fazer71

Why would you want to use an expensive problem material of questionable quality and source like Wood when a better material like UPVC is available? New UPVC sash windows look exactly the same as Wood, only without all the problems costs and maintance issues. Talking Nonsense ... If you want to stay in the Victorian Era then you need coal fires gas lighting and an outside Loo ... etc Get with the times and save yourself potentially tens of thousands ... of .. ?????

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "UPVC is a no brainer" > > But it looks naff. Not these days I put on the back of my flat but I would have them on the front. You can see exactly the same on a house in Adys Rd top end LH side near Oglander I can't remember the number but they are exactly the same as mine. They have all the detailing of the timber windows chrome pull handles and lifters. Really a 100% no brainer. Unless you sit with your nose up against them 24/7 and caress them all day long. Once they?re in you just get on with living?? and they blend in to your life and I love the not having to paint them the most?. Timber very overrated in 2012.

Brixton has some of the best examples of large Victorian houses in South London as does Lewisham.

Dmlt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I could pay alot less for many things i own and > use but usually in the long run paying less will > cost more? Not in this instance. UPVC is a no brainer you'll still save the energy (heating loss) cost and on top of that you'll NEVER EVER need to pay some useless decorator to paint them every three years or risk them rotting even if they are hard wood. Refurbishing the original sash is the cheapest the price saving on single to double glazing is very small it would take many years to recoupe the energy saving even with an average expected 5% inflation and compounding?. Say it?s ?100 per refurb that?s a ?900 saving per sash. On a flat with 4 front sashes that?s a saving of ?3,600. A rough calculation from memory was it would take 40-60 years to break even. With energy price inflation at 3-6% PA. From memory?. I don?t have the spread sheet anymore. Half that time with UPVC. Draft proof and refurbish the single glazed units is a no brainer. The only real benefit in going from repairable single to double glazing is no condensation on the inside.

I explained to an American business colleague about the Concrete House its basic flaws as he was in construction in US. He said "Buddy sounds like they're trying to repair a cracked china plate that no one wants to eat from?.

We now know what the future is. Surely the past needs investigation and naming and shaming Would be interested to know exactly how much this has cost Southwark tax payers and wether we will find out the names of the Southwark councilors and employees who made the original decision of the underhanded sale of the concrete house. A lot of public accountability needed here! As for the flats I don't see a problem 4,5,6 or 26 we need flats and it looks like they fit in there fine so why would we care? What is the problem with the Southwark planning department it's ok for a housing association to build a 100 of the ugliest flats we've ever had the misfortune to see but if a developer wants to build 6 flats on a site of the same size everyone goes mental!

If it had been properly build, would have taken much much more than a badly driven wheelie bin to take that down.

It always surprises me how those little smart cars are left alone . If they were in France Spain or even Germany I think they'd be set on fire or have buckets of paint poured over them at the very least! We're a soft touch we can't even be bothered to fight a fine for a questionable photo of a supposed contravention from the local Tonton Macoute...... Working for papadoc Southwark .... Truly shameful ...

sunbob Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A blue circular sign is a positive order. Ie you > must be a pedestrian or cyclist (and nothing else) > to enter. That's the most stupid sign I've ever seen. Peckham Rye is a high street what is the point of a sign saying pedestrian and cyclists (and nothing else) to enter then next to it another sign showing a motorcycle and a car does that mean cars and motorcycles (and nothing else) to enter . When there was a no entry sign and an except buses sign it was clear ...... maybe I?m wrong but to me it looks likely to cause confusion and that confusion would translate into a camera catching a confused driver and resulting in a fine. If that is so it appears to be a money making change in the signage do we want our council to carry out that kind of process on our behalf "they are there to serve us??? Not there make us stressed confused and entrap us into being fined. There is a similar issue at the Hearne Hill when turning right at the traffic light junction from Half moon lane turning right into milkwook road. Lambeth council sit a smart camera car on milkwood road to catch anyone turning up milkwood the signage is very unclear as it shows left only at the lights but there isn?t a no entry sign or no right turn sign just a left turn sign which appears to end before milkwood rd. So many cars turn up milk wood if they placed a no right turn or no entry sign then it would be clear. But nooo they confuse and have a smart car camera car there and 3 years after the junction was altered they still catch several drivers fining them ?120 for what has been setup to confuse rather than guide. Rye lane signage looks like to be the same disgusting thought process. To generate fines ?

If the boxes are still there then you could just get the sashes and sill renewed rather than replace the whole window there's not a lot to be gained by installing double glazing it'll take 40years to recoupe the energy savings for the extra ?800 cost.

?1,000 max fitted double glazed timber sash. I got upvc sash for the rear on my flat which are excellent and were just under ?500 fitted I would say on the front put timber on the rear upvc. Compared to timber upvc don't need painting and to clean the outside you just push a couple of bullhorns and they fold in to clean totally brilliant. Nice chrome handles and locks etc. I've seen upvc fitted to the front of houses and they look good but only if they are all changed. If the victorians were building today they'd use upvc..

There is also an "order" sign ie blue circular sign saying no pedestrians or cyclists to the entrance of rye lane. ....? Wft everyone understood the no entry sign with an except buses sign below it ... Also I still don't understand why the one way system was changed how long before it goes back to being a one way system? The constant tinkering with the roads is a complete waste of our money!

Pugwash Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If there is a bus at the Elsie Road stop > 9/10 times a car cannot overtake so a build up. > Equally some extra build up by Melbourne Grove Don't you know apparently more people travel by bus than any other vehicle in London. This gives Buses the right to stop all other traffic whilst they load up with the thousands and thousands of passengers they collect at every bus stop. So bus stops stick out into the road and cause all other vehicles a mobile obstruction it?s not good enough that they have their own dedicated lanes and traffic lights phased to allow buses through whilst causing tail backs for other vehicles. TFL has complete control over the roads of london. All the millions of bus users and those delightfully careful bus drivers who not content with having traffic lights their own lanes and stops which mean they don?t need to turn the sterring wheel for anyting other than turning a corner ? which the struggle with often crossing lanes? etc etc ?.. The balance of power has gone too far in the direction of TFL ?. It was a great experiment and it works fine from 7am to 10am and 4 pm to 7pm Is there really any justicfication for all the 24hr bus lanes why can?t busses just pull into the curb to collect passengers ????? Woolworth road is a joke Peckham Rye is a Joke ?. The No entry sign at Peckham Rye has been replaced with a confusing blue circular sign? Is it to confuse non locals?

It's interesting the government are starting to discuss cash payments to tradesmen for a discount and vat avoidance. Most tradesmen just pocket the vat. The old do you want to pay the vat? When they're not even vat registered and then you get a receipt which just shows a total saying "inclusive" inclusive of what? Not vat that's for sure yet you'll be billed 20% onto of the original quote. I'm surprised the vat man and the tax man don't have a web site to report these crooks. The uk shady building business. Why doesn't the government just make the banks who they now "own" make all customers have a P account so that if we pay someone builders etc for services then we as the paying customer can select to pay into their P account that way the tax man would know and the tax could be collected. A simple system which would then clean up the building trade.... On property price sanity ... All the crap houses are adjusting their prices but still nothing of any quality appearin maybe after the Olympics and summer holidays there'll be more choice, probably more ED shabby tat...

dulwichbeekeeper Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Can wait for all this crap to be over Me2

How about this you can drive a car in a bus lane but it must be have its full compliment of adult passengers otherwise it's a fine or non bus lane. I'd get rid of traffic lights, make all junctions roundabouts. Is anyone else getting sick of seeing these little smart cars on LL with their periscope cameras catching parking offenders rather than seeing the traffic warden ?who?s sitting in the smart car out on his feet walking up to the offending cars and making them move on? ????? If the fact the cars are parked is such a problem that it warrants a fine the shouldn?t they be moved on a quickly as possible and also get a fine???? It looks a lot like entrapment to me when there allow one car there will soon be another thinking it ok to park and hip hip hurrah Southwark get?s another ?50+ quid?. Southwark council it's roads and parking team are a disgrace?

Wrong ... where on earth did you get those figures the green party dream sheet? There are more people traveling in London within the M25 and Central London by car and van that bus, every day of every week of every year. The balance of power has gone too far towards busses. Even if your figures were correct how does that justify 24hr bus lanes which see a bus every 30 mins during non rush hour periods. It makes no sense. At least LL has a sensible format for bus lanes but that still doesn't justify the nonsense that is the phasing of the lights at peckham rye.. and the car ban on rye lane, come to which the new signage at the entrance to rye lane appears to working well at generating fines as the no entry signs have been removed and replaced with a new blue disc sign which I have seen catching out visitors to the area... an absolute disgrace the old no entry sign worked and there was no need to replace it with a vague sign clearly aimed at catching drivers out. my guess is the sign cost ?300 to replace and has probably generated ?3,000 in fines so that's a good thing for Southwark but a bad thing for visitors LOVELY SOUTHWARK "sh?"T disgusting hole council of the SE." only LAMBETH are worst bunch of CUNTS"

Far more people in london travel in other vehicles than by bus the numbers don't stack up they never have! Every attempt to get car drivers into busses have failed now we are seeing a restriction in parking spaces and a system of traffic lights bus lanes and other systems to slow all traffic bar bus traffic to a crawl in an attempt to convince car drivers to jump on a bus it's an experiment which has been going on for 20years and it has failed! The spill over from all this is cars speeding down back roads and desolation of most high streets in favour of supermarkets and out of town shopping centres. It only benefits a few whilst the ved tax council tax and fuel tax paying members of society are shat of from every direction. The world turned upside down! I'm not against buses just against the insane systems which tfl have been allowed to introduce which are causing major problems to the london road network at the expense of every road user what benefit is there for a bus to get to its destination 2 minutes faster whilst causing all other road users a delay of 10 minutes that is just potty!

the-e-dealer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Maybe its the Age of the Pedestrian. Yea exactly.... Tax payers paying VED and Fuel TAX and Council TAX Get Sweet F A just a load more grief speed humps and pot holed roads destroying our cars. James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > But I do need some new glasses frames. Touch? Maybe I?m stuck in the 80?s a time before the road madness of bus lanes and restricted parking and alpine terrain and the London local obstacle course. I see plenty of room to create more parking around ED. Are you saying betty31 is wrong about Grove Vale? Goose Green roundabout has been slow since the ?upgraded? curbs and crossings nothing to do with increased volume of traffic. But then we do have a bit of a major problem... 1/2 the main roads have gone ?bus lanes have 1/2 eaten up? that together with the traffic light phasing to allow dozens of busses through and then one or two cars if they?re lucky it?s no surprise the roads feel clogged up and frustratingly slow. Thing is the effect of the continued messing around just makes the problems worst. Peckham one way system changes have made little difference to traffic flow and have cost a fortune WHY this constant dabbling with the roads? It would make more sense if that money was spent to create more parking. James isn?t the honest truth Southwark?s policy is to reduce parking availability where ever possible to increase parking fine revenue and push us towards fewer cars? I remember when a few years back we had the bus strikes how empty the roads were it was heaven! Now it?s not enough for the busses to have bus lanes, phased lights they are also incredibly aggressive most of them drive like total nutters. Insane?.

James are you blind? All of them! The double and single yellow lines are creeping further and further around each and every corner, many main roads are going the way of grove vale with ridiculous speed ramps and jutting out curbs and more and more double yellow lines. On Lordship Lane there are parking bays which are setup for 2.5 cars where there is room for 3. Prior to the crossing at the Coop the parking was limited at many points on LL after the crossing a number of extra bays were miraculously found where double yellow lines had been before? LL and ED grove are a complete mess more and more useless expensive signage and narrowing chicanes making our area feel more and more enclosed and that?s not just for vehicles. The Goose Green Roundabout has become slower and slower to and the frustration is ending up in the side streets like Melbourne Grove creating rat runs due to the poor management of traffic on the main roads. Maybe you need to go to spec savers ?.

the-e-dealer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What about a residents parking scheme. hehehe Joking aside, well maybe not ?. it is quite incredible how the number of parking spaces appears to be deminishing quicker than the human eye every ? dozen months or so. Is it a master plan to get more parking tickets issued? Is it a master plan to reduce the population of ED? Is it a master plan to reduce car ownership? Is it a master plan to force us towards a CPZ? We need Hong Kong Phooey to sort this out it?s a mystery. Has there been any change in the pedestrian accident totals for ED? Maybe the number one super guy could answer that one too? Because I can see absolutely, ZERO benefit to any / all residents of ED in this absurd reduction in available parking with islands jutting out into the road with alpine like speedbumps either side. Well it does keep the council roads team busy spending all of their nice BIG budget which they won?t want to lose by not spending and also keeps the contractors busy chargning double and the extra annual repairs paid for by US for eternity. Madness??. And stress for us generous locals who finance it lovely Lucky us ....

If what dwhite11 says about the original sale to Mr Chandra is correct and given Southwark?s previous behaviour ?there is a very very high probability it is correct. dwhite11 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Council sold the concrete house > after owning the building for over 15 years and > allowing it fall into disrepair and deteriorate > significantly under their own ownership. > Subsequently, they presumably realised they did > not want to have to deal with it, and realising a > developer would not purchase it with knowledge of > its imminent grade 2 listing; decided to omit that > information and pursue a quick sale. heritage carers what matters is what happened up to and including the underhanded Southwark sale. From that moment onwards it is no surprise the new owner/s behaved as they did anyone caught in such an unreasonable situation would have done the same. Who in their right minds would enter into such a loss making deal? I wonder who in Southwark Council at that time made the ?smart? decision to sell? A bunch of elected politicians sitting on some committee no doubt with a 4 year view! It?s a pity the council doesn?t have a duty of care in all their dealings. As a public organisation they should behave in a reasonable manner but yet again we see them behaving like a greedy arrogant multinational without a care for those who they serve and with underhanded dealings with those they do business with. Southwark agenda appears be ?Southwark Council workers and elected politicians making your lives more stressful and more expensive, whilst lining their pockets and doing the wrong thing? Will those who made that disgraceful decision suffer any consequences? Highly unlikely. Will the likes of heritage mentalists keep bleating on and on and on? Highly likely?.

KY Lordship Lane ....

It's a know side effect of speed bumps combined with roundabouts and zebra crossings that drivers become overloaded and frustrated at the slow progress which then causes them to rush through crossings they develop blurred vision as their brains become saturated with all the signs and restrictions along with the frustration. Driving in and around ED is becoming more and more of an mission a lot like playing a video game avoiding pot holes dodging speed bumps avoiding jutting out curbs and roundabouts keeping out of bus lanes and watching for pedestrians at zebra crossings. All that ends up with drivers speeding when they come across an open stretch they can?t help it its human nature. What?s the solution ?..? More speed bumps and restrictions ??. Or as in Holland remove all signs and crossings reduce speed on side roads and have police enforcement teams catching speeders. The question is which option costs more and which is more effective? Apparently it?s cheaper to pay the police ?who are already being paid? and stop paying the road signage speed hump crossing curb ? companies. But we?re so tied into the contracts with Conway etc that common sense will never prevail. Bring on more and more expensive traffic calming measures with the signs and all the increased maintenance of all that rubbish ?. Forget concentrating on pot holes and keeping the traffic flowing. More one way systems yea that?ll really keep mental mini cabs speed down NOT !!!!!

Um in my experience I always end up at the high quality price so I'm looking at ?250k which is what I've budgeted for. Extension loft new roof and a complete internal update with new wiring plumbing kitchen bathrooms redecorate some trick lighting under floor heating etc. I just don't know if I can face all the agro. Also there's a problem I'll spend all that money time, effort and money and the house will be worth ?100k less than its cost me, which brings us back to house price sanity at least where crappy old house prices are concerned the numbers don't add up. No wonder there aren't many high end nice houses on the mkt everyone is waiting for the prices to catch up with what they've ended up costing on that basis those houses are cheap and the crapy ones are expensive or the cost of the building work is too high for ED it's ok for multimillion pound areas we just need for prices to go higher which again would make prices appear to be cheap because it would cost the same for building work on a similar house in a cheaper area. Crazy uk prices... Make no sense.