I love it here, but I need a rant...

We had them in PA, in our house built in 1903.  It had an internal top and bottom made of glass.  A screen that could be raised and lowered on a track and then another set of glass panes that could be raised or lowered. 

We have a ton of bugs because we live near a farm and lots of things that bite. 

Thank you for posting this, really. It's nice to hear other people ranting about stuff that P's me off so I don't feel alone!  I mention the same annoying stuff and other things to my hubby and he just shrugs.  I really don't get the attitude that people know things could be fixed to solve a problem but really can't be bothered or think/say  "well that's how it's always been and it's worked ok, no need  to shake things up."

I mean, it's a cold damp country, why wouldn't you want to take measures to prevent your house molding and rotting away?  It's a pretty big investment to let go down the toilet let alone health hazards mold and damp can cause.  The house we live in with my FIL (sigh) one of the bedrooms is demolished by black mold.  The flooring is rotted away and boards are ripped off in half the room.  The room has been like that a year now. That was my MIL's room before she passed away, instead of fixing it they moved her to another room. The attitude is like "Meh, mold happens, so what the floor is rotting away and the ceiling downstairs might collapse." The ceiling below that downstairs had to be repaired already.  Annoying thing is that's where we keep the towels at.  It reminds me of that movie, the Money Pit. I'm expecting hubby to go in there one day to get a towel and fall through the floor and just be stuck there dangling. 

And Why must it be cold in every house? It's not normal to be freezing all the time. I want to come in to get warm from the outside, not sit around in my coat inside all day shivering!  My hubby has pics of me sleeping with 3 layers on, my hat, scarf and thick socks at night. I see this as kind of sad, not something that should be normal 

Most people say they don't use the radiator or enough to heat properly because the gas used to heat the water is so costly.  Then why not build a central heating system (I mean the Roman's had them!) run on electricity that is powered by some sort of hydro dam or something? This is an island, plenty of water!  Now, I'm not an architect or sciencey, so a dam might not be feasible, but surely something using water could work? 

I also agree with the parking and shop hours. What I really miss is having some sort of... well, anything open at night to go hang out at preferably free like a book store with a cafe or... ANYTHING!

StealthG,

Kudos and kudos...I cannot give you enough kudos for your post.  Ugh for a country that damp (and I am British by birth, left as a child) you would think that they would have figured out a long time ago how to fix it.

I did notice however that newer builds and new houses do not have the same problem.  The problem is who can afford them or move out to where they are being built 

Ahaha- StealthGWTF with your ILs house.

Most people say they don't use the radiator or enough to heat properly because the gas used to heat the water is so costly.  Then why not build a central heating system (I mean the Roman's had them!) run on electricity that is powered by some sort of hydro dam or something?

Or insulate & double glaze your house so you don't have to have the heat so damn high?

My ILs have old ass windows that are considered "original" to their Victorian house, so they aren't allowed to replace them. So instead my DH had to scrape ice off the inside of his room because no double glazing + moldy, rotting away sills meant that the outdoor conditions always = indoor conditions. Frankly, I have no idea why a football didn't 'accidentally' break the windows so they could get double glazing. Freezing to death or dying from black mold is obviously the preferable option to modern living.

Similarly, the building next to mine was obliterated by a bomb in the Blitz. Our building still has outside damage and structural damage three quarters of a century later. It never occurred to a single person in 3 generations to fix it. I can NOT wait to move, because if the building collapsing doesn't kill me, the suspense of it will.


My issue with shop hours is that every BBC Panorama goes on and on about the dangers of drink culture, then in the town we lived in, all day Sunday you could be off your tits from various small shops and pubs on our street. But if you wanted to get toilet paper it would be a 10 min walk to the one place that was open and you better be doing that between 11-4.
My DH thinks that the best thing US shops are CVS and Walgreens- he can't get over the fact that if you get sick at 9pm at night, you don't have to wait until 10am the next day for medicine.

My issue with shop hours is that every BBC Panorama goes on and on about the dangers of drink culture, then in the town we lived in, all day Sunday you could be off your tits from various small shops and pubs on our street. But if you wanted to get toilet paper it would be a 10 min walk to the one place that was open and you better be doing that between 11-4.

 

David Sedaris' most recent piece on Radio 4 contained a brilliant rant on the rules against double glazing.My MIL is having the same issue with her listed cottage. Although she has solved the problem, somewhat, as she has a wood burning stove and access to loads of free wood.

I do feel lucky to live in Manchester. Many, many of the big shops are open nearly 24 hours, and we can always find somewhere to pick up essentials. Although I did get caught out once on a Sunday at 5:30 by assuming that the big M&S would be open. It wasn't.

My ILs have old ass windows that are considered "original" to their Victorian house, so they aren't allowed to replace them. So instead my DH had to scrape ice off the inside of his room because no double glazing + moldy, rotting away sills meant that the outdoor conditions always = indoor conditions. Frankly, I have no idea why a football didn't 'accidentally' break the windows so they could get double glazing.

You'd still have to replace with like windows if it's a "listed" building, so they would still have to be wooden framed, single glazed.

My ILs have old ass windows that are considered "original" to their Victorian house, so they aren't allowed to replace them.

You'd still have to replace with like windows if it's a "listed" building, so they would still have to be wooden framed, single glazed.

{rant}

Which is, of course, stupid.

If the goal of listing the building is to preserve the historic character of the building and the neighborhood - a goal I agree with - then I am certain there is a way to upgrade the windows without ruining the look of the building.

I'm sure, for example, that the windows of Buckingham Palace have been upgraded at least once or twice in the 300 years since its construction, and I'm equally sure that whatever upgrades have been done have not detracted from the building's magnificence.

It's ridiculous to say a listed building must be maintained completely in keeping with the standards of the time in which it was built.  If one of the windows is broken, would it be ok to get the single pane of glass from B&Q, or must it be hand-blown by a glass blower working in a market square someplace?

And if it's ok to get the glass from B&Q, what with the decline in the glass blowing industry over the last 250 years or so, why can't you just get two panes of glass?  What is it about the second pane of glass that English Heritage hates so much?

{sarcasm}

If, on the other hand, the goal of listing the building is to preserve historically inadequate methods of keeping freezing cold air outside, providing a test bed for future window scientists to use when they want to examine England's inhabitants and their long and storied history of failing to adequately deal with its climate, then I'd submit perhaps not everyone needs to suffer with poor window design to further this goal.  

Maybe it'd be enough that just one or two buildings be required to maintain single pane wooden framed windows; a museum of windows, if you will.  Then the window scientists could go around to study it during the winter and say, "Goodness, it's cold in here, and the heating bills are exorbitant!  Think of all the energy we'd be wasting if we prevented people from upgrading their windows in an aesthetically pleasing manner, allowing them to live in comfort while using energy wisely, and still preserving the look and character of a beautiful building.  I'm so glad we live in the UK, where we're constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to solve problems, rather than just living with them because 'that's the way it's always been done'!"

{/rant}{/sarcasm}

I'm paraphrasing, of course.

They don't have to be like for like, but *appear* like for like.

I've lived in several victorian and pre-victorian buildings which had replaced windows. Including an old technical college which had double height floor to ceiling windows which had been replaced with amazing Iron framed windows, that fully opened and kept in all the heat. If you can put in a loft conversion and add new windows you can of course change your current windows.

They have to from the outside appear to be in keeping within the building itself, but of course you can change them, you just can't stick in a uPVC monstrosity. You can get the wooden frames replaced with uPVC as long as they don't look like uPVC, but you know, uPVC always looks horrible, so you'd probably want to replace with wood.
http://www.quickslide.co.uk/vertical-sliding-windows-features.asp

Victorian society -
Is it possible to fit double-glazing in a traditionally-made timber sash window?
Yes. Most timber sash window specialists can make new windows that incorporate sealed, double-glazed units within traditional timber frames. However, the levels of sound and thermal insulation given by double-glazing can often be matched by draught-proofing original windows, by installing secondary glazing or by using thick curtains or internal shutters.

So yeah if your window broke, just go to B&Q and get another pane of glass. Unless you're living in a Grade 1 listed building which is less than 2% of all listed buildings, and if you didn't want to deal with that, why did you buy it?

They don't have to be like for like, but *appear* like for like.

Thanks for that info, CB.  I tried to find something similar on the English Heritage website, but most of their advice consisted of "check with your local authority to find out what you can and can't do."

Most timber sash window specialists can make new windows that incorporate sealed, double-glazed units within traditional timber frames.

Yes, this is true. I know lots of people with new double-glazed windows in listed properties.

David Sedaris' most recent piece on Radio 4 contained a brilliant rant on the rules against double glazing.My MIL is having the same issue with her listed cottage. Although she has solved the problem, somewhat, as she has a wood burning stove and access to loads of free wood.

I do feel lucky to live in Manchester. Many, many of the big shops are open nearly 24 hours, and we can always find somewhere to pick up essentials. Although I did get caught out once on a Sunday at 5:30 by assuming that the big M&S would be open. It wasn't.

Jennie,
It boggles the mind to think that you could not shop on a Sunday @5:30 lol ...but a s you mentioned Manchester seems better than most with most stores open 24 hrs.  By the way I'll have more questions for you regarding Manchester (later in the year) if you don't mind

Jennie,
It boggles the mind to think that you could not shop on a Sunday @5:30 lol ...but a s you mentioned Manchester seems better than most with most stores open 24 hrs.  By the way I'll have more questions for you regarding Manchester (later in the year) if you don't mind

Of course, ask away! Loads of other places were open, just not M&S!

Jennie,
It boggles the mind to think that you could not shop on a Sunday @5:30 lol ...but a s you mentioned Manchester seems better than most with most stores open 24 hrs.  By the way I'll have more questions for you regarding Manchester (later in the year) if you don't mind

It's not so long ago that you couldn't shop at all on a Sunday

It's not so long ago that you couldn't shop at all on a Sunday

Ah, I remember it well. There was only one local petrol station for miles, and it was only open between 2:00 and 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon.