DirtyBox

He should give you a contract with clear payment terms set out. When we had our loft done it cost 65k but only because they put in a whole new heating and hot water system and re-roofed the whole house. Your builder sounds expensive and dodgy not to mention slow as 5k a week works out at 13 weeks!

No you are not unless you make a huge hole but things like picture hooks are fine. Most I have ever done is give it a bit of a cursory clean but given most people will clean it when the they move in even this probably isn't necessary.

aren't they usually in front of some sort of access, like someones off street parking for example?

We moved to WW in April from Sydenham and so far it's been great! We got a much bigger house with a much bigger garden for the same money as we sold our Sydenham house for I get a seat on the train every day and the line isn't run by Southern plus it only takes 10 mins more than my old route Everyone is friendly - I haven't encountered any racism It's a short drive to some countryside The schools are great

Using a mole only makes sense if you have some nice Victorian tiles you want to preserve otherwise it's probably cheaper to do it the old fashioned way with a trench shovel and half a day of a labourer (i think I paid around ?600 for the mole). When I had mine done the damage was inside the house where they had to take up part of the floor to get the pipe going in the right direction, was worth it though, the pressure in the loft is only slightly less than the first floor bathroom.

Avast is an anti-virus solution. How do you know your anti-virus is working? Just because it is giving you a report doesn't mean it is protecting you. Any anti virus can only protect against stuff it knows about.

I use Avast and have done for years, not had any issues

We are looking at fitting some sliding windows in our kitchen to make it easier for my wife to open them, has anyone done this? Would you recommend the company you used? Thanks

I'm looking to add some bi-fold doors to my shiny new kitchen extension, has anyone got any recommendations? Currently considering: ukbifold.co.uk foldingslidingdoors.com sunfold.com solarlux.com anyone got any experience with any of these or other recommendations?

It's always going to be cheaper to buy the phone and then get a sim only deal. I bought an iPhone 6 for ~?500 and then got a sim only 4G deal with EE for ?13/month - when I worked it out I saved in the region of ?300 over 2 years. If you can afford the upfront cost it's deffo the way to go

I was going to move to Brockley but what put me off was that when the train pulls in you have very little chance of getting on in rush hour because it's so busy...it's standing room only at Sydenham so 3 stations later you have no chance (unless you are VERY thin). Obviously if you don't commute then it's irrelevant :-)

West Norwood is a toilet. I lived there for 11 years until 2013 and moving out was the best decision I ever made. People are attracted to the Victorian houses and the lower prices but it's not worth it. Highlights while I lived there included a disabled man beaten unconscious outside the station in broad daylight, a man dressed as Santa on his way to deliver presents to a children's home being mugged for his sack, and my house being burgled 7 times in a year. Do them a favour and advise them to find somewhere else, the transport isn't even good. Why don't they look at Sydenham?

I don't see the point of sealed bids...estate agents will always try to wring every last penny out of a buyer so if someone else comes along later and offers more then the winner of the bid will get asked for more or lose the house anyway. Not like it's legally binding or anything.

I would recommend you go to PC World or Currys or somewhere like that and take a look at some in the flesh. I have a Vaio and they pretty solidly built but my wife bought a Samsung online and it feels very flimsy in comparison.

I just made blackcurrant gin and didn't bother sterilizing the bottles but then again it tasted so good I drank the whole lot in under 2 weeks :-)

When my wife was pregnant we bought one as we knew we would probably be having a second child, it was less than ?40 so cheaper than hiring it twice plus it's good for my bad back :-) Amazon do quite a lot: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_4?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=tens+machine&sprefix=tens%2Caps%2C152

If you ever want to sell it you will need a Certificate of Lawfulness even if it doesn't need planning permission

I have a gadget called a FoxWatch that I have been using for 8 years now, takes a month or two to work but haven't seen any of the ginger bast*rds in my garden since I got it!

You only need planning permission for a classified road, Lordship Lane would definitely be classified but a residential street probably isn't.

They have to prove it's your car and if they can't then you don't have to pay. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.

I'm all for following the process but they are parking in their front garden not on the pavement and if they didn't use it until the kerb was dropped they would be parking in front of it so you would still not have that space. In fact it sounds like you are in a better position at the moment if the council will add double yellows either side when it does get dropped.

I don't think you get notified, I have never been and neighbours on both sides have had it done. Techniclly they are not allowed to cross the pavement - I had a flat once that had parking but no dropped kerb and the council threatened to place a bollard in front of the parking spot to stopp me using it, luckily i sold the flat before it got to that. Again, yes, unless it's got restrictions. BUT.....why do you care so much or do you just like picking fights and sticking your nose in?

Maybe he should take up some sort of martial art, they are generally friendly, it's a good work out, and he will gain some confidence.

shaving, wiping your bum, doing up buttons, writing, pretty much everything!

A mole is a bit of kit that they use to bore a hole from the street to your house without having to dig a trench, cheaper and less messy