Advice on garage/kitchen refurbishment before purchase

Rain_Shadow

jlaw4 wrote: »

Just to ask,, I'm buying a house that needs a lot of finishing off and possibly a brand new conservatory, did you save up to do the work? thats what we are doing and was wondering if its easy to keep positive in these circumstances?

Yes we saved up. And yes, keep positive, refine your plans over time and end up with something that really pleases you.

Rain_Shadow

cjdavies wrote: »

Same here, lived with it for 8 ears, had it done and still think it's just a kitchen, what a waste of £ :huh:

Ah, well, if I'd just replaced the kitchen I may have felt the same but I demolished a lean-to, had it rebuilt as part of the house and extended. Then moved the kitchen into it and converted the old kitchen into an office. Spent over £100k but the final result is so worth the ten years of waiting.

Marvel1

Rain_Shadow wrote: »

Ah, well, if I'd just replaced the kitchen I may have felt the same but I demolished a lean-to, had it rebuilt as part of the house and extended. Then moved the kitchen into it and converted the old kitchen into an office. Spent over £100k but the final result is so worth the ten years of waiting.

I will say though I had the bathroom done just after, and the best thing I did as it's small bathroom was remove the bath and replaced with just a shower.

Rain_Shadow

cjdavies wrote: »

I will say though I had the bathroom done just after, and the best thing I did as it's small bathroom was remove the bath and replaced with just a shower.

Id agree with that. We've lived here eleven years and I'd bet that we havent taken two dozen baths between us in that time.

AdrianC

Choosing your builder based solely on "Oh, yes, I can definitely start on 1st July, no problem" is asking for problems.

Rain_Shadow

paulr70 wrote: »

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Also there is the issue that this particular builder doesn't want to commit any date understandably as they have 4 months of work schedule already. Anyone done similar and found a builder willing to pencil in a date for works. Otherwise I can see us moving in and stuck with a horrendous kitchen for months.

Thanks alot

paulr70 wrote: »

Yes true, even the builder said to live in it for a few months and then you get an idea of what you want. .

I wonder if these two pieces of information are connected? :cool:

AlexMac

paulr70 wrote: »

That seems quite a quick job considering. Out of interest what was involved?
Thanks

Sorry at delay, just noticed your follow up Q. This conversion of a 6.5m x 2.5m garage/utility room to a room with an en-suite involved the following spec;
Others may look away now (it's a cut and paste so a bit detailed; sorry!)

• Demolition; To remove up & over door to front. (they also had to strip out existing utility room; a kitchen sink, units and plumbing)
• New wall and windows; To excavate small footing and concrete. (Building control then asked for deeper footings and a concrete lintel to support the new front wall which replaced the original garage door door); To key in brickwork and build up cavity brick work and ensure continuous dpc. To insulate cavity with Batts. To supply and install a window 1.8m wide to match existing.
• New suspended floor; (over an existing solid floor, luckily this was lower than the floors in the house, so levels were fine without excavation)- install floor joists, crossed battened to ensure good neutralisation; supply and install a tongue and groove tanalised timber floor set to a height for the finished floor to match the hallway; (Building control asked for sub floor insulation). To install custom engineer oak board finish (which looks great by the way; miles better than laminate!).
• Plastering and improvements to walls & insulation throughout; To batten over existing ceiling boards. To supply and install plaster board ceiling fully screwed and jointed. To supply and install 100mm king span insulation to the 4 inch brickwork (part of the garage already had a cavity wall; part was 4” single skin). To construct a stud wall to form en-suite from 100 x 50 CLS timbers and 12.5mm plasterboard, cavity to be filled with insulation to help with sound deadening. (Building control asked for lots more wall, ceiling and floor insulation all round)
• To remove rear door and frame (this was a door to the garden; sacrificed to make the ensuite shower bigger). To key in brickwork and build up cavity brick work and ensure continuous dpc. To insulate cavity with Batts. To supply and install a window to match the existing to the side to be obscure glass with an opening casement.
• To prepare all surfaces ready to plaster. To bond and set walls and ceiling to a finish standard. To carry out second fix for carpentry work including a new door to room and matching door to en-suite.
• Electrics- To provide wall lights (3) and switch located by door. To supply and install a pendent set for en-suite and switch (we went for downlights). To alter sockets and add 3 additional. (we also moved the gas and electricity meters, put in a new consumer unit, tested and certificated wiring throughout the house, relocated the burglar alarm control box and boxed the lot into a cupboard for neatness)
• En suite; To supply and install a 1200 x 700 shower tray and door. To supply and install a suitable shower valve, fixed head, riser and wand (Pura or similar).
• To supply and install a studio basin and pedestal in white china with mono -block tap and pop up waste. To supply and install a close coupled white chine toilet and cistern with push button flush and soft close seat. To tile shower area with 200 x 200 white tiles (we went for bigger grey porcelain ones). To grout polish and silicone seal.
• Lots of preparatory plumbing- To alter the soil stack to allow for connection of the toilet etc and to move it to the exterior of the building (the soil stack used to be inside the garage, so we moved it outside).
• There is no provision for heating in our estimate at present and this will have to be costed separately. I am sure we can feed a couple of radiators even if its drop pipe from floor above. (we went for a high vertical rad, electrical ceiling mounted heating in the en-suite shower room, and at the builders advice, added a high wall-mounted TV feed from a new electrically boosted aerial; which also works really well)
• Decoration; internal and external (the 2 new windows)

Well, you did ask!