Atrixa's Saving Diaries

atrixa

The vision for the bedroom at the moment:
White ceiling, doors and above the picture rail. Green accent wall (not sure how dark/bright I want to go here. Maybe something in a sage? The two tester pots I found were a darker green). Then the rest of the walls some shade of white (who knew white had so many shades!) I also found one that was more a very light green than white that might complement the darker green nicely, but I'll experiment.
The vendors left some decent quality wooden furniture, so I'll try to find a second hand wood bedframe then give the lot a nice coat of varnish. I'm checking my local freecycle group for anything interesting, I'll probably put some bits up there when I've moved in so nothing is wasted.

MovingForwards

That sounds lush! Well thought out and carefully planned with the furniture too 😀
It's worth keeping an eye on several local FB selling groups, gumtree and the furniture charity shops.

atrixa

Sparky had a look today. I'm getting a rewire  It's for the best really. The electrics likely don't have the correct sign off and all the sockets are on one circuit so it's easily overloaded. I would have to do it eventually anyway, so best to do it while I'm not living in it to minimise disruption. Plan now is to strip back the walls that needed decorating anyway so I can see what condition they're in, then I can get a plasterer in after the rewire. It'll be expensive, but lovely once I've got a lovely blank canvas to work on. The rewire will be just under £2k which actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be.
I tried the tester pots out on the bare walls in the bedroom today. I don't think I've found my 'goldilocks' shade of green yet, but there are a few whites that would work. I'll get more tester pots at some point. 
Now I need to decide what to do with the lounge, kitchen and office!

MovingForwards

That's not a bad price, I thought it was about £3.5k nowadays!
With current electric regs, no old home would meet them, it stands a chance anything built 2 / 3 years ago wouldn't as they change frequently. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them. As long as they met regs at the time they were done, that's all that counts (have a read through the in my home / DIY section, there's a wealth of knowledge to keep you occupied for years).

Good luck eating all the porridge to find the right one. That's part of the fun 😁

riotlady

Green and white sounds lovely for the bedroom! Nice and soothing
So exciting to be picking all these things out in your own home!

atrixa

MovingForwards said:

That's not a bad price, I thought it was about £3.5k nowadays!
With current electric regs, no old home would meet them, it stands a chance anything built 2 / 3 years ago wouldn't as they change frequently. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them. As long as they met regs at the time they were done, that's all that counts (have a read through the in my home / DIY section, there's a wealth of knowledge to keep you occupied for years).

Good luck eating all the porridge to find the right one. That's part of the fun 😁

Me too, I was thinking around £4k! Yes, according to the EICR I got the electrics were unsatisfactory, but not unsafe (things hanging out of walls/ceilings and a rusty box under the window etc). The plan originally was to get remedials done and then rewire when I got a new bathroom/kitchen or something. However, me not being particularly experienced in these matters, I didn't realise how unusable having all the sockets on one circuit would be in this day and age. They tripped after about 20 mins of me using one appliance. Also, if I redecorate now then rewire later, it'll just ruin all my hard work.
I think I've picked the brand of paint I want. I've been reading up on old buildings and lime plaster, breathability, damp... you name it! I think I'll likely go with a lining paper and a claypaint instead of spending a fortune on lime plastering. It's currently mostly the original lime with the odd bit of gypsum. You can see places where there's damp getting trapped under the gypsum in some rooms and it's blown or crumbing away. Someone had wallpapered the spare room, then painted over it at least twice with a vinyl paint and it seems to have trapped a load of damp in. A lot of the paper was soggy when I was removing it. Hopefully when I get pack to it at the weekend it'll have dried out. 
It's such a learning curve but I'm quite enjoying myself.

MovingForwards

Definitely strip the paper off, let it air and dry before doing anything. Don't underestimate how long it takes to dry out, especially in this weather. If it's just small sections, it's possible to get ready mixed lime to patch it in (I've done a lot of research too).

In 6 months, you will look back and realise how much you have learned along the way!

atrixa

Ooh, thanks. I'll have a look at the ready mix stuff.
I put a litre of coke down the loo yesterday so hopefully that'll shift some of the limescale when I go back round on Saturday. I also plan to sort the fridge with the lemon and bicarb. The previous owners left a bin which I might repurpose for recycling, it just needs a clean. I'll also paint my house number on the wheelie bins and generally try to de-whiff the kitchen. 
I didn't spend any money today, huzzah!

MovingForwards

You can buy some neutradol powder, shake it all over the house and abandon it for a few days. When you next go in vac / sweep it all back up and the smell has gone; they do fridge eggs too. Always worth having a quick result back up plan.

Repurposing items where you can does save money, which is a must after just buying a home.

Well done on the NSD 🤗

atrixa

I'll definitely look into the fridge eggs. I tried the lemon and bicarb and while it's reduced the smell, it is still lingering. The coke has improved the toilet a bit. I think it just needs to be done several times to shift it fully. The rewire is being done this week and the internet will be sorted on Friday, so after that I'll be able to work in there and take deliveries of furniture etc. The previous owners left two bedside cabinets and a chest of drawers. A bit of polish and they'll be lovely  
I'm still planning on moving in on the 7th, so I might have to do some late night stints getting the lining paper on and hopefully get some painting done. The spare room, the main bedroom and the kitchen are fully stripped now, so just need the walls prepping, the lining paper on and the paint. At least I don't need to replace floors. I had some dust sheets and I've also used the old curtains that were up to cover the carpet.
I can spend some time this week getting my rented flat ready to move out of. I've done most things, just need to wash the curtains, stain treat the carpets and take some stuff to the charity shop.