Ferdinand

The demolition must have been quite satisfying. My pet hate was Orville the Ventrilloquist's Dummy.

Yay Bagpuss and Professor Yaffle. You could have gone for "Parliament of Owls".

Looking for a suitably consoling/encouraging quote, I had to rely on a German Translation as the Latin text is not out of copyright yet so not findable on the net. F (English : Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We will get there in the end.)

Time for a tea break ! In the coop yesterday I saw an infusion flavour which was Turmeric and Star Anise, which I didn’t dare smell never mind purchase. That would reinvigorate anyone.

i find that thinner sinks yield if leaned on. Suspect that thickness if an issue because people want cheap sinks ... may be a rental property thing maybe and cheapskate restorations . A driver on that may be that the deposit schemes in resolving disputes can assume shortish lifespans on eg a kitchen, so if T damages it after that the recovery of cash from the deposit may be very limited. So limited point in putting in eg high end stuff. As I go for long term and hopefully civilised tenants, if I buy from eg Howdens I always go about halfway up the range for both sinks and taps ... it is part of the thing about investing in the things that get used all the time to give it a quality feel as far as possible and so that it lasts for the long term and Ts stay. Ferdinand

Stood on your feet not the head next time :-). Looks like an opportunity to learn repointing, but on an old house it is just wear and tear.

That's rather a good idea. You could name it for the three words that make up the location. "Goat cactus dirigible".

I was quoted 4K for a black on black 4kWp install 3-4 years ago as a best price for a straightforward install on a bungalow, and 4.5k for something which was more branded. I think now you should be some way below 5k, unless the squeeze in the trade has driven prices up again. Get some quotes. F

Remember that you will be able to use it to power the ASHP in cooling mode should you choose that type of ASHP in summer. But given your suggested sizes, that will apply to all of them. F

Sure. At root it is "my word is my bond" between people who trust each other. I have known the family for a number of years, and their parents were former tenants (with a number of labrador retrievers) who rented a slightly difficult property from me for 2-3 years (which was quite doggable since the plan was to turn it into a road and they rented knowing that it would be time limited). Parents were trying to set up for retirement, so I suggested such a deal to them as Ts/friends - subsequently a grown up offspring was getting married (one partner had previous children), and they asked me to think about the same for them, as their credit was seriously shot (6-7 years recovery shot). I did that whilst the couple were renting elsewhere. They found one house, which I warned them off as it would be a stretch and needed 20k spending. Then they found this one, which fitted the bill - after 2 years or so. A early 20C semi in an unusual situation renovated (not that well but to Regs standard) by somebody else. The deal itself was for: 1 - Initial 3 year fixed rent at a little below market (ie take bottom of the suggested range from EA) for a slightly easier on-ramp. 2 - Ignore credit checks ?. To be fair the parents would have stepped in - that sort of people. 3 - Letter of intention giving the not-quite-binding right to purchase at half way between purchase price and market price at purchase point, adjusted for any long term expenditure - eg my extra 3% Osborne Stamp Duty, I have fitted a ventilation system and a loft storage area (loft legs), and they have built a small conservatory economically (which I made them insulate properly) and fenced the garden. In practise it will be 20 minutes horse trading. 4 - 3 years are nearly up so I get to put it back to a market rent plus a bit from this year (had conversation about it last summer), now that maternity leave is over and they will have 2 incomes again. 5 - When their credit is back they get to buy it as above. The "not quite" in 3 is just in case my business melts down entirely (unlikely). So I get (hopefully) a low risk and OK rental investment (7% yield ish), and they get to have a family home, do stuff, be secure and have an easier way onto the housing ladder. Estd. 75% chance of a one way bet for both sides imo. At the end of the day my arse is covered as I still have the house should things go entirely wrong, or they not follow through, and it is slack I can afford to cut for people whom it helps make significantly happier / more secure. A more usual thing is for LLs to leave rents fixed for years and years in cash terms for really long term Ts on fixed incomes; a lot do that. Also quite commn to offer first refusal of a sale to a sitting T. At the end I will get a reasonable increase, which hopefully will be small enough to not engage CGT, and they get a house at maybe 10-15% below true value (hopefully within the negotiating margin so avoiding Below Value issues) and may end up with a lower mortgage percentage at the end of the day. In 2.5 years property is up by about 16%, so we are both safe if it doesn't spontaneously fall down. It's a little intricate and very bespoke, but that's the deal. I would do another one in the right circs, though it takes care and I would not have more than a small number of them at once, as it is all tighter now. F

Suspect my local pigeons are too fat to fit.

Is netting worth a retrofit? I hate to think how much I would need. It could be 100m.

Funny tenant story. Having interred mum in the graveyard before Christmas, and having risen from what felt like my own deathbed with the 6 week Christmas lurgy, I went to visit long term tenants to check for storm damage and maintenance needs. The front window installed by the person who restored it before I bought is leaking so my 2G man needs to seal it properly. They have installed a stud wall across the former archway in their double lounge because the 3 sproglets have reached the age of 2-4 where they make enough racket that mother wants peace and a closed door sometimes. Bit of a surprise. Tried to contact me but I have been a little incommunicado. For these particular Ts it is fine as they found the house (1910-ish 3 real double bedrooms under 100k 3 years ago - very unusual even here) and there is a side deal where they get to buy the house from me when they can afford it, and in the meantime it means that I get a cared for house, and they are able to make modest adaptations by agreement, or I do and it will be covered in the sale price. He is a trained builder, and I have trained him a bit on detail-obsession. I was not expecting a new wall to come from Santa, mind. I think this qualifies as self-build . Ferdinand

Slightly tangential MIke, however for my 10kWp array (installed pre-G99), the installing company did all the paperwork including the grid connection forms. Are you self-doing all of this, or can you draw on a similar resource? F

I have a SS Franke Mythos, which I like and have had for about 5 years. Retail about £600, but I looked around and paid £400. Came with nice metal drainer to go over half sink or half of main sink, plus a glass thing on runner - maybe for peeling etc. And a deep lip around the sink and drainer, which I value. I think one of your criteria should be a thickness of 0.9mm or 1mm not 0.7mm. I have an extendi-tap which is good - B&Q half price in a sale. I think solid taps are worth spending some on, as they get used so much. Ferdinand

My take on Council Housing is different. I do not believe that Councils should run *any* housing. Too many conflicts of interest. I think that local politicians having potential control over particularly allocation of housing is an open door to corruption, and I think evidence shows that this happens, and that the honesty of local politicians faced with such temptations is put at risk. Where the same organisation is responsible for allocating such huge individual benefits, and also needs the votes of those people, the conflict of interest is just too great. Some may think that is an insult to Councillors. I say Councillors are human beings with feet of clay, just like the rest of us, and one key to honest administration is to prevent dishonest administration offering benefits. 5 days ago a member of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Housing Scrutiny Committee was found guilty of defrauding the Council of £67,000 by obtaining a Council House through Fraud by False Representation. That is a 4 year Councillor, and there is always a constant stream of such stories. The Councillor concerned owns 3 other (at least one substandard with vermin) houses rented out privately. An example of my second previous point. I think that creating monolithic estates of tenure is partly an exercise in trying to build voting blocks, beholden to particular political tendencies. Now, both of those points sound perhaps one sided - however remember that Lady Shirley Porter and the "Homes for Votes" episode, which was also about gerrymandering from the other side. The opportunity for this to happen should not exist. For these reasons I am also highly suspicious of attempts to frame a debate as Private Rental vs Council Housing, entirely ignoring Registered Social Providers. That feels like an attempt to being to reintroduce the type of gerrymandering I have excoriated above. Why should these people want to create conflicts of interest in Councils? I am a fan of the Right to Buy, as it gave 2 million households a potential escape from dependence, micro-control by politicians, and poverty, which is worth its weight in gold. It also started the process of breaking up all those monolithic blocks of tenure; also valuable. I think the failure was failing to replace stock, and also of tackling abuses - which could have been done; but I have some sympathy with Mrs Thatcher's failure to do so via local Councils, as throughout the 1980s (iirc) there were a lot of somewhat (!) rogue Councils out there imo. I think the people who failed to grasp the nettle were particularly Mr Major and then Mr Blair. My take is that: 1 - Social housing should be built and managed away from polticians, by law. 2 - Councils have a proper input on policy, but their input on individual decisions should be questioned. I can tell some horror stories about unlawful actions wrt private rentals by Councils, where unlawful actions have been taken because they can with virtual impunity, reckless as to the interest of the tenant concerned. 3 - Councils have a role as customer for new housing, and scrutineer for those running the,. Direct Labour organisations should remain part of history. 4 - If they are run by Registered Providers, then small estates are OK. I am undecided about RTB for Housing Associations. 5 - But the current practise of putting small numbers of social houses in other estates where suitable is probably better, as is the practise of Housing Associations buying individual houses on the open market. Other BHers disagree with this view, and we have argued it before. One other issue is rich people staying in Council Houses, when policy for at least 20 years (and I think a lot longer) has been needs-based allocation. Should people in the top 5% (say) of incomes be able to keep a Council House when they can afford their own and someone is in a B&B waiting? The usual argument is "Council Houses are for everyone for life", but that has not been policy for decades. I am not entirely clear in my view about this, but it is partially also a supply issue - back to Major and Blair. Ferdinand

An Amazon Echo Gen 3 is on order. They seem to be popular - delivery date is 16 March, and I am in Amazon Prime. China Syndrome?

If you have the PD rights, and it is within them, yes. But check.

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Has this updated - what do I buy now? Sonos are not on the list. ? Does an Amazon Studio beat 2 x Amazon Echo Gen 3 ? Opinions welcome. I think I will start with a single Amazon Echo G3. Beyond that, I am drawn to the OontZ Angle 3 Ultra for the next room if they turn out to work together. Ferdinand

Welcome to the matrix.

Thinking laterally about this, I am reminded of a column by a characterful writer of pungent (provocative?) opinions called LJK Setright who wrote for Car Magazine for 30+ years, and was right often enough that disagreeing was slightly perilous. I remember him noting that he had kept a TV out of his house for years until one came in non-negotiably with the wife. In one column he pointed out the full width "touring" screen option for a sports car, then aero screens, then that windscreens could become so small that they could just be driving goggles. If you proposed that the boss embrace ear plugs and a sleep mask, rather than windows and curtains, it would make your ventilation problem much simpler, in that you could use a small jet engine should you wish. If an intermediate solution were required, you could propose that she follow the Buffy the Vampire playbook, and make like Dracula (lid down option). However, either of those may be more perilous than disagreeing with LJK Setright. Ferdinand ————————————— Found a bit. LJKS on how the proliferation of car safety equipment also threatens safety: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/comment/ljk-setright-safety-features-can-be-downright-dangerous-486124.html

Shave a bit off the bedroom door and it will come in from the landing. Being an old house it may permeate through the gaps in the wall, the skirting, through the ceiling or the floor, or round the windows etc. F

Remember that eg Nuaire do a PIV unit designed for flats that goes through the wall, or various companies do single room Through The Ball units. But it is a stone cottage which makes it difficult and obvious outside, and you would perhaps want that out of the bedroom for noise rasons, and you do not want an HR unit in the ensuite because it gives a slightly cooler than room temperature draught when you and the boss are naked and dripping for which you would be held responsible. F

But you only need a marginal difference ? But running a larger dehumidifier on a timer during the day would leave you quiet at night. Or or you could fit a small dehumidifier and a small loft type heater - 20-40 ukp - heater which will make it work better. F