Nice People Thread Number 11 - A Treasury of Nice People

lostinrates

Nikkster wrote: »

But proportionally, how much would it take away from the progression fund? How long would it put you back? A few weeks? Months? Years?

Also, you've had plenty to deal with (house and health-wise) to mean you'd understandably be 'behind' with everything. Would some paid help to get you closer to 'back on top of things' be a useful first step? (from someone who is having second thoughts about declining the offer of payment for someone to get the gardens back in order here as a housewarming present...)

Lost a reply.

Yes, it would set us back.

A builder does stuff that hopefully doesn't have to be redone, and makes life easier.


For example, our bedroom floor is kinda hard for me to manage. Its got some fairly gruesome holes and dodgy boards. A cleaner could Hoover them for me, but a builder could fix them so it was easier for me to move about on a dodgy day, and I could sweep them myself then. .

Also, I find its the routine spends that seem to cut out of my budget more then the even sizey one offs that I can buy back quickly out of cutting back else where......because I don't have those routine spends I guess.

lemonjelly

lostinrates wrote: »

If I have a long term home help it means less money for the progression fund. . Not sure how I feel about that pay off.

lostinrates wrote: »

Lost a reply.

Yes, it would set us back.

A builder does stuff that hopefully doesn't have to be redone, and makes life easier.


For example, our bedroom floor is kinda hard for me to manage. Its got some fairly gruesome holes and dodgy boards. A cleaner could Hoover them for me, but a builder could fill them so it was easier for me to move about on a dodgy day, and I could sweep them myself then. .

Also, I find its the routine spends that seem to cut out of my budget more then the even sizey one offs that I can buy back quickly out of cutting back else where......because I don't have those routine spends I guess.

You've kinda pre-empted my reply, but it seems to be a choice between deferred gratification, over day to day happiness?

Perhaps help should be a medium term aim, once the building work is done?

I'd assume cleaners and the like are accustomed/trained to work around projects etc, as frequently that is why their support is required?

lostinrates

French drains.

French drains are a type of land drain. You dig a big trench, and stick a perforated pipe down and fill the trench with gravel. The pipe heads on a gradient to a ditch. Then when it rains the water in the surrounding land should filter down to the pipe and out to the ditch.


Lots of places are drained in this way or in a variant. , increasingly land that's being upgraded to be more productive agriculturally, or built on when its a bit too wet really. I just wanted to make our very wet narrow north garden dryer through winter. It WILL be better when its got a path down, and beds in, but, seems a bad basis to start from.

'Scuse the dump like picture. You can see the gravel line of the French drain on the far side of the in the queue to be rubbed down and then painted table and chairs ( recent ebay purchase). The puddle is clearly not draining!

[IMG]http://i1removed!.jpg[/IMG]

lostinrates

lemonjelly wrote: »

lostinrates wrote: »

If I have a long term home help it means less money for the progression fund. . Not sure how I feel about that pay off.




You've kinda pre-empted my reply, but it seems to be a choice between deferred gratification, over day to day happiness?

Perhaps help should be a medium term aim, once the building work is done?

I'd assume cleaners and the like are accustomed/trained to work around projects etc, as frequently that is why their support is required?

Deferred gratification is the best sort. Its all about the foreplay LJ, and never forget it. .

Sometimes when one gets what one wants one realises the fun part was the striving.


I actually think my main problem ATM is my lack of ability to remain as active as I would like, its been cyclical for as long as I remember so I am just reminding my self that the up days come and will last. We got lots done last weekend, and though I did less than I would like, I helped. It might be I need to try and find stuff I can do when I cannot do what I want to feel less, lazy and self absorbed.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

I cut mine with some cheapo shears I picked up. £6-7 they were. I hate gardening.....

I've been leaving it (except for essential/late grass chopping) until I do one blitz when I leave.... and I planned that strategy from before I moved in!

Do you have grass at your house? You could consider instead of having grass having a wildflower medow lawn? Just chopping twice a year and having flowers for little work. Could even make it feel sort of beachy with some thought.

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

Do you have grass at your house? You could consider instead of having grass having a wildflower medow lawn? Just chopping twice a year and having flowers for little work. Could even make it feel sort of beachy with some thought.

There is grass.... I'd consider replacing it for astroturf except that's a horrendous cost (have to dig up/level what you've got, buy the astroturf, get it fitted).

I'd have preferred a garden without any grass at all.... but you get what comes with a house

Going from grass to a wildflower meadow lawn sounds like even more work/cost.

Plan now is: pick up a cheap lawnmower, cut the grass 4x a year begrudgingly ....

One thing to remember is that buying a house = all money's gone. Income won't even go as far as food ... so spending on unnecessary luxuries, whims and wishlists is off the agenda.

hjd

lostinrates wrote: »

French drains.

French drains are a type of land drain. You dig a big trench, and stick a perforated pipe down and fill the trench with gravel. The pipe heads on a gradient to a ditch. Then when it rains the water in the surrounding land should filter down to the pipe and out to the ditch.

How do you stop the gravel filling up the perforated pipe though? Gravel gets everywhere in my experience.

lostinrates

hjd wrote: »

How do you stop the gravel filling up the perforated pipe though? Gravel gets everywhere in my experience.

The gravel is a bigger diameter than the holes in the pipe, so the gravel works to create a filter to stope soil getting in to the pipe so easily but to allow water to filter through.

silvercar

lostinrates wrote: »

French drains.

French drains are a type of land drain. You dig a big trench, and stick a perforated pipe down and fill the trench with gravel. The pipe heads on a gradient to a ditch. Then when it rains the water in the surrounding land should filter down to the pipe and out to the ditch.


Lots of places are drained in this way or in a variant. , increasingly land that's being upgraded to be more productive agriculturally, or built on when its a bit too wet really. I just wanted to make our very wet narrow north garden dryer through winter. It WILL be better when its got a path down, and beds in, but, seems a bad basis to start from.

'Scuse the dump like picture. You can see the gravel line of the French drain on the far side of the in the queue to be rubbed down and then painted table and chairs ( recent ebay purchase). The puddle is clearly not draining!

Either the drain/ gravel needs to reach to the lowest point ie the middle of the puddle or (more likely) the puddle needs building up so it isn't the lowest point.

silvercar

lostinrates wrote: »

The gravel is a bigger diameter than the holes in the pipe, so the gravel works to create a filter to stope soil getting in to the pipe so easily but to allow water to filter through.

we had one of those put in the last place. It went along the edge of the patio and let to a soak away. Do you have a soak away at the end of yours?