[Closed] Expensive things that are a bit rubbish

new build houses

genuinely not being snobby about this, there are lots of things that can be done better for very little cost difference (I'm thinking solar panels being a requirement for all new builds, thermal standards etc)

solar panels being a requirement for all new builds

Most new builds around here seem to have them - I thought there was at least some kind of incentive..?

You seem upset, did I take your turn?

No, just pointing out your silly troll 🙂

Dyson, rubbish?

We were given an old DC04 (?) that didn't work (as it "didn't have any suck and always stops working after five minutes" - it was just blocked up, because it had never had the filters cleaned or the U-bend cleaned - so the motor overheated and tripped)

I washed the filters and cleaned the blocked tube. That was about six years ago. It still works perfectly.

Expensive it might be but I can't say it's a bit rubbish.

genuinely not being snobby about this, there are lots of things that can be done better for very little cost difference

Making the rooms big enough to swing a medium sized cat in would be a start.

Making the rooms big enough to swing a medium sized cat in would be a start.

In order to do that you need more land, which makes your house very much more expensive. Or you build three storey houses, like mine.

that must add up

Yes it does, but given that the thread is for things that are expensive and rubbish, your point is somewhat invalid. Bikes are ace. Not rubbish.

MTB Marathons.

£35 to ride on Public Rights of Way?

Dualit toasters.

Ours is 31 this year, just treated it to first set of new elements (One side of one of them was toasting unevenly, but still just about working).

Paris Hilton

Dualit toasters

Ours was second hand to us 10 years ago, where it had come from several years' service in a works kitchen. Barely even cleaned it, let alone had to repair it.

It'll probably blow up now.

doesn't get much more expensive or much more useless than this

Nukes stopped the cold war from ever going hot, if there had been no nukes, Russian T-55's would have stormed accross Europe a long time ago.

Nuclear war makes large scale industrial war between developed nations a losing proposition for both sides, without them, one side will always believe that they have a chance of gaining something from war.

Yeah, new builds. Shyte !

Ever increasing prices, still shonky planning, workmanship and finishing.

MidlandTrailquestsGraham - Member
MTB Marathons.

£35 to ride on Public Rights of Way?

solar panels being a requirement for all new builds

These would CSH level 3 dwellings built under May 09 guidance. Now most are built using fabric first approach and thus no renewables.

In order to do that you need more land, which makes your house very much more expensive. Or you build three storey houses, like mine

IIRC three storeys makes for lower heating cost compared to the same floor space on two storeys.

Guess you lose some floor space with the extra stairs.

@Harry, our Dyson does that (cuts out all the time) and its because the battery is a bit loose. Slam it with your hand, so that the battery goes completely back in, and its perfect again.

It's a bit annoying but I just like to pretend I'm slapping in another magazine before taking down some more mofos*

*raisins, toast crumbs, rice crispies etc

Agree with OP re Dyson's.

Poor build quality and about as much suction as a 200 year old emphysemic tortoise using a straw with holes in – utter gash. Well ours is anyway.

IT Departments!

*ducks*

Now most are built using fabric first approach and thus no renewables.

Meaning what?

I think all houses should be three storeys. 50% more floor space and no downside. Our house takes up less floor space than the normal 3 bed semis in neighbouring developments, but has two big bedrooms and one good sized, rather than two small ish and one unusable box room. Has a big living room too.

anything with crank brothers written on it

Pretty much all London property. Until the bubble bursts of course

Dyson's how is no bad actually a good design feature, just means the dust escapes when you empty it. Apart from the fact their build quality is completely variable.

Audi A3, not as good as the VW Golf despite essentially being the same car for more cash.

Merino wool baselayers.

Austin Reed shirts.

Only on STW do you get willy waving about [i]toasters[/i]!

Now most are built using fabric first approach and thus no renewables.

Insulate beyond building regs, focus on airtightness, effective windows and doors.

Code for Sustainable Homes is a well intentioned but poorly designed standard that creates some perverse incentives. There are too many 'points' for renewables so they're not a requirement but it's easier/cheaper (and requires fewer changes to the way they build) for housebuilders to just stick some solar panels on the roof.

Likewise the EPC energy performance rating. As I understand impossible to get an A rating without renewables, even if you've no requirement for heating (completely passive).

Encouraging then - our neighbours have put their house on the market and it's been given a B rating.

Do they test this or look at your bills or something?

Signs, maps, prizes, organisation, marshalls, first aid cover?

Same goes for sportives and public roads.

surroundedbyhills - Member

IT Departments!

*ducks*

Careful now!

ps - I really like my not that old Dyson and Dualit products.

Parliamentary democracy

Encouraging then - our neighbours have put their house on the market and it's been given a B rating.
Do they test this or look at your bills or something?

Paper exercise based on what is meant to be installed and a lot of assumptions. Takes no account of how well it's done (eg is the insulation tightly butted and taped or just thown in?) or actual energy use.

HS2 it's gonna cost lots and still be delayed and late.

SammyC - Member

@Harry, our Dyson does that (cuts out all the time) and its because the battery is a bit loose. Slam it with your hand, so that the battery goes completely back in, and its perfect again.

Thanks, I'll try that.

Lock n' Load!

[i]Thanks, I'll try that.

Lock n' Load![/i]

I'd suggest NOT slamming the thing with your fist, but slightly shimming the gap between battery and its retainer / lid, whatever.

Cars. Expensive and rubbish. I resent spending thousands of pounds on something I have to drive to get to boring meetings, usually through interminable traffic jams and roadworks, surrounded by thousands of rude, selfish idiots.

I realise that this is something of a minority viewpoint, however, and nearly everyone else in the UK thinks spending vast chunks of their hard-earned on something that makes them angry and fat is just brilliant. Ho hum.

Cars aren't rubbish, it's your lifestyle that's rubbish.

Cars, as objects, are absolutely incredible things, and given how much work has gone into each one it's amazing how cheap thye are. You just listed a load of problems with modern life, not problems with cars.

PS cars don't make you angry and fat - you make yourself angry and fat. Cycling is just one way to make yourself thin and happy, there are others.

if you read too much molgrips you'll become angry and fat

Jamies Restarants.

Overpriced grilled veg and pasta 🙄

You just listed a load of problems with modern life, not problems with cars.

Modern Life is Rubbish!

Parliamentary democracy

not many credible alternatives around, though?

vast chunks of their hard-earned on something that makes them angry and fat is just brilliant

Buy an older one, spend less money. You can buy some decent old cars for very little money.

Women! Just when you think you've found a reliable and economical version it starts producing children ffs!

17 year old Dyson which still works just fine here - it was certainly a step up on anything else available at the time.

Women! Just when you think you've found a reliable and economical version it starts producing children ffs!

Buy an older one, spend less money.

Or misquoting from above

Buy an older one, spend less money.

loving your work

Is there not a meme for how long it takes an internet discussion to start dissing Dyson's? if not I claim my £5 voucher and name rights - Disdyson law.

I'm in the pro dyson lobby FWIW over 15yrs and counting, and it's Green too 🙂

No views on Dysons as never had one, but he does come across as a rather annoying shouty angry man (Dyson).

Our dyson dc01 has finally died after 14 years can't fault that.

As for rubbish landrover defender or more specifically post tdi ones

I like it when people say "I can't understand how your <product X> isn't reliable, mine is 50 years old and never misses a beat", as if a product can't change in 50 years! Might as well say "I own a completely different product and it's reliable, why isn't yours?"

Miele. Standards dropped in certainly 20 years. Never again.

Don't say Miele I've just treated myself

Fake boobs

And semi-trolling, but, Jones bikes. Still don't get the one size fits all thing. They are expensive and rubbish until I've ridden one 😛

You just listed a load of problems with modern life, not problems with cars.

OK, I'll bite, just for a second. Yes, any individual car can be held up as well designed and fit for purpose, but... Modern, western life has been shaped at a fundamental level by the motor car. Indeed it is intrinsic to some of the worst aspects of our modern life. If the motor car didn't exist, life would be very different (not necessarily worse). So saying that my problem is with modern life is disingenuous, because modern life is how it is partly because of cars. And many of the things that I hate most about modern life are hateful precisely because of the nature of the car, which encourages the worst aspects of human nature (selfishness, apathy, acquisitiveness, aggression, indifference). So, by and large, I stand by my assessment: cars are shit.

But like I said before, I don't expect anyone to agree with me.

Modern, western life has been shaped at a fundamental level by the motor car

That's absolutely true, but it's not the fault of the car - it's the fault of us who use them. We did not realise what we were doing to our lives. People have always needed to move around. The car is just better at it than many systems. A lot of things have been made possible because of the car.

selfishness, apathy, acquisitiveness, aggression, indifference

You make a good point, but I believe that people have always had those attributes, and car usage behaviour is simply another symptom. Technology gives us freedoms and enables us to express ourselves, for better or worse. But it's not the fault of the technology, on the whole.

Cars are neutral to me. There are choked angry commutes, but there are also family road trips and glorious drives through the countryside. There are angry commutes by car and angry commutes by train. 100 years ago we'd have been commuting on foot, and probably having a nice stroll, but we'd have been walking the same streets our whole lives to the same factory and doing the same shit. And the town would have been smoky and dirty because the factory was right in the middle of it.

Plus One for Dre beats , they are nothing but a cheap fashion Item that sound as good as apple's earphones.

barbours.

the south east - expensive to live there, pretty rubbish really (unless you are minted)

But like I said before, I don't expect anyone to agree with me.

Wine from the US, there's a reason why you don't really see it in the UK

Have we done the Edinburgh Tram[s]s[/s] yet?

[img] [/img]

Plus One for Dre beats

Make your own - much better and cheaper 😀

(PS Dyson DC-05 still going strong after about 15 years. Replaced the motor once after two days sucking up brick dust and concrete from a wall I was renovating. Cheap and easy to do - it was built to be repaired, screws and bolts, no glue or welds)

Well, Casey Neistat will tell you Apple iPods are expensive and rubbish...

He has a point too. He's a much bigger fan of the iPhone though. 😀