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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / May 2008ARGH! (OT)
Just got an email from Dave Some of you may remember that last October our landlord took out our draughty, noisy wooden windows and replaced them with lovely snug warm quiet double glazing The local council have just told them that the preservation order on the house means they can't do that so they are coming round Tuesday to measure up for removing our double glazing and replacing the wooden windows. You would think they would have checked before spending a lot of money on this! As it is we now face weeks of disruption and noise and mess while they do it! And having to watch the cats! Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Just got an email from Dave > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Oh my! Yes, you'd have thought they'd have checked! Hopefully the *new* wood sash windows will be much better than the old ones. Keep an eye on the furballs :) Jill >Oh my! Yes, you'd have thought they'd have checked! Hopefully the *new* >wood sash windows will be much better than the old ones. Well the others were starting to rot Keep an eye on the >furballs :) Sarsi is not the problem she'll hunker down somewhere and plot revenge on the Human race for inflicting this distruption on her daily routine! Dunzi through loves workmen coming round (who told the local council about it? Dunzi- it had better not be you!) and the opportunities this provides for a very small, very agile, black cat to slip out.... Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Just got an email from Dave > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Your landlord may have been working with the hope that no one would notice. A friend of mine was complaining about the time and effort involved in getting a permit to do something to their front steps when a neighbour managed to add a wheelchair ramp, use it for quite a few months and then, when the elderly relative who needed the ramp died, returned the steps to their original arrangement - all without any permits or attracting the attention of the city council inspectors! My friend didn't quite have the nerve to try such an approach as if you're caught, you can indeed be forced to put things back the way they were. I am presently engaged in trying to arrange for some long-overdue work on my own house, which is in a heritage zone which means the dormers have to be replaced by dormers. Since I'm not in the most restrictive zone, I can go with certain 'looks-like' modern cheats if I want when I replace the windows, but the dormers themselves are non-negotiable. I was mildly suprised to discover that City Hall actually has a photography of my house on file, presumably in case of any dispute over its appearance. If they've got my little dump on file, they must have a photo of every single tiny, rundown little row house in the entire set of three heritage zones! Fortunately, I like dormer windows. I haven't quite had the nerve to ask the contractor what it would cost to replace the dormers with modern non-dormer flat against the wall windows - it might not even be possible given the shape of that bit of the wall, but if possible, it would probably be a lot cheaper than restoring the dormers. <sigh> I love living in a nice, cheap central location, but old buildings always need work, and contractors are always gloomy when pressed to give an opinion as to what it will cost to do something because you never know what you're going to find once you start work on old building. Cheryl >Your landlord may have been working with the hope that no one would >notice. My landlord is a housing association with 100's of properties if not 1000's. I suspect what happened is this The renovation work was done after the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister decided all rented accommodation would have to have double glazing and new kitchens and bathrooms if they were over a certain age at that point the Office overruled conservation people. The government paid out huge massive grants to housing associations etc to do the work Alas the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was simply something to do to stop Prescott chasing his diary secretaries. As soon as he left office it was disbanded So then the conservation people came back and said "OY!" A complete waste of taxpayers money- I know our flat alone cost 1.5 thousand to do so thats 4.5 thousand on our house alone! Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs >> Your landlord may have been working with the hope that no one would >> notice. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > A complete waste of taxpayers money- I know our flat alone cost 1.5 thousand > to do so thats 4.5 thousand on our house alone! I'm surprised no one else weighed in in favour of the new windows and not wasting taxpayers' money if the issue had become that much of a political football! I think if something like that had happened here you'd have far more than two groups joining in the political fun! You could have had at least two heritage conservation groups (hardliners and moderates), the financial crowd, probably an environmental conservation group or two and representatives of the tenants and the housing associations... it would have the makings of one of those prolonged public political debates that are rather fun to watch from the outside, although not much fun if they directly affect your home. Cheryl "Lesley via CatKB.com" ... >>Your landlord may have been working with the hope that no one would >>notice. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Geez. That's a waste, not to mention an inconvience. When we moved from the drug-ridden crap place 2 years ago, to here, the new owners of the old place got rid of the druggies and re-did all 17 units, except ours, and we had to endure weeks of horrid loud sawing, hammering, etc. Our mobile home park now has a new manager because the old manager was fired because of an ilness, which stinks, IMO. The 21 year old 'manager', we haven't met yet, but I hear she's rather snotty, and all business, and we've gotten no word as to why Mary was let go and what's going on. Why can't people be a little more humane? We can't get homeowners insurance because our mobile home is one year older than is allowed for that :/ *sigh* Life stinks sometimes. But we count our blessings and are thankful that we have a roof over our heads, and can keep our cats. Hug Kyla > Just got an email from Dave > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs That is ridiculous!  SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy, Bagheera & Shadow) Cats leave pawprints on your heart http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk Especially dumb since the present windows are probably more heat efficient. You would have thought the owners would be smart enough to check first. >> Just got an email from Dave >> [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > That is ridiculous! >Especially dumb since the present windows are probably more heat efficient. Much more heat efficient- the old windows caused loads of draughts and put our heating bills up and I don't suppose we'll be compensated for that! Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Just got an email from Dave > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Watching the cats part is going to be a bitch! Yikes. What a mess. Do they have any idea when the job will be finished? kili >Watching the cats part is going to be a bitch! Yikes. What a mess. Do >they have any idea when the job will be finished? It probably won't take long but the mess will take forever to clear up! Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Just got an email from Dave > Some of you may remember that last October our landlord took out our draughty, > noisy wooden windows and replaced them with lovely snug warm quiet double > glazing > The local council have just told them that the preservation order on the > house means they can't do that so they are coming round Tuesday to measure up > for removing our double glazing and replacing the wooden windows. Since when does historical preservation come before the human need for warmth and the overall need for energy conservation?? Somebody's priorities are a bit upside-down. SignatureJoyce To email me, remove the triple-X from my user name. ^..^ Always gets in the way. Anyone buying an older house needs to check close about this, there are places you even have to paint the outside a certain color to keep them happy. > > Just got an email from Dave > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Somebody's priorities are a bit upside-down. > Always gets in the way. Anyone buying an older house needs to check close > about this, there are places you even have to paint the outside a certain > color to keep them happy. That doesn't apply only to older houses. I'm astonished sometimes at the rules some people put up with in new areas where they have those homeowner associations. I'd rather have the heritage rules, myself. Cheryl >> Always gets in the way. Anyone buying an older house needs to check close >> about this, there are places you even have to paint the outside a certain >> color to keep them happy. > That doesn't apply only to older houses. I'm astonished sometimes at the > rules some people put up with in new areas where they have those > homeowner associations. > I'd rather have the heritage rules, myself. Yes, well at least historical preservation has some value. SignatureJoyce To email me, remove the triple-X from my user name. ^..^ >> Some of you may remember that last October our landlord took out our >> draughty, noisy wooden windows and replaced them with lovely snug [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > warmth and the overall need for energy conservation?? > Somebody's priorities are a bit upside-down. I'm with the council on this one. The old centre of Edinburgh does look far better for having its original wooden sash windows, and in the long run the economics aren't as clear-cut as the double-glazing salesmen make out. Double-glazed windows don't last well and aren't easily repairable - sash windows can last for decades longer and can be patched rather than thrown away when the wood starts to crumble. And the tight seal you get with double-glazed windows often prevents air circulation and locks in moisture, leading mould buildup inside the house which causes illness ("sick building syndrome") or timber rot in obscure places. (To see just *how* long sash windows can last, look at reflections in windows of the upper floors of tenements in the Edinburgh New Town around sunset - you can see the curvature of the panes due to 18th century glassmaking technique, and a beautiful purple patina that has taken 200 years to develop. The reason why the lower floors have newer windows is possibly too disgusting for this forum). The most cost-effective energy conservation measures are virtually never used: reflective curtain linings and fans that shift hot air from the ceiling down to the floor. And domestic double glazing spaced to give thermal insulation is far too shallow to attenuate sound much - you want six to eight inches between the panes to do that. Lesley's landlord got scammed (the double-glazing firm almost certainly acted illegally) but should have had the sense to check before letting anybody replace the existing windows. It's not like these conservation byelaws are anything new, and if most of your street has windows built the traditional way you might just wonder why. ==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === <http://www.campin.me.uk> ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts >Lesley's landlord got scammed (the double-glazing firm almost certainly >acted illegally) but should have had the sense to check before letting >anybody replace the existing windows. We told the builders before they started work that we were pretty sure there was some preservation order on the place but as they pointed out- our landlord is not someone renting a couple of flats privately- it's one of the biggest housing associations in London so the builders said they had approved the work so they must have checked. So for want of someone making a phone call to check with the council- we have now been told that we will have our flat turned into a building site for a week! The worse of it when they took the old windows away they also removed the tracking for the sashes (don't know what it's actually called) and I have to spend the bank holiday weekend trying to move stuff out of the way in the bedroom so they can come Tuesday to do the measuring (You'd think they had it from the last time they did it!) Even the guy who phoned Dave who was one of the people who did it before said he didn't believe it when they told him! Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Curiosier and curiosier Dave fired off a less than polite email (I am sure you can all imagine just how less than polite he was!) to the landlord and got a call this morning from their asset management department saying this was the first they had heard of it and it is a scandalous waste of money so they are looking into it Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Curiosier and curiosier > Dave fired off a less than polite email (I am sure you can all imagine just > how less than polite he was!) to the landlord and got a call this morning > from their asset management department saying this was the first they had > heard of it and it is a scandalous waste of money so they are looking into it Good. And I would refuse to move things out of anyone's way. Why should you have to waste your day off because someone else was incompetent? SignatureJoyce To email me, remove the triple-X from my user name. ^..^ On May 23, 11:45 am, bastXXXe...@sonic.net wrote: > Good. And I would refuse to move things out of anyone's way. Why should > you have to waste your day off because someone else was incompetent? My thoughts exactly...Dave has come up with another ground for complaint. Because of the height of our windows and the shorter reach he has- he was only ever able to open the sash window in the bathroom by climbing on the bath and the kitchen window by climbing on the sink- both of which at this moment in time are beyond his (or my I am as clumsy as they come and the one time I treid to open the bathroom window I fell off and crash landed in the bath) capabilities and you can forget ever opening the living room and bedroom windows. The new windows have levers at the bottom so he can open the bottom panel without any problem we were actually looking forward to summer this year because we would be able to get some fresh air in when it's hot rather than sweltering to death which we have done before. The guy who called actually said we should move our bed into the hallway- as Dave pointed out given that we would like to sleep in it Monday night how is he supposed to move it on his own since I have to go to work Tuesday morning before the 10am they are proposing to come round? There's four of us so it's a rather large bed- has to be since Isis (RB) used to hog it the Fabulous Furballs seem less interested in sharing it through we have both been bapped on the nose by Sarsi wanting to get in during the early hours Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Well they came and after all that- yes, someone at the housing association forgot to check the preservation status of the flat so they have to put wooden sash windows back in but the guy said it would be a nice simple job ad only take a day or so as when the new windows were put in all the brickwork was cleaned down so they don't have to do that. After all the stink about moving stuff- the guy who did the measurements took 10 minutes and didn't even have to move Dunzi who was sitting in front of the bedroom window Also they are fitting us with double glazed sash windows, which apparently are the "Rolls Royce" of double glazing and cost 4 times as much as the windows being removed. The guy said he agreed it was silly and that the mistake of not checking the preservation status of any of there properties is going to cost our landlord big time (We're far from the only people in this position!) but he's happy as its a big job for their company that will keep a lot of people in work! And of course when we have sash windows back in place, Dunzi will be able to sit on the middle bit again so I guess that counts as a happy ending Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Also they are fitting us with double glazed sash windows, which apparently > are the "Rolls Royce" of double glazing and cost 4 times as much as the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > this position!) but he's happy as its a big job for their company that > will keep a lot of people in work! I don't know the English law on this, but in Scotland it is illegal for a double glazing firm to solicit work in a conservation area. The obligation to check is not on the landlord but on the firm doing the work, and they could be sued into oblivion over what they've just done. ==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === <http://www.campin.me.uk> ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts >I don't know the English law on this, but in Scotland it is illegal >for a double glazing firm to solicit work in a conservation area. >The obligation to check is not on the landlord but on the firm doing >the work, and they could be sued into oblivion over what they've just >done. The company that did the original windows was not a double glazing company as such- they were building contractors who tendered for the whole job including the bathrooms and kitchens then sent the work out to subcontractors. I don't think anyone was soliciting work- the government handed out grants for all this to be done, the contractors put in a tender and won it Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Well they came and after all that- yes, someone at the housing association > forgot to check the preservation status of the flat so they have to put > wooden sash windows back in but the guy said it would be a nice simple job ad > only take a day or so as when the new windows were put in all the brickwork > was cleaned down so they don't have to do that. > After all the stink about moving stuff- the guy who did the measurements took > 10 minutes and didn't even have to move Dunzi who was sitting in front of the > bedroom window > Also they are fitting us with double glazed sash windows, which apparently > are the "Rolls Royce" of double glazing and cost 4 times as much as the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > position!) but he's happy as its a big job for their company that will keep a > lot of people in work! > And of course when we have sash windows back in place, Dunzi will be able to > sit on the middle bit again so I guess that counts as a happy ending It does! Especially since you will also be warm, the historical folks will be happy, the company doing the replacement will earn money, and the only loser in the deal is your landlord, who will probably be better about checking things out next time! SignatureJoyce To email me, remove the triple-X from my user name. ^..^ > Just got an email from Dave > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Lots and lots of purrs, Polonca and Soncek |
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