Ferdinand

HOw are you finding this? The secondhand prices of the early ... 2014 ... ones are beginning to look attractive. F

I would line the retaining wood, but fold over the top to prevent moisture running down the back. I assume you will be stopping the lining a little above the bottom of the retaining planks. I have usually just used a staple gun to attach. On drainage, I would also line the gap at the base of the retaining planks with half bricks or gravel or similar .. like crocks at the bottom of a plant pot. Just to make sure that water has a rapid escape route ... depending slightly on the nature of the soil you use. With this type of structure eg for a raised patio I also sometimes knock round fence posts in on the outside say 100mm rounds and screw back through into the planks using timbascrews of 125mm. THat would tie in the design as rustic like your fence, and also gives the opportunity for a parapet should one be needed by using longer posts. I do that to prevent bulging should the soil become heavy with water. If such posts rot after say a decade it is a work of minutes to add a couple of new ones, and cut the old ones off at the base, removing the screws. Your cross braces may be adequate however. Do you plan to colour the planters to match the house? Ferdinand

Probably do it bit by bit, documented at the each stage, and call it repairs. Building Regs will apply, of course, as you are repairing thermal elements. And check the spec of your back door and where the internal/external threshold ends up.

Out cat popped its clogs last autumn, and is now in the bamboo bed tickling Erwin Schrödinger with a garden cane. We are hoping the bamboo will grow as tall as the cat used to be able to jump before it reached 19.

I use things called LIFF Limebeater 2 in-line devices, which say they are electrolytic in mechanism. As opposed to LIFF Limefighters, which claim to be magnetic. Not as complete a solution as salt-based things I think, but I have found they provide some significant benefit with our water over a number of years. Cost around £30 from the more competitive Ebay suppliers, and so can be swapped routinely every few years. I use them in tandem with Surestop off-switches-for-water in all my rentals, as at least one person on BH has reported that Surestop may be vulnerable to scale - and the total cost is far less than a fraction of the cost of even one serious leak every 15 years. @swisscheeseKeep away from historical films about Romans, or you may end up bathing in asses' milk. That would be interesting. Ferdinand

Good advice. That is the kind of "circumnavigate the problem" idea that I like.

The best barrow I ever had was a ball barrow, but the chap went into hoovers. Best of luck.

On the barrow, to me it looks a bit too budget, and I might get two .. or go for something styled builder's barrow. But at £25 you will not have lost too much, and it might well suffice.

May not be applicable but if you have solid floors you could consider a hose pipe plus shovel if there is a lot lot lot of it. Or even a jet washer. This is from experience of a flock of geese living in a stable where the floor would gain inches of compressed goose poo at a rate of knots. Ducks were worse, but not much worse.

TO find a custom maker, try EBay. You will need to do a bit of due-dil but there are good companies on there. However, personally I would hinge the door off the wall as suggested. I would also make it at most 1.842m high to avoid having to flap around with chopped off corners .. I think 6 ft high is plenty ... works fine in my alcove shower with a gap across the top. Personally though I would leave the 2nd panel off altogether and have a single fixed panel (800mm wide maybe) and an overhead brace, walking in around the side, or a single door and a gap. But I hate moving parts in shower enclosures as they get horribly skanky and sometimes wear out or break. Ferdinand

My local BM sells an identical barrow for builders, gardeners and Hyacinth Bouquet at increasing prices in different colours. Quite funny.

A plan of your shower room would help, and details of heights and position if the wand shower etc. Amd welcome. Rgds Ferdinand

Welcome @Fredd to the forum. I quite like your slightly provocative approach and look forward to some vigorous debate. I have an interest in keeping costs down and encouraging self-builders at lower price points, and I hope to come back later on with a couple of questions. Ferdinand

I do not have much relevant experience except that 1 My dad bought enough Cuplok to do the entire side of a Victorian Mill, then kept part of it for 25 years for use at home. EVen back in the 1980s the savings were huge. 2 The only time I hired scaffolding to have a roof done, it was much cheaper as part of the package. if you have a contractor there throughout that might be an option. Ferdinand

This is one of *those* questions, with only one answer. It really is personal choice and your own risk vs cost vs benefit assessment.

Replied.

If you send BACS to the wrong place it will be your responsibility since you issued the instruction; and while the bank may get it back they may not depending on what the mistaken recipient has done with the cash. The situation is now somewhat improved in some cases in that banks etc will return money from an account without needing permission from the mistaken recipient. Personally I detest BACS ever since, despite always sending a £10 part payment first to check and set up the correct details on the system, I rushed one time ant a lot of money to the wrong place. I got it back but I avoid at nearly all costs now.

I have not read the plans in detail, but one of the advantages of a half-landing staircase is that when you have older people to stay (or you are older yourself because you could never face another self-build after this one), you can put a chair in the corner of the half landing, and have a rest half way.

Welcome. I forecast lots of responses.

Thanks for the reply @MikeSharp01.

Just checking that is a fan not a balanced flue? Going over your own land is the only answer. Fortunately they are easy to redesign slightly :-).

Is this a good time to reread "The Mythical Man Month?" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959

Dodgy? Us? Perish the thought. At 30mm I think you should probably be fine. Do you need the space to store a sheet of plywood?

I had a visit from a retired teacher this week, who wanted advice on replacing a single glazed old conservatory with something new, and how to find a builder. My points: 1 - Build an extension with a real roof not a conservatory. Seasonality of conservatories. 2 - Local word of mouth recommendation for a builder. It is a little too far to recommend a builder. 3 - It may not require PP depending on the distance from the boundary. Is there anything better I could have said? One complication - that one side of the conservatory is moderately close to a boundary. We were playing "the one that got away" games to try and decide how far, and she was concerned that planning permission may be needed. But I think that if an extension needed PP so would a conservatory. Ferdinand

Thanks for the reply - nice to see threads wrapped-up.