Hey from Essex... xx

[Onoff]

Don't get down. Get fixed price quotes on things you can't do, say roof, electrics, plumbing, windows and doors. Tbh have a think, ask on here and you might be able to DIY some of those to some extent.

 

Do the stuff where you can provide the labour yourself to save on that element.

 

Loads of options for "on the cheap" that look good (Pinterest). Scaffold board kitchen maybe etc.

 

If you don't need it "now" defer doing it. 

[newhome]

Mood hoovers. Don’t let them grind you down. Choose to be positive and use their negativity to motivate not discourage. 

 

 

 

 

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Yzzy said:

I am actaully going to be sick.... the last month has crawled by. 

 

Money should be in bank on Friday..... and then a neighbour stood outside with us today looking at it and said "so, yo've got a loan, hope it was for £100k or more... you'll not get it livable under that"

 

It made me feel like sh*t.

 

The loan we have managed to get is for 50!!!!

 

I just want it livable, not palatial..... proper downer. 

I had to take the exterior wall of a house down from the wallplate where the roof sits down to the 1st floor joists as it was bulging. When I had it all open and you could see the inside wall a neighbour said to me you should have supported that wall as it will fall down. I said to him how would you like me to support it? He said acro props and I said what do you want me to support, the slate roof. When I pointed out the roof sits on the inner wall he just looked at me and I carried on repairing the wall. 

Just ignore him and prove him wrong as people have said.

[Yzzy]

Just re read this thread to get my spirits up.. Good grief this is stressful!!! 

 

Well behind schedule and the bloody house keeps showing us new things to fix. Like rotting floor beams, cracked Victorian sewer pipes and now.... LEAD water pips from the meter to the house! 

 

Apparently we have to organise / pay someone to dig a trench from the edge of our property to where the pipe enters the house, lay out the blue new pipe and call the water company to come and inspect it, then a 15 day wait for them to get permission to dig up the pavement to fix their bit. Free of charge as it's lead. 

 

"Make sure the trench is the right depth " she said.... I forgot to ask what that is!! Anyway, builders will know...

 

Dear oh dear... what a pallava!

 

EDITED:

 

Your pipe should be blue medium density polyethylene (mdpe) and laid in a trenchat a depth of at least 750mm and no more than 1,350mm. The pipe should be laid on and protected from stones by sand or fine material, or installed in a suitable duct. The private service pipe should be at least 25mm diameter.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Yzzy

[Hecateh]

Oh Lizzie, I so know where you are now.  

 

Stress - tell me about it.

 

Hard to say but be ready for the stress to continue.  

 

We are doing something that is so important to us but so out of our comfort zone.  Suddenly we are trying to tell people, who do these things every day, what we want doing - and it's still up to us to get it right. 

 

There's a mix out there and many who do want to help - often the smooth talkers are those who either want to rip us off or don't really have a clue either.  

 

It's a shame you are not closer - I have about 10m of that stuff down my garden that I have paid for but that was more than needed.  I don't know if it was bought unnecessarily just to be sure??? (why not, not their money) or it was cheaper to buy by the 50m or whatever.  

 

Stress stress stress - it's the name of the game I'm afraid, but we have to keep telling ourself the truth, that it WILL be worth it in the end,  

 

This forum saved my sanity, if not my life, earlier this year.  

 

Yes, given the perfect situation , we would research, and know everything and do everything right the first time but that is just crackers.  Even the experts get things wrong, miss things, find things they didn't expect.  You Will Get There.  

 

I'm now getting closer to the end but, in some ways, I've got the most stressful to come as I am now responsible for Project Managing.  

 

I want things to happen in one way - but deliveries won't come when I want them; Tradesmen have other priorities (shock horror) and can't come when I want.  People say they want to help and then think they can rip you off. The guy you need first can't come for 2 weeks and the next one is either next week or months away aaarrrggghhh.  

 

Keep the faith - You Can and You Will and we are all rooting for you

Edited August 27, 2018 by Hecateh
full of typsos

[Hecateh]

Oh and as @Onoff said - fixed price quotes and lots of them.  My plastering quotes for 400sqm ranged from £2500 to £5200 - and no - he hadn't transposed the numbers.  The 2.5k guy has said about 2 weeks for him and a labourer.  Another guy told me it would take 8 to 10 weeks - WWWWhhhhaaattttt?  I told him not to bother pricing but clearly he gets work.  

 

I have a good excuse to tell them I'll get materials because of the VAT thing but I think that helps too as they can't rip you off on materials.  However that is added stress - 'cos now I have to source price and buy the right stuff for delivery at the right time.

 

Keep posting - we can support each other

[Yzzy]

Thank you SO much @Hecateh !!!!! That was just what I needed.... Xx

[Hecateh]

How are you feeling today Izzie?  

 

 

[Yzzy]

On 27/08/2018 at 22:46, Hecateh said:

How are you feeling today Izzie?  

 

 

 

Hey.... Today I feel amazing. Having a day off from the house as yesterday myself and my builder shifted 200 breeze blocks, 1 tonne of sand and a tonne of cement from the front to the back of the house and BOY do my muscles feel a bit zingy today. Mentally though I would like to be there progressing.

 

I'm researching lead filters for the water mains as the cost of digging it all up and replacing and the stress is too much for now. I'm hoping I can get something.

 

Yesterday I had the task of cutting a Budlea davidii out of an upstairs window sil ... best way to get to it was from inside, so I squeezed myself and a saw out of the tiny Edwardian Sash window and with awkward difficulty I cut the damn bush out. 

 

THEN I GOT STUCK!!!! It was hard enough to squeeze out but once out the girls had hoiked themselves over the frame and that was that.... You ain't getting back in unless you rip us off or grease yourself up like a swimmer! 

 

My builder thought it was the funniest thing ever as I shouted "Oh shit, I'm stuck in the window. My bloody boobs!!!"

 

Anyway, with some squishing and squooshing akin to a baker kneading dough and a lot of strange noises I freed myself and am here to tell the tale!!

 

NOW I know why cat's have whiskers. I will grow some post haste! 

Edited September 1, 2018 by Yzzy

[Hecateh]

4 minutes ago, Yzzy said:

 

Hey.... Today I feel amazing. Having a day off from the house as yesterday myself and my builder shifted 200 breeze blocks, 1 tonne of sand and a tonne of cement from the front to the back of the house and BOY do my muscles feel a bit zingy today. Mentally though I would like to be there progressing.

 

I'm researching lead filters for the water mains as the cost of digging it all up and replacing and the stress is too much for now. I'm hoping I can get something.

 

Yesterday I had the task of cutting a Budlea davidii out of an upstairs window sil ... best way to get to it was from inside, so I squeezed myself and a saw out of the tiny Edwardian Sash window and with awkward difficulty I cut the damn bush out. 

 

THEN I GOT STUCK!!!! It was hard enough to squeeze out but once out the girls had hoiked themselves over the frame and that was that.... You ain't getting back in unless you rip us off or grease yourself up like a swimmer! 

 

My builder thought it was the funniest thing ever as I shouted "Oh shit, I'm stuck in the window. My bloody boobs!!!"

 

Anyway, with some squishing and squooshing akin to a baker kneading dough and a lot of strange noises I freed myself and am here to tell the tale!!

 

NOW I know why cat's have whiskers. I will grow some post haste! 

How I know that feeling.

 

In a cheap bed and breakfast once there was the tiniest shower with an even tinier door.  Very similar situation lol

[Jeremy Harris]

20 hours ago, Yzzy said:

 

Hey.... Today I feel amazing. Having a day off from the house as yesterday myself and my builder shifted 200 breeze blocks, 1 tonne of sand and a tonne of cement from the front to the back of the house and BOY do my muscles feel a bit zingy today. Mentally though I would like to be there progressing.

 

I'm researching lead filters for the water mains as the cost of digging it all up and replacing and the stress is too much for now. I'm hoping I can get something.

 

Yesterday I had the task of cutting a Budlea davidii out of an upstairs window sil ... best way to get to it was from inside, so I squeezed myself and a saw out of the tiny Edwardian Sash window and with awkward difficulty I cut the damn bush out. 

 

THEN I GOT STUCK!!!! It was hard enough to squeeze out but once out the girls had hoiked themselves over the frame and that was that.... You ain't getting back in unless you rip us off or grease yourself up like a swimmer! 

 

My builder thought it was the funniest thing ever as I shouted "Oh shit, I'm stuck in the window. My bloody boobs!!!"

 

Anyway, with some squishing and squooshing akin to a baker kneading dough and a lot of strange noises I freed myself and am here to tell the tale!!

 

NOW I know why cat's have whiskers. I will grow some post haste! 

 

 

I used to go caving a lot.  One of the golden rules when going into any tight squeeze was to ALWAYS go feet first.  Doesn't matter if you're male or female, your chest works a bit like the barb on a fish hook.  The bottom of your ribcage tends to rise as you try and come out feet first, and that makes your chest jam in the gap.  The more you try to push yourself feet first through the hole, the more you exert yourself and the more your chest will tend to rise.

 

If you make the decision to go feet first on the way in, you can be pretty certain you won't ever get stuck, as it's always easier to get out head first, as your chest will tend to just flatten down.  If you look at the geometry of your ribs and their attachments, you can see that your rib cage tends to pivot outwards around the upper part.

[Yzzy]

16 hours ago, JSHarris said:

 

 

I used to go caving a lot.  One of the golden rules when going into any tight squeeze was to ALWAYS go feet first.  Doesn't matter if you're male or female, your chest works a bit like the barb on a fish hook.  The bottom of your ribcage tends to rise as you try and come out feet first, and that makes your chest jam in the gap.  The more you try to push yourself feet first through the hole, the more you exert yourself and the more your chest will tend to rise.

 

If you make the decision to go feet first on the way in, you can be pretty certain you won't ever get stuck, as it's always easier to get out head first, as your chest will tend to just flatten down.  If you look at the geometry of your ribs and their attachments, you can see that your rib cage tends to pivot outwards around the upper part.

 

Good advice but sadly I'm not as good sawing with my bum.... Needed my eyes and hands outside the window. Ha ha...

What I should have done is wait until the tall ladder wasn't being used and do it from outside but you know... I'm a get it done now person.

[Yzzy]

Yay... the conservatory / Morning room has been re built... roof going on today, doors and windows in.... old toilet block has been rebuilt, doors and windows in, roof going on today.

 

SO HAPPY.... it's looking more like the old girl again but without the crumbling bricks.... will try and get on to update with photos...

[Yzzy]

Hello everyone!!!!! 
 

MERRY DECEMBER to you all.

 

We have 5 weeks to move in to the house! Yikes.... no more money to pay rent on this house so it's a mad panic to get at least the boys' rooms done, bathroom and kitchen... I have a problem with the new loo downstairs so will find the place to post about it.