alan h's activity

Questions Asked

I'm planning my route down for a months visit in July.

Mon, 06/04/2012 - 08:13

I logged on this morning to my local webcam, to look at the snow on the ski slopes.

Thu, 01/05/2012 - 04:47

Loved the note about changing the locks!

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 09:20

I have just got back from my latest trip to Italy, and thought some of you might be interested to hear about a Swiss hotel that we stayed in on the way down.It is the Hotel Engel in Stans [near to Lake Lucerne, a few minutes from the motorway

Mon, 07/25/2011 - 05:21

For many years now I have used the likes of 'mappy', 'via michelin' etc for calculating different routes down to Italy - for us its a part of our holiday, so we don't always want to take the quickest/shortest route down.  We prefer to vary the rou

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 09:25

Today I received an email from the Swiss Travel Centre.  The relevant portion is;- "The GBP price for a Vignette will increase from 01 June 2011 and we wanted to give you the opportunity to purchase this years’ Vignette before the pric

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 09:45

I've just driven down and back for a [much too] short holiday, and feel that an update on how fuel prices look on the way down would be useful to fellow travellers The following is a good site for seeing what prices have been like  

Mon, 04/04/2011 - 05:02

P&O have introduced a new ferry on the Dover - Calais route - its called the Spirit of Britain. They seem to have a special offer on at the moment [on this ship only] I've just booked a return crossing [car + 2] for £60 - significantly less th

Sat, 01/29/2011 - 06:08

Does Tomato soup exist in Italy? We were feeling a bit under the weather when we went out to Italy 2 weeks ago.  As part of the R&R process, I fancied some soup, and looked around the supermarket.  There were lots of different soups, but I rea

Mon, 01/24/2011 - 08:29

The route/timings for next years Giro d'Italia have been posted   My son rang me up to inform me that the route passes about 100m away from

Sat, 11/06/2010 - 07:04

Comments posted

Wed, 05/05/2010 - 07:39

It looks like a pretty normal rendering, probably over poor [or very poor] brickwork/stonework.  From the pictures, I wouldn't be too worried Render has two purposes - Cosmetic [it looks better than what it is covering] and Weatherproofing [the important one], as it keeps the rain out of the wallls.  It shouldn't be considered to be structural The mesh reinforcement serves 2 main purpose.  Firstly it is fixed to the wall and helps the thick concrete render stick to the wall.  Secondly, it acts as a crack inhibitor, helping to stop the render cracking and letting rain in.  It is used where a thick render is used, rather than the more usual thin coat of render [say 5mm - 10mm] that is often applied.  They probably used a thick render to cover up a multitude of [the original building] sins, especially in terms of an uneven surface. My main concerns would be whether there is any cracking on either the outside or internal faces of the wall and you say there isn't - which is promising Personally, I would not necessarily go down the 'Engineer' route as a first step.  I would get a local Geometra to have a look at it, and seek his/her views, and if he says it should be OK - get it in writing from him.  If he cannot give you an acceptable answer I would then get him to recommend an Engineer. Whatever you do - don't ask an Architect Its worth noting that nobody [Geometra, Engineer or Architect] will say its 100% - they will just say that it should be OK  Hope this helps Postscript - a good test of how good/sound the render is, is to tap it to see what it sounds like - if it sounds 'hollow' anywhere, it means the render hasn't stuck to the wall in that area, and that could be problematical in terms of weather resistance and 'future falling off'

Wed, 05/05/2010 - 05:03

There are UK firms that ship rads to Europe - such as   It might be worth finding out what they would charge

Mon, 04/26/2010 - 12:27

Euro just dropped to 86.06p

Answer to: Confused!!
Sat, 04/24/2010 - 14:02

Yes

Thu, 04/22/2010 - 09:48

Have you checked whether the paperwork you signed when you bought the place spells out the distribution of the costs?   I know mine covered the 'split' of costs on the shared fosse etc

Answer to: pocket espresso
Thu, 04/22/2010 - 05:18

I found this video that shows one being sipped

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 04:52

Looks like the concentration will be on long haul flights first   And ryanair seem to say they won't be flying [to/from UK] until Thursday at the earliest [their website may be out of date though]

Tue, 04/20/2010 - 14:14

on the old website - hope it helps   As for grants, you will need to contact your local farming union (e.g. CopAgri) representative or the local Agronomer (professional land expert and grant application writer). Generally, to receive a grant you would need to be a registered farmer but the rules change often and these people would know what you can and can't get.

Mon, 04/19/2010 - 12:28

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