Extending our house without extending ourselves beyond our means

brizzlegirl

All sounding fab PF, good to hear. We too loved Hamas beads..reckon there will still be some around somewhere..

Gillyxx

all, really appreciate any help and advice.
I believe the builder I have for my side extension has consistently cuttting corners and not followed plans. I feel like I have been manipulated when raising issues but because I am not an expert I finding hard to challenge and stand my ground.
Possible incorrect sized bi-fold doors ordered and installed - builder stated that insulation between the steel and the top of the door frame was required as per building regs so we nw have a large piece of plastic give the door fame. Approx 20cm
Suspended timber flooring - no battening used to support insulation foam. Foam simply wedged in / DPM not anchored down / no concrete sub floor in places due to drainage installation / air bricks appears to have been an after-thought
Plastic water pipes under the floor not insulated. Is there a risk of possible freezing in future?
No prep work on existing walls prior to 'dot-dabbing' plasterboard on. Adhesive placed directly onto old wall-paper on main kitchen wall
imitation yellow stock to build the exterior wall when he had stated he would be re-using the bricks from the old wall plus any additions neeeded implying he would be using reclaimed London stock - I ended up cleaning the old bricks myself so the wall would look consistent and according to the plan for a conservation area.
Builder stated he was going to skim the existing kitchen ceiling, which was in bad condition. he stated 'the kitchen ceiling was not part of the extension' so not included in the quote. I stated that this should be included as you taking lots of the ceiling down as part of the works.
Builder stated moving the existing external tap would cost extra. I stated this should be part of the works as it was pre-existing.
Steel post positioned on edge of private manhole - footing width increased after dispute. Weight of house would have been on air. Again wasn’t following plan.
Inadequate clearing between suspended floor joists and concrete sub-floor - pointed out to - no action taken
Heating to house cut off due to thermostat being disconnected for a week now. House freezing.
Extension not water tight until at week 10 roof tiles still not on but they have started plaster boarding and decorating inside.
At first we asked building control for help but the builder and control who is private have we ogetherr before so I don’t know who to trust. I’d like some independent advice. Only one weeks left on job. The builder has threatened his builders may do bad work on purpose if we don’t pay next invoice in advance.

It’s so stresssful and I’ve found it hard to stay on top of as have been in and out of hospital after a late baby loss. The last thing i want is confrontation and dispute. People are saying should not pay m9ore until finished and fixed. We followed addvice when finding him but he does not do the work himself has others doing it.

Thanks for any advice.

PurpleFairy26

Hilly, sorry you have been messed about and your recent loss I would start a thread of your own under the ‘in my home moneysaving’ threads as you’ll get a better response and someone who knows more. Do you have a signed contract with the detail on that you can refer back to? Alternatively I would seek advice from CAB locally. Hope for the best for you.

PurpleFairy26

Up early (again) so I've been productive and bought a shed and travel insurance :rotfl: through cb site of course

Also have some cb payable :T which I've just withdrawn for a retailer with 15% bonus

Paperwork all gone through for the frog. So easy in the end, less than 10 days from start to finish

Still no exercise but plenty of mince pies

Did manage another fleabay sale, will withdraw that today and put to savings. Just for points cc reconciled and up to date.

Just need to wrap gifts now, have everything we need. Small shop required before the big day, but have list and MOC :rotfl:

Need a good few hours to sort out some piles that have accumulated in various places recently. It's a bit like whackamole. Sort one area out and it pops up elsewhere :rotfl: can't see it being done this weekend though as we have guests Saturday and out most of Sunday. Really busy week next week with work and other things so need to find time somewhere. Maybe Sunday morning?

Small house spend to fix an annoying radiator, but well worth it to remove the annoyance we've had for over a year :eek: bought new kettle filter for 6 rather than a new kettle as mr Purps declared was required. Current one had disintegrated :eek: Need to do a significant descale job on the rest of it too. Will g00gle best approach.

Today will mostly be powered by coffee :eek:

brizzlegirl

Well done. Sounding good in your neck of the woods. Have a great Christmas xx

PurpleFairy26

Morning diaryland. Like many others it's been a busy few weeks but light at the end of the tunnel
Presents all wrapped, lots already delivered
All food bought, not bursting at the seems
Mine pies made :T
House partly cleaned, rest done later

Today out with dear friends, I do like the way this year we have planned to see and do things with different groups of friends and it's been so much pleasure spending time with them.

I've started to plan 2019 and have written a page in my bullet journal for each month (always my starting point) I've also started a present list for birthdays and Christmas, I have this going back to 2010 and is very useful both a reference point and to keep track when I buy presents early (like I did on Friday:))

The next couple of weeks will be focusing on a wardrobe for the spare room and putting a shed up. It's so rock and roll :rotfl:

Its obviously a good time to reflect on progress for the year, I'm going to go back and do a bit of a review and make some notes here.

PurpleFairy26

I've just checked back on my diary and at the end of last year we'd paid off 23% of our loan. It's now at 60% which is great, especially considering we stopped overpaying at the end of summer whilst we diverted funds elsewhere. I don't think we'll get it paid in 2019 ( as much as we'd like to) as we're doing the build so want to keep a buffer. However, once this is done and remaining monies will be overpaid and then that will be the focus.

Our new EF target is at 90% :T

We've also started overpaying our BTL mortgage. Ok, it's only a small amount but it's good seeing the amount go down none the less.

We've also opened a 10 year bond and s&s isa this year. Next year we'll open a LISA for DH and put in a small amount, planning on do this when we see the impact of both mine and DH payrise in Jan.

DH still saving a £1 day in a sealed tin. I think I'll do £3.65 on January 1st and reduce by 1p a day, did it year before last and it was a good challenge. Plus it's nice spending the £665 at the end and you don't really notice it. I might just do it and pay it of the loan.

It's so interesting looking back to see how far we've come in the spendy decades (as foxgloves would call them) we didn't budget, save, or have any desire to overpay anything. Now we do all those things, but balance with living which is important. I feel so much more confident of our future and can truly enjoy things knowing we have paid for them rather than doing them but paying on the cc.

Whilst 2019 is going to be challenging with some big change, I feel planned, in control of what's happening and the budget which is all good and a decent place to be in, I reckon.

PurpleFairy26

We've had a lovely Christmas break (with a bit of work thrown in) and are now enjoying the last of the festivities and getting straight.

Last night we took down the tree and lots of other decorations, just have a card holder and festive table cloths to go. And some lights too. I always like it at this stage as the house feels so much bigger with less clutter although I do need to do some dusting and vacuuming today now, there's always a downside :rotfl:

Our plans now turn to 2019 albeit we have a family gathering and are hosting some friends between now and then I'll need to do a small shop at some point today or tomorrow but have already drafted a small list and will only be getting essentials

Last night I used a notepad I was gifted last Christmas to start a bullet journal. I already have a big notebook that's I use for lots of lists and other things, but I wanted something that was a bit more focused on just a handful of tasks so I spent a wonderful hour or so, with some pretty pens making a few pages. Will look on P1nterest for some more inspiration if I feel I need anymore pages but am very happy with the 6 or 7 that I did, considering I have zero creativity

Just a week until payday and I'm hoping on little or no spend between now and then apart from SM. We'll see.

Today will be about board games and another roast dinner and a long walk :T

foxgloves

I got on really well with my bullet diary last year, Purps. But I didn't enjoy the hours & hours it took me to rule it up into the pages I wanted. A compromise this year. ...I've bought a day to a page diary & will adapt that to use in a similar way. What worked so well was having everything together - meal plans, grocery budget tracker, daily job lists, presents lists, reading lists, Christmas baking planner........& everything else. Good luck with yours.
F x

PurpleFairy26

So I've taken copies of 2 of the financial trackers I use as a starting point for January 1st. I can then look back when I need to.

We've had a productive day, despite the lateness of the hour we went to bed last night. We've now got (almost) a total shed built :T just doors to go

I've also managed my first run of 2019 and we've eaten nothing but leftovers :D I've also got leftovers available for lunch tomorrow and a box of chicken stock made in the slow cooker for a yummy risotto tomorrow night for tea :T

The house looks reasonable and is clean and we have 3 clean beds :T

I've also soaked away grime and sweat in a lovely long bath and used up some lotions and potions must make sure I do thins regularly as it's a nice free treat but also good for my muscles

Only 3 days to payday. No more spends required. I'll need to do some juggling of pots to pay for somethings I bought in the sales, but I want to wait until they've all come, I've decided what I'm keeping.

Happy 2019 everyone. Purps.