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Ferdinand

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Everything posted by Ferdinand

  1. Ferdinand
    Estate agents and their piccies ! The cliffs are 100m away on the other side of the A26. Sorry .. google maps not playing leapfrog.
  2. Ferdinand
    That number was off the floor plan. It is Gross Internal Area, but to a few percent it probably does not matter.
  3. Ferdinand
    Just in case anyone is wondering, I am relying on the terms in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which allows reproduction of copyright material for Criticism and Review. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright Ferdinand
  4. Ferdinand
    Core-Ten House at Lewes on the Market. Detailed article in Dezeen: https://www.dezeen.com/2016/06/27/south-street-sandy-rendel-lewes-sussex-architecture-contemporary-family-home-weathered-steel/ Article in Grand Design Magazine: https://www.granddesignsmagazine.com/grand-designs-houses/12-tv-house-post-industrial-new-build (Photo Credit Dezeen) Floorplans (Credit: The Modern House): SOUTH-STREET_LEWES_TMH-1.pdf Details: Lewes, East Sussex. 5 bed. Area: 257 sqm. Plot approx. 450sqm. Price:£1,950,000 Plot Price: £350,000 Build Cost: £700,000 Via Mad About the House and The Modern House. Sales Description excerpt (Credit: The Modern House): What do you think? Ferdinand
  5. Ferdinand
    Off to try Draftsight this morning, and @Onoff's idiot guide.Expect some questions on the thread over there! @Barney12 good suggestion. I think I will try myself this time as I will be needing to do more in future from time to time. F
  6. Ferdinand
    @recoveringacademic Good thread. On average we are all wrong most of the time :-). I genuinely do not understand how the American regulatory system for buildings works, except I expect it is at a State level since their climactic conditions vary as much as across the whole of Europe including to the Urals and down to the Sahara. Presumably building in Alaska is a bit different to building in Arizona or Texas. F
  7. Ferdinand
    Go on. Make your new worktop out of these glued together horizontally. I dare you. F
  8. Ferdinand
    @Russell griffiths Agree with the "need to learn" sentiment. The vid is both thought-provoking, and generally provoking. The chap seems to want to sell us his windows as the solution, while the problem is actually not the previous windows but poor detailing such as that directing water *behind* the Tyvek membrane. I think it doesn't actually tell us anything about materials, but about workmanship, design and maintenance. Do not have your house built by idiots that do not understand either the local conditions or how to build a house suitable for such. @recoveringacademic Disagree. The most exclusive parts of London are full of houses built using stucco and wooden windows, which are still perfectly sound 200 years later - even though many were generally just thrown up by the Barratts and WImpeys of their day. (*) You can argue aluminium clad for no maintenance but painted wood is fine if maintained. Though I am not sure how long a track record aluminium cladding can demonstrate. Can any experienced window-bod comment on the quality of his new installation system? There is also something about Yanks building houses for the short-term, rather than to last. In the UK the median house is 60-70 years old. In the US it is about 30. Look, for example, how much work has to be done to make Frank Lloyd-Wright houses last more than about 30 years. Ferdinand (*) Witness the wonderful reaction by metropolitan journalism-person Deborah Orr when her 18xx speculatively built house failed to maintain itself in 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/25/deborah-orr-roof-collapse-insurance https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jun/02/deborah-orr-roof-silent-disaster "My roof episode has taught me we need more decent insurers – and newspapers" (Er .. no .. we need fewer moronic silly homeowners who do not pay attention to their responsibilities) (Er .. no .. My roof episode has taught me we need more decent insurers – and newspapers
  9. Ferdinand
    What gorgeous stone walls!
  10. Ferdinand
    @TheMitchells - an example of what you can get away with. This is a joint added in my kitchen when we extended the run of units by one to create space for a range cooker further along, and found a worktop as close as possible. The new one is on the left. Even though you can see the small difference in the matched worktop - the pattern is virtually identical but to my eye the one on the left has more cream and purple in its base tones vs more white and slate grey on the right - in 3 years not one person visiting has noticed, even though it is next to the kettle and people look at it sometimes. I would say that the colour difference would even be within that which is tolerated between different runs of the same product, which highlights the importance of buying in one batch if absolute consistency matters. It is also helped by the visual break. If they were just butted up, even as a specialist wavy join, then I think it would be more noticeable. I would say trying to match the Corian exactly may be flagellating yourselves just because you happen to have inherited a horsewhip, by choosing the most demanding option. My order of preference might be: 1 - Contrasting material. 2 - Contrasting Corian (ie very different vs nearly the same) perhaps even black to pick up on the cooker colour or a single tone from the mottled Corian or elsewhere in the kitchen. Advantage of this is that the physical thickness should be easy to match exactly. 3 - Visual break. 4 - Exact colour match. (Note: It could be that colour consistency in Corian is perfect, in which case my analysis falls.) Ferdinand
  11. Ferdinand
    @TheMitchells Consider the option of making a virtue of the difference and making the breakfast bar out of a contrasting beautiful material. What about something like annealed glass or a different colour or texture Corian?
  12. Ferdinand
    Depending on the flooring there could be glue and all kind of nasties in it. If your stove has filters or catalytic converters in it that could do it some mischief, apart from potentially burning far too hot and damaging the stove. Back in the day we cracked a Jotul by burning stacks of plywood in it for years. That is in addition to setting fire to the wooden beam that the Jacobeans had thoughtfully built through the chimney... Ferdinand
  13. Ferdinand
    Sorry to hear that Jeremy. I am quite surprised that a permanent ban is within Council powers to implement, since you are patently entitled to the service as a Council Tax paying resident. But even if they can't do it, it becomes one of those unlawful acts by a local council which is extremely difficult to challenge.
  14. Ferdinand
    Thanks for all the comments. Will consider today and make a judgement. F
  15. Ferdinand
    Are there any lessons to be learned here from the mutual support that seems to happen best via our 'Norn Iron' region? (Depends on density of people, and also depends on translating anonymous internet identities to real life trusted relationships). F
  16. Ferdinand
    Can you recycle (am I right you are renovating not building)? I used my current lot to insulate under a suspended wooden floor in the same house using a staple gun (need good ventilation underneath), and for sound insulation inside stud walls - between rooms and against the neighbours. I used the previous lot to insulate the roof of a conservatory which was being turned into a garden room. If I was taking it to the tip I would borrow a box trailer, and not let it near the car. Ferdinand
  17. Ferdinand
    A couple of days ago I said I was buying a plastic shed for storage and would report back. It is here and built now, and I am very impressed. The shed is from a company called Keter, and is their range called Factor (more expensively they also do Fusion which is prettier, and Oakland which can be painted). It incorporates a steel from which I can hang (14 st) and do pull ups (would not try if 18st). I went for a 8'6" by 11' (external) version, but there is a range of sizes. Internal clear dimensions are approx 6-7* less ie an 8x4 sheet won't quite fit across. I paid £699 (list price £1200, normal selling price is £899 from eg Wickes and Argos), which compares OK to my 2 most recent wooden pent-roof-workshop (ie big windows one side) 8'x6' sheds, which were £800 (new, built by supplier, included catflap, leaked first winter) and £450 (ex demo, built by supplier, did not leak). Pros of Keter Factor - Very strong. - Built by Handyman in under a day. He says he would like one himself for the motorbike. - Likely to be durable. Comes with I think a 10 or 15 year guarantee. - Shelves and brackets available in their system. - Double doors - in this one more than 4' wide. - Sufficient light comes in through the window and clear panel along the ridge during the day. - Probably relatively straightforward to dismantle and remantle somewhere else. Cons - I have a slight concern about damage to the plastic from sharp items. I may be wrong but I have a loose laid OSB floor in there just in case. - A shed not really (in my view) a workshop. - Not sure about attaching things to the shed itself. Personally I would use freestanding storage etc. I may just be being cautious, but I will not be testing what happens if you drill lots of holes in it. - As with most sheds, it will get hot in the sun. It was very hot yesterday, though there are a couple of vents. Notes - Requires a good base as it slots, clicks and bolts together .. ideally a slab, but I used heavy pavers on raked gravel since it will be a patio when the shed moves. Wickes and others also do a different type called Amber Skylight, which reviews far less well on various websites, and I would avoid. That Keter range is worth a look imo, if it matches your application. Ferdinand (Photos to follow)
  18. Ferdinand
    I need to do a bit of CAD this weekend, and I am not currently up to speed with any package. It relates to a change of use application for an industrial unit, and my Planning Consultant has advised that a sketch plan on graph paper on this application does not look polished enough and may be an 'in practice' reason why the Council may refuse to validate the application and request more information. What I need to do will be: 1 - Pull in OS mapping purchased online as a layer/background. Currently I have this background as a PDF. 2 - Draw extra bits (eg car park layout). 3 - Have the appearance of a 'professional drawing' when printed out - Frame, Scale, Notes etc. I do not need exact precision on the drawing, just not to trip a Validation elephant trap. 4 - I might want a couple of library elements - eg row of oblique parking spaces - though such can be drawn. Can anyone recommend? Time to do the job will be short, since I have about 8-10 queries to resolve. Cheers Ferdinand
  19. Ferdinand
    How do I dispose of a worn out pruning saw? I am thinking that wrap up in newspaper or cardboard and put in the general waste may be the way, but it has an 18" blade and could still do damage. Is it one for the Council Tip as a "separate"? Cheers
  20. Ferdinand
    I thought this might be a useful thread to have around for the same question on different things.
  21. Ferdinand
    I find that I don't need enough mint that I can actually smell it.
  22. Ferdinand
    We discussed how to keep well insulated houses cooler during the heatwave on a thread last month. I think I have about the best solution for ours until I find a solar film suitable for the outside of our roof windows which will reduce the solar heating significantly. That is without the higher-tech solutions other members have installed. It is create a stack effect by opening a shaded north side window or door on the ground floor (eg in the shaded conservatory), cracking a roof window by 4-6". Then I can direct the (noticeable) current by opening certain doors. One corollary of that is that in future when I renovate houses by adding DG I will make sure that there are least *some* opening toplights and that they have a lockable "ventilation position", so that cross-ventilation can be set up in a secure manner if the Tenants are eg in the back garden or out, or overnight. Ferdinand
  23. Ferdinand
    @jackI use mint, having no insect screens or mosquito nets. 4-6 sprigs (say 8-12") in a bottle or vase on the sill in rooms which are often most often open to outside. We have one in the conservatory and one in the kitchen. Strip the lower leaves, and these can be used themselves in several ways (look up on tinternet). When the sprigs grow mini roots they are no longer effective, so plant them back into the mint bed to build the stock and get some more. One lot will last 2 weeks or so. It makes a significant difference for us in the number of insects coming in so we have given a whole raised bed over to mint. I am guessing the mechanism is that the aromatic scent will deter insects from entering - which says you may need to try for a few weeks to see the difference. Try it and see. @recoveringacademic can have a mint pot in his winter garden :-). Other plants may also work, but none are so easy to grow. Apparently if you chew a mint leaf before going to bed it helps deter mosquitos, and perhaps your roast-lamb loving beloved will be even more passionate than usual. Ferdinand
  24. Ferdinand
    So what happens in still weather ?
  25. Ferdinand
    That looks like lovely stuff. A little dig suggests £45 per sqm or thereabouts. It seems to weigh about 1 tonne per sqm when used as cladding: http://www.woodtrend.co.uk/Cladding/IPE-CLADDING And there is space for appalling anti-Yorshire puns ("pronounced ee-Pay"). How long will it last without maintenance? F
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