The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well

astrocytic_kitten

Welcome to Scotland! What an adventure! Agree with everyone else about the heat - with damp metre thick walls, and if it’s been empty for a while, you’ll want to warm up and dry out the house over the summer, to stop next winter being utterly miserable.

Look forward to hearing how it all goes. Sounds like you’re in a beautiful area, and I’m glad the neighbours are helping out

daisy_1571

Glad you are in and getting settled plus have met the neighbours 😀 sounds like a plan to keep the dehumidifier on for a good while,d ampness doesn't do house any favours as you know and makes it feel a lot colder

Elisheba

Evening, everyone,

Thank you for all your lovely comments - I'll try to reply to everyone after this post.

Well, after a week of no water problems I now have a leaking pipe in the bathroom 🙄. D the neighbour came round (with his friend M the neighbour) a few minutes ago and said it's the sink, and he'll come round tomorrow and fix it. I haven't been paying him up until this point as I think he was getting paid by the old owner (or maybe he was just very kind) but I imagine I'll need to pay him for this. Hope it's not too expensive.

Amd wouldn't you know, it was the very evening I hadn't lit a fire so the house was cold. I felt a bit embarrassed showing people into a cold house with me in a wooly jumper and hat 😬. I honestly was going to light the fire, but I was out in the garden sorting out the shed until gone 7, and then pottering round the kitchen, and by the time I sat down it didn't seem worth it. I'm perfectly comfortable (tbf fair I have fleece leggings on under my jeans, three layers of top, a flowery neck scarf and a wooly hat on, and I'm sitting under a fleece blanket, so I would probably be comfortable in the Arctic 🤣) so couldnt see the point of lighting the fire for an hour or two. But I feel a bit self conscious having a cold house for people to come into, like I'm a terrible miser, or stony broke. Silly really, but there we are.

Anyway, in more cheerful news I sorted out the inside of the shed after work this evening, and used a staple gun to staple a tarp I had to the roof. Hopefully that will keep it vaguely watertight until I can order a new one.

I also seasoned my Gran's old cast iron griddle thsi evening, which survived the great decluttering even though I never use it. So now it's seasoned again, and will have a place in my big new cupboard when it's built, so hopefully it will see some cooking action again.

All the parts for my IK%A cupboard were delivered this morning, and it's getting built on Wednesday so that's exciting. The house is looking more of a mess currently than it did the day after moved in, because I've had to move everything around to fit the boxes.

I've also got a new freezer being delivered tomorrow. My current freezer is an old chest freezer I got second hand. There is no room for in this house (it's currently plonked right in the middle of the living room), so the new freezer has drawers and it going to go on top of my kitchen counter (and cover half my sink draining board, but there is no helping that. It's a very small kitchen, and I think having a big freezer is worth it).

What else? Oh I did a charity shop raid at the weekend and got loads of new stuff - mainly cold weather themed. And I've ordered a very cheerful curtain for the bathroom off V!nted for a fiver, and curtains off V!nted and tension poles to hang from the doors upstairs as Black Cat can't abide closed doors either.

And I have a name for a fencing contractor who is going to pop round this week to give me a quote. From what the estate manager I spoke to said the fencing is going to cost me significantly less than I first through (fingers crossed 🤞🏼), so that will mean I have the money to fix the roof, get the fencing, and buy a new shed as well as the IK£A cupboards, before funds dry up. Well, that is if the leaking pipe in the bathroom doesn't drain them instead 🤞🏼. Oh, and hey a drying pulley for the ceiling as well - that's in the budget too.

I'm still waiting on getting the deposit for my old house back. They don't seem to be very speedy. I got my mortgage cashback in my bank within a week. Apparently there are various processes they need to go through, so I guess it will appear when it appears.

I got my electricity down to £16.10 for the week last week, which works out at about £70 for the month. Which is much more reasonable than the £500 a month my first week looked like being (obviously coal will be on top of that). I'm budgeting £100 a month for electricity, so that will give me a bit of leeway come winter.

Right, that's all my news just now. I'm off to bed, and hopefully will get a good night's sleep before all the chaos due tomorrow. No doubt the freezer will be delivered at the same time D the neighbour is fixing the pipe, and I'm supposed to be working 😆. Silly dog will be getting stashed in the car for the duration, so he can't add to the madness! Take care everyone 😊.

Elisheba

Good morning, lovely low spenders,

I'm having a lazy start to the day and sitting in bed with a coffee. Just checked my emails and looks likeu freezer won't be delivered now until tomorrow or the next day. Which isn't ideal, if it shows up at the same time as the Ik£a assembly people, but nothing to be done I suppose.

The bathroom is still leaking and has soaked a few towels overnight. I'm very much getting the impression that my plumbing is stitched together with super glue and good will! I daren't risk having a shower so will do a sink wash in the kitchen in a bit.

Breakfast today is porridge with some frozen fruit and nuts. Lunch will be boiled egg salad, and dinner will be some veggie escalopes with frozen veg and mash.

With the house still in mostly chaos there isn't much cleaning I can do yet. I'm up to date on the dishes (now I don't have a dishwasher I'm making an effort to stay on top of them. I'll have a look at the weather forecast to see if it's worth doing a towel wash and hanging them out. It was frosty this morning so hopefully that's a good sign for clear sky's the rest of the day.

I've got a big thing at work next week, so I'm mainly prepping for that this week. So the house chaos isn't ideal when I need to focus.

Still, I'm concentrating on the positives. I now have a mostly watertight shed. I'll have a massive pantry cupboard by tomorrow night. Hopefully the leaking pipe will be fixed by the end of today. By the end of the week I'll have a nice new freezer and can ditch the chest one which is taking up space.

I was going to say I think today will be a no spend day, but realised I've just ordered 48 toilet rolls from the toilet roll company with no clothes on. But other than that, and whatever the leaky pipe costs, I don't think there's anything I need to buy.

Off to do my sink wash and get ready for the day now. Have a fantastic Tuesday everyone 😊.

lucielle

It would look unsightly but you could put the chest freezer outside and use it as temporary storage. Great to keep animal food sacks in as it’s virtually rodent proof

L

Elisheba

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962180#Comment_81962180

Oooh, that's thought! I'll need to have a think about that.

Moorviews

You have been very unlucky with the plumbing problems. Unfortunately water is very unforgiving and will always find the weak spots. Getting to know a new home and its faults and foibles seems to be par for the course in the early days. Not an enjoyable element I know! My first home had to have woodworm treatment and a chimney repair; that was the money gone! All furniture and the only carpet I had were cast offs from family and friends. There was only a kitchen sink in the kitchen. I made do with a table and old fridge and was happy because it was my own home and gradually worked through everywhere, doing pretty much everything myself except wiring and gas. Eventually, I was able to get a fitted kitchen and I bought and fitted carpets myself. I actually did love that home and it taught me so many skills that have saved me money over the years.
Anyway, apologies for rambling down memory lane! I hope that, despite the difficulties, you are getting some pleasure from the thought of summer ahead in your very own home 😊

I expect you know this already but if you do choose to put your freezer outside, it is important to make it safe. There have unfortunately been some tragic accidents involving children becoming trapped in freezers.

Elisheba

Happy Friday, frugal friends,

Oh, what a few days it has been at the Little House. The bathroom leak I mentioned before turned out to be apocalyptic. Went from a £300 fix to a £2000 fix to a £2800 fix. Just ouch.

Essentially, at some point the pipes had burst in multiple places. Water was pouring out of them but I couldn't really see it as it was behind the walls and collecting under the bathroom floors. The walls needed cut out to access the pipes, then replaced afterwards. The wall insulation needed replaced. The laminate flooring was soaked and needed replacing once the under cavity was drained of all the water.

D the neighbour said he could fix it the next day. I called insurance to see if I was covered, and I was to an extent. I could immediately get the leak stopped, but could do no more until an assessor came out.There was massive excess, and I would have to pay for some of it myself anyway, and it was a week just to get an assessor out then who knows how long to actually get everything sorted.

In the meantime I would be living in a building site. Walls pulled out, flooring ripped up. And I'm away next week for work and my brother is coming over to pet sit, and I just couldn't face all the hassle when I'm already pretty stressed, so I have paid for it to be fixed myself and it was all done yesterday.

So that has basically rinsed my savings and all the other stuff I need to get done in the house will have to wait. I should get my deposit back from my old house at some point which is £800 odd, and I might get the £668 back I paid for the new shower pump from the old owners, so if I do get all that then I'll have just about enough for the work needed on the roof which is the next priority.

It's deeply uncomfortable knowing I don't have a financial safety net any more. Thank goodness for spreadsheets and the fact I have been keeping track of every penny, so at least I know exactly how much money I have left, and knew I could afford the work.

Anyway it's done now. Hopefully the house won't throw me anymore blindsiders for a while, and I can just decompress for a bit and get out of crisis mode. I have a massive work thing next week, so once that is passed I'm hoping I can just relax and maybe take some leave and enjoy myself (very frugally, as I have no money left 🤣).

In other MSE news I got my council tax bill through, and it's what I expected. Considering it covers water as well, it is much less than I was paying in either England or Wales.

After Martin's email this week I fixed on an energy deal so that's in the process of transfering over. The standing charge is a bit more than I was paying on the price cap with @ctopus but the kWh rate is lower. Considering how cold it is here, and even using coal for my main heating, that should work out as a saving for me especially come winter when I'm sure the radiators will see some use. And good to have some certainty especially with the expected increase come July, and no doubt October as well.

My !kea cabinets were delivered but when the chap came out to assemble them one of them was broken. So I have 2 of my 3 cupboards, and the replacement is being delivered today and assembled on Sunday. Even having the 2 cupboards is such a relief. I've been able to put away lots of things that were sitting out and around, and the house feels less like a dump site. The one that is getting built on Sunday 🤞🏼is going to be my pantry cupboard. I was hoping to do a massive shop to stock it up, but I don't have the money now so I'll just have to build up stores as I go along.

I ordered a hall rug before I knew about the bathroom catastrophe, so that will be delivered in the next few days and should look lovely.

The coalman is delivering coal for the bunker today. It's Burnwell which someone mentioned in this thread before, so I'm hoping it works out fairly hot. The stuff I bought earlier in the week to see me through isn't that great, but thankfully I haven't had to light the fire much this week.

Other than that I need to do a clothes washing today, and change the cat litter. I have vegetable soup I made left over for lunch, and I think I'll have pesto pasta for dinner.

Hope everyone is well and managing in these testing times. I'm trying not to think too much about the fuel prices, because what can you do? Have a fab weekend, everyone, when it comes 😊.

fionaandphil

Gosh, a real run of bad luck there with the bathroom but hope it is now to your liking and will last you for many years to come. We had similar in that the roof started leaking 2 days after we moved in and was pouring down one wall. Luckily our builder came and fixed the lead flashing and picked up that the whole of that side of the house was gone, so he replaced all of it at the time and it has been fine since (touching wood).

Fingers crossed that this is the last of your big spending required and that you will be able to take your time with the rest. Have a good Friday!

greenbee

Thank goodness the leak showed up now, rather than after you'd done lots of decorating and unpacked everything!

I had a leak after the bathroom had been decorated (I overfilled the bath which led to the discovery that the overflow hadn't been connected). Luckily the kitchen below still hasn't been done, so it didn't matter than it leaked through the kitchen ceiling (at least, not as much as if it had leaked through any of the other ones!). As a result both baths had the tiled sides taken off, wastes replaced, and new marine ply sides with access panels put on - and then they had to be painted and the rest of the paintwork made good. Like you, it wasn't worth claiming on insurance, I just wanted it fixed.

Now you've had the plumbing thoroughly overhauled, if you didn't have an electrical check as part of the buying process, it might be worth getting one done before you do any further decorating - for peace of mind as much as anything.

The summer isn't a bad time to be sorting everything out (I know it doesn't feel like it, and I've just started building work and am struggling with the disruption and chaos), so it's all sorted before the winter when cold and damp and having workmen leaving doors open and making mess is even worse!