Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

Last month I kept all my fuel receipts so I could check I am putting the right amount aside each month. It is still fairly expensive at £350 each month but it means I can get out and about for my hobbies which is good.

I have a rare weekend night in the house on my own as I am going away with work tomorrow, it feels really strange. I have been going at a crazy rate for weeks and I think there is an element of not wanting to be here much, especially after my ordeal last month. I have the radio on in the background for now but am going to sit in silence in a little while to try and get comfortable with what currently feels a bit uncomfortable. I would normally be flying around packing etc but finished that hours ago so it will give me a chance to just be.

This month I am going to try and keep track of my food spends but it will be a little skewed with being away next week.

Watty1

No idea how to feel comfortable in a house although when i thought about it I was very comfortable in the place I rented.    It was very uncluttered and that helped plus there was "nothing to do" there other than a bit of housework.  That makes a difference

ajmoney

After nearly 5 years in my house and no changes internally, today I have made a plan. This year I will decorate the living/dining room and the main spare bedroom. I want the living area to be comfortable so I want to be here and the spare room is the one that gets me down the most. I have sent an enquiry form to a company for a further quote on the work to get rid of the damp and a friend os hopefully going to send me details of a plasterer. Even if the damp works aren't done much before I decorate I figure the smells won't get worse but they might get better. Having a small plan has made me feel so much better. If it doesn't eat up too much of my money, I will look at doing my bedroom, the small spare room and the hall later in the year. I deserve to live in a nice house!

Watty1

YAY!!    

Doing mine - well making a start - was one of the things that I am hoping will make me feel better. You do deserve a nice house. 

Perhaps a daft question but do you know why it is damp?   Where is the water coming in?  Do the gutters need replacing for example?  with my first house i did a whole damp thing that was expensive but a couple of years later a really experienced builder said that the rather than rush into "fix" see if you can work out "why" because often the fix is simple.  The cottage I live in has no damp proof course or anything like that and the damp that was here when we originally bought it was simply an issue with part of the roof and the gutters. Fixing those and then running the woodburner dried the place out.

ajmoney

Watty1 said:

YAY!!    

Doing mine - well making a start - was one of the things that I am hoping will make me feel better. You do deserve a nice house. 

Perhaps a daft question but do you know why it is damp?   Where is the water coming in?  Do the gutters need replacing for example?  with my first house i did a whole damp thing that was expensive but a couple of years later a really experienced builder said that the rather than rush into "fix" see if you can work out "why" because often the fix is simple.  The cottage I live in has no damp proof course or anything like that and the damp that was here when we originally bought it was simply an issue with part of the roof and the gutters. Fixing those and then running the woodburner dried the place out.

I replaced the guttering when I moved in as some were cracked and I thought that might be the problem. Part of the reason I have waited so long to do anything is I hoped the problem would show itself. A survey I had at the end of last year suggested part of the problem could be from underneath the house, the company quoted a price and I am now looking to get a second opinion and a price. Hopefully it will confirm or give me another idea (which costs a bit less).

ajmoney

The other company is now booked to come out and give me a survey on the damp. They are more expensive than the first company but at least I will get a second opinion!

My parents are coming to stay for a couple of days tomorrow and will be staying in the room where the smell is the worst. it is probably the same as it has always been and I am being sensitive about it, it will be interesting to see!

redofromstart

I can only smell our damp when we have been away for a few days and the windows haven't been open, very thick stone walls, etc. much sympathy. The last builders here suggested dry lining with some funny foil backed plasterboard. 

ajmoney

Thanks @redofromstart it is worse if the house has been shut up. I also get a stagnant water kind of smell if there is a lot of rain.

glass_half_full

I replaced the guttering when I moved in as some were cracked and I thought that might be the problem. Part of the reason I have waited so long to do anything is I hoped the problem would show itself. A survey I had at the end of last year suggested part of the problem could be from underneath the house, the company quoted a price and I am now looking to get a second opinion and a price. Hopefully it will confirm or give me another idea (which costs a bit less).

This resonated with me. In the 24 years I have lived in my current house in in every upstairs room I have had problems with the ceilings and damp patches. Over the years I tried to solve the problems one at a time. This year I finally found a really good roofer through a trusted source. He put up scaffolding and properly surveyed the roof. It turned out there were problems with the roof from when the house was built even though it was supposedly a quality house builder. It cost £4000 to finally fix all the leaks but now I know I can redecorate internally without worrying about it being ruined later. I guess what I am saying is it is worth getting to the root cause  if you can and I hope you are able to.

redofromstart

I'd have the window open till they  arrive. The dehumidifier really helps with the wet touch to the north facing facing external wall on our coldest damp room and i keep on top of the wipe down to avoid mould. Our neighbour has gad a good result from damp rods (with a guarantee!) in the walls but hers are a mix of brick and stone.