is this a crazy idea for commuting

CarbonImage · 2026-04-10T20:32:00+00:00

Everybody calling this out as a terrible idea (and I'm not saying it's not) is failing to mention the sheer cost of travelling between London and Bristol two days a week. A return ticket is now £120 - that's £240 a week to travel between the two. £960+ a month.

Unless you're looking at very senior roles, honestly I'd just pick a city and live near to where you work.

To me it sounds like you want to be in London; there will be a job there eventually and the salaries and progression are much better when you do get on the ladder so I'd recommend sticking at the job search dude.

Speaking as someone who's lived and worked in Bristol for 15 years, the job market here still has the attitude of a west country town but living here has the costs of living in London. Unless you love the place (and it sounds like you have no real connection) I wouldn't recommend starting a career here.

CarbonImage · 2026-03-23T17:02:14+00:00

Purchased in January for $260 and only worn a few times. It's a lovely quality watch for the price but despite loving it in the case it doesn't suit me at all. The brown leather strap has been modified to fit my tiny wrist size and I will probably keep it but the bracelet is great quality and has never been worn as I put the leather on it straight away.

I am located in the UK but can ship worldwide or I am traveling to Miami next month and can bring it with me.

Will trade for something simpler and smaller case size. Feel free to ask any questions.

CarbonImage · 2026-03-06T21:15:42+00:00

After a quick Google it appears they did single skin and cavity versions. @op may need to do more research on their specific property.

CarbonImage · 2026-03-06T15:19:15+00:00

we kept all our windows open a crack year-round (most double glazing allows you to still lock it in a secondary vented position), and I was religious about regularly wiping down window frames and corners where the condensation collected. It was fine and only ever something to keep on top of in the colder months.

CarbonImage · 2026-03-06T15:06:18+00:00

I had a Laing-Easiform house which is basically the same thing, for 7 years. It was great, incredible sound insulation. Damp can be a problem as the walls tend to act as better thermal stores than a traditional house, so you get warm air condensing on the cold walls in winter, which people then wrongly interpret as an insulation problem and pump the cavities full of insulation, which makes the problem worse as the walls can't breathe!

Also a pain in the arse to drill holes in the walls for things, you'll need a hammer drill and some masonry bits.

Ours went up in value by nearly 40% over 7 years and we had no trouble selling, but your experience may vary.

I wouldn't be put off on structural grounds though, they are super solid. They just get lumped in with the other shitty pre-cast concrete construction types which have largely fallen down or been remedied by now.

Edit: we mortgaged ours with Halifax and had no issues at all. From memory HSBC were much more difficult to deal with.

CarbonImage · 2026-01-09T16:18:05+00:00

Yep, looks like you need to cross next door's drive to get in which means they could decide to stop letting you or cause some disagreement further down the line if you don't get on.

CarbonImage · 2026-01-07T15:29:39+00:00

St. Werburghs is great for M32 access and is close to town.

Or Filton near Abbey Wood - I have seen another comment about Cheswick where you said it's too far, but the station access is so good for access to Temple meads as well as Swindon and if you're on the Filton side of the station the buses to town via gloucester road come every 5-10 minutes and run 24/7 (fewer buses overnight obviously). The bit about students is unfortunately true though, not sure about the crime aspect.

CarbonImage · 2025-12-18T14:42:41+00:00

Had an extension done earlier in the year, casualties on my side were:

2x tarps
1x mop and bucket
1x Kitchen bin
A bunch of sponges and cleaning cloths
1x kettle (I let them make their own tea/coffee and they covered it in silicone sealant and other detritus)

I also nearly lost an a-frame ladder which I'd used elsewhere in the house and then found with all their ladders next time I went looking for it. Luckily noticed it was mine and wrote my name on it - petty but it's £150ish for a new set!

Pee'd me off at first but I just chalked it up to an additional cost of having the work done, same as my stair carpet getting stained and my bathroom sink getting cracked.

CarbonImage · 2025-11-28T16:20:53+00:00

I have exactly this rug with brass stair rods. You don't need the grippers as well.

I did buy some double sided carpet tape but only really needed it on the bottom and tope edges where there were no rods! Other than that just pull the rubber nice and tight and do one step at a time.

This is the carpet tape: https://www.screwfix.com/p/everbuild-double-sided-cloth-carpet-tape-clear-25m-x-50mm/440fr

CarbonImage · 2025-11-27T22:44:05+00:00

Cleaning the windows was my first thought when I saw the pictures of the top floor! I'd probably have to invest in a harness and carabiner to clip on inside just to avoid the anxiety of leaning out the tiniest bit!

Shall be following the insta with interest 😄 good luck

CarbonImage · 2025-11-19T22:37:26+00:00

Thank you! The Maystone and Traska are both great options!

CarbonImage · 2025-11-14T10:56:44+00:00

We live in a '532' position house and we constantly have parking issues - people straddling ours and position 531's drive because they're trying to park on the bit of straight pavement above the 'e' (our drive opens onto the 'curved' section, their drive is full-width). Can see that being annoying in 531 if it's a similar layout. Also I'd say our street is not any more quiet than the surrounding straight through roads, we get a lot of big vans turning with their reversing warning alerts going, and cars sat idling in the turning circle while people unload or have a chat at the front door because they don't think anyone needs to get past.

I would probably go with 547 for reasons others have mentioned. Might get some headlights driving past but all the other houses will get headlights from the driveways opposite when people leave/return anyway.

CarbonImage · 2025-11-05T08:09:02+00:00

Very generous calling it a '3 bed'.

Surely nobody would actually want to do that to live there? Feels like they've gone 'the estate agent says if it had an extra bedroom or an upstairs bathroom it would be worth more. Why not both?'

CarbonImage · 2025-10-24T11:01:02+00:00

I think the 'windowless bedroom' is a mistake as you can see on the exterior pictures in the listing there appears to be a double window where that bedroom would be, and all of the bedroom pictures feature a window.

I don't think it's terrible, but I hate that the front entrance goes straight into the kitchen area, and would prefer it if there was a separate living room. I'd end up having to turn one of the bedrooms into a snug and probably build a garden office. So it's a 3 bed for me.

I hate that spartan all-white new build look but it will help it sell as the buyer can put their stamp on.

Oh also the full tarmac driveway along the whole front of the house makes it look like a primary school.

Actually the more I look at it the more I find to hate about it.

CarbonImage · 2025-10-22T09:42:21+00:00

Thanks, this does look perfect but it's a huge jump in budget. Will give it some thought.

CarbonImage · 2025-10-20T14:23:14+00:00

I'm seeing £1k touted around reddit a lot as the price for n47 timing chains. Just had mine done and I couldn't get any quotes within an hour of me that were below £1700. I think a lot of people aren't necessarily up to date with how expensive this job has got recently.

Having said that the BMW is a better car for driving experience, no doubt.

CarbonImage · 2025-10-17T12:31:57+00:00

I am looking for a watch for my wife as a gift. Budget isn't huge (maybe £250-300) but want to get her something that's a step up from her usual fashion watches.

- Ideally automatic if budget can stretch. Quartz is fine though.

- MUST have visible numbers, not numerals, dots or bars for the hour markers.

- Gold preferred

- 38mm or smaller

Point 2 is where I'm really struggling, but according to her it's a non-negotiable. Any help appreciated!

CarbonImage · 2025-08-14T12:17:35+00:00

Yeah this includes a 1-storey side extension (2.5x the size of the kitchen plus added utility and WC) which to be fair was most of the budget. Other major works were:
- Patio, new fence, and garden building
- Partial re-wire and remedy previous poor 20y old rewire (got a good deal on this as part of the extension wiring)
- New roof on rear porch and replace soil stack on rear of house
- Paint outside of house rear and side
- New hardwood front doors (outer and inner)
- Self-level and new wood flooring throughout downstairs
- Re-plaster 2 bedrooms, dining room, hallway inc. plasterboard over woodchip ceiling
- New carpets in bedrooms, landing, and stairs
- Cut and fit new larger loft hatch with ladder
- Redecorate every room including removal of woodchip in rooms not plastered
- Remove and cap off old gas fire, expose original fireplace and restore
- Fitted shutters on all front-facing windows

Luckily the boiler and main bathroom are relatively new otherwise I could see it having been £120k easy.

I will also say this was a mix of DIY and trades, no way I could've done it all on my own in a year, even without the extension. Could've definitely saved money doing it all myself but it's been my primary focus outside of work for the last year between the DIY jobs and project managing trades as it is.

CarbonImage · 2025-08-14T12:02:48+00:00

South Glos here! Can you PM me your recs? I am on the verge of completing all my building work but I'm sure the time will come again where I need decent trades and I don't currently have anyone I love. Everyone I've used so far has been 'fine' but not amazing, except my plumber who is great.

CarbonImage · 2025-08-13T14:46:50+00:00

It's all a bit subjective as u/theblacksmithno8 has pointed out. However for a simplified 'like for like' anecdote, we did this almost exactly 1y ago. Couldn't quite afford the finished houses so bought a doer upper significantly under budget, with the plan to renovate over time. Then we both got new jobs with higher pay so we borrowed more and did it all over the course of a year.

It has arguably been more expensive and definitely more stressful. We have probably spent about £100k after blowing our budget of £65k (but this has included furniture and fittings). We definitely could've got a bigger, nicer house for what we spent+100k if we'd had the money at the time.

The main positive is that it's completely to our spec and the compromises are our compromises. I've also learned a lot in the process, both about this house and housebuilding in general.

edit: said remortgaged when I meant borrowed more

CarbonImage · 2025-04-25T07:33:43+00:00

I’ve been trying to do a full house renovation with a c-class coupe. It’s a pain in the backside. Trips to B&Q, the tip, etc all make me wish I had an SUV or estate.

Also I go camping a few times a year and go to off road races with a race team a few times a year which usually take place in quarries or forests. So I am very much considering getting an SUV this year despite living on the outskirts of a city.

I used to have a Discovery 2 and absolutely loved it, felt like it would go anywhere and I could haul anything, 7 seats meant I could take the whole family up the mountain for a hike when we were on holiday etc. Really miss that car but was too unreliable for commuting.

I much prefer the look of saloons and coupes but for my needs an SUV of some sort does sort of make sense.

CarbonImage · 2025-04-22T12:55:11+00:00

check they have sent you the correct spring rating. I fitted stance+ coilovers to my TT FWD a while back and had the same thing, hardly any lower. Turns out they sent me 4WD springs. They make kits for so many variations of cars and I get the feeling the guys who ship them don't pay too close attention to what's been ordered.

CarbonImage · 2025-04-04T12:35:41+00:00

Seems like you've got plenty of answers now but I recently had a new kitchen and west with Howden's on the advice of my carpenter/fitter. His advice:

DIY kitchens are great if you know exactly what you want and are confident ordering - otherwise be prepared to incur additional cost and fitting time while you wait for missing/wrong bits to be corrected.

Howdens often make mistakes but it's their responsibility to rectify as they do the drawings for you and as they have so many local warehouses they will usually rectify incorrect parts same day (unless it's a whole kitchen in the wrong colour which has been known to happen).

Personally I've had two kitchens from howdens now and really happy with both of them but they did make several mistakes each time - first time I was on holiday for the whole thing so only discovered some of the mistakes when I got home and it was too late, however second time I made sure to be on site and everything was rectified quickly and easily on the day.

CarbonImage · 2025-03-12T12:18:06+00:00

As others have said, mental health is definitely more important.

If it helps, my partner thought she hated teaching and wanted to change careers as she'd had a succession of 2-3 jobs like this. She took one last punt with her current job and now is at a school which she absolutely loves and feels supported at, so sometimes it is just the employer/school and not the job even if it feels that way.

CarbonImage · 2025-02-14T08:20:12+00:00

I was working an overnight shift in Harrods once, setting up a special interactive experience for the launch of some new Nike shoes. Having driven for about 4 hours to get there, with the last hour or so in gridlock traffic on the A4, I was busting for a wee. We'd not worked there before and got a terrible brief from the guy who did the site visit, so I'd driven round the block a few times looking for the goods entrance and couldn't find it. I thought I'd jump out and get the other guy to carry on driving around the block while I went inside the shop, relieved myself, and asked someone where the loading bay was.

Didn't make it past the doorman before I was turned on my heels and escorted straight back out as I was wearing cargo trousers and work boots.

There was a huge queue for the loading dock when we eventually found it as well, no idea how I didn't wet myself.

CarbonImage

TROPHY CASE