In message , whiskeyomega
writes

"Tim Lamb" wrote in message
.. .
In message
,
matthelliwell writes
On 21 Dec, 09:38, "whiskeyomega" wrote:
Finally my husband has said that we have to move house.

You haven't mentioned transport. Could it be that he feels *trapped*
in the house alone while you are out at work? Buy him a bicycle?

He has a car. I have a car. He is never trapped. He chooses not to go
out. I am very afraid though he would row the neighbours if we had any.
I am scared he will argue with callers at home now. He has already
rowed the post man when he called with a parcel I sent for.
Fortunately no one comes here because we are off the beaten track.

I am sure a lot of the issues are because he has retired early. It was
not a choice but at least he got his pension. Had he stayed he might
not have his pension and might still have lost his job.



So he has too much time to get bogged down in trivial -problems

He needs a project / purpose to give him a bit of meaning in life


--
geoff

In message
,
matthelliwell writes
On 21 Dec, 09:38, "whiskeyomega" wrote:
Finally my husband has said that we have to move house.


We would also have to have a water meter and we would *still have storage
heaters as they have no mains gas allowed there either - I think that was
for safety reasons for the elderly.

He is 59 and retired early recently.

I am 50 and still working.

I don't want to move. I would rather try and sort our house out. *I don't
have the skills for this though. I do know my neighbour who is on a water
meter pays £254 a quarter for water *and there is no reason to suppose we
would use less than her. *I currently pay £250 a year in rates for water (
our septic tank means we get reduced rates - we wouldn't get that with a
water meter in SW water) .

Is it bad news to have a house with septic tank and storage heaters and no
mains gas and a flat roof on an extension? Or is he being bloody silly?

Just want opinions really. Thanks.

Oh dear, I remember your previous thread and wondering whether it
would be house or husband which you changed first! Unfortunately the
root cause of the problems seems to be the attitude to the house of
your other half. Clearly he doesn't want to do any maintenance on it
so a flat must look very appealing. Personally there is no way I'd
give up an acre of garden for a retirement flat. I'm sure we can give
you lots of practical advice about the house but I'm not convinced how
useful that would be to you.

May be a couple of things you could try a
1. Learn to do lots of the work yourself. You don't actually have to
get out there and do (all) the work but you'll at least be able to
organise and discuss work with trademan without your husband being
involved.
2. Get the house valued as it is now and as it would be if it was
refurbished. If there is a big enough difference you might persuade
the husband to invest the money doing it up. Then perhaps when it is
done up, he'll be less keen to move.

And ...

don't be timid and scared to post here

plenty of experience and the worst that can happen is you won't get a
reply to a post

I have 4 years on you and there are plenty of older farts around, don't
get old before your time

Have another look at the various grants available for insulation,
central heating etc, You might be surprised Ask your social services and
/or CAB



--
geoff

Andy Cap wrote:
We forecast the average metered bill for water and sewerage will rise by
?10 or 2.6% to ?395 and the average unmetered bill will increase by ?23 or
3.4% to ?697.

Ouch! Do they have lots of swimming pools in the south west, or something?
Those sound very high for 'averages' (200-400pa is roughly the sort of
ballpark I'd expect).

Theo

On 22 Dec 2009 08:56:09 +0000 (GMT), Theo Markettos
wrote:


Ouch! Do they have lots of swimming pools in the south west, or something?
Those sound very high for 'averages' (200-400pa is roughly the sort of
ballpark I'd expect).

Theo

Unusually I guess, the site actually accepted that their sewage charges were
higher than average, due to essential investment. However, that element
shouldn't affect the OP as she's not liable for the sewage charge. For
comparison, my metered charge with just the two of us is £380 /annum.

Andy C

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.co.uk...
On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:48:02 +0000, Bernard Peek wrote:

The "Warm Front" grants kick in when anyone in the house is 60. They
will pay for draughtproofing, double-glazing, cavity-wall insulation,
loft insulation and central heating. You can apply online.

But do a search on Warmfront here first... Too many cowboys doing the
work that you have no option but to use. There is no mechanisium for
you to choose your own known and trusted trades person to do the
work.

He isn't 60 until February.

I thought it depended on being in receipt of benefits and not having any
savings. We have savings because he insists on saving and keeps putting it
all into ISA's and saving accounts, even though now most don't give much
above 3% interest.

He is obsessed with saving , so we cant get any benefits. But as I said,
his pension ( occupational - he wont get a state pension until 65) is £200
a week. I also earn £200 a week in my job. So we are not on the bread line.
He just keeps saying we will be if we don't save and save and save.

I wont get a pension until I am over 65 because of changes in the pension
pay outs recently.

I will be 50 next April.

"Andy Cap" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:49:05 -0000, "whiskeyomega"
wrote:


them) so we would be paying for what we do not have and cannot get.


From :-

http://www.southwes****er.co.uk/inde...ey=Wa tercare

Water meters questions and answers for domestic customers - Page 9

If you do not use our sewerage service you will receive a bill for water
comprising the water standing and volume charges only.

From :-

http://www.southwes****er.co.uk/inde...articleid=6686

We forecast the average metered bill for water and sewerage will rise by
£10 or
2.6% to £395 and the average unmetered bill will increase by £23 or 3.4%
to
£697.

HTH
Andy C

But currently my water bill is only £200 a year based on our rateable value.
They are right, my bill would rise.

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
whiskeyomega wrote:

A water meter calculates a standard cost which includes
sewerage ( which of course we do not have from them) so we would be
paying for what we do not have and cannot get.

Not true! A water meter measures the amount of fresh water which you use.
If connected to a main sewer, an assumption is made that an equal quantity
of liquid (etc!) will be taken away by that - and you are charged
accordingly.

*But* the water and sewerage charges are shown separately on the bill, and
if you have a septic tank, you *won't* be charged for sewerage based on
your water consumption.

You seem to have got hold of some very dubious 'facts' from somewhere!

SW water themselves were the source of that information I gave you. I dont
know if things have changed in the last year but it was the case that SW
water did not charge separately for swereage and fresh water. It was a one
charge, but even by most of the figures being quoted here, my water bill (
and especially for SW water) is low. I suppose thats because out house is
so rural and has no facilities and so is "rated" low. Consequently, until
they re rate it, I save


Your neighbour would need to consume a *collosal* amount of water to have
a water bill like you describe. If it's genuine, it sounds like they've
got a massive leak between the meter and the house.

I can only say what I saw on her bill.

"Phil L" wrote in message
m...
whiskeyomega wrote:


I think he is looking at the bigger picture here, and you should too.
The house is cold and damp, and in the next 8 - 10 years is going to be
even damper and probably colder, which at your (and his) time of life
isn't going to do either of you any favours healthwise, plus the fact that
your 200 per week will probably be a distant memory by then and you'll
have to survive on half what you are getting now.

I love this house. It me going out to work that paid for it. I paid the
mortgage off in six years ( our mortgage was supposed to run until he was
65) . He input the money from our last hell hole ( an ex council house,
which wass damp and cold and had belonged to his father - he inherited it.
After he rowed the neighbour over a bloody leylandii bush we had to move)

This house was warm and dry and had few problems when we moved here - 12
years ago.

I used to keep it up whilst he was at work - get workmen in to do things or
my mother and father to help me decorate.

Then the ******* retired last summer. Since then he has been on a savings
trip.

I told him this morning I would buy him out of the house and he could F Off
to his precious old peoples bungalow. I wouldnt be able to live there
anyway, I am under 55 and thats the minimum age you both have to be. I
told him I was not going to live in the cold any longer. I have switched all
the heating on to come on this evening.

The kitchen is still a problem though. Its got condensation ( even he admits
it).

I also now have a decorating and maintenance problem I would not have had
otherwise. That will now cost of course.

But I still like this house. Its what most of you on this board would give
your right arms for to be honest. I did too.

All it needs is a bit of care instead of an arse who is intent on being
obsessed with money and mains gas.
He still keeps saying that because we dont have gas we cant be warm.

Oh, and he now says he didnt stop me putting the heating on if I wanted to
pay the collosal bill at the end of it.

I just told him to bugger off out of it. He hasnt.
I have just had enough. I dont see why I need to move to a box in a town
for nothing.
Now I need some cheap fixes until spring - for guttering, for the damp and
the decoration . I saw the suggestion for wall paper earlier.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
whiskeyomega wrote:


He is obsessed with saving , so we cant get any benefits. But as I
said, his pension ( occupational - he wont get a state pension until
65) is £200 a week. I also earn £200 a week in my job. So we are
not on the bread line. He just keeps saying we will be if we don't
save and save and save.

Saving for *what*? A rainy day? The problem with his attitude is that he
will die with lots of money in the bank, and never get any benefit from it.

Your challenge is to persuade him that the rainy day has *arrived* - and
that you now need to *spend* some of that accummulated money in order to
improve your quality of life. Otherwise, what is it *for*?

I think you need some outside help to get your relationship back to a
condition where you can move forward, pursuing common objectives. Have you
considered Relate? You also need some help with financial planning, to
convince yourselves (him!) that you *can* afford to use some of your savings
to do up your house, and can still afford to live on your earnings/pension
on a day-to-day basis.

Get him to draw up an annual budget with all predictable items - council
tax, water rates, electricity, insurances, etc. - and callendarise to show
the cashflow throughout the year (easily done with a spreadsheet). He can
then remain 'in charge' but will be able to understand that you *can* spend
some money on things which he may consider non-essential in order to make
life more pleasant.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

"whiskeyomega" wrote in message
...



Then the ******* retired last summer. Since then he has been on a savings
trip.

I told him this morning I would buy him out of the house and he could F
Off to his precious old peoples bungalow.


Good on you.

mark

"Phil L" wrote in message
m...
if they've got no
mortgage and £1600 a month coming in between 2 of them, they should be
living like royalty, and I doubt if they'd need a loan to do anything -
there must be quite a few grand lying around doing nothing already

I think thats a fairly sound assessment. But his view is we are poor. By
the way, he has been for several job interviews and flopped them. I think
deliberately - telling the employer he was sacked even I found out
yesterday!

He was not sacked at all. He took early retirement and redundancy. This was
because it was local authority and they were peeing around with selling off
( privatising ) his section - housing maintenance ...... yes I KNOW) and
had he stayed he might have lost both his job and his poension with the
changes.

They had already changed the psnsion rules and if he didnt go when he did he
wouldnt have been able to retire with his pension at 60. He got a final
salary pension ( he was not a higher earner or management , hence not as
much as some). In fact his redundancy money and pay in leiu took him up
until quite recently with salary. But he put all of it and his lump sum in
the bank and wont let go.

In the last year we have saved an additional 7, 600 thats gobe into ISA's
and we have a bank balance of 17K right now and thats after I paid for
Christmas.

So I told him this morning to sort himself out or move out.

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

"Clint Sharp" wrote in message
...
In message , whiskeyomega
writes
Finally my husband has said that we have to move house.


Just want opinions really. Thanks.
Tale of woe snipped, get him a part time job, something where he has the
semblance of control if it won't affect his pension. All the other
problems will vanish, assuming you don't in the mean time.

Failing that, ask the Medway handyman if he can build a patio over him.

I have alkready told him I will shove him down the septic tank and let him
rot. No one would know, they barely know he exists now.

whiskeyomega wrote:


So I told him this morning to sort himself out or move out.




|Good For you!! Let hope that makes him buck his ideas up.
Don't lose heart and keep asking how to do things here!

Bob

"whiskeyomega" wrote in message
...

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
whiskeyomega wrote:

A water meter calculates a standard cost which includes
sewerage ( which of course we do not have from them) so we would be
paying for what we do not have and cannot get.

Not true! A water meter measures the amount of fresh water which you use.
If connected to a main sewer, an assumption is made that an equal
quantity of liquid (etc!) will be taken away by that - and you are
charged accordingly.

*But* the water and sewerage charges are shown separately on the bill,
and if you have a septic tank, you *won't* be charged for sewerage based
on your water consumption.

You seem to have got hold of some very dubious 'facts' from somewhere!

SW water themselves were the source of that information I gave you. I dont
know if things have changed in the last year but it was the case that SW
water did not charge separately for swereage and fresh water. It was a
one charge, but even by most of the figures being quoted here, my water
bill ( and especially for SW water) is low. I suppose thats because out
house is so rural and has no facilities and so is "rated" low.
Consequently, until they re rate it, I save


Your neighbour would need to consume a *collosal* amount of water to have
a water bill like you describe. If it's genuine, it sounds like they've
got a massive leak between the meter and the house.

I can only say what I saw on her bill.


The bill may have been an accumulation of estimated readings that were all
under estimated, then they actually go and read the meter, and issue a new
bill to bring the account up to date. Or, as someone else said, maybe they
have a water leak and haven't noticed!

Toby...

"whiskeyomega" gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

I told him this morning I would buy him out of the house and he could F
Off to his precious old peoples bungalow.

Good for you, girl.

I told him I was not going to live in the cold any longer. I have
switched all the heating on to come on this evening.

Soddit. Get the heating on now. Once the place is warmed through, it
won't take as much energy to keep it warm as it takes to get it there.

"Roger Mills" gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

Saving for *what*? A rainy day? The problem with his attitude is that he
will die with lots of money in the bank, and never get any benefit from
it.

Your challenge is to persuade him that the rainy day has *arrived* - and
that you now need to *spend* some of that accummulated money in order to
improve your quality of life. Otherwise, what is it *for*?

applause

WO - print Roger's words and frame them.

On 22/12/2009 10:02 whiskeyomega wrote:

I thought it depended on being in receipt of benefits and not having any
savings.

Warm Front doesn't take into account savings. You just need to be old
enough and/or on the right benefit. Check their website at
http://www.warmfront.co.uk/do-i-qualify.htm.

--
F

On 22/12/2009 10:04 whiskeyomega wrote:

But currently my water bill is only £200 a year based on our rateable
value. They are right, my bill would rise.

Low rateable values can mean you'd be better off without a meter but I
think you need to talk to SWW and get them to check it out with you,
making sure they understand that there's a septic tank involved!

--
F

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:04:11 -0000, "whiskeyomega" wrote:


But currently my water bill is only £200 a year based on our rateable value.
They are right, my bill would rise.

If the average metered bill is £395 and there are only two of you AND you do not
have to pay the 95% towards the sewage, which you don't, it should be about the
same as now. You really ought to contact SW water, and ask why this is not the
case and perhaps why your neightbour's is so high, just to put your mind at
rest.

Andy C

On 22 Dec, 10:50, "whiskeyomega" wrote:
So I told him this morning to sort himself out *or move out.

Eek! If you do end up going down the divorce route (hope not, it's not
very nice) through voluntary separation then you've got to wait two
years from separating. However that doesn't mean you need to live in
different houses. So long as you live separate live (eating, sleeping
socialising) then that counts.

Mind you, it sounds like you wouldn't have trouble building a case for
unreasonable behaviour either but it'll probably cost more in
solictors fees.

Matt

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:56:02 -0800 (PST), matthelliwell
wrote:

On 22 Dec, 10:50, "whiskeyomega" wrote:
So I told him this morning to sort himself out *or move out.

Eek! If you do end up going down the divorce route (hope not, it's not
very nice) through voluntary separation then you've got to wait two
years from separating. However that doesn't mean you need to live in
different houses. So long as you live separate live (eating, sleeping
socialising) then that counts.

Which bring us back to DIY ! ;-)

Andy C

On 22/12/2009 10:37, whiskeyomega wrote:

"Phil L" wrote in message
m...
whiskeyomega wrote:


I think he is looking at the bigger picture here, and you should too.
The house is cold and damp, and in the next 8 - 10 years is going to
be even damper and probably colder, which at your (and his) time of
life isn't going to do either of you any favours healthwise, plus the
fact that your 200 per week will probably be a distant memory by then
and you'll have to survive on half what you are getting now.

I love this house. It me going out to work that paid for it. I paid the
mortgage off in six years ( our mortgage was supposed to run until he
was 65) . He input the money from our last hell hole ( an ex council
house, which wass damp and cold and had belonged to his father - he
inherited it. After he rowed the neighbour over a bloody leylandii bush
we had to move)

This house was warm and dry and had few problems when we moved here - 12
years ago.

I used to keep it up whilst he was at work - get workmen in to do things
or my mother and father to help me decorate.

Then the ******* retired last summer. Since then he has been on a
savings trip.

I told him this morning I would buy him out of the house and he could F
Off to his precious old peoples bungalow. I wouldnt be able to live
there anyway, I am under 55 and thats the minimum age you both have to
be. I told him I was not going to live in the cold any longer. I have
switched all the heating on to come on this evening.

The kitchen is still a problem though. Its got condensation ( even he
admits it).

I also now have a decorating and maintenance problem I would not have
had otherwise. That will now cost of course.

But I still like this house. Its what most of you on this board would
give your right arms for to be honest. I did too.

All it needs is a bit of care instead of an arse who is intent on being
obsessed with money and mains gas.
He still keeps saying that because we dont have gas we cant be warm.

Oh, and he now says he didnt stop me putting the heating on if I wanted
to pay the collosal bill at the end of it.

I just told him to bugger off out of it. He hasnt.
I have just had enough. I dont see why I need to move to a box in a town
for nothing.
Now I need some cheap fixes until spring - for guttering, for the damp
and the decoration . I saw the suggestion for wall paper earlier.



Just A thought, have you thought about oil fired heating, initial outlay
quite high, but running costs would be a fraction of electric costs.

Bit of info here.

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects...heatingoil.htm

TGH

On 22/12/2009 10:50, whiskeyomega wrote:

I think thats a fairly sound assessment. But his view is we are poor. By
the way, he has been for several job interviews and flopped them. I
think deliberately - telling the employer he was sacked even I found out
yesterday!

I've already mentioned that your husband's behaviour might be due to
depression, and this tends to confirm my conclusion. This is fixable if
he acknowledges it.


He was not sacked at all. He took early retirement and redundancy. This
was because it was local authority and they were peeing around with
selling off ( privatising ) his section - housing maintenance ...... yes
I KNOW) and had he stayed he might have lost both his job and his
poension with the changes.

They had already changed the psnsion rules and if he didnt go when he
did he wouldnt have been able to retire with his pension at 60. He got a
final salary pension ( he was not a higher earner or management , hence
not as much as some). In fact his redundancy money and pay in leiu took
him up until quite recently with salary. But he put all of it and his
lump sum in the bank and wont let go.

In the last year we have saved an additional 7, 600 thats gobe into
ISA's and we have a bank balance of 17K right now and thats after I paid
for Christmas.

So I told him this morning to sort himself out or move out.

If it is depression, telling him to sort himself out won't do any good.
It won't help at all. Feel free to email me if you want to follow up on
this.




--

whiskeyomega wrote:

I love this house. It me going out to work that paid for it. I paid
the mortgage off in six years
[...]
I told him this morning I would buy him out of the house and he could F
Off to his precious old peoples bungalow. I wouldnt be able to live
there anyway, I am under 55 and thats the minimum age you both have to
be. I told him I was not going to live in the cold any longer. I have
switched all the heating on to come on this evening.

Yay! Bloody well done!

Pete

Bernard Peek
wibbled on Tuesday 22 December 2009 21:12

On 22/12/2009 10:50, whiskeyomega wrote:

I think thats a fairly sound assessment. But his view is we are poor. By
the way, he has been for several job interviews and flopped them. I
think deliberately - telling the employer he was sacked even I found out
yesterday!

I've already mentioned that your husband's behaviour might be due to
depression, and this tends to confirm my conclusion. This is fixable if
he acknowledges it.

That's the first step - like being an alchy - know the problem exists.

The OP's husband sounds a bit like my Dad - although my Dad could pull some
pretty amazing things off if he could be arsed to start.

To an extent I suffer a little of that. I find it very hard to start a job
and get ****ed off big time if something goes wrong. But I acknowledge that
and try, if expecting to do something the next day, to set up all the
"boring" bits the day before. Like clear stuff out of the way, confirm I
have the right tools handy and the correct materials - that sort of thing.

I'm totally jealous of people who can plough through jobs with massive
optimism - I'm not one of them. But if I can will myself to get started, I
can do perfectly adequate, and sometimes excellent work.


--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

In message , Bernard Peek
writes
On 21/12/2009 11:32, whiskeyomega wrote:

He has a car. I have a car. He is never trapped. He chooses not to go
out. I am very afraid though he would row the neighbours if we had any.
I am scared he will argue with callers at home now. He has already rowed
the post man when he called with a parcel I sent for.

This is consistent with clinical depression, which is not unusual in
people recently retired and not quite sure what they should be doing.


And ...

Telling someone with clinical depression to "snap out of it" isn't going
to work

You have to get him to admit to himself that there is a problem and that
it's a medical condition for which he needs medical help

Clinical depression is not something to be ashamed of, its a medical
condition which needs attention, and the end of the tunnel can seem a
long way away

He will need support, but not pandering to. Don't be soft

He quite probably needs to talk to someone (or a group) about it. You
are probably not the best person for that as you are too close and he
might feel embarrassed and weak opening himself up to you

Go and have a chat with your GP and see what he advises. At the end of
the day its your life and his life and you only get one take

I'd better stop - I don't do soft and sensitive very well ...


--
geoff

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
geoff wrote:

In message , Bernard Peek
writes
On 21/12/2009 11:32, whiskeyomega wrote:

He has a car. I have a car. He is never trapped. He chooses not to
go out. I am very afraid though he would row the neighbours if we
had any. I am scared he will argue with callers at home now. He has
already rowed the post man when he called with a parcel I sent for.

This is consistent with clinical depression, which is not unusual in
people recently retired and not quite sure what they should be doing.


And ...

Telling someone with clinical depression to "snap out of it" isn't
going to work

You have to get him to admit to himself that there is a problem and
that it's a medical condition for which he needs medical help

Clinical depression is not something to be ashamed of, its a medical
condition which needs attention, and the end of the tunnel can seem a
long way away

He will need support, but not pandering to. Don't be soft

He quite probably needs to talk to someone (or a group) about it. You
are probably not the best person for that as you are too close and he
might feel embarrassed and weak opening himself up to you

Go and have a chat with your GP and see what he advises. At the end of
the day its your life and his life and you only get one take

I'd better stop - I don't do soft and sensitive very well ...


We had noticed. g But this is the exception - well said!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

I have no reason not to believe what whiskeyomega is saying but there
are two sides to every story and I'm a little uncomfortable with the
encouragement towards confrontation (telling him to leave, divorce,
turning the heat up against his wishes etc) which she is receiving.

If everything is as it's presented then the encouragement *may* be
appropriate, but if it's not, then...

YMMV.

--
F

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:23:08 +0000, TGH wrote:

Just A thought, have you thought about oil fired heating, initial outlay
quite high, but running costs would be a fraction of electric costs.

Bit of info here.

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects...heatingoil.htm

Doesn't give running costs. Oil was cheaper than electric when it was
20p/l but now it is up around 40p/l. A litre of kerosene produces
about 10kW of energy so costs about 4p/unit which is about what off
peak lecky costs.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 23/12/2009 00:06, geoff wrote:
In message , Bernard Peek
writes

This is consistent with clinical depression, which is not unusual in
people recently retired and not quite sure what they should be doing.


And ...

Telling someone with clinical depression to "snap out of it" isn't going
to work

You have to get him to admit to himself that there is a problem and that
it's a medical condition for which he needs medical help

Clinical depression is not something to be ashamed of, its a medical
condition which needs attention, and the end of the tunnel can seem a
long way away

He will need support, but not pandering to. Don't be soft

He quite probably needs to talk to someone (or a group) about it. You
are probably not the best person for that as you are too close and he
might feel embarrassed and weak opening himself up to you

Go and have a chat with your GP and see what he advises. At the end of
the day its your life and his life and you only get one take

I'd better stop - I don't do soft and sensitive very well ...

Actually, I think you've done it rather well. Well said.


--

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.co.uk...
On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:48:02 +0000, Bernard Peek wrote:

The "Warm Front" grants kick in when anyone in the house is 60. They
will pay for draughtproofing, double-glazing, cavity-wall insulation,
loft insulation and central heating. You can apply online.

But do a search on Warmfront here first... Too many cowboys doing the
work that you have no option but to use. There is no mechanisium for
you to choose your own known and trusted trades person to do the
work.

However they do thousands of homes and you only get a few here complaining.
They did a good job on my dads.
It did cost me a £100 extra to have a towel rail fitted as an extra.

"Owain" wrote in message
...


I will be 50 next April.

So you have probably another 40 years to go. Would you like to spend
those in a nice house with garden, or a granny hutch with only bingo
on Tuesday nights to look forward to?

Owain



You don't half have an old fashioned view of sheltered housing.
Around here there are lots of "extra care" schemes where you can buy or rent
a flat or a bungalow and never need to have a visit from a "warden", and
they have maintained gardens for you to potter about in.
Just like living in a penthouse flat except someone will come if you press
the red button.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
dennis@home wrote:

"Owain" wrote in message
...


I will be 50 next April.

So you have probably another 40 years to go. Would you like to spend
those in a nice house with garden, or a granny hutch with only bingo
on Tuesday nights to look forward to?

Owain



You don't half have an old fashioned view of sheltered housing.
Around here there are lots of "extra care" schemes where you can buy
or rent a flat or a bungalow and never need to have a visit from a
"warden", and they have maintained gardens for you to potter about in.
Just like living in a penthouse flat except someone will come if you
press the red button.


Maybe so - but it's still a hell of a culture shock for someone who's used
to living in a detached house with an acre of land!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

"Adrian" wrote in message
...


Soddit. Get the heating on now. Once the place is warmed through, it
won't take as much energy to keep it warm as it takes to get it there.

Bending the laws of physics I see.

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:43:16 -0000, dennis@home wrote:

Soddit. Get the heating on now. Once the place is warmed through,
it
won't take as much energy to keep it warm as it takes to get it
there.

Bending the laws of physics I see.

Wrong. In the warming up phase the fabric of the building will
require energy to heat it up. Once in a steady state the energy
required to maintain that state will be less as the fabric is no
longer absorbing heat to raise it's temperature.

--
Cheers
Dave.

whiskeyomega wrote:

"Andy Cap" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:49:05 -0000, "whiskeyomega"
wrote:


them) so we would be paying for what we do not have and cannot get.


From :-

http://www.southwes****er.co.uk/inde...ey=Wa tercare


Water meters questions and answers for domestic customers - Page 9

If you do not use our sewerage service you will receive a bill for water
comprising the water standing and volume charges only.

From :-

http://www.southwes****er.co.uk/inde...articleid=6686

We forecast the average metered bill for water and sewerage will rise
by £10 or
2.6% to £395 and the average unmetered bill will increase by £23 or
3.4% to
£697.

HTH
Andy C

But currently my water bill is only £200 a year based on our rateable
value. They are right, my bill would rise.

What is the price of metered water? You are unlikely to use more than
150 litres per day per person. 200 litres per person per day is the
usual estimate in New Zealand and Australia. This estimate includes
children and watering gardens. Two adults in a wet climate may well use
less than 150 litres per day each.

You can consider the area of your roof and the local rainfall and
calculate whether you can get enough water off the roof for your needs.
You will certainly be able to get enough to flush the lavatory and
water the garden. Just do the sums. Do not forget to deal with the
interest on the capital involved in the storage tank and pump.

R

Jules wrote:
On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:38:13 +0000, wrote:
Is it bad news to have a house with septic tank and storage heaters and no
mains gas and a flat roof on an extension? Or is he being bloody silly?

We've got a septic system. Drilled well out back for water. 500gal
propane tank for the furnace. Primary heating is via electric.

Septic system probably needs emptying once every 3-4 years, and the cost
is pretty insignificant.

The well has more than adequate flow rate, and for the first time ever I
found water that "tastes nice". Means no water bills of course (but
factoring in the cost of a new well every 25 years or so, it works out
about half the price of typical main water bills)

You should not need a new well every 25 years, whatever the well driller
tells you. What you need is a water level sensor that keep you informed
as to the standing water level and the dynamic level when pumping. When
the dynamic level drops noticeably it is time to re-develop the well.
That means blowing it out with compressed air or surging with a plunger
to open up the screen and, if there is one, the gravel pack.

R

whiskeyomega wrote:

"Tim W" wrote in message
...
"whiskeyomega" @invalid
wibbled on Monday 21 December 2009 09:38


We would also have to have a water meter and we would still have
storage
heaters as they have no mains gas allowed there either - I think that
was
for safety reasons for the elderly.

They could have central heating if they wanted?...

No, thats my whole point. We would still have storage heaters as CH. I
cant see a good reason for moving to that.

I have suggested a bungalow with gas but he doesn't want that.

Oh and he doesn't want neighbours either. Currently we have one
neighbour. In town we would have loads. I dont see his reasoning. He
seems brainwashed by stupid TV ads and economic issues - like
redundancy and no money and such and he thinks those things affect us
when they do not.

Have you thought about a dehumidifier? Much the same price as a heater
from an appliance shop and VERY much better at getting rid of the damp.

R

In message o.uk, Dave
Liquorice writes
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:43:16 -0000, dennis@home wrote:

Soddit. Get the heating on now. Once the place is warmed through,
it
won't take as much energy to keep it warm as it takes to get it
there.

Bending the laws of physics I see.

Wrong. In the warming up phase the fabric of the building will
require energy to heat it up. Once in a steady state the energy
required to maintain that state will be less as the fabric is no
longer absorbing heat to raise it's temperature.

Its Dennis the dim - what do you expect ?


--
geoff

In message , "dennis@home"
writes


"Owain" wrote in message
...


I will be 50 next April.

So you have probably another 40 years to go. Would you like to spend
those in a nice house with garden, or a granny hutch with only bingo
on Tuesday nights to look forward to?

Owain



You don't half have an old fashioned view of sheltered housing.
Around here there are lots of "extra care" schemes where you can buy or
rent a flat or a bungalow and never need to have a visit from a
"warden", and they have maintained gardens for you to potter about in.


So who brings you your pills and empties your bedpan then Den ?

--
geoff