Ferdinand

Were something to be done via BH, another issue will be where to get the infrastructure. I that informal + trust may work as a 'trial' - though perhaps the various efforts for @recoveringacademic may count as testing the individual action impulse (imo proven), though not coordination. The question then is whether and how to organise something around here, or by borrowing a platform. There is nothing to say we couldn't use one of the established crowd-funding platforms as our "outsourced admin" - that then comes down to reliability of the platform and cost of using it. Were we to look for a wider initaitive, things as available such as building our own platform or organisation (overheads?), collaborating with an existing setup, or other option. Possibilities could include forming or piggybacking on a Credit Union or Peer to Peer investment organisation. But I do not think we really have the scale of numbers yet, and the better option would be using an existing Crowd Finding platform to manage each project would be the most flexible practical at present. Due to too much going on at present, I would sit this out for now.

AIUI peer to peer funding setups gain their 'insurance' by one or more of : 1 - Splitting an investment across a number of loans. 2 - Putting a small levy aside into a pooled fund to repay losses. 3 - Use of guarantors for borrowers (eg Amigo). 4 - Securing against property (eg Folk2folk, who limit the loan to 50% of value and roughly match one lender to one borrower. They already do self-build, as we know from @Grosey.). I think the record so far is on the whole quite good. ISTM that the challenges here are: 1 - Deciding where we are on the altruistic ... commercial scale. Different in each case? What return is expected if any? 2 - Getting a balance between complexity of admin and size of each stake. 3 - Being more effective than other sources. At present it is probably more effective cost-wise to take a 1-2% mortgage or balance transfer credit card in most circumstances. 4 - Capacity. Ferdinand

Upthread I said I was now going for Livyn Luxury Vinyl tiles from Quick-Step. After a visit to B&Q this morning to buy a pack of "badoingg" door-stops that has now changed back to Quick-Step Uniclic Laminate, as they had a pile of 12 of the 1.7 sqm packs of the Andante Oak high end stuff at £4.00 per pack for clearance, that is about £2.25 per sqm. That was pure luck and going in lots of times, and just the one branch. I think that is a pricing error and they meant £14.00, which is a price I have seen before a couple of times. i think there more opportunities with this B&Q Flash Sale strategy that has been running for about 6 months. I have been playing hide and seek with B&Q flash sales on flooring all summer, and missed at least 3 by a matter of days. Perhaps we need a thread to talk about B&Q a little more - they seem more competitive more often on more areas than previously (eg sheet materials, flooring), and have a lot more opportunities for good savings than previously. It is interesting to compare the Quick-Step with the equivalent top own brand product. Photos are on a phone, so not quite as clear as could be. QS are far more varied, and even have a cross-ribbed texture which simulates saw-cut feel.From my sample, B&Q still seem to be playing with variable graining. Quick-Step B&Q Ferdinand

Just an OT note at @JSHarris' comment. There has been political talk of keeping pensioners paying NI, as a way of redressing the alleged generational impbalance. Whatever your view, keep a weather eye on it. I think something like that will happen in the next 10 years; there is a lot of unnuanced campaigning on this issue, and they want changes and symbols.

Since you said you were going to Dungeness, we expect a photo...

Sorry to hear this @ProDave.

OT possibly. In England a chest of gold coins would be referred to the Coroner then the Treasure Valuation Committee under the Treasure Act 1996. I think in practice it is split usually. Perhaps a private agreement may affect the monies afterwards. There is a 75k word Code of Practice all about it :-). In Scotland it is Common Law I think. Not sure what that would mean.

Can something be added to the S and C to make it more flexible etc. Wondering about something as simple as PVA or Rubber Solution glue. I have used it mixed in as part of eg a hearth slab where a doc was difficult. I have no idea how effective it was but the suggestion was by a hoary old architect. F

Who would be asked? Would that be a direct import or a bulk buy such as container load? I am not sure what the margins are.

If you are using sand/cement this chappie says sweeping brush. That looks like the texture for pancake mixture.

The sale may be home delivery only, but there should be the product to look at. Uniclic are the ones with the blue square logo ... or that is how the BnQ chap said to find them :-). F

Can we have a photo of you doing the test?

@Nickfromwales Can the uniclic take stiletto heels?

Just a note that B&Q have their Quick-Step Livyn Luxury Vinyl Uniclic tiles at £22 per sqm for the next week. I will be switching to these from the Laminate version I was planning to use. I have samples and it is an excellent product imo.

The room is not especially large for self-build, but you could split the vaulted ceiling into two reflecting the areas to bring it down a little if you need. Ferdinand

Yep .. ideal for what you needed.

I still *want* one Anyone out there wanting to play with DGPS and some Raspberry PIs? Or I need an X-ray Total Station.

18 dollars only seems to cover one month would be the downside. Good for a hit and run. I want one that can draw plans from GPS by touching walls and corners with the puter

I am depressed that the Pobble House is named after the Kentish for Pebble rather than "the Pobble who has no toes" by Edward Lear. Have these people no standards? http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ll/pobble.html

What is the minimum height you need, and can there be a gap - say 200mm - below, on the basis that overspray will be high not low usually? I am wondering about tall bath screens, which have the hinge only construction. The one I just put in was 1500mm high by 850mm.

Add. I think the longest ever Grand Designs self-build project (10+ years?) used huge planks of wood as giant overlapping shingles. But he had his own forest, so you may need to schmooze someone with lots of wood. PS Be interested in the detail for the bottom of those posts. Usually they would be on mini-pillars or hunks of stone.

@Visti I don't see how say a waterproof membrane under the wood would be that expensive. I am not sure what effect you want but there are plenty of options for a "vertical bar" or "continuous" effect over the roof. eg and you will need to find out how it was done, 1 - The Grand Designs High Wycombe Core-Ten house had continuous Core-Ten over the pitched roof. There is no reason why similar could not be done with anodised aluminium or sheet metal. 2 - If you want a vertical texture you could use tiles or slates to give a pattern / texture. eg Small black pantiles or Romans, or mixed coloured slates / tiles arranged in bands. 3 - You could do in coloured box-profile or similar metal roof. 4 - There are a whole series of pitched roof houses with similar roofs on the Dungeness peninsula, including one covered in black rubber, one done in vertical black wood etc. Piccies below for 5 of these. These are all publicity-seeking-architect designed (identified at the links), so you should be able to get some technical details off the net. Spend a weekend down there, and have a wander knocking on some doors with a folder of your plans in hand. Some will be delighted to talk. While you are at it visit the wonderfully idiosyncratic collecton of village churches on Romney Marsh ... a great experience, and the WW1 "Sound Mirror" 'radars'. EDPM sheet. Presumably airtight https://www.dezeen.com/2013/08/25/black-rubber-beach-house-by-simon-conder-associates/ Stained wood https://www.dezeen.com/2016/01/06/north-vat-house-rodic-davidson-architects-dungeness-beach-kent-england/ Think this was on George Clark's Small Spaces. Wood and Fibreboard - Pobble House. https://www.dezeen.com/2014/07/28/pobble-house-dungeness-guy-hollaway/ Nearly flat wooden roof https://www.dezeen.com/2013/08/25/el-ray-at-dungeness-beach-by-simon-conder-associates/ Shingle House. Roof clad in tarred shingles. https://www.dezeen.com/2010/12/06/shingle-house-by-nord-architecture/ 5 - Take a look at the wooden Nave Roofs and Tower Roofs of Stave Churches or wooden windmills (eg Chinner near you). That is not vertical but is certainly vernacular. Ferdinand (Picture links removed, as Dezeen seem not to like it) (*)

For info my Wagner Project Pro 119, which is a £600 machine, runs at up to 200 bar and has a maximum specified nozzle size of 0.019". For the job you are contemplating I wouldn't bother unless you are looking for an excuse to play. It will take most of a day to get used to it before you touch the job. Given the area I would either use a roller or a wallpaper paste or dibbing brush.

Tape strong building plastic sheet across the first couple of joists before you put your planks or sheets down.

Reporting back, today I took a few pics of the A-Frames we ended up with. The verticals are about 2.1m high (ie lower than roof of shed for storage), and the horizontals are 2.4m. Once both sides have screws on it will hold about two dozen lengths of skirting. The extra vertical is for shorter lengths. It folds flat (2.1m x 2.4m x ~100mm !) to take to the shed, and *could* be dismantled. The important points were the brace for which we just screwed an angled timber, and that the horizontals are on the inside leg of the A so it folds OK. Ferdinand