Gutters

So Challenge Six has begun, to keep our house maintained for less than £1000 over the next 12 months. 

The first job which absolutely had to be done this year was to get the gutters cleaned out.  As our house is really tall, we haven't got a ladder long enough to reach our gutters and so they hadn't been cleaned for six years....

A small selection of the muck which got cleared

There was a lot of muck to clear out and the guy who carried out the work said our downpipes were completely blocked before he set to work.

I got two quotes for the job, one was for £230.00 and the one I went for cost £65; a huge difference!  It goes to show it is always worth shopping around.  

That leaves £935 left in the pot.  Which sounds like a lot until you take into account that we need to do the following this year:

• Fix the broken alarm system
• Fix the leaky underfloor heating system
• Stain outside decking (hasn't been done for years!)
• Varnish the peeling outside woodwork (ditto)
• Paint the outside metal work (as above)
• Install outside light before Christmas sees our elderly guests slipping and falling at our front door
• Fix the dodgy door bell

Hmm, I am not sure £935 is going to cover it, but we shall see.  I have put out queries for the underfloor heating and await replies!