have a lot of hedges - more shrubs and informal borders - so I do not need the power of a petrol one, and would rather avoid the weight. Previously I had a Metabo cordless hedge trimmer that was vintage 2000, used at my parents' house which *did* have a lot of hedge - both sides of a 60m drive. And I would need to get 2 stroke oil in again, and maintain a supply of unleaded with nothing else to use it for (car is diesel). Ferdinand

I can tell you that percolation test holes half full of water are not things to go and inspect just to see how it is doing if you are dressed up to go out on the posh.

Garden redesign required to put a track in . No pussyfooting for me this time. It will be one of these which is an 18V trimmer. https://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/makita-duh523z-lxt-52cm-20-5-hedge-trimmer-body-only There is a 36V version at double, but I don't think I need that.

It may be of interest to some - Gravenhill, the self-build estate in Bicester, are offering a series of online seminars in early June. The first 3 webinars are available to book onto now, don't miss out on your chance to get the answers to the questions you need. Tuesday 2 June, 2pm - The Graven Hill Story Tuesday 16 June, 2pm - The Graven Hill Experience Tuesday 30 June, 2pm - Self-Build Made Simple Others are planned. I would expect a mixture of useful information and a sprinkling of marketing. Ferdinand

Good point @Mr Punter. Will probably do just a maintenance trim soon as recommended by RHS. The guideline for farm hedges is not until 1st September, and this is probably of that type - so a heavier trim will have to wait. F

Thanks for the comments so far. I can get a Makita Hedge Trimmer for 70-90 to go with my existing batteries, so I do not see that hiring is worth it at £15-20 a day. I think it will need 2 goes this year - within the next few days, then again in perhaps August. @AnonymousBosch I don't think it is perhaps as bad as it looks - it is only about 8m long so would actually be doable by hand in an afternoon if I really wanted to. @Temp In my head I would like to bring it down to 5-6ft with a conveniently angled top, as a compromise between not driving the roosting sparrows out and a height that is sensibly me plus the tool used. I think it is trimmed nearly every year. I don't think the branches are too bad, but probably need half an hour investigating to find out. I see that Makita now do a couple of pole hedge trimmers in their 18V LXT range. Thanks for the thoughts all; helpful as ever in clarifying the thinking. Ferdinand

It will depend on the intended use of the loft. If it is a habitable, usable space (eg bedroom), then Building Regs will apply ie 42 degrees, and the usual headroom. There would also be other requirements - escape, fire etc. If it is storage, then you may be OK. But they may have a view if they think they are being played and it will be changed later. Not sure what happens then. We used to have one up to an office, but it was a full attic floor with a real staircase too. An early GD ("Urban Space Pod, Peckham) had pigeon toed stairs to minimal bedrooms in a roof pod. It had KM in paroxyms about the efficient space usage and the sliding roof, and included a mini dance studio for the dance teacher girlfriend. When I lived in Chiswick I knew someone that used one to an attic conversion bedroom in a terrraced house. Ferdinand

Welcome.

Perhaps rashly I have agreed to trim an NHS neighbour's hedge this year (below), so I need a hedge trimmer - which I just about arguably needed anyway as my garden is maturing. I am now a Makita shop by default. Can anyone advise what sort of weapon is required. The was laid about 5 years ago. It is hawthorn. I can just about touch the security mirror shown standing on the ground so I am guessing the hedge is perhaps 8ft, and only a single garden width. The lane is quiet if I choose my time, and I do have a scaffold tower and ladders available if required. The last time I bought a hedge trimmer it was 12" or 14", powered and very expensive for cordless. They now seem to have one handed grass trimmers which convert (eg Makita DUM604ZX), something cordless, and ones with blades up to 2 feet long (eg Makita DUH523Z) which looks like a sawfish. It may be that a good option is a small trimmer plus secateurs. Or one of the longer ones. TBH for my own use I would struggle to justify the 2ft long one. Thanks. Ferdinand

Sounds good. When I do stuff at home (currently just doing cycling and a bit of yoga) I only have a wall ball and a skipping rope. But I need to work mainly on mobility, so when I am stronger after my winter illness I will start doing just the warmups.

Not sure how much feedback you want suggesting potential issues with this given that it is finished ? . But ... writing as part owner of a Crossfit Gym (about which there are a few threads) there are a few things it may be useful to say. I hope everything has been considered and this is unnecessary. What is the floor surface under the rubber matting? If you or anybody start dropping kettlebells or weights on it, I do not think that 8mm will be enough and it may well die if it is at all delicate. Even porcelain tiles may get chipped. One issue is that sometimes the reason for dropping weights is safety, so you cannot say you will never do it. And I am not sure that 8mm will be enough for your comfort or to protect your joints if you are doing stretching or eg burpees on it or things that involve knees such as types of scaled pressups and so on. Depends on how hard the floor surface underneath is. Though rowing, assault bike and the torture machine on the right will be fine. The normal floor of a Crossfit Gym would be more like 18mm dimpled horse matting over a concrete slab. (Last lot I bought cost about £45 each for 10 6x4s delivered, 2 years ago - we have about 5000 sqft of it, and yes it does feel expensive when you are the one stumping up.) We also do our weights on inserts made from 8x4 18mm plywood. But that has to cope with people throwing 100kg+ barbels down from shoulder height, which is perhaps not you (or me). You could loose lay a sacrificial tongue and groove click-fit under the matting if you have problems. We use the thinner stuff on rolls where we walk around the weights area, but not where we do things on the floor. I think you could probably make your stretching etc more comfortable by using some of the jigsaw foam mats they make eg for putting on the floor of child playpens. Or a yoga mat. I find it helps my sit bones. If you need a weights area with heavier mats then one option might be a gazebo or veranda outside. My best suggestion would be to review it with your distant trainer, so that he is aware what you have so you do not end up doing anything that is unsuitable or may cause problems, and take the advice on what is most appropriate. And see how you go. @jack may have some useful comments, as a Crossfitter. Nice project. Ferdinand

It lets you see your movements and how well they are working if there is no one training you. An alternative or supplement is a video setup say using your iPhone and a tripod. if you are doing particularly weights it may be important because bad technique can cause nasty injuries if you have not been well trained. But am sure you know that. It also lets you judge the elegance of your plié when you are practicing Swan Lake. (For non-ballet-dancers Plié is a ballet dancing version of Dixon of Dock Green’s Allo Allo Allo. In a tutu. ?)

Could you do something like eg copper or checkerplate. Or presumably oak would do it, or there must be others. There are a whole range of boat timbers including Ash and Cedar, which would survive a short flood. If you really want timber you could ask the coastal engineers what they use for piers and groynes, and get some planks cut. Or can you use things made for fascia?

It would be useful to know more what you mean by "cottage", and which part of the market you consider your target? (ie for last bit basically a description of your imagined customer). F

You could buy a new one with Help-to-Buy and bungalow-gobble it. ??? *innocent face*

My bathrooms have tiled upstands. I like them.

I think Building Regs, insulation standards etc would be a real issue. Depending on whether you are going for just the look, or the whole lifestyle. In this country you cannot hunt with a bow and arrow . There may be lessons from eg straw bale specialists, or the chap who built the cob palace (Grand Designs episode).

If you look around, there will still be people involved in this - who you could track down. This is a retrospective. (I am sure that at least 3 of those are Jeremy)

Wood effect porcelain tiles.