Recent content by DrPhill

I think it is a tape measure......

Yep, happy Proton suite user here too. You can try all their products on a free tariff - limited functionality but enough to see if you like them. That is the route I took. Lots of security and secrecy wonks have endless debates on the web about the pros and cons of providers such as these...

And 40% of money passing through tax havens goes through the City of London. Don't expect the UK government to do much about money laundering in the near future.

The right wing economic theory always sounds to me like something out of the Bible: “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath”

Facts? Shmacts! You css as n prove anything with facts! - Homer (Simpson)

For reference this https://highwaycode.org.uk/rule-252/

I do so love the English language. We have so many shades of meaning that we can distinguish between ‘incidental’ and ‘ancillary’ with such clarity. our current plan to make more use of the garage will not see it move (yet) from incidental to ancillary. But the work we do could be enhanced in...

I have been trying to decipher the words on the government website. I *think* that sheds and garages are all classified as outbuildings. Changing usage between these is not an issue. The big step may come when the building becomes living accommodation. No sleeping overnight in it! Offices can...

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/16/researchers-build-ai-driven-sarcasm-detector That's a huge step forward for the human race then.....

By dry-walling you mean they can be assembled without mortar? That sounds very interesting, though there are plenty of ugly bricks to contrast with. I will look at their catalogue and see if there is anything suitable. It means more organic shapes are possible, and I only need to lift one...

Thanks for the thought - I'm pretty confident - drains, sewer, electric and gas all come in from the front of the property. Nothing on the searches at the back. Some electrics to/from the garage but I can avoid the obvious routes.

Yep, it was suggested above!

Thanks for the advice. I have ordered a long SDS drill bit and plan to drill some holes through the mortar between some slabs. This might give me some more information with minimum destruction.

Indeed. It is this that worries me and makes me reluctant to follow the 'remove slabs and dig' option. Raising the soil certainly sounds the easiest way to go. I still like the idea of removing slabs - the patio does not have enough slope and so grows moss and algae during the winter...

You are right abut the soil. We are on or near clay here, but where we have dug it is a spit or more down. I am expecting poor soil and am mentally prepared to pay to build soil. I made a fruit tree area by laying cardboard on the lawn and covering it in wood chip. Using a similar principle...