Sorry I've Been Away

[Chris Hebden]

Hay all, just thought I would say an exceptional apology for not being around on RTOC for best part of 18months. Just as I get Area Rep status, I bugger off!

Well, I split up with my long term (ex) girlfriend just as my little girl turned one! I had the dilemma of what I was going to do about living arrangements! I needed a 2 bed house in Oxfordshire, on one wage which turned out to be a near impossible task!

Rent for 2 bed houses were in the region of £800-£1200 a month, something I couldnt afford on my own! Had a look into one bed houses/flats but with 2 girls it was just going to be a nightmare. Thats where supper mum comes into it :-)!

It was obvious I couldnt afford to move without her help, so she mortgaged her house and got a substantial deposit for me!!!! House prices were extortionate but I have been VERY lucky and bought a 2 bed house in a village called Ambrosden, just out side Bicester in Oxfordshire. Its got 2 sheds, one quite big, and a garage at the end of the garden so it ticked a lot of boxs for me

We had £8000 left from mums mortgage that she has leant to me to do the place up! I dont think the pictures (in the link below - let me know if it doesnt work!) fully justify what sort of state this place was in! I got a few friends over and gave the whole place a really good clean to find out what I needed to do !

After the cleaning session it was obvious that the kitchen had to be ripped out, even after sugar water, you still couldnt pick up any of the units because the thick greese left on them ! £1200 later and a brand new B&Q kitchen was delivered waiting for me to put in!

The bathroom was terrible so out that comes! Along with all the tiles and most of the wall !

The house had an original back boiler in the downstairs fire place and considering i dont have alot of money left over each month I changed the boiler to a combi boiler to save money ! To save money I bought all the bits separately, boiler, 7 rads, flu, stat ect ect came to £1100 (roughley) and a plumber to put it all in with new rads etc £1200!

I decided to re-wire the house, I needed to add a electric shower, electric oven, extractor fan and the original sockets kept tripping out! This was the first time i had ever done anything like this so with the help of my fully qualified sister and google (because me and my sis couldnt get on ) I did the re-wire! Massive lessons learnt here, I cant for the life of me use a SDS chisel and if there is conduit in the wall BLOODY LEAVE IT THERE!!!

Then it was onto painting the entire house, carpets, furniture etc!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/1141863...eat=directlink

It doesn't sound like much I know, but I have done this all pretty much my self (awww) and have only been able to do it in the evenings after work and every other weekend (due to having the girls)!

I have to say a massive thank you to my mother (even though she wont ever read this) for putting me up, with my two littleuns, for the last year and doing everything she can to get me a house and not waste money in rent!

If you want to know any more please feel free to ask and I will be putting more pics in the picasa album once I find them. Everything is really looking up now, I have met someone else and we are talking about moving in etc ! Hopefully, in the not too distant future, I will hopefully be posting a project thread about my 5 because its about time I got that out and sorted it out!

Cheers Chris

[chris]

Sounds like you have been really busy mate glad you got sorted all the best for the future

[Trevhib]

That's quite an undertaking in the circumstances! Well done.

[Tony Walker]

Well done, sounds like you should be pretty proud of yourself. Pulling yourself through times when some people would of given up

[Coops]

nice work fella and welcome back to the fold

[Chris Hebden]

Thanks for the kind words guys! I was very fortunate to have my littluns pushing me along with this, if it wasnt for them the 11pm finishes wouldnt have happened !

[Alan]

Hi and welcome back

[jesus in the seat of a 5]

well done chris me ole friend, bless ya..., good to read that, looks like your on the up bud.., be good to catch up at some point...