Recent content by Ivor Windybottom

Nice. Fancy mitred ends too. Guess they were perforated bricks? I think I'm getting solid ones, so can just plonk one on the end. Might need one of those little metal angle bits I've seen under though. Solid ones are better for the ends, but they grip their neighbours less well, as the...

Your son should ask for the calcs. Publish them here if you like, I'm sure someone qualified or at least experienced could comment. Chat GPT: make a page full of complicated equations relating to a 10m long beam in a building... It's not difficult to baffle with bull!

We've adopted a few cats with troubled pasts over the years. All have had massive sleep sessions when they arrive. It's a huge compliment, she's just found the first place she can relax in ages. After a few days she'll brighten up.

My point is that there doesn't seem to be much else left here, now that anything spicy has been moved to the new naughty corner.

...there doesn't seem to be much else going on here!

Because of their weight? Would they tend to sink if using one mix that's wet enough for the joints? I suppose they also have very little suction, so the bed will remain as wet after placing them, not stiffen up in five minutes as it would normally.

Good point. I have done this with Class B before and they looked great and were fine for years. But I guess that I probably should be using Class A? I'll speak to BrickHunter, will get them to swap out some Class B for Class A and charge the difference. While I'm at it I'll get blue ones for...

The two big cracks are obvious. But zoom into that original photo and the entire surface is crazed. I doubt they'd last a winter. Especially not as the top course will be on edge, with their faces upwards.

I just phoned Brickhunter, who I've bought from before. Really helpful bloke, he just emailed me some photos of their bricks, Sandown Red Class B Perforated... They're more like it. Not looking for perfection, these look vastly better. Will order from Brickhunter instead of local junk then.

The replacement bricks were just as bad as the first lot. It's about 10 years since I last used engineering bricks, they definitely didn't look like this then. They could be a bit rough round the edges but I've never seen cracked faces before. I'll request a refund and look elsewhere. It's...

The big problem with external insulation on all buildings is that the existing walls will become sealed in. Any moisture that is rising up from the ground will currently be able to evaporate out into the outside air. If you wrap it in a sealed box then the room inside is the only remaining...

I've been surprised before that concrete, despite being water based, doesn't really mix with water at all when it's poured. The water will float on top of the concrete and get pushed out as grey slop. But if you do this then you will end up with a weak flaky crust on top, where the top layer...

Yes, some of the world's finest! What's Clarkson up to? Is that Floella Benjamin off 1970s Playschool with him?

Did you settle on a name in the end? Sorry if I missed it. Maggie is a nice name.

She's still new. She's been through a lot, she'll have moved several times so is probably waiting for a van to turn up and take her away somewhere else. After a few weeks she'll decide it's probably her home so can relax.