Nice People 13: Nice Save

SingleSue

silvercar wrote: »

In the spending/ not spending debate. We have a virtually unused shed that is 15ft x 50 ft and a summer house that is about 20 ft x 50 ft. Both are in need of repair - roof/ damp/ walls creosoted.

I thought of getting rid of the shed, rather than spend money on something unused. It is at the far end of the garden. Any ideas on uses for the space? I assume it has a concrete base.

Well, a 15 x 50 shed in my garden would be used as a drum room (suitably sound proofed of course). Don't think the housing association would like it though...

Yorkie1

Note to self.

When showing someone round a vacant allotment plot, it's always a good idea to look at where you're putting your feet.

Or you'll end up stepping in a pond :eek:

Luckily only a small, shallow one, so fell forwards onto my knees and got my foot out pronto (pleased to find that my gardening boots didn't let the water in). It wasn't quite Vicar of Dibley puddle-on-the-path scale!! :rotfl:

Knee now aching a little but otherwise no harm done

Spirit_2

Generali wrote: »

On the train to the match. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi!

I like this a lot. it sounds so normal and care free. I hope you had a great evening.

mystic_trev

LydiaJ wrote: »

But wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same?

I totally agree, it's really up to the individual how they plan and prioritise what they want to do.

Personally I couldn't care a toss about my Home! So long as it's clean and (sometimes) tidy I'm happy. I've far more important things to do than b*ggar around decorating or knocking walls down :rotfl: My Tenanted properties have far more attention paid to them than my Home, and I have an Agent to do all that stuff. I'm more interested enjoying lives experiences, such as traveling,long walks,watching Sport in Exotic places, and meeting interesting people, than bothering about what my place looks like. Unfortunately none of us know how long we'll be fit to enjoy many of the things in life and never know what unpleasant things might be around the corner . I'll leave thinking about what my curtains look like until i'm too infirm to be able to do anything else!

My view is to grab life by the balls and enjoy it. Unfortunately much of that doesn't come cheap, so I realise I'm very lucky.

Spirit_2

hjd wrote: »

On a totally unrelated topic, has anyone ever been on a murder mystery weekend/evening? Any recommendations?
It's 25 years since a group of us met at ante-natal classes for our first children. Still friends and still all together. We're planning to celebrate our silver anniversary!

yes. to dinner party with a team I worked with about 10years ago.It was huge fun. it was set in Casablanca during the 2nd ww and my role was as a russian countess.
I borrowed 2 fox stoles from a neighbour and rifled her clip on earing collection. I picked a nd giggled over a pair of giant red rose earings describing them as kitch. She looked surprised and told me she still wore that pair.

Everyone made a good effort at their role and stayed in it with dreadful, hammy accents false beards and false teeth.


Last year I attended a team building thing and in the evening Actors joined us and played out a murder mystery for us to solve. Much less fun just doing the who dunnit.

lostinrates

silvercar wrote: »

In the spending/ not spending debate. We have a virtually unused shed that is 15ft x 50 ft and a summer house that is about 20 ft x 50 ft. Both are in need of repair - roof/ damp/ walls creosoted.

I thought of getting rid of the shed, rather than spend money on something unused. It is at the far end of the garden. Any ideas on uses for the space? I assume it has a concrete base.

Terrace area for drinks, sunbathing or sitting in shade underneath climbing plants, barbecue etc, away from the house, could have a simple wood structure over for a grape vines, or easy care climbers.

michaels

LydiaJ wrote: »

It is interesting how different we all are. Michaels really enjoys saving a few quid (or even pennies) here and there by putting in lot of time and effort hunting down the best deals - he's described it in the past as his hobby, but he also talks about wanting to save money in these ways so as not to have to work so much. He thinks that £380 is unreasonably expensive for a Y6 residential for his DD. However, he finds £1500 a perfectly normal amount to spend on redecorating a single room that was last done up only a few years ago, and considers an extra £5k on his house's wow factor an investment for the future because it may improve the value of the house if that pillar isn't there.

My priorities are different, and yours, PN, are different again. I don't, if I'm perfectly honest, really "get" why either of you would want to live the way you live rather than the way I live. But wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same?

Well...for me any spending on the house that adds equal or more value is not spending it is just moving assets round.

I don't think anyone else would have lived with an unfinished (sockets hanging off, woodwork unfinished) and undecorated (bare plaster in need of final skim) kitchen extension for at least 2 years, with a room size of 25 x 18 and needing a chippie, plasterer and decorator to finish up it is not surprising that the 'decorating' quotes are at least 1500.

hjd

Spirit wrote: »

yes. to dinner party with a team I worked with about 10years ago.It was huge fun. it was set in Casablanca during the 2nd ww and my role was as a russian countess.
I borrowed 2 fox stoles from a neighbour and rifled her clip on earing collection. I picked a nd giggled over a pair of giant red rose earings describing them as kitch. She looked surprised and told me she still wore that pair.

Everyone made a good effort at their role and stayed in it with dreadful, hammy accents false beards and false teeth.


Last year I attended a team building thing and in the evening Actors joined us and played out a murder mystery for us to solve. Much less fun just doing the who dunnit.

Think it's the second type for us, although we are still at the stage of finding a weekend we can all do first...
I'm not keen on dressing up and being part of it, my role is as a backroom person.

hjd

LydiaJ wrote: »

It is interesting how different we all are. Michaels really enjoys saving a few quid (or even pennies) here and there by putting in lot of time and effort hunting down the best deals - he's described it in the past as his hobby, but he also talks about wanting to save money in these ways so as not to have to work so much. He thinks that £380 is unreasonably expensive for a Y6 residential for his DD. However, he finds £1500 a perfectly normal amount to spend on redecorating a single room that was last done up only a few years ago, and considers an extra £5k on his house's wow factor an investment for the future because it may improve the value of the house if that pillar isn't there.

My priorities are different, and yours, PN, are different again. I don't, if I'm perfectly honest, really "get" why either of you would want to live the way you live rather than the way I live. But wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same?

I don't want my house to have the "wow" factor to be honest - or at least, not wow for anyone else's benefit. I want it to suit me. I also don't want great big multipurpose rooms. I need my own space, one that doesn't have a TV in it! Lots of books and my pc will do me fine. My house is just right for me (I have let DH have a TV, just needed to be sure I could escape it.)

LydiaJ

michaels wrote: »

Well...for me any spending on the house that adds equal or more value is not spending it is just moving assets round.

You are always very assiduous in moving assets around to maximise things for the future - all your pension manoeuvres, for example - but I don't think I'd have the self-discipline to sacrifice so much along those lines if it meant my job was making me miserable in the present.

(Am feeling particularly pleased about my job at the moment because my Y10 set have just done a lot better than all the other Y10 physics sets on a test. However, my Y12 have done much the same as everybody else's Y12 in theirs, so it's clearly my Y10 being amazing kids rather than anything to do with my teaching. Am allowing myself to feel just a tiny bit smug about Y10, though. )

michaels wrote: »

I don't think anyone else would have lived with an unfinished (sockets hanging off, woodwork unfinished) and undecorated (bare plaster in need of final skim) kitchen extension for at least 2 years, with a room size of 25 x 18 and needing a chippie, plasterer and decorator to finish up it is not surprising that the 'decorating' quotes are at least 1500.

Oh I see. I thought it had already been finished when it was originally done. I think I'd describe that as "finally finishing off the building work" rather than "decorating"!! Agree if you are going to remove the pillar and put an extra steel in then it's best to do it before you get the plasterers etc in.

I have been here for 4 years with 2 patches of bare plaster in my bedroom. There's a small patch on the wall that was skimmed after the extra insulation was added. The plaster there cracked when it dried, so I left that bit out when I painted, meaning to get somebody to sort it out. There's also a much larger patch where the plumber went through the wall from the bedroom side of the wall to fit the shower in the en suite without having to take all the tiles off on the bathroom side. It's been v badly plastered (not smooth at all but really quite lumpy) and also needs sorting out before it'll be ready to paint. I have other unfinished bits downstairs - mostly where the previous owners removed all the curtain poles, and where I had the fitted fridge removed from the kitchen - but nothing as bad as sockets hanging off. No idea when I'll get round to doing anything about any of it. When I'm "better" perhaps.