Ferdinand

Good to hear the story. Best of luck.

IMO that is a bargepole option - it *must* help gutters to block up more. I would counsel to be a bit strategic and consider what other wiring type services you may need in the future eg remote lights or sockets etc, and perhaps consider doing the trenching and ducting for these now, including spare ducts with draw strings and so on. We installed satellite TV from a remote mast (made from scaffolding) into a smallish listed 16C Manor House building, and we installed an extra drainpipe up one corner for wires then ran all our cables up insider that. On this occasion that was four sets of satellite wires which included a spare. Always include a spare. Here we are built into the roof. The way I handle cables here is to route up one particular place on the wall for most, and then via the "toblerone spaces" created by rooms in the roof as far as possible. But it is tricky. Perhaps a few new built-in cupbards will create routable routes? At my last reno I left channels under all the floating floors round the inside walls, which worked a treat for plumbing and electrics. The other thing to put in when you can is underfloor ducts for future media areas, so that you do not have Virgin going right through everything with their BFO drills. Yes - to the scaffold tower. But never take silly risks. I have a Zarges Reachmaster bought secondhand via BH. I have 5.7m working height, but it will go to 8.1m with extra bits I think. Useful for building up a stock of future favours from neighbours. Ferdinand

How did you get 55 sqm under PD? On the heating, why not some sort of reversible "single room" split heat-pump type thing? You may need cooling as well as heating - heat soak etc. Also, how well is it actually insulated - whether Regs standard or say much better will be pertinent imo? Ferdinand

I’ve fitted a secondhand kitchen, with no problems, But not from a broker site. I have also done a secondhand conservatory from eBay which probably saved 10k+. it was 6m x 4m for £600, delivered 120 miles. Ditto upvc patio doors. Twice. The keys are to know what your needs are whilst having the nimbleness to be flexible, and how closely it meets them, and condition plus it all being there. Ie Go and check first, piece by piece. Be prepared to wait, then swoop. It is the same as getting a good house for a good price. You can probably save half the price on a new kitchen anyway. Secondhand just brings that saving to 70-90%. F

Discussed here and here And in several other places. F

I do hope you haven’t dragged it out now that it is grown in, and disturbed all those nesting chiff-chaffs and song thrushes ? ?

From @Onoff on another thread Can anyone give a rundown on the various types of alcohol, what the are, and where one obtains them? I have seen ‘rubbing alcohol’, but at the moment for cleaning / degreasing surfaces I use fruit preserving alcohol since I have had a bottle of it in the cupboard since dad bought it on a whim in Luxembourg some years ago ie 199x . Seems to work. I also normally have pure natural artist’s turps in, and acetone.

And do not flush the wipes down the loo !

I would perhaps think in terms of waterproof foundations which can be made higher later. Could be something as simple as piles of breeze blocks that can be added to later. if I were being flooded in 10-20 years.I would just make it a bit taller on my own Initiative. The one consideration may be a shed structure strong enough to take being jacked up? If you are after something posh does this imply a site office or static caravan type thing?

Also need: "Which bugs of your house featured you when they were being designed?" Ferdinand (who is safe 'cos I didn't design my house)

My conservatory roof, the despressing amount of leaves resting thereupon, the blockage of leaves in the drainpipe (I think) which is keeping the conservatory gutter (hidden rather comprehensively under the house gutter) full of water, and the crawler boards I am going to need to crawl along to clear it all out in what looks like a 3-4 yearly exercise.

Just a heads up to think about how you will use the doors. If 1-1.2m it can be a pain walking through with eg a tray, as you have to put it down and open both. OTOH 1m is wide enough to be awkward for a single upvc door. In accordance with Hitch Hiker tradition, the width is probably almost, but not entirely, exactly unlike what you actually want it to be. If you are having it made, rather than a £100-150 nearly new thing off eBay, then it may be worth considering a sidewindow and single normal width door.

Good point. Though as camouflaged PPE it could be mentioned ?, and demonstrated by hitting with a mallet or crowbar. Just don’t have similar looking soft-skinned wellies ?. On the hedge cutting, I thought that non-Farmers could cut with care as the Do Not Cut was a recommendation not a ban for them, and that an offence was intentional disturbance of nesting birds without much chance of getting caught .. but in practice my tree surgeons for example would refuse to do a job involving disturbance to a nest. So they have a look first and stop if they see anything. In recent years I have unfortunately employed more tree surgeons than hedge cutters, and these are what they explain to me. I believe the restriction for farmers is as a result of EU Subsidy Rules. So If lobbyists for hobby farmers / small holders currently complaining about the 5 Ha lower limit before you get to count as a proper subsidised farmer succeed, then the restriction would potentially apply to those under 5Ha as well. Probably tend to agree with your comment on Best Practice, though. Though cutting hedges could get some publicity via Mr Packham. All good stuff to talk about in a vid. For OP: hope you do not feel daunted by all the onset of detail. The flip side is that there is all this wonderful extra stuff you need to tell people about in your videos. Ferdinand

I have my moss control weapon of choice. £1.29 from Home Bargains. Range is about 12-13m on the flat, and it will reach the top of my roof. One squirt is about a pint, so Jeremy’s 2kg of CuSO4 should do it for starters. Though 15 for 2kg is galling when one can get 25kg for either £50 or £75. Then I need a calm day and some careful and delicate aiming. F

Thanks. A pleasure. Remember that I am only giving my opinion, too. One test you could do is show some friends and ask how they perceive it. It is always about what other people assume and perceive about you, not what you think you are projecting, that defines you in the long run. It is an ideal sort of question to ask on eg Twitter or Facebook (if you avoid the cess pit bits).. or join Ben Adam-Smith’s (houseplanninghelp.com) Facebook Group and ask there. Just engaging like that helps create your community. And as you go on you tweak you mix to fit the community you are building, or to change it. F

Do you have a link to do your "I paid for mine out of the referral fees from the rest of you" thing?

Enjoyed the video, and looked at a couple of others. A couple of comments. My important comment is I think there is (others may differ) a possible tension between you doing: a - A "townies escaped to the country for the sustainable life" or "farmers returning to how we grew up" lifestyle / diary / experience type blog / vlog. b - A "products reviews" type blog. c - A "this is how you do it" verging-on-instructional type blog. All 3 can work well, and the community you grow will respond to your content and change it over time. There are a number of people out there who have done various things such as smallholdings and green-revolution type things and offered services, and they get audiences of either people wanting to do it, people who want some experience without a wholesale change, people who therefore convince themselves not to do it, or those wanting skills and tasters. *But* combining a and c is imo problematic when you are using potentially dangerous tools. If you listen to eg Farming Today you will know that smallholding / farming are dangerous lifestyles. The one that I noticed was I think you were using the big rotary mower in wellingtons - imo they need to be steel toe caps, whether trainers or work boots. Toe chopping is a classic injury, especially with hover-mowers as well as wheeled. It may be that you know the stuff, but the audience may not. In my limited experience, a lot of people from other places are closer to country-living than many here; UKers may not to have the innate knowledge. If the audience is partly beginners, or urban escapers, or dabblers, who might never have seen more gardening than mustard and cress on a windowsill in Clapham, then you need to teach them the safety aspects with a cluebat - which might clash with your own "we are beginners" image. You may also at some point risk get someone turning up on your doorstep with a "we followed your chainsaw demonstration and lost 3 fingers" story. My thought would be to go for option (a), taking care not to look like "instruction" or "demonstration" videos (ie "this is what we did", avoiding 'demonstration' or 'how to' language). But also to include safety notes - which could eg be a 30 second "safety spot" at the start (2nd potential set of vids...), and treat you learning about the safety as part of the lifestyle diary. You could even position it as people from another country being responsible and learning how it is done here. If taking a beginners stance, your positioning needs to be as the animators of a learning community, rather than as any sort of teacher. You could do spots with the supplier, or you going on a course, or have a real expert who is a third character in your programme (in a way how the Countryfile presenters play the idiot to ask questions they already know but know that the audience does not). I am sure you have a local grizzled smallholder or self-employed outdoor worker type who would enjoy the publicity in return for their time and not needing to edit videos. Just thoughts. ATB. Ferdinand

South Ifrican? ?

Can anyone report on the quality of this? Tempting to get a couple for stock.

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If it is to do with being perceived to be fair ... agreed a very good objective ... then I suggest a better vehicle would be for him to write his will now, and giving copies to everyone. But making it clear that it is *his* decision first. Then you could be disinherited of everything else ?. You could have an understanding that you will be more responsible for caring as a quid pro quo. But tbh if it causes severe problems then it means that it is s waking up sleeping dogs, and they would awaken at some stage anyway. IMO whatever is put in place now will be effected by ‘events’ .. so the important thing is to accept that that will happen and decide no one will resent it ie love over money. If you accept this as your lot, then you lose out if he finds a Faberge Egg in his attic and all the rest share it. Alternatively he could be repossessed and you are the only one with any value left. Best of luck. F

Apart from that, enjoying the ping pong of debate on the thread.

OP: Use whatever system you like but don’t put more on top of a bodge. Start again.

Gold Star for a comprehensive first post. Aerogel for your floor if you cannot build up far? Make sure the asbestos is done properly. Asbestos in a ventilation system got my dad we think ... and he was just the supervising architect.

Have now ordered a Claber Kit. Will report back.