www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hi,

Moving into our dream bungalow 27 years ago Bron and I had taken out a maximum mortgage leaving us little by way of spare money for home improvements; nothing unusual in this as many couples do the same. However six weeks in our dream home we suffered a mid summer cloudburst which brought part of two ceilings down; not to worry we were insured paying rip off prices through the mortgage lender to Legal & General insurance company. The loss adjuster eventually arrived and a few days late we were told to get lost because the problem was down to lack of maintenance and not only did the ceilings require replacing the entire roof over the bungalow and the two roomed extension roof needed replacing as well. We had no money to fight not trusting solicitors anyway and we could not borrow more money and we didn't have funds in place for the estimated £6,500 re-roofing. We lived with buckets and bowls collecting water for 18 months whilst we took extra jobs on to save for materials. Without any outside help whatsoever we researched roofing then installed the roofs ourselves. Thank you for nothing Legal & General; we now don't have any insurance cover on our home; if it falls down we will rebuild it.

Having finally got the roofs sorted and new ceilings installed also doing the ceilings ourselves were broke once again but now we had a little cash to spare each week. Through my work I was in regular contact with the owner of a large timber yard and could buy hardwood offcuts cheaply; by now I had bought scrap woodworking machines such as saw table and surface planer rebuilding these machines very cheaply; we also had a Citroen 2CV so things were starting to come together at last. I would buy a car load of offcuts handing over £20; the offcuts were indeed offcuts and came in unusual sizes mostly of Meranti.

My plan was to install a fully fitted kitchen made mostly of these offcuts; it only took another 20 years or so because the kitchen has evolved over this time; I've done the work as money and time permitted whilst I worked in a highly stressful job. I had restored a vintage cast iron surface planer and bought a plate attachment which converted it into a very crude thicknesser; it was incredibly hard graft feeding timber through this but in fairness it dimensioned the timber; the table saw was very old; another beast in cast iron which I converted from fast and loose pulleys by installing a single phase motor. No dust extraction so whilst machining it created a fog in the garage; I wore one of the Martindale masks and each time I removed the mask its shape was clearly seen on my face; it also grew darker as machining progressed due to dust build up on my glasses; it never occurred to me to quit and walk away from this kitchen job.

The original kitchen units were horrible being made of Sapele; the finish was varnish but applied without the timber being smoothed hence it could take skin from our hands it was so rough. Little by little the kitchen progressed through fierce determination on my part and patience on Bron's part. One full height from floor to ceiling cupboard had upper and lower sliding doors; the upper doors were dangerous in that they were heavy block board and would detach from the track coming crashing to the floor.

I beamed the ceiling; there was an original extractor fan so I designed the cooker hood around this; Bron bought me a Freud biscuit jointer and a Record Power DML24" lathe as Christmas presents and both these were put to good use. As the basics went in I started to become a bit more creative and once all the base and wall units were installed (internal Contiplas shelves) the cooker hood went in and I then designed and made a fancy spindled gallery shelf to hold display plates; each small spindle being turned on the DML lathe. The shelf is double thickness of 3/4" softwood moulded at the front edges the top being a bit wider than the bottom and faced allowing tiles to be added; complementing tiles were added to the cooker hood.

The dreadful sliding doors were replaced by a pair of standard sized side hung doors which I made from more Meranti and added fielded and raised panels; above the doors to ceiling was plaster boarded and skimmed. The cooker unit was cheap imitation wood Contiplas and I didn't fancy trying to remove the built in oven on my own and disrupt the cooking arrangements whilst doing so; I added new facing to the cooker unit. Bron always wanted a nice Welsh dresser so I made her a bespoke one to slot into the wall gap between oven and wall units making the dresser full height to the ceiling.

The last job I did a few years ago was to add wall panelling by the cooker. and I made two new full sized doors but glazed the upper sections in safety glass to let some light in. As money became more available I actually bought some Meranti boards. Plywood I had to buy throughout this being 1/4". The kitchen unit doors and panelling are Meranti frames with plywood panels but rather than leaving the panels plain I added interest by running grooves to imitate individual boards; the grooves were hard work because each groove was a case of clamping a batten as a straightedge guide then carefully running the front teeth of a tenon saw against the plywood until the teeth cut through the outer ply; there is nothing like blisters on hands to cheer a job up but the end result has been worth it. The edges of each groove were hand sanded using folded abrasive paper to soften them.

All timber and plywood was subjected to staining in dark oak then varnished using a brush this also applied to the softwood beams. Work surfaces were very carefully measured and cut to accept the sink and hob. New spotlights and centre pendant were wired in by me as were all power sockets.

Our kitchen looks good and is made to last; it's been a true labour of love but it is a genuine fitted kitchen; Bron loves it and it's a welcoming place to be in with a good feel factor and warmth to it. It's of a style and materials which never date. Over the 20 years installing it the hardest part was lack of funds; my restored machines have been replaced by better and more user friendly machines but even these newer machines have been restored by me.

One major blessing is my lovely wife Bron who never complains and is always by my side with encouragement rather than criticism and she isn't a demanding wife who wants every modern convenience immediately; we work together and discuss what we want to achieve, Bron is very artistic and adds the feminine touches like choosing colours; adding pictures and decorations; I'm colour blind so Bron is a huge help.

I've also made a lot of our furniture both free standing and fitted costing very little monetary wise; now we have money I've no intention of ever giving up doing jobs myself the main problem now is our dire climate.

I took the pictures last night so they are a bit dark with a washing machine reflection in the oven door glass but if I had taken then today they would still be dark because it's like a black hole outside with high wind and lashing rain; this is why I'm here adding my kitchen story which I hope is of interest.

Kind regards, Col.

Your work as ever is admirable R. I understand your mistrust of insurance companies also but surely you shouod have some cover for your lovely home ?it may not fall down but fire is a reality.I don't mean to put a downer on you on the contrary ...just no insurance seems an error

I'd agree, and also point out that if it's mortgaged the lender will be insisting on at least buildings insurance as a condition of the loan. If you don't have that then they could potentially demand that you redeem the mortgage in full on demand, and even repossess the house and the land if you can't then find another lender in a hurry.

Even if there's no mortgage left then there's now the Ombudsman who will force the insurance company to pay out if they decline a claim for no valid reason.

Buildings only insurance on our 2 bed dormer bungalow is only around £130 a year - peanuts in the grand scheme of things really.

Looks like a lovely built kitchen, but not to my tastes Col (needs more white and shiney) - but it's the variety of this site that keeps things interesting! I can appreciate the work that goes into it. It's taken us a long time to work out what we REALLY want/need - our next one will be perfect for us.

Sounds like you both have a cracking time of doing it all though, which is important. I need a clone to work on our other place - the missis has zero interest in going there or doing anything, so it's pretty much left to me to sort it. She doesn't want to know and doesn't really care

I should finish it and then not tell her....it could be my man cave.

BG

Hi,

Many thanks breatheasy & Inky Pete for your kind comments and for your concern about our lack of insurance. Bron and I are decent people and treat others as we would wish to be treated but we loathe and detest insurance companies and will never forget the 18 months of misery Legal & General put us through at a time when we really were desperate to be covered by insurance having paid for it up front?

I doubt anyone could obtain a mortgage without insurance cover and our insurance ran until the day we paid off the remainder of our mortgage in full when I retired 14 years ago; immediately the mortgage was paid the insurance on our property was cancelled. We also converted our property to freehold.

I fully agree with you Inky Pete about £130 being very little these days but if our bungalow gets destroyed we will have the satisfaction of having £130 towards the rebuild. Bron and I have never lived beyond our means; we don't have holidays away from home and have saved for years to the point now if anything untoward happens we have funds if needed to rebuild our home. Our large rear garden is worth a lot of money if we convert it into a building plot but we prefer it as a garden rather than just numbers in our accounts; our neighbour built a 4 bedroomed detached house in his rear garden. Our lifestyle would not suit many people because most want holidays abroad; nights out; work carried out on their homes etc; we are non smokers and don't touch alcohol apart from me buying 99.99% proof alcohol for French polishing. If our bungalow was destroyed and we survived then the land would remain and could be turned into two prime building plots which we could sell and simply move to another bungalow.

How do people go on in flood plains where insurance companies will not insure their property and even if they are insured we see lots of heartbreaking news where people have been flooded out of their homes and are still unable to return two years later; what good insurance in such cases?

Insurance could be covered in a separate thread because it affects most people and it would be interesting to hear other views on how insurance companies try their best to avoid paying out; for what its worth we don't even trust the ombudsman scheme either; the 18 months of misery changed our attitudes entirely.

Thanks BG; yes we are all different. One of our neighbours has had three new kitchens installed whilst we have lived here; what looks good in a showroom might not look as good in a home and of course to all comes down to taste and of course cost. We like traditional solid hardwood which stands the test of time. Many modern kitchens look terrific when first installed then as the years pass the newness tends to fade and the tiles become outdated. I often wonder how long modern hardware will last in kitchen units on drawers and doors before they fail?

We have talked about moving because although we love our home and gardens they are very demanding regarding maintenance; it's not long ago I felled two 80' conifers and disposed of them and only a couple of weeks ago brought our 30' tall laurels down to 3' tall; I also lowered laurels to the side of the bungalow and removed a large Elderberry tree; it takes me six full weeks every four years just to paint the exterior woodwork by brush; I know I'm over critical but I do the best work I possibly can. I'm now 67 years of age and find my arms are tiring much quicker giving me a lot of pain at the elbows if I get stuck into some heavy job. A couple of years ago I was up our big blue cypress tree topping it removing 15'. The hedges and grass grow at an alarming rate as soon as the bit of warm weather appears; it's never ending; I do enjoy being busy but I've yet to understand what retirement means?

Yes BG; if a husband and wife or indeed partners are in harmony then life is very good but it is rare to find such balance; I bless the day I married Bron and have never regretted it; we are in each others company day in day out and year in year out and trust each other completely; we do have our difference but these tend to be slight and we can compromise; I can relax in Bron's company and she looks after me without complaint. Bron would give me her last penny but I wouldn't take it. What a shame though that your missus isn't at one with you. Good luck though in your endeavours.

Kind regards, Col.

Great story R...

Fab work Col.

I suspect the pictures don't show how good the finish is on the kitchen. I bet that you would love to build your own boat!!

What comes across most in your posts is the love you share with with your wife, you are both very lucky

But....................................


I happen to know that a 74 year old man regularly gets into a harness to paint this beastie with Dulux and a roller - you need to man up a bit

Btw if anyone can get to Coventry this is a fantastic day out

http://www.midlandairmuseum.co.uk/about.php

Really impressed with your attitude and work Col. A great example to us all.

I tend to agree with you re the insurance companies and only keep our place (mortgage free too) insured because the missus demands it - personally wouldn't bother either.

Can't comment on insurance ombudsman but we had dealings with the banking version and found them to be very helpful and definitely on the side of us, the customer.

Each to their own of course.

There was a grand designs last night where their house burnt down due to a chimney fire and their insurance had expired.

They were devastated.

Mortgage was 200k, their flat was 250k and the rebuild was another 250(ish)k

Had they have been insured, it would have paid for the re-build. They had to take themselves to breaking point to sort it out, I can't even imagine the stress it would have caused them for the sake of a couple of 100 quid (they forgot, didn't want insurance).

Something to remember though, is that price can impact the payout rate too - this is all available online in places. I'd hazard a guess that claim payout rate is linked to the provider/underwriter and the amount that people spend.

Personally, I'd never be without.

Hi,

Thanks Gadget & Timllfixit.

Interesting reply Razor and thanks for the picture. Yes the finish on the kitchen is pretty good and occasionally I go over with liquid paraffin to revive it which brings it up like new again; the liquid paraffin seems to feed the finish and is a tip I picked up from my radio restoring days. I reckon I'm manned up enough with the jobs I still tackle around the bungalow and gardens but hope I'm still going up big trees when I reach 74? is the delta wing a model? I'd rather build a plane than a boat because I can't swim? I've laid up plenty of GRP whilst employed as a laminator many years ago; there are few companies left these days who produce GRP items; the one I worked for was Hippo Glass Fibre Products of Horbury near wakefield and this was over 40 years ago.

Yes I count my blessing in having Bron as my wife; we share everything and have been through a lot together which has driven us ever closer.

If we didn't have funds then of course insurance would be a necessity in case something untoward happened to our home. Our problem though is that we had a shiny new Insurance policy from Legal & General which was worthless to us hence our attitude to insurance companies and we still feel very bitter 27 years on and will never forget. It wasn't just the rotten insurance company which upset us but the 18 months of hard research then two weeks of sheer grafting and of course a great deal of stress and worry until the roof was finally on. It was a most distressing time for us and we hadn't a bit of support; friends stayed away whilst neighbours openly laughed at us when we told them the story saying we planned to install the roofs on our own; the friends are history and the neighbours respect us in fact our immediate neighbour no longer laughed once he saw the new roof he asked if I would re-roof his bungalow which I declined; one lot of punishment like this was plenty for us. It was Spring Bank holiday when we did the work and I don't mind saying I cried a couple of times; I didn't know where to put myself by the time I got to bed and the backs of my legs were badly blistered by the sun beating down; I couldn't quit now I had started and Bron too was grafting filling bags with with the ceilings I kicked in then she filled the skips with the old roof material. We were entirely on our own and the only outcome was to succeed?

Out of interest our main bungalow roof is 12.5 degree pitch so the nearest local tile we could buy was Marley Wessex. Counter battens were installed to raise the tiles from the felt to give more ventilation and tile headlap was increased. The extension roof is very shallow pitch and was covered with Nuralite glued on the main body but fully glued on each joint then to ensure a good seal strips of Nuralite were cut;then fully glued and nailed in place this being on top of new 3/4" plywood. All timber used apart from the ply and battens was treated all surfaces to two coats of Sikkens microporous paint. Every tile was clipped and securely nailed. Infill tiles were mortared in and the mortar was colour matched to the tiles. I really went to town on the research and did the best possible job I could buying only top class materials throughout. I'm not a roofer by any means but with Bron's help our roofs went on and touch wood have been watertight ever since. The pictures show a bit of the work and also show the two ruined ceilings. This was our introduction to our dream home.

During all our troubles with the roof we tried to move our mortgage to another building society and not one of these society's wanted to know. Immediately the roof was on though we started again touring the building society's and at that time Endowment Mortgages were all the rage; we didn't want an Endowment Mortgage preferring to see what our mortgage finances were each year based on fact and not fiction. Having visited a number of building society's all trying to force an Endowment Mortgage upon us one day Bron and I met up in Huddersfield town centre at dinner time and attended yet another building society appointment; this time it was the Bradford & Bingley; by now we were knew exactly what we wanted and when we met the lady manager I explained right away if they only wanted to let us have an endowment mortgage we were wasting her time; she was rather taken aback by this because everyone was falling over themselves for these new endowment mortgages but she took all our details and promised to ring me at work the same afternoon. At last we could have the straight repayment mortgage we so wanted. A survey of our bungalow was arranged and we were truly amazed by the outcome; it was a time 27 years ago just as the house prices took off; we had paid £40,000 for our dream bungalow and now it was in decent condition with brand new roofs; for building society mortgage purposes it was now worth £90,000 but to sell it was now worth £125,000. We accepted the new mortgage and liked the Bradford & Bingley Building Society; we were supplied insurance through them but once the mortgage was paid in full when I retired we cancelled the insurance. It wasn't our idea of what moving into our dream bungalow should have been like living worse than squatters for 18 months whilst having still to pay full mortgage and insurance payments to the Legal & General whom by now we truly hated and wished they would go belly up. It's difficult to get across just how much stress and upset we went through at that time. The outcome is that we now have our dream bungalow and we are both proud of it.

Things have changed now though because we receive quite a few uncalled for comments by visitors and ex friends because we are comfortable and think the world of each other. A favourite to Bron is you don't have kids so its alright for you; others are when they see the work we've carried out and the items we've both made; you've got the skills; you've got the time; you've got the tools; you've got the machines; it just goes on and on. True we don't have kids but this is personal to us. Regarding the rest I wasn't aware I was born with tools in my hands or inherited lots of wonderful machinery both not requiring me to learn any skills because again I was born with such skills as was Bron with her valuable input. Time? We had two weeks holiday in which to replace the two large roofs whilst the people who were telling us how easy it was for us were abroad on holiday without a care in the world?

I won't bore you any longer but looking at our lifestyle; our bungalow and how well we get on together if others put in the same effort perhaps they wouldn't come out with such stupid comments?

I'm in between jobs at the moment hence having a rest here on the computer; this morning I completed cleaning the Apollo sprayer I've just bought and removed a central heating radiator from our front bedroom; tomorrow I'll start stripping ceiling and wall paper from this bedroom as it's in for a makeover; the weather has turned too bad for pottering in the garage and I don't want to sit here moaning so time to get off my backside and support Bron.

Thanks BG; yes it must be absolutely devastating to lose everything but there are others like Bron and I who had insurance but the insurance company won't pay out on some small detail; we simply do not trust insurance companies any longer given the way Legal & General treated us so badly.

Thanks for reading my ramble.

Kind regards, Col.

You've done yourselves proud, worked hard and reaped the benefits, nothing to be ashamed about there Col.

One thing though, if I ever happen to be in a BandQ on a Tuesday in t'uddersfield and I find myself behind you and Bron in a queue and you start recounting one of your little tales to the cashier, I may just be forced to use a self-service till!!

Hi,

Many thanks Chop for your kind comments and yes I do ramble on a bit (a lot). I'm a member of other forums and many of my threads have been covering projects in real time as work progressed so run for ages. I'd rather spend time here on the computer than watch the rubbish put out on TV these days; of an evening Bron and I settle down and select a movie on DVD or through YouTube. Weather permitting though I like to be busy getting my hands dirty.

Time I got cracking though because I'm about to start a two room makeover; the rooms don't need it but I'm becoming weary of fighting our dire climate getting into the garage each winter to play with projects like machinery restoration; this winter I'm having a rest and will enjoy doing the rooms although I dislike emptying them first.

No problem at all with me holding you up in B&Q Chop; I seldom visit B&Q because its a store I don't warm to at all but you might catch me in Screwfix or Wickes?

Kind regards, Col.

Retired wrote:
I'd rather build a plane than a boat because I can't swim

You obviously have many talents Col, but you never mentioned that you could fly.

Hi,

Thanks ajay. As I grow older I continue to learn many new things. I've never been on a plane although in 1970 I found I could fly without one.

I was riding my Norton Atlas 750cc bike through a council housing estate and was involved in a confrontation with an old Austin A40 being driven by a lunatic whilst every window on his car was frozen solid; he closed the door on me and I hit him head on being thrown completely over his car to bounce off a low garden wall and roll into the gutter. I suffered a smashed left knee cap which was amputated and a fractured right ankle plus the usual lacerations; all this at under 30mph. It was a blessing in disguise because I never did like the Norton and when I left hospital I thought if some idiot is going to kill me I might as well expire in style so went into huge debt and bought a 750cc BMW R75/5 which was a wonderful bike only a year old but a year later I bought a brand new BMW of the same model.

WOW its hard graft clearing a room getting it ready for decorating especially when the room has been used as a workshop; I'm slowly getting there and have knocked off for dinner; being retired has its perks.

Kind regards, Col.