Ferdinand

Back on. So I'll try and dig up what I had ready last time in order to post it :-). It depends (of course) on what you are retaining - especially the height. I can confirm @daiking's paver battered slightly back arrangement from Paving Expert works well for 1-2ft. These pictured below are retaining a garden level which is about 12-18" higher than the pavement, and are standard 3x2 (I think) dimpled concrete pavers - 1970s version (as opposed to knobbly style 1950s Pressed Council Slabs). They were put in in about 1970 at the house I grew up in and still seem fine. I think one thing that might help clarify your options is to decide whether you want to do it in one step or two. I would guess that they are simply haunched in concrete. Interesting that they have not been disturbed significantly by the contemporaneous evergreen hedge (is not Lleylandii - something more civilised). Ferdinand

I would say to have a look at astroturf for an area - very good in a small garden or play area. I inherited some and I have been surprised. I was reacting slightly to the relatively open piccie posted by @Stones - which to be fair will look very different in a few years. Round here we still have various old hedges on our lane from when it was fields, and it is interesting how 6ft hedges are fairly denuded of small birds in the evenings, but the occasional 10ft bush may have a score of sparrows roosting in it. Then the Council trims its hedges and takes the bush down to 6-7ft and the sparrows all move down the road to the next one. For muckaway have you got to pile all your muck at the front, or can they reverse onto where your drive/garage are, and use their telescopic grab to save you all that barrowing? On your landscaping, I wonder whether using either some of your hardcore, rubble or subsoil to be a firm base for your garden buildup (and keep it out of the skip) would let you use a less extensive retaining structure. One other possibility is to use landscaping / soil retaining fabric - eg Geocell - on the surface or deeper down than usual to provide a matrix. Around here they sometimes used that type of layering to construct those pregnant-looking hills over old coalmines). I think a very early Grand Designs did that - the one built just off the traffic island with the water tower. They used it to retain a grass bank. (In case the Youtube time index does not work below, Kevin Mcloud being introduced to Terram and things in 1999 is at 37:28. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6zRMY0Lmqc&t=37:28 ) Ferdinand

I had a set of instructions for a plastic shed build to read today. It s a mahoosive Mechano kit and seems incredibly strong. Will report back. So I did it over an extended pub lunch.

I am a great believer in thickets for birds, especially occasional bushes which are 8-12 ft for roosting. We had a good clear out of our garden at home a couple of ears ago, and this year they are just coming back in decent numbers.

If you have PP you are already a long way down the road. Question: Does fitting a supply constitute Start of Development? And if so are there things in Scotland you need to have in place first? In England you need the self-build Community Infrastructure Levy Exemption in place first. Ferdinand

Welcome. It is good to have pros and trades on board. Not sure about land in London.

Another one lined up for later after watering the garden. It is actually quite mild after a Fog Cutter. It would be nice doing a Culprit Fey with full units of Cointreau, Creme de Menthe, Gin, Pournot and Cream rather than half-units, mind. Paint situation now resolved, though. Dulux Diamond Eggshell for the kitchen, and a selection of Dulux Easycares for the rooms which will suffer from children. F

Seriously. I log in on a Sunday morning, and it is all suddenly in Chinese. I have a rubber mallet, and it is very good for ice.

What is Dulux Endurance like? B&Q appear to have them reduced by about 60-80% to clear. http://www.diy.com/search?Ntt=dulux+endurance Add: Suspect this may be a website zombie that does not exist. Had this with B&Q before. Add2: And what about Dulux Easycasre, which is claimed to be 20 times tougher than normal. Currently 3 for 2 at Wickes: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Decorating+Interiors/Paint/Dulux/c/1001114?q=%3AtopSellers%3Abrand%3ADulux%3AType%3ADurable+Emulsion&text=# F (mutter, mutter ... too complicated)

Adding a relevant question. I need a scrubbable paint to use in a kitchen over an emulsion which is coming off when marks are removed. Will the B&Q Valspar be OK for that? F

Is that a gap in the far gable at the top where you have not finished that brick yet? Or am I being too deprecating, and Norfolk has a strange breed of pidgeon with a triangular a**e? (Good video)

If it is between surfaces which are separated by corners, then your lighting may cause bigger differences than paint shades of the same colour. There are also useful games that can be played with bringing ceilings visually lower etc, increasing reflected light etc. For your newly plastered ceilings It may be a good idea to let it dry out for a bit with a contract paint, then redo it with something like eh Wickes flexible ceiling paint or similar which will help cover any hairline cracks as the skim settles. Ferdinand

They put a big watermain through the fields where we used to live. Did something wrong and drained a poor bloke's fishing lake from below. It took the best part of a decade to resolve.

PS DOes this mean you can do that wonderful side garden where the pipeline isn't anymore?

Hope he had an 'if the earth moves' clawback in his plot purchase agreement ! Or hopefully it was the original developer who had that plot and picked up the liability. In that situation I might try and turn the primary frontage through ninety degrees and argue it faced the side road, or put my gravelled parking where the pipeline is - topography allowing.

So you can put a Yuuuuge (copyright: Trump) shed in the back corner :-) That is a big reduction for your neighbour.

Welcome back :-). I will be interested to see how it goes from here.

We had a lot of that, and also in objections, as there was a lot of pre/post war ribbon development along our site - even though only 3 gardens actually touched it.

Presumably the person selling the tiles ... . My last job was a fixed price including the kitchen. My one before that was ideal ... import a good with detail relative who is a good tiler and stand there handing out tiles and cups of tea.

Anyhoo. In terms of disagreement and abuse, I have had a bit of gyp which has been difficult and will continue to be awkward, and a bit of disagreement which has continued to be disagreement but without damaging relationships. I think it comes partly to whether a loss can be mitigated, and continuing attitudes. If someone genuinely loses something or real value to them - eg a view over fields - then it can be damaging forever because it is a loss in front of their (or in different circumstances, my) eyes every day. If there is a personal animosity which develops, then that can be far worse. Ferdinand

Unless they get to the dictionary I will have no idea what they mean. *innocent face*

can we add GFAM and FOAD and GSAS to the acronym dictionary?

Locations would help?

Wickes 50% off all Cuprinol Garden - 2 for 1 Wickes have an offer until Monday for 2 for 1 on all Cuprinol garden products. http://www.wickes.co.uk/spotlight/Cuprinol-2016 There is also a JUNE17 10% off voucher code, which is worth a try at online checkout. Or the usual 10-20% Trade / Gift Card reductions should stack. This looks like a good 'un if you want Cuprinol. If it operates in store that will be 60% off at the checkout for me, which is likely to be a good deal better than elsewhere. I think you can mix and match identically priced items. F

Excellent philosophy, Mark. If you want to reflect gradually then a set of topic based blogs would be really valuable for future visitors. Ask one of the admin team for a blog. Mine is about "Details". Then have an "update" thread which you update on the forum each time, so people notice. Aim to learn and help others learn from what you think were mistakes, and some might turn out to be decisions of genius. Was the extra expenditure: Gold plating that you or the architect added? Things that you underestimated? Elephant traps that suddenly appeared (eg ground conditions requiring expensive foundations or flocks of bats)? Planning type stuff or consultant costs? You set me off to look at at "The Medic House" by AR Design and I admit as done there they seem to me (personal opinion) to have missed some important details (eg seem to have created 2 brand new bedrooms in the flat roofed 'pod' that never get any sunlight - driven by a decision to use Permitted Development not Planning Permission?). May do a blog about it. Ferdinand