Spearos

Thank you Geoff - for the reality check! I think with my budget a block built garage is out of the question now. I just don't think SWMBO will allow that sort of money to be spent on my 'shed'! A block built garage would have been secure, fireproof and of course it could have been sited right on the boundary. However for cost reasons I think I'm going to have it built out of wood. The appearance of wooden buildings really appeals to me, they are also drier and warmer, so there are some benefits from using wood. Biggest problem for me though is having it over 1m from the boundary and still being functional. I was thinking something like this, interesting read if you have a spare hour! - http://www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=198&sid=daa42267dec86dfc08ba41175d6751d8 Erecting a wooden building on a brick plinth and constructing it so it can 'breath' seem to be the key to a wooden building that lasts.

Anyone have any thoughts on the roof design? what (if anything) determines what pitch to go for? Any problems with my proposed 20º dual pitched roof?

Thank you qwakers. Although I interpret the part I've underlined slightly differently. The key word is either. Surely it means that you can have a building between 15m² and 30m² within 1m of the boundary if it's made mainly from non combustable materials or if the building is made from combustable materials and is between 15m² and 30m² it needs to be more than 1m away from any boundary? Totally agree with the 2.5m total height within 2m of boundary being a major ball ache! Not exactly Land Rover friendly is it?!

I too find that surprisingly high (but then WTF do I know!). so basically you didn't lay a finger on your garage build? I'm hoping my build wont be quite that much - my initial thoughts are to get someone to do the footings, slab, blockwork and roof. I can then 'finish' it off. I'm inclined to just go for a single skinned wall which will mean less materials and labour. First sentence is exactly my concern! Although as crclifford has mentioned you could design the roof truss to have the bottom chord set slightly up on the top chords (higher than the eaves) to give you more 'headroom' for the coiled up roller door. That's a great idea - side hung doors with one larger than the other. I like that Yes permitted development allows you to have an eaves height of 2.5 m max however if the building is within 2m of the boundary the height cannot exceed 2.5m. I've never heard about insurance being invalid if you haven't got building control involved? Yes, of course I can understand that if you built something and didn't get building control involved even though you should have, then that could cause issues. But as in this case for example, an outbuilding of less than 30m² does not require building regs so how can insurance companies/conveyancers make it a problem?

Very informative post - thanks. There will only be one door - the access to the back of the garden is only ~4m, there is a small council owned garage 'blocking' one side of the back of my garden. Hence the door being offset in my drawing. Hope that makes sense! Can I ask what was included in your 22k? Was that start to finish, all in, everything?

Some interesting comments - thanks guys. I do plan do put in a planning permission request regarding the height - 2.5m just wont do! As for the neighbours they appear a reasonable bunch and besides the garage will be at the back of my garden, well away from any houses. There's quite a few large garden buildings in my street too so it's not like mine will stand out. I was very keen on a wooden building, something along these lines http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/build-a-shed-mike-s-way-t39389.html The problem with wooden buildings of course is they rot however build one this way and it should last a long, long time. Also as mentioned they are warmer, less condensation and contain the tool of choice for Land Rover owners very well Problem with a wooden building is that (unless I'm mistaken) a building constructed by mainly combustable materials, between 15m² and 30m² means building regulations come into it if, it is within 1m of the boundary which mine will be. Initially I was keen on a steel roller door but then I'd need to think about space above the the door opening for it to 'coil up'. Space that could be used for a bigger door. The planned position will mean there is space for side hung doors to open, I just wasnt that keen on the problems big heavy timber doors have. However as suggested a steel framed, timber clad door could be the answer. You're my new best friend! The issue I have with going over 30m² and having to satisfy building regs is that the soil here is heavy clay and there are trees close by. With this in mind I have heard stories of building control wanting foundations over 2m deep!! Since you're going over 30m² could you tell me what other regs (if any) you have to satisfy? Also, you mention 'approved development regs' what are they?

So... last year I moved into a house with a decent sized garden with the intention of building a large workshop. Basically I'm trying to put together some sort of plan of what to go for. I would really appreciate people's thoughts/experience. I think having it built with blocks and with a proper tiled roof is the way to go - I plan to stay in this house for a long time so I want something that will last. Attached is a crude plan... so far. I have swotted up on permitted development etc and have come to the conclusion that I certainly do not want to get involved in satisfying building regs, therefore I plan not to exceed the 30m². With this in mind I'm thinking 6mx5m - I understand building control are interested in the internal floor area rather than the actual 'footprint' of the entire building? Height. Because the building will be within 2m of the boundary I will need planning permission to go higher than 2.5m, which I think is inevitable - I understand flat roofs are nothing but trouble! Ideally I do not want a building that is too obtrusive (it'll be at the back of my garden), so I'm unsure how high to go. With this in mind I'm thinking a ridge height of ~3.5m and an eaves height of ~2.5m which will give me a pitch of about 20 degrees - how does that sound? I plan to have 1 x personnel door, 1 x window and 1 x vehicle door. Which leads me onto my next question - what type of door to have for the vehicle access and how big? All comments/suggestions welcome!

I have heard good things about the powerhand one. There's a demo video somewhere which is pretty convincing too. But like most tools you cant go far wrong with the old ones, like sykes pickavant, moprod, radcliffe etc. They can be picked up cheaply enough off ebay if your patient enough. HTH

I hear you both, and now totally understand what I am dealing with here and it's quite clear what I should (and shouldn't do) from this juncture. I thank you all for your input... Just stay away from Oxfordshire for the next few days!

Out of curiousity what would happen should the rust weaken the tank enough for it to 'burst'? Ahhh ok so it would appear my tank 'expired' in 2008 You learn something new everyday - thanks.

About 90 minutes away Gazzar - my parents used to live in Coleford. Why do you ask? Well it's back on for now, but taking into consideration what you guys say I think I'll order a new tank - appears to be only about £70. I think it's the tank that was fitted when the conversion was done by the previous owner and I've had the vehicle for about 8 years. Cheers

So what was meant to be a fairly quick Sunday morning job has turned into a bit more work - isn't that lways the way?! One of my underslung LPG straps had broken so off came the tank, while it was off I thought I'd give it a clean and apply some waxoyl. There's a fair bit of surface rust however in two places it's a little more than surface rust as you can see on my pics. Now for obvious safety reasons I have stopped all work until I'm happy I can work on the tank safely. How rusty do they have to be until there's a risk? How thick is the metal?

Strange.. However I'm sure the 'adults' will have some ideas. It may help if you tell us what LPG system it has - is it a single point mixer system or sexy multi point injection? With reference to your very last point, FWIW my carbed V8 will not run on 'both' fuels at once (that's what you meant when you said "driving along on both petrol and LPG", right?), when I switch to gas I have to wait for the float chambers to empty fully before switching the gas on otherwise the poor thing coughs, splutters and sounds generally sick.

I have a noisy one on my V8 and iirc they're also used on the TDi (not sure if 200 or 300), anyway my point is you may be able to get a decent second hand one? I did however buy a job lot of V8 bits off eBay a while back and again iirc there was one or two of these in the 2 sacks of bits I collected. I'll have a look if you're interested? I'm sure the bearing is replaceable, my plan was to use one as a 'guinea pig' saving the original one should bearing replacement go wrong! Edit - should have opened the second link!!

FWIW it took less than 5 minutes using the above 'procedure'. The trick is to get the front end of the tank down - it catches on the chassis web where the front radius arm is mounted. Once the front is down it's easy.

The first link is the 'how to' I referred to in my first post, however the second link is a good find - thank you. For the benefit of anyone else reading this with the same problem I've copied the bit I found useful from the link: I helped a friend with this very job over the weekend. We drained the tank, disconnected the filler and breather hoses (we took these off completely so they were out the way), then removed the floor under the drivers seat and removed the supply and return lines and the wires to the fuel sender. With everything else done we removed the mounting bolts and the tank wouldnt budge. We then took the front mount off the chassis and the tank would slide forward, allowing the front to drop, and the whole thing to wriggle out towards the front wheel. Thanks again!

Quick google and it appears ESR2242 superceded NTC2088, and the former is listed on eBay as fitting both petrol and diesel vehicles. Also in the parts book all side mounted tanks appear to be 12 gallon. Hmmm so it appears it should come off with sill in place....

Really hoping you knowledgable fellas can help me - basically I need to do some repairs to the chassis on my '87 factory V8 90 CSW, which means the fuel tank is coming off (for access and safety reasons). Now, all hoses, bracket etc have been removed but can I get the tank out? Can I feck! I've read the 'how to' on here for removing a diesel tank and in that it says it's difficult, but I really cannot see how my tanks coming out with the sills in place. Do I really need to go down the road of removing the sill? So... I guess I need to find out if the V8 tank is the same part and/or size as the diesel tank, if it is I assume it must come out with sill in place? Has anyone removed a tank from a V8 90? If so, how the hell did you do it?! MOT needs to be done soon so I was hoping to get the chassis repair done this weekend... if I can get the b*stard tank off!!! Mark

Thoughts, recommendations please! - I have a 'spare' bulkhead for my Defender, the plan being to fix it up then swap it over. I have stripped it down and it needs top corners both sides and entire door pillars both sides - the footwells are not that bad and only require some sheet. I have heard a lot of good things about YRM repair panels however they do not appear to sell the entire pillar. Which leads me on to MPS http://www.mps4x4store.co.uk/ MPS do sell the entire pillar but before I part with my hard earned, has anyone used the MPS bulkhead repair panels? If so what are they like? Last thing I want to do is buy something with the quality of Britpart door hinges!

I've done similar to this but with some 1.5mm stainless sheet I used to make a cover for one of my workbenches. I used a 4.5" grinder with a thin slitting disc. Clamp a piece of angle iron as a guide and make your first cut - gently rest the top (flat) side of the disc against the angle iron and move along the whole length first, this will 'cut' a shallow groove that will help you keep the cut in a straight line. The key thing being the flat side of the disc must lay flush against the guiding angle iron, i.e at 90 degrees to the sheet. Then, from this straight cut/line just make two lines at 90 degrees the correct distance apart and cut as before... Need I continue? Ok, not as quick or easy as a plasma, guillotine etc but take your time with setting things up/measuring/checking and it's doable to a decent standard. HTH

Anyone have any experience of Auto National? For the cover I want they appear to be the cheapest - rather than covering myself in any vehicle I just want cover for 2 cars. Can't see myself taking either into Europe anytime soon so European cover isn't a must.

Touch wood, my 90 has never let me down in the 7+ years I've had it but it's always good to be prepared. With this in mind I've recently changed bank accounts and no longer have the inclusive breakdown so I am looking to get some cover for my wife and I on my 90 and her Golf. My only 'want' is for the vehicle to be returned to my home address should it breakdown. So... Suggestions, recommendations please?...

You could always try one of those anti fog products you apply to the screen? On that note I remember reading a little tip - you apply washing up liquid to a cloth and let it dry. You then rub your screen with it and apparently it prevents it fogging up. I've never tried it though...

Interestingly enough I had an indicated 30 degrees whilst driving at night in the cold spell last March with the heater on full bore! Benefit of a V8 I suppose, if a little expensive way of being warm! I tried the inner wing, behind the headlight but found the temperature to rise as the engine warmed up. Probably the viscous fan chucking heat in that direction. I now have the sensor inside the O/S dumb iron - there's a handy little hole on the side! Like ballcock says anywhere in front of the radiator is ideal.

Yes! Not the best made piece of tat from China! After installing it, and putting the battery in it would only work intermittently. I took the back off to find one leg on a capacitor leg had made snapped off, probably from movement of the high tech method the manufacturer used to stop the power lead being pulled out - a knot! Easily put right with my soldering iron though. Also, when the lights are on, the inside temp slowly goes up to around 60 degrees! I'm thinking the power lead could be touching the inside temp sensor and any heat from that lead is responsible for the high temp reading. And yeah no doubt it isn't very accurate but, I guess you learn what it reads when things get 'troublesome' out there. i.e when it read 6 degrees you know it near freezing! As for your rear windows fogging up I dont think there's an easy solution. However do you purchase one of those 12v ceramic heaters! Been there, they're pants. Y fronts even.