[e3silversurfer]

Well finally I managed to get onto the property ladder (not sure if it is a good or bad thing :? ) anyway I've got loads to do but have got very little cash to do it. I have about 1.5k to get the furniture, carpet, painting, gardening, kitchen done.

Therefore, would like to know from all members here where is the cheapest place to get the following:

Furniture
1) Bed (1x double and 1x single)
2) wardrobe
3) sofa
4) kitchen cupboards

Appliances
1) cooking Hob
2) refrigerator
3) washing machine
4) extractor hood
5) vacuum cleaner

Materials
1) Tiles (for kitchen back splash)
2) Carpet
3) Paint
4) Plaster
5) Cement
6) Flooring (wood)
7) Linen (for curtains)
Garden
1) machete
2) carpet grass

Miscellaneous
1) switched
2) lamps
3) shower unit
4) basin (for toilet)
5) toilet bowl

Thanks very much for your help and time guys

would like to hear your views on the garage as well:

currently, the garage is run down and shabby with PVC or some sort of plastic with ridges for a roof (with loads of holes now and missing half a door. it is made of metal walls and plastered together. the ground is plastered as well. Should I just refurbish it?? or should it be knocked down and rebuilt?? bearing in mind the limited funds.

[e3silversurfer]

boiler, hob and fridge

food, heat i believe these are the highest priority since cavemen times

[BenF]

congrats Elvin and Helen!

I hope you enjoy your new house/flat/bungalow

[shyann]

Hi Elvin,
My daughter, Michelle has just moved into her first home & I also work for B&Q [so I get 20% discount which comes in very handy ]
Michelle got her fridge/freezer 50/50 [Hotpoint I think] £300 & Hotpoint washing machine £220 both from Empire direct.
Sofa from DFS -finance, & no interest [3 & 2 seater leather]
Valcum cleaner from Tescos - £35
Most of the other things you are looking for B&Q do & would probally be a good price, maybe even Homebase. There's always offers on different items every week. There's always some clearance stuff which might be slightly damaged.
You could also try IKEA or ELVA stores.
We got a double bed & mattress from Bed Depot last year- that was one of the many offers at the time. It seems a lot of the furniture stores, & DIY stores have offers going on most of the time.
Good luck in your searching.
Let us know how you get on.
Best wishes
Ann

[BenF]

round here B&Q prices are consistently lower than Homebase - the Homebase 10% off days roughly bring their prices down to B&Q's normal ones on the items I have looked at

[mort666]

Hi Elvin, and congratulations on the new purchase. It's a big step and sometimes a daunting one, but lots of excitement too to have a place of your own

I think what you do with the garage may depend on what you are planning on keeping in it, especially if you are thinking about a possible replacement. with my limited knowledge I think the cheapest replacement would be a metal one, but this would eat into your £1.5k budget by quite a lot so for now it may be better to consider the garage as a longer term project.

When I started renting on my own for the first time, I looked through the yellow pages for people who did refurbished electrical goods for the fridge/freezer.

one place you might hit lucky is a site which some friends down here have used called freecycle. there is one specifically for the newcaslte area (see link below). It's basically a site where people advertise their stuff if they are giving it away free. Often it's for large items which they just cannot manage to take to the tip themselves, a case of 'if you can take it away, it's yours'. Obviously you would need to consider transport costs against buying from elsewhere, but you might hit it lucky

http://www.uk.freecycle.org/groups/toon/

[shyann]

Hi Elvin & Helen, Congratulations on joining the property ladder.
My daughter Michelle & boyfriend Dan moved in 2 weeks ago, & its a happy, but hard working time. It's, unfortunately a very expensive time too.
We've [Brian & Marie Dan's mum & I] been helping cleaning, sanding, painting, putting down laminate flooring & gardening - plus getting loads of stuff from B&Q. Ready for their housewarming/ Dan's birthday party saturday gone.
Congratulations once again to you both.

Regards

Ann

[e3silversurfer]

Thanks for all your help guys

A little experience I had with Homebase and B&Q are that they are quite dear in some areas. Have anyone heard of wickes?? I think they are cheaper but their shops are a little shabby compared to the brightly lit and clean B&Q/Homebase.

We've thought of getting a VAX vacuum cleaner which is able to vacuum both liquid and solid dirt so we can wash the carpet using water and detergent our selfs and simply vacuum the lot up using the vacuum cleaner. does anyone think this would work? VAX model VO-4000

Also I got a garden full of weeds and thick unwanted bushes with thorns... have just bought a machete to clear it. what are the thoughts on burning the lot??

[PussCat]

if you're thinking of burning stuff.... couple of things to remember!

1. Make sure there's no way it could spread to burn stuff you don't want to
2. Make sure you don't live in a smoke-free residential area! My previous house was in one of these and i couldn't burn anything, lol.....

Congrats on getting on the housing ladder, anyhoo

[shyann]

Hi Elvin,
I've got a Vax Rapide which is easy to use & empty afterwards, [ I got it at B&Q with staff discount] but if your carpets are very bad its probally worth hirering a Rug Doctor carpet cleaner - I know that B&Q have them.
I don't know if its a good idea to just burn it 'cos it might catch fire at your fence, wildlife like hegehogs might get caught - I think it might be best to cut it down, but be well to have gardening gloves [although you can still get pricked by brambles - I know 'cos it's happened to me] & take the stuff to the dump.
I hope this helps,

Ann

[kitf]

Hi Elvin,

We bought our house last year, so, have had to get much the same as you.

Wickes always used to be more of a builders merchants rather than a DIY shop, but now is a bit of everything. Around our way (hampshire) they are generally comparative in price to B+Q, but generally offer a slighlty higher quality product.

When it comes to buying a bed, look around at any local furniture shop which sells beds, as they might be willing to make a deal... Also Argos has some well priced budget beds including matresses.

If you're after occasional furniture (storage, tables, etc) Ikea might well be worth a visit. They do things like Coffe tables from about 3 quid (basic but not unattractive) mirrors, rugs, lights... If you need to get a good deal of stuff it's worth a visit, and maybe do it as a day trip if there isn't one very close to you.

As for your garage, it'd be worth getting it secure and a dry roof on... even if the roof is replacement corrugated plastic. then it can either be used for car storage or possesion storage whilst decorating etc is happening.

Weeds... If you've got a local tip near you, they might have a green waste section?? Worth a look. Remember to get the roots of the weeds out too, as they'll come back just as strong!

[BenF]

Elvin - I think Wickes used to be a trade supplier who realised that they could tap into the retail market, so you get a no-frills service

[Sex Kitten]

congratulations - you cant beat the feeling of your first home - i sat on bean bags and odd chairs for the first few months as i couldnt afford sofa etc

ive got to have a full rewire new kitchen and bathroom in mine soon so ill keep an eye on the tips you get!!!

well done again

[e3silversurfer]

Hi Elvin,
I've got a Vax Rapide which is easy to use & empty afterwards, [ I got it at B&Q with staff discount] but if your carpets are very bad its probally worth hirering a Rug Doctor carpet cleaner - I know that B&Q have them.
I don't know if its a good idea to just burn it 'cos it might catch fire at your fence, wildlife like hegehogs might get caught - I think it might be best to cut it down, but be well to have gardening gloves [although you can still get pricked by brambles - I know 'cos it's happened to me] & take the stuff to the dump.
I hope this helps,

Ann

I will be replacing the carpets of our house as I dont really think that the carpets there currently are clean or hygenic. Who knows what's been on there and how much germs/bugs have settled there. Might be searching for a carpeting company to purchase carpets to cut to the size of the room. the vacuum cleaner is for future maintanance of the carpets

congratulations - you cant beat the feeling of your first home - i sat on bean bags and odd chairs for the first few months as i couldnt afford sofa etc

ive got to have a full rewire new kitchen and bathroom in mine soon so ill keep an eye on the tips you get!!!

well done again

I am thinking of turning the living room into a Japanese style room (everyone sitting on the tatami mats ) but I think I will leave the living room for storage for the moment. good thing I dont have too many posessions and they are all moveable using the puma

thanks for the look out SK

Elvin - I think Wickes used to be a trade supplier who realised that they could tap into the retail market, so you get a no-frills service

sounds interesting. might get building materials off them and other stuff off B&Q and Homebase.

[pumarv6]

Check out Screwfix Direct, I've been using them for work stuff recently and they have consistently beaten B&Q and Wickes.

Time for a project thread Elvin!

[shyann]

Check out Screwfix Direct, I've been using them for work stuff recently and they have consistently beaten B&Q and Wickes.

Time for a project thread Elvin!

Screwfix Direct is part of B&Q

Ann

[pumarv6]

Thanks Ann, I never realised that

They are still cheaper though, but that obviously comes from them being much less retail like to deal with!