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The home renovation thread
glasgowdan
Posts: 2,968 Forumite
I've been working on our new house at every opportunity for the past 2 weeks and feel things are progressing well. Just thought I'd share some of the work here.
Now, we HAVE had to get a lot of trades in as we want to move in asap, and with a toddler and a pregnant wife there's not really a comfortable way to move into the chaos and do things gradually as we go!
We got the keys 2 weeks ago last Friday. The first two days were spent by me using an angle grinder, sds drill and heavy hammer demolishing an attached brick car port. We got a skip in and filled it to the brim. The issue really was that the base of the car port was higher than the driveway, around 12 inches, and composed of slabs, bricks, concrete, rubble and soil. This is where the heaviest work was required, and I got a help in to do the majority of the digging in the end. After a couple of shifts this left a big hole in the tarmac that needed filled, so I ordered in two bags of type 1 and the help whacked it all down. I hoped to get a tarmac repair done, but getting hold of hot asphalt proved to be obstructive, so I ended up with a concrete barrow service, again dealt with by the same chap so raked it out and floated it smooth. I'm left seeing a couple of puddles that we hadn't planned for though and am in the middle of cutting a channel to drain these into the downpipe.
The bathrooms - two bathrooms needed completely removed and refitted, and I had been in contact with 3-4 local companies before the handover day. I settle don one and within a couple of days he was in and stripping out the bathrooms. They have almost completed the family one now and have some more to do on the big en suite. But they're fairly self-controlling and I've not had to spend much time thinking about the bathrooms which is nice.
Over the days I have removed carpets, removed the grip rails, removed crumbling plaster from the ceiling section of two bay windows (this requires further clearing out so we can replaster it).
Old fireplace and brick/wood mantlepiece structure the length of the living room - I removed this with a combination of sledgehammers, sds drill and pry bars. The woodwork had been done before the plastering so this left a 1 inch messy groove in the wall once gone, not to mention the chaos with removing the fireplace. I've a friend who is coming over next week to help me plaster it all back up.
Stove - today until Thursday there's a chap fitting a stove into this old fireplace space. He's widening the aperture, changing the flue, lintel, chimney stack and hearth and a few other bits and bobs. The stove has been delivered and is sitting in the room ready.
External - from last week we've had a roofer renewing the gutters and downpipes as the old metal ones were thoroughly blocked and rusted. He's also faced the fascias and soffits with PVC which looks so much better. Today is his last day.
Garage - the garage is attached to the house and had a damaged asbestos roof and broken door. We've had ANOTHER roofer in to change the roof. Took him a lot longer than I think he planned, but he's done now and the current roofer is just to fit the gutter and that'll be it all done. Thursday this week we've a company out to fit a new hormann roller door.
Plumbing - the plumber who was working on the bathrooms showed us the central heating pipes and recommended replacement. We agreed as they were around 40 years old, so saturday he started and should finish another day this week.
Decor - I have been scraping wallpaper in the hallway - we have decided to get professionals in to do the bedrooms and living room, but the kitchen and hallway we'll do ourselves. Lots of damaged plasterwork around doors and plugs that I need to fill and smooth out with caulk.
In the small bedroom there was an old recess which I found when I ripped out the built in 1970's shelves/ledge. Looks like an old fireplace. I have bricked this up and will plaster it smooth when my mate is round next week to show me the best way to go about it. Part of this job was ripping out two old wall lights and moving a socket. I dealt with the wall lights (narrowly avoiding a shock as the exposed wire touched the wall with a bang!) and have a sparky moving the socket hopefully today.
Drive entrance - the original driveway entrance was very narrow, having been built in the 1950s. I spent a couple of days knocking down part of the wall, cutting out an overly-mature conifer, roots and all, and rebuilding the wall further across. I also had to surface part of the front lawn to accommodate the new access. It is a bit of a bodge to be honest but funds won't allow us to do it properly just now. It's passable!
Garden - I have done some cutting back of overgrown bamboo in the back garden but am leaving the bulk of it for little gaps of free time during the winter. I already have over a skipful of waste piled out back and will probably hire a 3" chipper to deal with it. There's a mature pine and a birch that I will cut down in time as well. Also rounded up half a skipful of garden stuff... plastic chairs, tables, metal bins, wheelbarrows, clay pots. Just a massive load of junk. Found a cheap waste removal guy to deal with it once I'd sorted things out.
Firewood - delivery of 3 cube of logs yesterday ready to stack away for the stove once we're in.
Kitchen - a joiner friend is fitting a new one in 2 weeks. I may be able to sell the current one which will entail a day taking it apart.
So, after this week things will be quiet for a week before the kitchen guy and decorators. I'll need to make sure the rooms are properly prepared for decorators starting on 27th. Two rooms need new skirting as well as the plasterwork repairs. Lots of caulk repairs to be done around door frames and plug sockets.
This is 2 weeks and 3 days in. I'll get some photos shortly
I think just writing it all down helps a lot.
Has anyone got renovation stories to share? How much DIY was involved? I think total costs for us could be in the region of 35k, then more for some nice furniture. We were going to have the house re-roughcast, but the central heating pipework job took up the funds so that'll be a spring job now.
Now, we HAVE had to get a lot of trades in as we want to move in asap, and with a toddler and a pregnant wife there's not really a comfortable way to move into the chaos and do things gradually as we go!
We got the keys 2 weeks ago last Friday. The first two days were spent by me using an angle grinder, sds drill and heavy hammer demolishing an attached brick car port. We got a skip in and filled it to the brim. The issue really was that the base of the car port was higher than the driveway, around 12 inches, and composed of slabs, bricks, concrete, rubble and soil. This is where the heaviest work was required, and I got a help in to do the majority of the digging in the end. After a couple of shifts this left a big hole in the tarmac that needed filled, so I ordered in two bags of type 1 and the help whacked it all down. I hoped to get a tarmac repair done, but getting hold of hot asphalt proved to be obstructive, so I ended up with a concrete barrow service, again dealt with by the same chap so raked it out and floated it smooth. I'm left seeing a couple of puddles that we hadn't planned for though and am in the middle of cutting a channel to drain these into the downpipe.
The bathrooms - two bathrooms needed completely removed and refitted, and I had been in contact with 3-4 local companies before the handover day. I settle don one and within a couple of days he was in and stripping out the bathrooms. They have almost completed the family one now and have some more to do on the big en suite. But they're fairly self-controlling and I've not had to spend much time thinking about the bathrooms which is nice.
Over the days I have removed carpets, removed the grip rails, removed crumbling plaster from the ceiling section of two bay windows (this requires further clearing out so we can replaster it).
Old fireplace and brick/wood mantlepiece structure the length of the living room - I removed this with a combination of sledgehammers, sds drill and pry bars. The woodwork had been done before the plastering so this left a 1 inch messy groove in the wall once gone, not to mention the chaos with removing the fireplace. I've a friend who is coming over next week to help me plaster it all back up.
Stove - today until Thursday there's a chap fitting a stove into this old fireplace space. He's widening the aperture, changing the flue, lintel, chimney stack and hearth and a few other bits and bobs. The stove has been delivered and is sitting in the room ready.
External - from last week we've had a roofer renewing the gutters and downpipes as the old metal ones were thoroughly blocked and rusted. He's also faced the fascias and soffits with PVC which looks so much better. Today is his last day.
Garage - the garage is attached to the house and had a damaged asbestos roof and broken door. We've had ANOTHER roofer in to change the roof. Took him a lot longer than I think he planned, but he's done now and the current roofer is just to fit the gutter and that'll be it all done. Thursday this week we've a company out to fit a new hormann roller door.
Plumbing - the plumber who was working on the bathrooms showed us the central heating pipes and recommended replacement. We agreed as they were around 40 years old, so saturday he started and should finish another day this week.
Decor - I have been scraping wallpaper in the hallway - we have decided to get professionals in to do the bedrooms and living room, but the kitchen and hallway we'll do ourselves. Lots of damaged plasterwork around doors and plugs that I need to fill and smooth out with caulk.
In the small bedroom there was an old recess which I found when I ripped out the built in 1970's shelves/ledge. Looks like an old fireplace. I have bricked this up and will plaster it smooth when my mate is round next week to show me the best way to go about it. Part of this job was ripping out two old wall lights and moving a socket. I dealt with the wall lights (narrowly avoiding a shock as the exposed wire touched the wall with a bang!) and have a sparky moving the socket hopefully today.
Drive entrance - the original driveway entrance was very narrow, having been built in the 1950s. I spent a couple of days knocking down part of the wall, cutting out an overly-mature conifer, roots and all, and rebuilding the wall further across. I also had to surface part of the front lawn to accommodate the new access. It is a bit of a bodge to be honest but funds won't allow us to do it properly just now. It's passable!
Garden - I have done some cutting back of overgrown bamboo in the back garden but am leaving the bulk of it for little gaps of free time during the winter. I already have over a skipful of waste piled out back and will probably hire a 3" chipper to deal with it. There's a mature pine and a birch that I will cut down in time as well. Also rounded up half a skipful of garden stuff... plastic chairs, tables, metal bins, wheelbarrows, clay pots. Just a massive load of junk. Found a cheap waste removal guy to deal with it once I'd sorted things out.
Firewood - delivery of 3 cube of logs yesterday ready to stack away for the stove once we're in.
Kitchen - a joiner friend is fitting a new one in 2 weeks. I may be able to sell the current one which will entail a day taking it apart.
So, after this week things will be quiet for a week before the kitchen guy and decorators. I'll need to make sure the rooms are properly prepared for decorators starting on 27th. Two rooms need new skirting as well as the plasterwork repairs. Lots of caulk repairs to be done around door frames and plug sockets.
This is 2 weeks and 3 days in. I'll get some photos shortly
I think just writing it all down helps a lot.Has anyone got renovation stories to share? How much DIY was involved? I think total costs for us could be in the region of 35k, then more for some nice furniture. We were going to have the house re-roughcast, but the central heating pipework job took up the funds so that'll be a spring job now.
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Comments
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Garden...Bamboo...Whenever I read that description I think of Japanese Knotweed! Surveyors know what is looks like so they would have told you about it if it was!
You've done loads in a really short time!0 -
Blimey, you've been busy. I take it you haven't been at paid work!?Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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3 days a week as a self employed garden contractor, and two days a week watching the toddler which means I can't do any work those days. Just been squeezing it all in. My heads mush trying to stay organised0
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In the same club - Took ownership of a 1920s semi at the beginning of the year. Ripped out the fireplace and installed an inset wood burner. Have since taken down the old plaster & lath ceiling in that room and installed new radiators, sockets, and lights.
Got half the boards up on the ceiling, and am putting some insulation in between the joists (to cut down on noise from upstairs and reduce the draughts). Plugging the gaps as I go with lime mortar, I should be ready for plastering by the end of the month - Have a few hairline cracks to deal with along with some blown sections of plaster. Also have a little bit of artex to remove (using X-Tex for that).
My budget is zero, so having to do as much as I can on my own and hassling suppliers for a good discount.Any language construct that forces such insanity in this case should be abandoned without regrets. –
Erik Aronesty, 2014
Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.0 -
Feeling a little stressed as there seems to be so much to do. Granted, we've got decorators doing 4 rooms in a couple of weeks. And bathrooms/kitchen being done, but it's the hallway and lots of other niggly wee things that I've got to try and sort out in certain orders. Lots of wires poking out here there and everywhere. damaged plaster, holes... just stuff that's going to look bad until I've managed to sort it all out. Can't imagine the house as cosy and livable at all!0
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When doing big jobs I always find it helpful to try to list the jobs in order of how they need to be done as well as importance.
This helps a lot, else you can find yourself having to undo work to do other work!0 -
Agree. Thanks for the reply. I've a number of things to do, thus week has been a bit stressful as the final prep for the decorators had to come together and even the night before them I was frantically trying to plaster a wall up (which I've never done before). Had a nightmare trying to get an electrician to do some work before they started too.
But...stove is fitted, walls are all prepared, kitchen is being fitted, hallways is pretty much stripped and tidied though there are still some random cables I don't think we need, roof work all done, garage door fitted...I can imagine it as a home now!0 -
An update and some photos. I can't believe it was only 5 days ago I last posted here - it feels like a lifetime. Time is going by very slowly because we're so excited and keen to move in and it feels like everything is taking forever.
The kitchen is fitted and the flooring in the hall and kitchen/diner is being finished off today. The decorators have done some plastering, the door between the lounge and kitchen has been boarded up and being finished. I have been doing various bits of wiring, a lot of tidying and some garden work, tried my hand at plastering (the decorators didn't laugh out loud when they saw it, but they DID suggest they do a top skim coat, which I can handle).
Drains got jetted a couple of days ago after the biblical rain as the gutters were overflowing, and we had a leak from the roof coming through the living room just 2 days before it was due for decoration (good timing actually). We only found out because the sparky was working late and called me up to say it was dripping through. I hurried over and crawled around the eaves and found the leak. Bucket to stop any more water coming in and the roofer was called who did a temp fix the next day. I discovered the joy of fibreglass insulation itching!
Next job, as soon as I get a chance, is to build a log store at the back of the driveway and stack the 3 cube of logs in it properly, get the location of the bins sorted out and clean up the paving around the house.
The plan is to move in next week
The stairs and loft room are being ignored for the time being, that'll be another world of fun, with polystyrene ceiling tiles, lots of thin fibrous board panels lining the stairway and eaves cupboards, yuk. I have no idea where to start with it all, and awkwardly we'd like the room to be habitable for guests visiting over the coming few weeks, but funds won't allow us to get anyone in to sort the room out so I'll have to get in myself and see what I can do. Slightly nervous about taking off the tiles as I have no diea what the ceiling will be like under them, but it's got to be done sooner or later.
I fitted the left hand panel to hide the wiring for the new bathroom lighting, and put the clothes rail in. Quite pleased with this one!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xs7q1aeuc14f3b5/IMG_20160924_172842977.jpg?dl=0
Removed the kitchen myself as there was someone collecting it after I put it on gumtree freebies. https://www.dropbox.com/s/h2pwcruieuktysz/IMG_20160925_164743190.jpg?dl=0
New kitchen delivered https://www.dropbox.com/s/v50i1d2kqnexe9t/IMG_20160926_194449726.jpg?dl=0
Stove installed, recess gutted out and plastered, all ready for decoration https://www.dropbox.com/s/tm2oao4t5dtkqb1/IMG_20160923_163552050.jpg?dl=0
and the before: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vig66esu812o1cg/mantlepieces.jpg?dl=0
Joiner on Wednesday got the kitchen all in place https://www.dropbox.com/s/c6wethhnmpqluoy/IMG_20160930_200246812.jpg?dl=0
En suite taking shape https://www.dropbox.com/s/mskdtfl886udwp5/IMG_20160928_152236338.jpg?dl=0
and the before: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gwypgxs1cemcyv4/en%20suite.jpg?dl=0
Went full gypsy, trundling down the road with my trailer heaving under this summerhouse after one of my maintenance customers said I could have it! Looks gorgeous under the bamboo and the tree.https://www.dropbox.com/s/3cwiii02cgq8spz/IMG_20160919_123715430.jpg?dl=0
Removing the thermostat and positioning it in the hallway DIY https://www.dropbox.com/s/8bphgrz47aozida/IMG_20160919_104200210.jpg?dl=0
Garage door, upvc soffits, fascias, gutters https://www.dropbox.com/s/ahxa3wdm3639fyw/IMG_20160915_170543371.jpg?dl=00 -
Hi glasgowdan,
sounds like you've been busy.
Do you mind sharing who supplied your Hormann roller door? Looking at a this brand for both garage door and entrance door so looking for good suppliers.
Thanks0 -
Just sent you a private message.0
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