Nick Mace

This is the one the factory sent me.

Having spent most of the morning in it, I can say it wouldn’t be a very good lair. Pumped about 15” of water out leaving a load of sludge which we shovelled into buckets and listed out. There was a hole in the cement lining bang on the tide line, so I’m hoping that’s why it’s leaking. This afternoon my wife and son fixed the hole and painted the walls with tanking slurry whilst I took my daughter to a climbing lesson. Some more pictures...

It’s a full on garden pub!

Look great. Are they hydro dipped?

Looks awesome!

We’ve just had some trenches dug in our drive for a cable (finally I’m getting power in the garage!) and soak aways, and we discovered some large old brick-built rainwater storage tanks. They’re proper underground rooms with arched roofs. Coupled with the old fuel tank we already knew about, it seems most of our driveway is hollow! We’re going to chuck a submersible pump and plumbing in as it will be great to have rainwater for gardening. However, it clearly leaks at the moment so we’ll have to do some work to sort that out. We’ve got the builder to make an inspection cover so we can get access in the future without a digger to move the concrete slab. It’s an interesting discovery but I’m glad we do t have plans to build on it or anything like that!

You might also check that there are no open holes on the intake manifold. There are some holes which should be blanked off and if the blanking plugs fall off the engine will run very roughly (if at all). However, that would effect all cylinders rather than just one. Mine only ran on three cylinders when I first started it. I didn’t really pick it up, but a friend of mine straight away spotted it and, with his asbestos hands, worked out which cylinder it was. It was cured by pushing the plug lead on properly...

Sorry, I didn’t listen to the video (and others more qualified to comment than me on that).

Unfortunately misting is common with these gauges. It will take a while of running to get the temp gauge to move - it might creep up a bit to start with, but it won't be until the thermostat opens that it really starts to move.

Pulling on the sides/top and bottom of the wheel should free it off. Pull a bit one side then the other. Leave the nut on/bolt in loosely if you don’t want blood on the steering wheel. They come off rather quickly and unexpectedly! A sharp tap with a mallet might also help, but be careful not to damage any threads.

I’ve had a look and a measure. The rafters are 140mm deep and spaced 350mm apart. I’m not sure what you call the roof felt, but it looks like an older, bituminous style? Here is a photo of the felt, and of the general roof space. Thanks

Thanks Mark I’ll take some measurements and have a look at the felt tomorrow. Headroom is an issue so I’m limited to putting insulation between the rafters. Nick

Are there any builders out there who might be able to give me a bit of advice? I have a room above my garage which I've decided will make a decent woodworking workshop (it's a bit smaller than is ideal, but whenever has a workshop been too big??). It's a pitched roof with open rafters - i.e. you can see the roofing felt (which is under a slate roof). I'd like to tart it up a bit and I'm thinking about cladding the interior with something like tongue and groove. I think it would make some sense to add insulation whilst I'm at it. It's not going to make a huge difference but it might stop it being completely roasting in the Summer (I'm worried about it being too hot as I can always put another jumper on in the Winter). I've had a bit of a look online but get confused about air gaps, condensation, hot/cold roofs etc. Can anyone give me some simple pointers about what materials to consider (celotex foam?) and how to install it (e.g. where to leave air gaps etc.)? The only other factor which might be relevant is that I'm going to have recessed lights in the cladding. Any thoughts welcome...

My kids (11 and 13) are doing a 4 day course in the Easter hols where they will each assemble a 3D printer and learn the programming basics. It’s not cheap, but they each get a printer out of it at the end (which they will hopefully understand better having built it themselves) and will (I hope!) learn some useful skills. I can then put them to work making stuff...

Following on from the great welding threads on here recently, do you need AC or DC for welding plastic coke bottles to gearboxes?