Steel Penguins braying

[Rheged]

Congratulations on your new hole, I hope you and Mrs SP will find it a rewarding addition to your grounds!

Seriously, the garden plan sounds good and Madame Rheged (a graduate botanist; and garden designer in her spare time) is delighted to see you have included a potting shed "especially for potting"   Our potting shed is also a log store and garden clutter store and Madame would like some space made in it .  Now, for preference!

Make sure that your spray painting hobby shed has good ventilation, we don't want to hear of you being dragged insensible out of the shed having been overcome by fumes!.........Will we see pictures before and after of this wondrous 12 inch to the foot scale construction work?

[NARSES2]

Left for work today, as normal, and when I got home I found I was the proud owner of a new hole!     the guys have started digging out the contaminated land from the front garden    

So what's the story behind this then ? I'm intrigued

[scooter]

Left for work today, as normal, and when I got home I found I was the proud owner of a new hole!     the guys have started digging out the contaminated land from the front garden    

So what's the story behind this then ? I'm intrigued

Sounds like a Superfund site or a smaller Love Canal

And congratulations on the new hole!  Just make sure it gets safety flagged so you don't take a header into it

[Steel Penguin]

Narses  the estate we live on was a brown field site ( ex factory), a-round 12 years ago the company that had bought out the name found they may have had a contamination problem from one of the chemicals that was used, informed the local council, and investigated.   We were delighted to find that we had none of that in out garden, ( the higher than normal Zinc level was easily explained that Mrs SP worked at a electro-platers, and id left there a couple of years before.)   What they did find was Brown Asbestos pipe lagging, it seems the "workmen" who'd demolished the factory had just knocked chunks off, when they'd moved the pipework, and that had got into the gardens.  Drat we said, and asked "what was happening re getting rid of it"
The local council stepped up at this point and started work on tracking liability, and getting ready to sort out dealing with it.  This however was the first time that the relevant environmental laws had been used in such a way,  so everything had to go all the way through the courts, to establish precedents, and such.  ( the major chemical company who started all of this when they went to the council have been good as well)
That was sorted out aprox September last year,  contactors for the operation were then found ( 80+ houses to clear) and planning, surveying, and such started just before crimbo 16.
The cost to us has been Nill   , the Council have been excellent    and the contactors that are doing the job have so far been very impressive in the actions they've undertaken as well  .  when all of this started we asked some-one whe knew how much a single household bill would be and got a figure of " at least £40,000, per house"  if you could find someone who would handle the contaminated land.   

Rheged,  the 2 special purpose sheds were though off as additions to the "junk" one.  Mrs SP was insistent that we had at least one for working in , just so wed have some space.  And the spraying will be done out the door,  I am very careful with solvents due to my ex-chosen carer (chemistry), and a general attraction to continued life    pics may be forthcoming but are likely to be at Telford, as im still photo tec storeless

[zenrat]

I've done Asbestos removal work (the OH&S side of it - I left the actual work to others) and if you do it properly you double bag up and dispose of all protective equipment at the end of each shift - boots, gloves, sperm suits, masks, goggles etc as well as all the extra costs involved in disposing of the actual asbestos (wetting down everything if you are cutting it for example).  It's not surprising it costs that much.

[NARSES2]

the Council have been excellent    and the contactors that are doing the job have so far been very impressive in the actions they've undertaken as well  .  when all of this started we asked some-one whe knew how much a single household bill would be and got a figure of " at least £40,000, per house"  if you could find someone who would handle the contaminated land.   

That's good to hear 

I'm old enough to remember when Asbestos was considered an everyday building material and us kids played with any Mercury that escaped broken thermometres etc  How the world changes

[Steel Penguin]

welp, I did some more of the f-in conqueror, tried to glue on the tie downs on the turret back, cut off the first 3 ( one sprues worth ) a little glue on the turret, get part in the tweezers, glue on part, magic!.  put part on turret, slide out tweezers, so far so good.  part promptly falls off  , re glue, reattach, part falls over,    gently pick up with knife tip to correct angle, falls off again, pick back up with tweezers,  get back on turret, and as I let go, the tie down pings off into the lead stack by the desk.  ( insert Munchs the scream here)  in a fit of peak, I put the other 2 grab handles on with fingers, and F if any fingerprints get on the fin thing.  and then put the whole lot back in the box, write what ive done on the assembly instructions, and put the lid back on the box.
after a few minutes to calm down I did some painting on the late 80s games workshop land speeder ive got on the desk.  just enough to be able to say the entire night hadn't been a write off.
that was last night gone for a burton.
I may try to do something else, tomorrow.

[Rick Lowe]

Mm, feel your pain. Some days just nothing goes right with plastic and you're better off watching a vid. 

[NARSES2]

Mm, feel your pain. Some days just nothing goes right with plastic and you're better off watching a vid. 

Or reading a book

[Steel Penguin]

thanks for the advise and sympathy gents 
ive given it some time, done some other things, and had a quick tidy on the desk.
got the 12 tie downs on the turret back, lost 2 of the originals and 2 of the replacement wire ones. got the turret bustle / cage on, it needed some superglue to string a couple of gaps, and some of the turret top parts.
im further along, and the kit is still fighting,  but progress is being made, 
watched the last of the current Dr Who season,     we will have to see what the Christmas special is like, it could be a very good one, ( considering who appeared just at the end) or it may be utter tripe . will have to wait and see, im hoping for good .  Also managed to catch the BBC2 thing on cross rail,  lots of wonderful precision stuff, and makes you realise just how densely packed a modern city like London is,   the Barbican / tunnel park made me wince, I hadn't realised it was so much below ground.

[NARSES2]

watched the last of the current Dr Who season,     we will have to see what the Christmas special is like, it could be a very good one, ( considering who appeared just at the end) or it may be utter tripe . will have to wait and see, im hoping for good .  Also managed to catch the BBC2 thing on cross rail,  lots of wonderful precision stuff, and makes you realise just how densely packed a modern city like London is,   the Barbican / tunnel park made me wince, I hadn't realised it was so much below ground.

Agree with both of your TV views mate  I recorded both last weeks and this weeks Dr Who so watched it as a 90 minute film. Enjoyed it and it was good to see the Cybermen back. As a kid watching them when they first appeared (with the stocking over their faces  ) they were far more frightening then the Daleks for sure. Must admit I didn't take to Bill at the beginning but she grew on me and I thought she was brilliant in the last episode. Surprised at some of the newspaper's reaction to her leaving as she said she'd only be doing the one series when her casting was announced. Short memories ?

Likewise re Crossrail. I watched it when first shown a couple of weeks ago and am looking forward to traveling on it. Amazing project 

[Steel Penguin]

the tank continues  the turret is getting along well, and I had one last piece on the "B" sprue to use on the body, so I got that out of the box, and found that one of the roadwheels had come off    which just a bought sums up the whole kit to  be honest.

On the whole, hole front, the front lawn has been re-turfed, and they will hopefully be putting down slabs at the front next week,  the back has been dug out, had the semi permeable membrane laid, and the soil replaced, re-turf and  slabing will also be next week we hope    so going well.  still not certain what happening with the pond and cascade, but not too concerned yet.

[NARSES2]

  still not certain what happening with the pond and cascade, but not too concerned yet.

You may not be, but how do the fish and amphibians feel about it ? 

[Steel Penguin]

the fish arnt worried, there in a luxury hotel ( well new bought and repurposed bin) in the dining room, and are well fed, with the air blower on all day, and the frogs moved into next doors pond ( which hasn't been touched) 
im hoping that the guys doing this are going to leave a pond hole, as I don't really want to have to dig a 750L pond hole, by hand ( you can call me lazy if you want but ... )

[Rick Lowe]

I don't really want to have to dig a 750L pond hole, by hand ( you can call me lazy if you want but ... )

Nah - pragmatic.