Sue

katanita Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I use Just Snipe https://www.justsnipe.com/. It's > a pretty basic site, but it works, and gives you > several free credits a month. xxxxxx I also use Just Snipe. It's very easy to use, and very effective, though a bit heart-stopping at the end of the auction if you're actually there to watch what's happening! I don't have any moral issues with it at all because I do think sellers/their friends can easily deliberately push the bidding up when they can see who's bidding what, plus as somebody said above, the seller can always set a reserve. It's much easier than manually sniping because then you have to be sure to be around at the end of the auction, which may not be convenient. And also to press the right keys at the right time! If during the bidding the price goes over what you've put into Just Snipe, you have the option to increase your bid on the sniping website, which I have occasionally done. Obviously you have to be careful not to be carried away, but that's the same with bidding in an auction at all!

pollys Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Three weeks ago a card for > our seven year old with birthday money from an > older relative in it arrived open and the money > missing. And another card with a birthday tenner > from another granny didn't even turn up. xxxxxxxx Did you report both these? Royal Mail take this kind of thing very seriously. Their monthly staff paper, Courier, includes a section on posties who have been successfully prosecuted for this kind of theft, presumably to deter the rest. But if thefts aren't reported, Royal Mail's Investigation Department can't investigate! Although you are unlikely to get the money back (because Royal Mail always make it clear that money should not be sent in the normal post but by a secure service such as RMSD, which includes insurance), reporting it at least makes it a little bit more likely that the thief may be caught and the same thing won't happen to anybody else. And I know it shouldn't be necessary, but maybe ask the Granny and other relative to do a bank transfer to your bank account next time, and you give the cash to your child? I know, I know ..... Edited to add: Sorry, RMSD is Royal Mail Special Delivery.

Thanks for all the very helpful advice. I know I know re floorboards in the kitchen but hey they may well outlast me and after that I don't really care :)) Worktops I'm looking at hardwood but something not too dark in colour. Can't remember the technical term but the kind that comes in whole lengths rather than lots of little rectangles stuck together. Might consider a light coloured stone or corian, but I don't want anything too "cold" or clinical looking. Yes it will be painted wooden units. Budget - not entirely sure as I've only had one quote so far, and that didn't include everything which needs doing. Definitely not top end, however, but not rock bottom end flimsy stuff either. Hope to actually get the ******* thing done this year, has been put off for four years now due to an unhealthy mixture of stress, fear of employing the wrong people again, and indecisiveness on my part :))

Thanks, I'll have another look!

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sue Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > OK you brilliant kitchen people, another > > question! > > > > The builder who told me I couldn't have > > floorboards over concrete also told me I > couldn't > > have a window down to the level of the sink > > because "water would go behind the taps and sit > on > > the work surface, that's why you have a > > splashback". > > Quotes like this really bug me about your average > British builder. You're the customer and so you > can have whatever you want really provided you > know what that is. It sounds like your typical fob > off because knocking out a window is extra work > and may involve another skill set. Very few > things are technically impossible. Some are > inadvisable for practical reasons but, within > reason, this doesn't sound like one of them! > > You've had a bad experience previously but I'm > sure there might be someone who does architecture > or design on this friendly forum who could give > you an initial view if you send them a few pics. xxxxxxx I haven't really got very far with this yet - I contacted a kitchen designer/fitter who had been highly recommended on here, and he asked one of the builders he uses to come and have a look at the floor/window. I must admit I was very very put off because the impression I got was that he had a "can't do" attitude instead of a "can do" (in a positive "can do" way, I mean, not saying he could do things which he couldn't!) Given that this kitchen is going to mean my spending a very large chunk of my pension lump sum, I am determined that I'll get what I want unless it really is physically impossible to do or else costs a disproportionate amount of money! He did suggest I had a slightly larger window than I have, which would come to a tile's depth above the work surface, so it wasn't a question of not wanting extra work (and anyway he hadn't given me a quote), however I can't see any point in spending money just to have a slightly larger window - except to put in double glazing, but I wouldn't replace the window just to do that).

Huggers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You said you hate laminate, but have you > discovered real lino? it's wonderful but very > expensive. > how about two windows? xxxxxx I know real lino is very lovely, my daughter has it in her bathroom in a sunny yellow shade. However her bathroom is a hell of a lot smaller than my kitchen, in which it would cost a fortune! My main criterion in the kitchen is to match the floor with the rest of the house, otherwise there are many possibilities! I already have a bay window at the other end of the room, however that just looks onto a wall with climbers on. I'm not sure what you mean by two windows? In fact at present there are three at the end behind the sink, I'm not that bothered about the number of windows, just the total expanse of glass so that I can see as much of my garden as possible.

OK you brilliant kitchen people, another question! The builder who told me I couldn't have floorboards over concrete also told me I couldn't have a window down to the level of the sink because "water would go behind the taps and sit on the work surface, that's why you have a splashback". Since then I've been noticing where the water goes when the taps are running, and I've never seen any go behind the taps .... Any thoughts? At present, my kitchen window is the only one in the house which I can see my garden from, grammar, so I want to make it as big as possible. At present it's quite small. I can't see any way to have a sliding glass door there without a massive redesign/rebuilding work, which I don't want to do.

red devil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > If you go for units with a fascia/kick plate, then > you just need to run your new floor finish beyond > the back of the fascia, usually just short of the > legs that support the units. These legs are > adjustable so will take up any difference in the > level... xxxxxxxx Yes I think that's what I will do probably, thanks.

Huggers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > my floorboards were painted with a diluted > emulsion,(something basic like dulux fern green I > think) when dry they were lightly sanded so the > grain showed very slightly and then varnished. The > result is hardwearing and attractive. I attach pic > for your interest. Taken before we finished > decorating it and still with junk in the garden so > looks much brighter now. xxxxxxx That's a good idea! I really wish I had used somebody with experience of doing this kind of thing, but sadly I didn't and now have to live with the results. Or at least I don't have to, but I don't want to pay out to have all the bad bits done again (living room, hall, stairs and landing), so it's having to wait till I've got time to redo it myself, hollow laugh, ie probably never! At least some of the worst bits can be covered by rugs .....

Salsaboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would go for running the new boards right under > the kitchen units. No step to get a washing > machine/dishwasher over if you need to pull it > out. xxxxxxx Good point - though I think they're going to be integrated so they probably wouldn't pull out in quite the same way. My present washing machine is about thirty years old so I don't feel too bad about investing in a new one, particularly as the lock no longer works and I've flooded the kitchen several times by opening the door before it's finished! The dishwasher is relatively new (ie about ten years old :)) ) but I may sell that. Sadly apparently they're different widths to built-in ones, otherwise I would have kept it and just stored an extra door somewhere for when the existing dishwasher went to dishwasher heaven and I had to get a new one. All still at the drawing board stage, however.

My kitchen is a kitchen/diner as it's quite big, but it isn't connected to another room (only the hall), and the whole of the room presently has a concrete floor (with vinyl laid on top - which must be well over twenty years old :))). The floorboards throughout the rest of the house are painted white (with varying degrees of efficiency depending on who did them :))), so matching the wood won't be a problem as I'll be painting it. Not very practical in a kitchen I know, but hey ho. I'm happy to have a small step up from the hall to the kitchen, and I certainly think that is preferable to doing a major excavation job on the concrete, quite apart from pissing off the neighbours :)) However I do wonder what will happen re the kitchen units, as I'm having new units. Will the old units have to be removed and the floorboards laid throughout the kitchen before the new units are installed, or will it be possible to retain the old floor level underneath the new units, if you see what I mean? As is obvious, I am totally useless at getting my head round all this :)) It's happily clear that I won't need to go down the laminate route, however, hooray!! Thanks everyone!!

Why has my post been removed? Is it against forum policy to point out hypocrisy?

Pity you didn't practice what you preached before posting false and serious accusations about me on this very forum, DJKQ.

red devil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ...you could also use them to carry hundreds of > snails to a place of safety xxxxxxx You've sold it to me :))

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- Southwark have > announced that theyre procurement excercise came > up with cheaper prices than the pan London > procurement excercise. xxxxxxx Great in theory, but it always worries me when cost seems to be the main/only criterion. Hopefully that isn't the case here, but you wonder what corners might be cut to make sure your tender comes in cheapest ......

Thanks all, very helpful :)

I have a concrete kitchen floor. I want to lay floorboards over it. I realise there will be a step up due to the level change, but is this feasible? Will it be too high due to needing joists, for example? Laminate has been suggested but a) I hate laminate and b) It won't match the rest of the house. Any ideas?

My point exactly! The other florist can't be exactly delighted, if this is true.

bonaome Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Curmudgeon Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Really? > > > > Was open last weekend > > > > What a shame... They were a little hit and miss > > but pleasant > > They've moved the shop up the Plough end of the > Lane. There's a note in the window with the > details. xxxxxxx That's strange, because there's a florist there already - on the corner opposite the library .....

the-e-dealer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sounds Like a Fringe event to me! xxxxxx A hairdresser, then?!

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Ted was a lovely heartwarming movie, Aquarius Moon :)

Gingerbeer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > steveo Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Does anyone use butter? > > > I couldn't even look at it for 2 years afterward. > Traumatizing. xxxxxx :))

ED - NAGAIUTB Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >> > civilservant - what a sanctimonious s**t you are. xxxxxx And that post says rather more about you than it says about civilservant .....

What, this? http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1022669