First-time house renovation

ukmaggie45

aliasojo wrote: »

The stress and the hassle has finally taken it's toll and it's broken my relationship with my OH. I would cheefully go back to grubby carpet and chipped paintwork if I could only turn back the clock. Try to keep everything in perspective and dont let house stuff overtake you. x

Dear Aliasojo, so sorry to hear this. Hugs from Liverpool. (sorry, don't know what else to say)

Bibbitybob

aliasojo wrote: »

Some friendly advice meant well........dont let the renovations take over your life. It is very frustrating sometimes. Try to leave some time free every now and then, simply so you can remember how to have a life.

Our house stuff has been going on for so long and has been all we've lived, eaten and slept, for as long as I can remember. The stress and the hassle has finally taken it's toll and it's broken my relationship with my OH. I would cheefully go back to grubby carpet and chipped paintwork if I could only turn back the clock. Try to keep everything in perspective and dont let house stuff overtake you. x

Thank you ever so much for this, and I'm so sorry to hear about your relationship. You were spot on to remind me...my frustration has been very much directed at OH over the last few days, and unfairly so. I went for dinner with my cousin this evening and I think the break, good food and warmth did me the world of good. It is so easy to let it all take over. We've had a good tidy and sweep since I came back (not that you'd know it!) and it feels like we're making progress again.

ETA: Those sun tubes look fab maggie!

latecomer

Sorry to hear that aliasojo, it can definitely be a stressful time.

We've finally had a response from our "builder" who says he's unable to complete the work until next year but he would have no objection to us getting someone else in as long as its within budget...... I bet he wouldn't. Been set straight on a few things so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Just goes to show that most builders are the same and never again will we deviate from an agreed schedule for any reason. Its not hard to see why the building trade gets such a bad reputation.

Hopeful_5

Hello everyone , I've been trying to keep up with all your goings on but not had time to post - and not really that much to say, except that I long to get some kind of life back. It's just work and house and travelling to and from it. And I can't even make a cuppa or use the loo when I get there.

TomsMom, really sorry to hear about TD. I didn't know this, being a newcomer. I'm wishing him all the best.

Sorry too to hear about your troubles, aliasojo. Hope it is just temporary and you can sort things out.

The sun tubes look good, Maggie. Can't wait to get my one in the bathroom. My builder told me to order it weeks ago and an uncle who lives near the bungalow took delivery for me. He has had two large boxes getting in his way ever since . I'm really hoping it will happen next week.

My builder has told me I have a good chance of being in before Christmas but as the days (weeks) pass by I'm becoming less convinced - but still hopeful! The electrician started at the beginning of last week but still hasn't completed the first fix. Does that seem a long time for a three-bed bungalow? The French doors were fitted in the extension some weeks ago and the windows for the front and side are arriving tomorrow. And when they are in, the plasterers will start - assuming the loft insulation man has done his job as he could go through the ceilings, and he can't lay the insulation until the electrics, TV aerial and burglar alarm are done....... You get my drift. (But why can't the plasterers start on the extension as the French doors were fitted weeks ago and that part of the roof is insulated already?).

I'll try to get some photos up but can't say I know how to attach them.

Best wishes all.

Hope

latecomer

For uploading photos you can either use a free image hosting site and upload them there or you could start a blog and upload them to that.

As to why plasterers cant start work, I'm sure there is no reason at all other than the person who is coordinating the trades hadn't thought about it.

andrew-b

Welcome to the thread BibbityBob..had a brief look at your blog last night ..looks like you've been very busy to get so much done in so little time. We moved in around august 2006 and i didn't have much DIY experience other than painting and a small bit of tiling (now i've tried my hand at pretty much everything and the amount i've learnt is huge!) ..our kitchen took until mid-2007 due to probs with fitters so i'd say your well on your way .

Baby news: Well we made our decision on finding out if baby boy or girl and decided we'd find out at the next scan if they could tell but otherwise not. Was up early this morning to be at maternity for 8am scan before wife had to be in for work. All normal ..could see baby's lips and was quite active today. Could see all 4 chambers of heart pumping and they turned on some colours to show bloodflow. Amazing technology but baby wasn't giving anything away and held it's legs where it could preserve dignity! So the decision was taken out of our hands and neutral colours it is..probably for the best as wouldn't have wanted them to get it wrong.

I've had a bit of a break from DIY over the last couple of weeks yet again but as i was up early today and got far more daylight hours than recent days intending to get back on again. Also spurred on i think by having seen baby and realising how little time we've got till D-Day! Certainly is worth taking time out now and again as it helps to refocus..though perhaps not as much as i do as it's been going on for over 4 years now! Looking back at old pictures of how far you've come helps too!

I would say it's better to set your mind to trying to do at least one small job most days and not get too hung up on the bigger picture..though obviously it depends on situation and urgency to get the place finished. I've been too long procrastinating on our place and lurking on MSE and not enough time actually getting on with it...though i always seem to work better under pressure so now the pressure is on hopefully things will take shape a bit quicker!

TomsMom

andrew-b wrote: »

Baby news: Well we made our decision on finding out if baby boy or girl and decided we'd find out at the next scan if they could tell but otherwise not. Was up early this morning to be at maternity for 8am scan before wife had to be in for work. All normal ..could see baby's lips and was quite active today. Could see all 4 chambers of heart pumping and they turned on some colours to show bloodflow. Amazing technology but baby wasn't giving anything away and held it's legs where it could preserve dignity! So the decision was taken out of our hands and neutral colours it is..probably for the best as wouldn't have wanted them to get it wrong.

So beautifully put Andy, made me laugh :rotfl: . Neutral colours it is then, which can look lovely anyway. I've not been in any baby shops for a while but remember seeing cot bedding ranges of animals, Winnie The Pooh, etc., plus wallpaper borders and curtains to match in neutral colours and they always look lovely. I've never seen a baby scan, just a photo of when d-i-l had hers, I'm sure it must be very exciting to actually watch the screen and see that everything is just fine and dandy. Great news!

Well, OH surprised me (should I eat my words now?) and actually made the pillar top. He glued two squares of MDF together to give the right depth then chamfered off the 3 edges that overhang (he's got some kind of tool attachment that does that) and it looks good. He shaped the edge that butts up to the window sill (with a router thingy I think) and has made a perfect join there. All fixed on with dowels underneath so a perfect flat surface on top. He's filled around the edges with something or other and it now just requires painting. Don't you just love all my in depth technical details .

The TV has been ordered as his reward and is being delivered tomorrow. We doubled up on some Tesco vouchers so got £20 off and by leaving it another couple of days the price had gone down another £10 so all in all a good buy. The TV had good reviews too so we should be happy with it. Only a 19" one but didn't need anything bigger in there. Might be nice for OH to sit in the sun room during the day when he gets out of hospital, I can picture him cuddling the dog and watching Yesterday on Freeview or some war programme or other whatever's on in the daytime. I'm just wondering now whether the painting will be done before the TV gets unpacked. That's another favourite trick - half a job!

He has to have a month's radiotherapy which should start a week on Monday if all goes to plan. As it's Monday to Friday and the hospital is 2 - 2.5 hours' drive away they're going to see if they can get him on to the 'hotel' ward and keep him in during the week and let him home weekends. If not it means up to 5 hours round trip every day for 15 minutes radiotherapy. His last session will be Christmas Eve.

AJ Big hugs to you, what a dreadful shame that your project should have such an outcome.

Latecomer I do feel for you, you must think your renovations will never get finished. I'm sure it would have driven me totally nuts.

Maggie Loving your pics. Your sun tubes are amazing and your photos of the outside painting reminded me of how I felt when ours was painted. It's looking lovely.

Welcome to the newbies, good luck with your renovations and I hope they all go smoothly.

andrew-b

TomsMom wrote: »

I've never seen a baby scan, just a photo of when d-i-l had hers, I'm sure it must be very exciting to actually watch the screen and see that everything is just fine and dandy. Great news!

Just realised they never gave us a photo today...though we've plenty of others for the album already. Usually takes a while to realise what part is what ...but you can usually make out the prominent features like eye sockets and spine and arms and legs pretty quickly. If your looking at an ultrasound machine every day i guess it becomes second nature. I doubt we will see baby again now until it's actually born.

Sounds like TD has done a good job...see us blokes get there in the end...just sometimes we choose to ignore the ear bashing from the wife :rotfl: Anyway let's hope things go to plan and his home for Christmas.

Just don't mention the bathroom to me...i'll paint it one day i swear!

Off to the shed to get my paint pads out to get on with the hall! Think i need to start getting up earlier every day..will be good practice for things to come!

Bibbitybob

Thanks for the welcome andrew-b, and congratulations on impending baby! I've never been through the process, but often wonder whether I'd want to find out if I got pregnant (find out the sex, that is, not find out I was pregnant lol).

As of last night the RSJ is all boxed in now and OH is planning to plaster it today. We picked up the light fittings this morning and I've made one up just to have a sneaky look. We held it in place in front of the French doors and it looks lovely, so I'm very excited now. Can't put them up until all the dust is out the way but it might just spur me on to wash down and paint the ceiling soon.

Can anyone recommend a way to remove old glue from plaster? We took off the paper and there's a lovely skim under there, but if we just paint straight over it will show through the pattern from the glue. I read online that fabric condition and water get rid well, but I tried a bit and it was very hard going. Is it just going to be a case of plenty elbow grease?

latecomer

Welcome Bibbitybob - nice to see some new posters

If by glue you mean the wall paper paste then what you need is sugar soap. You can get it from any DIY place. For stubborn lumps use I use an old synthetic pot scourer/scrubber pad (old so its not too abrasive).

@TM - as andy says - sometimes us guys do just get things done. not often mind but sometimes
@andy - I loved the scans - especially looking at the spine, fingers and toes. Heart too. Ok I thought it was all amazing. I've also started trying to just do one thing at a time otherwise nothing gets done.

I've decided that I'm going to leave work sharp tonight as I've been in at 8am every day for the past couple of weeks. I was going to see about trying to get another coat of wood preserver on the shed to see if that helps with the moisture coming through but I doubt I'll get a chance unless I do it in the dark. Forecast isn't great for the weekend.

But the goal is to clear the back room of all the boxes so we can use it, throwing out as much as possible and getting the rest of things up in the eaves. LLC is doing a good line in the "boke" dept at the moment so thats where the laminate would come into its own - I had try and to clean some out from between 2 floor boards in the front room one evening