THE Consumer Crew are here to solve your problems.
Mel Hunter will take on readers’ consumer issues, Jane Hamilton will give you the best advice for buying your dream home, and Judge Rinder will tackle your legal woes.
WE are getting used to initiatives telling us how to keep our homes warm, such as Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Green Homes Grant.
But with searing heatwaves and “tropical nights” becoming more frequent as the climate changes, what is the best way to cool down your pad?
Here are my five top tips to get you started.
1 ) Install insulation. This might seem counter-intuitive but insulation works by preventing the passage of heat – so it stops heat coming in, as well as out.
2 ) Paint it white. There is a reason homes in Mediterranean countries are painted white. The shade reflects warmth.
It is very effective on south-facing walls and roofs if you don’t want to paint the entire house.
You could also invest in white curtains and blinds to reflect heat away from windows.
3 ) Turn off electrical appliances. All household gadgets and appliances generate heat, so if you don’t need to use something, switch it off.
Consider cooking outside on a barbecue to keep down heat levels indoors.
4 ) Design shade into your garden. Trailing ivy over a wooden trellis or pergola is a quick way to add shade to any garden.
If you have space, plant a fruit tree, as you will get tasty fruit as well as a cool shady spot to sit in.
5 ) Retrofit air-con. Installation can be pricey, at around £1,000 per indoor unit. But they make upstairs rooms such as loft conversions much more comfortable in a heatwave.
But remember, air-conditioning systems must be installed and maintained by a registered gas engineer.
A THIRD of big-city dwellers want to quit with the South West coast the most popular area to escape to, according to Barclays Mortgages.
Combine costal living with celeb cachet in this two-bed chalet in West Bay, Dorset, home to David Tennant’s DI Alec Hardy in the second season of Broadchurch.
On sale for £325,000 at rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-82501741.html.
Buy of the week
A SIX-FOOT emu called Ethel went on the run in Doncaster this week after escaping from her enclosure. Luckily she’s now home.
If you fancy your own roost in the South Yorks town – less than two hours by train from London – a smart two-bedroom semi-detached is just £125,000 at onthemarket.com/details/8920465.
Deal of the week
FLORAL-print crockery is a blooming summer trend and perfect for outdoor dining.
Argos’ Home Botanist 12-piece dinner set was £25 but is now just £7.50
SAVE: £17.50
Judge Rinder, legal expert
Q) I WORK for a building firm and a customer is refusing to pay.
We did some work for him and after a while his shower leaked, which the supplier said was due to the shower holes being blocked with scale.
We told him he should go through his insurance but he didn’t want to. We went back and did the repairs.
He said in an email we did a good job when the shower was fitted but now he won’t pay the bill we sent.
He tried to get the shower company to pay but they gave us a report on the scaled shower head and said it was due to lack of maintenance.
Should we go through the small claims court? Shelley, Kent
A) This is a thorny legal problem.
When your customer ordered his shower head, he asked your firm to supply it – which means your customer had no contractual relationship with the manufacturer or the supplier.
Although the manufacturer was under a legal obligation to ensure you did not install a defective part, in all likelihood the buck stops with you here.
That is not the end of the matter, however.
Both your firm and the manufacturer could claim your customer has failed to act reasonably by not cleaning the shower head (so has caused the problem).
But if the issue emerged relatively soon after it was installed, your best bet is to offer to provide this customer a new shower head or a refund.
This will probably cost far less than the time and stress of bringing proceedings.
One important caveat: If you completed this build some time ago and are sure the supplier provided you with a dud part, you could bring a claim. But it seems to me you would be better off avoiding this at all costs.
