Get a grip woman!

Karmacat

That sounds very dodgy about the phone call, SL ... have you phoned your store to check this is a thing they do? 

Totally agree on how **useful** the chat is - the spinoffs of it are invaluable.

Suffolk_lass

What a day! Further investigation of the extractor pipe revealed.... a fossilised rat. At least it was dead. Where is that eek when you need it! So we now know how they got in last year! And why the extractor was ineffective and draughty. And why we had such a terrible smell after baiting. Ugh. Double Ugh.

The cupboard is down, the new bits purchased ("I'll just pop to x" turned into x, y and z before he got them) - "Did you check if the new one is the same size?" "Err no" - cue Muttley impression "rasser, rasser, Oh b-hell" calls me... "look at this..."

The new extractor build quality is awful. It is a Smeg (premium Italian brand) but further research reveals many small appliances (not that small!!) are now made in China. The horizontal platform part below the chimney hood (that you might put your pot grab on) is warped thanks to a screw being forced in at the back and actually bending the steel sheet. Poor tooling, I am told (he knows this stuff as a former engineer). No inspection or quality control that I can see. Half an hour later I am on the phone to the very helpful lady at AO. I literally have to steel myself before these calls but there was no need. She was lovely and offered  various options. A direct replacement is not available because they have stopped stocking it (she was silent as to why but I can guess). I needed to find another 700mm wide one and had been browsing while the musack played. Another Smeg. Another £190. They will come Thursday and take the old one away. So the hole stays until then. Cue more swearing as Muttley DH tried to repackage it. It is done - a 2 person job!

I shall just carry on painting the first door to see if I can get a good enough finish. It is potentially a spare as the replacement cupboards are 300mm instead of 400mm. 2 coats yesterday. Not enough. I may yet lose my hand painted kitchen look

It keeps us busy!!

enthusiasticsaver

That mortgage is almost gone now SL. Kitchen sounds great. 

themadvix

Yuck to the rat! Ugh!

 I’m assuming enthusiastic saver didn’t see that bit! Kitchen sounds traumatic, but hopefully it’ll all come right. Very poor from Smeg - but glad the Ao lady was helpful.

Karmacat

What madvix said - each achievement seems to have so many layers doesn't it, like the return and redelivery.  You can do it  

Suffolk_lass

The first three doors are in the process of being painted and are going to be an acceptable quality I think. I have new handles for the wall cupboards that are simple knobs, rather than the long bar ones. It does mean filling a hole on every door though.

Today is the day for the bond to mature so let's see if they actually do as I have asked and pay off the mortgage and transfer the residue. I am fully expecting the whole lot to be transferred and have to ask again re the mortgage. All very pleasant but hopeless really.

Busy_Mee

It sounds as if your kitchen upgrade is coming together nicely and how exciting to be mortgage free. 

We won't pay ours of for another 3 years unless something changes with bank interest. There are reports that the Bank of England is exploring the impact of negative interest rates with the banks. It will be good for borrowers but not savers, and I doubt it will be worth continuing to offset as we are doing at the moment

Suffolk_lass

I hope everyone realises that in that fateful timing way (experienced by my whole family), us becoming 100% debt-free marks a number of forthcoming changes under consideration that will work against us:

• Being in that window between finishing work and being old enough to  take our state pensions, the SPA is being reviewed and will go up
• PB prizes reducing
• Negative interest rates - at least 0% or less on savings
• Removal of the triple lock for state pensions so that inflation is no longer the key to pension income increases
• Stock market volatility so investments, including blue chip banker shares tank (eg Shell in 2020)
• Big trip prospect results in no travel to key destinations and unwillingness to fly at all for me

You have been warned 

Karmacat

Yep, not the retirement we dreamed of. 

My only positive is that I had that gap, between income and SP - come December, it will close, and I've had written confirmation I get the full SP (never know with this shower!).

Suffolk_lass

Great timing for you KC. A while yet here.Plenty of time for things to change. Right, time to get the roller out again  - I am acting on the tip from Angela Strawbridge to use a roller to avoid brush marks