General Chat

some time ago, the buttons fell out of my key.....£60 no way....got a replacement case off Ebay, and with a little fine fettling the new case was replaced.....for less than a fiver!!

even so Brian, its still at least £60 for a Picasso key....
+ code card +car for synchronising...

Friday: found that the puppy had got to the car key and chewed it.
Yesterday: phoned car dealer and said I need a new key.
Cost £299 and have to go in with ID, Log book, car so they can photo the door plate, and fill in a form for new key to be sent from Mercedes.
In the old days before remote licking and all that guff it wouldn't have been chewable or a replacement would have been a couple of quid from the local locksmith!

OH used to do all kinds of things, including carpentry .............. he made several bedside cabinets, a bed for our daughter, bed frames and a day bed for the cabin. We have a table saw in the basement workshop that was well used in its day. He did all the inside painting, and also the outside window frames (the only parts that need painting outside. He even did some minor plumbing.

All his training is academic, although his grandfather was a cabinet maker before re-training around 1900 as a Welsh Methodist Minister

What he did was from father and common sense ........

...... but we're now at that stage in life where it's better to let the experts do all such things, while we pay and sit back and enjoy our well-earned retirement!

Besides which, he doesn't enjoy climbing ladders any more!

I live in a council house.
In November, I had a leak from my airing cupboard that contains my boiler and hot water tank.
Phoned the council.
'Where is the leak coming from'
My airing cupboard, which contains the boiler and hot water tank.
'Which one is it, boiler of water tank?'
I don't know, I'm neither a plumber nor a boiler expert
'It's the boiler then'
I don't know, I'm neither a plumber nor a boiler expert.

They send out a boiler man - they used to send out a foreman who would assess and identify the problem.

Boiler man: 'That's fixed now'

Me, 2 hours later - damp patch is getting bigger

Long story short - 2 boiler men, 10 days later, water now running down the wall - phone out of hours on a Friday evening.
Man comes around, lifts floorboards, has a poke around - 'It's your water tank'
Weekend spent trying to catch water.
In the meantime, the ceiling paper falls, water starts coming through the light fitting, and the carpet is sodden
Monday - phone Council - water tank leaking, I also need an electrician.
Plumber and electrician come around. Light is disconnected (my bathroom is downstairs) Plumber arrives - need new tank - they will order one!!!
I look online and see one in Screwfix, up the road, inform Council - no, I can wait 3 days.
Tank finally replaced on 22 December.

Meanwhile, I had been e-mailing head of maintenance about the demise of the foreman. He hands me over to a 'minion'. I ask about my sodden carpet - apparently I can claim on my household insurance :-|
He also 'mansplained' me - telling me that the boiler can't be in the same space as the water tank - the boiler must be downstairs.
My response - No, they're both in the same space, but if you believe the boiler can't be in the airing cupboard, why did you send out boiler men?
Strangely, no response.

Of course, if a foreman had been around, it would have been fixed in a matter of days, not weeks.

Surveyor comes around - I could do with a humidifier - unfortunately the space it would be in is about 4ft square, at the bottom of the stairs, by the front door, next to a radiator.
Dodgy situation - downstairs bathroom, no light, tripping hazard, would block access to the front door - and who would pay the electricity, bearing in mind, I had to pay for every pint of water that had led to the potential ruination of my carpet, decoration etc.
I decline the offer, but buy one of those 'damp trap' de-humidifiers - absolutely no water accumulated.

Eventually, in January, had electrician round to re-establish light - unfortunately too low - the door hits the light. Then back again to take it down while the ceiling was plastered, then back again to put it back (slightly higher when I point out the door hits the light). Eventually painter came, removed lampshade, painted hall, went to put lampshade back again - it was broken - too many removals and replacements and screwed on too tight. I'm also left with a 'tidemark'. My hall is white.
Two coats of white paint is a different colour to one. What would they have done if I had wallpaper?

If they'd only had a foreman, I would have had a small damp patch that I would have put stain cover on - then painted white.

My carpet is (fortunately) okay, it's man-made, and I put bits of wood under it to raise it from the floor and dry it (and the floorboards).
I've had to buy 2 new lampshades, one for the top, and one for the bottom of the stairs.
I wouldn't describe myself as a 'domestic goddess', but I don't like 'tidelines', so am preparing to redecorate the stairs.

Do you think the Council saved any money by not having a foreman, but by some bloke in an office making a blind 'executive' decision? :-S

Oh yes - and I had flu during quite a bit of this fiasco!

I'll probably call down the wrath of a certain poster who is an expert in everything, but I'm far happier messing about in the Kitchen.

OH on the other hand is the one for doing all the 'manly' things and once did a course in cabinet making at the local college.

Reference was made in an earlier post to Bunning's, a major hardware chain in Australia. When we visit our local store OH makes a beeline for the timber and tools and I'm more than happy looking at the kitchen appliances :-D :-D

MY OH would say just the same Allan.

although he can turn a hand to most things,some he leaves to the know-alls.

As has been said,
you wouldn't ask a telly repair man to fix a car....
but in my time, I've been a forklift electrician..maintenance electrician...and have been involved in some hydraulics...

with hindsight....should've gone for the expensive item first!

at least its had a good clearout....

we had a problem with a lack of hot water...radiators worked...so..
must be sludged up...water treatment...drain, refill........no different..so...drain...disconnect pipes to indirect cylinder....no blockage...replace heater valve while system was empty...refill...no improvement...eventually...drain....remove pump head...viola...99% of the pump impeller missing..obtain new pump...refill...after much bleeding and refilling...system is functional....several days later drain some.out...then drain some out of other side of house. rads...refill with water treatment....and hope for a trouble free system...
BTW a direct replacement pump circa £189. actual price of a different version £95...
because it was a 10% off day...£84....two lots of treatment at around £17 quid a go...

:-D :-D :-D

Kay, I'm not anti germs ; most of my working life has been spent messing about with blocked drains and septic tanks (I was an Environmental Health Officer for over forty years) but at this stage of my life, apart from the legal side, it's easier to pay someone else to do it :-D

That Allan is a splendid idea,,,,,,,,,,,maybe she could catch a little fishy at the same time in said bucket.

why "soil "your hands to mend a loo when someone who aint anti germ will do it.

:-D :-D :-D.

:-D :-D :-D

Exactly, Sylvia

OH once had trouble connecting the trailer electrics with the car electrics ....... usually just a matter of plugging a plug from the trailer into the socket in the car, but this time the trailer rear lights would not work when he did that.

He fiddled around for some time, and finally in frustration he drove car and trailer (rear lights not working so fingers crossed) the 3 blocks to our car mechanic, who said

"xxxxxxx, you're very bright, but we know what we're doing. Why don't you stick to what you know and we'll fix your car electrics?" :-D :-D

:-D :-D

Why/ The River isn't that far from the house :-S :-D :-D

She's going to hit you Allan..... :-D :-D

I actually like the Australian dunnies; when one doesn't work, or is full, you just dig another one next to it. :-D

As for the tap, now OH has been given the all-clear, if it fails again I'll just send her down to the river with a bucket to bring back some water :-D :-D :-D

dunny ,know Allan.

glad er'indoors is mending ok.


;-) :-D.

Not sure you'd like to "get your feet wet" fixing loos though :-D

I suppose that to learn to fix loos you have to start at the bottom ;-) :-D :-D