Cheery's country living adventure 11 March 2018 at 8:28AM in Mortgage-Free Wannabe 5.2K replies 341.9K views

Tescodealqueen

Have a cosy evening seems like the final sprint finish now

Karmacat

Astonishing that it feels cosy at 16 ... but there you go, when you've been living at 3 ... gosh!  All the toastiness in the world to you this evening.

EssexHebridean

Oh I can just imagine how much more manageable everything feels with a bit of warmth. Thank goodness! Good work on calling a halt on conversation about the (shhhh!) doors, too! 

beanielou

Yah for heat.

Fortune_Smiles

Heating and hot water are my absolute must haves.  It makes life so much easier and more comfortable.

Glad to hear you are cosy now.

Fortune x

hb2

Yes, I'm also a big fan of heating and hot water - I'm very glad that you have both now Cheery.

Putting off decisions about door until (much) later seems like a very good idea too.

edwink

So glad your heating and hot water are back on Cheery.  Hope you enjoyed a long soak in the bath and a nice warm house, you've definitely earned  it, bless you x

So good the granite issue was sorted promptly too.  Love the granite you have chosen by the way.

Edwink x

Cheery_Daff

Thank you all for your kind words 😊 I realise I'm waffling on and on (and on) about all this at the minute, it's all just doing my head in! 

Builder finally emailed. Electrician is coming on Tuesday, and will bring an invoice (and still wants cash). Whatever.

Builder has also sent apprentices final invoice (just £300, fine - she itemises hours and days she was here), and asks that I pay his last invoice, and *then* he'll provide an itemised list. 

Part of me just wants to pay it now to make him go away (which is presumably what he is counting on), and part of me wants to actually grow a bit of a backbone and insist on the itemised one first... 

I might sit down today with the original list, his updated list of extras so far (from a few weeks ago, and I'm not sure we've had too many extras since then), and send it all back to ask what the extras are.

Sigh. I hate all this SO VERY MUCH! 🙄 Builder has been great throughout until the last little bit when I got a very definite sense he was getting sick of us 🙄 Fair enough, but I don't think an itemised invoice is too much to ask!

Cheery_Daff

Just checked and I've got an email from him from early October listing extra done so far (itemised) adding up to about an extra £4k. That includes extra that the plasterer etc did so I think I do need to sit down and split it all up. I'm not sure he himself has done much since then - upstairs skirting and hung a door? I do know that took longer than it might because of various things we wanted. And obviously he did manage the whole thing so I'm not assuming I'm only paying just for the days he was here.

Anyway, will sit down with a cup of tea and a calculator later before I reply.

First though, dressed, collect car from garage, go and buy a new tap 🙄

Mr Cheery is planning on being out all day today, finding it hard being in with someone else banging around and not being able to use half the house. I might stop here and paint the bedroom (being very careful about the carpet!!)

SO close now! 

EssexHebridean

You’re absolutely not being unreasonable asking for the itemised breakdown Cheery - and the fact that he’s being cagey about this suggests that he’s struggling to justify it all, to me. One compromise could be to pay 50%, with the balance to follow when the itemised breakdown is received and agreed on - specifically that last bit as him just sending it is enough! 

On the electrician, if they’re insisting on cash, I assume they will also be giving you a receipt at the time confirming full and final payment? I’d personally be inclined to get MrCheery to photograph it being handed over too. I’m incredibly wary of big sums of cash these days. 

Oh yes, and be careful of the carpet….to add a new spin on an old phrase…”don’t spill….paint!”  😂