Owning your own home

Building insurance doesn't usually cover 3rd parties unless you can show negligence.

Bit of a musty smell coming up from the void under our suspended timber floor.

I think I know the cause, and it's fixed.

Do I just leave it to clear at the rate made possible by the one air brick out front and the two out back, or do I need to do something 'active'?

I'd argue that running someone else's pipes inside my flat was negligent but obviously that's my opinion and not law and everyone knows that the law is bullshit.

All the more reason to move into my own fucking house. At least then I own any fuckups.

Doors are usually trimmed to fit the doorway, in height and width, so get the closest oversized ones and trim 'em down. The 4mm between 1981mm and 1977mm won't be an issue at all, but for the bigger difference you'll need to take half the amount off each end. New doors should have info on how much can be safely trimmed off each edge.

All the more reason to move into my own fucking house. At least then I own any fuckups.

Apart from when you don't. There was an example in the media a little while ago when a neighbours chimney fell down in a storm and smashed into their roof. They didn't have insurance and were stuffed.

Literally having our chimney rebuilt right now to head this one off at the pass.

If your neighbours are that close you may as well be in a block of flats. I mean a proper house.

Anyway, it's still a bit shit that the chimney owners insurance didn't pay for the repairs in much the same way I think the pipe owners should be paying for all my repairs.

Thanks for that - yes, the door that is 1894mm is going to need 87mm trimmed off a standard door in order to fit, or 43.5mm off the top and the bottom.

If you look at Wickes (one example but they all seem similar), 'The door may be trimmed by up to 3mm in height and 3mm in width. Any reductions must be removed equally from each edge.'. That's not clear to me as to whether you can remove 1.5mm from top/bottom or up to 3mm from each = 6mm - way less than I need.

While the doors I actually want can be 'trimmed by up to 32mm' - even if you double that (i.e. remove 32mm from top and bottom) it's still less than I need...

Hmm...maybe @Airhead or other qualified person could offer a more experienced opinion on door trimming! A particularly short door in our house has been trimmed too much, which I only noticed when I touched the top edge (much higher than head height) and my fingers went in to the hollow centre - it's a cheap door, not solid wood. Doesn't seem to be an issue, but ideally you'd avoid that I suppose.

Is there no way of removing some architraving at the top or something, to give a bit more door frame clearance?

Loft conversion questions, just had a quote and there's an option for temporary tin roof. Will my house wash away in the great storm if I just go for tarpaulin? I don't mind paying extra if it's actually needed but could also do with not spending an extra 4 grand if not really necessary .

That door (1894mm) doesn’t have to be a fire door so I might just leave it, it’d just be a missed opportunity to get some uniformity that will annoy me. I’ll have to see how trim-ability compares between the fire and non-fire versions.

That being said, the next shortest door - which must be a fire door - is 1940mm, which is still 41mm, but if the ones I like can have 32mm off both top and bottom, that will be fine.

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I didn't go for one. Ended up with a couple of leaks which resulted in some damp patches on a couple of ceilings (although under slightly unusual circumstances, they'd stopped work over Christmas and it snowed then melted).

Rectifying it took a couple of coats of paint, definitely not £4k.

Good to know thanks, I thought that might be the case. There's loads being done round here and I've never seen a tin roof on any of them.

Loft conversion questions, just had a quote and there's an option for temporary tin roof. Will my house wash away in the great storm if I just go for tarpaulin? I don't mind paying extra if it's actually needed but could also do with not spending an extra 4 grand if not really necessary .

I think the guys down the road who had their loft (re) done throughout may (and still ongoing) were happy they paid for a tin roof.

Bloody hell, when was that?

We didn't have a tin roof. Listening to the tarps blowing in a storm while you try to sleep is horrid but doesn't last long. We had a couple of minor leaks and had to paint a ceiling.

Well, you're lucky you even had a roof. We had to put tiny umbrellas up above our beds that were never big enough to keep the rain away. Kids these days just don't know how good they have it.

You joke, but our whole roof actually blew off in a storm when I was a kid.

Your burping after dinner constitutes exceptional circumstances, though.

Act of God, indeed.

July 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/26/west-hampstead-fire-15-crews-tackle-blaze-in-top-floor-of-flats
That block literally butts against my house. The scaffolding has only just come down after 3 years of repairs. Now they are fixing my roof again. At least they had better be!
The little house at the end of the block is mine.

@hoops @danb been off here for a month or so but I have been looking for 3-4 months for a house in BS5 (Easton/Greenbank). I've rang up the day after a house has gone up sometimes and been told I can't view it due to 2 full days of viewings being booked. Put in 10 extremely good offers at, above or slightly below in one case asking price as a FTB with a healthy deposit and had no luck. Seen houses go 15%+ over asking, and asking prices themselves have gone up by a similar amount in the last 12 months.
So fed up. Anyway GLWS!
Main reason for the comment is that the main 2 selling in BS5 seem to be Boardwalk (who seem pretty spot on) and Hunters (though I wouldn't go with these)

Yeah - Boardwalk have been very good.
BAF today - 17 offers - most 10%ish over with one at 15% over, utterly nuts.

Have a viewing booked for Friday for a place in the Chew Valley, hopefully it doesn't get cancelled like the last....

Any forum thoughts on Bristol at the moment?
Offered on this, up at 375, about right, went over 400.

Last sold in 2009 for 138k to a landlord, tenanted the whole time (monthly income), done nothing to it (0 cost), made ££££££

@danb congrats, good work! which road if you don't mind me asking? Hope the move goes well. I'm looking at 4 Fri/Sat in bs5, fingers crossed but I am so disillusioned with it all