'illegal' mock-Tudor castle he tried to hide behind 40ft hay bales

adouglasmhor

RDB wrote: »

Is it true you are never more than a few metres from a rat in the UK?

In a city or big town very possibly (they love our rubbish and debris), there are some islands with no rats at all and some country areas where the rat population is not very dense as no food and healthy predators with wide ranges.

adouglasmhor

harryhound wrote: »

I've got a wooden shed that is not rat proof - they can chew through inch thick planks given the time.

I have a block built house, which is rat proof, though one has to be careful with the soffits (the horizontal board behind the gutter board under the roof overhang) or harvest mice will climb up the pebble dash and get into the loft (chewed electrics?). Where little mice lead tree rats (grey squirrels) will follow.

I agree a lot of housing depends on attention to detail. When you can show me a 100 year old house made of large bales - you will be able to justify your assertions too.

Non sequiter - your post does not address my post. What assertions are you referring to? that black rats are no longer a threat to us in the Uk, having been replaced by the hardier brown?

That your house in not rat proof? You then admit it immediately after, the beasties can swim up sewerage and drainage too? I presume your house has these? A brick house will be more rat resistant but all housing is vulnerable to intrusion by rats. Good housekeeping practice and good maintenance helps to keep them out though.

Also the bales in the houses are treated then coated in a modern concrete, resin or latex skin, they are not just stacked up and covered in clay mud.

I can show you buildings several hundred years old with straw or rush thatches.

roddydogs

Is it still there no trace of the bulldozers? Repeat ad nauseum.

morganslv

adouglasmhor wrote: »

Non sequiter - your post does not address my post. What assertions are you referring to? that black rats are no longer a threat to us in the Uk, having been replaced by the hardier brown?

That your house in not rat proof? You then admit it immediately after, the beasties can swim up sewerage and drainage too? I presume your house has these? A brick house will be more rat resistant but all housing is vulnerable to intrusion by rats. Good housekeeping practice and good maintenance helps to keep them out though.

Also the bales in the houses are treated then coated in a modern concrete, resin or latex skin, they are not just stacked up and covered in clay mud.

I can show you buildings several hundred years old with straw or rush thatches.

Any good links this is very interesting?

adouglasmhor

morganslv wrote: »

Any good links this is very interesting?

http://www.ptes.org/?page=168
http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/animals/brownrat.htm

http://www.yourdiscovery.com/homeandhealth/article.jsp?section_id=3&theme_id=2&subtheme_id=4&article_id=168&site=uk

some other sources say rats can only come up in a ground level toilet others say they cant as the bowl and pipes are to slippy, but I have seen one coming out a urinal in barrack accomodation.

adouglasmhor

A nice straw built limewashed house. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7855847.stm

And a larger compressed and treated straw building.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/nov/02/europe-largest-straw-building

And a general how to
http://www.amazonails.org.uk/?contentId=34

hardass_ets

Is it easier to get planning permission for one of these eco houses?

harryhound

adouglasmhor wrote: »

I can show you buildings several hundred years old with straw or rush thatches.

The longevity of thatch materials and the
sustainability of thatching practices depend
on the quality of supplies, workmanship,
maintenance and the roof’s history, design
and microclimate. Thatching practices and
material supplies have changed drastically
since The Thatcher’s Craft suggested life
expectancies of 50-60 years for water-reed,
25-40 years for combed wheat-reed and
10-20 years for long-straw. As a general rule
good-quality thatch of any of the three main
materials will last 25-35 years, depending
on the variables listed above. However, all
three materials have been known to fail
within a decade as decay can be accelerated
by the use of poor quality materials applied
incorrectly.

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/thatching_booklet.pdf

adouglasmhor

harryhound wrote: »

The longevity of thatch materials and the
sustainability of thatching practices depend
on the quality of supplies, workmanship,
maintenance and the roof’s history, design
and microclimate. Thatching practices and
material supplies have changed drastically
since The Thatcher’s Craft suggested life
expectancies of 50-60 years for water-reed,
25-40 years for combed wheat-reed and
10-20 years for long-straw. As a general rule
good-quality thatch of any of the three main
materials will last 25-35 years, depending
on the variables listed above. However, all
three materials have been known to fail
within a decade as decay can be accelerated
by the use of poor quality materials applied
incorrectly.

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/thatching_booklet.pdf

And what precisely does that have to do with what I posted?

harryhound

The cob (?) building might be several hundred years old, if it has been regularly maintained, but the thatch probably isn't 50 years old.