First-time house renovation

lisal0u

I forgot to say if you pop into topps tiles or somewhere like that they usually have underfloor heating on display so that you can go and have a feel. It really is lovely and warm! Cant wait to get it laid and try it out!

jamtart6

Does anyone have any experience with tri-fold doors? Thinking of them for the extension so we can have them open when it is summer, but wondering if they will be a pain the rest of the year?? Click HERE

BB1984

jamtart6 wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience with tri-fold doors? Thinking of them for the extension so we can have them open when it is summer, but wondering if they will be a pain the rest of the year?? Click HERE

I've never used a tri-fold door, but it does look nice...my main worry would be that the more moving parts things have, the more they tend to be problematic...! Could you not just have normal French doors? Most uPVC doors open quite wide, and you could have hooks to restrain them in the wide open position.

My goodness it's been cold today! My house is halfway down a hill, on the corner of a junction of two minor roads. So many cars have been skidding on the hill - a van nearly slid backwards into my garden wall! :eek:So glad of my CH! Worked from home today so was very glad of our new home comforts, including the carpets, yay! :T

I hope that my fellow DIY-ers are all warm, safe and sound

BB

andrew-b

jamtart6 wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience with tri-fold doors?

No experience of them but my concerns would be about how secure they are and heat loss through such a large area of glass - though both these issues apply to whatever you put in the same opening i guess.

Our small amount of snow melted on the first night ...my parents had 8 to 10 inches of snow - not sure how much they have now . Still pretty cold here and the ground is solid. We don't usually get much snow being on the coast - thinks it's related to salty sea air.

Andy

KT1985

'afternoon all,

BB- No blog as yet, been busy doing house stuff! However, it may well happen soon...

Rewire is all finished, it was a bit of a hassle, but I am glad it is done. However, I no longer have an excuse to not get on with it all!

Our new doors and windows are being fitted next week, which will be good. It should be a bit warmer then, so can possibly use a little less gas!

JT- I was thinking of bi-fold doors (solid) into our en-suite and downstairs loo, and then decided against them because of the amount of moving parts.

Fridge-freezer was delivered today, but it is still in it's box because I want to paint in the dining area in a week or so.

Oh well, better go back and carry on...

jamtart6

Thanks for all the tips re: the tri-fold/bi-fold doors. We have decided against them for (a) too many moving parts (b) too much glass = too cold.

We think we have finalised the plans for the extension before we ring the architect.We are having an extension the same width as the house, then an 8ft utility room attached to the side.

We have decided against french/patio doors in our extension, and are having 2 large windows instead (we already have a single door in from kitchen, double doors in from dining room and a single door in from utility room so didn't want it to be too OTT with doors!!) We are thinking of 2 special shaped windows but no idea what 'special' is yet! - Any ideas??

We are having a door either side of our utility room so that we have access to the back garden, basically one door opens onto our drive (we'll move the fence) and one will open onto the back garden. This means there will be no 'side' access to the house (e.g. no gap at the side). Any thoughts on this?

I wanted some access straight through so that we dont have to bring things from the front door to lounge through dining room through extension through utility room every time we wanted to bring the lawnmower/large items etc. through from the front to back.


If anyone can foresee any problems with this, please tell me! Sometimes its hard to see the wood for the trees!

KT1985

jamtart6 wrote: »

We are having a door either side of our utility room so that we have access to the back garden, basically one door opens onto our drive (we'll move the fence) and one will open onto the back garden. This means there will be no 'side' access to the house (e.g. no gap at the side). Any thoughts on this?

I wanted some access straight through so that we dont have to bring things from the front door to lounge through dining room through extension through utility room every time we wanted to bring the lawnmower/large items etc. through from the front to back.


If anyone can foresee any problems with this, please tell me! Sometimes its hard to see the wood for the trees!

The only problem that I can see is the one you have meentioned yourself- lack of access from front to back. Our house is heavily extended and so we have the same problem, and it bothers me from time to time. It isn't so bad for us because we have 2 front doors- the smaller of the 2 provides access through the house entirely on wipe clean floors, so it's not so much of an issue.

All this said, the extension provides 2 bedrooms worth of space (used to be 2 until we knocked through to make an en-suite), a dining room, a dining area, a cloak wc and a bigger kitchen. I wouldn't give this up for access.

One more thing to think about is how much value you are planning to add to the house. All roads have a ceiling price and if your house is very different than other houses (ie bigger) it doesn't necessarily follow that it will be worth a load more. Knowing this, we were only prepared to pay slightly more than the house next door was worth, and we in fact got it for less. Just be aware that over developing (not saying you are, just a general statement) doesn't necessarily pay.

jamtart6

Thanks for the tips KT. We're adding the extra space on for ourselves rather than for value. Ours is currently the smallest house in the road except for 2 x 2beds at the top. There are bungalows, then 6 x 3bed semis then some detached. House attached is probably worth £160k as they have a garage and long drive, house on the left is detatched so probably worth about £250k.

We are planning to stay in this house, so the extension is being built with this in mind, as well as to add a bit more space for us, rather than to add value. I know what you mean though if all the other houses are only worth £130k why would anyone pay £170k for ours?!

andrew-b

jamtart6 wrote: »

We are thinking of 2 special shaped windows but no idea what 'special' is yet! - Any ideas??

For "special" read extra cost ... we'll be ripping out two non-opening arched top windows later this year at the side of our bungalow and blocking them up to make a more useable space in the bedroom without the draughts down the back of the neck at night. I don't like the frosted glass pattern much nor the poor finish around the window recess but i think they could have looked good if done right. One thing to consider though is if it's an odd-shaped window - like our arched top one's - is what sort of curtains or blind will fit it. On our arch-top windows the previous owner put up hideous cheap and nasty yellow roller blinds in front of the window recesses that detract from the appearance.

As for side access - i'd really miss it. As well as considerations such as moving lawn mower from front to back, have you got room out front to leave wheelie bins? Access to an outside tap from the front is another little thing to consider (for car cleaning, garden watering etc).

Didn't read your post properly at first and suggested providing front and rear access from the utility room ...but it seems you thought of that already so i'd agree about going for that.

Andy

jamtart6

Thanks andrew-b wise words there. It's things like this you don't want to regret doing.

Yes my in-laws have 'special' windows, which can't open, cost a fortune and don't have blinds!! So really, I should have used some common sense there...just want it to look a little bit different, a bit of a feature, but obviously practical too.

We think we have decided on having 2 doors in the utility room (one leading to front one leading to back. This gives us 'through' access which, whilst not ideal, at least I wouldn't have to traipse through the main part of the house. The utility room will have tiles/laminate floor so no expensive carpets to get mucky. We will move the fence panel up one so that we have room for our bins in the front of the utility room (with easy access from the kitchen).

Good tip about the water, will have to remember that!