New restoration project - what have I done!
Discussion
Alex@POD said:
Griff Boy said:
Pfft, who needs a fire alarm when I've got one of these!
On a serious note, good idea, will look into this!
Just read the thread from the start, I'll be keeping an eye on this! Good luck with the project!On a serious note, good idea, will look into this!
Re: the point quoted above, would the Nest alarm be of any use? I've been looking at it thinking I might use it when I start a project. Once installed and programmed, a voice announces "There is smoke in the cinema" (for example), instead of just beeping.
It also has other modes for emergencies, CO detection, etc.
dxg said:
Looking at the plans on the first page, I think the 'lounge' is the 'kitchen'.
I, too, am intrigued by that staircase. I wonder if it was added at a later date to get the fire exit in? What interests me is that, if it is to be removed, there doesn't look to be enough depth between the bottom of the window / upper floor level and the head of the fire exit door to fit a new section of floor in.
It's things like these that chew up budgets...
Well spotted! The original plans had the kitchen in the big room, but we managed to get permission to remove the wall and open up the front of the house, hence the swap around. I've got some more up to date plans, I'll post later.I, too, am intrigued by that staircase. I wonder if it was added at a later date to get the fire exit in? What interests me is that, if it is to be removed, there doesn't look to be enough depth between the bottom of the window / upper floor level and the head of the fire exit door to fit a new section of floor in.
It's things like these that chew up budgets...
There is enough room to get a 8x2" joist into the new gap above the staircase, as it's only spanning approx 1300mm wide that is fine, and underneath is going to be a store room /fish tank room for the main display fish tank above in the lounge and kitchen.
I'm pretty sure it was meant as a fire exit, it was marked as one, Slough tbh all exterior doors had fire exits signs on them!
RedLeicester said:
Stone judging by the edges.
Correct! Each tread is a solid piece of stone, that's then rendered underneath to get a smooth finish, if I go down into the bottom of the basement you can see the unfinished part of the stairs, each tread must be at least 1400mm wide and all are solid stone.pstruck said:
Wow, seriously impressive project! I'll be watching and reading with interest. Only wish I had the cash, time, energy, skills, etc to take on something like this.
Just noticed on the photo of the rear of the building, the 'outside store' has barred window openings. What on earth has this been used for? anything interesting found in there (remains of previous inhabitants)? The mind boggles!
It was a toilet block! In fact still is inside. Long term I plan to build a covered BBQ Area there with a built in pizza oven, so I'm going to keep access to the ceramic urinals that are in there for us men folk to avoid having to go back into the house all the time! There original, 6ft long ceramic things, and definitely good to have for a laugh. I'm still undecided as to what to do with this building, we have 4 separate out buildings for storage already.. More pressing matters to decide right now I guess though.Just noticed on the photo of the rear of the building, the 'outside store' has barred window openings. What on earth has this been used for? anything interesting found in there (remains of previous inhabitants)? The mind boggles!
skilly1 said:
I would seriously consider a biomass boiler for a house that big. It will pay for itself very quickly, especially as you have to fit a new system anyway, with the government grants available. If by any chance you have another building with a separate council tax bill you can set-it up using business grant rates.
I know someone who gets paid by the government to heat his counrty house and swimming pool using a Biomass boiler !
I have installed two at work which cost £120k and the payback is 4.5 years, the government guarantee to pay you that money for 20 years .
(Yoda mode!) hmmm, investigate I shall! Interesting that sounds! I know someone who gets paid by the government to heat his counrty house and swimming pool using a Biomass boiler !
I have installed two at work which cost £120k and the payback is 4.5 years, the government guarantee to pay you that money for 20 years .
Had my plumber round today, and he's checked the incoming gas supply to be in 35mm copper pipe! So might have to down grade that, as it's commercial rated. More investigation required.
I've got some new pictures from today's work, I'll get some uploaded this evening.
jdw1234 said:
The biomass thing sounds interesting. What would it cost to heat with gas? I am guessing 750-1000 a month.
Love the idea of the fish tank. Any more details? Will you be able to swim in it like the shark tank in the London Aquarium?!
Ha ha, that's a bit pessimistic on prices, still depends on how it's used I guess. Definitely won't be cheap, but as it'll all be new it'll at least be efficient!Love the idea of the fish tank. Any more details? Will you be able to swim in it like the shark tank in the London Aquarium?!
Edited by jdw1234 on Wednesday 20th November 20:19
Fish tank wise, it'll be something like me existing tank, but maybe a bit bigger..
My current tank:
Another bathroom for Oompa Loompas!
And afterwards
Another window revealed, and evidence of more council butchery!
Started on the kids bedrooms yesterday as well!
On a plus, had the slater out yesterday and got the cherry picker delivered. Roof checks out really well, gutters all in excellent condition, and only one leak found in the entire gutter system! Bonus! They need a good scraping and painting, but just cosmetically. Slater reccomended a cost of acrypol plus inside the gutters when they have been cleaned out and washed out to help prolong the life span, anyone used this before?
A few loose slates, and some pointing to do and the gables as well as a repair to some flashing around the chimney, but otherwise all in good health. All damage seems to be just from the lack of maintainanance over the last few years.... Just goes to show, keep on top of your gutters!
Down pipes being delivered today, all the Tarmac around them has been excavated ready, and excess vegetation removed from the back too the building, so good to go. Only issue is it's blowing a gale last night and bloody freezing!
And afterwards
Another window revealed, and evidence of more council butchery!
Started on the kids bedrooms yesterday as well!
On a plus, had the slater out yesterday and got the cherry picker delivered. Roof checks out really well, gutters all in excellent condition, and only one leak found in the entire gutter system! Bonus! They need a good scraping and painting, but just cosmetically. Slater reccomended a cost of acrypol plus inside the gutters when they have been cleaned out and washed out to help prolong the life span, anyone used this before?
A few loose slates, and some pointing to do and the gables as well as a repair to some flashing around the chimney, but otherwise all in good health. All damage seems to be just from the lack of maintainanance over the last few years.... Just goes to show, keep on top of your gutters!
Down pipes being delivered today, all the Tarmac around them has been excavated ready, and excess vegetation removed from the back too the building, so good to go. Only issue is it's blowing a gale last night and bloody freezing!
Few more updates for you, things have been going on a bit slower over the last three days, mainly because I'm now a knackered broken shell of a man! The brain remembers how to do this sort of stuff, but years behind a desk means the body has forgotten!
Still, good news is that after days or ripping things out, I've finally managed to start putting something back into the house!
The staircase in the lounge is no more, and I have a floor instead!
The eagle eyed will notice the wall light is now too low! Suitable for Oompa Loompas only!
Upstairs work has continued on the kids bedrooms,
As they were before we started.
And how it looks now.
Works also started on our bedroom, and taking down the last false ceiling revealed a wonderful cornice!
I'll get some more pictures of the master bedroom up soon, still more ceiling to come down, and wall "art" to remove!
Still, good news is that after days or ripping things out, I've finally managed to start putting something back into the house!
The staircase in the lounge is no more, and I have a floor instead!
The eagle eyed will notice the wall light is now too low! Suitable for Oompa Loompas only!
Upstairs work has continued on the kids bedrooms,
As they were before we started.
And how it looks now.
Works also started on our bedroom, and taking down the last false ceiling revealed a wonderful cornice!
I'll get some more pictures of the master bedroom up soon, still more ceiling to come down, and wall "art" to remove!
Hi all,
Just time for a quick update, things have been progressing ok this week, all down pipes bar one have been swapped out and two new ones added. The cherry picker has proved a sound investment and every bodies fighting over using it!
Upstairs is now all ripped out and we've cleared the front of the house of shrubbery and started removing the metal chain link fences, and additional handrails, so you can actually see it now!
I've managed to do a light refurb in the front doors, got rid of the horrible wire glass and replaced it with solid panels instead, a few trims and beads later and a base cost if black paint and they are almost looking like proper doors! Oh, and they actually shut now too, which is nice.....:-)
The fencers have started fitting the fences around the boundary so hopefully it'll be nicely defined by the end of the week.
The glaziers start replacing broken windows on Monday, so we're planning to remove the first and second floor window boarding over the weekend! Yippee! Can't wait to see things inside with done natural daylight!
Plumbers started today in ripping out the old plastic mains water pipes so we can install new copper, Also starting to work out radiator requirements for the rooms.
Next on list is to sort out the sparky specifications, and get the tender out for materials etc.
I'm out to site tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I'll get some pictures then of the progress!
I'll get some further updates online soon!
Just time for a quick update, things have been progressing ok this week, all down pipes bar one have been swapped out and two new ones added. The cherry picker has proved a sound investment and every bodies fighting over using it!
Upstairs is now all ripped out and we've cleared the front of the house of shrubbery and started removing the metal chain link fences, and additional handrails, so you can actually see it now!
I've managed to do a light refurb in the front doors, got rid of the horrible wire glass and replaced it with solid panels instead, a few trims and beads later and a base cost if black paint and they are almost looking like proper doors! Oh, and they actually shut now too, which is nice.....:-)
The fencers have started fitting the fences around the boundary so hopefully it'll be nicely defined by the end of the week.
The glaziers start replacing broken windows on Monday, so we're planning to remove the first and second floor window boarding over the weekend! Yippee! Can't wait to see things inside with done natural daylight!
Plumbers started today in ripping out the old plastic mains water pipes so we can install new copper, Also starting to work out radiator requirements for the rooms.
Next on list is to sort out the sparky specifications, and get the tender out for materials etc.
I'm out to site tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I'll get some pictures then of the progress!
I'll get some further updates online soon!
Well that's another weekend of work done on the house, loads more stuff ripped out and some interesting finds as well!
One major step is getting most of the boards off the outside of the windows, although I needed to get the cherry picker in place to reach most of them as my ladders weren't long enough, even for the first floors!
Some quick picks of how the rooms look with the boards gone, forgive the broken glass in most of them as the glaziers are on site today to start replacing all 148 broken panes of glass!!!!!!!!
The eagle eyed will notice the two new down pipes have been fitted and connected, and all e scrub at the base of the building cleaned up ready to go!
Our bedroom
Kids rooms,
One major step is getting most of the boards off the outside of the windows, although I needed to get the cherry picker in place to reach most of them as my ladders weren't long enough, even for the first floors!
Some quick picks of how the rooms look with the boards gone, forgive the broken glass in most of them as the glaziers are on site today to start replacing all 148 broken panes of glass!!!!!!!!
The eagle eyed will notice the two new down pipes have been fitted and connected, and all e scrub at the base of the building cleaned up ready to go!
Our bedroom
Kids rooms,
We've also been doing some work on the entrance to the main staircase from the main hallway, it's always been an issue for me, as I've never the liked the added on box that was put in when it was a school, also the stairs run through the new wall, and you can see the handrail dissapearing down the curved wall, looked awful, and spoilt the view from the front door.
Here's the view from the front door when we started yesterday:
As we ripped it out, you can see how the stair ran through it
And as we carried on ripping out the second original part of the arch started to appear, which was great news. There's a lot of damage to the cornice when the butchers, sorry, joiners, built the walls, but mostly repairable, although more work!
After a bit more digging, we found a second plaster moulding under the visible one, so more excavation required, might need baldrick and his time team soon!
You can clearly see the second archway, and the carved pillar in the middle, also the lower turret window is now visible! Looks great, still have some of the fire alarm system to remove and some more timber plates to remove from the ceiling, but it was at the end of a 10 hour day at this point, so be buggered off for a kebab!
Lastly, I managed to get the grinder out on Saturday and get the horrible white netting off exterior staircase rails, and we also recently removed the black central rail the council put in, now looks 100times better!
Before
Afterwards
Here's the view from the front door when we started yesterday:
As we ripped it out, you can see how the stair ran through it
And as we carried on ripping out the second original part of the arch started to appear, which was great news. There's a lot of damage to the cornice when the butchers, sorry, joiners, built the walls, but mostly repairable, although more work!
After a bit more digging, we found a second plaster moulding under the visible one, so more excavation required, might need baldrick and his time team soon!
You can clearly see the second archway, and the carved pillar in the middle, also the lower turret window is now visible! Looks great, still have some of the fire alarm system to remove and some more timber plates to remove from the ceiling, but it was at the end of a 10 hour day at this point, so be buggered off for a kebab!
Lastly, I managed to get the grinder out on Saturday and get the horrible white netting off exterior staircase rails, and we also recently removed the black central rail the council put in, now looks 100times better!
Before
Afterwards
jdw1234 said:
Is this thread in real time?!!
You don't hang about do you?
I thought this would take ages. You will be in by Christmas ;-)
Good work fella.
Yes its real time, and which Christmas do you mean? 'Cause theres not a chance in hell of getting in by this christmas, unless I like camping!You don't hang about do you?
I thought this would take ages. You will be in by Christmas ;-)
Good work fella.
Its seems mad to think that we only bought it two weeks ago!
Itll slow down soon, as I have a business to run, and I cant be on site all the time.
Still, was out again this morning, and the gates are being hung, as the fences are completely finished off now. The gates are a second hand pair we found locally, so need a bit of restoration (will fit in perfectly with the rest of the hosue then!) but property is now secure!
The slaters are on site for the next few days, and will be sorting the flashings, pointing and replacing any broken tiles, so thats the roof hopefully sorted.
The glaziers have started replacing the broken windows, and then the job of refurbishing the timber sliding sashes starts in earnest! Rough count is approx 38 full windows, so might take a while!
Cheers everyone for the great comments, much appreciated!
monthefish said:
Griff Boy said:
The brain remembers how to do this sort of stuff, but years behind a desk means the body has forgotten!
Out of interest, what's your back-story/history?Are you a builder? Have you renovated anything before?
(apologies if this has been asked/answered before)
This is my third house that we have renovated from a poor state, but definetely the biggest!! Although the last one was almost 8 years ago now...
cuneus said:
It's going to be a beautiful home
The only thing that worries me slightly (my sister live in Little Brechin) is heating something that size
Thanks Cuneus, The only thing that worries me slightly (my sister live in Little Brechin) is heating something that size
Heating is a concern, but its an expected one at least. Running dual boilers at the moment on a commercial 35mm gas supply pipe is never going to be cheap, but then its 850m2 with 2/3 of it with 3.4m high ceilings, so its never going to be eco friendly! The plan is to fit a 14KW multi fuel burner in the lounge, which will help... slightly!
Little Brechins nice if quiet, I live just on the edge of it!
Muncher said:
Very jealous! Are you going to steam clean the external walls? I think it would make a massive difference and it is very kind to the brickwork, will never do any damage (I have done my whole house)
Cheers Mucher, im going to do something with the external walls, especially the area where the gutters have failed and its marked the stonework. A pressure washer is too powerful and will just blast out the pointing, so was loking into algecides for the moss on the stone, or maybe will try a very low pressure wash just to get the moss off, havent decided yet. First job was to sort the casue of the problem ready for winter!monthefish said:
Griff Boy said:
monthefish said:
Griff Boy said:
The brain remembers how to do this sort of stuff, but years behind a desk means the body has forgotten!
Out of interest, what's your back-story/history?Are you a builder? Have you renovated anything before?
(apologies if this has been asked/answered before)
This is my third house that we have renovated from a poor state, but definetely the biggest!! Although the last one was almost 8 years ago now...
I was trying to establish whether you're mad or a genius for taking this on, but as you're experienced, I'll go with the latter.
Ventured into the toilet block tonight for the first time, still finding rooms I didn't know existed! There's two rooms I can't even get into yet, as they are locked and I haven't had a chance to break them open yet!
Anyway, found out that the toilet blocks are all intact, and as they are going to be right besides the new BBQ area, so I'm thinking for when the boys come round for a barbie maybe I should keep them, saves going back into the house?
What do you all think? Excuse the crappy iPhone picture, it was dusty as i stirred up a load getting the door open!
Anyway, found out that the toilet blocks are all intact, and as they are going to be right besides the new BBQ area, so I'm thinking for when the boys come round for a barbie maybe I should keep them, saves going back into the house?
What do you all think? Excuse the crappy iPhone picture, it was dusty as i stirred up a load getting the door open!
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