Keeping the lawn going through a drought!

withabix

roddydogs wrote: »

Sprinklers are banned anyway, arnt they?

No, They aren't.

Personally I think that people on metered supplies should be allowed to use water as normal. Only those on un-metered supplies should face a ban initially.

It is long overdue that all homes should be metered.

On the subject of the asbestos garage:

It is cement asbestos sheets. It isn't going to jump out and kill you, neither is it illegal to work on.

Cement asbestos sheets are the safest form of asbestos (large fibres) and were only really banned because they wanted to stop the manufacture of asbestos-containing products.

Perfectly safe to drill or cut - as long as you keep it dampened down to prevent dust and wear a paper filter mask if you are worried.

There are millions of tonnes of cement asbestos sheets in houses and other buildings. Most houses built in the 20-30 years before the eventual ban have soffits made from it and the same type of asbestos is in Artex.

dickydonkin

Cement asbestos sheets are the safest form of asbestos

There is no 'safe' asbestos - fact!

Perhaps the above should be reworded as to 'less dangerous' however, that would refer to the sheets - not the asbestos actually contained within them. Without expert advice, it is certainly unwise to start sawing or drilling into sheets of such material without appropriate precautions and being certain what the material actually is.

Blue, brown and white asbestos is potentially lethal although blue is the most hazardous.

If the material has not perished or deterioated, there should be no problems and is best left alone, however, I appreciate that it is sometimes necessary to remove or repair structures that contain ACM's.

This may provide additional information.

Lotus-eater

I believe it is better to let the grass grow a little longer and not cut it so short.

kaya

hosepipe bans dont completely ban the use of hoses, they ban their use for certain tasks, usually you cannot : water your garden, fill your pond or swimming pool and wash your car with a hosepipe, you can however fill your water butt with your hosepipe then attach a hose to your waterbutt and use that to water your garden with .

Andy_Davies

PaulJM wrote: »

There is a water collecting thing around the back of the garage (WTH are they called? Mind's gone blank!) but the guttering is completly FUBAR, and I wouldn't want to hammer new in - the garage is 100% asbestos.

Could you glue the guttering brackets on with something like GripFix?

Andy

Psykicpup

this link may help .... http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=417

olly300

Lotus-eater wrote: »

I believe it is better to let the grass grow a little longer and not cut it so short.

I heard that too and am trying it out this year.

It is mostly brown though as there hasn't been rain for ages.

The only plants I'm watering in the garden are those that I have planted recently (all of 3), those in pots and my delphiniums every 2 weeks.

Sounds a lot but the only ones I really have to take care of are those I've planted recently.

PaulJM

olly300 wrote: »

I heard that too and am trying it out this year.

It is mostly brown though as there hasn't been rain for ages.

The only plants I'm watering in the garden are those that I have planted recently (all of 3), those in pots and my delphiniums every 2 weeks.

Sounds a lot but the only ones I really have to take care of are those I've planted recently.

Reading one of the links above, it seems that this shades the roots better, stopping them drying out as quickly, and getting parched.

I also think that potted plants will always need watering. Plus I've got Cucumbers, beans and radishes in the green house - they will need doing, but I can use the can for them.
Also hanging baskets - a lot of people don't like them, but I do, so tough! They can dry out in direct sun in just a day.

I'm going to leave my lawn to it, by the way!

cubegame

Ignore the ban and water it anyway. How exactly do you think they catch people?

Kay_Peel

cubegame wrote: »

Ignore the ban and water it anyway. How exactly do you think they catch people?

You'd be surprised. Annoyed neighbours have been known to take a photo on their mobile phone and then inform on the hosepiper. Some are so enraged that they phone the police. I think you get 'advice' the first time and I'm sure the offenders don't get caught a second time because they take to using a hosepipe at night.

There is a good argument for using hosepipes on vegetable gardens, however. We've invested a lot of labour and effort to grow our own food for ourselves and for our families. Our vegetable patches are enterprises and not just for show - I'm depending on my crops for my salads, for my winter veg including Christmas dinner and beyond, for instance.

Having said that, I prefer not to use a hosepipe ever.