1960's to now : our renovation
Discussion
dazwalsh said:
Are those IKEA wardrobes? And if so how did you get that lucky with the height? Haha
Unless my eyes are deciding me they look pretty much flush with the ceiling.
And if.its anything like the storage sharing in my house did your other half say something along the lines of "right where your shirt is, is your side, and everything left of my black dress with white dots is my side.
Indeed they are IKEA wardrobes. Funny you mention the height! I took ONE measurement of the ceiling and Sod's law it must have been the highest point and gave 10mm gap. IKEA show these about 6mm shorter than the finished reality... Ceiling isn't at all level.Unless my eyes are deciding me they look pretty much flush with the ceiling.
And if.its anything like the storage sharing in my house did your other half say something along the lines of "right where your shirt is, is your side, and everything left of my black dress with white dots is my side.
Edited by dazwalsh on Monday 19th September 17:34
Luck, a large persuasion stick and a hammer sort it out and left me needing to get the decorator to touch in the ceiling.
All in all I'm more than happy - they look built in yet cost me just over £1200.
Now talking about the decorator... He's my wife's uncle, late 60's and retired.
God knows what he had for breakfast this morning as I when I left at quartertomiddleofthenight this morning it was bare plaster.
This is what I've got when I got home.
Ceilings and walls both upstairs and downstairs mist coated, 2 coats on the ceiling and 1 on the wall.
His roller must have been hot to touch by the time he finished
Leicester Loyal said:
Just read this thread from start to finish, what a read!
The house is looking great, I bet you can't wait to finish it. Congratulation on the news regarding the little one, hopefully it's nearly all done by the time he/she arrives.
Best of luck!
Countdown is on...5 weeks and counting!The house is looking great, I bet you can't wait to finish it. Congratulation on the news regarding the little one, hopefully it's nearly all done by the time he/she arrives.
Best of luck!
Still ALOT to get finished - but realistic and not expecting it!
SavanP said:
croakey said:
Been looking at handrails again and now thinking it's either metal or wood...
I'm drawn towards metal as 1) it's different 2) it would match the handles/switches etc 3) they're cheaper.
Anyone fitted such a thing?
Good idea: But will it look a bit commercial / industrial? I'm drawn towards metal as 1) it's different 2) it would match the handles/switches etc 3) they're cheaper.
Anyone fitted such a thing?
Also could be cold to touch in the colder months.
Might risk it, it's not a great expense if we change our minds in a few years!
As for an early arrival ... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an on due date arrival lol
Beginning to look a lot more like a home now.
Stuck all of nest protects up earlier; then got bored and thought I'd put some lampshades up and then finally some pictures.
Living room / dining room is being started tomorrow. Also hoping to get the blinds up in our bedroom and the hallway
Then need to order the flooring! ... And handrails... And many other things!
Stuck all of nest protects up earlier; then got bored and thought I'd put some lampshades up and then finally some pictures.
Living room / dining room is being started tomorrow. Also hoping to get the blinds up in our bedroom and the hallway
Then need to order the flooring! ... And handrails... And many other things!
Seeing as I whinge about the quality of some stuff I figure I ought to say how good the blinds are.
Ordered from Blinds2go and the 4 I ordered came in less than 1 from a well known presidential candidates blind company. Also being a 60's build we have some BIG windows!
These are 50mm white wood effect venetians. Look like wood , well at the distance you would study a window blind but are guaranteed not to warp and are wipe clean (...ooh err!)
I also have some 65mm slat oak effect ones for the bedroom I might put up this afternoon.
Still undecided on hand rails!
Ordered from Blinds2go and the 4 I ordered came in less than 1 from a well known presidential candidates blind company. Also being a 60's build we have some BIG windows!
These are 50mm white wood effect venetians. Look like wood , well at the distance you would study a window blind but are guaranteed not to warp and are wipe clean (...ooh err!)
I also have some 65mm slat oak effect ones for the bedroom I might put up this afternoon.
Still undecided on hand rails!
skinnyman said:
We've got a decorator in atm and he's using valspar too.
It's amazing the rate they work at. 5hrs after arriving he'd painted the kitchen ceiling, walls in 2 different colours, 2 coats on the woodwork, and the windowcill. Although to be fair there are a few touch ups needed, but I think I'm probably more ocd than his regular customers, as the missus thought the finish was fine.
I have no idea how they get so much done so quickly I can only imagine it is years of practise and knowledge.It's amazing the rate they work at. 5hrs after arriving he'd painted the kitchen ceiling, walls in 2 different colours, 2 coats on the woodwork, and the windowcill. Although to be fair there are a few touch ups needed, but I think I'm probably more ocd than his regular customers, as the missus thought the finish was fine.
I can only dream of having a kitchen that large - looks like a great canvas to work from! Is it a diy-kitchens?
Got the other blinds up yesterday - as simple as the first. Cannot rate blinds2go highly enough.
This room just needs some final sorting and it's done. Looking for decorative curtains and picture frames etc to soften it all up.
Also decorator has cracked on with living room. The colour is odd, it's from a grey colour chart but has ALOT of blue in it. Hence it varies a lot depending on light.
The rather cliched plan was to make the room feel bigger by toning the walls to the sky. We have very large windows in this room and "big" sky at the rear of the house.
Time will tell if I can make it work!
... And wow my garden looks a mess from that angle, it really isn't!!!
cylon said:
Those wardrobes look nice.!!
Also ordered from blinds2go, so far been 9 days since order, still waiting for delivery for 3 blinds.!! Hope they are as good as you say..
Oddly enough I ordered 4 blinds in total and ended up getting a delivery split over 7 days.Also ordered from blinds2go, so far been 9 days since order, still waiting for delivery for 3 blinds.!! Hope they are as good as you say..
Either way they are cheap and quality.
Grabbed some photos to try and show the variance of this paint with different lighting levels. Remember this is ONE solid colour. I'm impressed with Valspar so far! Excuse the untidy room it was just dry when I took these!
Edited by croakey on Wednesday 28th September 14:18
A while since I've updated but with an impending baby I've been flat out with both work and the house.
But...
Hallway/landing is looking decent at last
Which left the living room/dining room to finish and some flooring....
The floors were somewhat unlevel with missing tiles and various gaps. So had to use levelling compound to form some kind of a level!
And onto the flooring - think I mentioned it was quikstep impressive, -and of the 6 oak they do this was the closest match to the doors.
Now flooring is a pig of a job but I tend to enjoy it and like to make sure all is spot on. There are no joins between rooms, all door frames are undercut and the transition between living room and hallway is equal each side.
... and then the day of pain came.
First I went to buy skirting board
Volvo died. (Suspected goosed alternator)
Then when I did get skirting I found it to be THE most annoying job. It is on, mitred and had the first layer of filling done. Decorator can sort the rest when he comes back for the last sweep through.
This was me at the end of the day knowing there was more skirting to do the next couple of days.
But parents down this weekend and some long days has got us near to finished.
Things to note:
- blinds are due this week
- pendants don't sit flush to ceiling so sparky can sort that when he comes this week
- logs to fill fire place aren't here yet (will have to do until I can afford a log burner)
A comparison...
Had to be creative to have the look we wanted and a usable tv.
It has 2m of cable behind so can be moved wherever it's needed - and then stowed away tidy.
But...
Hallway/landing is looking decent at last
Which left the living room/dining room to finish and some flooring....
The floors were somewhat unlevel with missing tiles and various gaps. So had to use levelling compound to form some kind of a level!
And onto the flooring - think I mentioned it was quikstep impressive, -and of the 6 oak they do this was the closest match to the doors.
Now flooring is a pig of a job but I tend to enjoy it and like to make sure all is spot on. There are no joins between rooms, all door frames are undercut and the transition between living room and hallway is equal each side.
... and then the day of pain came.
First I went to buy skirting board
Volvo died. (Suspected goosed alternator)
Then when I did get skirting I found it to be THE most annoying job. It is on, mitred and had the first layer of filling done. Decorator can sort the rest when he comes back for the last sweep through.
This was me at the end of the day knowing there was more skirting to do the next couple of days.
But parents down this weekend and some long days has got us near to finished.
Things to note:
- blinds are due this week
- pendants don't sit flush to ceiling so sparky can sort that when he comes this week
- logs to fill fire place aren't here yet (will have to do until I can afford a log burner)
A comparison...
Had to be creative to have the look we wanted and a usable tv.
It has 2m of cable behind so can be moved wherever it's needed - and then stowed away tidy.
Glad people are still interested! It's far from the level of some of the amazing projects on here... but we all don't live in a beautiful French gitê or palacial landmark, which is good because I don't speak French nor can I afford neither lol.
Talking of affording ,this week has been a rollercoaster.
It started with Dyson doing a warranty repair on our year old upright (doesn't help when an errant tradesman had used it over the cheapy site spec karcher I bought to suck up plaster which has clogged various parts!). Whilst he was round I was nosing at his handheld one... and promplty upsold myself into buying one. Got a good deal and so far it has proved its worth.
And then promptly stood on the laptop.
I am yet to sort this but may purchase a friends MacBook as he's upgrading and I've got a habit of killing windows laptops!
Electrician has been and begun finishing the snagging, one last visit next week should see us straight. If anyone has similar IKEA pendant lights to ours the key to getting them flush is to ignore the instructions and trim the excess chord off inside.
Plumber is coming Monday and will be fitting the remaining radiators which should help our Nest work more efficiently as it's currently in the hall way with no radiator so had been relying on residual heat to set it self.
In other news the Volvo bus isn't back yet ...
So where is this leading?
I'd estimate (because I gave up counting when it reached 20k) we've spent somewhere around £30k to where we are now. With another 4-5k to finish including a wood burner.
Is it worth it? Financially yes as it looks like we've added around 50k equity.
But the fact our neglected unloved family home is now a fresh future proof family home...
For our family
The reason for it all. Our first child.. meet our daughter Darcey.
Cannot wait to get her home and use the house as it was intended
Talking of affording ,this week has been a rollercoaster.
It started with Dyson doing a warranty repair on our year old upright (doesn't help when an errant tradesman had used it over the cheapy site spec karcher I bought to suck up plaster which has clogged various parts!). Whilst he was round I was nosing at his handheld one... and promplty upsold myself into buying one. Got a good deal and so far it has proved its worth.
And then promptly stood on the laptop.
I am yet to sort this but may purchase a friends MacBook as he's upgrading and I've got a habit of killing windows laptops!
Electrician has been and begun finishing the snagging, one last visit next week should see us straight. If anyone has similar IKEA pendant lights to ours the key to getting them flush is to ignore the instructions and trim the excess chord off inside.
Plumber is coming Monday and will be fitting the remaining radiators which should help our Nest work more efficiently as it's currently in the hall way with no radiator so had been relying on residual heat to set it self.
In other news the Volvo bus isn't back yet ...
So where is this leading?
I'd estimate (because I gave up counting when it reached 20k) we've spent somewhere around £30k to where we are now. With another 4-5k to finish including a wood burner.
Is it worth it? Financially yes as it looks like we've added around 50k equity.
But the fact our neglected unloved family home is now a fresh future proof family home...
For our family
The reason for it all. Our first child.. meet our daughter Darcey.
Cannot wait to get her home and use the house as it was intended
Welshbeef said:
Well played - enjoy.
One book of life closes a new one opens and make no mistake this is the better book /the best book that you will ever read and live. I remember thinking a while/says after our first that suddenly I /we are totally responsible for another being, their needs go beyond our dreams and hopes they are number 1. You'll do anything and everything for them - that first hold cuddle the first time they grip your finger the first time they run to the front door as you get home from work shouting daddy and hugging you (for me that day was a dire stressf
k - and I was in a foul mood. When o opened the door hearing her shout Daddy in he back of the house then her running towards me with the biggest smile ever and a hug that seeemed to last forever made that one of my best days. 3 years ago now I remember every second of it and always will. That changed everything made me think and realise when all is said and done what really matters is family and strictly our family everything else is passive)
The first bit is especially true. Absolutely loving it already.One book of life closes a new one opens and make no mistake this is the better book /the best book that you will ever read and live. I remember thinking a while/says after our first that suddenly I /we are totally responsible for another being, their needs go beyond our dreams and hopes they are number 1. You'll do anything and everything for them - that first hold cuddle the first time they grip your finger the first time they run to the front door as you get home from work shouting daddy and hugging you (for me that day was a dire stressf
k - and I was in a foul mood. When o opened the door hearing her shout Daddy in he back of the house then her running towards me with the biggest smile ever and a hug that seeemed to last forever made that one of my best days. 3 years ago now I remember every second of it and always will. That changed everything made me think and realise when all is said and done what really matters is family and strictly our family everything else is passive)House related... plumber is coming tomorrow!
Vroom101 said:
Oh, one last thing - why does your front door open outwards?
Because who ever designed the porch made it so shallow if it opened inwards you'd have to stand inside the house to do it. Coming into the house it would be easier but going out or opening it for post would be a swine.Edited by Vroom101 on Monday 31st October 06:57
Plus it annoys delivery drivers
2017!
I'm still snowed under with work related studying, that and a 3 month old daughter has meant that the house has not had anything else done to date.
Plans for this year:
1) Wood Burner
2) Remaining x2 rooms (porch and front/study)
3) Decking (and rear gate)
I'm still snowed under with work related studying, that and a 3 month old daughter has meant that the house has not had anything else done to date.
Plans for this year:
1) Wood Burner
2) Remaining x2 rooms (porch and front/study)
3) Decking (and rear gate)
Edited by croakey on Wednesday 1st February 15:00
Having sat down last night and looked at our options it looking like the garden is going to take precedent. Owing to the wires job were going to go on holiday earlier this year before she goes back from maternity leave... this means we'll be having a summer holiday at home. The garden is south facing and we'd really like to get more use out of it going forwards.
We've made some initial work today (well the gardener has!) by clearing the massively over grown section infront of the garage.
(I had wondered where the summer wheels off my commuter hack had gone!)
He's still going but the difference clearing this area has made is night and day, its opened up about 1/3 more garden.
So where do we go from here!
I'd like to replace and extend the existing patio area and include a return where the above mess is - ideally to create space for the baby to grow into!
Has anyone got any advice over patio vs decking?
Obvious advantage of decking having done some very limited research is we could use the existing patio and concrete slab as the base (we've got sufficient height to damp course and door openings).
I'll post up a picture of the layout of the garden later in case anyone fancies offering some guidance
We've made some initial work today (well the gardener has!) by clearing the massively over grown section infront of the garage.
(I had wondered where the summer wheels off my commuter hack had gone!)
He's still going but the difference clearing this area has made is night and day, its opened up about 1/3 more garden.
So where do we go from here!
I'd like to replace and extend the existing patio area and include a return where the above mess is - ideally to create space for the baby to grow into!
Has anyone got any advice over patio vs decking?
Obvious advantage of decking having done some very limited research is we could use the existing patio and concrete slab as the base (we've got sufficient height to damp course and door openings).
I'll post up a picture of the layout of the garden later in case anyone fancies offering some guidance
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