EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

Lucifa73

Nice to see you back EH. Glad it was a case of life being busy and nothing negative!

EssexHebridean

Thanks both - I'm afraid I have form for this! Definitely just life overtaking forum time!

WannabeFree

So glad to see you posted I have kinda been stalking your blog and insta but still feel like I 'missed' you here

Glad everything is so well with you

Don't be a stranger

x

beanielou

Good to see you

EssexHebridean

Morning all! *waves*

Quote for the electrical work is in so all being well that should be started next month at some stage. Some of it is rectifying stuff that was done wrongly by the cowboy who did the electrics on the kitchen, but there is also some alterations on some lighting, and a couple of changes to be made to our heating too including a new storage heater for the hallway and relocating one that actually still works into the spare room. Once the electrical stuff is sorted the final snagging on the kitchen can be done, and the hallway can also be sorted out (major job AGAIN but at least some of the strip out we'll do ourselves - carpet up & paper off, dado rails off, strip back of artexed areas to bare walls, probably rubbing down of cupboard doors. We're going to need to find a plasterer though (I'm not as brave as Cheery and while I would attempt a small area I'm not going to be doing a full wall!) and then a decorator and someone to do flooring...

Need to do some maths and work out a budget I think as a first thing - we know now what the first lot of electrical stuff will cost - and there will be another £600 ish on top of that for new lighting and a new storage heater, plus a small extra cost to get the new storage heater fitted and wired in. Then it'll be a case of getting flooring and decorating quited and hopefully we can fire straight ahead with that. How exciting! :T

Other than that ticking over nicely - my regular saver should finish today so I need to do the shenanigans on that (opening the new one and transferring some of the old one into it, then setting up the new monthly transfer once it's fully opened.). Just checked and the current one is still showing under it's regular saver incarnation currently so need to keep an eye on that. Also need to work out where we're putting the proceeds from the maturing one - some of it will be paying for the upcoming works on the flat so we have to decide if it's worth transferring it out to higher interest savings just for a month or so.

Today will not be a NSD as I'm planning going to the gym tonight - I pay £7 per visit on a PAYG basis which works brilliantly for me - I generally only go once a week at most so it would be more expensive to pay for a membership. It's a nice little community sports centre near work too - far nicer than the big gyms which are full of people admiring themselves in the mirrors (although we do have a share of those too!)

Happy Wednesday, all! :beer:

WannabeFree

Happy Wednesday

Have a lovely day

x

DebtFreeDuo

Nice to see everything is going ok for you. I keep looking at the Hebrides and really want to visit with my small. I need to change my gas and electricity over but I think Bulb would be very expensive for me. When I come to do it in the next couple of weeks I will be sure to look out for them and stop by for a referral if they are competitive enough!

EssexHebridean

DebtFreeDuo wrote: »

Nice to see everything is going ok for you. I keep looking at the Hebrides and really want to visit with my small. I need to change my gas and electricity over but I think Bulb would be very expensive for me. When I come to do it in the next couple of weeks I will be sure to look out for them and stop by for a referral if they are competitive enough!

If you're not already signed up to the MSE Cheap energy club that's worth doing - I use that to suggest where I might be best looking, then pick a couple and compare in detail to satisfy my own need for further information! we're not dual fuel as our gas use is too low for anyone to be able to give us a good deal on that basis, but were surprised how cheap Bulb came out for us.

And yes, the Hebrides is well worth a visit - can't wait for our next trip over!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Your work on your flat sounds as if it will be expensive, but work like that often improves the value of the property and makes it so much pleasanter to live in.

Do you have artex on the walls or the ceiling? We had artex on the walls in the hall of our last house and it was awful :eek: really sharp and we kept scratching ourselves on it. We were glad to move and delighted that our current house has smooth walls :rotfl:. Are you going for carpets or hard flooring in your hall?

I would love to go to the Hebrides and it's definitely on my wish list. My sister lived on a Scottish island for 18 months but I could never afford to visit her there which is a big regret . Lundy must be very interesting too.

EssexHebridean

Hi HH! Yep, it won't be cheap but compared to the Kitchen and bathroom it'll still feel like it is! The artex is on the wall - just the lower half, and is actually quite well done and in a "proper" pattern not the spikey stuff thank goodness- but when we chip that off it will almost certainly take plaster with it - in fact we need to decide whether just a skim coat over the top will be better - that's for the experts to advise though!

The floor will be hard floored - bamboo we think, as we've been told that's harder wearing than the "standard" laminates - of course that does come with a higher cost but if it stays looking good for longer, that would be a good investment. Really looking forward to getting it all sorted now - that will leave some remedial plastering (front room, and bedroom) to do - but that will probably get done at the same time as the hallway plastering - and then carpets which I am REALLY not looking forward to!

I need to remember we need to try to find time in the next few weeks to go and look at lights for the porch too. It won't be anything fancy mind - doesn't get used that often!

Lundy is just lovely - very small - 3.5 miles long by half a mile wide - but a surprising amount to explore in that space and a cracking pub! We're not back over there this year, but should - all being well - have two visits next year!