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Yoghurt on a Stick II Newbie

Yoghurt on a Stick II

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1 minute ago, Quark said:

 unless there's actually a job market for sitting on a sofa in your pants watching Futurama re-runs and eating crisps.

One of my friends has a job doing something very similar to that. He is in IT support and works from home. He only has to get involved if the systems go in to fault, which they rarely do apparently. He said his days are spent sitting in his underpants strumming his guitar - and no that's not a euphemism, although I suspect he probably does do that as well. 

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Skoo Enthusiast

Skoo

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40 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick II said:

I've never known what I would like to do. I managed to orchestrate my own redundancy a few years back and got a reasonably healthy sum in redundancy money (which I duly pissed and drugged up the wall). I was very lucky because at the time of the redundancies I knew that I just couldn't last in the place any longer anyway. Since then I've been kind of pissing about. I'm selling my house now and it's been valued at twice what I paid for it. So, I might buy another knacker of a house and do it up and then sell it for a profit. I'm still trying to decide if this will satisfy me though. If I make the decision to go for it and buy a run down house then they'll be no going back ie I'll be locked in whether I like it or not. I wish you well with your decision making Quark. It ain't easy.

I am in the middle of doing up my first house, and finding it really tough, it's a little bit overwhelming. Got any wise words of advice? How do you stop builders from leaving all their rubbish everywhere? The ones we have used so far have made off with anything that has a scrap value...but left all the other rubbish. Is that the done thing?!

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Yoghurt on a Stick II Newbie

Yoghurt on a Stick II

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10 minutes ago, Skoo said:

I am in the middle of doing up my first house, and finding it really tough, it's a little bit overwhelming. Got any wise words of advice? How do you stop builders from leaving all their rubbish everywhere? The ones we have used so far have made off with anything that has a scrap value...but left all the other rubbish. Is that the done thing?!

Just shooting from the hip I'd say - don't pay the builders until the job is completed to your satisfaction, which includes rubbish removal. If they insist on a payment then make it a stepped payment ie you agree to pay them an amount each time they achieve a goal eg when they have finished putting in a new kitchen, when they have finished putting in a new bathroom etc. It's also very important  to have them initially quote against a water tight specification. That way they can't come back to you and ask you for more money for this that and the other which they should have included for initially. If you are having quite extensive works carried out eg a total refurb of the house then I would suggest that you might want to employ a Building Surveyor (they are generally cheaper than architects and can do the same job - often better!). They could then draw up a full specification for you which various contractors can price on. If it is a big job like a total refurb of the property then ask the Building Surveyor to draw up a suitable contract for you and the builder to sign. Make sure that the contract has a retention fee, which is money held back for a period of a certain number of months (I would go for six) so that if something goes wrong with their work then you give them the option to rectify it or use that money to get another builder to rectify it. If going down the contract avenue then I would also put in a time penalty clause ie if the builder doesn't finish the work on time he/ she faces a financial penalty.

I hope that the above has helped. It's hard to give more fuller advice because I don't know what works you are having done. If you want to go in to more detail or want clarification etc then please feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to help.

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Skoo Enthusiast

Skoo

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Thanks @Yoghurt on a Stick II for that - the stuff about getting a building surveyor is very good advice and something I wouldn't have considered. The house is a total refurb, but we can't afford to do it all at once, so doing things in stage. Managed to get the bedrooms to a reasonable state, central heating installed, and a re-wire. Now saving to do the bathroom, which currently has chunks of plaster missing from the wall where the old water tank was removed, and no shower! Think it's going to take us at least a year to get everything done, if not longer. Still though, it's a home we want to live in for a few years, so trying to take it slowly and not rush things.

 

 

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trevethin Newbie

trevethin

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The only Joyce I've heard of was Joyce Grenfell - of 'George don't do that' fame - well probably nowadays not fame, she was around ages ago !

It's a log burner type stove we're having installed.  We've had a really old one for past 18 years with no chimney liner.  It's not illegal exactly as the stove building regs came in after that stove was in, but it's going to be far safer once new stove is installed properly.  I think there is far more building work about than there are builders to do it.

Good luck with job hunting @Quark it's good to get out of a rut.  I worked for far too long in a job I hated - I've been really happy since I was made redundant last summer :)

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trevethin Newbie

trevethin

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1 minute ago, Skoo said:

The house is a total refurb, but we can't afford to do it all at once, so doing things in stage. Managed to get the bedrooms to a reasonable state, central heating installed, and a re-wire. Now saving to do the bathroom, which currently has chunks of plaster missing from the wall where the old water tank was removed, and no shower! Think it's going to take us at least a year to get everything done, if not longer. Still though, it's a home we want to live in for a few years, so trying to take it slowly and not rush things.

 

 

@SkooSomething we scrimped on - and then later wished we hadn't - was plastering.  The walls that were dreadful we had boarded and/or skimmed and (years on) they look good.  We were skint so the walls that were just bad we patched up and painted or papered.  They don't look good and we wished we'd not rushed so much and had had them boarded and/or skimmed. Hindsight is wonderful.

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Yoghurt on a Stick II Newbie

Yoghurt on a Stick II

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24 minutes ago, Skoo said:

Thanks @Yoghurt on a Stick II for that - the stuff about getting a building surveyor is very good advice and something I wouldn't have considered. The house is a total refurb, but we can't afford to do it all at once, so doing things in stage. Managed to get the bedrooms to a reasonable state, central heating installed, and a re-wire. Now saving to do the bathroom, which currently has chunks of plaster missing from the wall where the old water tank was removed, and no shower! Think it's going to take us at least a year to get everything done, if not longer. Still though, it's a home we want to live in for a few years, so trying to take it slowly and not rush things.

My first house took me about 18 months to complete, my second house about 4 years (it was a big house and I didn't really put my heart and soul in to it), and the house I have now about 2 years. This was while working in a 9 - 5 job as well. I've also refurbed other houses with my family. We, as a family, even built our own 5 bedroomed house from scratch ie foundations upwards. I remember doing the foundations very clearly. I went out on the Friday night after work and got blasted. I eventually managed to get home at about 4am in the morning only to be woken at 6am to go (along with my brothers and my dad) and shovel (yes shovel) over 80 tonnes of concrete in a day. I was young, fit and stupid then though. I'm not young and fit anymore, but the stupidity is still with me. All the best with your renovations. :)

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Babylon sister Contributor

Babylon sister

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Hi all, it seems Joyce has been used to name storms on 5 previous occasions, she has been kind enough to rage at sea and not caused too much damage ;)  Perhaps more fitting than I first thought :)  Well done @Quark for deciding to move on, its good to have a change every now and then. I'm in criminal justice social work and I'm feeling obliged to stay where I am for another year as they've been really good about me having time off but after that I'm going to try and do something a bit more creative, floristry maybe. @Yoghurt on a Stick II your efforts to steal a slice of the Ann summers pie were admirable and made me chuckle. And thanks for all the building tips, this is such an informative forum :) love and hugs to all xx

Edited by Babylon sister
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lucyginger Contributor

lucyginger

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17 hours ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

If I were in a campervan, could it be My Chemical Toilet Romance?

Well done!! 

Morning all :) Nice to see the filth back! Oh I mean Woffy. HAHA! (sorry love)

Are you gracing us with your presence this year Woffy love? 

Well it's proper Manchester dahn sarf today. Fecking horrible. On the plus side, I managed choir last night and it's friday tomorrow. Woo! 

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Curlygirl Enthusiast

Curlygirl

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Artnoon all, I'm currently in C&r training so I have my phone... I've been keeping up with everyone's news but unable to post on works computer. Hope everyone is well? @Babylon sister, wow, what a scary time of it you've had. Glad you're ok matey, keep smiling. @Quark I plan on belting out a bit of lady Gaga on the way down to Nottingham tonight! 

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mr gumby Newbie

mr gumby

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53 minutes ago, Curlygirl said:

Artnoon all, I'm currently in C&r training so I have my phone... I've been keeping up with everyone's news but unable to post on works computer. Hope everyone is well? @Babylon sister, wow, what a scary time of it you've had. Glad you're ok matey, keep smiling. @Quark I plan on belting out a bit of lady Gaga on the way down to Nottingham tonight! 

Does Lady Gaga have a Glastonbury shaped hole? ;)

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Babylon sister Contributor

Babylon sister

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2 hours ago, Curlygirl said:

Artnoon all, I'm currently in C&r training so I have my phone... I've been keeping up with everyone's news but unable to post on works computer. Hope everyone is well? @Babylon sister, wow, what a scary time of it you've had. Glad you're ok matey, keep smiling. @Quark I plan on belting out a bit of lady Gaga on the way down to Nottingham tonight! 

Thanks CG, hope the training has been fun. I had my last radiotherapy session this morning so I'm going to have a wee celebratory drink with friends tonight. I'll refrain from remarking on lady Gaga's hole but a few of her tracks may be given a birl tonight :) 

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Babylon sister Contributor

Babylon sister

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5 hours ago, lucyginger said:

Well done!! 

Morning all :) Nice to see the filth back! Oh I mean Woffy. HAHA! (sorry love)

Are you gracing us with your presence this year Woffy love? 

Well it's proper Manchester dahn sarf today. Fecking horrible. On the plus side, I managed choir last night and it's friday tomorrow. Woo! 

Good to hear you're back singing :) 

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