First-time house renovation

latecomer

Just a very quick update from me - plans have been submitted to the planning dept yesterday and we had our wood burner fitted last week. Haven't used it yet as the guy said to give it 4 days before using it for the first time.

New job is taking up all my time and I'm not sure about forum posting from there hence hte lack of updates. Also Virgin media managed to screw our connection for a couple of days which didn't help. Will update the blog when I can find the camera download cable.

jamtart6

hi all just a quicky from me. Literally have done nothing but spend money on skips we got all the rubbish out by van/car to the tip and saved loads, but can't ferry all the soil to the tip, so have had to get skips. It is unreal how much soil can come from a tiny extension footings!!! SOOOOOOOO depressing to spend all that money Im definitely going in to the skipping industry to make my first million!!!

Hope u are all doing well x

ukmaggie45

Grr, just did a long post and my browser died on me before I could post it.

We got the survey this morning. Looks as if it would be better to just demolish and start again from scratch!

Built 1958.

Kitchen floor needs replacing (we knew that), kitchen and garage have flat roof, needs reflective solar something or other put on to enhance it's life. One of kitchen walls is leaning out. Boiler has outlet right by back door, so fumes can get back in when door open.

Apparently the rising main is in the bathroom (other side of house to kitchen) which would account for the poor water pressure in kitchen (OH tried the tap). We'd want to get a combi boiler installed, and not sure how easy that might be.

All floors are solid, and show signs of sulphate attack where surveyor was able to inspect them.

No DPC, high levels of damp in some walls.

Roof needs an overhaul, loose concrete tiles, gullies need clearing.

Garage needs floor replacing, and there's an issue with possible damaged lintel over window.

No insulation in loft.

Cavity walls.

Suggested we have the drains inspected with that TV thingy, and get in structural engineer to test for the sulphate attack.

I honestly don't know if I can take the hassle of it all. If I was fit and healthy it would be a different matter, but I'm not, so have to consider that too. Anyway, we're not going to rush any decision.

How's everyone else doing? Any progress?

I'm back to the dentist this afternoon at 2.30 - tooth hurty as OH commented (groan). Was supposed to have tooth removed yesterday, but the compressor that drives everything stopped working, so it's today instead. Spare me thought at half past two! :eek:

andrew-b

Flat roofs generally need replacement every now and again and probs with them are pretty common. It's not really too much to worry about so long as you have the budget to replace it completely. I know you were considering a loft conversion ...is building up on top of the garage and kitchen and extending the pitched roof an option that would then make flat roof repairs unnecessary anyway?

Kitchen wall leaning out...is it the same inside and out...if its just outside i suppose it might indicate failure of the cavity wall ties - i'd ask for confirmation on likely cause of this one.

Boiler fumes isn't really a big issue if your getting a new boiler anyway. It may make more sense to go for a vertical flue instead to solve this one.

Rising main on the other side of the house shouldn't make a huge difference really...for mains cold in the kitchen i don't see why that would be a problem. It may be an easy fix this one - or then again it might not be!

The sulphate attack of the floor sounds like the biggest problem followed by the lack of DPC. Replacing the floors is a big and messy job. Injecting a DPC might not be so bad though i think usually they hack off the bottom of the plaster all around the inside of the house which might mean the rooms you could have lived with now need complete redecoration!

Roof doesn't sound too bad.

Damaged lintel i wouldn't be too put off by but would look into replacing it (Ask your builder!).

Loft insulation is easily solved ..and you'll probably qualify for free insulation anyway.

Drains testing is pretty much standard surveyor talk. On structural surveys my Dad often used to do some drain testing himself. My gut feel from the condition of the rest of the property is it maybe worthwhile if you intend to go ahead.

If it was me i'd probably bail out because of the floors and lack of DPC. All the probs you've mentioned are fixable if you chuck enough money at them. So it's a question of what they are likely to cost to rectify and whether your prepared to pay out if the vendor won't take a lower offer that reflects them..plus of course if you like the house enough to justify the hassles!

And your tooth..i've got some string and a door handle :eek: and i don't charge anywhere near as much as a dentist - be glad for anaesthesia!

Andy

Shimmyhill

latecomer wrote: »

Just a very quick update from me - plans have been submitted to the planning dept yesterday and we had our wood burner fitted last week. Haven't used it yet as the guy said to give it 4 days before using it for the first time.

New job is taking up all my time and I'm not sure about forum posting from there hence hte lack of updates. Also Virgin media managed to screw our connection for a couple of days which didn't help. Will update the blog when I can find the camera download cable.

Quick get that camera lead found - i am very interested in seeing pics of your wood burner !!!!

ukmaggie45

Hi Andy,

Thanks ever so much for your thoughts. :A :beer: Brain generally scrambled this morning by dental phobia, so OH and I haven't really discussed things much yet. Though he did read through what I wrote and agreed it was OK for me to post it.

andrew-b wrote: »

Flat roofs generally need replacement every now and again and probs with them are pretty common. It's not really too much to worry about so long as you have the budget to replace it completely. I know you were considering a loft conversion ...is building up on top of the garage and kitchen and extending the pitched roof an option that would then make flat roof repairs unnecessary anyway?

Yes, I was wondering that too... Especially since the garage will need a new floor - it was added in 1975 along with the kitchen (it backs onto the kitchen, but has an open to the sky passageway between house and garage IYSWIM). So might as well get rid and build above - with sufficient footings!

andrew-b wrote: »

Kitchen wall leaning out...is it the same inside and out...if its just outside i suppose it might indicate failure of the cavity wall ties - i'd ask for confirmation on likely cause of this one.

Dreaded word underpinning mentioned here. :eek: But since we would want to extend the kitchen anyway the wall would go and then there could be better footings put in. If that makes sense?

I don't see why the cavity wall ties would fail here - the extension is so much younger than the rest of the house. Other than it appears to have been a shoddy build given that garage floor needs replacing as well as kitchen one. Unless the drains are shot and ground moving because of that? As must be very obvious I know very little about buildings!

andrew-b wrote: »

Boiler fumes isn't really a big issue if your getting a new boiler anyway. It may make more sense to go for a vertical flue instead to solve this one.

We'd hope to have a combi, but not sure where it would go as the rising main is in the bathroom - we'll have to have a chat with our builder at some stage, but he's on holiday for 2 weeks in Spain, though has already said it's OK to text him as he's in touch with "the lads" every day anyway.

andrew-b wrote: »

Rising main on the other side of the house shouldn't make a huge difference really...for mains cold in the kitchen i don't see why that would be a problem. It may be an easy fix this one - or then again it might not be!

There is no mains cold in the kitchen - it's from a feeder tank in the loft from what I can make out. This strikes me as a bit odd - would feel I had to boil all cold water, wouldn't fancy drinking it - how many dead pigeons in the tank? :eek: Well, you know what I mean!

andrew-b wrote: »

The sulphate attack of the floor sounds like the biggest problem followed by the lack of DPC. Replacing the floors is a big and messy job. Injecting a DPC might not be so bad though i think usually they hack off the bottom of the plaster all around the inside of the house which might mean the rooms you could have lived with now need complete redecoration!

When the floor is replaced there would be a DPC under that. And suspect there would be a fair amount of replastering needed before redecoration anyway - hinted at in survey, and our builder already had thought that. There are also other ways of doing DPCs I think, but would have to find out more.

We wouldn't be moving in until after work done anyway. The idea was to buy, move gradually (much the same way as we cleared my parents flat) over several months, and then try to sell our house. Or maybe let it if can't sell. Except DD would be lending us money to get the work done, and we need to pay her back - it's her saving for a house money. But she says she's not getting much interest anyway so we might as well use it. We will pay her for losses she makes on interest.

andrew-b wrote: »

Roof doesn't sound too bad.

On the whole I agree. And if we did go up into the loft there would be work needed for dormer and so on. Still craving a Juliet balcony! Would really love to replace the concrete tiles with slate, but suspect that beyond our means as the timbers would prob need to be strengthened to take the extra weight. At least I assume concrete tiles are lighter than slate.

andrew-b wrote: »

Damaged lintel i wouldn't be too put off by but would look into replacing it (Ask your builder!).

Actually on re-reading there's more than one maybe damaged lintel, but both in the 1975 extension.

andrew-b wrote: »

Loft insulation is easily solved ..and you'll probably qualify for free insulation anyway.

Yes, suspect that is the case, we've already been offered top up insulation and stuff from WarmFront for here. Not gone for it at the moment and have prob lost the letter. But seem to get one every year via Motability. Besides, in the great scheme of things the cost of insulation is tiny - but was surprised the place wasn't insulated - not even the tanks in the loft. :rolleyes:

andrew-b wrote: »

Drains testing is pretty much standard surveyor talk. On structural surveys my Dad often used to do some drain testing himself. My gut feel from the condition of the rest of the property is it maybe worthwhile if you intend to go ahead.

Yes, and it's quite a long way to the nearest sewer - it's several houses away (we finally saw the HIP today) so if we needed work doing it might be expensive. I think there are no inspection hatches on the property, must reread the survey later. There are other things that are more concerning though.

Damp is a worry - if there was dry rot we'd have to withdraw - I am somewhat chemically sensitive, so the treatment would mean I would be unable to live in the place. Though I am aware there are alternative means of fixing it, I'm not sure that insurance would accept non-toxic methods.

andrew-b wrote: »

If it was me i'd probably bail out because of the floors and lack of DPC. All the probs you've mentioned are fixable if you chuck enough money at them. So it's a question of what they are likely to cost to rectify and whether your prepared to pay out if the vendor won't take a lower offer that reflects them..plus of course if you like the house enough to justify the hassles!

Yes, that was my initial thought too. But I've been watching the market round here for about 3 years now (possible longer) and there's not a lot that comes up that we would fancy. Plus it's a bungalow, but not on a total bungalow ghetto (IYSWIM) like many of the places we've looked at online.

We actually viewed another one in the same road about a year ago, but it was a lot more expensive (though also bigger and had a double length garage and more garden and had been done up nicely - though wonder if any of the neighbours had sulphate attack).

We've only viewed the 2 properties in the same road! But done lots of drive-bys, all of which we could immediately discount as being not for us. :rolleyes:

andrew-b wrote: »

And your tooth..i've got some string and a door handle :eek: and i don't charge anywhere near as much as a dentist - be glad for anaesthesia!

LOL, I got back in one piece, and have a temp bridge so can smile again without scaring small children. My lovely new lady dentist has very gentle hands, and explained everything she was doing before doing it. I am in love! Go back next week for longer lasting temp bridge, they do the proper one about 3-4 months later to allow for healing before taking impression for final bridge. Sorry - very off topic! :rolleyes: Mind you, when she was pumping in the goop from a gun type thing to take impressions I wanted to comment to her that I bet she was ace at running the silicone sealant around baths!

helping_hubby

Hi guys, I need some kitchen advice. We're planning our £500 budget revamp for the kitchen...the plan is for this to last 2 to 5 years before we can afford to get a brand new kitchen.

So far have:
3 x 3m B&Q laminate worktop (going to get them to cut to size) £195
3 x 3m Upstands £75
2 x Left edges £15
2 x Right edges £15
1 corner join £5
1 upstand accessory kit £6
Total £311
Does this sound OK? Or are there better places? We like the convenience of B&Q and being able to get them cut instore.

1.5 stainless steel sink
Cheapest I've seen is Ikea £78.30 and B&Q £79.00 but I haven't shopped around fully yet.

Taps
I'm a bit clueless here. I can get cheap ones for like £30, but is this too cheap?! Can anyone offer advice? Are B&Q ones OK?

The rest of the money is going on lights and a new blind Probably going to end up at £550 I think.

lisal0u

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I havent posted in ages but I have been keeping an eye on the forum!

We've finally got a kitchen and its fantastic! We got a carpenter in to fit it and he's done a wonderful job! Going to clean up tonight then take some piccys and update my blog!

We bought it from Ikea and even the carpenter said it looked like a much more expensive one!

Maggie - Wow it looks like your going to have a big job on your hands! We have completly gutted our semi and thought about digging up the concrete floor in the kitchen. I imagine there is no DPC but there is no sign of damp so decided to leave it alone! Im so glad we are nearing the end, we've got the keys to the house a year ago tomorrow! Im worn out ha ha

helping_hubby - we got an Ikea sink and it seems ok! It doesnt feel really sturdy though. We only got a small one as we have a dishwasher! You can get lots of handy accessories to fit over the sink to make the most of your surface space!

Hope you are all well and progressing with your renovations!
Lisa x

ukmaggie45

Hi Lisa and Everyone,

lisal0u wrote: »

Maggie - Wow it looks like your going to have a big job on your hands! We have completly gutted our semi and thought about digging up the concrete floor in the kitchen. I imagine there is no DPC but there is no sign of damp so decided to leave it alone! Im so glad we are nearing the end, we've got the keys to the house a year ago tomorrow! Im worn out ha ha

We went back to see the bungalow on Sunday with DD and SiL. When we got home SiL suggested that perhaps since having an upstairs was so important we should buy a house that had one already rather than turning a bungalow into a house! So Monday we withrdrew our offer.

Monday we went to see a semi with a massive garden (about 100 ft), lovely veggie garden at the end, poly tunnel and huge greenhouse too (though they're taking them), lovely plants, chickens (they're going too), and a pond with frogs. I just loved the garden so much, but the house wasn't really suitable. Actually the garden wasn't either - too big for the 2 of us to manage really.

So yesterday we went to see another semi, which I really didn't expect to like as it's a bit on the small side from the floor plan and measurements. But we both just fell for it. Super garden, little patio, detached garage at the bottom of the garden. And frogs! We're really tempted.

We're going for a second viewing this evening.

Then tomorrow it's dentist time again, and Friday we're off on holiday for 3 weeks, and I might stay on at the caravan when OH comes home - depends on the weather!

Hope everyone's homes are coming on, anyone getting anything from their gardens yet? We've had a few courgettes, but that's all so far.

Maggie

helping_hubby

helping_hubby - we got an Ikea sink and it seems ok! It doesnt feel really sturdy though. We only got a small one as we have a dishwasher! You can get lots of handy accessories to fit over the sink to make the most of your surface space!

That's the same sink I was looking at but the 1.5 version. I want a sturdy one really, so your comment worries me. We just had a small kitchen installed at work and the sink here is a bit flimsy.

I've had a trawl on ebay for a second hand one: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110415219090

But this is 100cm long, I don't think it'll fit. Maybe need to double check measurements at home.

lisal0u - look forward to seeing photos.

ukmaggie45 - I've got lots of tomatoes starting to grow, planted my squash plant quite late, so nothing yet. Got flowers on my chili plants. Carrots aren't doing much, I keep pulling them out to feed them to the rabbits, but the actual carrots are tiny. I think it's because I didn't thin them out. The spinach doesn't get a chance to grow because the rabbits eat it to the stump. Lucky for me, my Mint has finally taken over the pot it's in as Gizmo also kept eating this down to the stumps, but now there's too much for him to eat in one sitting!