Ferdinand

Is it framed as a recommendation or an instruction? If the former you can ignore it anyway, at a slight risk of Council nose being put out of joint. I ignored the "Beech or Oak" recommendation and went for a Pryus Chanticleer for my new TPO tree. If it is an instruction i think you will get away with it anyway. But imo there are many better things to use that are less gloomy than Laurel. And Laurel is a bugger to maintain eventually, and gets leggy. If you want something different with big shiny leaves, you could try Myrtle, which is also salt-fast. But also imo gloomy. Ferdinand

On topic: One probem imo is that paybacks can be relatively long term. I think that @AliG has something in saying that Double Glazing and Central Heating have now become essentials for most people. Around here it is very significantly more difficult to let out such properties unless you are well-down the market. I can see decent EPC numbers and other items developing that way. It just takes a generation to bed in. Our rate of newbuild of 1/3 of eg Germany doesn't help either. I think the energy explanations have political factors too, which obscure the common sense rationality. Energy is relatively cheap. Energy is required to be portrayed as expensive because people need to prove that a market-based-as-possible system doesn't work, in order to justify their renationalisation dogmas. I think what will happen is that we will get a huge moral panic, then the politicians will mandate whatever flippity-flappity-flop idea from Think Tank 642 has their attention that week, and we will have to live with a less worse, but half-baked, solution. See EPCs and rental regulation for examples of the process. It needs differential Stamp Duty, and perhaps a small but niggling "nudge" discount on property taxes .. say 10% for very good houses, down to 2% for better than average. And somehow to bring visibilty to efficiency stuff in the rental market. Off topic: Ditto railways. It is also like Zero Hour contracts being required to be evil for political purposes, despite the inconvenient fact that about 70% of people on them repeatedly poll as saying they like them. @recoveringacademic Unfortunately not in the mainstream media. Beeboid website stirring up about the Emma Watson "seethrough blouse on Vanity Fair Cover" this week, first in their Trending section and then with wee Emma rabbiting on about heaven knows what. Except it just wasn't true, and you just had to see the VF website display of the cover for a nice fashionable blouse. BBC idiots. I can't claim that they made it up, because that would require the people to have sufficient competence to make it up. I am going to get some comments for that last one, aren't I? Ferdinand

Yep :-). Though ours sort of "piled" rather than hedged. Perhaps there are bush varities. it also goes up walls by leaning on them rather than self attaching. Half a dozen plants will create the most marvellous "thicket" after 10 years. It can take a bit to get going ... ours at the new house 3 years on in poor soil are doing OK but need perhaps 4-5 more to fill the gaps they are in. After a couple of decades we would leave it for 5 years then take out a few of the branches 5-10ft back. Alternative to beech is hornbeam if you have a really heavy soil.

This is unfortunately outside my ken. Would love to do something like that. I do know if takes *years* to sort out if it gets in a tangle with the Water Company. Friend did have a large pond or 3 (to the extent that people came around on spec asking for fishing lakes after Google spotting), and a new water main going through somehow damaged it and it drained. Took 5+ years to obtain a resolution. Would quite like to know what the limitations on eg boating is if it suddenly catches protected wildlife.

Aucuba could be a good alternative to laurel. I think informal and mixed is a good idea, even as bushes behind a formal hedge. You can always add an interesting climber into your hedge. Personally I think holly is wonderful. Our old place had a lot of holly planted years ago, and there were areas up to about 25 feet plus. How it grows depends very much on conditions. How you feed it can make a huge difference. Perhaps there is something to be said by buying from a nursery with simular or worse conditions to your location? For protection I am partial to Gorse (esp. near the sea) or Pyracantha. In the new (lane in town place) we have planted pryacantha and variegated holly more as gap fillers behind low stone walls. Potted is interesting to pay for if you are getting 400 plants ! Ferdinand

I bags the credit for providing the solution at post two.

What fantastic news to hear.

If it wrinkled I can look in the mirrored surface and pretend I am 21.

If I had an empty garage to hand I would have some of that. The price is 25% below Wickes price for 100mm, even with the 5 for 4 offer and the extra 15% discount currently available. Even if the 10% Wickes Trade Discount could be stacked on top (and I do not think you can), it would still be at £30 for a 100mm sheet. Ferdinand

You should see the discussions on Garden Law about the height of fences in sloping gardens :-). 99.9% of people do what seems reasonable and everyone is not unhappy, but then someone puts a trampoline in at the bottom of their garden next to someone else's house, and so the overlooked put in a garden structure with trellis on it, or even something narrow and 3.9m high with a tiddly doubled pitched roof which is a "shed", then someone adds a solar sail and so on. Or the ground level fandango can be invoked, as I think the test tends to be to "original ground level" which is manipulable since it can be no longer there. But "what about our side of the fence from the complainant" is quite easily dealt with if the difference is not outrageous. Very much the tactic used by Garden Office Builders to keep their ridgeline under 4m (?). My theory is that boundary problems actually have to do with being a part-densely populated island in love with gardens and limited development land. Are there fewer disputes in Scotland (ignoring the ones concerning Hadrian's Wall) and Shropshire? I think we have followed a good basic conversation which allows the Op to act within a couple of posts with a probably-useful trip round the mulberry bush which will help some surfers. I hope (I like mulberry bushes). Looking forward to the answer.

Oh, and hello again Dee. How did the drive turn out?

Where does that not-a-smiley live? Is there a Yankee-Doodle one with a single finger?

Do you have proof of this? His middle name could be Finknottle. Or Livingstone.

Indeed. This is not Highlander with Kevin McLoud of Clan McLoud. Pleased to know about the notify slider. Now I can pontificate less and listen more.

Disagree with @ProDave. Is Scotland different? My local authority told me that under 2m was OK in front of the building line. And the Planning Portal interactive house has a picture of a front fence with my above quote: https://interactive.planningportal.co.uk/detached-house/outside Check with your LA via the Duty Planner. Ferdinand

I think the complaint is probably wibble. There will be some distance which defines "next to a highway". Here I think if I put up say a 2m fence within 1m of a highway I might get called out on it if somebody complains. Perhaps call your Duty Planner to find out what that distance is where you are under a different name before calling the Enforcement Officer. If they continue to push, "I don't want people in the street watching my children" might help. BTW while it is growing have you considered putting a dog proof child proof 1m chain link barrier in the middle of your hedge for the future? (With a hole for the hedgehogs). Ferdinand

Sometimes. It is a Crossfit gym and I have a minority stake as investment was hard to find from banks etc. At the moment we are looking for a 5000 sqft unit in an incredibly tight market locally. We just had match funding for a further investment from the Council so need to be local. There is virtually nothing between 2k sqft and 7-8k without paying brand new rents or retail. I introduced them to the joys of the Planning System and Change of Use and how everything takes months in buildings.

Interesting. That is roughly what I have been told by a friend on the maintenance team at Sports Direct and what we had to build treatment rooms previously. I was hoping for a single longitudinally rigid material that I could attach at top and bottom with no need for a framework. If I am into strong stud frameworks then it will be 40-60 ukp per Sqm. I really want to be under 20 ukp per sqm. Large lightweight blocks might potentially be cheaper than that :-(.

The last time I failed to catch my 4kg wall ball when doing a WOD :-). I just tested it so 90 seconds ago. Suspect the material properties I need are those of asbestos roofing sheet minus the killing people feature. Ferdinand

I am looking at a warehouse / industrial unit with several bays (think northlight style sawtooth roof). I may need to divide off a bay with an internal wall. It does not need to be particularly robust - one side would be a gym so there may be the occasional stray medicine ball etc. The dimensions of the division are 4m high x 30m long. My initial thought was a corrugated materlal fixed at top at bottom since I can order that to length and use self-tapping screws. But normal 2mm or so metal roofing would dint too easily. Can anyone suggest a suitable material or alternative system? They must exist. Thanks Ferdinand

It does depend on who they are, and so on. I have Ts who I would trust and wouldn't, but i wouldn't fit one on the basic precautionary principle. If you are seriously looking at rental you could invite a Council Person to comment before you start. Smoke damage to house if they leave door open etc. But many modern people, never mind tenants, struggle with stuff more basic than that. All the 100 pages of rental paperwork will be good firestarters, mind. Ferdinand

Suspect that for all the accuracy you will get you can estimate the amount it puts unto the room by leaving it off and putting a stack of heaters on top,until it feels the same, then count the heaters. Leaving a stove to tenants is playing with fire .

Where are the Sheriff and the Enamel Mug? F

I go for East / South Kitchens (breakfast), South living rooms (or pref. triple aspects) - which maybe in the kitchen these days, and west bathrooms and bedrooms. And North facing conservatories.

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