The "have a look at this!" thread II

Davesnave

ellie99 wrote: »

Just butting in here to say there's a huge difference between "looking after a house" and "knock it about, get it up to date". Maintaining and modernising can be very different things.

The Buxton house yesterday was a classic example of a good old-fashioned house, properly maintained. I loved it.

There's a difference too between "knock it about, get it up to date" and a proper full sort-out of a badly messed-up, defective property, but I'm not going to bore people making that distinction, except to say you don't just move furniture around for the latter.

bouicca21

If I were in the market for a move to Buxton I'd happily take that one on. That's just the sort of doer upper I could cope with. Looked after but in need of a bit of modern tlc.

NicNicP

bouicca21 wrote: »

If I were in the market for a move to Buxton I'd happily take that one on. That's just the sort of doer upper I could cope with. Looked after but in need of a bit of modern tlc.

You'd have to like rain and snow to move here!

Red-Squirrel_2

ellie99 wrote: »

Just butting in here to say there's a huge difference between "looking after a house" and "knock it about, get it up to date". Maintaining and modernising can be very different things.

As an example, my parents have always maintained their house well, it's a good sound building. Their bathroom is the original installed in 1960 (white, not coloured), and has been looked after and is in very good condition. Why would they replace it just because it's not modern?

One view would be that modernising to keep up with the latest trend is wasteful, with perfectly good items being thrown in skips. (Heard a report last week which said umpteen millions of people in the world don't have access to a toilet, yet we throw away working ones).

I take a middle view myself, happy to upgrade poor quality or faulty, but also to keep the old if still functioning well.

There of course differing views on this, but it's a bit tiring reading of MITSTM consistently looking down on the people who choose not to modernise. It's a personal choice and it doesn't mean they aren't taking care of their houses.

A lot of the furniture in that Buxton house would actually fetch a pretty penny now as 'vintage mid century modern', especially the bedroom stuff, and especially as it looks to be in good condition.

Goes to show, if you wait long enough your decor will eventually come back into fashion! Look at all the seventies style prints and colour schemes that are trendy now!

Dandie89

ellie99 wrote: »

Just butting in here to say there's a huge difference between "looking after a house" and "knock it about, get it up to date". Maintaining and modernising can be very different things.

As an example, my parents have always maintained their house well, it's a good sound building. Their bathroom is the original installed in 1960 (white, not coloured), and has been looked after and is in very good condition. Why would they replace it just because it's not modern?

One view would be that modernising to keep up with the latest trend is wasteful, with perfectly good items being thrown in skips. (Heard a report last week which said umpteen millions of people in the world don't have access to a toilet, yet we throw away working ones).

I take a middle view myself, happy to upgrade poor quality or faulty, but also to keep the old if still functioning well.

There of course differing views on this, but it's a bit tiring reading of MITSTM consistently looking down on the people who choose not to modernise. It's a personal choice and it doesn't mean they aren't taking care of their houses.

Completely agree with all you say. I would also say than in it all too many instances the modern fitments are inferior in quality to that which they replace not to mention of a style that will not date nearly as well and will likely lead to more "land fill" in a far shorter time.

I don't think it will be a bad thing if the increasing costs that councils are imposing on disposal of this stuff will make replacement a much more considered activity.

Davesnave

Dandie89 wrote: »

I don't think it will be a bad thing if the increasing costs that councils are imposing on disposal of this stuff will make replacement a much more considered activity.

Having just paid £14.50 for the disposal of some loft insulation full of dead mice I've had lurking in the barn for some years, I think that local recycling centres offer fair value for money, even if I'd not have paid anything in, say, 2010.

However, that's me. Unfortunately, observations of lay-bys, field gateways and easily accessible woodland etc show that since charging came in, the only consideration some people now do, is when they use Street View to decide the closest place to dump DIY waste.

rebs

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56407387.html

Embrace it or try and cover it up?

Davesnave

rebs wrote: »

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56407387.html

Embrace it or try and cover it up?

Sorry, the stain block will be opened just as soon as I've finished loading that fireplace into the skip......:o

Red-Squirrel_2

Davesnave wrote: »

Having just paid £14.50 for the disposal of some loft insulation full of dead mice I've had lurking in the barn for some years, I think that local recycling centres offer fair value for money, even if I'd not have paid anything in, say, 2010.

However, that's me. Unfortunately, observations of lay-bys, field gateways and easily accessible woodland etc show that since charging came in, the only consideration some people now do, is when they use Street View to decide the closest place to dump DIY waste.

Do you pay to dispose of stuff as a householder where you are? Here you can get rid of as much as you like if you can physically get it to the tip. Its only trade/commercial waste and special collections that are charged for.

I took 15m2 of carpet in about 10 bin bags the other day!

Davesnave

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Do you pay to dispose of stuff as a householder where you are? Here you can get rid of as much as you like if you can physically get it to the tip. Its only trade/commercial waste and special collections that are charged for.

I took 15m2 of carpet in about 10 bin bags the other day!

Every council has its own rules. Here in Devon, DIY waste is charged at £3.60 a sack/bin bag, but if I turn up with a big dumpy sack, they're conservative in their estimate of how many normal sacks that is.

People can get rid of as many carpets, mattresses and bits of furniture as they like for free + the usual garden waste. The logic is that there's only a legal duty to collect household waste, not the products of house renovation, landscaping etc.