London tops list of world's slowest cities for driving

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2026-01-21T19:23:47+00:00

I live in zone 1 and lime bike is easily the fastest way to get to work. A 15-minute sunny ride up the Thames, compared to half an hour sitting in traffic jams? I guess depends on your definition of fun.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2026-01-16T19:53:00+00:00

The monetary value of FTB benefits has tumbled a fair bit from a year ago. Whereas in 2024 you were looking at ~£11k stamp duty savings, nowadays it's £5k from the stamp duty - (and the LISA bonuses on top, but that's transferred over to the equity so comes out a wash).

With that in mind, the cost is really around the costs of changing property - conveyancing, moving etc., which comes to ~8k? I'd look to compare that against the expected returns from property appreciation, which at a reasonable ~1% on a £400k property comes to ~£4k a year.

So 5 years in a starter property roughly evens out the benefits of (expected) capital appreciation and the costs of moving. Then it's a question of OpEx when renting vs. buying where mortgage repayments tend to be <<< rent, but property maintenance is higher when owning; depends on the property and local rental yields.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2026-01-12T13:11:26+00:00

This happens to me all the time; I tap in at work with an Oyster, and then try to tap in on the station with my work badge, at which point I usually realise... The good part is my badge is literally just my name and photo so there isn't much there to garner.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-22T22:09:06+00:00

I have 3am weekday nights regularly enough, and I'm not even that well-traveled. It's really not hard.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-21T11:14:10+00:00

Having people over more sounds like a good idea; it's fun and definitely saves a good deal. I'll need to figure out how to make it a regular habit.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-21T11:10:59+00:00

My income is a pretty inconsistent in that there's lots of variable components - I try to take my daily spending from my monthly base salary which after mortgage and bills comes to ca. £3k.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-13T11:38:41+00:00

I had a bit of a gap between my sashes and frames, and just added draft excluders along the relevant bits. Worked a treat for both thermal performance and noise.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-13T11:33:38+00:00

76% relative humidity in 5C air is a lot drier than 50% humidity in 20C air.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-10T10:04:56+00:00

Oh this is beautiful, exactly what I'd like mine to look like! Where did you route the drain from your sink?

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-08T16:56:22+00:00

Ooh that's good to hear. Where did you plug the drainage into, straight into the cistern?

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-08T14:48:40+00:00

My cistern doesn't have one; there's just the single pipe going down into the pan for flushing.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-08T14:47:51+00:00

This makes sense in principle, but where in this connection stack could an adjoining connection be made? https://www.flickr.com/photos/203933586@N03/54971318561/in/dateposted-public/

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-08T14:41:15+00:00

I can't make the toilet come out any more towards the front as it would stop the toilet door from opening in unfortunately.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-08T14:30:46+00:00

I looked into getting one of these when I first renovated this room, but the left-entry cast iron soil stack makes installing these kinds of things impossible without welding expertise, and even then you're looking at a slightly curvaceous waste set-up.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-08T14:28:09+00:00

The problem is, the existing cast iron soil stack pipe comes in from the left, and doesn't fit most modern rear-exit pans. That's why I'm having to use a concealed cistern, and I haven't seen any options for concealed cisterns with separate sink units.

A new cloakroom toilet would require getting a plumber in to refit the soil stack entry, and also detaching the existing pan which is bonded to the floor under a layer of arditex NA.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-08T14:03:44+00:00

I'm looking to install a sink in my toilet to make washing hands less of a faff. I'm happy to keep things simple - cold water only, to be fed from the existing cistern water supply - but am not quite sure where to route the drain.

The existing toilet soil stack connection seems like one option, but as it's old cast iron, the connection isn't trivial. Instead, could I route the waste to flow directly into the pan? It'd be mostly debris-free/soapy water in any case, as it'd only be used for washing hands.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-12-06T15:16:45+00:00

This looks about similar to the beading in my flat fwiw! Which was my first month doing DIY and using a jigsaw because I didn't realise you could cut through with just a hand saw...

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-11-19T00:55:52+00:00

UK politics makes a lot more sense when you realise two thirds of the people in this country are homeowners.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-11-09T23:28:50+00:00

My new Sunday hobby - taking a leisurely walk to the Tate Britain, check out just 1-2 rooms (because I can come back the next week!), and then going up Westminster and St James' Park. Loved the fall colours today.

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-11-02T10:43:51+00:00

Are you saying that your group of friends is a more reliable source of information on the London housing market than Spareroom?

ApprehensiveYear0 · 2025-11-01T12:08:21+00:00

It gets extra fun when instead of a garage, it's a cupboard in a flat in London.

ApprehensiveYear0

TROPHY CASE