3 Questions

patch3228

Hi,

Grateful for any Advice/ Suggestions/ Costings:

1) Best way to remove Artex cheaply from ceilings?

2) Exterior front wall house covered in pebble-dash ... best way to remove cheaply?

3) Property has Gas Heating only (several heaters dotted about the house). What's the best system to have and approx costings? - Would the best system be a Combi Boiler Heating System?

I am clueless about 3) and would appreciate any help on any of the Q's above ( particularly an idea of costings)!

Many thanks.

clutton_2

combis are no longer lawful - you need a Condensing boiler which can only be fitted by a CORGI gas engineer

artex = plaster over it

removing render - kango hammer - but you will need to work from scaffolding

Dithering_Dad

Clutton is getting confused, combi boilers (Combination Boilers that heat water for radiators and on-demand domestic hot water) are legal. You have to buy condensing boilers that are more efficient than older boilers because they circulate water around the exhaust gas and reclaim some of the wasted heat (like a heat exchanger). They're quite a bit more efficient than the older style boilers that they replaced.

I used to have a Combi when I lived alone in my first little house, but now have a Heating only boiler with a hotwater tank, mainly because we have 3 bathrooms and it's hard to heat water fast enough if two of them are in use at the same time.

If you have a smaller home and no hot water tank (and no expansion tank in the loft) then you would be better with a Combi because it would be more efficient and cheaper to install.

Make sure you get three quotes and ask the plumbers what they would advise for your house. If you get a consensus of opinion from the plumbers then you know the right choice.

For the Artex, do as clutton has advised and get a platerer to skim over it, though try and scrape some of the layers off as it'll be easier for the plasterer if the artex has been levelled off a little.

With the pebble dash, what are you thinking of replacing it with? It's doubtfull that the brick underneath will look nice after being covered with pebble dash. You could get the surface rendered to a flat surface and painted, but then you'll be painting it every few years for the rest of your time in the house.

clutton_2

i am 95% sure that if you ask a plumber now to fit a gch boiler he is not allowed to fit a combi - it has to be a condenser previously existing combis can, of course, continue to be used.

sandiep

Combi boilers are condensing boilers. They just heat the water as you go - so no water tank needed.

I'm in Scotland - lots of new combi boilers being put in here - partic in areas that have no mains gas.

I had a bosch combi and it was absolutely excellent. Would recommend. 5 years and the only cost it incurred was the annual service. Very good for houses where you can't get a hot water tank in the loft (lots of old scottish houses are 1 1/2 storeys - with the bedroom in the loft/eves, so no room above).

sandiep

Artex - wallpaper steamer strippers work well sometimes. But the quickest and best option is to simply re-skim the ceiling.

poppysarah

new heating system 2-3k - look in local paper for people offering full instals. Will create lots of mess requiring perhaps some replastering of walls so skimming ceilings at same time would be the way to go.

Pebble dash is put on render isn't it? I assume it's been rendered for a reason so might cause all sorts of problems. Get an expert out to give you a quote but expect remedial work to walls after. Consider it being painted instead. will freshen it up and look better.

Are you looking to do up your house or buy one with these issues?

patch3228

poppysarah wrote: »

Are you looking to do up your house or buy one with these issues?

Thanks all for the advice!

I am looking to buy, but want to negotiate the price down based on the costs of cleaning up these issues (though they are not serious problems)

We have a second viewing tomorrow evening after work and I have a checklist the length of my arm.


So far I reckon (IF we decided to buy the house) we may:

1) Just leave the artex as it is

2) I guess there is little point in rendering the surface and then painting - so I would whitewash the pebble dash

3) Definitely install a new heating system - as we were planning on painting the walls and re-carpeting anyway

I will get a few quotes for the heating system but will budget for £4k

poppysarah

I'd ring someone about quotes for painting the outside of the house - the cost will give an indication of how much of a PITA it is.

SwissLe

I would class most of your points decorative issues and not structural, the vendor is unlikely to take these issues onboard when negotiating a significant discount. Artex is evil, however most houses of a certain age will have it and therefore is acceptable to many people. Pebbledash, as stated in a post above, is normally used to cover over damaged brickwork and does not come off that easily - a better option would be to leave it on or look for alternatives.

Is the current heating system broken or do you just feel the need to replace it for a modern system? If it isn't broken then it's unlikely to be a good negotiating point.

sandiep

It may be worth insisting on a check of the gch, because if the boiler is old, and the heaters ad-hoc, then it's unlikely to be properly fit. That may give you some leaverage.

When buying, in Scotland, you get a window after moving in, to report anything that isn't properly working, and the vendor is responsible for fixing etc. Usually a gch & boiler service is something that you get done then, so any faults are promptly brought to attention, and so vendors don't try and flog houses with faulty boilers.

What I would say, is if it's old then definitely replace if you can afford it. The energy savings on gas consumption, and the output from the heater & water from a modern system is far far better.