First-time house renovation

helping_hubby

TomsMom, what have you done with the shower in the end?

I got carried away yesterday and painted nearly (all but the 'feature' wall) the whole living room on my own. I was somehow motivated and I think I did a really good job too.

I put photos up, but they don't do it justice. My camera is rubbish.

How about everyone else? What did you get up to?

latecomer

@Shimmy - love the fireplace! I think you should keep it and make a feature out of it

We had a fairly productive saturday despite going to the shops in the morning. We removed the radiator which turned in to a much bigger job that it should of as I couldn't find my second adjustable spanner despite hunting for it. The managed a minor flood due to being other enthusiastic with undoing the valve but seeing as there are just bare boards there was no harm done. then removed the wall brackets to find that the previous owners has put them on top of the wall paper so that had to be removed too.
Got a coat of colour on the walls after some more filling and sanding and its suddenly made the transformation from a white space into a cosy room. Was a bit worried about the colour but it lightened up as it dried and looks much better. Got to about 11pm and then remembered that I'd not sanded the floor to test the hard wax oil so I started on that. Boards come up really light once sanded (mainly because they are clean I suspect!). Gave them a light coat of oil and they have darkened quite a lot and gone a nice golden colour which I think is going to suit the room.

Yesterday we started on the second coat round the walls but got invaded by family and that was the end of that. Everyone left around 9pm and I started sanding down one of the problem patches on the walls under some sockets and found that it needed to be removed. Also under the batten which the skirting boards are nailed to was in a bad way and hence I removed about a 6 foot long section and then started plastering.

That went reasonably well apart from underestimating the amount of plaster I would need. And of course by the time I'd cleaned the bucket and mixed some more, the first lot had set. The more I looked around the room the more sections I saw that look ready to fall out. I didn't get a chance to slide a scaper under the plaster to lift it off the floor boards before it set so I'm concerned that its all going to fall off when we sand the floors this weekend. I suspect we might need to replaster most of the way round the room by the time we are finished and in fact I'm wondering whether we should just do it anyway.

BB1984

Hello hello, it's good to see so many updates on this thread! Glad to see everyone's doing well.

We have been so busy, but I'm struggling for motivation at the mo as I've finally succumbed to the cold that's been lingering...! I didn't have the day off on Friday, as I have been having, so the weekend was only 2 days long instead of 3. Plus we both took saturday afternoon off - OH went to the football, and I went to a Christmas Fete at my little cousin's school!
First time off we've had in over 2 months, though, so well-deserved, I think! Unfortunately we didn't get all that much done yesterday either, though - visitors kept "dropping in for a cuppa" and staying ages!

But, since the last time I posted, we have done the following:
- mist-coated and undercoated the lounge
- mist-coated the hall
- undercoated the bathroom (getting v bored of white emulsion now!)
- plumbers have fixed shower, installed towel rail, silicon-sealed everything
- surprise xmas present of dishwasher received!
- sanded and primed various bits of woodwork
- painted (with actual colour!) one alcove of the kitchen - another one to go
- bought some tester pots for lounge and bathroom.

I think that's it....

The lounge is taking slightly longer than expected as we found on close inspection that the plaster needed more work than we thought. So had to fill, rub down etc. I'm gonna try and fill in some other holes this evening, around the window sill, and finish removing the mouldy old silicon from around the windows. Struggling a bit with choosing colours for the lounge. The rest of the house is very white, light and airy, so we wanted a contrast - something darker and really cosy. It's a big room, so we've been looking at darkish browns etc. We've chosen some brown/aubergine patterned wallpaper for the two "feature" alcoves either side of the chimney. Now we're thinking a coffee colour for the walls, then a similar, but lighter shade for the ceiling and down to the picture rail. Just hoping it's not going to end up being TOO dark and gloomy - not the desired effect!

We've bought the paint for the bathroom (the white tiles only go halfway up the wall) - it's a very pale, silvery grey. Haven't painted yet, but I think it will look really nice with the grey slate tiles.

The kitchen paint is a very bright azure blue - looks fab with the white units and other white walls. We're going to have similar blue tiles for the splashback.

Choosing/applying colours is the best bit!

Andrew - we also have LOADS of rubbish in our garden. About 2 tonnes of brick rubble, and a large pile of other assorted detritus. Can't decide whether or not to bite the bullet and get a skip....other whether to take your suggestion and dump it all in the garage (damp and unsecure so useless for anything else!). Want to get rid soon as it looks awful, plus we'll need to let the cat out soon and don't want him injuring himself!

BB

helping_hubby

BB1984 wrote: »

...

- undercoated the bathroom (getting v bored of white emulsion now!)

...

The rest of the house is very white, light and airy, so we wanted a contrast - something darker and really cosy. It's a big room, so we've been looking at darkish browns etc. We've chosen some brown/aubergine patterned wallpaper for the two "feature" alcoves either side of the chimney. Now we're thinking a coffee colour for the walls, then a similar, but lighter shade for the ceiling and down to the picture rail. Just hoping it's not going to end up being TOO dark and gloomy - not the desired effect!

I know - the white is so boring isn't it?

I can't wait to see your living room if you go for a darker brown. My original choice for the feature wall was a chocolate brown, but I chickened out. I've only ever had white/magnolia walls all my life, so this is quite a drastic change for me to have colour.

latecomer

How are you removing the silicon round the windows? Ours is all black too but I've never had that good an experience with silicon. I was going to try cleaning them but I suspect removing and replacing it would be better.

TomsMom

Sorry guys, I'm not ignoring you. I've been sick since the weekend, some flu-y virus type thing which has completely knocked me sideways.

I'll catch up hopefully in a few days.

Just off to have a conversation with the toilet bowl.........

helping_hubby

latecomer wrote: »

How are you removing the silicon round the windows? Ours is all black too but I've never had that good an experience with silicon. I was going to try cleaning them but I suspect removing and replacing it would be better.

We've removed all ours too. I think it'd be impossible to really clean them. OH cut the silicone out I think. When you get a hold of a bit it peels off. I've been carefully using a scraper to get the last little bits off round the window (upvc).

TomsMom that's spooky - loads of people at work came down ill at the weekend. We had 3 people off sick yesterday. And yesterday my tiler didn't turn up cos he was sick. He was in today, but looked a bit rough. I hope you feel better soon.

Yesterday we put the living/dining room back to normal We spent some time looking at TV units, but even if we make a decision we wont be able to buy for ages.

The bathroom is nearly fully tiled now. Plumber will be back tomorrow. These have been the longest 2 weeks of my life.

latecomer

@TomsMum - hope you feel better soon

We spent nearly 5 hours last night trying to get my OH home. Car broke down twice (same/related problem) and both times had to wait 2 hours for breakdown service to arrive. I didn't want her sitting by herself where she was so I drove out, tried and failed to start her car so just joined her. Its now in the main dealer who charge £70+vat an hour labour so I'm expecting a nasty bill even if its just the battery thats replaced

BB1984

Hello - I was off work sick as well yesterday...! Back now but still feeling pretty rubbish - just a cold, but my head fills like it's full of lead.

Was really frustrating yesterday being at home looking at all the stuff that needs doing, but not having the energy to do anything! I did manage to mix up a bit of filling plaster and fill a few holes around the lounge window, but that's about it. The rest of the day was spent in bed being given lots of cuddles by Chester....!

OH is off work today and for the rest of the week, so hopefully he'll get lots done (not sure how much though, without me there to crack the whip! )
The plan is to finish painting the lounge by the end of this weekend...will feel much more homely then, I think.

Ooh and the nice people at Virgin Media phoned last night to say that they'd had a cancellation so they could fit us in earlier - so hopefully by this evening we'll have internet (and I'll finally be able update our blog!)

Oh yes - silicon. All our silicon was mouldy, black and shrunken around the windows. So I've been hooking it out with a stanley knife, starting at an "end" and then gently pulling it - it peels off quite easily. Word of warning though - it's like elastic, and sometimes it snaps and flicks bits of paint/dust/dirt in your eyes...! I must get round to replacing the silicon actually - there's a chilly breeze coming through the gaps!

BB

latecomer

Its the putting the silicon back on that I'm not sure about. I know the theory but its getting it to work in practice. Maybe I should create a frame to practice on before doing it for real....

hope you feel better soon! My OH has got the sniffles at the moment but hopefully its just a result of being out in the cold the night before and wont come to anything.