Owning your own home

Your guy is pretty dear, he quoted up to 3 times as much as everyone else did for the same job.

6pt is obvs taking backhanders

Yeah I feel he's a bit over the market – he was +25% for what I wanted done first time around, but pipped it for turning up when he said he would, actually getting a quote to me without being chased, and being so on it with the comms. I've definitely paid too much for my bathroom that he's just (well, almost) finished, but he knows what I want and makes it happen and I don't mind paying for that.

Anyone else got recommendations for a good, general builder in South London (spec. Thornton Heath)? Someone you've used and not made you pull your own face off.

Likewise i could do with some recommendations, need a builder in SE (Brockley) - ideally with some experience of restraint strapping of bowing walls

Yeah I feel he's a bit over the market – he was +25% for what I wanted done first time around, but pipped it for turning up when he said he would, actually getting a quote to me without being chased, and being so on it with the comms. I've definitely paid too much for my bathroom that he's just (well, almost) finished, but he knows what I want and makes it happen and I don't mind paying for that.

Have you had anything to do with that plumber chap recently? He dropped off the map for me after replacing the stop cock, stopped replying to messages and busied my call.

If you need one I used Rhodes in crystal palace to do a boiler for me. Good price and good comms. http://www.rhodesplumbing.co.uk/

Nope, not had any plumber tasks in a while. That's a shame though, he was good while we were using him. I guess he was keen to preserve the relationship with the builder to get more jobs, and rando stuff less appealing?

Doesn't sound too promising. Just phoned the salesman to see what kind of discount they'll offer and the response was "you'll have to phone head office".

Roman Blinds Direct was one we looked at but finding the time for measuring and fitting ourselves is tough which is why we were looking at someone like Hilary's.

Not sure where you're based but I used Kelly's Blinds in Leytonstone a couple of years ago and was really happy. Sent someone around to do free measurements/quotation and the service was really great from start to finish.

Mowed the lawn at lunch and went through two fox shits in the process - what are some forum approved ways of keeping them out of the garden? Do those sonic alarm things work? Or other options.

What’s so precious in your garden that it can’t cope with nature?

If the sonic alarm things do work they might also work for other animals and as such I'll put up with picking up the shit from my lawn.

I spent 20 mins cleaning fox shit from the lawnmower and the stuff stinks.

they are just priming you for the future nappy explosions

have you considered paving over the horrible stuff?

the grass, i mean.

I can hear a lot of the ones round this way. They drive me mad. Don’t seem the scare the foxes off either, or if they do, I dread to think how many we’d have without them...

The short answer is you can't and you should accept them. They're great to watch you know.

The longer answer is that we have an impregnable 6ft high fence made of larch strips around our garden. They can get over it, but they choose not to nearly all of the time because it's too much bother, despite a family living in next door's garden. It seems to redirect them into the garden behind.

We've seen one once, suspected another of digging up our veg patch (perhaps unfairly, could well have been a cat) but never had any shit. However, our garden is small and doesn't hold much of interest to them. For a bigger more interesting garden they might climb a 6ft high fence which isn't a big challenge for them.

The place we're, hopefully, buying has one of the sonic deterrents in the garden. ms_com noticed it first, and as soon as she pointed it out, I couldn't not hear it. Must be just on the cusp of being too old. It'll be going right in the fuck it bucket.

Check for shit before you mow.

I’ve saved you the cost of one of those sonic systems. No need to thank me.

Go for a barefoot walk on the lawn before mowing, you'll definitely find it.

Or soak a baseball bat in your own piss.

Thanks!

Cheers. In North London so not too far, will give them a call.