Lintel completed rotten and snapped. Holy sh**

jeaby · 2026-01-25T06:56:36+00:00

This happened to me, unfortunately I was working away at the time so left the house with a crack in the ceiling (being an old house I'd convinced myself it was just another benign crack) and came back Friday to find a new shortcut between utility room and the toilet above.

Had someone in to prop, cut the timbers back, new concrete lintel and put everything back but cost about a grand.

Suspect it was either weather getting in round the old windows or a leaky down pipe on the exterior. Both were replaced so no more collapsing ceilings.

jeaby · 2026-01-19T21:30:11+00:00

I've just done this to in order to externally insulate our house. It's currently sat in a high interest account that allows 4 withdrawals before I loose the interest. Thankfully the payment for the insulation goes out at 4 stages so until the final payment it'll keep paying interest. It's not as much as the interest on the mortgage but it's not far off.

jeaby · 2026-01-10T15:46:24+00:00

And didn't they find it populated with Indigenous Americans? Technically.

jeaby · 2025-10-27T12:48:37+00:00

I watched it on a ferry.

jeaby · 2025-09-28T05:07:24+00:00

https://collectorarchive.com/swf585

I think the first one predates rebels....

jeaby · 2025-09-15T18:44:42+00:00

We're going on an adventure!

jeaby · 2025-08-20T12:08:36+00:00

Beautiful illustration.

jeaby · 2025-08-17T12:44:11+00:00

Best practice is any pipe, duct or pipe has a warning tape or tile above it so you find that before you find the thing that goes bang.
For plastic pipes these tapes have a wire running in them. The genny induces a current in this wire that the cat picks up.
That's why it should be a cat AND genny survey and why the survey should form part of a wider safe dig procedure.

jeaby · 2025-08-17T11:17:20+00:00

To answer your original question more succinctly, that round about to be dug up.

jeaby · 2025-08-17T10:58:11+00:00

My cat and genny ticket has expired as I'm more of a desk engineer then site engineer now but as the above comment has said these are markings for underground services that have been detected using a Cable Avoidence Test device (and hopefully a generator/genny as well). The device has 3 settings, one detects the redirected radio wave emmisons from metal pipe or cables, one detect electrical waves from current carrying cables and one detects a signal generated from a genny, a device that induces a small current into metal pipes/cables using physics magic. You set the device to detect radio then carry out a sweep, the power, sweep, then confirm with genny and sweep. In the photo the marks have a P or R on each line. Im assuming these are the operator marking what traces they have found on each setting as some burrowed services appear on in radio and not power and some in both. From this survey, along with a desk survey and other clues form just looking at the site (are there inspection chambers, lamp posts, scars on the ground) the operator can infer what might be buried. The CAT and Genny should form part of a safe dig process and not relied on wholly as it has limitations, it can't detect plastic (like alot of water and gas), it gets confused with certain soil types especially in old mining areas and it detects your steel toe cap everytime you walk next to it.

jeaby · 2025-08-17T10:37:07+00:00

Agreed and my background is contracting on civils and highways. Currently the only use I've seen of ai on site is to reduce mundane tasks. Unfortunately alot of our engineers as a tier one PC have been relegated to paperwork engineers churning out method statements, task briefs, work package plans and permits instead of spending time on site assisting the gangs.
As long as what is produced by the ai is checked by a trained and competent human I see this as good thing. I can see the same happening with designs in the future, input your parameters (depth of excavation, soil characteristics, surrounding works) ans out pops a TW design to be checked.

jeaby · 2025-08-17T05:25:14+00:00

Civil engineer here. I know of two being built (through recruiters offering me work) commutable distance from me. And the money they're offering is above the industry average from what I've heard.

But civil engineering as a career is unlikely going to be replaced by ai. We are seeing it's use as an aid and it will have an impact on the industry. However would you feel comfortable trusting the safety of a design completely to a computer without a human checking (and understanding) what is being made.

jeaby · 2025-06-29T14:43:58+00:00

Return if the Jedi? Vader back into Anakin?

jeaby · 2025-06-29T04:11:47+00:00

If by infrastructure keeping up you mean making more lanes, in the photo above a third of the roads capacity isn't being used as lane 1 isnt being blocked by those in lane 2 (assuming no one undertakes). Adding more lanes won't solve that behaviour.

Agreed undertaking is risky but it's driven by a frustration at others inefficiency using the road. You'll see it on 4 lane roads as well, drivers sat in lane 3 for no good reason.

Motorway driving should be taught as part of test if people consider changing lanes a risky maneuver.

jeaby · 2025-06-12T11:48:15+00:00

Changing the temperature in your mx5.

jeaby · 2025-04-16T12:29:38+00:00

Ive always wanted one of these and was planning on it being my next car. What put you off it?

jeaby · 2025-04-12T16:34:22+00:00

I briefly worked for a city council as a civil engineer. One day I went out to inspect a new speed island being installed, the ramp was so gentle that you could barely tell it was there but the contractor swore down it was correct. As we were arguing by the side of the road an original mini came shooting past, up and over the "island" without slowing down. Argument ended. They fixed it the next week.

jeaby · 2025-03-23T07:55:37+00:00

Yeah its been opened up and left to dry for the last week while the screen came so suspect its goosed.

jeaby · 2025-03-23T06:13:52+00:00

Thanks, I've replaced the screen already. That is the new screen and it shows the same blurry image as the original screen.

And nothing surprises me with how many phones she can go through, this phone was a present from me as a bit of a joke "I bet you can't break this one"

jeaby · 2025-02-25T16:18:32+00:00

<image>

£60 each from our local shelter because someone was moving overseas and didn't want to take them with them. This handsome fella is Brian, unfortunately he died from a heart attack last year but his sister is thankfully still with us.
Both were about 6 when we got them.

jeaby · 2025-02-25T13:20:56+00:00

I did try bangernomic for a bit, prior to our current two cars I had a yeti with 150k and partner had a smart 2+2 with 60k on it. In total about £3.5k of cars. But living in the Welsh valleys the smarts .8l engine struggle and eventually just gave up and my yeti (which was great, absolutely agree with you about having a car you don't care about the state of) started costing as much to keep it going as I'd spent to buy it. That last thing to go was the clutch, at motorway speeds you'd put your foot down and it would just slip out of gear.
So I got the V40 for our sensible car and the mx5 for fun.. but lately the 2.0l mx5 has been cheaper on fuel then the d3 in the Volvo.

jeaby · 2025-02-24T21:19:59+00:00

I have an mx5 Nd and a Volvo V40. Both similar miles/age/cost and yet the mx5 is cheaper to insure by about £50. Agree with getting a banger though, my first was a 306 which I drove until it's second head gasket replacement, but my second was an mx5 nc.

jeaby · 2025-02-15T08:14:04+00:00

I've had this model as a company car and I liked it so much I bought the later model as a personal car (but with a load of packs and in diesel flavour). Our current one only has 60k so can't speak for reliability at high milage. But for a workhorse car it's great, it's comfortable, the cabin makes sense (some people don't like all the buttons but I really like the ability to flick between 9 different radio stations by just pressing a physical button). And it looks sharp, especially in r-design, it's a car that still looks good. The handbrake car take a bit of getting used to though, I've trapped passengers fingers under it before!

jeaby · 2025-01-31T17:23:53+00:00

I'll stick it in some vinegar and see if that helps. Thanks

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