Remora107

Have you considered a Rav4 ? I have not had experience of any of them , but from the experience of people I know who have had one , I wouldn't bother with a Freelander . Unless it was a late one and I don't suppose you would get one of those for £3,000 .

What about a carbon monoxide detector ? Aren't they a requirement as well?

Well , my name is Nick . So if you ask me nicely I might tell you it !..... Asknick , geddit ? Oh , never mind .

If I had known you were having a barbie I would have popped around with some chicken and sausages . We have the recipe for a killer BBQ sauce .

It is ironic that brickies who get paid handsomely have to spend the least on tools . A bucket full of trowels , hammers and chisels , and a couple of levels and they are good to go . Spare a thought for us multi-talented types who do a bit of everything(except plumbing and electrics). I have to have tools to do carpentry , bricklaying , plastering , timber framing , roofing , a bit of basic joinery and anything else that needs doing . I haven't just spent thousands on tools over the years , I have spent tens of thousands !

If you can't wait a year,what you should do first is apply a coat of mordant solution before painting http://britanniapaints.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Roofs/Mordant_Solution.pdf Easy enough to get hold off .

On two occasions in the last three years trees have come down in our country lane , on both occasions I have been involved in clearing them . With the first one I got the local farmer and the tree owner out of bed and the three of us had it cleared by 8.30 am . We were helped clear the debris by some of the people waiting to get through . Typically it happened on bin emptying day so we were able to get the road open before the dustbin lorry came through . The second occasion I knew the owner of the tree and started clearing before he arrived . We had it cleared in half an hour . How long would we have had to wait for the council to come and clear it ? The fact that I had a load of wood from both trees is neither here nor there ! I also unblock the drains at the bottom of my hill . If I don't do it , no one will . Especially the council .

The youngest son offered to do it this morning . After I picked myself up off the ground and pinched myself to see if I was awake ! I told him that I didn't have any petrol so it will have to wait until some other day in the week . Probably tomorrow if the weather holds out .

What about second hand concrete railway sleepers over a scalpings sub base ? If you lay the sleepers with a bit of a gap between them and fill the gaps with soil you will soon get some grass growing between them . That should also help with the drainage . However , In my quick search I have not been able to find a price for second hand sleepers ,so I can't say if they are cost effective or not .

I have softwood cladding on my converted cowshed that I took off and reused when I rebuilt it . I reckon it is well over 100 years old . It was painted with a black tar/pitch type substance which may , or may not , have helped preserve it . Some off it is coming to the end of its useful life , as it is a bit wormy , but by the time I get around to changing it , it will have another 20 years of use. I would expect larch cladding , sawn not planed ,if it is properly detailed , to outlast you and me. As for turning grey . That is the whole point of timber cladding , especially oak , to turn a nice silvery grey . I have 10"x1" oak boards on my garage and part of my main house and they are aging nicely , but as a bit of fun I plan on lime washing the boards on my house and let the weather take off most of it . That should add quite a lot of character to the house .

Yeah , right , and fill the World with nice shiney new noddy boxes that have no character or soul and look like shite . There are things that can be done to old properties that can make them warmer to live in , but not without spending money , and if they are tenanted then that money is not likely to be spent . That doesn't mean they need to be knocked down .

The wall you are referring to is known as a "honeycombed sleeper wall " and , not surprisingly , is designed so that air can flow all the way under the floor . Is there any insulation between the joists under the floor boards ? If not it would certainly be worth your while putting some in . If you can get to the underside , that is .

Nice shed . Why would you need planning?

Sorry , you're too subtle for me !

Spelt "disgrace" wrong ?!