the daydream fund challenge thread

rozeepozee

Davesnave wrote: »

Ah, that does make much more sense, though I'd rather you'd had it really cheap.

The thing that sets your place apart, other than the location, is that upper floor and the integral garage, which mean it's half way to a much bigger house without increasing the footprint or the usual expenditure on beefing it up. So maybe not a complete steal, but a blooming good basis for an adaptable & spacious family home.

Going up a floor, as we were considering here, costs roughly 50-60% more than tacking bits on, and then the footings must be adequate. We'd have to take the whole roof off too.

Bearing that in mind, but especially the recent antics of Mr Dog, it looks unlikely that we shall go down the big spend road. If we're going to have his racket regularly from October to April (summer's not much of a problem) then I doubt if we'll be here in 5 years time.

Being required to put big bucks on the table is always the best way to establish how one really feels about the way the game is going. Looks like it's going well for you! All the very best to you and your new home. :beer:

The upstairs has already been being lived in. There's only a loft ladder but it has "bedrooms" and a plumbed in toilet which are all a bit Beverley Hill Billies IYKWIM :rotfl:. It would be better if we lowered the floor as OH is 6'3", but I don't know if we will. Perhaps just dormer it front and back and it can be bedrooms for the kids more thatn for the taller members of the family. It is a bit of a tardis and we're hoping we can convert the garage and the little offshot at the rear into an annexe for The Olds. Am excited about getting an achitect round and seeing what they make of it.

I'm sorry if Mr Dog can hound you out Dave - so unfair (whoops, sorry for the pun, accidental!)

Hope our missing members turn up soon. The weather has turned here too - wet and cold.

lostinrates

I'm alive!!

Alfie, so sorry I scared you...I wasn't well, couldn't use the computer or phone and just now my cantankerous pc lost a reply trying to tell you I was ok.


rozee hurrah! I happen to like clay...its what I am most familiar with. Don't overstock, think about gateways and earth/grass paths don't work for high traffic areas but in beds and borders improvment really works

Rummer

Made another step in perfecting my garden for next year I managed to get bargain old style crates that I have been hankering after for ages.

Now how do I line them and will they last outside?

LIR sorry to hear you are unwell, I hope the animals are looking after you if the OH is not there . I have been unwell on and off for weeks now and it is truly exhausting!

Davesnave

rozeepozee wrote: »

I'm sorry if Mr Dog can hound you out Dave - so unfair (whoops, sorry for the pun, accidental!)

I suppose it depends how bad the noise becomes, how many months it occurs in, and how often. Last winter, November to April, I recorded 30 days when there was an unacceptable amount of noise, but for some it would be, say, 3 hours, and others pretty much all day.

When it starts, there's no telling if it will be for 5 minutes or 5 hours, and that, more than anything, is what makes it stressful. I didn't move to the country for this, so there's really no long term future here for us if it continues, or worsens. :mad:

So, we'll just have to see. We've not complained until now, because there's more than an an even chance that Mr Dog will gain pleasure from making things worse if he knows it's upsetting us. The problem is, he's appears f eckless, so I seriously doubt if he'd have the nous to train a dog.

However, yesterday, when I expected problems, the dogs were locked inside their shed and I could only hear very muffled barking. So, if we hear less, the dogs are banged-up, and if they get the 'freedom' of a wire cage run, we suffer.

There are going to be no winners in this, I fear. However, I have a police report number and the local liaison officer's clued-up. I'll also have an off-the-record chat with the dog warden.

Davesnave

Rummer wrote: »

Made another step in perfecting my garden for next year I managed to get bargain old style crates that I have been hankering after for ages.

Now how do I line them and will they last outside?

What are the crates made of? The only crates I have are made of plastic.

I'd guess if they are wooden, they're best treated with Creocote, then lined with any heavy duty plastic if there are gaps. If not, I'd treat the outside only and let the wood on the inside breathe by omitting the plastic.

Welcome back lir!

You were missed, both here and 'over there.' Hope it wasn't too painful, but suspect it was.

lostinrates

Davesnave wrote: »

You were missed, both here and 'over there.' Hope it wasn't too painful, but suspect it was.

I'll live:)

I think its because I signed up to Fly Lady on OS board for the winter months and I went into shock or something.

rozeepozee

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm alive!!

Alfie, so sorry I scared you...I wasn't well, couldn't use the computer or phone and just now my cantankerous pc lost a reply trying to tell you I was ok.


rozee hurrah! I happen to like clay...its what I am most familiar with. Don't overstock, think about gateways and earth/grass paths don't work for high traffic areas but in beds and borders improvment really works

I'm delighted that I might have someone to turn to when we're clueless!

We're gona get the house sorted first and then look at the land, although, to get the house sorted, we are gonna have to do some draining of the land anyway. It's very wet down one side near the curtilage wall, which in turn is next to the right wall of the bungalow....

We will gut the house so starting with a blank slate. We're thinking about alternative fuel sources: solar, hydro, wood. We have a thin, long strip of woodland with a stream running right through and it is sunny more often than folk realise in Wales :pDoes anyone have any experience of these?

rozeepozee

Dave, I'm surprised how noisy the country is. We have a load of fox hounds near us that bay half the night. They bother me less (as they're muffled) than the power tools the neighbour in our close likes to use. Buzzing noises really get to me. There are some seriously anti social engine noises too driven by some of the local biy races.

The village is relatively highly populated, I suppose. I imagine the hamlet up the road will be less so, although I'm sure we'll suffer from road noise esp in the "rush" hours.

Rummer

We do not have a small holding however our garden is heavy clay and we have spent years working to improve it by following the advice on here and talking to the fabulous gardener round the corner. It can be frustrating but rewarding to work with.

The crates are quite old and originally from the city fruit market. They have a lovely aged look and printing on them is there a way I can treat them without ruining the effect?

lostinrates

no experience yet, but as FITs get cut for solar, there is a ne grant for wood boilers (business operating now, domestic next october IIRC). They are expensive (quotes for our house are ITRO £30-35k) but offer a £5k (I think) perannum back so paying for itself very quickly comparitive to other schemes. Wood ofcourse is less self operating. You can have a hopper for wood pellets but they still need to be loaded. Without a hopper I think you are looking at daily or every second day loading.



Our garden shws clearly the clay issue. I've found easily areas that have been gardened before as the improved soil has lasted the years of neglect and digs easily and is loamy and then thebits that probably have never been gardened are clay. We have a very deep clay layer....a couple of metres in some places we put trial pits and our fields are traditionally ditched but not drained. Go through a whole year before making a decison and kno what stock you want. Here we will probably not need to drain, even with horses (the worst for poaching). The wet has a virtue if you have some drier land or rest it through winter: its often mre productive in summer.