The new news 24 thread

[egg]

Water leak in the house....cannot be identified.

Stain on the ceiling downstairs, trusted plumber came in today (covid risk agh!) and got the floor upstairs up. All pipes in that area bone dry. Nothing. No sign of water coming through the floor from the top. Complete mystery.  floor insulation was wet, so that has been removed and maybe the area will dry out. But actual source of the leak - no idea...

That's cost me his time as well.

[danthecapriman]

 

39 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

..... so there used to be a house there, there are houses next to it and you’re getting in a strop because someone’s going to build on it?!

Okay, then. 

There’s a lot placed on schools having areas like that nowadays and it’s just been taken away for some twat to make a few quid. The trees there were big too, it’s taken a lifetime for some of them to grow and now they’re all gone. There’s also a huge impact on the wildlife that used to live and feed from that area.

Theres so much space down here being developed nowadays we should be protecting the little bits that are left not destroying it and concreting over it instead.

Trouble is, it’s not going to be developed into a single house like it was many years ago or like all the neighbouring properties, they’re trying to do 2 or 3 crammed into the same space.

30 minutes ago, catsinthewelder said:

With it being left in trust to the school as a nature area I can see why you're pissed off that they've completely gone against her wishes.  Well done for getting the trees in ?

Thanks! I like green space and wildlife, so it wasn’t pleasant seeing all that get destroyed. Such a waste.

It'll take a while for the new ones to get as big as the old ones but they will get there eventually. They’re all grown from British seeds and growers sustainably or Ive grown them myself. The Rowan tree actually came from a sapling from the Woodland trust a few years ago, they gave them out for free to members to encourage people to put trees in their gardens.

Theres another tree at the bottom of the garden I grew from a seed from a pine cone. I’ve got no idea wtf species it actually is but the tree it came from is still there in a local wildlife park. It’s absolutely enormous! Like a giant redwood type thing, though not that big. Be interesting to see how big that will get.

[richardmorris]

49 minutes ago, catsinthewelder said:

With it being left in trust to the school as a nature area I can see why you're pissed off that they've completely gone against her wishes.  Well done for getting the trees in ?

I think there was an edict from central government that local education authorities had to utilise all land sales before they could go cap in hand asking for money ( paraphrased). Obviously isn’t right environmentally or educationally for the children.  But well done for planting trees. Rowan is a rarity now too I think ( at least near me).

[New POD]

1 hour ago, Kiltox said:

..... so there used to be a house there, there are houses next to it and you’re getting in a strop because someone’s going to build on it?!

Okay, then. 

I'd be asking to see the exact terms of the trust and seeing if they are allowed to sell it. 

 

[Zelandeth]

One of the good things in Milton Keynes is that all the park land (there is a lot!) is owned by the Parks Trust, and they're not allowed to sell it off for development.

...Or so we're told.  Didn't stop them from tearing up one of the wild meadows just outside Linford Wood last year and plonking yet another set of office buildings in there.  No idea why given there's absolutely no shortage of office space just now... there's an entire neighborhood down five minutes from the station that's been empty since we moved in, and they tore down and rebuilt a huge block just round the corner from this new one about three years ago...as far as I'm aware not a single unit has been occupied yet...

So it's blatantly obviously someone out to make a quick buck.  No other reason it would have been granted planning permission...I can also say categorically that there were absolutely no notices posted prior to the day the bulldozers moved in.  ...I spent eight and a half years working in a local authority so do notice things like that when they appear!

[danthecapriman]

13 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I think there was an edict from central government that local education authorities had to utilise all land sales before they could go cap in hand asking for money ( paraphrased). Obviously isn’t right environmentally or educationally for the children.  But well done for planting trees. Rowan is a rarity now too I think ( at least near me).

I’ve no idea tbh regarding how/if land can/should be sold and used, I just think it’s wrong from the perspective of the school and the nature it’s destroyed. I know we do need more homes building but there’s no shortage of places that are left derelict that could be used instead without chopping woodland down. We hear so much now about climate change and air quality and the one thing that’d help no end with this is keeping the trees we already have.

Im not a keen gardener if I’m honest, but I do enjoy green space and trees, hence my action to replace them. The Rowan tree, I didn’t actually realise is also called a ‘mountain ash’, despite not being related in any way to the Ash tree!

I think I must be getting old!!

[Christine]

Find a non covid  19 bat....or a crested newt....?

[Burnside]

Finished up cleaning the Fiat Stilo SW rather grim boot area today. Forgot to take pictures of before though as just got stuck in. 

Previous owner had got mud and who knows what else, over and under the carpet, toolkit and spare wheel. 

The boot carpet was so bad (dirty & torn)  that I already brought a 2nd hand replacement months ago. Pretty happy with the results and smells alot more pleasant too! 

Have also managed to improve the outside. Mainly cutting an polishing out the various scratches etc. An using a touch up stick for some of the scrapes an chips.

Apart from the dents and the ruinned headling this car is starting to finally look half decent. Overall pretty happy with my Days work. 

Got more cutting and polishing to do tomorrow. Also might try cleaning the seats again as there still grubby. 

[Zelandeth]

The Stilo is a design which has aged well I think.  Though being honest I always quite liked the look of them.  Never been in an estate, but we had a couple of the hatchbacks through the garage just towards the time I finished there and they seemed to drive nicely...though thinking about it I don't think I've ever driven a Fiat I didn't like really...even down to a Uno 60S with the 1.1 litre engine in...

This evening's task for me: Get a bloody website update pushed through.  It's not been touched since 2017, and it's about bloody time I did something about that.  I've got nearly a dozen half finished updates sitting in the Work in Progress folder, so time to pick one and run with it.

[Cavcraft]

Back to work today, four trips out in a 19 plate Berlingo. Stupidly compact (when you're long and fat) in the leg area, and no air con. Still, it was great to be out on the open roads which were very quiet. Plenty of traffic coppers about though and a two traffic womble cars were hunting in pairs, so I'm guessing VOSA were open somewhere. 

[Timewaster]

6 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Nobody can accuse me of not doing my bit for the environment now! I can’t wait to get the Beech, lovely looking trees! I suppose it offsets the carbon footprint of my car collection.

How many thousand trees have you planted then? 

I doubt Epping forest offsets your collection. 

[somewhatfoolish]

5 hours ago, New POD said:

I'd be asking to see the exact terms of the trust and seeing if they are allowed to sell it. 

 

That's the problem, councils are sometimes run by slippery eel types, and even when not government edicts can oblige them to do shitty things even if against local sentiment; if people want to leave land for common good or similar it needs to be legally tied up with a double bow and fingers crossed to prevent scumbaggery.

[Tayne]

6 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

 

 

Trouble is, it’s not going to be developed into a single house like it was many years ago or like all the neighbouring properties, they’re trying to do 2 or 3 crammed into the same space.

 

 

I'm assuming you've seen the plans on your local council website?

You can find out whether its 2 or 3 houses and whether  they will overlook you.

Just put your postcode in the search box halfway down.

 

https://www.hants.gov.uk/landplanningandenvironment

 

 

[fairkens]

If they've not already been felled apply for tree protection orders for some of the key trees. 

[danthecapriman]

17 minutes ago, Tayne said:

 

I'm assuming you've seen the plans on your local council website?

You can find out whether its 2 or 3 houses and whether  they will overlook you.

Just put your postcode in the search box halfway down.

 

https://www.hants.gov.uk/landplanningandenvironment

 

 

Just looked on that as it happens! Nothing showing.

The only reason I know what’s likely is because I was in the garden when the new owner was next door talking to some other guy. His words were ‘a two bed in this area and a three at the bottom’. So that’s at least two, on the same size plot as every other house on this street which only has one, and all the houses are more or less in line with each other. By doing what he’s suggesting he wants to means our house and many of the neighbours will be overlooked badly, but also the only house at the rear of the plot will face directly into all our back windows. It’s certainly not in keeping with the other houses in the street. The guy who lives on the other side of that land is in an even worse situation for privacy because of how his bungalow is laid out.

Of course what the developer wants to do is completely different to what he will be allowed to do in the end. But it still means the loss of all those trees.

 

[danthecapriman]

4 minutes ago, fairkens said:

If they've not already been felled apply for tree protection orders for some of the key trees. 

Too late sadly. He bought the land at auction then came straight in with a team of tree cutters and machinery and took the lot down. I think he deliberately did it quick to stop any sort of fight back from residents, plus I think he’s trying to take advantage of the current situation - much of the council seems either closed for the duration or minimal staff. 

Im not sure if it applies but there wasn’t much social distancing going on that day either!

There was a pretty big oak tree over there, sadly now gone but the bigger trees were right in the middle of the land so would have been hard to work around. Fortunately though there’s a really big oak (must be a good few hundred years old) just on the wrong side of his border line so that’s survived unscathed. Though I think it might still lose a few branches yet.

[Burnside]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

The Stilo is a design which has aged well I think.  Though being honest I always quite liked the look of them.  Never been in an estate, but we had a couple of the hatchbacks through the garage just towards the time I finished there and they seemed to drive nicely...though thinking about it I don't think I've ever driven a Fiat I didn't like really...even down to a Uno 60S with the 1.1 litre engine in...

This evening's task for me: Get a bloody website update pushed through.  It's not been touched since 2017, and it's about bloody time I did something about that.  I've got nearly a dozen half finished updates sitting in the Work in Progress folder, so time to pick one and run with it.

I must admit as a Fiat fan when they came out. I thought they were rather bland looking, but after spending time driving a hatchback version a few years after they came out. It quickly won me over and as they have gotten older. I've grown to rather love it's styling too. 

Despite the abuse this poor car received by it's previous owner it's held up rather well. Though having what I believe is a genuine 49,000 has possibly helped. I'm not sure how far I can go with improving it, but it's certainly looking better than it did when I brought it last year!

 

 

 

[paulplom]

7 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Just looked on that as it happens! Nothing showing.

The only reason I know what’s likely is because I was in the garden when the new owner was next door talking to some other guy. His words were ‘a two bed in this area and a three at the bottom’. So that’s at least two, on the same size plot as every other house on this street which only has one, and all the houses are more or less in line with each other. By doing what he’s suggesting he wants to means our house and many of the neighbours will be overlooked badly, but also the only house at the rear of the plot will face directly into all our back windows. It’s certainly not in keeping with the other houses in the street. The guy who lives on the other side of that land is in an even worse situation for privacy because of how his bungalow is laid out.

Of course what the developer wants to do is completely different to what he will be allowed to do in the end. But it still means the loss of all those trees.

 

You need to completely fill your garden with horse manure. Pile it really high. Nobody will want to but a house next door to a garden full of horse shit.

[00833827]

Yesterday i changed a rear seized caliper on the wifes golf. I had left it since i noticed it seized when chaging pads but now we were down to the metal so had to go at it. Had a casualty during the change too. The caliper brake pipe / when turning the nut to remove it twisted the pipe and snapped.  A mate of mine is in a local dealership (closed but servicing emergency vehicles so can partially operate) so his mechanic made one up for me with the flagging tool. Fitted last night and 40 min test drive this morning, jumping on the brakes all the time she performed well. I checked the joints for leaks when home and all dry so i am confident enough to send her off in it again this morning. Told her take it easy,  listen out for noise on the ten mile drive to work, stereo off, and if any warning lights come up pull in and call me.

 

 

While at my mates garage, he asked if I was still interested in a 2006 Kangoo I had inquired about a few months back. He had been using it as a van as they had none at the time, but were now done with it. No test since September, 1.2 16v petrol (think its the D4F from same as a clio), roof bars, tow bar, body pretty clean, interior is so sparse that hard to tell but everything seems to work, drivers bolster is torn, clutch is fairly heavy (i had a 1.5 diesel one of these for a while and i remember the same thing so might just be a thing with them) - i think it said 171000 kms on it, i literally just took it and drove it the 2 mins to my house, parked it up the road so my other half didn't see it. will unveil at the weekend

My mate would not take anything for the brake pipe so i felt obliged to take the kangoo off him - thats what i am going to say to herself anyway

 

[richardmorris]

Still looks a very good shaped design.

 

[egg]

Ok so I split open the pressure machine and the power cable has (waterproof?) spade connectors. Do I just yank these sort off? And this makes the reconnection process harder? I was expecting to have bare wires to remove...

[Jazoli]

Just gently (not yank) pull them off, its easy.

[beko1987]

They might have a locking tab on one side, dysons do, then they put those stupid rubber boots over it. Possible to do in situ with a small screwdriver though, push the tab down and it releases and comes up

[brownnova]

Going for a drive to work or shopping is more such an event I seem to photograph it every time... 

I’m so glad the soft top was the one I kept taxed! 

[Lankytim]

The aircon clutch on the V70 seems to be making a right whine, inspection showed the pulley section was a bit wobbly. I’ve got a spare pump in the garage so to avoid letting all the gas out I had a look at swapping the clutches and pulleys over. After finally getting the outer part off and then the large circlip on the outside got stumped by an inner circlip. I’ve broken my elderly circlip pliers, can anyone recommend a decent set? They seem to range from 99p up to £999.

[Ghosty]

New wheels ordered for the C30 as it's driving on 4 eggs. Nice simple five spoke design off a V50, straight swap OE fitment so I can keep my tyres.  But easier to clean and no corroded to hell

[Split_Pin]

Got someone to cut me both front suspension turrets from a dead Corsa to replace the rotten originals on mine.

I don't think all of the strut tower needs replaced but better to have the whole section just in case. 

[Burnside]

More jobs done on the Stilo SW. Have clay barred and polished up the Bonnet. Touched in some more chips an mark's. Then blacked up the exterior plastics. 

A nearside brake bulb had randomly failed, so sorted that. 

Inside looking better too. I've cleaned out the front interior light of dead insects. Yuk. An have replaced one of the rear headrest and the manky drivers door card. As had used replacements already to hand. 

I think long term though some replacement seats would be the best option. An the headlining as that's beyond help.

The pictures still flatter it, but I'm really pleased with today progress. 



[HMC]

Good to read about all the fettling going on; all I did was to take a flattering photo of the Mercedes (The paint is quite rough in parts and it’s been attacked with a golf club at some point) and make an ultra low budget what do we have lying around darth Vader outfit.

 

[somewhatfoolish]

Darth seems to be wielding a broken-off pool cue, so clearly spoiling for a fight.