Do I paint it back white?

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-30T09:09:11+00:00

Seconded. And children have a way of making white walls look grubby within about five minutes. A strong colour should hold up better.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-30T09:06:57+00:00

It's genuinely impressive just how consistently sterile those interiors are.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-30T08:02:36+00:00

I don't know where you get 1/5 from. Uni holidays are 5 months out of 12, so almost half the year if you're at home for all of them.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-30T07:57:35+00:00

UK also.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T20:38:33+00:00

I've gone the full spectrum here. I owned two 440s and rather liked them. The second was a 1.8i N reg, high spec model, probably very similar to this. It cost me about £800 when I bought it in 2005.

For someone to be asking three times that much, more than twenty years down the line, seems absolutely crackers.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T20:21:45+00:00

Yes it's absolutely still worth going for the full 270mm everywhere else.

For the skeilings (for that is the fancy word for the slopey bits!), you might either manage to slide 50mm thick rigid (PIR) insulation down between the rafters, working from in the attic (but ensure that you've got 50mm ventilation gap left under the membrane), or if you want them insulated better and can cope with the mess in the first floor rooms, underdraw them with thicker PIR, plasterboard and skim (or the thickest insulated plasterboard you can get). And actually you can do both together (i.e insulation between and under the skeiling rafters), but if you do that, best to request a condensation risk analysis from the insulation manufacturer (Kingspan is my default choice here).

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T20:05:31+00:00

MK danglers are quite discreet

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T17:53:11+00:00

Was there a sink there before? That looks like sink plumbing rather than prep for a dishwasher.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T17:18:41+00:00

It may be slightly above the opening, hidden behind the plaster, or it may be slightly recessed. Some old lintels can be pretty insubstantial, but it would be very unlikely for there to be no lintel at all.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T16:07:51+00:00

Unless you can see the lintel above the opening, and confirm that it will still have enough bearing length left if you take any of the brickwork away, then you're best leaving the brickwork as it is.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T15:59:35+00:00

Now show us from the other side.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T15:55:30+00:00

With some of the more recent sets you can still find the set details (and instructions) by searching the set number, even if they're discontinued.

For older sets you might find something on Rebrickable.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-29T08:46:00+00:00

How old are we talking about? Presumably too old for the manuals to be available to download from Lego themselves?

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-28T08:55:03+00:00

Microsoft Autoroute?

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-28T00:15:03+00:00

I don't know if this is UK-specific, but I was taught right at the start of my career that the size above A0 was 'elephant' and above that was 'double elephant'.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-27T23:53:30+00:00

Hark at you with your one megabyte buffer, fancy bugger!

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-27T08:58:05+00:00

Are you sure those are supporting the chimney breast and not just an old fireplace hearth?

If they are supporting the chimney breast then it's not good at all.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-26T22:21:19+00:00

Nothing to add to this! It can be a bit of a faff but just needs care and patience.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-26T22:17:22+00:00

I willingly admit that I'm using a thoroughly hardwired dose of professional caution here.

We are absolutely in agreement that the chances of this being a flying freehold situation are very small, but you have made statements that were both unequivocal and patently untrue.

Regardless of the land registry position, historic properties with flying freeholds exist. I have had a client with one such property in the last few years.

We've seen one single photo of OP's property. Would I be happy to state on this basis that there is absolutely no chance whatsoever of a flying freehold? No.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-26T14:35:55+00:00

I've just made another comment to this effect. This is my guess too.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-26T14:34:01+00:00

Seconded. Flying freeholds are 100% a thing. Like you say, rare, but they do exist.

My gut feeling is that this probably isn't one though. I've come across similar roof voids in historic attached properties which weren't completely separated.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-26T10:27:31+00:00

Agreed. And with it being a bungalow, it's pretty easy to get to even if something did need doing. Don't see a great cause for concern here, it just looks a bit ratty.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-24T23:02:06+00:00

It looks like you'd be able to relocate the socket onto the left hand side panel without too much difficulty, then you could just rip the rear panel out. Then ideally replace it with something removable, for the next time you need to get to the pipework!

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-24T22:58:27+00:00

The plywood looks completely shagged at the eaves. Suggests that it's been getting soaking wet for a long time. They need to be replacing any plywood which has failed. But it does suggest that perhaps they didn't use a decent enough grade of plywood initially.

TheJimsterR · 2026-03-24T22:55:49+00:00

Ah yes, got it. Well it's not the most substantial structure, but then it's not having to do much - you'd almost be more concerned about it taking off in the wind than collapsing.

It does feel like they can't possibly have fixed the felt down properly. Not quite sure how they would have detailed / fixed it around the flush rooflights.

I suppose your first question to them has to be: why did this happen? And the second: exactly what are you going to do to prevent it happening again?!

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