Fred Dibnah How to buy your own house

[@Willtext]

Almost unimaginable now to think there was a time in Britain when a honest working class man could obtain such a beautiful home.

[@PhilUKNet]

It wasn't actually that long ago. I bought my first place in 1985 on a salary of £10,000. Building societies would loan 3.5x salary for a mortgage and there were even apartments in London available for that price - £35,000. I ended up buying in the London suburbs. Bolton, of course, is a lot cheaper than London. 35 years isn't a long time.

[@stevenbiars4817]

@@PhilUKNet how were the interest rates in those times in the UK? In the US, the bank charged 12.96% on average in 1985. They peaked in the US around 1981, at over 18%. Now a fair part of the interest is related to how much of a down payment you can provide, but the prices of homes have gone up so much that it's rare to find someone that can afford to put 20% down.

[@PhilUKNet]

@@stevenbiars4817 Yes, that was the scary thing back then! UK interest rates peaked at around 17% in 1979, but that was before I started taking out mortgages. I remember going through stages of paying 13-14% interest. From 1993 to 2008 interest rates stayed fairly constant between 4-5% and at that time it was worthwhile having savings. As you know, rates have been almost 0% since the GFC. This volatility and rapidly increasing house prices makes life difficult for a lot of people.

[@manfacilitymetalworks1296]

He did a hell of a lot of work to that house before he bought it. The rear wall was falling off

[@caffeineisking8132]

You still can if you're willing to work as hard as he did .. people want a half million pounds house now for doing 8 hours a day on their ass in a nice office with benefits 🤣

[@kurazoo]

Fred: "That'll be here in 150 year' that." Donald: Well you won't. Love it.

[@123TauruZ321]

Ye you won't....

[@paulcowell7588]

What a great old northern lad...two divorces didn't break him...just carried on grafting...an example to everyone then and now...RIP Fred boy.

[@redmercury77]

Such a fantastically interesting and charismatic person. Could listen to his anecdotes all day long. He's like a Victorian engineer stuck in the modern world.

[@womblechops943]

Fred always makes me smile. I could listen to him all day :-)

[@711honved]

Fred was TV gold! His underpinning is still there today!

[@DonnyHooterHoot]

His talk is amazing, when I first started listening I said, "what", but then after a few I could understand every word! I talk USA, Ohio English. RIP sir.

[@MrSaemichlaus]

I kid you not, just went on Google Maps and looked along a random creek in Bolton for no longer than 30 seconds and there it was, Fred Dibnah's Former Home, labelled as such and still standing much like it was in this film! The ornaments in the front, the iron rods in the pavement, the brick backside, it's all still there to this day, thanks to his repair work. Incredible.

[@karltemple1971]

121 Radcliffe Rd., Haulgh, Bolton BL2 1NU

[@garydouglass9577]

Fred you are a marvel mate. You did a brilliant job on the house and saved it. And then trebbled it's cost and more by your builds in the garden. It's a shame and disgrace that the whole thing is not as a museum untouched. Brilliant man with a brilliant mind and not scared of graft. Well missed Fred R.I.P. 👏🇬🇧👏🇬🇧👏🇬🇧👏🇬🇧👏🇬🇧🍻🍻🍻

[@stormytempest3907]

Here Here.

[@k1ross]

I'm going to assume that "graft" has a different connotation than it does here in the US. Here it means corruption, especially political, and ill-gotten gains. He doesn't strike me as having been that sort of fellow.

[@Videviewer118]

Graft means hard work in UK 😄

[@ClarinoI]

@@k1ross Are you sure you're not thinking about the word "grift" rather than "graft"?

[@gsummy4062]

Him laughing that his wife was nearly blown up by gas cooker.😂

[@pawelwis7215]

why not? It`s just Your wife not kid :)

[@mommymilestones]

@@pawelwis7215 It's just a wife not an important steam engine!

[@13donstalos]

No eyebrows lmao

[@alonequin9694]

A truly lovely Man reminds me of my Dad God rest him very few people like that nowadays RIP.

[@SagaciousFrank]

He was a national treasure, and was from an era where I could still be proud to be a fellow Englishman and Lancastrian, despite the rot setting in back then. Alas, I can't say the same now.

[@Jarrosnshajahwh]

As a fellow Lancastrian i fully agree, he was the last of a dying breed

[@yellowbelly58]

He was a naturally funny man. Well he made me laugh 😂

[@SINCLAIRRESEARCH]

civilisation died with fred dibnah . a true gentleman . the world will be a lesser place without him . many people salute you and are thankful that you let us share in your life albeit thru a television it is a true gift to the wotrld .

[@jjdudley7686]

I Miss Mr Fred ! Cheers mate 👍 I hope you are having a great time in paradise.

[@marcusfenix891]

Miss you Fred we all miss you.

[@shaun5944]

Real good solid hard working man. Passion for his Steam engines. It's an absolute disgrace what happened to he's place being robbed. Whoever did it will have to live with what they done for the rest of their lives, it's on your conscience boys. God works in mysterious ways! RIP Fred. We'll done mate 👍🇬🇧

[@andybaldman]

What happened?

[@bigbird9186]

Hes 1 man I was dying to meet I was going down to meet him then found out he passed away I cried my eyes out he was my hero hes was so down to earth my mate met him said he was lovely bloke

[@connorfinch1787]

Was talking about this bloke today and he comes up in my recommended

[@rockyv1balboa776]

What a Happy Soul Fred Was 💯 And Not to Mention One of the Bravest Men I've Seen, All This Tik Tok Shiit Today Fred Dibnah Was the Real Deal 🙏🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿✌🏻

[@alanr6529]

Fred, we salute you!

[@pauloconnor7951]

Hahaha, funny guy. Gorgeous house !!!!! I feel a kinship with Fred :)

[@kittyrichardson68]

What great picture withhim smileing . I love it.

[@MrJimbaloid]

Good old fred he was the very end of good old great britan.

[@classicartfoundation639]

Yes it's all gone now

[@Lytton333]

What a pity Fred didn't get his memorial chimney...

[@pauln3862]

Yes,I totally agree, he so deserves to have that chimney stack headstone! Just a shame none of his sons would give it a go

[@richardmorton4762]

There is a bronze statue of him in Bolton town centre.

[@julianbrown8551]

If you look at his headstone, it has a chimney with smoke coming out.

[@jamiehoward5538]

Still time yet. I hope it comes to pass

[@blaster88778]

He has got a chimney on his mums house in great lever bolton. Just Google earth "fred dibnahs chimney"

[@vanehills]

I've never seen a man climb a ladder two rungs at a time. Brilliant Fred.

[@silver760]

Modern buildings won't be around to "Admire" in future times.Their cinder block walls,plasterboard interiors and chipboard floors will have crumbled decades ago.From friends of mine who have purchased brand new homes I've had nothing but horror stories. New interiors crumbling,plastic plumbing that blows apart and warped pine frame doors with cardboard interiors.Even the "wood" used weeps sap for years as it was never seasoned in the first place.Rather old hideous than new hideous.

[@copee2960]

Hands on...get the job done...Fred was one very clever, and canny man.

[@Unclejohntyskitchen]

Fred a great man and says it how it is

[@MrBlaugeist]

A time that will never be repeated

[@herrroy4963]

A big cred also to his friend Donald. It obvious he meant a lot to Fred.

[@stringologymchugh4245]

This guy could turn his hand to anything. Not many people around like that anymore.

[@shaun5944]

FD. One of a kind 👍

[@RosieWoolf]

Absolutely perfection. Where are all these men?

[@Basin79]

Legend. A proper top bloke.

[@graytoby1]

£5000 for a house and land a bloody miricale i say, you've barely got change from 5 grand for a weekly Asda shop these days for many people the idea of buying a house is a mere fantasy. Fantastic bloke called a spade a spade

[@daveperky3387]

More hilarious was his reaction to the mrs getting blown up by the cooker 😂🤣

[@graememorrison333]

Ha! Tie Rods! Got ones with the same finials(?) running through my top floor Viccy flat in london. They've kept the place (almost) crack free for 140 year!

[@beaghteach]

cant believe he walked across the slates without using a ladder..proper legend!!

[@SuperFerdie1965]

I were lyin in bed like, yer nooo. Wife were on top and I were showin er ow a piston works in an engine like.....

[@jacksonirving4594]

Owt t oil cums aaat end off piston efter a few more thrusts ont vinegar stroke. Tha knaas.

[@jayh9529]

🕊

[@ticktock8993]

😂😂😂😂😂 and the piston slapped and the conrod blew.👍

[@maximiliandietrichdrysdale898]

N the bloody steam it blew right out of my ears and wife says you finished I said aye she put me hat back on and then walked the stairs unsatisfied as such cewk us a dinner

[@albaproductions9602]

Growing up in the 70's i met a few blokes like fred, real salt of the earth genuine fellas who had travelled all over Britain working they had great stories to tell funny one's too. All gone now though not many school leavers want to get their hands dirty I'm glad one of my sons went on to train as a mechanic and not with a big company but a village garage that gave him a 6 year apprenticeship.

[@AbzDeen]

6 year apprenticeship? savage its 4 in Scotland

[@albaproductions9602]

@@AbzDeen This is in scotland

[@AbzDeen]

@@albaproductions9602 what's he doing an apprenticeship in

[@albaproductions9602]

@@AbzDeen mechanic

[@Gnrnrvids]

@@AbzDeen Same in Australia. 4years for mechanic. Sounds ike he is getting ripped off in some way. Boss gets to pay apprentice wages for 6 years and not just 4.

[@henrylar8958]

every homie watching dib for a while wants to make the pilgrimage to his headstone

[@geraldstarr9950]

Ah’d like tuh buy me own owse and fix it up like that bloody Fred bloke from the telly like.

[@lynch42o]

honestly, id love to go see his home one day, if i ever make it across the pond.

[@alexandergoscimski1870]

It was listed for sale not too long ago. There was rear access with a garage and what looked like an oil rig planted in the garden. Man's paradise. I coudn't convince the wife to move to Bolton tho...

[@Brustkle]

His own house for 5k!!! Makes me wonder what type of world we live in today

[@maximiliandietrichdrysdale898]

Blood buy a brand new car for 800 back then

[@Alamyst2011]

A broken world

[@jamesskelton6744]

Well fred you have even more fans now.rest in peace.

[@richardharmon874]

This gentleman is amazing

[@peterherrington3300]

Loads of minimal wage millennials moaning they haven't got a posh house 😂😂😂😂 They have a flash motor , 6 foot telly , top spec phone & expensive gym membership & regular holidays but no posh house 😂😂😂

[@machomanrandysavage107]

Bastards need hanging

[@pmacc3557]

I love olde world England and English countryside and old graveyards

[@TheDave000]

Hitherto is a fucking banger of a word.

[@mikewest5529]

I really hope this man got his fancy headstone!! He deserves it!!

[@mikewest712]

Didn't happen. Very modest headstone

[@rossharling7335]

Hope FRED got his wish fancy headstone coz fucking hell he deserves it

[@mikes8367]

Fred: "It'll be here in a hundred and fifty year now"' Helper: 'But you won't."

[@utdkidswifeITO]

Watching in March 2022! I wonder if he would have believed people would be still watching nowadays? i think he did for sure...

[@OfflineSetup]

Whenever i see "old" clips like this, I keep an eye out on the roads, and to see how empty they are.

[@b34rdy]

Imagine being able to buy a house for 5 grand these days

[@poacher9118]

Would love to know how they actually fed those rods through to the other side

[@graemecreegan6749]

Under the floorboards of the ground floor and above the ceiling of the downstairs, between the floor joists. There must have been a bit of tv magic to make it look like a tap wi th’ammer at one end sent rod through hole at th’other, like 😉

[@darrenremington6422]

@@graemecreegan6749 thinking the same thing 🤔

[@cosmicclown95]

RIP Fred 🙏

[@charliebanga1560]

Love this guy !!!

[@jamesdonaldmorris2318]

I should have bought a house in the 80s when they where $15

[@davidgaston738]

dear old fred in those days we had characters and he was one of them now we have bland wokes

[@fatwalletboy2]

No zero hours or temping back then 40hr week for 40hr pay you.knew where you was moneywise and rents were very affordable so you could save. £5000 for all that house plus land.fred did well.

[@Ampex196]

£5000 was cheap even in those days for such a house; serious structural problems being the reason. But - Fred Dibnah was not an ordinary buyer; he had the neccessary knowledge and engineering skills to fix it ! Without his intervention, the whole back wall would have collapsed and the house would have had to be demolished.

[@pauln3862]

So,so very true,if it were not for him there would be no house there

[@kayden5238]

damn has it really been 12 years .. life is fleeting ..*looking at how old comment is*

[@JamieR1988]

I love how he just lights about his wife almost being killed 😂

[@petermostyneccleston2884]

He did have two divorces to go through. Wife number three was apparently not happy with him either. I think that Fred knew more about steam engines, saving the home, Church yards and Chimneys, than household management.

[@MrJimbaloid]

God bless you fred.

[@kenadams5504]

His House should be a Museum for the public to appreciate.I'm sure he would get a kick out of that.

[@tilidie5272]

i like how his accent makes everyone in the comment type like a yorkshireman lol

[@multipreach2674]

That isn't a Yorkshire accent bud. It's a Bolton accent, Lancashire.

[@tobysmith8032]

Really lad? can thus give us a deemonstration like?

[@gavpowell1981]

I think I heard the story about the lion - chap's name was Albert.

[@sianiswack633]

Ah right... in a recent video showing the house and current owners, you can see 3 pairs of underpinning points on the yard side of the house

[@rickytalk5852]

One can hear that accent all through Bolton to this day

[@liammcooper]

amazing

[@peaceformula5830]

Average house price for a first home is 260,000. So that's 750 per month for 30 years.

[@StanSwan]

He bought a falling down building with no kitchen. He did an amazing job making it his home.

[@Brustkle]

Yeah 5k was cheap in them days for a house with serious structural problems but I dout you will ever pick up a house as cheap as 5k now with the same structural problems

[@hasdrubal121]

RIP Fred, salt of the earth type.

[@Sylvia-Storm]

Incredible sense of humour.

[@josephlandrut4154]

Fred and I would be friend when chatting together about my relations in northern counties although I live in the midlands.

[@Underbottom.Sandydown]

Does anyone know if Fred got his chimney stack grave stone?

[@mysticalglowtv1796]

When I heard he was charging £7000 to knock a chimney I thought that sounds quite cheap. Hearing how much he bought his house for shines a completely different light on it. Does anybody know how much £5000 would be in todays pound or euro?

[@JBE]

The gas cooker had blown up! Ah well.

[@benking9503]

He ended up getting his ( half a day out with the undertaker) as he always mansions

[@hunterhthompson9340]

*mentions

[@MartinHallis]

The braces that Fred and the other guy inserts at the beginning can be seen on Google Street View. Radcliffe Rd maps.app.goo.gl/hBNbXZAw8kwsamyNA

[@Nathidraws]

A shame house prices have risen so much

[@123TauruZ321]

2:22 I don't understand how he got that nut on that screw, barely 1-2 mm hold on it. 2:35 It takes some dexterity and practice to screw the nut like that with one hand. 3:50 I think those sounds when he steps on the ladder is edited into the clips. Stupid. Those shoes he uses though, they are aweful to walk in, but probably gives a lot of stability when walking on ladders.

[@daviecrocket9160]

I wish I could get a home.

[@clivewarren8671]

Does Fred still live there today?

[@gwishart]

Not since he died 18 years ago.

[@slessorpr]

Thanks so much 4 posting this - do u know any sites other than GUBA where I cd find some Fred Dibnah documentaries? I think he is top!!

[@mattd23]

Please boost the volume on these videos

[@The_Unintelligent_Speculator]

How on earth did he drill the holes to fit the house braces?

[@seanoxborough410]

5 grand lol, how fking long was the drill bit to go through the sides of. House lol? Not b n q

[@kamikazekaos]

Lol😂😂😂

[@zonkozonko]

What's the odds of pushing a 18 foot steel rod through your house and it coming out of a hole on the other side first time? Fred did it twice! (or did he?)

[@Spencerjones_musicSM]

Cool

[@hopefilledsinner3911]

Did you see that! At 1.55 he didn't put any cones on the road no safety spotters and he survived.

[@TSeries502]

How did they drill that hole through the house?

[@EvolutionRich]

It's only drilled through the masonry at the back and front of the house, the centre of the tie bolt passes through the floor cavity between the joists

[@tc9634]

It really hurts how an ordinary working person could afford a decent house back then. From the 30s to the 70s things started getting better, then Thatcher came along and ruined everything.

[@pmacc3557]

Keep the common man down and too busy to think

[@kenadams5504]

I don't think Fred was as ordinary as he seemed. he definately had a lot of "the old grey matter"

[@deeppurple883]

Even though he had a good run in life, he lived it to the full in his own happy way. He actually had the mindset of and secretly wanted to be landed gentry in his own right, but smarter. He was on the ladder on the move up. It's a pity he didn't take up acting he was perfect for those TV series around that time like, the boy's from the black stuff and the like. He wasn't around for long enough but he achieved and lived it like he was writing it. He had stories in volumes and casess of film to fill. I'm not sure why he touched me so much. I think I see a bit of my Da and myself in him. In some of his old fashion views about certain topics. Like a woman's place etc etc , Maybe it's bore out of being through some hard time's. Newer doesn't always mean better. A lot of people buy into that sentiment. Me to. ✊☘️

[@djturbine7565]

Where exactly is a woman’s place?

[@jdmjesus6103]

100% he could have fixed that anytime but he left it so he could get the house cheap. I'd have done the same.

[@HXLproductions]

Impossible in today's society with property prices

[@craigybus1]

@cornflakes002 That £5k he paid for it would roughly be the equivalent of about £100k now, so still a bargain for what he got.

[@StewFairweather]

That £5k would be worth nowhere near £100k today. Even going on his earliest recording date - 1979 - that £5k would be worth £17,686 today. House price inflation started to go ballistic from the late 80's to present. The days of bargains like Fred got are well and truly gone. www.moneysorter.co.uk/calculator_inflation2.html#calculator

[@zoelomas233]

What a man