Your Day Today!

[Pedro]

51 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

Exactly , and that's why I won't have a meter either.  When they supply a decent service and stop their polluting then I might have one of their meters.

You have a well? How do ypu have water without a meter?

[XTreme]

1 minute ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

Yeh but you don't live in France or Germany so i cant wind you up if i talk about them  

It doesn't wind me up......I'm not bothered about unemployment figures.....here or in Britain.

What I am bothered about is the Pound getting stronger! It needs to get back to 2005 levels!

[Nute]

19 hours ago, Clive said:

Before I start, I ain't moaning, no point really.

With the cost of gas, electricity, council tax and the other associated costs of living we cannot afford for our energy bills to rise any higher than what they are now, we are on the limit of what we we can afford to pay each month out of our monthly pension, having the heating on 24/7 is just not a option.

And also the rise of the car insurance, which has caused us problems, but even though we do not use the car very much it is necessary that we have it available to use, that is why the scoot is off the road at the moment,  and I will have to undoubtedly SORN it when the insurance is due next month.

We live, we eat, and pay our bills, but there  nothing left over in the kitty to pay higher energy bills.

Sorry, meant to reply earlier but been a busy day. 

Condensation can be a bitch to resolve, I look at umpteen places a month with issues like this. There are various things you can try or ask the housing association about trying. The amount of moisture that air can hold changes with temp, the colder it is the less it can hold (so the relative humidity goes up) to the point where if it gets cold enough and the RH gets to 100% then condensation will occur. Its a bit like sitting outside with a cold beer, the air in contact with the cold glass cools until condensation occurs. 

The aim is therefore to keep the internal surfaces warm enough or the humidity low enough so that the dew point is not reached and condensation doesn't occur. 

Keeping the heating on low all the time rather than a spike of heating twice a day is good advice but obviously it costs money.

When you have a shower keep the door closed and open the window, use the biggest possible extract fan- have it on over run for 15 mins after the light is turned off. You can also get them with humidistats in so they come on when the humidity reaches a certain level. 

Make sure the kitchen extract actually vents to the exterior, some cooker hoods just run the air through a carbon filter to remove the smell and then recirculate it back into the room. 

Do your windows have trickle vents, if not they can sometimes be retrofitted. You can also get air bricks which can be fitted to help promote ventilation, they need to be sleeved across the cavity and good ones have baffles in to prevent drafts and external noise.

Using a dehumidifier can help but it needs to be left running and the tank emptied so it doesn't cut out. Let the air circulate around the house rather than keeping doors closed.

Don't dry clothes on radiators, ensure tumble dryers vent to the exterior (or are of the condensing type) 

Avoid having furniture close to external walls where the condensation occurs as it reduces air circulation. 

Increasing insulation where possible, assume this is something the HA will need to do.

Try to avoid using any paint other than basic emulsion, possibly with a fungicide in it. Paints containing latex (vinyl silk etc) stop the walls from breathing but if its already been decorated its too late. 

Some people have good success with positive input ventilation, again its something the HA would need to fit but a bungalow is an ideal property to fit these to. There are several firms making these units such as - https://www.nuaire.co.uk/residential-ventilation-systems-nuaire/positive-input-ventilation-systems-piv-nuaire

Try opening the windows on opposite sides of the house for a few mins every couple of hrs to change the air. The germans have a word for this - its something they habitually do.

Sorry for war and peace but I hope some of it might help. Sorry if you already know all this, don't mean  to teach my grandma to suck eggs. Let me know if I can provide any further info or help. 

 

[Sir Fallsalot]

37 minutes ago, Pedro said:

You have a well? How do ypu have water without a meter?

We pay a monthly charge for drinking water and waste water. All new builds have to have a water meter now, i managed to get out of it when i renovated my house because i didn't want one as i waste too much of it to be on a meter LOL

 

[Clive]

@Nute....some the things you mentioned we have, like trickle vents, we do have a tumble dryer in the kitchen, i fitted a new pipe to the outside vent, but we only use it when necessary,  it is a old one, so i guess it gobbles electric, so it is used sparingly.

Kitchen and bathroom have recently (last year) been fitted with new extractor fans, and both are wired to the light switch, there is a override off switch, but it is left in the on position. 

I do open the bedroom windows when we get up, unless the wind is blowing, it makes the doors rattle otherwise ,  but saying that, the bedroom is the least (mould) effected room in the bungalow, not much moist action in there now days  

Our spare room fitted with patio doors has mould around the patio doors, and also around the wall vent, but keep treating it with bleach, maybe not the ideal thing to use, but it works in the short term.

Bathroom is the 2nd worst effected room, they did put in a new ceiling last year, but where the tiles finish and the ceiling starts is proving to be a mould hotshot, the walls around the window have significant mould patches, well they did, till the guy treated them the other day, as said, the extractor fan comes on with the light switch, and draws on for around 5 mins after the lights are turned off.

Kitchen, has a extractor fan, that operates in the same manner as the bathroom extractor, this too has had a new ceiling fitted last year, but that too has mould where the walls meet the ceiling, I expect it to be the worse effected room as cooking causes much condensation, but again the guys have treated the effected areas, how long will it keep the mould at bay?..anybodies guess.

I suppose in the scheme of things it comes down to lack of constant heating, 2 hours of daily heating may be doing more harm than  good.

Thanks for the info, may be able to act on some of it.  

[Buckster]

You lot are a bunch of bellends.

[Nute]

@Clive - how old is the building? 

Extract fans for bathrooms can normally be adjusted to over run for up to 15 mins, altering it to as long as poss might help. Some extract fans wouldn't blow out a candle, the volume of air they shift varies with model/ make, obviously the more wellie the better, and having the thing directly over the shower helps. If its in the ceiling there will be a length of duct running the extract to the exterior, the shortest path with proper ductwork rather than that crappy Flexi stuff offers the least resistance. 

Might be worth checking that the loft insulation has been put back on the bathroom ceiling too, lots of times people doing things in the roof move it about and dont put it back.  

[Sir Fallsalot]

Wheel bearings done on the dog tonight,  fitted 3 stainless steel ones in the rear wheel and one dust seal. I need to get a new dust seal for the sprocket side as it shot and i will need to fit it quick or the bearing will be wetter than Clive's front room.

[boboneleg]

51 minutes ago, Buckster said:

You lot are a bunch of bellends.

and ?

[Buckster]

32 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

and ?

I was just reminding you.

[Clive]

1 hour ago, Nute said:

@Clive - how old is the building? 

Extract fans for bathrooms can normally be adjusted to over run for up to 15 mins, altering it to as long as poss might help. Some extract fans wouldn't blow out a candle, the volume of air they shift varies with model/ make, obviously the more wellie the better, and having the thing directly over the shower helps. If its in the ceiling there will be a length of duct running the extract to the exterior, the shortest path with proper ductwork rather than that crappy Flexi stuff offers the least resistance. 

Might be worth checking that the loft insulation has been put back on the bathroom ceiling too, lots of times people doing things in the roof move it about and dont put it back.  

The bathroom extractor fan is on the wall, about 1metre away from the bath/shower, there is only the light switch and a on/off master switch for that, unless it is adjustable inside the body of the fan I cannot see how to adjust it.  

The guy did go up in the loft to check if all was OK, but the year before last we had a new boiler installed, the fitters went in the loft space to fit the roof vent, and at that time they/he did not put the insulation back, this was only discovered when the guys came to check before putting in the new kitchen ceiling, it was then put back.

We wanted a cooker hood fitting in the kitchen too, but the housing association would only give it the go ahead if their guys fitted one, but the price they quoted was too much for us, I still think one would be a good idea because my wife does cook proper meals on it, no microwave meals here.  

[Pedro]

1 hour ago, Clive said:

The bathroom extractor fan is on the wall, about 1metre away from the bath/shower, there is only the light switch and a on/off master switch for that, unless it is adjustable inside the body of the fan I cannot see how to adjust it.  

The guy did go up in the loft to check if all was OK, but the year before last we had a new boiler installed, the fitters went in the loft space to fit the roof vent, and at that time they/he did not put the insulation back, this was only discovered when the guys came to check before putting in the new kitchen ceiling, it was then put back.

We wanted a cooker hood fitting in the kitchen too, but the housing association would only give it the go ahead if their guys fitted one, but the price they quoted was too much for us, I still think one would be a good idea because my wife does cook proper meals on it, no microwave meals here.  

I don’t know, Clive, you must be missing the mines by now.

[Pedro]

I searched for the thread where @XTremeasked what we’d be doing in 2024.

Turns out I’ll be joining @Sofiaand our friend Barbara to a short trip to the North of Italy. They will be taking a ferry from Barcelona to Genoa and meeting me in Milan, while I’ll be riding from home through the south of France and over the Mediterranean Alps to Italy. I’m planning to take the short High Via del Sale road heading into Italy before heading to Milan, then a couple of nights there catching up with my friend Luca and showing the girls around, to then go to Moto Guzzi for a visit and over the “hills” to Lake Garda for a couple of days and another mountain pass when I get an afternoon by myself.

Turning out to be an interesting trip on paper, if my business partners have the decency to keep to themselves in September.

So this is the big trip in 2024, accompanying two women to Italy!

[Pedro]

Spent the last couple of days prebooking a few rooms as I’ve learned my lesson last year in England. This is not Kansas anymore, so I’m fixing some prices down, it does take a lot of the romance away from the trip and I’d rather just look at the booking app at 16:00, like in Morocco, but that sort of spontaneously costs you in touristy Europe, so I’m planning stuff and booking shit down. I’m turning into fucking @Motobiker!!! 
 

Now over the next few days I’ll look into the ride from home over to South France and to the Alps, then back even if I don’t know wether to take the ferry back to Barcelona with them or not.

[Pedro]

My plan is for the GS to deal with motorway to Southern France, Alpine risky dirtroads, Milanese eclectic and fashionable streets, then Northern Italian countryside vistas, all in its stride at over 120.000km

[Clive]

9 hours ago, Pedro said:

I don’t know, Clive, you must be missing the mines by now.

Mines! ......a good thing that they are all gone now, it is the one job I would never have returned to.

[boboneleg]

10 hours ago, Pedro said:

I’m planning to take the short High Via del Sale road heading into Italy before heading to Milan,

Most of the Via del Sale is pretty straightforward to ride but there are a few rocky areas that you have to be confident to ride. I'm sure @Sir Fallsalot can confirm ?

We had a Austrian guy on a GS1200 join us to ride along it's length (about 23kms) and he did drop his bike on one of the rock gardens and trash his Touratech lights (not that he seemed to care).

You also have to pay to ride it now and there may be restrictions on what days you can ride    -   https://www.altaviadelsale.com/eng/itineraries

In no way am I trying to put you off riding it as it a spectacular route and one that I want to go back to before I hang up my riding boots .

[Pedro]

20 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

Most of the Via del Sale is pretty straightforward to ride but there are a few rocky areas that you have to be confident to ride. I'm sure @Sir Fallsalot can confirm ?

We had a Austrian guy on a GS1200 join us to ride along it's length (about 23kms) and he did drop his bike on one of the rock gardens and trash his Touratech lights (not that he seemed to care).

You also have to pay to ride it now and there may be restrictions on what days you can ride    -   https://www.altaviadelsale.com/eng/itineraries

In no way am I trying to put you off riding it as it a spectacular route and one that I want to go back to before I hang up my riding boots .

 

I'm not one to put my bike through punishment for the sake of it, so won't be riding around doing loops to end up at the same place. The only bit I am really interested in doing is going from Limone to Monesi, seems to be the most scenic and spectacular, and sort of fits my trip to Milan, plus it's not a big distance.

I watched a few videos of it and am pretty confident I'll be ok, unless it's raining a lot and it gets muddy, if it gets muddy I´ll turn back.

As soon as they open for the season I'll book a day and pay the ticket, just to make sure. Not really annoyed they charge for it, it's really the only way to keep traffic to acceptable levels and have money to maintain it properly. I've seen what happens to some roads and paths when they go through harsh winters and aren't maintained.

[boboneleg]

I don't think you'll encounter any mud as it's nearly all rock base, there may be puddles if it has been raining.  We did La Brigue to Limone and then down the Colle de Tenda .  I'm not at all annoyed that they charge to ride it now (they do the same for the Sommellier now) as it pays for the upkeep of the road and allows it to remain open.

My mistake with the distance , it was about 23 miles NOT kms.

[Saul]

Well my Mrs was 60 today so I got her the same as I did 20 years ago.  
 

 

Then took her out for lunch, actually bought her a pasty and took her down Par Beach to eat it in the van, it’s what she wanted

I offered her a party or proper meal out or even a few days away but she didn’t want any of it.   She asked for a Chinese takeaway meal with the whole family.  So that’s what she is getting.  

Oh and the Gecko’s here.   We had to go to Redruth to get the only one available in the whole of Cornwall    Bloody thing has cost me a fortune.    
Oh and he is in the black hide apparently.   Bitey little fucker  

 

[XTreme]

1 hour ago, Saul said:

Well my Mrs was 60 today so I got her the same as I did 20 years ago.  
 

 

Then took her out for lunch, actually bought her a pasty and took her down Par Beach to eat it in the van, it’s what she wanted

I offered her a party or proper meal out or even a few days away but she didn’t want any of it.   She asked for a Chinese takeaway meal with the whole family.  So that’s what she is getting.  

Oh and the Gecko’s here.   We had to go to Redruth to get the only one available in the whole of Cornwall    Bloody thing has cost me a fortune.    
Oh and he is in the black hide apparently.   Bitey little fucker  

 

Geckos everywhere here......sign of good luck apparently.

Not that I've had any!

[Sir Fallsalot]

1 hour ago, Saul said:

Well my Mrs was 60 today so I got her the same as I did 20 years ago.  
 

 

Then took her out for lunch, actually bought her a pasty and took her down Par Beach to eat it in the van, it’s what she wanted

I offered her a party or proper meal out or even a few days away but she didn’t want any of it.   She asked for a Chinese takeaway meal with the whole family.  So that’s what she is getting.  

Oh and the Gecko’s here.   We had to go to Redruth to get the only one available in the whole of Cornwall    Bloody thing has cost me a fortune.    
Oh and he is in the black hide apparently.   Bitey little fucker  

 

Only the greatest of people were born on this date 

[Pedro]

I love geckos, they get in my garage and after a week there's no more spider webs or any bugs.

Also, when I was in Brasil 20 years ago I slept in a tiny inn with no aircon. With the window open I would get eaten alive by mosquitos until one night a gecko got in and I spent the remaining nights sleeping peacefully with the window open.

[XTreme]

13 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

Only the greatest of people were born on this date 

My old girl was as well!

[Saul]

1 hour ago, XTreme said:

Geckos everywhere here......sign of good luck apparently.

Not that I've had any!

Bet they are cheaper there than here, the bitey little fucker cost £60.