First-time house renovation

Spicey

TomsMom hugs, how stressful, hope the situation with Wickes sorts out soon and you get ur Tiles.

andrew-b wow you been very busy. Kept you warm though I bet, cos its freezing!

TomsMom

andrew-b wrote: »

Not impressed by your wickes experience..i'd have probably cancelled by now and looked elsewhere!

Yes, Wickes have let themselves down very badly, especially considering the first order was so easy and hassle free which gave us the confidence to order again.

When we were out last week (out means a day trip to a big town as there is nothing here where we live, and they're all 60 miles away whichever direction we go) we looked at the DIY sheds, Topps Tiles, etc., but didn't see anything we liked at the right price. Plus we couldn't have got 16 sq metres in the car, it would be too heavy. Wickes had reduced the price of the ones we'd already got for the bathroom by £5 a sq metre which made them an excellent buy, plus free delivery. We checked them out and they looked good in the en-suite too, so we went ahead with those. Just realised, that £5 reduction would have saved us £170 on the bathroom - what timing eh!

Today OH has spoken to Wickes again, they haven't been able to locate our order so when they have their new delivery on Monday they are going to sort out our order and despatch them so we should (fingers crossed) get them on Tuesday. All rides on what time their delivery arrives but that's the plan.

Happy to report that the toilet and border tiles scheduled for today arrived about 10am (a miracle it arrived so early considering where we live, most deliveries are lunchtime or afternoon) :j . The toilet was packed up incredibly well in it's own proper toilet-shaped box with polystyrene packing inside then it was on a wooden pallet with a three-sided wooden pallet structure around the box, then all wrapped in polythene to secure it onto the pallet. Very impressed.

One of the builders is on painting duty (OH wont be able to decorate the whole house, he just isn't well enough, so builder is doing all the prep and undercoats and OH will do some of the top coats) and by lunchtime today the loft had received 3 coats of white emulsion. Looking good! We've got to decide on the colour of the top coat pretty quick now!

I've been really busy here ...

......... Hopefully by next week the room will be ready to plaster.

Andy

Andy - wow! you have been very busy. I bet you're imagining what an improvement your new shower will be and can't wait to try it.

Looking forward to updates when you've all had a busy weekend in your respective houses.

jamtart6

Sorry I can't reply to other posts just now, just want to ask a quick Q.

I ordered a bathroom on 29th decfrom b+q to be delievered in 2 week..3 max. We have still not got it! rang up each week but they are waiting for the bath to be delivered.

Anyone know what we can do? Are we entitled to discount or anything? (im blatently being cheeky but Im fed up of waiting now!)

Spicey

jamtart6 wrote: »

Sorry I can't reply to other posts just now, just want to ask a quick Q.

I ordered a bathroom on 29th decfrom b+q to be delievered in 2 week..3 max. We have still not got it! rang up each week but they are waiting for the bath to be delivered.

Anyone know what we can do? Are we entitled to discount or anything? (im blatently being cheeky but Im fed up of waiting now!)

You could cancel and get your money back, perhaps just the threat of cancellation might get you a discount. Did they put in writting that it would be 2-3 weeks.

TomsMom

Jamtart - I would go into the branch and speak to the most senior person in the bathroom department (or if there is anyone more senior then seek them out), tell them what has happened and just ask for a discount for the inconvenience. If they say no then say you are fed up with their promises and aren't willing to wait any longer, and want to cancel the order then go and get something elsewhere.

If you do cancel, can I suggest you try this place which is where our bath and everything for the en-suite is coming from. We've been to their showroom, they're lovely people, they carry some stock but what they order in is delivered to them in about 5 days (unless the supplier has a problem) and they deliver all over the country for free if your order is £100 or more.

The other people we have dealt with are here and they have been very helpful and very quick too.

With both of them, if you tell them the cheapest you have seen it on the 'net they will match or beat the price.

TomsMom

Can you guys help me with some ideas on how to paint the loft room please.

If you look at today's blog entry, the last but one picture (click to make it big to get a better idea, move the bar around to see the whole picture) shows the wall facing the window and the bed will be against this wall.

Originally I was going to make this a feature wall and paint it a stronger colour and the other walls pale. I mistakenly thought that the flat part of the wall was higher than it actually is - it's about 3' high before it starts to slope. If I paint just the flat bit a stronger colour, it will mostly be hidden by the headboard and bedside tables, plus I think it will look a bit funny, like a stripe. I don't think painting the slope the stronger colour as well would not be a good idea, it's already at "duck or grouse" height and I think painting it a darker colour will give the illusion of being lower than it is.

The room is about 20' x 14' and the slopey wall is the long 20' wall.

So, do I paint all four walls a pale colour and forget the feature wall? I can't see putting a stronger colour on any of the other walls being right, feature walls usually go behind a bed don't they?

Canucklehead

Hi, all: I've been following this thread since the beginning (and checking out the blogs as well). As you have all been getting quotes from all types of trades, I've a quick question for you i.e. have you received quotations via email?

Thanks,

Canucklehead

TomsMom

Canucklehead wrote: »

Hi, all: I've been following this thread since the beginning (and checking out the blogs as well). As you have all been getting quotes from all types of trades, I've a quick question for you i.e. have you received quotations via email?

Thanks,

Canucklehead

Hi Canucklehead

I haven't had any by e-mail for the actual building trades. I've had a couple of quotes by e-mail from stonemasons when I enquired about having a fireplace surround built.

helping_hubby

Hello everyone, I've been ill again - food poisoning of some sort, not very pleasant. Still feeling weak and delicate so I'll be out of action for a bit.

I'm itching to get photos up of my almost finished bedrooms, but OH keeps messing the rooms up.

TomsMom: I really don't know what you should do with the colouring. I think I would be tempted to pass on the feature wall and bold things up on the bed spread/cushions. But that's just me - I'm scared of colour! Comments on my house so far have been that it needs more colour!

Canucklehead: I've not had 'just' quotes by email, but when dealing with both my electrician and plumber we commnuicated and negotiated prices by email and then they sent a written copy in the post.

Wickedkitten

TomsMom wrote: »

Can you guys help me with some ideas on how to paint the loft room please.

If you look at today's blog entry, the last but one picture (click to make it big to get a better idea, move the bar around to see the whole picture) shows the wall facing the window and the bed will be against this wall.

Originally I was going to make this a feature wall and paint it a stronger colour and the other walls pale. I mistakenly thought that the flat part of the wall was higher than it actually is - it's about 3' high before it starts to slope. If I paint just the flat bit a stronger colour, it will mostly be hidden by the headboard and bedside tables, plus I think it will look a bit funny, like a stripe. I don't think painting the slope the stronger colour as well would not be a good idea, it's already at "duck or grouse" height and I think painting it a darker colour will give the illusion of being lower than it is.

The room is about 20' x 14' and the slopey wall is the long 20' wall.

So, do I paint all four walls a pale colour and forget the feature wall? I can't see putting a stronger colour on any of the other walls being right, feature walls usually go behind a bed don't they?

I would just paint all four walls a pale colour so more light bounces around the room.