First-time house renovation

helping_hubby

andrew-b wrote: »

Helping_hubby..how much were the doors to fit? Got a bathroom door and bedroom door to be fitted..plus need a new glass door for the lounge (current one is warped and won't close - is much warmer in lounge if it's held shut!). My Dad is my usual door fitter but my doors are always a problem. My Dad does a brilliant job on them with me helping but it usually takes at least a day for a doo ..and it's a 120mile round trip (think it's getting a bit much for him his DIY visits).

Maggie..hope it all goes through ok..make sure you take your meter readings to give to your new supplier (highly recommend Atlantic for gas /electricity). Move in by Christmas?! (but which year! )

£280 for 5. I got another quote of £400. And the others (about 3 I called and spoke to) never got back to me.

ukmaggie45

Hi Folks,

OH called the EA at 11.15 and they'd just been told everything was done. So we went via Wirral Tool Hire to hire a dehumidifier and then to the agents and then on to the house. After a sunny morning the fog rolled in, and it was blimming freezing so didn't bother with any photos, but we're going over with OH's Mum a bit later (must get into the bath as they're just leaving her place) so I'll try and at least get a photo of the quince.

Am so stiff and sore this morning I don't know how I'm going to get going.

It really is horrible damp. There's mold growing on the morning room carpet. :eek: Hence the dehumidifier.

We mopped all the windows with kitchen roll to try and at least get that moisture out.

OH reckons we need a small skip for the carpets, skirting boards, kitchen cabinets etc, I think he's being a bit optimistic! :rotfl:

I don't think we'll start ripping it apart just yet, as not sure what we'll be doing. Gas cooker will be disconnected on Monday though, and then we'll have to get the council to pick it up.

Better go get that bath!

Will update more later if I'm not too completely shattered!

Maggie

latecomer

@stolt - thats utterly !!!!. I hate it when you get bad customer service but if nothing else ou can rest assured that the more you post about your experiences the more business they should lose. I always do a search online before ordering from a company I've not used before. If I read bad stuff then I order from someone else.

@ukmaggie - sounds like you've got your work cut out but also have the chance to make it exactly what you want

We had a very cold weekend. Kitchen ceiling was opened up in preparation for the new staircase so there is basically nothing between us and the outside world apart from a internal door which has an gap underneath which must be close to an inch in height! They had also boarded over the loft hatch but not insulated it so it was also letting in lots of cold air.

Anyway the boiler wasn't installed as promised but I've been told it will be installed and working today. We also sat down with the head builder agreed what was going to be done before christmas and the payments to be made. IF (and its a big IF) they managed to get everything done that they have promised we'll be happy. I suspect its unlikely but I've told the builder that the payments are dependent on the work being done.

That said I've tried to phone him several times today and he's not answered so OH had to drop past the house to speak to him about his payment. I'm wishing we hadn't as I'm reather annoyed about the fact he's ignoring me. Mind you had he been on site at 8am as he should be I could have spoken to him in person. I'll try him again later but if he still doesn't answer then we'll be having words about it tomorrow morning, especially if there is no heating/hot water.

My first job this morning was to see whether it was possible to put off the kitchen delivery until the first week in january but there was no answer. As I left for work a lorry pulled up with our kitchen - actually turned out to be just the doors thankfully but the carcasses are coming tomorrow so lots of clearing to be done tonight.

Not had a chance to take much in the way of pictures but will do my best over the next couple of weeks as things should happen pretty quickly from now on.

kmmr

Just wanted to say an early hello - planning permission has finally been lodged today, so hopefully I will be joining this renovation thread in Feb!

Exciting.

ukmaggie45

kmmr wrote: »

Just wanted to say an early hello - planning permission has finally been lodged today, so hopefully I will be joining this renovation thread in Feb!

Exciting.

Hi kmmr, welcome to the thread. Did it take you a long time to get planning permission. It's academic for us at the mo as we haven't even talked to Planning, or tried to find an architect - we only completed last Friday. But interested to hear how long it took you to get it sorted.

Currently we're only tackling the garden, but after Crimbole we'll get to taking up the old carpets, ripping out the skirting, and getting our damp and timber surveyor back to check the floors when they're bare (we may have sulfate attack in the concrete floors) and to take proper samples from the damp walls (couldn't be done before completion) etc etc. We're currently running a dehumidifier 24 hrs a day to begin to try and dry the place out, at least the windows aren't running with condensation on the north side of the house now, so we must be making some progress! Oh yes, we'll be ripping out as much of the kitchen as we can (will keep sink until building work starts).

Latecomer - sympathies over your lack of boiler - typical for it to be off just as the weather turns cold! Forecast dry for the end of the week (and cold) so hopefully they'll be able to get on then? Fingers crossed for you.

Today we had the gas fire and boiler checked. Plumber who came was a lovely young lady. Fire is OK, and she managed to get the boiler working (pump wouldn't work) but had to leave the meter turned off as there's a smell of gas out the front of the house. She called Transco - they did some work on both our next door neighbours houses about 3 weeks ago, but whatever they did doesn't seem to have cured the leak.

We'll be calling at the house later this evening - I'm currently not driving, and it's too far for me to walk. Hope the gas leak is sorted, if it's not we'll be back on to Transco again to ask what's going on. It's difficult with not being able to be there.

Loads of very NOISY birds in the garden. :rolleyes: Robins, gold finches, green finches, mr and mrs blackbird, blue tits, great tit, possible coal tit (but not sure of that one as didn't have binoculars with me), and the usual boring pigeons and crows and magpies. Definitely having fun in the garden, but it's slow progress as I need to rest every 5-10 minutes. Have taken to using crutches round the garden as give more stability than my walking stick.

Yesterday OH managed to break into the garage. Side door got swollen shut with all the rain and damp recently, so he had to take off the hinges and jemmy it out. Spent ages taking some off the side of the door, but he reckons it'll just swell more once it rains again. At least we know we can get it open now. (The front garage doors are nailed shut for security and are in a bad state anyway - it's an up and over door)

We're having a drains test on Thursday. That'll be fun!

Stolt, sorry to hear of your trials and tribulations with your tiles. I hope it all gets sorted out to your satisfaction soon. Your extension looks fabulous, you've worked really hard on it all.

Better go, have counselling session this evening so need to get cleaned up and calmed down beforehand.

TM, how's TD doing? Hope that things are going along OK.

All the best to all of our merry throng (and those who aren't feeling too merry have a hug),

Maggie

andrew-b

ukmaggie45 wrote: »

Have taken to using crutches round the garden as give more stability than my walking stick.

I recommend a Leki walking pole (or even a pair of them) with a tungsten carbide tip (underneath the removable black rubber ferrule at the end) and trekking basket (a collar bit that goes round the end to prevent stick going too far into the mud!).
nearest to mine is here ..second from bottom though with a black handle similar to the supermicro. My mum gave me it as she's upgraded to a pair of anti-shock one's with the ski-pole type handles..my parents both use them mountain climbing in the lake district. Take the rubber tip off and you can just spike it into the grass/mud when not using it..just mind your toes! Also handy to spike things like litter without bending down! If i don't have my stick i usually have at least hoe or broom with me in the garden to help me get up from the floor as else i have to crawl to the nearest wall (bit embarassing if your in the front garden!).

lisal0u

Hi everyone,

Just done a quick blog update! Things are moving pretty quickly at the minute and I dont have a lot of time to keep the blog up to date. My life is currently work - house - sleep - repeat. Ill be very ready for a lovely break over Christmas!

We are ahead of schedule at the minute which makes a change and having being taking car loads of stuff to the house every night. Its quite nice moving in stages, not so stressful.

stolt - How annoying about the damaged tiles! They really are taking the p***! I just dont understand why nothing ever goes smoothly as it should! Surely its not that difficult!

helping_hubby - Yey for getting your doors fitted! I've been ringing our joiner to get him to ease the doors after the carpets have been fitted and he's ignoring me. He said he would come back and finish them a week ago last Saturday but didnt turn up! Its so annoying, Id rather him have just said if he wasn't going to bother!

Maggie - youre garden sounds like a bird paradise! Im hoping mine is too. I have seen bluetits and gold finches, blackbirds and lots of doves. We seems to have a resident squirrel too!

latecomer - Im sorry your having trouble with your builders! I know how you feel! They are getting paid for a job and should just get on with it. Ignoring the phone is not the answer either, especially if you know where he lives! Im thinking of paying my joiner a visit! Ill keep my fingers crossed that they get done what they say they will by Christmas!

kmmr - Hi! Ill look forward to seeing your project in February! We should be finished by then, but Im sure there will always be something to do! Next project is the garden!

TM - How is TD doing? All good I hope!

Has everyone seen the weather forecast?! We might actually get a white Christmas!! How exciting is that!

Right off to watch the new Harry Potter,
Night all
Lisa x

TomsMom

Maggie and Lisa - thanks for asking about TD. He's doing OK and is actually doing better than I thought. He can't go out at the moment (except to the hospital twice a week for his clinic appointments where he has to try and find a seat in the waiting area away from the other patients) as he has to avoid people because of the risk of infection. But he's quite happy at home where he can make a cup of tea and even get himself a sandwich if he wants. It must be nice for him to have a whole house to walk around rather than just one room at the hospital! His feet are swelling up badly at the moment, it happens about half an hour after he gets up so he's on the sofa with his feet up a lot of the time (as his Dr told him to), hopefully the hospital will get to the bottom of it and he can walk around a bit more and get a bit more exercise.

He even had a bath this morning after I objected very strongly and said I'd rather he had a shower. I didn't think he would be strong enough to climb in, bathe and climb out of our quite deep bath but he insisted he'd be OK. I used every arguement I could think of, even telling him if he slipped or couldn't manage to climb out and I helped him and did my back in I'd be no good for anything but he was very stubborn and just to prove his point he was fine!

DD was down at the weekend and she went into the crawl space in the loft and got the Christmas tree and decorations out for us. TD put the lights on it on Sunday morning but that was all he could manage. I decorated it and put the empty boxes back in the crawl space this morning. First and last time I go in there, you have to go in backwards, down a little step and stay crouched down. There's no room to turn around once you're in there. After Christmas I shall get oldest grandson to go in and have a bit of a clear out I think, I found four large speakers from old hi-fi's - good quality but surplus to requirements so they'll have to go. I'm sure there's lots of other things TD put in there just to get them out of the way and will never see the light of day again.

Lisa, stair carpet looks very smart and your tiling looks great.

Maggie, hope the dehumidifier does the trick and take it easy in the garden. I hope the drains test is OK.

stolt

ukmaggie45, sounds a lot of work, but exciting at the same time. Garden sounds nice if you have that sort of wildlife I grew up with my dad being a great gardener and it attracted all sorts of wildlife. Trying to get my children involvd and next spring i want to really get them in the garden, planting things and caring for the things around them, would love a pond but we had one in the last two houses and there alot of work to keep going and if you go away you have to find someone to clean the filters etc. Our youngest spends a fair bit of time in great ormand street so we are away quite a few weekends and i dont want to keep asking someone to keep an eye on it.

latcomer- arrgh, gotta get the boiler sorted, snow is coming! spent a winter with a broken comi-boiler many years ago when i lived on my own and in the end i use the open fire in the lounge and started using any wood i could get hold of (garden fences were may favourite, burnt out in a few mins though!!)

lisal0u - thats coming along nicely, stairs looks great. my missus loves the stripey carpet, she wants some stripey carpet for ours, wasnt so keep but yours looks good with the stained wood.

stolt

oh forgot to say, this will give you a laugh. I did as much of the skirting board as i could saturday and then i had to wrap up the tiles ready for collection. I had loads of really big carboard boxes that the kids beds got delivered in plus packing wooden shipping crates. So i said the wife its winter its 5pm i'm going to have a bonfire, so i'm out there stacking all these bits up the initial fire was quite large but the cardboard burns down pretty quickly, about an hour in i see blue lights flashing around the houses, the siren sounding!! sheepishly i appear from my sidegate to be greated by 8 firemen (missus wasnt complaining), said they had a phone call to advise the fire was out of control, they had a look and said it s fine, probably a neighbour had the hump. We have only been here 6months so i dont want to upset everyone and yes i should have knocked and let everyone know what i was doing but i didnt, i did check windows etc. Gave the guy over the road a right old laugh.

anyway sunday morning i'm cutting more skirting board in the garage i can hear next door talking to another neighbour (slagging me off) saying the flames were as high as his house and that i was burning something that gave off thick black smoke. Thought i better go round to apologise, when he opened the door, i said i was sorry about the fire and i didnt do it to annoy anyone it was me being tight fisted and i was trying to save a few hundred quid on a skip. First thing he said '' it wasnt me'' i said well i dont want to upset anyone or fall out with them, he grabbed my hand shook it and said nah i 've got no problems doesnt bother us at all, in fact i think you did quite well to control it the way you did '' lol i think the look on his wifes face at him told it all' so as i was leaving oh thats great i'm glad you are ok with it because i've still got a garage full of stuff and i love a fire!! as i was walking away, not sure if he knew i was joking.....