Ferdinand

We have a new outline proposal for a housing estate nearby, and I will be making some comments - supporting principle but pointing out inadequate quality features in the scheme. This is a clip from the "Illustrative Master Plan". We all know how "illustrative plans" proposed at Outline without full compliance, somehow turn into the final plan and the non compliances can get forgotten about at Detailed. 1 - Is it normal to bury large 'lecky cables under a Balancing Pond in a housing estate? (These are *big* - they may be 33kV ,and serve thousands of people)? 2 - That looks a little close to the houses, assuming the brown road is about 5m wide. The scheme is not dissimilar to another one taken through planning nearby; not sure how the cables ended up there.

Asking a further q. May have made too many assumptions. Is the culprit the gap around the exhaust, or that the exhaust is letting air in out because the shutter is open, or that the cupboard is actually a real part of the ventilation route? Could you clarify?

I'll leave the pointing comment for someone else. Those are the ones that click, aren't they? You can get different types, or inline ones where it is against a weak spring. Just need to think around how far you want to take your works eg new fan. Should be able to find something for a few £ only eg Amazon if just after the grill. I think I found one with this type of shutter, and a cowel over the end to stop in blowing about and clicking. Ferdinand

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I think mine came with a full set of nearly everything - except possibly the XL tip. Looks like T who want her pebbledash spraying may be about to have it done after nearly a decade of campaigning, as I now have a way to redo it without excessive pain. Just need to decide about cleaning / repair first (120 year old pebbledash at least), and what we do about the moulded in fake quoins. Ferdinand

But reserve your own judgement. You are the one with balls in the slot machine.

Get an extractor that is either a constant trickle of that is your strategy, or with a a backdraft shutter. Or an auto closing when no flow exhaust grill if the fan is OK. F

Google street view should do that well enough. Also look at the A6011 in Linby, Notts. The river Lean goes under a number of drives over a Good distance.

Try talking to Stanton Bonna, and also Buildbase Civils. BC have a branch 2 miles away and they have some quite big stuff that I see when I get big slabs. Once talked to SB about a section of concrete tunnel to use as a round wine cellar; whackos do phone them up.

What is the source of the draught?

Bathtime. I will be having a bath vaguely like this, though it may be square ended. The gap I have between shower screen and wall is about 830mm, and I need the bath plus a gap big enough to clean sensibly. I think that limits me to a 700 wide bath, and length can be 1700 or maybe even 1800mm. It will be a wall mounted filler, and the overflow should ideally be at the end away from the corner. I am looking at the one above from Cheeky Bathrooms, who have supplied me excellent quality previously. Unfortunately it is 750 wide. https://cheekybathrooms.co.uk/product/j-shaped-curved-rh-lh-1700-x-750mm-single-ended-bath/ Can anyone recommend one of these that is 700 wide? Thanks Ferdinand

My second bathroom refurb is now coming down the track like the proverbial train pretending to be the end of the tunnel, so this is the project thread. I still have lots of questions. There are two blog posts with piccies from the spring: This is the design I plan to go with. The main changes from last time are 1 - The bath will be a corner bath slotted in by the shower - round ended unlike the plan and with a bath flller mounted on the wall. I plan a custom bathside shelf thing of sorts along the bath on the window side at bath rim height to make it look properly integrated. 2 - There will be 2 washbowls with a pair of shallow cupboards above. The width on these needs to be watched as it is potentially quite tight. I have the loo and taps already in store, and sources for tiles identified - so it is bath, basins, vanity unit, shower tray next, and practical issues. Ferdinand

I am not sure if you want feedback, and what type, but the architect seems to have done a generally well-rounded job on room sizes etc. It is interesting that the plan is relatively conventional within a modern-style shell. I am interested in the office at the top. Lots of visitors will keep you very fit going up and down ! Dad had that - used to drop the keys out of the window for them. Are there solar panels on top of the office ? if I have it right a ta glance the others will be shaded until lunchtime. F

Welcome. There are several here who have comsidered Gravenhill, and one who has followed through. Where are you in Nottingham (ish) -several of us are reasonably close. Ferdinand

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I think I would look at doing the downstairs reno yourself, and having a contracytor do the big stuff. Mine was gutted to 3 walls and a hole by the previous owner and they extended in two directions and added 3 beds and a bath upstairs. Generally a good job, but it took about 3-4 years. Then they moved out within 3 years. So do not underestimate the value of time living happily in your renovated house drinking cocktails as opposed to spending your evenings and weekends working on it. The idea is that living the dream aims to be a larger chunk of your life than building the dream. Have a look at moduloft, who bring the whole new floor in sections, and you probably have more local less radical options who will nevertheless do the whole loft bit for you. IMO think about renovating the existing to at least current building regs for newbuild for each element, and probably better. Then when you have to compromise on one or two things you still have a liveable house. Ferdinand

"Interest free loan" does not sound very "gifted". ? The Council probably view that the previous person had the discount. You may get it off the VOA list by disconnecting things or gutting it, but that may be such a battle that you would be better off doing a sponsored unicycle to Coldstream in December and back to get the same money. Ferdinand

I can't think of something that detects the lock, unless something like the Yale digital lock setup (or similar) does it. The other angle for managing the problem could be an auto-close something plus auto-locking, like a traditional night latch, but the flipside is that it is easy to be locked out. If you have an autolock-on-close, then a burglar alarm type sensor could be the other half. Not satisfactory, though. F

No worries. This can of worms will sit quite happily in the row with all the others you open with all these excellent questions ???. Soon there will be enough for an off grid loo. ? F

Well they have a pallet of 640 sink power plungers to help you clear the aftermath. https://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogues/william-george-auctions/catalogue-id-wi412583/lot-cb671fcf-2aaf-4b4f-935d-aaa00116ceb3 All life is there.

Threads:

There are various threads I cannot find. A lot of people use Ironmongery Direct for the furniture. I used Todd Doors, who also often do reasonably priced solid oak (perhaps £150?). Travis sometimes have offers. There are several other suppliers who may be mentioned. The important thing is to go and look. Ferdinand

A hard won, beneficial insight. Recommended for everyone, at whatever frequency that can be managed. (Sorry - that sounds po-faced. Not intended.)

If anyone needs to organise their screws there is also a pallet of 440 no of 12-compartment organiser-boxes. ? They will then need something to organise their organiser boxes. Hell is a branch of Ikea that consists entirely of recursive organiser systems, which never have anything else inside. Modern take on Sisyphus.

OK I'll 'fess up. This para was post-self-censored. You really shouldn't have asked that. Or perhaps I should not have posted it. "Coming back to @pocster, if he wants to flood his basement and have a stag party (or @AliG with his swimming pool), there is an entire pallet of 140 "sensational inflatables" blow up ladies. - (very Dallas). Starting price £60. And hundreds of pairs of MMA fighting shorts, a dozen or more really high end BBQs, and 220m of assorted scotia beading. You did ask...