Daydream thread continues.....

rainbowcattail

Hi all, been reading and admiring alfies garden just not much to report. All seedlings being very slow with the weather. Visited my SIL today & her hubby has recently got 4 new chickens & they have had chicks! First time I have seen home owned chicks me being a city girl, they are sooooo cute & fluffy! Totally yellow! With one grey one & more due to hatch today. I can see why so many peeps have taken up keeping them, the hens were beautiful & the rooster was very handsome.

X

Rummer

Alfie your garden looks gorgeous! I only got the path and the drive done before giving up and going out for lunch which was lovely. Seemingly the weather is going to pick up here this week.

Something odd happened to the asparagus bed. Some animal has dug out all the crowns and carried them around the garden, I kept finding them everywhere, it was like some kind of treasure hunt!

alfie_1

this is a gate i got from the tip !! about 6ft tall....



its been handmade and iv a gap in the wall waiting for it..:D

alfie_1

and this is what you can do with old metal chook feeders

Davesnave

Happy Bootday, rhiwfield. :beer:
That's a very tasteful garden alfie. One day,perhaps, ours may be like that again.

Hope CTC has done well at Builth. Trade there should have benefited from the change in the weather.

We had 'The Torch' travelling South of us today. We came within a mile or two of it while on an eBay mission to replace the dead computer. Did a deal on a new one which had ended with no bids at all. I contacted the seller & said I'd buy if he threw in Windows 7, which he did. Later I felt a bit guilty, as the parts receipts came to over £100 more than I paid, and he had all the 'joy' of building it too.

I'm noticing the same thing with cars. Nothing much is selling unless it's very keenly priced. We could have had 1/3 off one we looked at a few weeks back...but then DW was a bit unsure about the seats......:mad:

Itismehonest

Sorry, alfie, somehow I missed the garden photos - a little hectic here today. So, I have just been back for a gander. Looking really lush & good :beer:

Apologies, too, to rhiwfield for the typo of username on my last post

rozeepozee

alfie_1 wrote: »

to all you having "costing" problems ...i so wish it was builders from here...the costs you are quoting seem horrendous. my friend who "restores" old places [by restore, she doubles the size and guts them..;) ] has done a BIG house for less than rozee has been told ??? her builders work on a day rate and she never gets an all over price. she tells em what fittings, either she orders them in or they do but she is in control and pays the invoices for materials. i think this is where some builders use "artistic licence" and gain ££££s.

Our QS's estimates have been wildly high. I sort of think that we won't be clearer until we have the detailed plans as at that stage we'll know exactly what materials etc to buy. The builders merchants have offered us a 20% discount if we set up a trade account but the architect has warned us that you need to be careful what the discount is on (i.e. do they simply inflate the price in order to discount it), therefore to tender to three for most jobs to make sure your prices are keen. And also to make sure that you don't give them the opportunity to tender for say the plasterboarding at a loss only to inflate the price on all the other materials that they know you will have to buy to complete that bit of the job.

I am fretting over it a little but I'm sure it'll be okay as long as we get a decent, reasonable builder. There are gazillions of them around here so hopefully the architect can recommend someone worthy.

rozeepozee

Alfie, can I adopt you? You are so clever. Mwah!

Davesnave

rozeepozee wrote: »

Just thinking for all of you who are still daydreaming out there. The real deal is bloody hard work!

Yes, it is!

So, when people visit in nice weather and say, "Oh, this is idyllic!" all one can do is smile.

They probably think it's a sign of smugness. Really, it's the irony....;)

But...

Our destination today was a large seaside town: suburban roads crammed full of small houses & bungalows where thousands go to buy their little retirement box. The area's full of folk about my age. If that's the alternative, I'll stick with the bloody hard work! :rotfl:

I have a tomato forming.....:D

Itismehonest

rozeepozee wrote: »

Our QS's estimates have been wildly high. I sort of think that we won't be clearer until we have the detailed plans as at that stage we'll know exactly what materials etc to buy. The builders merchants have offered us a 20% discount if we set up a trade account but the architect has warned us that you need to be careful what the discount is on (i.e. do they simply inflate the price in order to discount it), therefore to tender to three for most jobs to make sure your prices are keen. And also to make sure that you don't give them the opportunity to tender for say the plasterboarding at a loss only to inflate the price on all the other materials that they know you will have to buy to complete that bit of the job.

I am fretting over it a little but I'm sure it'll be okay as long as we get a decent, reasonable builder. There are gazillions of them around here so hopefully the architect can recommend someone worthy.

I'm surprised the architect seems to have taken against you having accounts. If I'm totally frank, I'd be wondering what was in it for the architect for you not to do your own buying.

You can cross check prices fairly easily, Rozee, particularly in these days of company websites.

You also have accounts with several companies &, when you want something, you ring them to give you a price (a delivered price for larger items but both delivered & collected prices for anything smaller).
Then you compare prices.

With the economy the way it is (we've done some of our conversions & building work during previous recessions) you go back & say "Well, Company A has quoted £xxx. Can you beat it?"

You'd be surprised how often they can If a company doesn't come up with what you think is a reasonable offer then they don't get the business. Simples.

When you are having a fairly large job done they soon learn it's in their interest to give you a decent price if they want your business. :cool:

You also ask your builder what he can get it for first before ringing round. You will soon work out whether, & if so what, he might be able to get cheaper on his account than you get can on yours. If his quotes keep coming in dearer than you can get it yourself then you know they either don't have the best credit history with the supplier or they are trying to make a bit on the side :rotfl: