Ferdinand

Thanks all. Basic garden mods done now. Will need to think for a couple of days. Builder-handyman booked in again for next weekend. Since this is a toddler play area 3m x 3m made out of bolted 3m fence posts sounds attractive, then a single piece of fake grass. Need to reflect on interior structure. I know of a pile of unused 6x4 rubber gym floor mats purchased for the gym in error. 12x8 will use let me use 4 of those as a resilient underlay kneelable layer washable with a hose. Hmmm. F

With a babby and family and decent schools in the area, the name of the game will be to keep them until the sproglet goes to secondary school ... I hope. Depends on potential multiplication of sproglets *.. In that light, the modest extra maintenance / investment of a few hundred to avoid future voids is small. And I had promised to sort out the back garden anyway to be more reflecting of the quality of the house. Ferdinand Sproglets not froglets ?.

So they are here. Below the No 4 has a non-locking mechanism by dint of a rivet, whilst the No 6 has a locking ring. The paring knife is the smallest in my kitchen knife set for comparison. That is a ProCook X50 range knife. Unfortunately that lockng ring *will* be coming off, because in the eyes of the law as currently interpreted and enforced putting it puts the knife in the same category as a Bowie or a sheath knife. Dr Ferdinand Jekyll - a bloke with a small pocket-knife, suddenly becomes to Mr Ferdinand Hyde - a bloke with a small locking pocket-knife potentially planning to cut the throats of the entire community. I will not be relying on police discretion in these circs. The fault is that the intent of Parliament that people with small folding pocket knives was that locking should be fine for safety reasons, but one Case seems to have misinterpreted the intention of Parliament, and the Gadarene Rush of enforcement, any enforcement, has made that absurdity a key plank in current campaigns. Of course, the policeman will usually enforce the letter of what they have been told in their enforcement policies. It concerns me that both of these are small enough to be finger knives for my hand and difficult to grip - may be alright for a lady, a child, a smaller bloke or Donald Trump. Therefore I am left with a more dangerous-to-me utility knife than would otherwise be the case. It will mean extra care when cleaning, and never applying finger pressure to the back of the blade when it can potentially make it close. Such is law; such is life. At last until rationality is reasserted. The chinks of light I have are that A Wright of Sheffield suggest that I can fit one of their smaller blades to a larger handle, or to also have something with a better grip.

This week I have had a chap tidying up a back garden for a tenant. Untidy version below. Pretty much haunching in edgings and gravel, and a plan to put down some artificial grass for the new sproglet to play on in due course who is now a few weeks old. Fake grass is going at the far side where the flat part of the pea shingle is. Prev. Tenant had laid pea shingle on their own initiative on polythene stuff (gah!). My base sheet is heavy duty weed membrane. My question is around the base needed for the artificial grass, and how to fix it down. Will pea shingle be adequate, or do I really have to go for sand? Is there some kind of underlay required? And given that it is for a play area, are those hairpin type fixings acceptable if properly and fully inserted? That is what I have used for weed membranes, but I the would welcome some feedback. Cheers Ferdinand

Looks good. Two questions. 1 - How are those seals along the back of the pool fastened down? Gravity? 2 - Did you consider raised pools? I quite like them with a wall at seat height. F

9.98kWp. E and W facing, Shaded, Solaredge.

In that case consider how you enjoy the setting sun with the glass of brandy you have obtained from your St Bernard. Learher chairs in the study is one way, or a sheltered terrace, outside the entrance, or extend your sitting area at the E end beyond the S side of the house, or something in the back garden. F

Welcome. There is no such think as a stupid question.

Decision time. Toss a coin, go with Heads .

Make your stairs into a dogleg round the shower, gain 1-1.5m at the top, use either winders or a half landing, insert your downstairs cloakroom outside the utility under the stairs and the bit of extra landing we have just created. Pinch point is ceiling at dogleg, but you should get 2-3 steps or could put cupboard up into corner of bedroom to conceal more. May complicate possible stairlift requirement if it applies. Whilst we are at it, it is always a benefit ti make the stairs 37-38 degrees rather than 42 if you have space. If you have a muddy St Bernard that needs showerflinging, perhaps look at a door from utility to shower? Would need rearrangement but prob. doable. Whb opposite door to hall, shower other end, loo backing on to utility. Are the bifold at E or W end? Not sure that bifold will do your airtightness much service in 10 years time. Are those S facing roof windows an overheat risk in the bedrooms? Window on N Side of void to allow stack ventilation out of the sun? Really not sure whether that will offer much over the S side ones over the landing that you can actually reach, as it would be a bugger to get to for cleaning and maintenance. If you wanted a more standalone grannexe in the future the utility could be split into a kitchen and a corridor / smaller utility. External shower for muddy St Bernard or get Cat. Looking pretty good. F

Could we have North and a site plan, please? And welcome.

This is all a bit bloodthirsty...

Those curvy walls between rooms are quite reminiscent of some plans in successful London flats schemes from the 1960s and 1970s by better architects. The obvious lack is that there is not afaics a sufficiently spacious accessible bathroom. I am not quite sure how BR requirements relate to an upside-down house for the accessible bathroom. But a good different angle, which is what it is all about - widen the horizons then choose the best direction. F

In older houses there are always umpteen reasons for damp to be present everywhere ! A few thoughts: Did you happen to have a Structural Survey when you moved in? That would be helpful, as would getting an IR Camera and Damp Meter and min/max Humidity meter - just to get to know your property. 1 - Has it a damp proof course? 2 - When it was renovated, how did they handle moisture and ventilation? Are the approaches to teh two compatible? 3 - What is the outside ground level? 4 - Have any materials been used which contribute to potential damp - eg cement render or pointing? Ferdinand

Does this mean bargain weekends in Cornwall ? Feel genuinely sympathetic for the shopkeeper chap who ordered 500 ponchos.

I think we need more info here as to the proposal. eg are these self-contained flats or bedsits? Main homes or pied-a-terres? One beds or studios? Owned or rented? Do you plan to meet national space standards? https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Technical_housing_standards_-_nationally_described_space_standard F

That does not seem to be a heat detector ... unless I missed something.

Use a smoke detector and do not burn any toast.

Also 4 parking spaces, and turning space on plot?

Welcome to the forum. I am just doing a whole series of mini-projects to adapt my house for an increasingly frail parent. In your honour I have created a blog article which is a directory of where most of them can be found. I will add more as I remember them or they are newly written. There are now nearly 50 blogs on the site - many project-based, some more eclectic like mine (which is very eclectic). I do not think we have one explicitly related to a project of this type, so if you were able (once you have settled in) to consider something documenting your needs, thinking and decisions it would be a real benefit for other for the future - as well as letting you have a record of your journey. I think various people have considered needs for annexes, grannexes, needs of live-in sons and daugters, multi-generational sites, and for their own later years (and at least one is building a whole new bungalow for his parents). Si there is relevant material around - but you have to dig a little. Discussion threads tend to be where exploration / thinking is done, blog posts are often the recording of what happened, and blog comments are reflections. Anyway - best of luck. Ferdinand

Is it just me, or is that very nearly the plumbing arrangement for the inside of a cow?

Perhaps you need to quoin a name for it? ("Tony Tray" made it into the lingo in a small way).

> @Onoff I have found a 3d-print sculpture in honour of @onoff's avatar. Never met the man himself, so cannot comment on whether it is a selfie - but I bet he likes donuts. Quite interesting how from the front it looks aspirational, whils from the side it suddenly becomes a traffic warden. It may be the colours.I am not aware that this has been printed yet; presumably it will take some processing. The title is "My Precious". Obviously. When the machine arrives you can make one ?. Credit: https://pinshape.com/items/45627-3d-printed-chubby-gollum

You could use it for a lot more than plasterboard. Eg Cladding. F

On the roof, I think there is a difference between accessible, and intended for daily use. I mean make it such that pros who need to access the roof can put a ladder against your skylight. Rather than needing to put a 3 storey ladder or a cherry picker outside. So stuff like make it big enough to climb through, putting it over the landing not the stairs so that the ladder has somewhere to stand, and any falls are only one storey not three. Providing a base point for a safety rope sounds good, as does perhaps providing a mounting point for a winch. Perhaps also are sure that anything on the roof smaller than the aperture :-). I do not see why a secure, well designed skylight needing a ladder should require H&S interventions as if it were a roof garden. F