Any better? He’s currently chipping off the rest. I hope he at least knew what he was doing with the render mix.

Well the whole reason we were getting the render redone was due to water getting in to the cavity somewhere and going into our fusebox which is recessed into the cavity wall by the front door. Front door is not where the original was. We originally thought it was the porch roof that was the issue so we had that re roofed (see previous thread on that!) That was a mission to get someone.

There is a concrete ledge inside the porch roof which was the original bit that was above the front door and the other houses in the street still have that sticking out over their front door. It has no supports under it so I think it goes into the cavity and so any water that manages to get behind the render runs down the brick inside the porch roof which isn’t rendered hits the ledge and can travel into the cavity. We hoped sorting out the render and the porch roof would prevent anything getting in.

Edit no damp internally and it’s only when it’s heavy rain plus a strong wind that we had the water getting in to the porch and fusebox

@redmex could you clarify what your comment means many thanks.

@DT78 where should the drip tray be installed please?

Oh dear. I wish he had just said he didn’t want to do the verge if he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s back removing the broken tile and is struggling to get the tiles lined up. I’ve watched a u tube on mortaring the verge and they use 3 1 mix and push bits of broken tile into it to strengthen and help it go off. I’ve told him about this and he’s giving it a go 🥺

I cut my meadow bank on Monday. Actually I scalped it with the petrol strimmer and it was much thicker than previous years due to the poor summer. Today I raked/scrapped off all loose stuff and chucked in a load of wild flower seed including lot’s of yellow rattle that I collected over the summer. Managed to get some yellow rattle with this method last year so hoping for more next year.

Who’s going to sleep on it and how often? I ‘slept’ on a fairly expensive brand new JL one and it was awful. Wasn’t sprung and was rock hard with annoying wooden railing on three sides to bash yourself on. We purchased a swyft sofa for our main sofa that is also a sofa bed and I’ve slept on it a few times and it’s really comfy because it’s sprung and has a soft topper layer. Folds down to a flat bed with no annoying sides. Was well over your budget but they may do more basic ones.

I will take a look at this and definitely will be donating as was about to donate to a larger charity (choose love). We are planning on visiting Morroco in February and would also be good to get some advice on if there’s anything we can bring out to hand out. We’ll be traveling in a van.

Thanks for that. Sock purchase incoming!

I hope nobody runs a programme about those of us not in the spotlight and what we’ve done or said to get laid in the past.

Did you force yourself on 3 separate women to get laid, resulting in one going to a rape centre and counseling? If not perhaps you’re ok. Also what about the text message evidence? There is some actual evidence being offered or perhaps you missed it as it was ‘on in the background’

Damn thanks to this thread and being bored and housebound with torrential rain I’ve just shelled out for some sexy looking lone peaks and am considering a couple of pairs of those darn tough socks! @charlie.farley are they really life time gaurentee?!

I used to be mad for skating in the 90’s. Baggy trousers and skate park stylee. Bought some new agressive skates back in March when not getting out riding much. Had a couple of goes down the small local skate park when all the kids were safely tucked up in school and was pleased to find even after a 20 year break the actual skating along part came right back. Trying to jump or do anything technical with rails or ramps however is incredibly hard work. Would be amazing for full body fitness though if I could keep at it but once summer arrived bikes and hikes and gardening have taken my attention and I’m far too embarrassed to be in the skate park in my 40’s with the kids about. Hoping to take the skates with me whilst travelling in Spain this winter as am always seeing empty skate parks in sleepy towns over there previous winters. Oh and concrete seems harder these days than I remember when in my teens….

This sounds like you do want to avoid paying but still use iPlayer sometimes. If you can afford the TV licence and you value the content they produce whether that’s TV, radio or news then support them.

Lol just did the anal trick with my motorhome. Anal pulse 😂

Live in Southeast on chalk aquifers. Hard water but the pipes and shower are fine. Need to use a few ml more shampoo or shower gel and an extra half a cap of laundry detergent. We have a filter for the kettle water to make a nicer cup of tea but wouldn’t dream of buying bottled water. Really I do despare at the above.

Anybody else have no tax due end of July this year even though I’ve not over paid or not earnt enough? It’s saying I owe loads more than normal per half year but it’s all due end of January next year? Normally there are two payments roughly equal.

We’re all living a lot longer post menopause and expected to be able to work longer too. I used to think I need to do everything the ‘natural’ way but after experiencing life and relationship limiting peri symptoms and discovering that the newer, body identical hrt treatments exist I changed my mind and have no qualms about cancer risks. Those were hugely overblown and were also based on the old types of hrt. The newer types show very little or no evidence of increased risk as long as you are not one of the few unlucky people to be genetically prone.

“Many women worry about breast cancer when taking HRT, but most types of HRT do not actually increase the risk of breast cancer. Some studies have shown that women taking combined HRT containing both estrogen and a progestogen (which is a synthetic progesterone) may be associated with a very small increased risk of breast cancer.

The increased risk is related to the type of progestogen in the HRT and not the estrogen. Taking micronised progesterone (the body identical progesterone) has not been shown to be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

Even for women taking the synthetic progestogen, the risk is very low and is actually less than the increased risk of breast cancer associated with drinking a couple of glasses of wine each night, or from being overweight. No studies have shown that any type of HRT increases the risk of a woman’s death from breast cancer.

If you have had a hysterectomy in the past, and are just taking estrogen without a progestogen, you actually have a lower risk of breast cancer than if you did not take HRT at all. There is also no increased risk of breast cancer in women who take any type of HRT when they are under the age of 51 years.

If you take estrogen in tablet form, you have a small increased risk of developing a blood clot, but this risk is not
present if you take estrogen through the skin in a patch, gel or spray”

Biggest killer of older women is heart disease (which is reduced with hrt)and then other things like osteoporosis leading to hip breaks mean much reduced quality and length of life. So by all means everyone make their own choice but just like when deciding whether to get the COVID vaccine it required a risk reward assessment the same should be considered with hrt especially with new treatments and updated knowledge. A lot of GPS still have pretty outdated ideas so even seeking professional advice can be a potscode lottery.

For those interested in learning/understanding more about the science of the menopause i can highly recommend the podcasts by Doctor Louise Newson. There are 2 recent ones (podcast 216 and 217) that look particularly relevant to this thread that may give some understanding of the mental health/mood issues people are experiencing and could provide those suffering with an insentive to seek treatment. In a nutshell hormones are seriously powerful things.

https://www.balance-menopause.com/type/podcast/

Thread resurrection again! Just going through the process of getting quotes for rerendering the side of our house. It’s currently sand and cement and is cracking. Somewhere water is getting behind the render and making it’s way into our porch. South West facing on the top of a hill near the coast and gets regularly blasted by wind and rain and baked in full sun. Reading online about the different types of render and then the comments in this thread and I’m back to square one and as confused as ever. I really don’t want to be going through all this again in 10 years time if cement doesn’t last. We have a quote from a builder who does all sorts and a couple of quotes from plasterer’s but yet to have a quote from a render specialist.

Thank you. Yes happy with the current temps as the landing is in the middle of the house with a floor above and one below. Much appreciated as it’s tricky and expensive to get trades out for small jobs here in Brighton.

@TheFlyingOx the photo is of the thermostat that’s located in the upstairs hallway near to the bathroom where the boiler is. It appears to have a wire leading into it hence why I was confused by the wireless product recommendation. Many thanks for your help with this!

Not seeing any wired ones of the same brand but maybe this would be ok? https://www.screwfix.com/p/honeywell-home-1-channel-wired-digital-room-thermostat-eco/41365?tc=WC1&gclid=CjwKCAjw8symBhAqEiwAaTA__IddGZ7ZoZJWVgIWnfhpKJgpKyHle23G_8qSIPsW1wR_DANxrNIUCBoCifkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

@jeffl just realised the thermostat you linked to says it’s wireless. Our current one isn’t wireless so is this going to confuse matters? Is there one that would just wire in to the existing wires maybe?

Could be blusher but need to see the skirt to confirm. Not Panther as that has pure white spots.

As part of an Early 40’s and 50’s DINK couple all I can say is we’re loving life. We said goodbye to our beloved lab last year which was really tough as she was our daughter basically but we’re stronger and happier than ever. I suppose we’re lucky in that we never wanted children and so naturally ended up making friends with a lot of other people without kids. We have great social lifes some of which we’ve built over the last 12 years of our relationship, great standard of living and go on loads of adventures and travel. Also have lots of time for our parents and step parents who are starting to get on now. When we scale back work we also plan on volunteering for fulfilment.

Got back from amazing 2 weeks motorhoming in France a week back. Stressed straight off the back as it was blowing a gale and pissing down and the newly roofed porch had leaked all over my shoes. Unloading in the weather cursing UK summer and thinking about turning round and getting back on the ferry. House smelled odd. Not bad just strange as we hadn’t been in it. Wondering if my house smells odd to visitors. Next was straight out to garden to check on all my vegetables and harvest loads of goodies. Feeling slightly better after that. Then a mix of loving having a whole house and nice bed but blues from being back to crap weather and routine. Next holiday not too long away thankfully.

I just did a 2 week motorhome holiday across France. Spent £2k on fuel, Aires, visiting caves, meals out, stocking up on local wines and cheeses from each region we visited, some uplifted MTB. We didn’t book anything and always had somewhere stunning to stay which was a variety of free and paid spots. We were planning a Scotland trip of similar kind in September but Tbh after reading a lot of the attitudes on here I think I’d rather just take my money back to France. Filled out the survey though just in case the people running it aren’t completely close minded.

Excellent thanks guys. Will give that one in the link a go.

Thanks may give it a go myself by purchasing the same brand. there’s one on eBay that looks identical for £35 used. If I fail am I calling heating engineer or electrician?

Ah that’s lovely @eatmorepizza. I agree with most of overshoots points but please guys if you’re the middle/older aged demographic ignore the 3 dates shag point. Older woman might like a little more time to get comfortable with a new man than that before diving into the potentially complicated world of sex in later life during peri or post menopause. Though everyone is different.

TJ another positive for you. Met my civil/life partner on POF(does that still exist?) 12 years ago. Best 1st date ever. Met up in my fav cosy pub. Talked so much I lost my voice the next day. 2nd date was 2 days later. Walk on the Downs and introduced my young black lab which sealed the deal. Moved in together a year later and have grown closer and more solid with each passing year.

It is really scary and takes time (years maybe)and practice. Don’t expect instant results and don’t lose faith if things don’t work out just have a break and restart when you have the energy.

@fazzini pro gardener here. There is not a selective weedkiller that would only kill the marestail. You would have to clear the whole area which obviously I wouldn’t recommend. If you have marestail in a lawn area unfortunately the only way to control it is regular mowing. It will weaken it but not eliminate. If it’s in borders regular digging out and you could carefully spot treat young growth with weedkiller but better to have someone qualified to apply. If you have neighbours you like definitely don’t just let it go wild. It’s nightmare stuff that will push up through tarmac if left unchecked.

Sad to be missing the start as abroad on hol but will hopefully catch some when back. Come on Lionesses!

Loads of good R4 content being dismissed above. Can’t be bothered to argue any individual case…

Plus one. There’s a huge range of programmes for different tastes so obviously some will be unappealing to individuals. Actually I will defend a case. The food programme and Kitchen Cabinet which are 2 of my faves are amazing for people who are passionate about food, cooking and learning more about where our food comes from and food from a vast array of cultures. They also celebrate and support our local producers and farmers with the food and farming awards. I went to the recording of a KC in Brighton and it was really fun and friendly and Jay Rayner is a great guy who knows his shit and not just about food.

I actually enjoy the vast majority of radio 4 content though some individual episodes can be hit and miss(hardly surprising considering the huge volume) though for me their comedy is my least favourite genre but I also find it rare to find good comedy from any source including television.

Plus one for The change. It’s funny and I thought had a bit of a Detectorists feel about it. The Bear season 2 took a bit of time to get going but really enjoying it though the extra long Christmas special with cameos was incredibly difficult watching and slightly headache inducing.

Why you going to dob them in to their insurance companies?

If it’s going on your veg I wouldn’t be putting chemicals in. One of main reasons I collect the rain water is because it’s better for my plants (particularly house plants) than treated water. I’ve not found it stays smelly once put onto the soil. Once you’ve emptied the water out maybe just clean the butt with soapy water and rinse then add some scrunched up netting or chicken wire into the top of the downpipe to catch debris.

One of my butts is just as you describe. It was cleaned out prior to the recent downpour that filled it a week ago The water comes off a flat felt roof so I wondered if that had anything to do with it. It is also in the sun.

<p style=”text-align: center;”>As a gardener I’d definitely never recommend anyone planting any type of bamboo. If they are vigorous enough to screen a second floor then they are invasive in time unless planted in raised containers. The amount of requests I get asking to have bamboo removed is crazy and also I look after several gardens where either they or the neighbours have planted bamboo supposed to be non spreading and after years it’s coming up through paving and membrane.</p>
There’s loads of options but it also depends on where in the country and exposure to wind. A flowering cherry or plum could be nice if on a dwarf root stock. Laburnum is lovely.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/smaller-gardens

<p style=”text-align: center;”>Not had any rain for 5 weeks in Brighton. It’s parched. None showing on the forecast either. A bit worrying for this early in the summer. Perhaps July/aug will be a washout.</p>

Teddy bears picnic here too

I started yoga in the winter when I had no interest in cycling. I’ve been doing 2 or 3 u tube sessions a week and feel really great strength, balance and mobility wise. It’s a great companion now that I’m also cycling again for some cardio.