First-time house renovation

TomsMom

MadMonkey wrote: »

It's not "natural" wood though - it;'s been stained with an horrific stain that has orangey undertones and really dated the house

I agree, very dark and I wouldn't like it that dark either, especially in a modern house. I'm sure the cream gloss will give your hall a completely new look and open it up.

OH stripped layers of paint off ours, some of it very tar-like underneath, and although it took a lot of time and effort he's glad he did it.

I am NEVER touching another spindle as long as i live !

Can't say I blame you!

andrew-b

Oh i forgot...had another window company round to quote for new uPVC front door. This time £700 incl VAT (he knocked off £6!) - £545 inc VAT door and frame but the rest was extras (excl VAT: lever pad £25, low threshold for disabled access £80, £35 for an add-on for the frame to move it out to make room for hinges). I asked if it included spyhole but that was another £20 exc VAT on top for a knocker with spyhole built in. Anyway he then tried along the lines of "if you sign on the dotted line now, i'll throw the knocker & spyhole in for free as i won't have to come back again (even though he'd already said he wouldnt have to because he had done his survey!)" . Don't you hate it when they try to force you into a decision? I said i had other quotes to get and wasn't going to make an on the spot decision yet (i wanted to discuss with OH first and sleep on it). £700 is more than i think we can afford - though i could forgo the low threshold as it's not a problem at the moment and i'm not sure we'll still be living here when it does become a problem!

Andy

latecomer

I know nothing about the cost of PVC doors but I wouldn't buy from someone who tried to pressurise you into signing on dotted on principle.

andrew-b

latecomer wrote: »

I know nothing about the cost of PVC doors but I wouldn't buy from someone who tried to pressurise you into signing on dotted on principle.

yep thats what i'm thinking of discounting on principle. OH was in the other room keeping the mutt out of mischief and said she didn't like the sound of him. He went on about how secure it was and that they insure against break in for 10 years but when i questioned what the lock cylinder was he skirted around the answer. He also skirted around giving a definitive answer whether the insurance policy relied on them being in business still!

I think i'll trust my gut feel and put that one down to experience and move on! I have plenty of companies to choose from in conservatory land!

Andy

latecomer

Sounds like you should avoid. I find you cant go far wrong by following your instincts.

If the product was as good as they claim, there would be no need to avoid answering questions.

andrew-b

Trouble is i think alot of double glazing companies do try the hard sell..if you get past the salesman they might very well do a good job...but i won't find out with that particular company!

Just had my plastering quote for the bathroom...much more pleasant experience than earlier - i guess as it was from a tradesman (easy to tell by the handshake - rough hands) rather than a salesman! Same company did my kitchen ceiling and did a good job then so i'm happy to go back to them. £460 materials and labour with the current surface going back to the blockwork in places (roughly 25m2 of surfaces to plaster so about £18.40/m2). Seems reasonable to me for the work involved at south-east prices. I'm sure i could get cheaper but as they've done a decent job for me before it seems a safe bet. It's the one bit i really dont want to skimp on as the walls will only be tiled around basin and shower.

Andy

Spicey

MadMonkey, love the stair case, but agree a little on the dark side have fun with the paint.

Andy thanks for reminding me about insurance, sorted it this morning. Seems alot for a door and cant stand pushy salesman, you right to send him packing.:beer:

TomsMom

< big sigh> I think we've got to the fed up stage today.

The tiles for the en-suite that were delivered on Monday were short by 5 sq metres. OH rang Wickes and they said they'd send the missing ones out today. He said the batch code might not be the same, and was told it probably wont make a difference. Oh yeah! The 5 sq metres were delivered today and of course the batch code is different and so is the colour. Another phone call to Wickes and now they're sending out a brand new 16 sq metres on Thursday and taking the others back. Good job we don't need them fixing until Friday or Monday.

Wallpaper stripping in the second bedroom was done today. On the outside wall we knew there was some damp patches showing on the wallpaper when it rained. This is where the extension joins the old stone cottage and the concrete fillet is cracked. Once the paper was removed there was far more damp than we thought and it has blown the plaster. The builders tell us the wall is saturated and will probably take years to dry out. There were two wall lights, a light switch plus an electrical socket on this wall, makes you wonder how the previous owners never got electrocuted! The builders are going to batten the wall and plasterboard it, drill some holes and also fix an air vent behind the central heating radiator (aren't we glad we had it moved now?) so that the heat can help dry the wall out. More expense on unforseen extra work. Bleuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Just having a moan. Ignore me. Mmmmmmmmm, I wonder if chocolate will make me feel better :rotfl: .

You can see our lovely damp patch on the blog. If you want a laugh, have a look at the last photo and the pattern that's been left on the plaster in the main bedroom (click on the picture to make it big to see it properly). We can't fathom out how it's happened and can't work out which era it's from, we don't remember seeing any paper like that before even in the 60s and 70s.

MadMonkey

You can buy PVC windows and doors from builders merchants - our local one does them made to measure.

In our last house we were quoted around £750 for a front door from the window companies - we got one made to measure for £300.

Now hubby fitted it but you could get a joiner to fit it for maybe £100 max so nearly half price.

Builders yards don't just sell bricks - they have a massive range of stuff.

Shimmyhill

I spent the weekend doing little jobs like filling, striping off woodchip paper and wiping down walls with bleach to kill mould !! I literally spent both days doing all these jobs and there is hardly anything to show for it !!

Sunday afternoon i started in the front garden as it was not too cold, of course i did loads of work and have nothing to show for it !!!!!!!

Cavity fillling day is getting closer so expect the weather to get sunny from the 12th onwards Hope it helps to warm the house up and help with condensation issues in a couple of rooms - mind i suspect we will have the issue until we replace the aluminium windows !

Ohhh and to top off my weekend i contacted wickes to find out where my bargain plinths had got to and got the dreaded no stock ever again refund issued reply Does anyone know where to get some cheap oak coloured plinths from ?

And finally the gas bill came in after i got back from a&e i realised it was totally wrong, the two readings were in the 4k range and my meter is just passed 550 so more phone calls to sort that out and i still do not know how much it will cost me - ohh the fun never ends !!!

Good job on all the progress made and welcome to the newcomers, i fear we need to activly hunt out a few more bugalow types before the housies take over