Archived Entries
January 2010
Living with Builders - Our Guide to Coping with Home Improvement Work
No matter how efficient the builders are and how much care is taken, construction can be a noisy and dust generating affair. From experience I know that in the good old days when the economy was booming, it was as rare as hens teeth to get your hands on a "reputable" builder and you were grateful that they could fit you into their schedule. Whilst this may be so, do not let them rule the roost; remember you are the client and they are working for you! You need to set out ground rules and I hope the following can help inform the agreement between you and your builder.
If you or your family members are usually at home during the day, why not think about living elsewhere or better still, going on holiday for a few days? Quite often this will not prove possible for various reasons so a certain level of inconvenience will have to be endured I am afraid. If this is the case, please bring it to the attention of the builder before work commences and try and ensure (an obvious point I know) that inconvenience is kept to a minimum.
Noise
Before work begins on site, make sure you establish with the builders what their working hours are. During the summer months (hehe), most builders like to be on site early and again, this may not be of convenience to your or indeed your neighbours. Therefore, I suggest you agree at the outset what the expected working hours will be and outside of these, the builder will have to seek your permission to extend those hours.
Similarly, builders like to listen to a radio when they work. Whilst you may not have any control over them listening to Classic FM, if this disturbs you or your neighbours (particularly if you are working from home) ask them for the volume to be kept low.
Dust
Where would you be without good old dust? No matter how big or small the job, it is likely that dust will be generated particularly if it involves disturbing the existing structure to your property. Whilst this is inevitable, the builders should take reasonable care and precautions by sealing off the area of work. The most effective way of doing this is by taping polythene sheets over doors and windows. If the builders do take this course of action, please be aware that the tape used to hold the sheets in place will in all probability result in existing painted surfaces being damaged and require redecoration when they are removed. Please recognise this and discuss this with your builder before work commences and agree what course of action will be taken to remedy this.
I suggest that where possible, you remove carpets and floor coverings or at the very least, they are covered in dust sheets. No matter how careful, dust will always be generated. Recently, I had work carried out which involved the creation of a new door opening and the sealing off of an existing one. I can hand on heart say that it was the first time in my life that I vacuumed twice a day for nearly 2 weeks. One tip I suggest is that water is sprinkled on concrete and timber floors before sweeping up.
Avoiding Obstruction
Yes, you may be grateful that the builder has finally arrived, but don't let them rule the roost. It is your home after all. Convenience for them does not necessarily mean convenience for you and can often be the case when it comes to on-site storage of materials. Whilst this is inevitable, ask the builder that safe and unobstructed access to your home is maintained whenever possible. This extends to their vans also. Disputes with neighbours can sometimes result form builders' vehicles blocking driveways or taking parking spaces in city streets. Where parking is of a premium, it may be that you will have to sacrifice your parking space in order to keep the peace.
Again, new build cannot happen without materials and these will by definition have to be delivered to site. As a matter of courtesy to all, please let your neighbours know when a delivery is to take place and ask neighbours if they can allow access.
Utilities
Unless the project is of a size that will warrant a portaloo, be prepared to have your bathroom visited by alien creatures. Whilst this cannot be avoided, make sure that walkways are properly protected from dirty footwear.
In this day of mobile phones, it is unlikely that the builder will need to use your telephone. However, it is worth pointing out that the phone can be used but not to track down football results or to wish Aunt Nellie in Australia a Happy Birthday.
The act of construction requires water and lots of it. Therefore, the builders will need regular access to water. If you haven't already, I suggest you have an outside tap fitted, not only to service the project but you will also find it invaluable when you are working outside in the future.
As the old adage goes Before Gain there is Pain. Your home will go through a metamorphism. Through the early stages when dust is everywhere and your home looks like a herd of wildebeest have taken up residence, you may question why did I ever bother. However, once the project has been completed, the nightmares of fruitless dust battles will be replaced by a sense of satisfaction.....Yes it was worth it in the end!
Please Remember:-
- It is your home and the builder is working for you.
- Construction is a dirty job and the creation of dust is inevitable.
- Agree working hours.
- Agree where materials should be stored on-site.
- Make your neighbours aware that you will be having worked undertaken to your property.
- Agree which toilet (if you are lucky to have more than one) can be used by the builder.
- Agree if your phone can be used.
We are keen to hear of your experiences of living with builders.
Confessions of a House Move - The Inside Story
They say that moving house is one of the most stressful things that you do in your life. As a first time buyer trying to get on the first rung of the property ladder this year, I will be finding out if this is true over the next few weeks.
After spending years watching house prices climb every month at a rate faster than it would ever be possible to save, the recent property price crash probably came as a huge relief to most first time buyers. Initially as the market began to fall in 2007, some analysts said that it was not a property crash, merely a readjustment to realistic levels. As prices fell further and with the banking crisis and global economic downturn, the challenge became getting a mortgage agreed. In the height of the boom, banks were giving away mortgages to anyone who walked through the door, regardless of whether they were likely to be able to afford the repayments. Now they are far more cautious and most require a hefty deposit.
After spending several months looking on property websites such as Rightmove, my partner and I have finally found a house we liked the look of in the area we wanted. We went to the estate agent and arranged a viewing. We fell in love with the house straight away which I'd always been told you should never do as you risk lining yourself up for severe disappointment if things don't work out. Personally, I disagree with this and think that you should get a strong positive feeling from somewhere you're considering making your home and which is also the largest purchase you will ever make. The key is not to show the agent how keen you are.
We put an offer in the next day at a reasonable amount to show that we were serious but still a fair amount under the asking price. This was rejected straight away by the vendors who had no urgent need to move and were keen to get as close to the asking price as possible. The property has only been on the market 2 weeks and has already had several viewings. We were afraid that someone else would love the house as much as we did and better our offer so we got straight back to the agent with an increased offer. We now have the anxious wait to see if our offer will be accepted.
Eight Imaginative Ways to Save on Your Household Bills this Year
The current cold snap has once again brought the issue of utility prices back into the spotlight. With most of us still worrying about paying our Christmas debts, the sub zero temperatures have placed extra strain on our already stretched budgets with boilers working overtime in their attempt to keep us and our families warm. The following are easy and imaginative ways to save on our bills that doesn't mean we have to radically compromise on our lifestyle:-
- Shop Around:- At least once if not twice a year, I will visit the fuel comparison web sites in the hope of finding an improved tariff that meets my needs. In order to assist you, I suggest you keep your utility bills as they can offer a more accurate way of comparing your present to other tariffs. Also, dual fuel tariffs together with paying by way of direct debit can assist in reducing your bill.
- Get an Energy Monitor Installed:- Costing from anything as little as £30, a smart meter can be fitted to your home thereby allowing you to identify how much energy you are using and this is the clever bit, enable appliances to be set when power is cheapest. It is possible that some energy suppliers will provide them free on request or alternatively, you can buy one by visiting www.eco-eye.com
- Get rid of the old boiler:- If your boiler is "G" rated of 70% efficiency or less, you may well be entitled to claim an allowance of £400 toward a new boiler. For more information, please contact the Energy Savings Trust on 0800 512 012.
- Get Sewing:- Whilst double glazing is an efficient way to reduce heat loss through the fabric of your building, fitting heavy curtains is a cost effective way of reducing drafts.
- Toilets:- As the saying goes, if it is yellow, let it mellow. A crude an inexpensive way of toilet flushing is investing in a bucket. I have one sitting in my shower and when I have a shower, I collect the water, which is not at temperature, and use that to flush the toilet with.
- Think Shower, think eco shower head:- It is sobering to think that a power shower can use as much as 20 litres of water per minute. If like me, you do enjoy taking a shower, think of fitting an eco shower head which mixes water with air thereby saving you as much as 75% of water consumption.
- Why heat all your rooms:- Simply keep those rooms you use heated and for the remaining rooms, turn the heating down to a minimum. In order to avoid drafts, why not close the doors to the rooms you do not use.
- Fix the drips:- Did you know that a single dripping tap can waste up to 15 litres of water a day.
