First-time house renovation

TomsMom

jamtart6 wrote: »

P.S - I rang the plumber and he came out today to look at the job. Job #1 done thanks for the kick up the jacksy

:rotfl:

Even worse though, we're not sure what to do about the bath as it is around ~1cm too big for the bathroom (!) but if we chip away the plaster it will fit BUT, is this just going to look horrendous when we tile? We need to tile all the way down the wall as it is a free stander. Ho-hum, I can just see my beautiful bath slipping away, and being stuck with one I don't want

It's late so I suppose I'm having trouble getting my head around this (I'm off to bed in a minute) but why would it look horrendous? Are you chipping the plaster away to fit the bath up tight against the wall? Or do you mean you want to take a bit of plaster off the whole of that wall to push it back a bit to give you a bit more room? Oh dear - I'm not explaining what I'm thinking very well.

Is your bath going to fill the whole wall, e.g. bath is 1700mm long, wall is 1699mm long. I'm assuming there's no door in this wall? Or is there a door in that wall and your bath comes too close to the door? Blimey, this is getting worse :rotfl: .

Anyway, I would be really hacked off with B & Q by now and be looking for a refund and to buy elsewhere. I would be trying to find another make of bath the same shape where you could have the taps in the middle. Or would you be prepared to have holes drilled on the corner?

jamtart6

LOL! I am looking for other baths as we speak! I have looked on the 2 sites you reccomended, but nowhere has this mini free-standing wannabe bath that B&Q has.

Basically the bath is 1700mm and the wall is 1699mm yes - so we need to make 1cm somewhere so that the bath is tight into the wall. I just wondered if the wall would look all lumpy, but I suppose thinking about it, you wouldn't see it because the bath would be hiding the chipped away bit. How inconsiderate of our room to be 1cm too short! :rotfl:

(incidentally the bath has 2 sets of measurements on the website:
Width (mm): 750 Length (mm): 1690

and

Bath Size: (L)1700 x (W)750mm
)

Hmm - maybe that explains why we thought it would fit?:rolleyes:

jamtart6

thanks andrew that would be great and very kind of you. I'm at a bit of a loss as to where else to look online. Might try some local bathroom shops and see what their prices are like.

The bath we picked was one edge to the wall and had the look of a free standing bath (I love the little feet!) without it being some monsterous bath that looks like it might drown you at any moment. That is why it is is quite hard to find one like that because its only a free-standing wannabe.

Also B&Q suited our budget as well as me liking the bath:o

TomsMom

jamtart6 wrote: »

(incidentally the bath has 2 sets of measurements on the website:
Width (mm): 750 Length (mm): 1690

and

Bath Size: (L)1700 x (W)750mm
)

Hmm - maybe that explains why we thought it would fit?:rolleyes:

Well, that's confusing. B&Q ought to make up their minds!

As you're tiling all the way down, don't forget to take into account the thickness of your tiles. They can vary quite a bit.

Perhaps you should think about a 1600mm bath .

OK, I'm definitely off to bed now.

TomsMom

andrew-b wrote: »

TomsMom, sound like OH is quite poorly so i wish him all the best and keep us posted. I hope finding a suitable donor isn't a problem - if it is well i'm sure there must be one of us MSErs out there that is!

Once they've done the tissue typing the will check the UK donor list, if no match they go to Europe, then if necessary USA. Unless he is peculiar (mmmmmmmm ............... :rotfl: ) then there will be someone somewhere who is a match.

Now I really am going.

jamtart6

TomsMom wrote: »

Well, that's confusing. B&Q ought to make up their minds!

As you're tiling all the way down, don't forget to take into account the thickness of your tiles. They can vary quite a bit.

Perhaps you should think about a 1600mm bath .

OK, I'm definitely off to bed now.

Mmm think 1600mm would have been better:o :rolleyes: N'night! :hello:

andrew-b

Nearest i can find is Kaldewei Centro Duo 2 (this is the one i recall as being similar - in fact it looks virtually the same but it's a steel/enamel bath....but it's over £800 (i googled and found it here http://www.bathmart.co.uk/product_details.asp?productid=8220). I think that's the one i was thinking of.

Have a look at that bathmart website as there's also a kaldewei classic duo bath that keeps the oval but looses the freestanding and being rectangular on the outside may look tidier if your rebating it into the wall and more in your price range. However bathmart don't mention tap holes and for a steel/enamel you would need them pre-drilled or have wall-mounted taps instead. I looked in Ideal Standard and Twyfords brochures but nothing sprang out to me as being oval.

I nearly forgot ..have a look at Bathstore.com too as they do a few oval shaped baths - steel or acrylic.
Andy

pipo

Hoping for a bit of advice from MSEs out there...

Me and my partner were interested in buying a property that requires a lot of renovation, and I realise I’m going to get a lot of stick for asking a naive question, but I would like to know if anyone can provide ball-park figures for the following work that need to be done:

· Dampwork
· Installation of GCH
· Re-wiring
· Kitchen and bathroom

PS it’s a 3-bed terraced. Oh, and please put down the cheapest prices for each category, since I’m estimating a possible overspend of 5x the costs.

Gracias

latecomer

are you going to be doing any of the work yourself?

1. No way you can put a figure on that without knowing the cause.
2. 5,000
3. 5,000
4. 3,000-10,000 depending on whether you go for B&Q cheapest or designer, DIY/professionally fitted etc.

If the house is not in a good state then get a full survey done. Better to spend a little up front and know what you are dealing with.

pipo

Thanks for that.

Obviously I'm not going anywhere near the GCH installation and the electrical work. Fortunately i have friends who know electricians and family who are willing to do a "DIY weekend" so labour costs can be kept to a minimum.

The house is in a half-decent state of repair and the above are the biggest considerations to start off with as need hot water and electricity. Not sure about the damp but i fully intend getting a structural survey done to leave no stone unturned.

Kitchen and bathroom won't be "Grand Designs" standard but not cheapo either. I would be hoping to take advantage of units being sold at reluctantly cheap prices by doing a bit of haggling.

Anyway we haven't even bought the place yet so can't get too excited about planning anything. I may do a DIY diary though if we do and post lots of pics on here from start to finish (if that's allowed?)