I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in the outcome of
my horrendous moving experience. Well, I have finally done it! On
December 16th to be precise. I had already moved out of my house in the
south-east, as my buyer insisted on getting access before November 29th
else he'd pull out (empty rhetoric, probably). We actually achieved
completion on the 30th. For days I wandered the land, staying in
temporary accommodation or with relations. Thanks to all who helped
out, by the way. Then all of a sudden the paperwork for the new house
all came together, exchange and completion happened on the same day,
and I found myself winging my way up the A1 to Lincolnshire. Two hours
after exchange the developer rang to say that the oil tank was almost
empty - gee, thanks! So for four days over the weekend until Tuesday I
was freezing (the boiler had to be switched off otherwise it would have
run dry, thus requiring it to be 'bled'). Amazing, isn't it? I pay a
small fortune for the property, yet the developer could not stick even
500 litres in the tank as a goodwill gesture. Especially as I had been
told weeks before that there was enough oil to last the winter. Oh,
well. The tanker finally arrived and I had my first bath.

The only things I have to worry about are shrinkage cracks, the almost
white carpet which will quickly show the dirt, and the horrid 12v
downlighters which cost a fortune to replace. Maybe I'll rip 'em all
out and replace with good old-fashioned bulbs (17p from ASDA). And rip
the carpet out and put lovely easy-to-clean laminate down instead. Any
market for almost new carpet?

So there you are! Thanks for all the comments. It took from March 26th
until December 16th with practically no chain. Imagine what fun it must
be if a chain is six deep. Now I am going to keep a much closer eye on
the housing market to predict when a rise is imminent. In the meantime
I have plans to explore Lincolnshire and see if there are any nicer
places to live. One hazard with life in Lincolnshire I have noticed
already is the driving. Because the Fens are so flat you can see for
miles. This encourages people to drive at excessive speeds and they're
always going off the road into a dyke (no jokes, please). The hedgerows
and telephone masts are littered with wreaths and tired bunches of
flowers.

MM

MM wrote:

I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in the outcome of
my horrendous moving experience. Well, I have finally done it! On
December 16th to be precise. I had already moved out of my house in the
south-east, as my buyer insisted on getting access before November 29th
else he'd pull out (empty rhetoric, probably). We actually achieved
completion on the 30th. For days I wandered the land, staying in
temporary accommodation or with relations. Thanks to all who helped
out, by the way. Then all of a sudden the paperwork for the new house
all came together, exchange and completion happened on the same day,
and I found myself winging my way up the A1 to Lincolnshire. Two hours
after exchange the developer rang to say that the oil tank was almost
empty - gee, thanks! So for four days over the weekend until Tuesday I
was freezing (the boiler had to be switched off otherwise it would have
run dry, thus requiring it to be 'bled'). Amazing, isn't it? I pay a
small fortune for the property, yet the developer could not stick even
500 litres in the tank as a goodwill gesture. Especially as I had been
told weeks before that there was enough oil to last the winter. Oh,
well. The tanker finally arrived and I had my first bath.

The only things I have to worry about are shrinkage cracks, the almost
white carpet which will quickly show the dirt, and the horrid 12v
downlighters which cost a fortune to replace.

Huh? I pay less for those than a standard bulb! And they last about ten
times as long..


Maybe I'll rip 'em all
out and replace with good old-fashioned bulbs (17p from ASDA). And rip
the carpet out and put lovely easy-to-clean laminate down instead. Any
market for almost new carpet?

So there you are! Thanks for all the comments. It took from March 26th
until December 16th with practically no chain. Imagine what fun it must
be if a chain is six deep. Now I am going to keep a much closer eye on
the housing market to predict when a rise is imminent. In the meantime
I have plans to explore Lincolnshire and see if there are any nicer
places to live. One hazard with life in Lincolnshire I have noticed
already is the driving. Because the Fens are so flat you can see for
miles. This encourages people to drive at excessive speeds and they're
always going off the road into a dyke (no jokes, please). The hedgerows
and telephone masts are littered with wreaths and tired bunches of
flowers.


Oh lincs fens. Vile enough to produce Margaret Thatcher.

Norh norfolk coast ain't far, and neither is derbyshire.


MM

On 27 Dec 2004 03:47:58 -0800, "MM" wrote:

I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in the outcome of
my horrendous moving experience. Well, I have finally done it!

Congratulations!

my buyer insisted on getting access before November 29th
else he'd pull out (empty rhetoric, probably).

Good strategy though. Didn't let the conveyancers drag it all out
which is horrible .....

I have plans to explore Lincolnshire and see if there are any nicer
places to live.

Lots of history happened in Lincolnshire and if you are really lucky
you will find King John's treasure

Anna
~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

On 27 Dec 2004 03:47:58 -0800, "MM" wrote:

The only things I have to worry about are shrinkage cracks, the almost
white carpet which will quickly show the dirt, and the horrid 12v
downlighters which cost a fortune to replace.

They don't need to. You can bulk buy them from TLC etc., and I've
found that they last pretty well.

Maybe I'll rip 'em all
out and replace with good old-fashioned bulbs (17p from ASDA).

As long as you don't go for those bilious low energy ones.

And rip
the carpet out and put lovely easy-to-clean laminate down instead. Any
market for almost new carpet?

A near white carpet is hardly practical. Surprising that you didn't
have some influence over choice as that normally goes in quite late
on.

Don't replace it with tacky laminate though. Decent real wood is not
significantly more expensive, looks a whole lot better and is not
harder to maintain.



So there you are! Thanks for all the comments. It took from March 26th
until December 16th with practically no chain. Imagine what fun it must
be if a chain is six deep. Now I am going to keep a much closer eye on
the housing market to predict when a rise is imminent. In the meantime
I have plans to explore Lincolnshire and see if there are any nicer
places to live. One hazard with life in Lincolnshire I have noticed
already is the driving. Because the Fens are so flat you can see for
miles. This encourages people to drive at excessive speeds and they're
always going off the road into a dyke (no jokes, please). The hedgerows
and telephone masts are littered with wreaths and tired bunches of
flowers.

Why people do either of those, I don't know. There's a bent
lamp-post on a major traffic roundabout near me with that stuff and
it's been there for at least two months.



MM


--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 13:29:38 +0000, Andy Hall wrote:

Don't replace it with tacky laminate though. Decent real wood is not
significantly more expensive, looks a whole lot better and is not harder
to maintain.

??? Real Maple floor in my own house £70/sq m plus significant fitting
costs, mid range laminate floor for the house I have refurbished £6.99/sq
m plus much lower fitting cost. I'd say that was pretty significant in
terms of price difference.

--
Regards

Tony Hogarty
(Take out the garbage to reply)

Tony Hogarty wrote:

??? Real Maple floor in my own house £70/sq m plus significant fitting
costs, mid range laminate floor for the house I have refurbished £6.99/sq
m plus much lower fitting cost. I'd say that was pretty significant in
terms of price difference.

Hmm, ok. Real oak floor in our living room cost £32/sqm, medium/high
quality laminate in our TV room cost £16/sqm. Little difference in
fitting time/effort.

I've yet to see laminate at under £10/sqm that I'd let anywhere near my
house.


--
Grunff

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 15:06:28 +0000, Tony Hogarty
wrote:

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 13:29:38 +0000, Andy Hall wrote:

Don't replace it with tacky laminate though. Decent real wood is not
significantly more expensive, looks a whole lot better and is not harder
to maintain.

??? Real Maple floor in my own house £70/sq m plus significant fitting
costs, mid range laminate floor for the house I have refurbished £6.99/sq
m plus much lower fitting cost. I'd say that was pretty significant in
terms of price difference.


I'd say you didn't shop around very well.

£70/m^2 is way over the odds for good quality maple floor, and £6.99
is way under the odds for good quality laminate (if there is such a
thing).



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

MM wrote:

So there you are! Thanks for all the comments. It took from March 26th
until December 16th with practically no chain. Imagine what fun it
must be if a chain is six deep. Now I am going to keep a much closer
eye on the housing market to predict when a rise is imminent. In the
meantime I have plans to explore Lincolnshire and see if there are
any nicer places to live.

http://homepages.which.net/~rex/bourne/index.htm might give an idea of one
corner of the county.

--
James...
www.jameshart.co.uk

Yes, Bourne is nearby, as is Stamford, which seems like a very nice
place, very posh, very rich. I really wanted to live on the coast, so
Skegness, Mabelthorpe, Chapel St. Leonards are places I shall aim for
when the spring arrives. I quite like the Lincolnshire Wolds, having
driven down from Gainsborough through Market Rasen, Alford, Louth and
so on.

MM

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 15:51:46 +0000, Grunff wrote:

Tony Hogarty wrote:

??? Real Maple floor in my own house £70/sq m plus significant fitting
costs, mid range laminate floor for the house I have refurbished
£6.99/sq m plus much lower fitting cost. I'd say that was pretty
significant in terms of price difference.

Hmm, ok. Real oak floor in our living room cost £32/sqm, medium/high
quality laminate in our TV room cost £16/sqm. Little difference in
fitting time/effort.

I've yet to see laminate at under £10/sqm that I'd let anywhere near my
house.

So twice the cost I'd still call that significant.
--
Regards

Tony Hogarty
(Take out the garbage to reply)

Tony Hogarty wrote:

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 13:29:38 +0000, Andy Hall wrote:


Don't replace it with tacky laminate though. Decent real wood is not
significantly more expensive, looks a whole lot better and is not harder
to maintain.


??? Real Maple floor in my own house £70/sq m plus significant fitting
costs, mid range laminate floor for the house I have refurbished £6.99/sq
m plus much lower fitting cost. I'd say that was pretty significant in
terms of price difference.



Did real oak laminate at around 40 per square, and fitted it myself. Easy.

MM wrote:

Yes, Bourne is nearby, as is Stamford, which seems like a very nice
place, very posh, very rich.

Nip over to the george at stamford and see if they do a cut price deal
between Xmas and new year - staying there for a couple of days is
usually horrendously exp[ensive, but at this tme of year they used to do
deals.

Its well worh it: Lovely old fashioned tea-and crumpets sort of place
with miss marple in very stairwell...:-)

I really wanted to live on the coast, so
Skegness, Mabelthorpe, Chapel St. Leonards are places I shall aim for
when the spring arrives. I quite like the Lincolnshire Wolds, having
driven down from Gainsborough through Market Rasen, Alford, Louth and
so on.

MM

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 02:37:11 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Tony Hogarty wrote:

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 13:29:38 +0000, Andy Hall wrote:


Don't replace it with tacky laminate though. Decent real wood is not
significantly more expensive, looks a whole lot better and is not harder
to maintain.


??? Real Maple floor in my own house £70/sq m plus significant fitting
costs, mid range laminate floor for the house I have refurbished
£6.99/sq m plus much lower fitting cost. I'd say that was pretty
significant in terms of price difference.



Did real oak laminate at around 40 per square, and fitted it myself. Easy.

As I said significantly more expensive.

--
Regards

Tony Hogarty
(Take out the garbage to reply)

Andy Hall wrote:
On 27 Dec 2004 03:47:58 -0800, "MM" wrote:

already is the driving. Because the Fens are so flat you can see for
miles. This encourages people to drive at excessive speeds and they're
always going off the road into a dyke (no jokes, please). The hedgerows
and telephone masts are littered with wreaths and tired bunches of
flowers.

Why people do either of those, I don't know. There's a bent
lamp-post on a major traffic roundabout near me with that stuff and
it's been there for at least two months.

Glad it's not just me, then!

Years ago, a pedestrian was run over in the town centre near where I
live, and each year on the anniversary of the event, the nearest
lamp-post gets converted into a makeshift shrine, covered in flowers,
messages, the lot. It all stays there for months too; barely has it
finally rotted away before next years' goes up.

Clearly nobody dares ever take it down; you can just imagine the banner
headlines in the local rag browbeating the 'heartless council', can't you.

David

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 14:41:03 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Andy Hall wrote:
On 27 Dec 2004 03:47:58 -0800, "MM" wrote:

already is the driving. Because the Fens are so flat you can see for
miles. This encourages people to drive at excessive speeds and they're
always going off the road into a dyke (no jokes, please). The hedgerows
and telephone masts are littered with wreaths and tired bunches of
flowers.

Why people do either of those, I don't know. There's a bent
lamp-post on a major traffic roundabout near me with that stuff and
it's been there for at least two months.

Glad it's not just me, then!

No. I'm not hard hearted, and I can completely understand the
emotional grief of immediate family members and perhaps friends in a
case of sudden death.

However, I don't quite see what is achieved by turning the whole thing
into a public spectacle.



Years ago, a pedestrian was run over in the town centre near where I
live, and each year on the anniversary of the event, the nearest
lamp-post gets converted into a makeshift shrine, covered in flowers,
messages, the lot. It all stays there for months too; barely has it
finally rotted away before next years' goes up.

Clearly nobody dares ever take it down; you can just imagine the banner
headlines in the local rag browbeating the 'heartless council', can't you.

Yes I can. I can see the point in perhaps recognising public
figures etc. for a period of time, but I don't know why everybody else
should be presented with what is effectively an advertisement related
to somebody that they probably didn't know anyway.

Perhaps I'm a little unconventional in these things, because I also
don't buy into the notion of dressing up in unnatural black clothes
for funerals either. Personally, I've put the ban up on them for my
funeral and specified that people wear their ordinary clothes :-)




--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

MM wrote:
I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in the outcome of
my horrendous moving experience. Well, I have finally done it! On
December 16th to be precise. I had already moved out of my house in
the south-east, as my buyer insisted on getting access before
November 29th else he'd pull out (empty rhetoric, probably). We
actually achieved completion on the 30th. For days I wandered the
land, staying in temporary accommodation or with relations. Thanks to
all who helped out, by the way. Then all of a sudden the paperwork
for the new house all came together, exchange and completion happened
on the same day, and I found myself winging my way up the A1 to
Lincolnshire. Two hours after exchange the developer rang to say that
the oil tank was almost empty - gee, thanks! So for four days over
the weekend until Tuesday I was freezing (the boiler had to be
switched off otherwise it would have run dry, thus requiring it to be
'bled'). Amazing, isn't it? I pay a small fortune for the property,
yet the developer could not stick even 500 litres in the tank as a
goodwill gesture. Especially as I had been told weeks before that
there was enough oil to last the winter. Oh, well. The tanker finally
arrived and I had my first bath.

MM

Glad you finally managed to get moved in!!!

Was this the house in which the developers relative was living in beforehand
and you were having a few doubts?

Although its not much use now, but may be useful for future reference, but
unless things have changed in recent years, domestic central heating oil is
exactly the same as diesel that you put in your car, the only difference is
that as less duty is paid to the revenue its coloured red, hence you could
have gone down to your local forecourt and legally stuck a few gallons in
your homes tank!!

Shrinkage is only a problem in 'propper houses' with solid internal built
walls, sadly most new builds nower days are built with plasterboard & skim
and suffer the problem much less.

good luck with the house
Jonty