Owning your own home

Not the colour style I’d go for but the implementation

we went for YELLOW - so our colour scheme in that room is now a quite rangey pink w/olive green and yellow accents. plus cork flooring ofc

For what it's worth, IE not much, the place I bought has a Nuaire Drimaster, and it was also the brand recommended by two tradesman who didn't even see the one I had, but saw the vent. They do one that filters NOX as well.

So that style might look fine on the bifold, we’re not quite sure what to do on the window on the right, because of the slope.

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a 'blind' in the same fabric as the curtain?

could also go for duette blinds for both windows, as an alternative. I don't like them but some people do

We've been reccomended a Zehnder system by a company who specialises in mvhr - haven't read much into the various systems yet but I'm inclined to trust them as they seem very diligent

If it were me I wouldn't bother with curtains - especially on the right hand window, but maybe for the whole thing - I would just grow something big and green so you're looking at nice plants instead of a blank fence. Modern glazing is so well insulated I've not felt the need for curtains for warmth.

Also you need a drinks cabinet

Its a very temporary location while we were moving some storage cabinets from a temporary living room upstairs.

The fence is to be painted, and then planning to have a planter/trellis thing against the wall to disguise the concrete fence post and also have something nice to look at.

We do feel like we need a curtain though for the bifold, with it drawing towards the right. Less for stopping light or preventing heat loss, but more for privacy. We're in an area with 3 storey townhouses and a couple of flat blocks, so they can see right the way in.

Fair enough. Tall planting at the back and sides of the garden will also provide a lot of screening and then you'll have privacy and a nice sense of enclosure in the garden as well as from inside the house.

They are pricey but pleached hornbeams (aka hedges on stilts) will give fantastic screening and are allowed to be higher than 2m as they don't count as high hedges as they're not evergreen. They still provide screening in winter as the browned leaves stay on the trees a long time.

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Get a quotation (or a couple ideally) to finish the works and tell the builders that will be deducted from the final payment. A reasonable response which should stand up if they want to get legal.

Bit late now that the glazing is in but in-glazing blinds are the cleanest way to get privacy across all those windows...

https://www.morleyglass.co.uk/integral-blinds/

We have the pleated style blinds and would highly reccommend but £££
They are on the outside of the glass rather than integrated.
https://www.morleyglass.co.uk/pleated-blinds/

pleached

Every day is a learning day

Can anyone recommend a bricklayer in South London? I need a new window opening and an existing one reduced in width.

Either do as cozey suggests and match it with material or leave as is - doesn’t appear overlooked.

I think a sheerish floaty curtain would work well to provide some privacy and also soften some of those lines

Yeah, maybe.
The townhouse next to the one that you see in the background has a ground floor extension with bifolds.
From our top floor, you can see what they are watching on TV and eating for dinner.

Also some sound absorption and muffling would be quite welcome.

Anyone have a structural engineer in north west London (Swiss cottage / Hampstead)?

Missus (who’s an architect so has experience) is convinced our top floor flat floor is sagging after some building work. I’m not convinced. Either way need to have someone come and take a look

lol

Our seller specified today as the exchange/completion date a couple of weeks back.
He's not signed, or at least hasn't returned his signed contract docs to his solicitors, and is out of town until tomorrow.
Same chap who took three months for accepting the offer to supply the property information forms to get anything rolling in the first place (empty house, previously rented out, no chain).

Can't tell if he's inept, a sociopath, or both... ...roll on Monday.

Definitely a sociopath by sounds of it.

I don't understand why split exchange and completion isn't the standard practice.

I don't understand why split exchange and completion isn't the standard practise.

Buyer can make it a condition of their offer.

Anyone had any luck sourcing a hallway storage unit? Kind of thing where you can bundle away shoes / coats / misc outside junk etc in to separate compartments and have them hidden away in an attempt to soothe OCD.

Wondering if something cobbled together from tylko would be any good.

Aren't they called monks pews or something similar?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Back-Style-Monks-Bench-Settle-Pew-With-Coat-Hooks-Storage-/154602025156?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

https://www.oakfurnitureland.co.uk/furniture/canterbury-natural-solid-oak-hallway-unit-with-plain-truffle-fabric-hallway-pad/1009867.html

i'm after something similar. some ikea options available but haven't looked much further than that

We have a combination of hall stand, shoe bench, shoe shelf, hooks and cupboards. I have no idea how people end up with anything looking tidy!