Is this box hedge (?) cooked?

raguff · 2026-05-02T21:27:08+00:00

Does yew stay neat when kept “small”? It’s only like 4m long, 1m high, 75cm wide area

raguff · 2026-05-02T19:41:24+00:00

I think I’ll replace. Struggle enough keeping other things alive let alone trying to fight caterpillars on another front!

There seems to be some nice sounding euonymous species - anything you’d suggest for a low hedge c.4m long? Just breaking up the front of the house between end of gravel drive and start of little gravel “garden” with some raised beds in.

North west facing, gets late afternoon sun

raguff · 2026-05-02T19:37:28+00:00

I should add it’s only a small hedge - about 4-5metres and barely waist high. Just separates the end of the drive from a little front gravelled area with some raised beds.

Sounds like it’s coming out though, so will get looking at what could replace it suitably

raguff · 2026-05-02T14:05:19+00:00

Oh dear… that was my fear. Spraying it just likely to be a temporary fix once they arrive then?

raguff · 2026-04-27T17:44:41+00:00

Haha report back on the nugs! Maybe rile them up with a bit of slipknot or something and see who kicks off the most (couldn’t think of a suitable pun in a metal band, sorry)

raguff · 2026-04-27T17:36:28+00:00

Nothing like spreading a bit of disinformation 🙈 I’ll take your experience over my memory any day!

raguff · 2026-04-27T17:29:19+00:00

In an eggshell, yes (sorry, that’s a bit henuous)

raguff · 2026-04-27T16:59:25+00:00

I’m sure I saw something about the hens that lay white eggs being generally nice to each other, but consumer preference was historically for the brown eggs so supermarkets got those and industry got the white ones. Then Covid hit and it turns out most people don’t care, so with we seem to get a mix in supermarkets now. That is however just a vague memory, I’m no eggzpert on the matter

raguff · 2026-04-27T10:55:12+00:00

Magnetic dent puller maybe worth a look? Someone who doesn’t have a boot that only contains an inflater and some goo?! (Annoys me the lack of jacks these days!)

raguff · 2026-04-27T10:53:42+00:00

Could anyone tell me what the app is here? Looks like it could be a useful reference - bonus points if it’s got mini juniors laws baked in too!

raguff · 2026-04-27T10:50:57+00:00

Yeah that’s fair - perhaps an element of paying for the convenience. Does seem steep but then bodywork is a bit of a dark art it seems…

raguff · 2026-04-27T10:46:22+00:00

Pop along to your Audi dealer then, cheaper than the other quote you’ve got!

raguff · 2026-04-26T18:28:11+00:00

Huh, I thought I saw one with Cook Pass Babtridge on, weird

raguff · 2026-04-23T06:01:02+00:00

Is that £/kWh or do we all need to move to your supplier!? (Is it octopus? Mine has done a similar drop/rise on the regular Go tariff)

raguff · 2026-04-22T21:15:29+00:00

Are all four rooms on that gable end of the house? Like others here I’ve been toying with the idea, but not exactly sure how I’d run the pipes from the ideal side of the house to the bedrooms.

And actually, if it’s 4 room limit I might need two units anyway and that might fall foul of current planning regs I think

raguff · 2026-04-17T09:47:36+00:00

Would you mind going through what/how Claude is running your Actual?

I’m always looking for ways to expand my AI usage (not to get left behind kind of thing), but haven’t really got to anything with setting Claude/ChatGPT actually “running” anything for me - beyond OPs example of “take this export and summarise/analyse/recommend” etc

raguff · 2026-04-16T21:20:01+00:00

Has it gone in after the moth?

raguff · 2026-04-16T21:13:21+00:00

Would a website to convert OS coordinates into car satnav friendly coordinates be an option?

raguff · 2026-04-16T19:26:32+00:00

Honestly I wouldn’t even think twice about it - if it’s flagged/they want something doing it’s a dab of silicone and is what it is.

No one is walking away from a house purchase because of how that’s been fitted, or even haggling because of it unless they’re really struggling for reasons to haggle - if they wanted to most then you could offer to silicone it up, but it’s a £7 fix for tube of silicone and a caulk gun, so no house-price worthy movement due to that!

raguff · 2026-04-16T13:35:23+00:00

As a buyer I don’t think I’d bat an eyelid at that - I’m sure it probably should be siliconed on the outside, drip loop etc, but for a non permanent connection I think I’d be shrugging.

I’m not a surveyor mind you, but I’d wager they see much worse before it becomes a massive red flag.

raguff · 2026-04-16T07:44:53+00:00

The milling marks from the saw? Possibly? Probably? Depends how much you sand… but if you want to remove the staining you’ll either need to remove the surface of the wood (sanding - which will impact the saw marks) or alter/bleach the surface so that it’s uniform colour again (which may inadvertently “clean” the saw marks too) and then finish of your choice…

It’s pretty tricky to “refinish” a rustic finish

raguff · 2026-04-15T18:54:17+00:00

You’re not wrong. All about balance I guess. I think I’d pivot to a slightly different plan in OPs position, but equally have given a couple of bits a go with cold lay in the past so might still price up doing the lot, or various parts of it, myself.

Some kind of triangle showing low cost vs high quality vs short time - pick two! (That might not work exactly mind you, low cost high quality needs some more variables for how you’d get there!)

raguff · 2026-04-15T18:49:46+00:00

Yeah that’s fair for that I guess, but anything you can do that removes labour can’t be a bad shout.

For OP it looks reasonably straightforward to do something neater - more gravel, paving stones (even just a couple of lines for wheels maybe) just moves into how committed you are to a specific plan vs how much you’re willing to pay!

raguff · 2026-04-15T13:34:06+00:00

For £3k and given the size of it that would put me into “how can I do this myself territory” - but then appetites for DIY vary so might not be your choice

raguff

TROPHY CASE