agg221

You do need something above the register plate in an inglenook. Stoves are much more efficient than an open fire, so the smoke is cold. This means that any creosote in the smoke can often condense on the brickwork before it goes out of the top (unlike an inefficient open fire where the smoke is usually hot enough to carry it out, and definitely is if you burn the odd bag of smokeless to dry it out). The condensed creosote then soaks through the brickwork. If you get a burning smut up there at some point and it happens to lodge on the surface it is possible for it to ignite the creosote and then slowly smoulder its way through the brickwork to the other side. If it happens across something combustible on the other side, such as wooden joists/rafters, then it can set fire to them. A similar problem has been traced as the cause of the significant increase in fires in thatched houses. I believe you shouldn't need paperwork for the installation, since it pre-dates the change in building regulations, but if the model was still on the market after the change then someone picky could cause problems. Otherwise it may be worth a few phone calls to find someone suitable to do it. Alec

And I'm happy that you're happy that I'm happy too

I've had similar issues in the past. Have you had the saws pressure/vac tested? I have this done (by Spud) religiously. My 066 has just survived with the plug white due to being very cautious - turned out to be a blocked filter in the carb which hadn't been apart in about 20yrs so reasonable. Mine is de-tuned (again by Spud) as per his comments. I really don't notice under-performance. If it was a race saw I would suffer but I mainly use it for long, hard cuts and would rather it had some leeway. I once lost an 064 and 066 pot and piston in the same day thanks to a dodgy batch of fuel (not supermarket and freshly mixed) so I now use Aspen as it never gives me problems and it doesn't get stale so can stay in the tanks without thinking about when I last used a saw. It also doesn't age the rubber components. No problems since I switched over, and rather more pleasant exhaust fumes too. Alec

When it comes to fires, I am a Luddite. In our previous Victorian house, I fitted an 18" grate in the living room, and a 14" hob-grate in the dining room. They looked right and I could keep the whole 2-bedroomed house tolerably warm with the one in the living room alone. It drew air mainly through the air bricks under the floor, so there wasn't any noticeable draught, and both inserts had plates fitted to close the flue when not in use. Our current place is a thatched C15 hall house with an inglenook fireplace inserted around 1550. I can't think of any stove which would look in keeping, so when I remove the plywood register plate (!!!!) and fit a liner to reduce the chimney volume it will be left open with a canopy and ash pit, which will work nicely with wood and allow me to get the face area:chimney cross-section right. I will also have a closure plate in the flue and an air inlet ducted under the floor to keep draughts down. I recognise that it won't be as efficient as a stove, but it will work well enough for me. Alec

I have various bits that might suit and drive past Doncaster regularly - what length/depth/width are you looking for? Alec

I would generally agree. A good scrub with hot soapy water used sparingly, followed by some floor wax would keep the patina and make it a bit fresher. Alec

that's why I use chaps for milling and have got 16yrs out of them so far. Slightly more raised eyebrows if you take your trousers off after cutting....

I still have, and use, the Stihl chaps, gloves and wellies I bought in 1998. The wellies now leak so I have a new pair which are stiffer and less comfortable. I have replaced the hat as it went out of date and the ear defenders are less effective. Alec

I have milled quite a few long-dead oaks. Haven't had a bad one yet, even when left lying on the ground for a decade or so - a couple were damaged before they died, e.g. by lightning, but the rest was still sound. There will be no sapwood left, but that could be considered a plus. You'll get several tables out of that! Looks like a good candidate for milling in situ with an Alaskan. Alec

Thank goodness for that! Otherwise I would for the first time in my life have become accidentally trendy Alec

You could try taking one on through a temp agency on a short-term basis to start with. This is what we do when we have gaps between secretaries. They are generally very good, start quickly and if it works out they may want to stay on, if it doesn't work for you (either the principle or the individual) then terminating the contract is easy. The agency will also know exactly what they expect to be paid. Alec

Won't do any harm to go further apart - that's distance between trees btw, not between groups. Keepers will deliver. Whips are the best bet as they will establish well (also convenient if you can get the brought back in a car). They should be well over 60cm though even as one year maidens - think more like 1-1.5m, sometimes 2m! Alec

Although Conference is self fertile it still does better with pollinators. I would plant your half dozen trees as two groups of three, 30ft apart. One tree will produce as much fruit as you can use, and a lot more besides, so I would mix them up. Williams is a good bet for early, Catillac for a long keeping cooker. Beurre Hardy is also a good bet. Keepers Nursery has a good selection on pear stock with reasonable descriptions but if there are any varieties which particularly appeal and you want more info then let me know as I have quite a bit of literature. Alec

Just found the thread again - thanks for these, I think I need to find some nice larch. Alec

I have had this problem too, in my case with spruce and some sycamore for Se7entdevil. No idea why - both cut fine with the bandsaw; the chain was fine straight after on some oak and elm respectively. Alec

Elm was traditionally used, before the days of plastic, as it doesn't split. There was one in my grandfather's house - always nice and warm to sit on even though the room was unheated and there was often ice in the sink! Dad did think about keeping it when the house was being demolished but the woodworm was too bad. Alec

I have had this problem, and fixed it by judicious use of a hammer and screwdriver as described by Spud. I now have a fancy gizmo for truing up the rails when they splay, which is very handy as I tend to run long, old bars right down to the limits. Alec

Thanks - a bit too narrow for me. Alec

How wide is the heartwood (coloured) relative to the sapwood? Alec

Concorde is excellent and reliable, just takes a bit longer to come into bearing. If you want them for cooking rather than just eating fresh, Catillac is worth a go. It keeps forever. What type of location are you growing in - are they freestanding or close to other trees? If they have competition from other trees which will grow tall, I would go for pear rootstocks and accept that they will take a long time to crop. If not competing, I would go for Quince A to get stable, reasonable sized trees cropping in about 4yrs. Alec

Excellent chance of survival. Will probably benefit from staking to hold it upright again until the roots re-establish, and keeping the weeds/grass away from the rootball so it doesn't have to compete. A good mulch with 2-layers thick of cardboard and some rotted bark or wood chippings over the top would work well. Alec

I'm aware of the requirement to keep it contained, and the minimum distance from watercourses. Is there anything else I should be aware of? Alec

Re. the walls. As Graham W has said, you want the air gap between the feather edge and the membrane, rather than between the membrane and the insulation. If you use loose fill type insulation such as glass fibre or sheep's wool, you will need something rigid to stop it falling forward against the cladding. If you use an insulating board then you won't need this. Try looking at the Lime putty, mortars, plasters and limewash at unbeatable prices supplied by Mike Wye & Associates. - they have quite a range of breathable sheet insulation ranging from cork board to their diffutherm boards. I have found them very helpful and places like Buildbase and Jewsons can order their products in. Sterling board or WBP ply (which is exterior rather than marine) would be interchangeable. Both of them are there to form a rigid base, rather than provide the insulation. I would put one of these over the top of a layer of insulation such as Kingspan or Celotex. From personal experience, it is a lot quicker to install sheet materials as a continuous layer than to infill between panels. You also then don't need the ply layer on the outside to keep it in place (although you will on the roof unless you go for the suggested box profile roofing). Sheet insulation over the outside of the structure, with battens over, nailed straight through both into the frame creates the airgap. I'll see if I have pictures of this from when I did my extension roof. The point about Kingspan type sheets being much higher performance and that you will lose the heat faster through the doors and windows is well made, however the relevant number is its lambda value, which is thermal conductivity. The less conductive the material, the thinner you can go for the same performance. Roughly, fibreglass is .045, sheep's wool is .042, Kingspan or similar is .02. This means that 50mm of fibreglass would be equivalent to 30mm of Kingspan for the same performance (for comparison, I used aerogel insulation which gives the same value with only 15mm). These figures are simplified, but you can see that for small quantities at lower thicknesses it can work out cost effective to use higher performance material to simplify the installation. If you do go for Kingspan or Celotex (different manufacturers of the same thing) you can buy seconds at about half the price of new, which works out reasonably cost effective. I reckon, depending on the roof pitch, you could get away with three sheets for the roof which would be about £25 all in for 30mm boards. Breathable insulating boards will be more as you won't find them so easily as seconds. Hope this helps! Alec

If you are handling relatively small quantities (tens of tons in most cases, for some purposes that's per month, for others per year) then you fall under the exemption threshold, which you register and is free. If you need to handle larger quantities, you will need a permit which you pay for: https://www.gov.uk/environmental-permit-how-to-apply Alec

I can take chip near Haverhill on the Suffolk/Essex/South Cambs border. I have T23 and U12 exemptions. Alec