Owning your own home

Not exactly £40k kitchen territory here, but can anyone recommend a doorbell. Yes, a doorbell.
The well-rated £10 job from Amazon lasted 2 months.

The one job role these things need but never have is project manager.

Electrical 2nd Fix today. Just had to buy 11 light bulbs.

Absolutely galling spending £60 on lightbulbs on one hit.

There is a "sale progressor" at our EA. But all I can see them doing is pushing emails around.

Amateurs. You can’t PM by email. If someone isn’t complaining about the number of times you call them you aren’t doing it right.

£60 for 11??

Must have been cheap ones.

I had some of my flat painted this way (mainly empty room from a loft conversion). Finish seemed fine, absolutely everything needed to be masked though.

Our EWS1 quest has gone from the managing agent saying "no problem I'll get {building company}'s fire engineer to do it", to now 3 weeks later "they won't do it, I'm waiting for quotes for the survey". This could take a while.

I have a smart one, but hear me out...
It cost about 35 quid and has Homekit (may not be of interest to you).
2 parts:

1. Aqara Smart Home Hub (via Ebay)
   
2. Switch https://www.banggood.com/Original-Aqara-Smart-Wireless-Switch-Smart-Home-Kit-Remote-Control-Work-with-Multifunctional-Gateway-From-Eco-System-p-1224921.html?rmmds=myorder&cur_warehouse=CZ
   
   

Its cheap (ish) small, and infinitely configurable.
Currently one press plays a normal door bell noise, two presses plays Taylor swift across the whole house.

It can also be set up to send notifications to phones etc.

Party wall question time, or at least I think it is.

My neighbours have (a few years ago) completed a side return right on the boundary of the property. If I was to carry out a side return then can I use that wall as part of mine?

I must be searching for the wrong things online as I can't see an awful lot of information on the subject, but surely this crops up a lot in terrace properties?

Were you the owner at the time they did their extension?

Our neighbours house is owned by a housing association who are never going to do a side return, so we couldn't 'share' the boundary wall. If you or the previous owner did agree to share the wall then a portion of the boundary wall would be in each property.
If not you may be able to use their external wall and get all the space......

I know you said you'd looked online but the gov pages are quite useful especially the guidance booklet (link on second page here) https://www.gov.uk/party-walls-building-works

as long as it is a party wall, or it is buildt up to the boundary.

have a look at the the govt guidance...

No I wasn't the owner, the neighbours built this a long time ago now.

The wall is up to the boundary, as in in place of a fence. Theres currently a lean-to on my side return connected to the wall where I would like to build a side return.

Try and dig out the planning from the council - it might show where the wall was built.
However you'll find out when you get a party wall agreement so you'll find out either way!

Thanks - looked on the planning website and nothing was on there, although it only goes back to 2005.

I'll just pop around and have a chat with them.

Electrician fell through the ceiling 5 minutes before finishing the second fix.
New plaster only went up on Friday.

2 steps forward, 1 step backwards.

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Fuck sake.

Assuming he’s putting it right?

You would think a tradesperson would know better than that.

I owe him £1,200 so yeah, he'll be paying for it. I feel bad for him TBH, he'll basically work for free today

He's a good electrician. These things happen though.

I feel like someone should ask whether he’s OK, although I guess that’s implied.

I asked him first thing. Mum taught me some manners.

Is this house on the West Norwood Native American Burial Site?

oh ffs.

Is that ceiling going to have to come down as a result?