First-time house renovation

aliasojo

Quick q about skirting...how thick is everyone's?

Our standard in this neck of the woods is 12mm or 15mm thick but I've seen 20mm on the net. I got a bit of 20mm door plate to judge the look and it seems huge, it's like a ledge.

Do people really have 20mm thick skirting?

pawpurrs

Work continues on the bathroom, got the tiles delivered from Wickes they have travertine for 10sqm, but not 100% sure about them.

latecomer

@aliasojo - Our new oak skirting is 12mm thick and it looks normal to me.

@pawpurrs - I find that travertine can be very hit or miss. Our friends had it bought online) and I dont like it at all. Far too dark and lots of fairly large filled areas too. We went for porcelain in the end as that way you know what the final look will be.

Will need to try and catch up on the blogs at some point. Haven't even got the Pc wired up again yet nevermind wired to the modem. Starting to get withdrawl symptoms

stolt

hi everyone, looks as if everyone has been busy again... not been upto much, been in the garden with more plants and thats about it, was going to take the kids on a couple of days out but they have been ill so ive had the time off work to finish the kitchen painting etc. Took the whole 2 days and the stupid electrican use a hole cutter for the downlights which was probably a mm or two too small so made a right old mess of putting the downlighters in. Next week the kitchen company start the install and it will finally be a kitchen. We still need to find a kitchen table and some chairs....

put some pics of the garden, wont put anymore flowers in as we have put lots of seed down or various species so see how it grows next year. Quite happy with how its turning out though.




some of the garden... shame the sun wasnt really out for the pics...









I really need to sand and paint our sofit boards and clean the gutters, just seen a neighbour doing it and spent all week sorting it out and it looks really good once hes one.....

typeractive

rlfan82 wrote: »

Exactly the same here, my blog available here: http://changethehouse.wordpress.com/

Good luck all, its just starting to ge the better of me

rlfan - don't let it grind you down! we can be in this together. This is the first house I've had, and as the thread suggests first rennovation. I have never felt phased about the project - even though I'm no experienced diyer etc (you can read the about on my blog). It's bizarre for me not to feel worried. Though one or two of my friends or people I know who have visited think I'm bonkers! I sometimes think maybe I should be bonkers for taking on a big project for a total beginner, but I don't feel worried. Perhaps this is because I'm not living in the house, and I have plenty of supportive friends / family. Admitedly there are jobs that have been done that I have not been involved with - mostly laying bricks / patching. I'm not skilled in this area, and whilst I want to learn I think my uncle (who is a time served professional!) wants to get any bits of work just done and out of the way - rather than teach me. This in many ways goes against my beliefs, as I feel I have to have a hand in every job.

Where my strengths seem to be (apparently according to others) is the management of the project. I've had lots of compliments from people thinking I'm very organised and they could envisage me doing it as a job! I must admit I'm not used to taking compliments and I sometimes think "are they extracting the urine?"

The things that 'worry' me are stuff like - where will I sort the door frames from for the front and back doors? i.e. how will I fit them so the door doesn't have any draft (you know the draft seals around the doors)...this is whilst my kitchen floor is literally rubble. In hindsight this is obviously the least of my worries in comparison.

...what am i trying to say here? ...well I guess what I mean is you just have to keep plodding on. I'm typically going around everything the long way (which if you read about my next post regarding the lead pipe replacement you'll understand! lol), but I've got determination. I'm excited to work towards the completion. I look at your similar blog and whilst I see that you are making huge changes with all that brickwork, it's gonna look great! It excites me to think that someone else is in a similar position and that pics of the tools and projects are the same. Keep your head on your shoulders and think about each move - yes it's challenging, though the sense of achievement really will be worth the while. Keep keepin on!

spirit wrote: »

welcome to the forum typeractive, look forward to your ongoing project.

I must say I don't agree with whoever told you that it's less energy efficient to knock down your wall. You would have had a rad in each room anyway so you're not heating more rooms that you would otherwise have done. I've had my wall between the kitchen and dining room taken down so downstairs is open apart from the inner front door to the hallway which has a door to the sitting/dining room and a door to the kitchen.

Thanks spirit! The house seems to be quite warm already - with no heating etc. We'll see how it pans out. If I'm cold in the winter it's always an excuse to buy a nice new jumpa lol - maybe not very MSE! heheheh

latecomer

typeractive wrote: »

rlfan wrote:

Good luck all, its just starting to ge the better of me

rlfan - don't let it grind you down! we can be in this together.

Absoultely. When I think what we've gone through over the last 11 months it makes me seriously pee'd off particularly when I think about OH getting upset.

But its all starting to come together. We've now got 2 finished bedrooms upstairs, a beautiul kitchen which is getting closer to being finished by the day and its suddenly just about worth all the pain.


Our scaffolding came down yesterday but the idiots then just piled it all up against the newly rendered garage and against the new garage door. Even worse they also put some against the neighbours house. Why they didn't take it away is beyond me but apparently it has been removed this morning, I'm just hoping there isn't any damage but I'll need to wait until I get home to check.

Joiners have made good progress with the kitchen and its now almost complete. Worktops have arrived this morning and are being fitted today. Still no sign of the window so they are going to have to be really careful fitting it to make sure they dont damage the worktops.

I feel much better for having done some manual labour over the weekend and even the physio noticed the improved movement I'd got :j

Think I'll need to do some more......

Joiner pointed out a bit of asbestos on the inside of the garage that we missed so OH went and bought another set of filters for the mask and I'll have to take it down tonight.

Architect came round this morning to check out the garage where the DPM has been cut (not sure if I mentioned that before?) and doesn't think its took much of a problem which is a big relief. Suggested I should reduce the outside ground level by about 6 inches which shouldn't be too much of a problem but I'll need to do it before next doors shed gets rebuilt or it will be a tight squeeze.

Should hopefully have spark, plumber and roofer on site before the end of the week but we've heard that before so will wait and see.

katehesk

Myself and my boyfriend bought our first home 3 months ago and we are in the process of renovating it!

We are both completely unorganised and haphazard in our approach, but don't have a lot of money to pay for someone to manage the project for us, so we are doing a lot ourselves.

I worry about everything, and feel really stressed. For example I don't know anything about 'building regs' and when and why you need them. I only heard about them in the last month or so and I'm now worrying that we have done things we shouldn't have.

Under the conditions of our mortgage the flooring needs to be levelled, and I have been told to lay ashphalt throughout as this acts as a damp prrof membrane also. Is this correct? Not sure what it is that is in situ, something??? and then quarry tile over the top. Some parts of the floor were concrete and very uneven, so we dug these up and it's now basically just earth in those parts.

I feel clueless and totally out of my depth at the moment.

So far, we have plasterboarded 3 bedrooms and living room, and they are skimmed. New door frames fitted, partial rewire, and our plumber started work last weekend (moving the boiler to a place where it can be hidden, refitting/moving radiators, and moving some pips which are visible).

Ceilings and walls (plasterwork) in bathroom and kitchen are now in the skip (our 6th, luckily bf's sister works for skip hire company!!) and are being replaced in the next week or two. We are about to order a kitchen, which can be delivered at time of our choosing, and a new bathroom too.

Don't really know what to do about the floor though...at ALL.

Also had a lead rising main pipe replaced as required by our mortgage provider as part of retention.

Badly in need of some guidance.

Kate

typeractive

katehesk wrote: »

Myself and my boyfriend bought our first home 3 months ago and we are in the process of renovating it!

We are both completely unorganised and haphazard in our approach, but don't have a lot of money to pay for someone to manage the project for us, so we are doing a lot ourselves.

I worry about everything, and feel really stressed. For example I don't know anything about 'building regs' and when and why you need them. I only heard about them in the last month or so and I'm now worrying that we have done things we shouldn't have.

Under the conditions of our mortgage the flooring needs to be levelled, and I have been told to lay ashphalt throughout as this acts as a damp prrof membrane also. Is this correct? Not sure what it is that is in situ, something??? and then quarry tile over the top. Some parts of the floor were concrete and very uneven, so we dug these up and it's now basically just earth in those parts.

I feel clueless and totally out of my depth at the moment.

So far, we have plasterboarded 3 bedrooms and living room, and they are skimmed. New door frames fitted, partial rewire, and our plumber started work last weekend (moving the boiler to a place where it can be hidden, refitting/moving radiators, and moving some pips which are visible).

Ceilings and walls (plasterwork) in bathroom and kitchen are now in the skip (our 6th, luckily bf's sister works for skip hire company!!) and are being replaced in the next week or two. We are about to order a kitchen, which can be delivered at time of our choosing, and a new bathroom too.

Don't really know what to do about the floor though...at ALL.

Also had a lead rising main pipe replaced as required by our mortgage provider as part of retention.

Badly in need of some guidance.

Kate

Kate - firstly don't panic. It's not going to make the process any easier. It sounds to me like you're actually getting on quite well. put your post into reverse: lead piping replaced, skip hire company to get rid of the trash, plastered 3 rooms with some timber dressing work, partial rewire (did you hire someone fully qualified - hope so), and boiler work being done (again hopefully someone fully qualified).

That's quite a lot of progress. Now onto your worry. Building regs - well they are quite simply what they say on the tin. They are rules to ensure your safety within the home. Badly carried out work by incompetent practitioners is never going to be safe - regs ensure the property should be sound. In terms of abiding by them, I'd say the mass majority of people do not consult building regs when having small jobs done / simple like for like replacements. Usually a good builder would advise where you stand and what to do. For larger works, extending property etc then building regs / planning will usually be involved. This all takes time and of course money. No doubt someone will come along and shoot me for my post here - please note I'm not stating don't do things by regs, what I am saying is that a lot of people won't ask about building regs for what they consider small jobs.

Now - your floor. Well I don't fully know about this. I don't know which floor it is etc. I do know that I also need to replace my floor - it is fully down to the soil / earth that you describe. I know the previous occupants (or whoever laid the floor did not do it correctly (or if it was the building regs were very different at the time), so it will need to be replaced with a thicker flooring and insulated (everything needs to be insulated these days!)

My advice? Working back to the top of your post - I know you state you have not much money, though I would sincerely consult a few builders for recommendation and pricing to rectify the worry of the floor. You can always phone your building control (go through local council office) and you might get a nice chap that will help you over the phone with the specific rules (for free) - that way you know where you stand.

Project management does not mean doing all the work yourself, it means being on top of everything. You already have specialists for the work you are not sure about - I'd employ the same tactic for the flooring. One step at a time, and accept it will take a lot more time and money thanyou initially envisaged (that's not to come across as a "I told you so" statement).

You'll get there.
Good luck.
:beer:

katehesk

Thank you for your post. I have showed it to my partner, who had basically said a lot of what you have said, but I needed some impartial reassurance I think! Feel a bit better now.

I am very very tired, and things are just getting to me now!

I am currently stripping the stairs with nitromors, perhaps the fumes are making me a bit loopy!

Thanks again!

typeractive

katehesk wrote: »

Thank you for your post. I have showed it to my partner, who had basically said a lot of what you have said, but I needed some impartial reassurance I think! Feel a bit better now.

I am very very tired, and things are just getting to me now!

I am currently stripping the stairs with nitromors, perhaps the fumes are making me a bit loopy!

Thanks again!

You're welcome Kate. This (as you already know) is a great community. We all muck in and help each other out - which is why I love this place!

I've been very tired this week also - it certainly takes it out of ya. Don't be blaming the fumes for being loopy though :p

For anyone interested I have updated my blog regarding the lead pipe replacement. Here is the link. Though it must be said that without the help of plumb1 on this site I would have struggled! He has been a great help with a lot of knowledge and support. Please note if there are any errors with the information in my post it will be due to me getting muddled up. Everything was completed to regulations and passed successfully.