Ferdinand

Does anyone have any indication of what sort of weight will crack a Pressed Council Slab (ie the 2" things that cost next-to-nothing on Ebay) laid on a gravel base? I am wondering how safe it is to lay a row of these on top of a gravel drive as a path, which would be down one side of the drive for ease of use by postmen etc and only need to be driven on when particularly wide vehicles come into the driveway. I'm think that anything car or 4x4 or transitsize will be fine, but I am unsure about 3.5-7.5 tonner, larger lorries or 4/6-wheeler tippers. Thanks Ferdinand

OT: I envy people flexible enough to be able to work from a squatting position. I am trying to develop flexibility via a local gym, and it is agony-in-spurts.

I have sufficient rental properties to qualify as a professional landlord if they ask. They did what seem to be standard credit checks only as far as I can tell. I am also planning a number of projects over the next couple of years after I recently sold a housing site I have taking through PP over several years - so they will see a decent throughput on the account if they query it later (which they won't). Ferdinand

Insurance policy? I'd hate to find I needed them 15 years later for some reason.

This T would set her 6 dogs on you for that !

Hmmm. Different factors. I'd say that up to about 450x450 are probably OK before some people may struggle, but if you get really big ones that are difficult just for manual handling for you, then you will have problems laying them - and be more restricted in cutting. A 600mm x 600mm porcelain floor tile could weigh the best part of 10kg. And they come in up to 900x900 iirc. Imagine trying to cut that with a power cutter or just leaning over to lay it down. Also, breaking one tile can get expensive when they cost £30 por £40 each ! I like about 400x400 or so or 450x300 for walls. I have had no problem laying this size if the base is done properly. It feels modern without being awkward to lay. Ferdinand

Wash your mind out with soap, Mister Sir

Welcome. I think you need to ask your estate agent Principal. If you are selling soon they will give you an opinion for both options - but you need the staff member with the long trousers. Ask several EAs, then you will need to use your skill and judgement. Ferdinand

Sounds good. N-E is a good angle for a conservatory. Other points: 1 - Put a couple of underfloor ducts in to likely points in case you want wiring in future - eg if you are going to want a run for an outside wall socket at the far side in the future. I used this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/tower-corrugated-conduit-white-20mm-x-10m/38177 2 - I put a 300x300 underfloor space into a corner of mine, which I used to hide the gubbins to drive the electric ufh, with a loose tile on top. 3 - Electric sockets at head height are surprisingly useful for eg televisions for extra wall lights etc. One of my recent 2 conservatories had these especially for the tenant to warm her puppies from ir lights. 4 - I think I might suggest, though it easy to add later, putting in a Switched Connection Box spur now, in case there is anything in future you may need to hard wire in. 5 - My top tip for inexpensive conservatories if you are so inclined is to take advantage of the silly people who put them on the wrong side and are replacing them with real rooms 5-10 years later. Ebay has a lot of decent secondhand conservatories for a few hundred or a couple of thousand, and there are companies that will collect it and install it for you for perhaps £3000-4000. That is cheap enough to throw away after 7-8 years use if you get a posh one new. See: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_Auction=1&_nkw=conservatory&_pgn=2&_skc=50&rt=nc eg 20 x 10 ft but this one is dismantled so caution is warranted. You need to decide whether you trust the seller. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Conservatory-UPVC-/222225971804?hash=item33bdb33a5c:g:ImcAAOSwbsBXlm0j The keys are to take your time and wait for the right one, then go and look at it first and make sure it is a good one. I bought a 4mx6m conservatory - full height upvc type not dwarf wall - for £600, and installed it on a proper slab with a solid roof replacing the polycarb roof, insulated below, above and to windowsill height with 70mm celotex, and full electrics, and a radiator, to give a 4 season sunroom at about £270-280 per sqm all in except for my time. Ferdinand

That is fixable, for example by paying a credit balance onto the card account.

It is a "complete rigid kitchen package". Ferdinand

Late to the party. My supplier just phones up their tech. dept for the mix for competitor's colours. One thing not mentioned is that you want to know whether your existing paint is solvent or aqueous based. If dated from 1995 it will be the former imo, and you need to make sure that the aqueous paint you may get now will be compatible. Appropriate preparation and primer will probably be the remedy, or sanding right back, or specifying solvent-based. Ferdinand

So I just opened my Howdens' account, thinking of replacing 2 x 1000mm base units in a newly bought terraced house with a galley kitchen, due to a relatively minor damp problem (back of units discoloured after 10 years under previous owner - may start a separate thread on diy DPCs in solid party walls), and this offer appears. This is the offer available: Which is a whole kitchen for little more than the price of those 2 units. At the price it seems a steal - if I wanted to fit out my own utility it may be worth buying and throwing the oven etc away. I would expect the appliances to die after a few years, but even replacing these then with a decent brand it is astonishing value. My impression of Howdens' units is that the usual 18mm carcases are solid, but the range tends to be quite conservative (not necessarily a problem). Does anyone have any experience of their more basic range? Thanks Ferdinand

I need a convincing citation for the 'total' interpretation, since the one you supplied is ambiguous, Richi. But probably not worth it unless someone is going to go back to the Statutory Instrument or Law. I won't be. Far easier just to pay the first £100 on a Credit Card for belt and braces. F

Further comment. If you put your pipe work in the patio now, you will have to spec the slab to be conservatory-suitable and insulated, as you will not be able to add anything under the pipe work later. That may limit your conservatory options - dwarf walls need nearly normal foundations etc, and digging those round an existing floor is fiddly though possible. A slightly thicker slab and full height panels may be preferable. That may all be doable if you plan ahead, but think through the whole process and do a full cost model as if you were building the conservatory now. Further options could be a full sun lounge with a real roof, or a Crocodile style enclosed veranda with sliding glass wall(s) and a patio heater setup when needed, but there are imho better suppliers out there. You want to pay for your your house not other people's TV adverts. Perhaps the thing to focus on is your intended use ... Full room implies sun lounge or good spec conservatory, dog pod or plant winter space implies something cooler that could be less heavily protected and outside the thermal envelope. If you want 4 season use and it gets sun then you something radical in the roof to protect it in summer, or you may roast your occupants. Ferdinand

What are the actual lifespans of the products? I see that Roofart (why is that not from Oz) say 50 years, which strikes me as being rather short for a premium gutter product in normal circumstances. My dad's company used to make lengths of glass fire guttering moulded from the cast iron original that used to be on their Victorian mill. I know of pieces of that which have been up since 1980, but unfortunately I had to dispose of the mould along with all the others - a 500sqm yard full - when we left the building house. Ferdinand

if the pic is for comment or review, and acknowledged, you would be OK.

We were in this position two years ago, as the person who renovated had run out of the possibility of recovering his investment, and left the conservatory unbuilt with a ufh pipe termination. For some reason it proved impossible to connect, and I can't remember why. Will try and check later. In practice we deliberately went for higher spec options in the conservatory (eg top grade DG), and the supplier included 100mm of celotex rather than 50mm in the walls and floor at no extra charge, and we went with one side wall having clerestory windows. We installed an underfloor electrical system from Screwfix just in case, but have hardly ever used it, and find that opening the double doors from the kitchen or lounge is more than acceptable. We have only ever used it to heat the downstairs while the boiler was broken. Our conservatory is roughly 4mx4m and North facing. So perhaps planning for a carefully specced conservatory instead may "Occam" your problem, though buyers will probably want a comforter. If you go ufh give some thought to future supply of fittings. Ferdinand

Mine: - Going for the max size solar array possible - 10kw not 4kw. - Spending £900 on a pair of nice wrought iron asymmetric drive gates to cap off the "face" of a renovation. I think my main insights are: 1 - not to skimp on things you won't be able to change later and could regret for a long time. 2 - that having a model incorporating running expenses over at least 10 years - including maintenance etc - is very important for objectivity. 3 - if there are items to be added later in order to "sell" it, consider adding them now so yuo can enjoy them for more than a month. Ferdinand

@jack said on the other thread: Here we are and here we are and here we go-oo-oh. Ferdinand

Semi-serious suggestion, because I would like to know. If the output from a Treatment Plant is actually so squeaky clean, is there anything to stop it being recirculated back into the input water for the dwelling in some form? Suspect things would be an outlier in the data set of properties. Ferdinand

"Deed of Servitude" - what a glorious legal phrase !

If it helps, I always visualise areas in "parking spaces". 75-85sqm is roughly 5 reasonably generous spaces. Unless you are in a Tonka Tank when they are less generous. Ferdinand

Currently I don't think I have any expensive regrets, except perhaps when we insufficiently supervised an architect during a renovation at a time of family stress - and these would then be our fault. These would then be such as: - Unnecessary intercom from gate to house. - Overblown burglar alarms. I think I can identify the converse, which is skimping unnecessarily to save small amounts of money: - Not porcelain tiling throughout because carpet was less expensive and the planned budget was creaking. - I wonder if for some going 2G rather than 3G will fall onto this list. - A couple of plots that I regret not buying as the added price on the value of the house/garden left was too high. And I think I would also add things that seemed expensive/unnecessary that I do not regret: - Going for the max size solar array possible - 10kw not 4kw. - Spending £900 on a pair of nice wrought iron asymmetric drive gates to cap off the "face" of a renovation. I think my main insights are: 1 - not to skimp on things you won't be able to change later and could regret for a long time. 2 - that having a model incorporating running expenses over at least 10 years - including maintenance etc - is very important for objectivity. 3 - if there are items to be added later in order to "sell" it, consider adding them now so yuo can enjoy them for more than a month. Ferdinand

Pink Squirrel Cocktail To be used in commiseration when squirrels have nested in your loft, or in celebration when you see a red squirrel or you (or your cat) catch a grey one and turn it pink. In the latter case it is an excellent funeral toast. 1 oz creme de noyaux 1 tbsp white creme de cacao 1 tbsp light cream (or ice cream) Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve. A summery cocktail with ice-cream. Amaretto might be an interesting alternative to Creme de Noyaux, but then you would probably need something else to turn it pink. Raspberry ripple ice cream or a dash of cranberry juice? Image credit: http://www.zazzle.co.uk/squirrel_drinking_a_cocktail_at_happy_hour_mouse_pad-144411536072030955 (Update: You could blow me down with a bicycle pump this morning. Not only has the 18 year old cat caught *another* squirrel, it also had a confrontation with the local feline thug and ejected it unceremoniously from the garden. It may have to be renamed Mick Jagger for activities beyond the call of duty for a pensioner. Waiting for a 7 year old slinky kitty called Melanie to appear.) Ferdinand