@sawboman
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I have never been there before but I thought that I would try it out. All appeared well with me, I opened it up and there was what I expected, without a problem or issue. I think it could be something unique to your set up – though I have no idea what that could be.
I assume that the idea is to enjoy the coast line, the scenery and the chance to get away from it all. However, it does sound as though you may well be dragging a few home issues along with you, which might not be a great start to the trip. I would possibly just look for bed and breakfast places along the way as then you would know what the price is in advance with, ( hopefully) no extras so the budget could be managed. Remember to allow for the cost of fuel…
If you can put something together that way with costs more or less fixed in advance you might be better able to enjoy the chance of getting away and hopefully enjoy the company of an old friend in interesting circumstances. The weather has now changed so, it could well be a little cooler than we and Scotland has been enjoying. The idea is a holiday, so if you go, get away and enjoy, though I do have a nagging worry that your two objective might collide. You want to be parsimonious while he may well be looking for something a little more expansive. Those two needs will need to be meshed somehow and honesty is a good place to start with each other.
The window fitters I have seen at play use something like the items on this page to stick trim and the like, but the surfaces must be perfect first:https://www.eurocell.co.uk/sealants-and-fixings/superglues-and-activators
A picture of your situation would have been useful but there are several ways that doors and panels might have been used. The removable trim should always be on the inside of the door for security reasons. It ‘should’ be possible to carefully prise that off and then the panel should be removable along with its rubber sealing strip; the strips will almost certainly have developed problems due to their age and could be a possible issue. There are various small shops that used to supply obsolete styles but you might be in luck and find that yours is still current.
Some smaller suppliers do replace fitted glass ‘broken windows’ and I suspect that you could get your panel replaced with a double glazed unit or another ‘blind panel’ if all else failed. My daughter had one done in an upstairs bathroom and even with call outs and the use of access ladders the cost was reasonable.
I have used coach bolts to clamp a panel in place with a gasket round the edge to make the fitting water tight, but you would need to consider the internal nuts and cover trim to use to avoid an unsightly finish.
The recent up or should it be down grades have gone smoothly enough for me . . . except for the most recent issue. I get some bills that I want to print off but for some reason the print function in the browser is turned off. My answer is to save the PDF and print that using a PDF reader to get a hard copy. Yesterday clicking on the PDF launch some crap, which I later realised was MS Hedge, Ledge, Edge or whatever. While it may offer a fashionable minimalist screen it is also totally useless. Worse, changing the file associations back to something that makes sense is now a slow painful process. I celebrated by removing Kledge, edge, whatever from the quick launch bar on the foot of my screen and changing as many of the MS options to something useful; has anyone ever even used Groove for just about anything, let alone everything?
I found there was a possible print function in MS frayed edge, if you click the stupid dotty thing in a corner, I use a 23inch screen for a reason, it is not a pip squeak mobile so its easy to view. So allow me to have useful, meaningful menus not this ‘modernist’ styled-to-be-fit-for-the-loo-crap. As for using the mess as a browser, that must be for the birds incubating eggs – with time to waste finding anything, no apparent bookmarks, etc. made it frustratingly useless.
Rant over for the day I hope!
I assume MWB was Malwarebytes, if nothing has gone wrong since it was on the naughty step, I would give it the heave-ho. Can you see a date for its arrival. That might give a clue to its origin.
@Keith a nice bit of recording. I should have done the same since mid winter when I was shocked to see some of the largest bees I have ever seen dealing with some of the earliest flowers on a mahonia bush. I suspect they were ‘solitary bees’ rather than honey bees. There are several honey bee keepers in the area, I have had to call one out when swarms land in our garden in inopportune locations, I believed they would be better off managed with a proper hive tended by a proper bee keeper.
Since then we have done fairly well for insects with hover flies and wasps visiting the geraniums, I see them in our porch as I pass in ant out. Happily the hover flies were more numerous and successful than the wasps, which now appear to have given up in favour of eating fallen and fermenting fruit in other locations. The ‘normal bees’ have not been quite some numerous this year, especially in the mid summer, this might be because I have not had much time to potter in the roasting hot garden where flowers have been rather reduced by the weather. This year the fields were growing a cereal crop rather than oil seed rape this time. The crop has just been harvested and the fields are now stacked with rectangular piles of straw or strewn with those massive and weighty rounds of straw. The farm yard I visited this morning appears to have completed its harvesting, so giant combines were at rest along with the giant tractors and trailers that attend them to drag off the harvest. Most of their fields have already been ploughed and the stacked straw bales returned to await their fate. This year a lot of the crop appears to have been sold off the farm rather than going into storage, as the barns were largely empty; I wondered why there is a difference. The harvest has certainly been there, I have seen the laden trailers being dragged out of the fields on their way to the yards, often spilling significant amounts of grain on the road as they go, – that must be a loss. At least the larger grain seeds don’t fall out in quite the same large amounts as with the rape seeds or linseeds. The fields along the dog walk path have only recently been harvested and the giant rounds await removal to allow the field to be ploughed and turned over ready for the next crop
At least this year I have not seen the numbers of giant slugs along the bridleway when walking the dogs. There used to be large numbers of what I believe were the Spanish slugs. About 4 inches long with a bright orange frill on their body, horrid looking things that had only one saving grace they were often feasting on dog mess left by inconsiderate dog walkers. While I clean up after our two I can only bag up and bring back to bin so much of other people’s careless discards. This week the mess bag must still have weighed in excess of twenty pounds.
Funny you should mention sound Black Lion. I never did get audio return over HDMI working with my sound bar but Richer Sounds won’t let it drop. They are sending a man out tomorrow to have a look. I doubt they can do anything but its free and they also said they may upgrade the sound bar if they can’t get it working. All part of the service they said.
I have heard good things about them in the past, but that is worth noting.
They did have one small issue, the front wishbones could and sometime did rust through. We had a few go that way out in the Middle East though I believe that some were also picked up here in the UK.
Even the original civic looks amazing today. Wouldn’t like a crash in any of them.
My brother had an early Civic over in Saudi Arabia in the 70’s/80’s. He was hit by someone joining the motorway and he spun off. He was left sitting, buckled up, in the driver’s seat, with the windscreen flapping from the roof join, but the front of the car, bonnet, wings, wheels and engine etc were off to the side of him. He walked out of that with a stiff neck!!
That can be the way the cookie crumbles. I slipped on a polished office floor out that way. The same day the son of a minor sheik rolled his car 6 times and some considerable distance across the desert scrub land. He went home the next day. I left a month later after two operations, my leg encased in plaster and walking with the aid of crutches. Mind you another minor sheik’s son was, how shall I put this, less fortunate. He drove side on at about 80mph in a 40 limit area into and under an old bus, one with a wooden body on a long lorry like chassis. The bus was a bit banana shaped, the car, its driver and passengers were in rather worse shape. Some urgent changes to the road engineering resulted in the next 24~48 hours.
My declining vision might just detect a difference between HDR and UHD: atm I cannot detect a difference between UHD and 1080P, so my 1080P Sony Bravia and the 1080P Hauppage tuner on this desktop, is fine for me. And both together were a damn sight less expensive! Desktop TV tuner works with an HP 24″ VH240a monitor and looks great to my eyes. It seems to me that the TV industry is approaching the point where they will have no more improvements to be had, and what is improved will come at a very high cost.
My feeling exactly, after the great ‘success’ of 3D TV I guess they need something to take away that sour taste. I am sure that HDR could have something to offer, though with much of the quality of TV output I am not sure that there is a huge amount of point. I am certainly not looking to ‘upgrade’ any further. Now, I would only buy anything new to replace anything that failed.
Mine was new, though the servicing may not have been too hot. I do not remember it being that sluggish or out of the way though I do remember I had a constant fight with the plugs fouling up and that really knocked its performance. A good bit of acceleration in a low gear and hold it for a number of seconds would sent clouds of crud out of the tail pipe. The Civic might have had a set of gear ratios better suited to the hilly terrane rather than the BMW being more interested in motorways and pining for them. I was a long time back but I thought the 1602 was quite free revving rather than being a slogger. Certainly my old Jazz has great flexibility even in 5th gear pottering along one moment within the built up area limit and the next being willing to stretch its legs to 70 and probably beyond. The Beemer was better than a VW beetle in many ways, except the the bug had a crude form of A/C that ‘sort of worked’. A Mazda had good-ish A/C but drained the condensate in the chassis… guess what happened to that. My wife had a Nissan that managed to rot holes in its roof of all places. A Saab was OK in almost all respects, I don’t think that gave much trouble. In Japan we had a couple of Toyotas, his and hers, they caused no trouble. unlike the automatic Ford my wife had when we came back to the UK. That needed a new gear box with every service, wore out brakes, pads, shoes and hydraulics in almost no miles and was a total dog. We had a string of Hondas after that until the local dealership was moved 20 miles away, they more or less ‘just worked’. The Jazz has done nearly 100,000 miles and likely I shall be its last owner. A pair of Kia Ceeds hog the garage, my wife not having been able to use her’s enough due to a string of different health issues I take it out once a week to keep it in good shape and fully charged, while my Ceed dodges the supermarket, the tip and other such ‘events’ in favour of longer runs, anything over about 8~10 miles – though none of my outings are that long.
We had a rush to get to the hospital for 08:30 this morning, the dogs were out just after 06:00 this morning in the best part of the day an hours walking just about did me for the day. Breakfast all round then into the Jazz for a quick dash to get my wife’s chemo line cleared. The ‘Dynorod nurse ‘dropped in her Draino equivalent’ and told us to go away for an hour or two to give the clearance fluid time to work. Happily by 10:45 the line was back in service, so it was home again, some lunch and back to the oncologist in the afternoon. Time did not drag today.
Sometimes I just want reliable transport, excitement it not needed.
Bob wrote about the following car: I think the only car which might have been worth something once, was a BMW 1602, the round headlamp model:
I had one of the touring examples of the 1602 back in 1972 ~ 5. It was OK but a bit over rated in some aspects. The window winder was supported on a main spindle made from something not really up to the job, sintered metal perhaps, so it failed and dumped everything in the bottom of the door. I had a new bit made with a very narrow nut to hold it in place. The screen washer was forever seizing up, probably from the local water, the steering joints all started to seize up until the dealer did some magic to sort them out, but worst of all, in a climate rather more extreme than here, no A/C. After that is was with an A/C or no deal for every new car.
Bob, builders have been famous for burying the tat in a hole whenever they can get away with it and have done so for years. Now and again they get caught out when they build on something that was not up to carrying the weight, like an old mine shaft, etc. but it hey hazard is in the ‘open space’ like a garden then the residents can start their course in practical archaeology in their own back garden. Ours was a ‘brown field site’. Used by the MOD in WWII as a munitions distribution/dispersal point for various local airfields among other uses and then as a civilian goods transfer point. The site clearance was a bit like a 30 bob tailor’s outfit. it fitted where it touched. It appears it did not touch very much! The rebar and concrete we dug out was interesting, lengths of pipe remain to be found.
The remains of a pond near the farmhouse up the farm lane play host to an abandoned combine and possibly a tractor, though the exact details are debated. I guess the combine was an early largely wooden affair that would be clapped out first and now well rotted after 60 years in the mud. No doubt there is a lot of other detritus buried all round the area, some accidental and, I suspect more deliberately interred. I know the last resting place of two bulldozers, but doubt they will ever be recovered, they also went into a hole about 60 years ago to the South East of London under what is now a housing estate.
@sawboman – our local regs ( link above to EdP ) are much more lax and suggest a competent DIY’er with an assistant ( in my case that would be a builder friend and I would be the assistant ) and at £50+ per sq metre that would be £900+ for my 6m x 3m roof. That money will pay for my new roof including flashings and fixings and still leave more than enough spare for a couple of day’s labour for my friend. Quote from KCC site – “It must be double wrapped in heavy gauge plastic and sealed closed. It can be disposed of by private occupiers at a Kent County Council Recycling Centre (tip).” A couple of rolls or packs of DPC polythene and some parcel tape should do nicely.
That appears to agree with what was said in the Braintree link. You are dealing with cement bonded asbestos which the link says is the only one that you are allowed to remove as a DIY person. As you suspect double wrapping and secure taping along with wetting down are all spelt out for this one ‘asbestos style’ material. The only thing that I would add is that you need to use the heavier grade polythene wrapping stuff. Some sold for ‘dust sheet use is very thin and not tough enough to count as being there at all. Use good material and you ‘should be good to go from what I can see’. Your idea of DPC style polythene is what I suspect they would like you to use. If you have any doubts contact your local council and confirm any doubtful items but from what you have said and the link I gave to you I do not see any problems. Good luck, Oh one final point, you might have to make a couple of trips to the tip as the sheets are quite heavy and could exceed the vehicle weight limits and my lifting abilities… but that is another story.
Do not bury the crap; that is when the fines kick in big style.
I did a bit of research and found several links:
- https://householdquotes.co.uk/asbestos-removal-cost/
- https://www.braintree.gov.uk/info/200257/pollution/258/asbestos/5
The first is one from a contractor based advisor, the second from a local council. The upshot is that those and several other references, please check for yourself is that the type of issue you face is at the bottom end of the risk scale and can be handled for modest upheaval and cost. Some care is needed but calling out the entire home guard squad is not needed. I was surprised to see that a council advised that it can, if accurately identified, be removed via DIY with disposal via the correct approved methods. This does slightly chime with my experience of a local council who advised that a removable panel should be bagged up and they would remove the tagged sealed bag for disposal. They called on the day in question, collected the waste and the job was done and dusted.
@Edp, I understand where you are coming from but I would not wish to give insurers any more wriggle line than they take already.
My understanding is that if you do major works, (quite how explicitly they are defined I have not researched), but it almost certainly covers anything for which planning permission or building control permission perhaps both needs to be sought, then retro fitting work may be required.You do not get the option not to take action.
For example, I understand that the average heat loss has to be improved as a result of any work, roof work will require upgrading roof insulation, etc.. All new electrical wiring must confirm to current standards. This can cause a conflict where the old wiring falls far short, (no pun intended) with such things as incorrect earth wiring including missing earth wires(!), under specification wires, the use of obsolete colour codes, (anyone remember brown earth wires?), rubber insulation, shellac and varnished paper plus double cotton covered, etc. Apparently building control/planning can treat extensive developments almost as though they are rather close to new builds. My brother is working through ‘a few minor changes’ to a place he bought as a bungalow but has turned into a two storey house. Yes he jacked up the roof and in effect slid in a new storey, work is still in progress…
Our current garage doors are good condition wooden up and over items styled to match the house architecture. Two different remote systems are used on the different doors as one controller died. The controller is a replaceable item, remove the old, connect the new, job done. No heavy work is required. With a wooden back, a variety of attachment options exists to apply any insulation. I am slightly interested in insulation as the 1970s fridge is showing signs of age having lived out there for over a quarter of a century. Monitoring the winter temperatures during the coldest part of last winter suggested the minimum was marginally below the desired operational minima for a ‘modern’ intolerant fridge’ with its tight and limited environmental demands. I suspect even modest door insulation would cut summer highs and increase winter lows by a useful margin and might do useful things to our room above that part of the house. I am now anything for an easy life, so not a lot of action may well be the option of choice.
However I understand where you are coming from with what you did. Package options removing all issues in one go can be an attractive option.
@Drezha, there are key aspects of older buildings such as the one you cite over door to escape route distances that cannot be altered in anyway. There are some aspects of older buildings that can and maybe should be brought more in line with current thinking. Hand rail heights on stairs and landings have changed over the years, my daughter’s 1950s house has a lower than currently specified balustrade as was pointed out in a survey. I understand that should be changed if any ‘significant’ work is undertaken, small beer compared with your line I know. Another aspect that I understood should be addressed is such as electrical wiring, most older places do not meet current requirements and those deficiencies should be addressed as a part of ‘major works’, i.e. something rather more than a colour change to the paintwork. Insulation standards have likewise changed and I understand require attention in the event of major works, e.g. extensions. Single glazing being changed to double or triple glazing, roof insulation and inter-floor sound and heat insulation may also need attention to achieve current targets. (The latter may be a good thing in many buildings, including our 1990s house.) But here is the rub for me at least, are the current standards-meeting-products actually fit for my purposes? If I did as I am tempted at times used some ‘blow in, fire rated inter-floor sound and thermal insulation’, would that cause more trouble than its addition was worth? Is it really ‘fire proof ‘and damp proof with no unwanted side effects, etc., what does that mean in my real world, which is neither someone’s desk nor their laboratory?
I have a hatred of terms like ‘fire proofed’, ‘fire resistant’ and the common one, ‘water (or shower) resistant’, you remain dry in the porch, but three steps outside in the rain your are soaked – wrong rain perhaps?
Reports suggest the some fire rated replacement products apparently used in good faith, did not achieve their rated performance in deployment situations. It is one thing if your showerproof mac leaks like a sieve, it is quite another if your shiny new fire door makes a better heater than barrier. Plastic window frames appear to be something of a liability in fire situations. They may or may not burn, but they just melt away; they were suspected in the Lakanal House fire though it was later established that botched work removed fire stopping was a vital factor as the windows were metal not as initially reported. External cladding was also an cause for concern in that case. It was another old building, retro fitted ‘to make it move closer to current standards’.
Truly the road to hell has been well paved with apparently good intentions by many unfortunate souls.
I do not expect you to go out on a limb and provide an opinion you have to remain as Ceaser’s wife, untainted. I am simply brain dumping my personal doubts and concerns.
Thank you @Drezha, you shone a small beam of light into a dark passage in my mind. Many buildings were developed in past days against the standards, or lack thereof and have since had works done that took little account of any impact those works might have against current best practice. Ignorance rules in so many cases and I include my own culpability in small works; the holes appear to cover more than enough to allow far too much to go wrong.
Steve, I doubt that you are wrong, in many cases we paid to put it in place, paid again because its use was not regulated and so now we must keep on paying.
In the case of Grenville, the saddest thing is that a once almost fireproof building from the 1970s old standards, where stay put was probably sound advice, was turned into a pyre by more modern ‘high specification’ mistakes.
I have an interest in the materials specifications as for one of many pie in the sky projects, I am wondering about insulating the garage doors, cheaply and with lightweight insulation. Perhaps I will wait, fire retardant, low flammability, fire resistant and class whatever sound a little less appealing now. They all appear to burn just with greater or slightly lesser vigour.
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