Owning your own home

it's likely the contractor's responsibility

It is unless agreed otherwise. Get the prick contractor back to sort it out.

Source?

OBR report from yesterday’s statement.

Hmmmm. Maybe time for a 5yr fixed.

Or choose a variable rate to add jeopardy to your life.

With all the uncertainty in the world it's hard not to think that if you're offered a 5yr at an acceptable rate then it's worth going for.

Oven and hob are v.tired need replacing. Are all basic square oven units identical fitting spec, or are they like bottom brackets? There looks to be 10mm range online, but some of thst might just be rounding & everything is pretty standard.

Ditto for the hob cut-out in the worktop, should it be straight swapping or will I need to hunt down a like 4 like dimension?

^ note I won't be doing the replacing myself.

More or less standard for ovens, always made for a 600mm gap. Heights vary a bit, as do depths but in a standard kitchen depth is rarely a problem.

There's no standard for hob cut outs but you might get lucky if you go for the same manufacturer. You need to dig down into the fitting instructions for the exact dims.

suddenly I am very relieved that I fixed for 5y back in March.

at the time I half thought that the rates would drop... but I couldn't really reason why we'd return to historical lows in a post-pandemic landscape where gov borrowing was so heavy, so I fixed for 5y and since then have been feeling more relief as each month passed. but that chart... makes me feel good about the choice

Old house alarm problem...

I have a Pyronix alarm system, I think it's this one: https://www.pyronix.com/uk/products/enforcer-kit-1 and this was in the house at time of purchase (5 years ago).

I have a user code (allows setting/clearing alarms) and a manager code (allows configuring date/time and performing tests), but I do not have the engineer code (allows configuring everything and doing maintenance).

The control panel battery has run flat... and it's inside the control panel... a flat battery alarms causes the alarm to sound daily in the afternoon, much annoying.

The manual (attached) clearly states that you need to access the engineer menu to open the case... but of course I cannot.

Anyone know of a way to factory reset one of these things without the engineer code? None of the defaults in the menu work, and the company that fitted this went out of business years ago... I assume they kept ownership of the engineer code to force people to use them for servicing.

Alternatively... does anyone have a Which? subscription and can share the current Best Buy list for home alarm systems as I'll just replace the thing.

I already suspect I know what I'll actually end up doing... disconnect / kill the existing system and then do this https://scotthelme.co.uk/creating-a-house-alarm-system-with-home-assistant/

Edit: The manufacturers won't help, must use a contractor... so I've opened the panel, cancelled the alarm, removed the battery, cancelled the other alarm, and then disconnected the control panel... and it is now silent... so I guess this is good.

1 Attachment

• Alarm Manual 2.pdf

Alternatively... does anyone have a Which? subscription and can share the current Best Buy list for home alarm systems as I'll just replace the thing.

I use my mums - Give me a minute & imma post it up.

[edit]

Oh well, not buying Ring.

Might see if I can figure out the sub-Ghz frequency for the PIR motion detectors and the door alarm, and then I can just buy a reader for those and wire up my own home security using Home Assistant.

Might see if I can figure out the sub-Ghz frequency for the PIR motion detectors and the door alarm, and then I can just buy a reader for those and wire up my own home security using Home Assistant.

I started looking into this for some RF blinds and got as far as these two pages
https://github.com/defcon24bit/record-and-replay-RF-remote
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/

before finding an out of the box solution.

Surprised not to see Simplisafe on there

Test score 62%
Not good enough to beat smart rivals
With a mediocre test score, this pricey smart alarm feels a step behind rival kits from ERA, Hive and Ring. Look elsewhere

Sounds like an older review as they have an external bell box now. And I assume they will be reviewing at RRP, whereas Simplisafe seems to be constantly on some sort of sale so its much more competitive in reality.

Pretty happy with our Simplisafe system.

Which? are not fans, it would seem - the October 23 review of the doorbell is a Don't Buy.

More or less standard for ovens, always made for a 600mm gap.

Except the 500mm ones.

They’re actually easier to get in a 600mm gap than the 600mm ovens.

Awesome thanks. Oven is priority so glad it is simplest of the two. Thanks

Grrr.

Deme Bekir at Lifetime Capital has been fantastic for me for a remortgage and a new mortgage recently. I will be using her again, and wholeheartedly recommend her. Throw me a DM if you'd rather be able to say "I was sent your way by [name]" and I'll tell you my real life name.

Don't blame me. I'm an advocate of repeatability and standards. If I find the fuckwit that put a 500mm in our joint I'll brain the cunt.

Make sure to check whether you have a hard wired or standard plug oven so you can do a straight swap.