Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-07-02 23:06:04 +0100, ":Jerry:"
said:

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
snip

This was partly my point. If you are going to go to the trouble
of laying a floor requiring significant labour input, you might as
well do so with good materials. Otherwise it's the same false
economy as cheap wallpaper.


Not if it gives a couple of years (or more, laminate looks crap but
is hard wearing) and it would have meant living in a '**** hole' for
even longer

What nutty logic. There is something very wrong with a scale of
values that suggests that putting down crappy flooring just for a
couple of years. Better to wait and buy something better. The
problem is really that people expect instant results and aren't
willing to wait.
, sorry Andy but you are obviously completely out of touch with
the reality that many live

Oh, I'm very in touch with it. I began with very little indeed. The
difference is that I did what was required to change it - tough
decisions, taking calculated risks, sheer hard work and with socially
inconvenient arrangements and waiting to obtain the right things. Some
people feel that a 40 hour working week, going to the pub and to
football on Saturdays is where things are. For them it may be. I
don't recall ever having a 40 hr a week job.

You were saying?



- just as you fail to understand that (IMO)
most people are doing DIY not as a hobby but as a necessity to get an
affordable, half decent home.

Of course. However, that does not mean that the standard of the
results has to be compromised by poor purchasing decisions.

I see both sides of this discussion. Putting something in that's "cheap"
for a limited period can be a waste of money, but when the money is
tight, short horizons can seem reasonable - I've been there! However,
until just over a year ago, I spent cira 80 to 100hrs a week working and
now have a financial security at the cost of missing out on my kids
growing up and potentially of having been of more benefit to them in
their adult life, if I'd had more time at home; having said that, I'm in
a position to provide both with a 50% deposit for a house. What is the
right course - does anyone ever know - circumstances change whilst you
live!