Our Little Durham Restoration Project...
Discussion
Next up was a couple of wardrobes. I know everything always takes longer than you think, but this job took the piss massively. Me and my Dad spent a three day weekend, then 9 days straight on them, proper man days too. Then I've spent god knows how long fitting drawers to them.
Would be genuinely interested to know what any professionals would charge for similar, I know I'm not particularly quick, but I'd have to be charging thousands for these to make any sense!
We're a bit light on storage space and have too many clothes, so the plan was floor to ceiling in both large bedrooms, with double height rails in our room for maximum hanging space. The lower rails are at head height, with the bottoms filled with drawers.
So a huge pile of ash arrived one Friday evening:
20150320-DSC00929.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
I knocked up a complicated and detailed design on the back of my workshop door:
IMAG0015.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
And off we went!
The router table I built at Christmas came in very handy:
IMAG0043.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
And by the end of the weekend we had a load of posts and stuff:
IMAG0014.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
The following weekend these slowly transformed from posts to bits, which were then stained and varnished by my Mum. These are the side panels which effectively deepen the alcoves in the rooms to give enough depth for the wardrobe:
20150408-DSC00947.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Battoning in the spare room:
20150408-DSC00952.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Ash frame in, leveled, straightened and glued:
20150409-DSC00956.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Ash fronted MDF shelving and clothes rail fitted:
20150410-DSC00959.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150410-DSC00960.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Looks simple in the pictures, but this was days of work getting everything in, mainly because nothing is straight. How I would have loved to have made these free-standing so I could have ignored the bent walls!
Anyway, same again in our room:
20150409-DSC00958.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150409-DSC00957.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Cantilever rails in, thanks to Mucher for the idea! THink these were sat under my bed for over a year!
IMAG0053.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
All the rails in:
20150425-DSC00969.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
You'll notice the drawers don't run full width in our room, that's because the bed needs to face the window and then the bedside cabinet would interfere with the drawers. So the drawers stop and I have a space to fill. Ideas welcomed, I've still not resolved this. My best idea is to put a sloping floor on the bottom, face the space with a couple of ash boards and cut a hole at the top and a hole at the bottom. Clean socks are posted in at the top and then taken from the bottom hole. Can't get sign-off on this idea, even though it's genius. Might do it anyway, but if you have a better idea, shout up!
Next up, more hammer for the router table, batch cut a load of tenons:
IMAG0044.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
I've never cut proper mortice and tenons before, but it ended up being fairly easy on the table.
Mortices and grooving for panels done:
IMAG0047.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
And four door frames constructed:
20150411-DSC00962.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Panels and glued up:
20150411-DSC00963.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Plywood drawer boxes knocked up:
IMAG0086.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Doors hung:
20150412-DSC00967.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Drawers in, fronts on and vaguely finished:
IMAG0077.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00973.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00974.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
I need to order and fit some drawer knobs, there needs to be a panel fitted to cover the sliding tracks and I need to find a way of restraining the doors at the bottom as the supplied stuff looks awful. And that space is to fill with something.
Other than that, these have turned out really really well, they're the best thing I've done in the house by some way, though I'd hate to have to do them again!
Would be genuinely interested to know what any professionals would charge for similar, I know I'm not particularly quick, but I'd have to be charging thousands for these to make any sense!
We're a bit light on storage space and have too many clothes, so the plan was floor to ceiling in both large bedrooms, with double height rails in our room for maximum hanging space. The lower rails are at head height, with the bottoms filled with drawers.
So a huge pile of ash arrived one Friday evening:
20150320-DSC00929.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrI knocked up a complicated and detailed design on the back of my workshop door:
IMAG0015.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrAnd off we went!
The router table I built at Christmas came in very handy:
IMAG0043.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrAnd by the end of the weekend we had a load of posts and stuff:
IMAG0014.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrThe following weekend these slowly transformed from posts to bits, which were then stained and varnished by my Mum. These are the side panels which effectively deepen the alcoves in the rooms to give enough depth for the wardrobe:
20150408-DSC00947.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrBattoning in the spare room:
20150408-DSC00952.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrAsh frame in, leveled, straightened and glued:
20150409-DSC00956.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrAsh fronted MDF shelving and clothes rail fitted:
20150410-DSC00959.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150410-DSC00960.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrLooks simple in the pictures, but this was days of work getting everything in, mainly because nothing is straight. How I would have loved to have made these free-standing so I could have ignored the bent walls!
Anyway, same again in our room:
20150409-DSC00958.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150409-DSC00957.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrCantilever rails in, thanks to Mucher for the idea! THink these were sat under my bed for over a year!
IMAG0053.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrAll the rails in:
20150425-DSC00969.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrYou'll notice the drawers don't run full width in our room, that's because the bed needs to face the window and then the bedside cabinet would interfere with the drawers. So the drawers stop and I have a space to fill. Ideas welcomed, I've still not resolved this. My best idea is to put a sloping floor on the bottom, face the space with a couple of ash boards and cut a hole at the top and a hole at the bottom. Clean socks are posted in at the top and then taken from the bottom hole. Can't get sign-off on this idea, even though it's genius. Might do it anyway, but if you have a better idea, shout up!
Next up, more hammer for the router table, batch cut a load of tenons:
IMAG0044.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrI've never cut proper mortice and tenons before, but it ended up being fairly easy on the table.
Mortices and grooving for panels done:
IMAG0047.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrAnd four door frames constructed:
20150411-DSC00962.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrPanels and glued up:
20150411-DSC00963.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrPlywood drawer boxes knocked up:
IMAG0086.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrDoors hung:
20150412-DSC00967.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrDrawers in, fronts on and vaguely finished:
IMAG0077.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00973.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00974.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrI need to order and fit some drawer knobs, there needs to be a panel fitted to cover the sliding tracks and I need to find a way of restraining the doors at the bottom as the supplied stuff looks awful. And that space is to fill with something.
Other than that, these have turned out really really well, they're the best thing I've done in the house by some way, though I'd hate to have to do them again!
The last 'proper' job in the house was to sort out the front hallway, I've done the floor, but there's still a glass panel, a door knob and some wood work to sort out. The floor was OK, we thought, but then a load of damp came through the floor and I decided to rip it up and start again.
Tiles, concrete, rubbled, several wheel barrow loads and we were down to bear earth. Two strip foundations in and levelled, then suspended floor on top, insulated, 18mm chipboard and 12mm ply over the top. Tiles to match the kitchen, grouted and done:
IMAG0092.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150524-DSC00970.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150525-DSC00971.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00972.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Tiles, concrete, rubbled, several wheel barrow loads and we were down to bear earth. Two strip foundations in and levelled, then suspended floor on top, insulated, 18mm chipboard and 12mm ply over the top. Tiles to match the kitchen, grouted and done:
IMAG0092.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150524-DSC00970.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150525-DSC00971.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00972.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrWhen we re-wired, we had a couple of strip lights put in the workshop. Unfortunately there was a fault with one of the fittings that caused it to melt itself a bit, so I've been running off one light for ages. A while ago I picked up the lights from a barbers shop refit, but hadn't had time to do anything with them. I was relying on one of those cheapo site halogen light things, but that was blowing bulbs every five minutes, so I finally 'invested' some time in my shed.
MDF frames for the reflectors to sit in, with the light units then sat on the frame edge. Suspended from the purlins with some coated steel wire. Wires all run back to a junction box and connected to the wire that did go to the old light fitting:
IMAG0082.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
These are pretty bright:
IMAG0083.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
There are supposed to be 6 of these, but I dropped one frame and broke it. not had time to repair. And I've run out of cable to wire it in with. But 5 is adequate for now. Eventually the line of three will be moved to the next bay down and be replaced by a mezzanine floor (storage) with the spotlights from the barbers fitted instead.
IMAG0085.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Has made a huge difference! Only 'issue' with them is that they're all emergency lights, they should be wired with a permanent live as they think the power is off when I turn them off, so the emergency lights fire. No big deal.
MDF frames for the reflectors to sit in, with the light units then sat on the frame edge. Suspended from the purlins with some coated steel wire. Wires all run back to a junction box and connected to the wire that did go to the old light fitting:
IMAG0082.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrThese are pretty bright:
IMAG0083.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrThere are supposed to be 6 of these, but I dropped one frame and broke it. not had time to repair. And I've run out of cable to wire it in with. But 5 is adequate for now. Eventually the line of three will be moved to the next bay down and be replaced by a mezzanine floor (storage) with the spotlights from the barbers fitted instead.
IMAG0085.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrHas made a huge difference! Only 'issue' with them is that they're all emergency lights, they should be wired with a permanent live as they think the power is off when I turn them off, so the emergency lights fire. No big deal.
Craikeybaby said:
Good work. We recently removed some similar fitted wardrobes, they took some dismantling. We'll be replacing them with freestanding ones.
The rest of the work looks really good too, I'm slightly jealous of your workshop too, must make a lot of these jobs easier.
Cheers, having spent months putting those together I can see the appeal with the freestanding ones! The rest of the work looks really good too, I'm slightly jealous of your workshop too, must make a lot of these jobs easier.
Wasn't sure how best to approach these as bespoke is cheaper (these were £400 each roughly), but takes a lot more time. Ready made stuff wouldn't have got as much stuff in as no one does them 2.7m tall.
I could have made bespoke freestanders to fully utilise the space still, would have been much quicker and easier to construct, but the material cost would be much higher, I'd guess getting on to £1k each.
The workshop is awesome, yeah makes things much much easier. There's a bin full of sawdust that would have been spread around the house just doing the wardrobes if I didn't have somewhere proper to work. Mind you it has meant a lot of carrying in and out of the house! The next big job I have lined up is sorting out the workshop; I'm knocking the garage wall out to open up the space, new floor and some work benches to start off with.
As I promised a while ago, now that the house is finished......
... I say finished, but I've made the mistake of not snagging as I go along. So I've got a list of little jobs to do that's longer than the original list I was working off that I need to do before we're really finished. All the big stuff is done and there's very little on the snagging list that normal people would notice, so I'm calling it finished. Two years and 6 weeks to get to this point.
Anyway, I promised some before and after pictures, so I've had the camera out this morning to try to replicate the first pictures I took, before the destruction began:
Kitchen:
20130420-DSC00209.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01000.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00210.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01001.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01002.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00211.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00212.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01003.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
... I say finished, but I've made the mistake of not snagging as I go along. So I've got a list of little jobs to do that's longer than the original list I was working off that I need to do before we're really finished. All the big stuff is done and there's very little on the snagging list that normal people would notice, so I'm calling it finished. Two years and 6 weeks to get to this point.
Anyway, I promised some before and after pictures, so I've had the camera out this morning to try to replicate the first pictures I took, before the destruction began:
Kitchen:
20130420-DSC00209.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01000.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00210.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01001.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01002.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00211.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00212.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01003.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrPantry:
20130420-DSC00218.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00999.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00218.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00999.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrDining Room:
20130420-DSC00219.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00997.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00220.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00995.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00221.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00996.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00222.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00998.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00219.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00997.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00220.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00995.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00221.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00996.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00222.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00998.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrHallway:
20150601-DSC00998.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00993.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00227.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00994.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00998.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00993.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00227.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00994.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrLiving Room:
20130420-DSC00228.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01013.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00229.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01014.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00230.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01018.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00231.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01016.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00233.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01017.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130420-DSC00228.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01013.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00229.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01014.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00230.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01018.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00231.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01016.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130420-DSC00233.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01017.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrLanding:
20130422-DSC00251.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00979.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00252.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00982.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00257.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00980.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00251.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00979.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00252.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00982.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00257.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00980.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrBedroom 1:
20130422-DSC00254.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00977.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00255.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00978.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00256.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00975.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00253.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00976.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00254.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00977.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00255.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00978.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00256.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00975.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00253.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00976.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrBedroom 2:
20130422-DSC00258.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00986.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00259.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00987.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00260.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00984.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00261.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00985.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00258.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00986.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00259.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00987.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00260.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00984.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00261.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00985.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrBedroom 3:
20130422-DSC00263.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00990.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00264.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00988.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00265.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00989.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00263.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00990.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00264.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00988.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00265.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00989.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrBedroom 4:
20130422-DSC00268.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00992.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00269.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00991.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
Baby No.1 is due in 10 days time - Which is why I'm frantically making sure the project is done in time!
20130422-DSC00268.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00992.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00269.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00991.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrBaby No.1 is due in 10 days time - Which is why I'm frantically making sure the project is done in time!
Bathroom:
20130422-DSC00270.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00981.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00271.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC00983.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00270.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00981.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00271.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC00983.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrOutside:
20130422-DSC00281.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01009.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00282.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01008.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00283.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01010.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00284.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01012.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00285.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01011.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00287.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01007.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00288.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01006.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00289.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20150601-DSC01004.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr
20130422-DSC00281.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01009.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00282.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01008.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00283.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01010.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00284.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01012.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00285.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01011.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00287.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01007.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00288.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01006.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20130422-DSC00289.jpg by paulrockliffe, on Flickr20150601-DSC01004.jpg by paulrockliffe, on FlickrI seeded it last summer, there's some pictures of my Dad enjoying himself with an 8hp rotorvator and me dragging the ground level with a ladder and some ridge tiles if you go back through the thread!
Apart from the electrics, plaster, woodburner and some roof work, the only people I've had in have been my poor parents.
Lawn looks better than it is, still needs some work. The stuff under black plastic had no organic matter in it, so it's not growing brilliantly. I've got a speedwell infestation that I'm slowly getting on top of and it's settled with a few dips. Job for layer in the summer I think.
Apart from the electrics, plaster, woodburner and some roof work, the only people I've had in have been my poor parents.
Lawn looks better than it is, still needs some work. The stuff under black plastic had no organic matter in it, so it's not growing brilliantly. I've got a speedwell infestation that I'm slowly getting on top of and it's settled with a few dips. Job for layer in the summer I think.
Thanks chaps, appreciate the kind words.
It's all new timber, things escalated quite quickly once we decided to replaster and rewire, made sense to get the horrible woodwork sorted at the same time. There's an incredible woodyard over in Penrith that have sorted out some lovely oak for everything.
Wasn't cheap and annoyingly I didn't think to check prices for other wood; ash is two thirds of the price and would have saved me probably £3k. The wardrobes I've just finished were in ash and it's absolutely stunning, not that the oak isn't very nice too, but the ash seems to have more detail.
It's all new timber, things escalated quite quickly once we decided to replaster and rewire, made sense to get the horrible woodwork sorted at the same time. There's an incredible woodyard over in Penrith that have sorted out some lovely oak for everything.
Wasn't cheap and annoyingly I didn't think to check prices for other wood; ash is two thirds of the price and would have saved me probably £3k. The wardrobes I've just finished were in ash and it's absolutely stunning, not that the oak isn't very nice too, but the ash seems to have more detail.
Yeah, there's a lot gone into it and there were a few times where I just wanted my life back, but it's been totally worth it. It's probably worked out very well from a financial point of view, but I've also learned so much about so much stuff. And what I didn't spend on 'getting a man in' has left me with a shed full of tools. I'm trying to argue that I should be allowed to cash in some of the savings and get a mini to keep in the shed, but we've a baby due imminently, so that isn't washing at all.
It's Friday, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the grass is cut and the cars are clean. I've been out on my bike for a couple of hours straight from the house and not seen a soul on the back roads. I've no DIY planned for the weekend and I'm going to find some food and a beer. Life is good!
It's Friday, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the grass is cut and the cars are clean. I've been out on my bike for a couple of hours straight from the house and not seen a soul on the back roads. I've no DIY planned for the weekend and I'm going to find some food and a beer. Life is good!
Griff Boy said:
paulrockliffe said:
. I've no DIY planned for the weekend and I'm going to find some food and a beer. Life is good!
Im so jealous! I've ended up doing DIY anyway, but at least I'm out in the shed with the F1 on and doing something I want to do for a change, I'm converting the bathroom mirror that I dropped and chipped aaaaages ago into a mirror-fronted cabinet for the missus to fill with makeup and jewelry....
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