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The Workshop / Bat Roost


Barney12

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Well in an attempt to bring my workshop thread back to life from the other forum I'll thought I post an update.

Cladding now well underway. As is the rear lean-too extension (I'm never really sure why I didn't want a completely oblong workshop)

Rear section of roof is now tiled. Front ready for the 6 panel solar array. Thats been delayed by classic indecision over supplier on my part! 

 

20160514_161501615_iOS.jpg20160508_165337652_iOS.jpg

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19 minutes ago, Crofter said:

Looks good!

Is the PV for the shed itself or is it on FiT connected through your house?

It will feed into the main house supply but no intentions of having it FiT registered. 

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15 minutes ago, Onoff said:

Proper job! Might be picking your brains when I do something similar. 

What's the rear extension for, looks too narrow for anything.....grow room? xD

It was a bit of an afterthought to make use of some space. It's wide enough for shelves and me.

To the right of the door into the lean-too will be the dust extraction and air compressor (both noisy).

To the right will be a 4m run of shelves for storing "stuff"!

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Bats? Found this poor little beggar yesterday. On the ground under the neighbour's barn gable. Mark on it's side. Thinking maybe the cats are taking a swipe as they leave the roost:

SAM_2070.JPG

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Guest Alphonsox

Brown, Long Eared bat I think. If I remember correctly they hunt at very low level which makes them vulnerable to predators. This one may have been hit elsewhere and been trying to make it home. 

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We've also got pipistrelles around here and the damn great big one about the size of a flying cat! xD Noctule bat I think. From what I've read they're supposed to have a wingspan of about 400mm but I reckon ours are bigger. Had them fly past me at eye level when I've been standing on a high bank - thought it was our tabby!

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We have a few different species up here. The biggest roosting in our property is a Serotine. 300-400mm wingspan and a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp :D The little pips are quite cute though. Hang on what am I saying, they're not cute they're delaying my build thus I must despise them! Crikey I'm going soft! 

Anyway another productive weekend building their new home. Rear lean too and side cloche style storage now finished and clad.

still so much to do though :( but it's keeping me busy whilst the ecologists finds reasons to invoice :/ 

image.jpegimage.jpeg

 

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Here is the ceiling. I deliberated for ages about whether to make it temporary so it could come down in the future but in the end decided to make it permanent. 6x2's with 18mm OSB. Then 50mm of jablite between the joists. 

There is 1.8m of height in the loft area which was what was specified by the ecologists. 

Whatever they might say image.jpegit's going to get filled with 'stuff' at some point. Hence the nice big loft hatch. :D.

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I see this then think of the time, money & effort I've wasted rebuilding a poxy 10'x8' shed that I got for free trying to make it into something it'll never be! No plan or forethought really, too small, in the wrong position in the garden & just made it up as I went along. Have ended up with something far too small with various issues. My only defence is that when I started it I hadn't discovered eBuild! 

But threads like this are a great incentive to get it right next time.

I do think though it needs one of these stencilled on the gable end:

bat.png

Where btw do they get in? xD

 

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1 hour ago, Onoff said:

 

Where btw do they get in? xD

 

Very good question. 

I have yet to cut the letterbox sized "flight path window" in the North East gable end. It then gets covered by a dummy bird box which is open at the bottom. It often rains sideways and upwards here so no doubt will make for a nice water ingress/damp issue! :/ 

Liking the stencil idea! I may even do it just to wind up the ecologist!! :D

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1 hour ago, Barney12 said:

Very good question. 

I have yet to cut the letterbox sized "flight path window" in the North East gable end. It then gets covered by a dummy bird box which is open at the bottom. It often rains sideways and upwards here so no doubt will make for a nice water ingress/damp issue! :/ 

Liking the stencil idea! I may even do it just to wind up the ecologist!! :D

Even better, only actually stencil on the bat house entrance.

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So once you finish your build, what happens thereafter can the ecologists turn up for a visit to check you've not blocked up the holes and turfed out the bats?

Same with newts etc?

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8 hours ago, Onoff said:

So once you finish your build, what happens thereafter can the ecologists turn up for a visit to check you've not blocked up the holes and turfed out the bats?

Same with newts etc?

It's an interesting point and one not covered in any of our reports or mitigation strategy documentation.

My ecologist has mentioned in passing a couple of times that she likes to visit newly established roosts unannounced whilst "in the area". But without specific provision to do so I fear getting past my planned electric gates my be an issue. ;) 

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  • 3 weeks later...

As Natural England rejected our application to re-home the bats today I thought I'd update this thread by swearing and throwing a tantrum :(

Oh alright then. How about a picture of the doors that I made at the weekend. Two sets (sorry only one set photographed), one set for the workshop and one for the store.

Of course they're massively over engineered (when will I ever learn!). I didn't want flimsy tongue and groove boarding so instead machined up my own boards using 25mm stock and then bonded them together with a large number of biscuits! All the frames are loose tenon jointed. Everything glued, pinned and screwed for good measure. Seems a shame to paint them black but that's what the planners demand.

All I need to do now is re-enforce the door frames to take the weight :D.

IMG_3550.JPG

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8 hours ago, Onoff said:

"Brace" yourself.....

What, no double angle on the ends? xD

Alas no, I ran out of timber as I used the last length to beat my ecologist and the jumped up kn*b head from Natural England into a pulp. :D 

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