riggsy

Matthew and team did a fantastic job on my house - a full renovation (including some funky structural work that required thought and changes made to our architect plans / discussion with Building Control). Always very responsive, polite and trustworthy, We lived in whilst they did the work and they worked around us - they were always polite, tidy and I found Matthew, Andras and team to be good, decent, trustworthy people. I've since had them back in to do another small project for me and will do so again next year. I thoroughly recommend them.

Trying to find a pub in ED that is showing the Tyson Fury fight tonight, anyone know? Cheers Dan

Seems hard to get hold of an electrician these days - contacted a few and either get no response or a response saying "sorry, not now" Looking for someone to fit an internal light, move a few spotlights, move a socket or two, fit external security lights etc Any recommendations? Or any electricians out there able to squeeze these jobs in over the next 2/3 weeks please get in touch Thanks Dan

What struck me, and from what I hear, is that it's the de-humanising of the whole process that causes so many of the issues. My family hit hard times growing up, my mum was on benefits and we were in social housing but we could always make our case, had understanding and our situation was considered uniquely ie we wasn't some generic client or number in a queue whereas that seems to be more the case today The other thing the film raised was just the level of poverty that you can find yourself in so quickly, the struggling parent trying to feed her children and relying on food banks...Food banks are inundated in this country and their use is growing exponentially, only this week I read an article that a quarter of nurses have used food banks.

Saw this very moving / sad film last night called ?I, Daniel Blake?; I think it should be compulsory viewing ? for me personally it was definitely a reality check and shook me out of my little bubble. It?s hard going but I?m so keen for as many people to see the film. I can't stop thinking about it 24hours later... If you were not planning on seeing this then maybe as a nudge, for the first 5 people that watch it and send to me what the cost of their cinema ticket was then I'll total it all up, double it and donate that sum to the nearest local food bank. just a gesture but its a start. Dan

Afteroon all My wife and i are going through the joyful process of finding a suitable loft company; all are pushing the L-shape extension that gives the possibility of 2 bedrooms plus small bathroom in the loft space. We live in a 3 bed (2 doubles and small double/single to the rear), 1000sqft victorian terrace house and this second loft bedroom would be a smallish double over the back part of the house and would entail us lowering / squaring off the ceiling in the current first floor bathroom and back bedroom. I'm just strugling to know what the eventual finished job would like like and how these rooms with the lower ceilings will feel. If anyone has done a similar job to this and would be happy showing off their loft conversion to us we would be eternally grateful? (and happy to repay said kindness with cake / wine) Many thanks Dan

I've lived in East Dulwich for 3 years now and used a number of tradesmen over this time. Selfishly i've been keeping all the good ones to myself but thought I would be nice and put a list of some of my favourites who have been tried and tested by me. I hope this helps BATHROOM/KITCHEN/BUILDING WORK Aqua-Build (Main contact is Robert: 07543 366231) Cannot rate this company highly enough. Over the past 18 months I?ve used them twice ? once for a complete bathroom refit and the other for a major kitchen development. Both jobs were completed to the highest possible standard for a very reasonable price. The workmen were very reliable, clean, trustworthy and always on time. Robert is a great bloke, always there to give you advice and to let you know how things are progressing ? I completely trust this man and will always use him & Aqua-Build for future work. PLUMBING (Nico: 07818 607583) Nico is great, if ever you need anything plumbing related just give this guy a call. I?ve used him for lots of little jobs over the past year ? he is a very personable guy, will always try and fit your job in (he works crazy hours!) and the price is great. Everyone should have Nico on speed dial ROOFING: McCann Roofing (Main contact is Caswell ?Cas? McCann: 07986 447893) Our roof needed some attention at the end of last year ? new lead, rendering, some tiles fixed in place, stopping a leak etc ? we had a few quotes but Cas was competitively priced and happy to work around his schedule to fit the job in. He was great throughout the whole process, I felt in safe hands and was very pleased with the finished job. If you are undertaking any roofing work I would definitely consider getting a quote from Cas GARDENING Anewgarden (Main contact Stephen: 07863 108266) I?ve used this company twice ? once to beautify the front of the house (lovely limestone paving with a Victorian mosaic pathway) and then last year to funk up my back garden with a bespoke design. Both jobs look great, and I have no hesitation in recommending Anewgarden. Stephen has been doing this for years and so he is happy to help form the design stage / recommend things you might not have thought about? Kind regards Dan

Hello all I'm one of those new generation of blokes that just doesn't have any clue when it comes to matters DIY but hoping some kind soul out there can guide me in the right direction. My wife and I live in a lovely 3 bed terrace but the 3rd bedroom is tiny because of the chimney stack - we want to remove this and, with the neighbour's consent, the shared stack above the roof line (note this is the back chimney i.e. not the one that goes through the loft). We also want to go the full hog and remove the rest of the chimney downstairs into the kitchen and redesign and fit something new, add a window or two and big folding doors onto the v.v.v.v. small back garden. Basically I haven't a clue where to start - essentially if the Chimney is a no go then may need to rethink everything but should I get a structural engineer round to assess this? do I simply get a builder in to advise on whether this is/or not possible and for all the design work do you need to appoint surveyors/architects or again do the builders do all of this? Realise I need to get party wall agreements and so forth but at this stage I just want a wise head to have a look at all this and tell me if it is possible and what steps to follow. Anyone done anything similar and can pass on some wise words/advise/recommendation for me? Best response gets a Riggsy beer voucher to be redeemed at any East Dulwich pub! Thanks all