Lyn Valley Classic car meeting 9th June 2019

After the breakfast meet at Ralegh Cross hotel and an Exmoor trundle the cars parked up at Lynmouth. Other supercars were up in Lynton all putting on a brave face during the rain showers.

Balcony Project Week 4

Big progress this week from "Shed in sky" to blank canvas in one day. Holes for new steels have been cut in wall ready for the new structure. Nest step is for the steels to arrive ready for cladding and final fix. Some iteration of the steel design was done but the project must move on to reach target date.

It was decided to add a Steel C section fixed to the back wall to give better support for the front to back joists. The stairs detail continue to be the tricky part of the design.

Next

Balcony Project Week 3

This "weeks" progress has been concerned with the finer details in the steels. especially the staircase. The tricky piece has been to ensure that there is sufficient head clearance at the lower end of the staircase to satisfy building regs. Keeping within the outline of the balcony has forced some rework to use a double turn staircase.

Next

Also arriving this week were some samples for the decking and support materials. In order to have better durability we have chosen to use plastic lumber for the decking substructure from Envirobuild.

This new material is made from recycled plastic waste and can be worked with wood working tools and methods. Having got some 3M samples of 3*1 the feel of the lumber does seem to be a bit different than wood possibly not having quite the same torsional rigidity. This will be fine for the decking support but not sure would work for the main support joists.

Looking further on to the finishing touches we are considering an illuminated handrail which will certainly add some glamour and price.  Something like this picture.

Balcony Project Week 2

Whilst it may have been more than 7 days since the last weekly update, there has been a bank holiday in the way. However progress has been made. After a visit of the local council building control inspector the holes are now about a foot deeper down to below the level of the drains.

Forward progress this week has been filling the holes with concrete and measuring/marking the back wall ready for the steel support pads to be inserted. Today Max from local firm WM Ironwork visited to do the measurements for the structural steels.

Next

The colour decisions have been made “dark grey pearl” for the support leg collars and front edge facing covers. This will blend with the “stone” decking, white under roof and RSJ pillars.

Things may go quiet for a while whilst the steels are cut and shaped to plan. The tricky bit of the steels is the staircase that has to be specificity customised for the hight/travel.

Design conundrum

What we have seen since the dig has progressed is the level of rot in the support pillars. Two out of the five front pillars at the front two show significant rot at ground level that goes some what to explain the sagging of the existing structure.

The existing 2008 built structure is wood and showing the impact of age, water and poor designs.  The original support should have been built on top of a water proof support similar to this diagram....



Also the joists are showing the start of rain exposure damage caused by external exposure and run through.


The new structure is to have a waterproof under decking laid on top of the joists preventing such damage in the futures. However the conundrum is do we use joists made of recycled plastic or traditional wood. Liking the idea of supporting the alternative wood materials industry but they do cost three times as much per metre.

After some thought we are likely to go for the composite decking with plastic lumber under support as this will be the rain impacted area.

Balcony project Week 1

We broke ground today on the project to replace the balcony at the back of the house.
It’s just a start for now, we have the holes dug that will hold the supports for the new structure. The electrics have been moved and a tonne or two of gravel removed.
Currently there are 10 posts holding up the deck, the new structure will have just three, opening up the under deck space for other uses. The other key feature of the new balcony deck will be managing rain water creating a dry space for over winter storage of outdoor chairs tables etc.

Original Structure and project ideas can be seen here 

Good start but a long way to go. Next

BMW Announce recall for high performance John Cooper Works (JCW) Minis

Important - Vechicle Safety Recall

Action Required

BMW have announced today a new safety recall of John Cooper Works high-performance MINIs. The details of this recall are presented in this letter but please check with your local BMW dealership for further information. Models impacted are MINI R51.. R60 and F54 & F56 with JCW modified engines.

As part of ongoing quality analysis at BMW mini it has been determined that excessive travel of the accelerator pedal in these cars can result in high and sustained vehicle speed. As part of the safety recall JCW mini's will be also be adjusted to comply with the new EU rules and directives due to come into force in 2020.

As part of the recall process the following works will be undertaken:

* Areo devices and spoilers will be reversed to create upforce.
* Anti-lock brakes (ABS systems) will be adjusted to become always-lock brakes (ALB).
* All-4 Drive systems will be reconfigured to power one wheel at a time.
* Tyres are to be resized to ratios 80 profile and above.
* Navigation systems will be updated to "shout like your mother" if the current speed limit is exceeded.
* Vehicle suspension struts and shock absorbers will be un-slammed to ensure wheel arch clearance is enough for an EU bureaucrats head.

During the recall.

Cars that are subject to this recall should be taken to the nearest BMW dealership as soon as possible. To avoid disappointment with small underpowered micro hatch cars, replacement vehicles will not be provided. Instead an "Uber golden ride multi tickets" will be issued to each customer. These tickets are of course valid in all three of the major UK cities.

The vehicle rework time is unknown so please be prepared to be without your vehicle for an extended period of time. Rest assured the vehicle will be washed and hoovered before its return.

Thank you for your understanding during this vital safety recall program.

Richard Pricey
Aftersales Director

: Not for for public release before 1st April 2019


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Feast your eyes on this R60 JCW All-4 Countryman