Ferdinand

Wonder If Oxfordshire is the sort of place to ban wood stoves when the pollution numbers hit the media? I did notice that Kevin McCloud mentioned Thermal Mass himself as one of the properties of Hemcrete (Hempcrete). I suspect that the different bastardised spelling has to do with Trademarks but I am linguistically scarred by the P in Hampster Dance (which I will not post), so cannot insert one in Hemcrete. In practice it looks to be reminiscent of the ‘set shredded wheat’ in Durisol. Is it? I have a Durisol block in my conservatory, but have never seen Hem_crete. I think there is a lot to be said for doing as much as possible yourself, even in these technical times. Having run a few numbers, I make Cork Bark insulation roughly 4x as expensive as Celotex per amount of insulative function provided. That is just based on u-value per ££. I do think that KM could be asking a few more pointed questions eg “How will you keep that water tank safe from Legionnaires’ disease?”. Ferdinand

I am sure that the distinction will pass the Council by should someone complain. And work going on at x time is something far easier to decide upon, whereas a noise complaint is something that takes months to gather evidence. Personally, I think there would perhaps be more loss from extra attention later when you are working quietly inside (if you have good window it would be a good soundblock) compared to the loss by grinning and bearing it now. Based on how English Councils would probably operate imo. F

I meant £30. @pocster forgot I had offered him £2 on Gumtree. Just do it and see ,-) Anyhoo 15 squid is 15 squid, anyway.

And that £1.02 was me, as disclosed previously...

that depends whether your customer knows they can get a new one for under £100. ? Stick it on eBay with decent photos and detail of the hinge and closure mechanisms, this Saturday, with 99p reserve, on a 7 day auction, and see what happens. Specify in the text where it is to village level. I’d guess you would get about 15x @pocster‘S current assessed value for his roof windows. Ferdinand

For lack of awareness of lifecycle sustainability I can't better the Extinction Rebelliion type (presumably an epitome for them) interviewed on Sky last weekend. Gentle prodding revealed that she commuted into London from "my house in the Netherlands" on Eurostar, and that what she was going to save them all was Eurostar rather then the previous flying habit, and trying to stop anyone in London going about their business with ER. Presumably there also exists a pied-a-terre in London. Meanwhile, Dutch emissions per person seem to be nearly double ours (10.3 vs 5.7 tonnes of C02), and the reduction since 1990 in C02 for the Netherlands is actually *up* by nearly 10%. Yes - Rotterdam etc but it is not *that* significant. Ferdinand

Nooooooooooo. Digger. So much to learn; so much fun to have. F

The Triangle - ie McCloud's firt HAB development - is built from Hemcrete. Go and find the special for that one. Here he is enthusiing about Hemcrete:

I would consider doing rads at the same time as boiler. They may be reasonably priced, and all the gunge could just end up killing your nice new boiler. F

Short of taking them to Appeal, a professional report or threatening to take them to Appeal can help. F

Since post saver cost about £1-£2 each, the difference is not really material, even if the other solution is free. F

Not necessarily - you could just have a variable gap underneath. Or dig out one side. Or put a suitable threshold on, and work to that level. Treat it as a fun opportunity to play with a digger for a day. F

Correct but they all do that. And all the headline stuff is a bucket of bollocks. Back in the 1990s (?) Magnet switched from a price to list to a "everything discounted by x% - might have been a third or a half - off catalogue price" system. In two quarterly lists, everything increased in price by the reciprocal of the new discount. Wish I had kept them. Ferdinand

If you only have a couple to do, there is a consumer kit which comes with a catering blowtorch. Quite a nice little blowtorch with an integrated spark. This would be the one for you. The stuff comes on a roll rather than pre made to defined size. https://www.postsaver-shop.co.uk/special-offer--includes-5-meters-of-wrap--tack-and-hand-torch-save--5-price-including-vat-2999-48-p.asp You then make lots of creme brulees and seared steaks to use up the stuff. Or build a fence. I have the bigger kit because when I do fences I do a lot, and you get about £75 of gubbins for about £50. Do NOT buy these from a retailer as they will cost more than double. Ferdinand

Stair climbing wheelchairs do exist. This one looks a bit tasty.

Absolutely the point where they rot, so... P-P-Pickup a Postsaver (as used by Network Rail). More detailed version on the blog: Or use a fencing repair spurt just to keep wood off the ground entirely. That is my norm for garden stuff if the post is wooden. All sorts of other good ideas, like 50:50 diesel/motor oil, or charring the bottom, or traditional creosote. F

I have seen them but never used one. F

There is an argument for filling post holes with rammed gravel round the posts to stop rotting (Yanks like it, I understand), rather than deliberately seeking to rot the post as quickly as possible by setting it in concrete, but that probably comes under something that would confuse this thread unecessarily ?. F

Presumably the next step is for the security testers to send an email round saying "don't click" with a link to "why not to click", and see who does so.

It's that disembodied hand again - are you the Munsters (or that might be the Addams)? Here's hoping that it doesn't goose the postman. That reminds me of one of my favourite plumbing-sounding words: Prebend. A prebendary is not something done to you before you get an invoice from the Council. It is: Having made the obligatory extend-onoff's-thread contribution, I can begin my day. F

I wonder if the number has been ppublished, or could be an FOI. Interesting little article in the Guardian from Spring 2018, lots of number. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/feb/10/custom-self-build-housing-graven-hill It is interesting that McCloud's own company has retreated from this level of *self*-build, and gone custom, with a lot of the build process in house. F

I would think Gravenhill will have paid perhaps 10-25% of that, depending on the Planning Status, with a complementary overage clause and equation. Or it may be that little comes through for the Council until the sale of each plot. The MoD may have a similar arrangement. It will depend where the project investment cashflow comes from; they will have spend 10s of millions by the time they got anything back, which will have been laid off somewhere. Opinion from @Mr Punter and @PeterWwill be welcome. Information may perhaps be gleaned from the accounts of the company and the Council - the council will not break it out, but it will be so dominant as to be a sore thumb. F Ferdinand

That would be as little as possible ?. A very complicated question depending on the status of the land, as the land value is the thing the absorbs the variations. This post on valuation from Strategic Land Partners is interesting: https://strategiclandgroup.co.uk/2017/03/13/the-essential-guide-how-much-is-my-site-worth/ eg from that post say you get PP for 5% fewer houses on an estate of 140 average selling price 140k, and costs increase 5%. Residual land value swings 30%. Ferdinand

Been rereading about that. It was: Interestingly the Windsor Fire cost £60m in restoration in today’s money. F

You do not mention Planning Gain, or S106. That could be 20% or more of your "land value with Planning Permission". Crucial will be whether you have to pay, and with what phasing. Nor do you mention "Local Plan", or your plot's status. You need an intimate knowledge of how your Council approaches serviced plots in terms, of Outline and Detailed Planning, Obligation, and Financial Phasing. They may well not have a policy yet, so you need to help them create one that works for all sides. F