Ferdinand

Hulsta Sale. Prompted by @Moira Niedzwiecka's bed thread, I see that Hulsta have a summer sale with a third off, and an ex-demo sale at 50%+ off. And there is a showroom in Northampton near to Moira. It is all *very* nice stuff: https://www.webstore.hulsta.co.uk/our-biggest-ever-summer-savings/ Though it is a slightly different end of the market to the bed Moira has posted from Wayfair, I recommend these, and it fits an "invest in what you touch most" idea. They are in the sort of Aga or Saab+ bracket. Parents bought one for the (separate for both sides) orthopedic mattresses (pull a puller and it sits you up for your cup of tea or book - electric version available) back in the 1980s and now mum has to sleep semi-prone it is just what she needs. For some of us this is probably in the "windowshopping for things I do not need to buy" or "just what I need" category. Ferdinand

Welcome. You probably need to have a very good idea how "restored" it is, to tell you how far you need to take it back - hopefully not at all. As commented above, it depends on your goals. One quick link: F

That would be bathstore who just had an 80% off closing down sale. How high would you propose one to be?

Could not @Patrick make some of these Bath Companion jobbies out of his yew bush?

Mine is waiting to be fitted when I tidy the appropriate location and can get to it. I loved Screwfix service when they brought their whole range of safes to the front counter for me to look at.

Half way up in the lawn. F

? (for short people) or doorstops. Yew is heavy. Or as you say donate to woodturner or sculptor in exchange for one or two pieces, say a house nameplate or a number or a box for loose objects in your hallway as examples. Something that will memorialise the tree for a few decades in your house. BTW what is that circle of toadstool things - pass the parcel installation?

The rope issue is, I think, that it only works in tension, and cannot apply any force once even slightly slack. And a non-elastic rope is unable to apply any force as soon as the tree moves even half an inch in that direction - other than to prevent it falling the other way if it moves back. Think about towing a car with a non-dampened rope downhill. There was a old 'background' joke in the Beano, where a guy is pulling a sausage along the pavement on a lead. "Why is he pulling a sausage on a lead?" "Because he can't push it, silly !" You need a special sort of powered or spring loaded pulley that takes up the slack continuously. Or a suitable dampened elastic rope. F

I think that would be because the plumbing and gubbins is no longer under the bath. Whilst with a normal bath you remove the front panel and squirm like an eel (this is why some plumbers do Yoga), stand-alone baths are supposed to be either steel ponds-on-legs with Lions’ Feet, or smooth and enclosed like a 30s modernist item (or because someone has sensibly been informed that SWMBO will NOT be dusting The lions’ feet). In the latter case you would probably need to lift it out. F

? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/105350.stm

Is that wall listed? Sorry .. was that wall listed, before it demolished itself ? ?

Genuine question on this. What is the position of including 2nd hand patio doors in a reno? Wrt to eg Fensa? There's no end of them, and I have just used a couple of 3 year old ones for a garden building which were about £125 each, and wood-grain to boot. Each of those is pretty much as good as new, and it seems criminal to waste them. In this case one of them was one of a set of 3 nearly new ones being taken out of a barn conversion because they thought the new white ones would be classier. F

The trick there imo is to make it accessible so that cleaning is easy. It needs to be easy enough that you do not bury yourself in the football waiting for someone to get a penalty awarded against Man U. 1 - From the ground with a window cleaning pole. As you may have for roof mounted solar panels. I have pro-kit for my panels, which gets used about once a year; it goes up to 26ft plus me. You need to budget £100-£200. Discussed at length here: The parcel was about 11ft long. 2 - Make it easily accessible from inside. That may mean putting it on the landing if you have a catslide roof, or near a mezzanine or bridge if you have one, rather than at the inaccessible end of the 6m high wow-void that requires a scaffold tower or mountaineering gear. Near enough that you can reach it with a sponge-mop (extendable sponge-mop?) whilst standing on a reasonable thing like steps or a hop-up-step. Velux window poles are very good for opening it so you can reach the outside side. 3 - Have a way onto your roof, such that you can reach your skylight. 4 - Have a "Scottish" skylight which reverses so that you can do it from the inside. If such exist. See 2. 5 - Put a patterned stick-on on the inside, of the sort used when Mr Planner says it must prevent overlooking. The filth and dead magpies will not be seen (by you !). 6 - Have a regular window cleaner. 7 - Use the direct approach like @Declan52: My choice would be to design in access or reachibility if possible. F

Would welcome your comments to see if I can improve my practice. Now I always fit single lever ‘nudgeable’ mixer taps to rentals .. operating like this one at home, though not necessarily as expensive a model .. on the basis that they can be operated without grip and with less fine motor control using a single hand. And that such tenants need something as easy to use as possible, and that they are nicer anyway provided they are robust and dependable. In your opinion is there any better option eg for your condition as it progresses? I guess that at some point there will be taps which have sensors like the hand drying machines, and probably are already, or even voice control. “Alexa, wash up.” Cheers Ferdinand

If that's Hollywood, California the ruined walls will make it like the Alamo. Cool.

They had some not unlike these in the clearance auctions I have been mentioning on the "Offers" Featured Thread. They are clearing a soak.com something or other. I bought a £100 waterfall type wall mounted one for my bath for about £35. You could get one from there to put in your kitchen. You do not get the elephant nozzle, however. ISTM that waterfall wall-mounted taps from the bathroom could be a good idea for the cat. Credit: http://www.catbehaviour.net/why-does-my-cat-drink-from-the-tap.html F

I have this hankering to start a standalone blog, and maybe write an e-book. It needs thinking time. Back in a month or so, though I will keep an eye on messages.

So .... we have you and the Council. Which is which?

Russell >plonker Well @Patrick Rodney ? We are all pleased you are in one piece. I think you potentially have different safety issues than cutting it down. One issue is how it moves unexpectedly when you cut bits off. Breaking a leg is dead easy with a coupe of tons wobbling around. Others can probably advise better, but to hold it in place it has to e done from different directions or have a self-retensioning apparatus for when it moves. Are you actually sure it is 7 tons? Might it be less? No particular benefit, just a smaller elephant to eat with chopsticks. I would listen to @PeterW on this. He has worked as a tree man. We had a 90 footer blow down and just miss next doors’ bungalow roof years ago at the previous house (they have a sprinkling of different coloured tiles now). On that occasion a local chap said he would do it for the firewood. So we snapped his hand off, and left him to it. 4 days later... Best of luck. Ferdinand

I can see electric cars being compulsory when it becomes practical. And Buxton (or Bradford) will be to London as Shimla was to New Delhi. F

Great job.

I use the version of that without a humidistat, which I never seem to get on with. About 2/3 of the price. The only question I have on these is the throughput on boost in a shower room. But I will still use them. F

Welcome.

I now use ones with a constant low flow plus boost and timer rather than a backdraft shutter. I do this to provide a better background ventilated space in restored houses where a full MVHR cannot be justified, and trickle vents have been avoided because on principle they are a horrible thing to inflict on energy bills. Vent AxIa do these, and I would recommend. They are silent. I have swapped out a couple of HR units where Ts found the slight noise to be too much. My one comment would be to are sure that the boost extraction is enough, as wet rooms can be steamy places beyond expectations. VA also have some interesting auto response type fans. I have also used the Icon Airflow. One rented property has had one since perhaps 2012. They whirr slightly, but are Fine. They do however do bigger ones, and if you fit the wrong one you will know about it because you will be blown away. F

The best case I know of is the sea "dock" of Harlech Castle, which since the 12C has grown room for a golf course on land that has appeared as a result of the spring-back. Are there any others eg new Islands in Scotland? F