Rambling Man's mutterings.

mark55man

good luck with things Patman - I know the feeling of having youngsters return, and it is a blessing (of sorts)

I imagine the weather is a real burden for your projects - I solve that by not having any - but then my garden is not at its best at the moment

PositiveBalance

patman99 wrote: »

Got the CT for the house and it is £199 a month.

Is there anybody living in the other house at the minute? I'm sure when I was moving into my house and it was uninhabited for a while, my council gave me a 25% discount.


Might it be worth speaking to the council and see if they can knock the CT bill down a bit until you get it sold?


I hope your shed base has gone well since your last post and that you have started the fence.


I'm in awe of your handiness!

patman99

Good thinking. The Council are aware that the flat is not occupied and is unlikely to be until after it is sold.


The fence still remains unstarted.
Rain has stopped play with the shed base and the nights are drawing in, so I have invested £50 in a 2nd hand 110v transformer, extension cables and loads of lights. Now, I can work in the evenings to get the foundation ring down and the shed up. Then I can concrete the floor in the dry.


As well as all this, my son is moving back in as he cannot cope with living on his own. This does have the advantage of having an extra pair of hands available when I need them.


One positive in that my wife's family home is up for sale and we are hopeful of a quick sale.

patman99

Posting for 19/10/19.


Furniture moving today. Dropped a counter top freezer at my B-in_l's before the pair of us headed over to my DS's flat to load up an under counter freezer and stack stereo whilst waiting for the men with a van to come to collect a washing machine and fridge/freezer to deliver to my B-in-L's.


Picked-up prescription from my opticians to give to my boss so he can order my safety glasses. That will save me £160+.

mark55man

that sounds like a productive MSE day

PositiveBalance

patman99 wrote: »

Good thinking. The Council are aware that the flat is not occupied and is unlikely to be until after it is sold.

Try getting them to backdate it as well. If you can prove they have known it's unoccupied, that should help your case. They would probably knock the difference off what you owe for the rest of the year, meaning that you have to spend less each month paying them CT.


It sounds like it's quite the season for selling family homes in your family. I hope they all sell quickly and that you get the fence and shed base sorted, too.


How's things on the work front for you now?

patman99

Thanks mark88man. My son is 27 and has just been diagnosed with autism. This explains his inability to cope well on his own.


He does pay me rent and does do odd jobs for me such as moving (albeit slowly) a tonne of ballast from the front of the house to the rear where I need it.


Shed base has had another couple of lengths cemented.


Fence is unstarted as too busy doing stuff for other people.


Need to find time to speak to Council Re: concil tax.

patman99

Been a quiet week at work due to one customer cancelling this months orders due to the Brexit fiasco.


Had a brainwave regarding the concreting. I have erected my gazebo over the area, so if it rains after I have concreted it won't get washed away.


Been helping my B-in-L house hunt as he hasn't got much time left. He has one big issue and that is he is restricted as to where he can live.


His ex-wife took out a restraining order that rules out a large area in cannot live or work in for the next 2 years at least.


No movement on the fence, but the shed is moving along.


I picked-up a garden roller (the sort you fill with water), 4 folding patio chairs and a folding BBQ all for free.


The roller has already been put into action rolling the inner shed slab substrate ready to concrete at a later date.

patman99

Not much to update this time other than I now have a 110v spotlight in the gazebo so I only need to run a power line from the garage and begin work.


The gazebo has worked a treat. the ground is no longer a water laden quagmire so I can easily move and level the soil I need to shift.


Anyway, 1 item sold on ebay so £10 in the kitty.

PositiveBalance

Things are going productively Patman...well done!