Hi,
Who is actually to blame Don for the way things are these days. We complain about poor design and things which are designed to break down the day after the warranty expires; we now live in a throw away society with so much controlled by electronic circuit boards that once the board expires its cheaper to buy new but then this is called saving the planet and protecting resources.
Our previous washing machine broke down it being the circuit board at fault; £35 for the call out and quoted £100 for a new circuit board; we bought a brand new washing machine for £190 all because of a small circuit board which costs very little to manufacture.
Power tools can be bought extremely cheaply and these are expected to perform like the more expensive power tools? People now want something for nothing and in order to meet such expectations manufacturers have to trim everything back to the absolute minimum; I like to buy old scrap cast iron machines then fully restore them usually taking only a handful of tools and at the cost of a few bearings or drive belts; the motors are designed and built to last a lifetime as is the machine; no electronics at all to go wrong just simple honest design that anyone can understand and repair if they want to get their hands dirty and put some effort in.
Our neighbour has just suffered an accident in his car which activated three airbags; no one was seriously hurt and the car had minimal offside front damage which a few years ago would have been repaired; the cost of the new air bags and installation meant the insurance company wrote a decent car off and we all pay for this modern technology by increased insurance costs. Just another example of saving the planet.
Bron and I dislike plastic window frames and doors etc preferring wood; wood has been around millions of years; wood can be repaired or replaced by more wood the old wood easily disposed of; if looked after wood is very long lasting; our wooden window frames and doors are still like brand new but at over 50 years old; about four years ago I replaced the double glazed units leaving the still perfect wood frames in place; six double glazed units only cost under £350 and I did the job myself.
I mentioned in post #3 I was just starting work on a new front entrance for our bungalow; this is now completed as seen in the pictures below. It's made entirely by me from good old fashioned redwood; the redwood is completely sealed and should with care last well over 50 years even in this exposed valley side location.
Old skills are dying out at a rapid pace with few guys these days interested in hands on hobbies; Bron and I have saved an incredible amount of money working on our home rather than getting someone in; the money saved in labour meant we could then buy top quality materials. We often get told its all right for us because we've got the skills; we've got the workshop; we've got the tools and machinery etc but we weren't born with these; whilst our friends and neighbours are off on foreign holidays or dining out we remain home putting our hard earned money to good use but then we are all different; we never say its all right for you because you've just been on a foreign holiday its down to choice. We love our home and we can have days out whenever we wish; because of our lifestyle I was able to fully retire aged 53 so we also get told its alright for us because we've got the time; before retiring I worked in a very stressful job and we never have holidays away from home; during working on one holiday period Bron and I replaced the bungalow roof whilst our neighbours were away on holiday; strange though the neighbours always return home from holiday as miserable as they left?
Generally I think we get what we deserve; if we demand things but don't want to pay what can we expect?
I'm now restoring two large coach lamps I bought at Rufforth Auto Jumble costing £3 the pair and I enjoy doing things like this than going away on holiday; our lifestyle isn't for everyone but we're happy.
Kind regards, Colin.
Redwood door under construction; through wedged mortise & tenon joints; cost very little other than materials and my time and the door will last a lifetime or two if looked after; All the wood is fully sealed with top quality paint.
The new front entrance completed; all woodwork is done by me as is the metal decking only cost being materials. The only plastic we have are the rainwater goods and even these are painted to match the woodwork.
One of the coach lamps stripped. Another interesting project for me. It's going to take a lot of time to restore these and even if I fail all I'll lose is £3 plus time.
Two bought for £3; I've seen similar on eBay for up to £90 each.