Our Little Durham Restoration Project...
Discussion
Did some finishing off this weekend and got some better pictures of the door. Didn't do loads as I was too tired and a new coffee shop has opened in the village.
Architraves on:
And door open!
Can't see much of the sliding track:
Just this bit that needs filling with wood:
There's a few more jobs to do around the step into the kitchen and a bit of tidying up and painting where the door slides. A couple of bits of architrave aren't fully fixed yet as there's a filler piece of wood to go behind one that's not been ordered yet. Then there's the cupboard to extend the floor into, add architraves and fit shelves to. And architraves into the kitchen, but apart from that it's mostly done.
Kitchen door:
I did a quick job in the bathroom, and fitted some speakers to test. These were £15, so no high hopes but hopefully they'll be good enough for what I need. I've got an amplifier and a PSU on the way, then I'll hook my server up so that XBMC is running and I can select music using my phone.
Opening up a hole meant I was able to confirm that there's no insulation in that roof. It's fairly inevitable that I'm going to have to fit a hatch and get up there to insulate as it gets very cold in there at the moment!
I finished off the coving in what will be our bedroom, so that's ready to be painted now. I didn't take pictures as it doesn't look any different and I want to forget all about that job. I don't know why but I just find it entirely tedious, I'd rather be doing anything but coving!
Which is why we spent most of the day tidying up instead! I spent hours putting tools away and clearing stuff from the workshop as everything was a complete state, then we tidied the house and moved everything out that wasn't needed. We uncovered the dining room floor a bit, for the first time ever as we covered it as we were laying it:
Looks amazing! You can really see the height of the ceilings in that picture; that dresser is a little over 6' tall and looks tiny!
Next weekend the plan is to get our bedroom painted and to finish off the little bedroom. If we can get those rooms ready for carpets then we'll be very happy. If we can get carpets in around New Year then we can start moving the rest of our stuff across and it'll start to be a bit more sorted.
Architraves on:
And door open!
Can't see much of the sliding track:
Just this bit that needs filling with wood:
There's a few more jobs to do around the step into the kitchen and a bit of tidying up and painting where the door slides. A couple of bits of architrave aren't fully fixed yet as there's a filler piece of wood to go behind one that's not been ordered yet. Then there's the cupboard to extend the floor into, add architraves and fit shelves to. And architraves into the kitchen, but apart from that it's mostly done.
Kitchen door:
I did a quick job in the bathroom, and fitted some speakers to test. These were £15, so no high hopes but hopefully they'll be good enough for what I need. I've got an amplifier and a PSU on the way, then I'll hook my server up so that XBMC is running and I can select music using my phone.
Opening up a hole meant I was able to confirm that there's no insulation in that roof. It's fairly inevitable that I'm going to have to fit a hatch and get up there to insulate as it gets very cold in there at the moment!
I finished off the coving in what will be our bedroom, so that's ready to be painted now. I didn't take pictures as it doesn't look any different and I want to forget all about that job. I don't know why but I just find it entirely tedious, I'd rather be doing anything but coving!
Which is why we spent most of the day tidying up instead! I spent hours putting tools away and clearing stuff from the workshop as everything was a complete state, then we tidied the house and moved everything out that wasn't needed. We uncovered the dining room floor a bit, for the first time ever as we covered it as we were laying it:
Looks amazing! You can really see the height of the ceilings in that picture; that dresser is a little over 6' tall and looks tiny!
Next weekend the plan is to get our bedroom painted and to finish off the little bedroom. If we can get those rooms ready for carpets then we'll be very happy. If we can get carpets in around New Year then we can start moving the rest of our stuff across and it'll start to be a bit more sorted.
Quick update for you all; things have been a bit slow for the last month or so. Christmas, then an exam at work has meant the project hasn't been top priority recently. Back on it now though.
Over Christmas I did a few piddly little jobs that are barely worth taking pictures of. But I did anyway:
I made a start on the distributed audio system as putting speakers into the ceilings is messy and I don't want to be doing it once the house is tidy. I've fitted speakers in the ceiling in the kitchen, dining room, landing, bathroom and one of the three bedrooms. I've two more to go in another bedroom, I need two wall speakers for the conservatory and I need to install the 5.1 surround speakers in the living room.
The idea is to run XBMC on Raspberry Pis, connected to my server, to supply the tunes and to use Yatse on my phone to interact with the Pis. Yatse pulls the various libraries to the phone, the phone is much more powerful than the Pi, and a convenient way to control everything. I've got a communal feed that can be fed to any of the speakers then I'll be able to plug local sources in in the rooms too if required, these feed the sound back to the central amplifiers and then back to the ceiling speakers. That way, putting a TV in a bedroom for example would let you run XBMC on a Pi on the TV for video as well as music, and still use the ceiling speakers.
I've got all the amps and currently have my server playing music over most of the house, though I need to set up the rest of the kit properly rather than rough setup I've got right now. Only thing I've cocked up is I've not run a communal feed to the living room, I think I'd like to be able to run that through the 5.1 surround as an option. Might have to have a think about that.....
Dining Room Speakers:
Kitchen Speakers:
Whilst bored when revising I knocked this into the slidey door with a chisel:
Surprised how well I managed it, the doors being veneered made it a bit easier to get started though. Finished door looks like this, just a little tidying up to do:
At the weekend me and Dad bashed out the last of the major coving jobs, the bedroom we'd been sleeping in and the landing. Really pleased with these, we did a much better job than the other rooms as practice makes perfect.
Above the stairs, including a very tricky bit, which we painted so we didn't have to do the balance a ladder on a ladder on some blocks trick again:
Other end, speaker visible:
Spare room, coving painted completely and wall paint going on:
Coving done around what will become a fitted wardrobe, speaker in ceiling:
Yes, the colours are a bit of a mess! I've no idea what's gone on here, but when I look into this corner:
It makes me feel a bit sick. Either colour is OK, though nothing special, but not together, they clash well bad. I had no say in any of this and something might have to be changed. The modus-operandi seems to be if anything needs to be repainted, it's the wall with the radiator on, so I suspect the brown will go.
Our bedroom looks good though:
On to more serious matters; damp! With all the wet weather I seem to have sprung a few leaks. All of these pictures are on the south-facing gable wall, the opposite wall to the original damp issues.
Stairs window:
Those spots on the right are where the new plaster has gone soft and lumpy. The old plaster underneath was the same, though damp hasn't come through here. Close-up:
Is this some sort of contamination in the original plaster(salts from the bricks?)? If that's the case, is it unreasonable of me to think that my plasterer should have realised the original plaster was affected and removed it first? Anyway, clearly the window is leaking and I'll put a separate thread up for advice on getting it sorted out when the time comes.
More problems behind the bathroom door frame:
Hallway downstairs:
Front bedroom:
Then the landing window is very bad too, although there isn't much of a damp patch here:
There's also a patch in the kitchen, though that's directly below the new bathroom extract, so I suspect that hasn't been sealed properly, one of the few jobs I didn't do. Hopefully there'll be an obvious flaw in the window sealings and fixing them will cure my problems!
Before I do that though, the next weekend or two will be flat-out trying to finish off the bedrooms so that carpets can be fitted. There's a few finishing off jobs to do with the floor, the last of the decorating, one room to fit skirting in, three speakers to fit, a hearth to build and the original stairs stringers need to either be painted white, or sanded back and stained.
Once the carpets are done we'll be into mostly finishing off jobs in a the rooms downstairs and the bathroom, though we should have a kitchen ordered shortly so that'll be to fit too.
Over Christmas I did a few piddly little jobs that are barely worth taking pictures of. But I did anyway:
I made a start on the distributed audio system as putting speakers into the ceilings is messy and I don't want to be doing it once the house is tidy. I've fitted speakers in the ceiling in the kitchen, dining room, landing, bathroom and one of the three bedrooms. I've two more to go in another bedroom, I need two wall speakers for the conservatory and I need to install the 5.1 surround speakers in the living room.
The idea is to run XBMC on Raspberry Pis, connected to my server, to supply the tunes and to use Yatse on my phone to interact with the Pis. Yatse pulls the various libraries to the phone, the phone is much more powerful than the Pi, and a convenient way to control everything. I've got a communal feed that can be fed to any of the speakers then I'll be able to plug local sources in in the rooms too if required, these feed the sound back to the central amplifiers and then back to the ceiling speakers. That way, putting a TV in a bedroom for example would let you run XBMC on a Pi on the TV for video as well as music, and still use the ceiling speakers.
I've got all the amps and currently have my server playing music over most of the house, though I need to set up the rest of the kit properly rather than rough setup I've got right now. Only thing I've cocked up is I've not run a communal feed to the living room, I think I'd like to be able to run that through the 5.1 surround as an option. Might have to have a think about that.....
Dining Room Speakers:
Kitchen Speakers:
Whilst bored when revising I knocked this into the slidey door with a chisel:
Surprised how well I managed it, the doors being veneered made it a bit easier to get started though. Finished door looks like this, just a little tidying up to do:
At the weekend me and Dad bashed out the last of the major coving jobs, the bedroom we'd been sleeping in and the landing. Really pleased with these, we did a much better job than the other rooms as practice makes perfect.
Above the stairs, including a very tricky bit, which we painted so we didn't have to do the balance a ladder on a ladder on some blocks trick again:
Other end, speaker visible:
Spare room, coving painted completely and wall paint going on:
Coving done around what will become a fitted wardrobe, speaker in ceiling:
Yes, the colours are a bit of a mess! I've no idea what's gone on here, but when I look into this corner:
It makes me feel a bit sick. Either colour is OK, though nothing special, but not together, they clash well bad. I had no say in any of this and something might have to be changed. The modus-operandi seems to be if anything needs to be repainted, it's the wall with the radiator on, so I suspect the brown will go.
Our bedroom looks good though:
On to more serious matters; damp! With all the wet weather I seem to have sprung a few leaks. All of these pictures are on the south-facing gable wall, the opposite wall to the original damp issues.
Stairs window:
Those spots on the right are where the new plaster has gone soft and lumpy. The old plaster underneath was the same, though damp hasn't come through here. Close-up:
Is this some sort of contamination in the original plaster(salts from the bricks?)? If that's the case, is it unreasonable of me to think that my plasterer should have realised the original plaster was affected and removed it first? Anyway, clearly the window is leaking and I'll put a separate thread up for advice on getting it sorted out when the time comes.
More problems behind the bathroom door frame:
Hallway downstairs:
Front bedroom:
Then the landing window is very bad too, although there isn't much of a damp patch here:
There's also a patch in the kitchen, though that's directly below the new bathroom extract, so I suspect that hasn't been sealed properly, one of the few jobs I didn't do. Hopefully there'll be an obvious flaw in the window sealings and fixing them will cure my problems!
Before I do that though, the next weekend or two will be flat-out trying to finish off the bedrooms so that carpets can be fitted. There's a few finishing off jobs to do with the floor, the last of the decorating, one room to fit skirting in, three speakers to fit, a hearth to build and the original stairs stringers need to either be painted white, or sanded back and stained.
Once the carpets are done we'll be into mostly finishing off jobs in a the rooms downstairs and the bathroom, though we should have a kitchen ordered shortly so that'll be to fit too.
That's still some good progress! Damp under new player sucks, although it does look like we've got away lightly compared to you!
The Raspberry Pis for audio sound interesting, we're going to rely on Airplay for sending audio around the house, which is probably flakier and more expensive.
The Raspberry Pis for audio sound interesting, we're going to rely on Airplay for sending audio around the house, which is probably flakier and more expensive.
Craikeybaby said:
That's still some good progress! Damp under new player sucks, although it does look like we've got away lightly compared to you!
The Raspberry Pis for audio sound interesting, we're going to rely on Airplay for sending audio around the house, which is probably flakier and more expensive.
It'll get sorted eventually, I'm not too worried about it, I was just hoping to be able to concentrate on the renovation rather than getting side-tracked by maintenance. I could do with getting the house 95% done before the weather turns as I want to make a start on the garden in the spring and the workshop over the summer.The Raspberry Pis for audio sound interesting, we're going to rely on Airplay for sending audio around the house, which is probably flakier and more expensive.
I know there's a hole to fill where I've got some satellite wires sticking out and the extract duct is a likely cause. There's two old water tank overflow pipes to remove and fill and possibly the old bathroom waste could be a cause of some. The windows are obvious too, so hopefuly if I tackle all that most of the water will be dealt with. My worry is if I can't find the leak I'm looking at repointing random bits of the wall.
I've still got some work to do on the otherside of the house as one of the damp patches hasn't cleared up, but I knew I propbably needed to remove another brick to get the last of the rubbish out of the cavity there. I also need to do the dining room wall the same as, althoguh it was tanked, the hearth slates are gettting damp, so water is still crossing the cavity.
XBMC has got airplay built in BTW, you can also run XBMC on the Apple TV which I presume you're referring to, though the Pi is a better and cheaper option. There's lots of stuff on XBMC that you won't have using airplay alone, though I suspect the apple stuff deals with bouncing stuff from one device to another better. You can use the Pis locally the same way, you don't need to wire everythign back to one point, that's just something I've done to increase flexibility and to allow me to expand the setup in the future.
Yeah, I run a combination of Apple TVs and Airport Expresses, I did have one of the earlier Apple TVs that could be hacked to run XMBC, but osld it at a profit to upgrade to the newer 1080p one.
Getting the house done to start on the garden/garage is our problem too, we need to free up space in the house, so we can empty the garage to pull it down - was hoping to be on that already, but think we'll have at least another month on the house. It's frustrating now, but I'm sure it will be worth it come the summer!
Getting the house done to start on the garden/garage is our problem too, we need to free up space in the house, so we can empty the garage to pull it down - was hoping to be on that already, but think we'll have at least another month on the house. It's frustrating now, but I'm sure it will be worth it come the summer!
Bit of an update for you, not had much time during the week recently as I've been trying to get a different job, one where I don't have to commute from Durham to Manchester. We've made some good progress, the last few weeks we were making a last push to get three bedrooms finished and ready for carpets and trying to get the landing ready too. The landing was scuppered by damp issues as it meant we couldn't fit the last of the skirtings, but that'll get done at the same time as the stairs, so it's no big deal.
Fitted the last of my speakers in the bedrooms and on the landing:
Unfortunately one of the laths decided to puncture the ceiling and chuck a lump of plaster out, so I had to replaster this bit and sand it out. All speakers are in now and tested. I've an audio multiplex on the way and need to spend some time wiring up the amplifiers and switches, and other inputs etc. I had a bit of a brain-wave last week; I'm going to try and get a bluetooth input setup so that I can pair my phone to the system, so once I'v worked that out I'll finalise the wiring setup and get everything working properly.
I finished off the door handles as I don't want to be doing messy jobs once carpets are in. From taking 6 hours over the first one I got it down to 70 minutes by the end. Door lock jig first up, then this:
It's a custom jig to restrict movement on the router whilst not interfering with the fence. Fence set for left-right distances, then plunge to full depth running the fence up both sides of the door. Auger bit through for the handle shafte, then auger bit to mash up the remaining depth, tidy up with a chisel inside, fit the lock, fit the handle, then mark and chisel for the catch on the frame. Just one left to do downstairs in the hallway now!
Finished doors:
Fitted a number of 'perfect-fit' blinds:
I say fitted, most need taking off and adjusting as the measuring instructions missed a vital check, so they don't fit where there's a high sill. Easy fix with the mitre saw, but it's going to write-off a blade. Good job I need a new one really. Apart from that, the blinds are pretty good. Nothing flash as they were cheap, but they've sorted a load of privacy issues and delayed having to sort curtains out.
Last bedroom has been painted, the brown has gone, so I don't feel sick in there, but now the girlfriend thinks it looks too purple FFS!!!
Added a mock-hearth to match the design in the other bedroom. Much quicker this time as I built the entire frame onto a piece of old 18mm flooring, added supports for the oak boards, then fixed the old bit of looring in the right place. No messing about getting the joints to match perfectly that way and the boards then went in a bit easier:
Really pleased with these, especially as they cost me nothing!
I had a few bits of the floor to fill in where I'd been scuppered by the old floor supporting stud walls. Cut various bits of wood to size:
Then filled any residual gaps with a wood dust and wood glue mix:
This bit my Dad reckoned I wouldn't be able to fill:
There's an L shaped bit dropped in with string at one end, one bit of the L sits on a joist, the end then interlocked with the board in the room on the right. Bit of ply in the gap underneath straddling the hole, held in place while I screwed it tight, then used that to support the filler piece. Easy. Only took me two hours to get it done.....
I then went back to Manchester and left my Mum touching up the paint, varnishing wood and generally tidying up after me and my Dad fitting skirtings in the last bedroom.
Then last Monday the carpet fitter arrived and I moved the last of our furniture over and sorted out the bedrooms. As I said, there's still the landing to do and I had to take a door off as we cocked up the thickness of carpet when working out what gaps to leave, but they got sorted this weekend and are back on now:
There's a few minor snagging jobs to do in the bedrooms, but the only major job left is the fitted wardrobes.
I was also allowed to remove the cardboard from the living room floor, as the house is now a clean zone! I wasn't allowed to take the covers off the sofas though, they have to stay until the stove is fitted. But I think this is the first time the floor has been visible, looks ace!
So that brings us up to this weekend. This weekend there was no visible progress, but we achieved a lot. I hope. As I mentioned earlier, we've been plagued by damp over the last few weeks, patches appeared and have gradually got bigger, then new patches have joined them. At it's worst most rooms were affected, but it hasn't helped having the boiler set to frost only during the weeks, I think that's 4 degrees, which caused these patches, amongst others:
I decided to double the temperature, so it doesn't fall below 8 degrees now and these ones have cleared. I presume they are very very minor and would normally evaporate quicker than they accumulate or something.
Then I had a mattress leant against the wall, which created a pretty pattern:
That was removed sharpish, though that wall has remained damp, though to a much lesser extend.
The main problem is the windows on that gable wall. Rain has been coming in the little one quite heavily, and bad patches around the other window too. There's a floor joist very close to the wall there and the gap to the wall was full of sandy plastery crap, so the water was wicking along the joist and generally causing havoc.
Window looking all wet:
Made a mess of the wall:
And wicked along into bedroom:
On that picture you can see the corner is also damp, a separate issue.
So over the weekend we hacked out the bricks above the lintels and fitted cavity trays so that water getting in above the windows is channelled out, rather than pissing into the house. The mortar was like mud in places it was so wet inside, it was like angle grinding through clay. Not overly happy about that. The inner leaf was bone dry and I was able to clear some crap in the cavity. We saw some of the newer wall ties which looked great and some of the old ones which had rusted completely.
Trays installed and wall bricked back up and nothing came in through that little window when it rained on Saturday and Sunday afternoons!
We also bricked up the old bathroom extract vent which is above that window and I suspect a cause of water getting in. Removed a few old pipes and filled any holes we could see. Above the second window we went a bit higher and sorted out some dodgy pointing that I suspect was letting water in.
We've also got damp in the kitchen and bathroom which appeared to be linked to a new extractor in the bathroom. My electrician fitted that without being asked, so we decided to inspect his handywork..... The extract pipe wasn't connected to the grill at all, the hole through the wall was angled up instead of down and instead of four screws and a silicone seal holding the grill in place there were four dabs of silicone! Awful job.
The inside of the pipe was soaking! So we made a lip to go inside the hole and used the grinder to add a drainage channel to bring the water out, replaced the grill with one that turns 90 degrees to limit water being blown in and screwed and sealed it. Should sort the kitchen and most of the bathroom.
I think we're left with that one patch in the little bedroom by the front window and part of the bathroom wall. Both are caused by rubbish pointing, so I've got those to sort out. Not sure I can reach one bit off my scaffold, so might have to buy some more to get a bit higher.
So overall I think we've probably got on top of it, though I need to wait and see. Dehumidifyer next weekend and I think I'll draw around the patches to see what happens. Hopefully we can finish the painting and get the carpets done sooner rather than later.....
Fitted the last of my speakers in the bedrooms and on the landing:
Unfortunately one of the laths decided to puncture the ceiling and chuck a lump of plaster out, so I had to replaster this bit and sand it out. All speakers are in now and tested. I've an audio multiplex on the way and need to spend some time wiring up the amplifiers and switches, and other inputs etc. I had a bit of a brain-wave last week; I'm going to try and get a bluetooth input setup so that I can pair my phone to the system, so once I'v worked that out I'll finalise the wiring setup and get everything working properly.
I finished off the door handles as I don't want to be doing messy jobs once carpets are in. From taking 6 hours over the first one I got it down to 70 minutes by the end. Door lock jig first up, then this:
It's a custom jig to restrict movement on the router whilst not interfering with the fence. Fence set for left-right distances, then plunge to full depth running the fence up both sides of the door. Auger bit through for the handle shafte, then auger bit to mash up the remaining depth, tidy up with a chisel inside, fit the lock, fit the handle, then mark and chisel for the catch on the frame. Just one left to do downstairs in the hallway now!
Finished doors:
Fitted a number of 'perfect-fit' blinds:
I say fitted, most need taking off and adjusting as the measuring instructions missed a vital check, so they don't fit where there's a high sill. Easy fix with the mitre saw, but it's going to write-off a blade. Good job I need a new one really. Apart from that, the blinds are pretty good. Nothing flash as they were cheap, but they've sorted a load of privacy issues and delayed having to sort curtains out.
Last bedroom has been painted, the brown has gone, so I don't feel sick in there, but now the girlfriend thinks it looks too purple FFS!!!
Added a mock-hearth to match the design in the other bedroom. Much quicker this time as I built the entire frame onto a piece of old 18mm flooring, added supports for the oak boards, then fixed the old bit of looring in the right place. No messing about getting the joints to match perfectly that way and the boards then went in a bit easier:
Really pleased with these, especially as they cost me nothing!
I had a few bits of the floor to fill in where I'd been scuppered by the old floor supporting stud walls. Cut various bits of wood to size:
Then filled any residual gaps with a wood dust and wood glue mix:
This bit my Dad reckoned I wouldn't be able to fill:
There's an L shaped bit dropped in with string at one end, one bit of the L sits on a joist, the end then interlocked with the board in the room on the right. Bit of ply in the gap underneath straddling the hole, held in place while I screwed it tight, then used that to support the filler piece. Easy. Only took me two hours to get it done.....
I then went back to Manchester and left my Mum touching up the paint, varnishing wood and generally tidying up after me and my Dad fitting skirtings in the last bedroom.
Then last Monday the carpet fitter arrived and I moved the last of our furniture over and sorted out the bedrooms. As I said, there's still the landing to do and I had to take a door off as we cocked up the thickness of carpet when working out what gaps to leave, but they got sorted this weekend and are back on now:
There's a few minor snagging jobs to do in the bedrooms, but the only major job left is the fitted wardrobes.
I was also allowed to remove the cardboard from the living room floor, as the house is now a clean zone! I wasn't allowed to take the covers off the sofas though, they have to stay until the stove is fitted. But I think this is the first time the floor has been visible, looks ace!
So that brings us up to this weekend. This weekend there was no visible progress, but we achieved a lot. I hope. As I mentioned earlier, we've been plagued by damp over the last few weeks, patches appeared and have gradually got bigger, then new patches have joined them. At it's worst most rooms were affected, but it hasn't helped having the boiler set to frost only during the weeks, I think that's 4 degrees, which caused these patches, amongst others:
I decided to double the temperature, so it doesn't fall below 8 degrees now and these ones have cleared. I presume they are very very minor and would normally evaporate quicker than they accumulate or something.
Then I had a mattress leant against the wall, which created a pretty pattern:
That was removed sharpish, though that wall has remained damp, though to a much lesser extend.
The main problem is the windows on that gable wall. Rain has been coming in the little one quite heavily, and bad patches around the other window too. There's a floor joist very close to the wall there and the gap to the wall was full of sandy plastery crap, so the water was wicking along the joist and generally causing havoc.
Window looking all wet:
Made a mess of the wall:
And wicked along into bedroom:
On that picture you can see the corner is also damp, a separate issue.
So over the weekend we hacked out the bricks above the lintels and fitted cavity trays so that water getting in above the windows is channelled out, rather than pissing into the house. The mortar was like mud in places it was so wet inside, it was like angle grinding through clay. Not overly happy about that. The inner leaf was bone dry and I was able to clear some crap in the cavity. We saw some of the newer wall ties which looked great and some of the old ones which had rusted completely.
Trays installed and wall bricked back up and nothing came in through that little window when it rained on Saturday and Sunday afternoons!
We also bricked up the old bathroom extract vent which is above that window and I suspect a cause of water getting in. Removed a few old pipes and filled any holes we could see. Above the second window we went a bit higher and sorted out some dodgy pointing that I suspect was letting water in.
We've also got damp in the kitchen and bathroom which appeared to be linked to a new extractor in the bathroom. My electrician fitted that without being asked, so we decided to inspect his handywork..... The extract pipe wasn't connected to the grill at all, the hole through the wall was angled up instead of down and instead of four screws and a silicone seal holding the grill in place there were four dabs of silicone! Awful job.
The inside of the pipe was soaking! So we made a lip to go inside the hole and used the grinder to add a drainage channel to bring the water out, replaced the grill with one that turns 90 degrees to limit water being blown in and screwed and sealed it. Should sort the kitchen and most of the bathroom.
I think we're left with that one patch in the little bedroom by the front window and part of the bathroom wall. Both are caused by rubbish pointing, so I've got those to sort out. Not sure I can reach one bit off my scaffold, so might have to buy some more to get a bit higher.
So overall I think we've probably got on top of it, though I need to wait and see. Dehumidifyer next weekend and I think I'll draw around the patches to see what happens. Hopefully we can finish the painting and get the carpets done sooner rather than later.....
Thanks chaps, it's coming together nicely now, but I've nto touched the garden or workshop yet, so still loads to do. Then the boss wants a bigger kitchen and a loft conversion doing, so I'll be busy for a while yet!
The damp doen't bother me too much, it's just a bit of water and it doesn't appear by magic. I'm confident that I've matched every bit of damp to a corresponding problem, so sorting it out should be OK. I'll start worrying when it's still there and I've run out of obvious solutions.
Which properties are you thinking of Hedgefinder? There's a few gone on recently, but I've not noticed any that stand out as exceptional value for doing up. I've seen the two new builds on the main street have come on the market today, they don't look too great looking at the plans, 4 beds over two floors which doesn't leave a lot of living space for a couple and their three kids.
The damp doen't bother me too much, it's just a bit of water and it doesn't appear by magic. I'm confident that I've matched every bit of damp to a corresponding problem, so sorting it out should be OK. I'll start worrying when it's still there and I've run out of obvious solutions.
Which properties are you thinking of Hedgefinder? There's a few gone on recently, but I've not noticed any that stand out as exceptional value for doing up. I've seen the two new builds on the main street have come on the market today, they don't look too great looking at the plans, 4 beds over two floors which doesn't leave a lot of living space for a couple and their three kids.
paulrockliffe said:
Thanks chaps, it's coming together nicely now, but I've nto touched the garden or workshop yet, so still loads to do. Then the boss wants a bigger kitchen and a loft conversion doing, so I'll be busy for a while yet!
The damp doen't bother me too much, it's just a bit of water and it doesn't appear by magic. I'm confident that I've matched every bit of damp to a corresponding problem, so sorting it out should be OK. I'll start worrying when it's still there and I've run out of obvious solutions.
Which properties are you thinking of Hedgefinder? There's a few gone on recently, but I've not noticed any that stand out as exceptional value for doing up. I've seen the two new builds on the main street have come on the market today, they don't look too great looking at the plans, 4 beds over two floors which doesn't leave a lot of living space for a couple and their three kids.
as i said, i havent checked prices, so they may not make sense/be viable.The damp doen't bother me too much, it's just a bit of water and it doesn't appear by magic. I'm confident that I've matched every bit of damp to a corresponding problem, so sorting it out should be OK. I'll start worrying when it's still there and I've run out of obvious solutions.
Which properties are you thinking of Hedgefinder? There's a few gone on recently, but I've not noticed any that stand out as exceptional value for doing up. I've seen the two new builds on the main street have come on the market today, they don't look too great looking at the plans, 4 beds over two floors which doesn't leave a lot of living space for a couple and their three kids.
That new development could and should have been multiple apartments..... I think someone has made a rather worrying financial error in judgement there..
I think there are some more going in behind there too. It might be that the developer was told what it had to look like from the front and then the internals have been fitted around that, it does look very in-keeping with the rest of the street from the front. Perhaps the money is in the other properties going behind.
They're better value than the flat that's on at £250 opposite that's sat unsold for about two years now though!
They're better value than the flat that's on at £250 opposite that's sat unsold for about two years now though!
Not a great deal to report from the weekend as not much happened and what did happen took longer than I hoped.
Tiled behind the dining room stove, pic shows just the back, but I've done the two sides too:
Looks pretty good and I've got some black grout coming this week so I can get it finished off.
I sorted out the last of the skirting in the lounge, needed to solder a few connectors before putting the last bit on; there's 5.1 surround wiring and plugs in the skirting. That's all sorted now and I tidied up the tv/ethernet cables coming in behind the TV, though that still isn't right, too many wires in not enough space!
I fitted the first ceiling rose and the living room light:
Really pleased with this, looks great!
Damp appears to be drying slowly, but it's hard to tell how much is fixed yet. How long is this likely to take to dry, weeks, months?
I'm away next weekend, so back in a fortnight; hopefully there'll be more visible progress on the damp. I'm going to clear the cavity down that side and fix a couple of bits of pointing if the weather is decent. I should also have the last of my AV kit arriving, so should be able to get most of that finished too if I have time.
Tiled behind the dining room stove, pic shows just the back, but I've done the two sides too:
Looks pretty good and I've got some black grout coming this week so I can get it finished off.
I sorted out the last of the skirting in the lounge, needed to solder a few connectors before putting the last bit on; there's 5.1 surround wiring and plugs in the skirting. That's all sorted now and I tidied up the tv/ethernet cables coming in behind the TV, though that still isn't right, too many wires in not enough space!
I fitted the first ceiling rose and the living room light:
Really pleased with this, looks great!
Damp appears to be drying slowly, but it's hard to tell how much is fixed yet. How long is this likely to take to dry, weeks, months?
I'm away next weekend, so back in a fortnight; hopefully there'll be more visible progress on the damp. I'm going to clear the cavity down that side and fix a couple of bits of pointing if the weather is decent. I should also have the last of my AV kit arriving, so should be able to get most of that finished too if I have time.
Quick update for you:
After loads of hassle with BHS, finally got the dining room light fitted:
Just the handle and a pane of glass left to do on the hallway door, though there's still coving to go up and decorating to do here. And the other side of the door to deal with:
Wires are all working now:
That's the door bell, alarm, TV multiplex for satellite, terrestrial and FM, network switch, broadband router and server. Raspberry Pi and a bluetooth connection that feed the distribution amplifier. Distribution amplifier supplies all 6 amplifiers. The bank of 6 switches lets you select between the distribution amplifier or another input. The other inputs are any local connections in the rooms, eg TVs etc, or the bank of sockets above, so anything can be connected to anything. All works very well and I'm pretty pleased with it considering I've gone for cheap stuff rather than spending a fortune. The distribution amplifier was £10.50 on eBay!
Added the flooring in the corner beneath all the wiring stuff:
I need to order the wood to make the doors for the cupboard and then fit a clothes rail for hanging coats up and construct a shoe rack of some description.
Same under the stairs; flooring fitted:
Needs skirting adding, painting and then all the pantry shelves constructing.
Seems like I've not done much in the last month when that's all I've got to post! The rest of the time has been spent working on the damp issues we've had. We spent a weekend fitting cavity trays above two windows, which seems to have sorted most of it out. We've repaired a few bits of pointing, but there's still one bit that's beyond my reach. Got a few builders quoting for repointing the whole side of the house.
We also blocked a few holes up and sorted out the mess the electrician made of fitting the bathroom extractor - outlet plate stuck on with 4 dabs of silicone, no seal. So pissing water into the cavity!
I need to spend a day removing bricks from the bottom of the wall to clear out the cavity as what water got in has tracked through all the crap in the bottom and I think there's a few bits where there's something bridging the cavity that need dealing with too.
Overall the house is drying out now, hopefully we'll get to a point where we can finish painting and get the rest of the carpets down soon!
After loads of hassle with BHS, finally got the dining room light fitted:
Just the handle and a pane of glass left to do on the hallway door, though there's still coving to go up and decorating to do here. And the other side of the door to deal with:
Wires are all working now:
That's the door bell, alarm, TV multiplex for satellite, terrestrial and FM, network switch, broadband router and server. Raspberry Pi and a bluetooth connection that feed the distribution amplifier. Distribution amplifier supplies all 6 amplifiers. The bank of 6 switches lets you select between the distribution amplifier or another input. The other inputs are any local connections in the rooms, eg TVs etc, or the bank of sockets above, so anything can be connected to anything. All works very well and I'm pretty pleased with it considering I've gone for cheap stuff rather than spending a fortune. The distribution amplifier was £10.50 on eBay!
Added the flooring in the corner beneath all the wiring stuff:
I need to order the wood to make the doors for the cupboard and then fit a clothes rail for hanging coats up and construct a shoe rack of some description.
Same under the stairs; flooring fitted:
Needs skirting adding, painting and then all the pantry shelves constructing.
Seems like I've not done much in the last month when that's all I've got to post! The rest of the time has been spent working on the damp issues we've had. We spent a weekend fitting cavity trays above two windows, which seems to have sorted most of it out. We've repaired a few bits of pointing, but there's still one bit that's beyond my reach. Got a few builders quoting for repointing the whole side of the house.
We also blocked a few holes up and sorted out the mess the electrician made of fitting the bathroom extractor - outlet plate stuck on with 4 dabs of silicone, no seal. So pissing water into the cavity!
I need to spend a day removing bricks from the bottom of the wall to clear out the cavity as what water got in has tracked through all the crap in the bottom and I think there's a few bits where there's something bridging the cavity that need dealing with too.
Overall the house is drying out now, hopefully we'll get to a point where we can finish painting and get the rest of the carpets down soon!
OP - sorry if I've missed the solution in the text somewhere as I've only skimmed - you said
"Opening up a hole meant I was able to confirm that there's no insulation in that roof. It's fairly inevitable that I'm going to have to fit a hatch and get up there to insulate as it gets very cold in there at the moment!"
How about this solution - either drill a suitable hole in the ceiling or via and adjacent space and 'blow' some insulation in there. Got to be a lot less hassle than fitting a loft hatch. Should be able to hire equipment for the job (just remember to bag the backs of the speakers to prevent them clogging up)
HTH
"Opening up a hole meant I was able to confirm that there's no insulation in that roof. It's fairly inevitable that I'm going to have to fit a hatch and get up there to insulate as it gets very cold in there at the moment!"
How about this solution - either drill a suitable hole in the ceiling or via and adjacent space and 'blow' some insulation in there. Got to be a lot less hassle than fitting a loft hatch. Should be able to hire equipment for the job (just remember to bag the backs of the speakers to prevent them clogging up)
HTH
elanfan said:
OP - sorry if I've missed the solution in the text somewhere as I've only skimmed - you said
"Opening up a hole meant I was able to confirm that there's no insulation in that roof. It's fairly inevitable that I'm going to have to fit a hatch and get up there to insulate as it gets very cold in there at the moment!"
How about this solution - either drill a suitable hole in the ceiling or via and adjacent space and 'blow' some insulation in there. Got to be a lot less hassle than fitting a loft hatch. Should be able to hire equipment for the job (just remember to bag the backs of the speakers to prevent them clogging up)
HTH
Hello, thanks for the idea, I hadn't thought of that. "Opening up a hole meant I was able to confirm that there's no insulation in that roof. It's fairly inevitable that I'm going to have to fit a hatch and get up there to insulate as it gets very cold in there at the moment!"
How about this solution - either drill a suitable hole in the ceiling or via and adjacent space and 'blow' some insulation in there. Got to be a lot less hassle than fitting a loft hatch. Should be able to hire equipment for the job (just remember to bag the backs of the speakers to prevent them clogging up)
HTH
The roof construction above the bathroom is a bit odd, it's a single pitch roof sloping perpendicular to the main roof, with no over-lap. The roof intrudes into the room over the last 12" or so of it's slope too. I'd want to make sure I wasn't creating a trap at the edge where condensation could form and then cause damp in the bathroom ceiling and I'm not sure I'd get that control with blown insulation.
My primary consideration is that that space is currently inaccessible and *anything* could be up there. Got to be worth a look surely! Joking aside, the lack of access means it likely hasn't been touched in a very long time so I'd like to be able to check it's all OK. Maximum warmth means getting insulation right to the edge of the bit that's impossible to insulate because it's straight to tile, so celotex will be the way to go I think. Might make some handy storage too if I convert the other loft to a proper room.
Cheers, on the wiring, I've added a Tado to the collection of boxes, so I've now got heating control on my phone. Really impressed with this, was a doddle to install, and looks like it'll do a great job of keeping my house warm at the right times and keeping my bills down. I can make sure Aida isn't getting carried away with the heating too.
I've also found an Android app that will talk to another Raspberry Pi over the WiFi, which will control a bank of switch relays. So all those switches are coming out to be replaced with relays, so I'll be able to control the sound sources and turn the amps on and off with my phone too. Going to add one to the floodlights outside too while I'm at it.
I've not updated the thread in a while as I've been busy for he last month or so and not had time to a) do work and b) tell you all about it. I've got a mini-update now, though I'm off work next week and hoping to get a lot done then.
Main visual thing what I've done is chop down those bloody leylandii that were taking up half the garden:
They didn't put up a great fight and I'll be taking the branches to the tip at the weekend in the trailer. Unfortunately the wall level drops away towards the bottom of the garden and there's a footpath on the otherside, so we were suddenly a bit over-looked. Not badly, but Aida went nuts and insisted it was sorted. So the next day we went to Travis Perkins and bought a load of timber and built this:
Really pleased with this, though we ran out of wood for the last few bits. Has since been stained with a preservative. The soldiers get gradually shorter so they match the wall line at the bottom, so the lengths were calculated on excel, then I chopped them and added the points, while my Dad screwed it all together.
There's trellis to go across the bottom, then it'll be covered in climbers, which should look pretty good without encroaching too far into the newly reclaimed space. Only thing left to do is to remove some of the larger roots. Anyone tried pulling them out with a car, if I dig out as much as I can and sever the largest roots? Will the smaller roots rot away and will they have any impact on the soil fertility?
On the subject of that wall btw, a house came on the market in the village that claims to have been built from stone stolen from the Roman fort that is 400m up the hill, the stone looks very similar and there's some big lumps in my wall, so I suspect the wall may also be of Roman origin. Cool huh!
Conifer logs have been stacked to dry and will be burned in a couple of winters time. I've also spent a few days trying to reclaim my garage, I'm about halfway through cutting up all the wood that was in there and have a pretty big stack ready to burn now. Pics when I've finished that job....
Finished the tiling and grouting in the bathroom:
Have plaster boarded the corners ready for plaster, ceiling needs a sand and the whole room is to paint with the proper bathroom paint once that's done. I've got everything ready for building the bathroom cabinet, so that's hopefully a job for next week, then I can think about getting it all properly finished in there.
Kitchen light is practical, yet stylish. Fills the room really nicely and is incredibly bright!
Similarly, 10 x those little halogen bulbs is probably over-kill on the landing, but these are also really nice:
After struggling for months to find any lights that we liked, we're really pleased with what we've found, BHS is definitely the place to go for lights.
We've moved a lot more stuff in and have been really struggling for storage space, so I've started fitting out some of the cupboards where I can do a quick and easy job, coats all hung up:
We had our first friends over to stay last weekend, so I was finally allowed to remove the cardboard from the floors and uncover the sofas. That and a proper tidy, including all my tools going outside, has made a huge difference to the house, it starting to feel like home now. I'd forgotten what the sofas looked like, but here's one. They're from DFS, they're very comfortable and go well with the style of the house.
And yes, that is a Mousey Thompson peeking out the back of the sofa. That will be two mantelpieces eventually.
While I've been busy I've been doing a load more shopping; new dishwasher and washing machine, gas hob, belfast sink and a stack of iroko worktops have arrived:
We're ready to order the new kitchen now, all the details are sorted out, so that's happening tomorrow. Will likely be a couple of months before it's in, but that'll be the last big job to do inside the house, so is quite exciting. I would have waited on ordering the worktops, but I need one for the bathroom, so figured save on delivery costs and get the lot now.
I've also ordered a new sink for the bathroom as the one we have is a bit annoying, looks good, very modern and stylish, but the flat bottom means your toothpaste/spit mix doesn't drain very well. New one is broadly the same, but with a curved bottom. Annoying to have that extra expense, but it does mean I get a posh sink in the workshop. Awesome.
I've made a start on clearing the garden, so next time my Dad is here we'll be rotorvating and levelling it. Hopefully I won't need to bring any more soil in, but I think there's a bit of work to do moving soil around. That needs to be got properly on with as I think there's a garden party planned for August bank holiday, so we'll need some grass!
Hopefully I'll have a decent update in a couple of weeks time when I've had a good crack at the various finishing off jobs.
Oh yeah, in other news, I'm moving offices at the end of the month, so I've only 7 days left in Manchester. Will make a huge difference to be able to live at home properly and will free up a lot of time for working during the week, so things should progress a bit quicker.
I've also found an Android app that will talk to another Raspberry Pi over the WiFi, which will control a bank of switch relays. So all those switches are coming out to be replaced with relays, so I'll be able to control the sound sources and turn the amps on and off with my phone too. Going to add one to the floodlights outside too while I'm at it.
I've not updated the thread in a while as I've been busy for he last month or so and not had time to a) do work and b) tell you all about it. I've got a mini-update now, though I'm off work next week and hoping to get a lot done then.
Main visual thing what I've done is chop down those bloody leylandii that were taking up half the garden:
They didn't put up a great fight and I'll be taking the branches to the tip at the weekend in the trailer. Unfortunately the wall level drops away towards the bottom of the garden and there's a footpath on the otherside, so we were suddenly a bit over-looked. Not badly, but Aida went nuts and insisted it was sorted. So the next day we went to Travis Perkins and bought a load of timber and built this:
Really pleased with this, though we ran out of wood for the last few bits. Has since been stained with a preservative. The soldiers get gradually shorter so they match the wall line at the bottom, so the lengths were calculated on excel, then I chopped them and added the points, while my Dad screwed it all together.
There's trellis to go across the bottom, then it'll be covered in climbers, which should look pretty good without encroaching too far into the newly reclaimed space. Only thing left to do is to remove some of the larger roots. Anyone tried pulling them out with a car, if I dig out as much as I can and sever the largest roots? Will the smaller roots rot away and will they have any impact on the soil fertility?
On the subject of that wall btw, a house came on the market in the village that claims to have been built from stone stolen from the Roman fort that is 400m up the hill, the stone looks very similar and there's some big lumps in my wall, so I suspect the wall may also be of Roman origin. Cool huh!
Conifer logs have been stacked to dry and will be burned in a couple of winters time. I've also spent a few days trying to reclaim my garage, I'm about halfway through cutting up all the wood that was in there and have a pretty big stack ready to burn now. Pics when I've finished that job....
Finished the tiling and grouting in the bathroom:
Have plaster boarded the corners ready for plaster, ceiling needs a sand and the whole room is to paint with the proper bathroom paint once that's done. I've got everything ready for building the bathroom cabinet, so that's hopefully a job for next week, then I can think about getting it all properly finished in there.
Kitchen light is practical, yet stylish. Fills the room really nicely and is incredibly bright!
Similarly, 10 x those little halogen bulbs is probably over-kill on the landing, but these are also really nice:
After struggling for months to find any lights that we liked, we're really pleased with what we've found, BHS is definitely the place to go for lights.
We've moved a lot more stuff in and have been really struggling for storage space, so I've started fitting out some of the cupboards where I can do a quick and easy job, coats all hung up:
We had our first friends over to stay last weekend, so I was finally allowed to remove the cardboard from the floors and uncover the sofas. That and a proper tidy, including all my tools going outside, has made a huge difference to the house, it starting to feel like home now. I'd forgotten what the sofas looked like, but here's one. They're from DFS, they're very comfortable and go well with the style of the house.
And yes, that is a Mousey Thompson peeking out the back of the sofa. That will be two mantelpieces eventually.
While I've been busy I've been doing a load more shopping; new dishwasher and washing machine, gas hob, belfast sink and a stack of iroko worktops have arrived:
We're ready to order the new kitchen now, all the details are sorted out, so that's happening tomorrow. Will likely be a couple of months before it's in, but that'll be the last big job to do inside the house, so is quite exciting. I would have waited on ordering the worktops, but I need one for the bathroom, so figured save on delivery costs and get the lot now.
I've also ordered a new sink for the bathroom as the one we have is a bit annoying, looks good, very modern and stylish, but the flat bottom means your toothpaste/spit mix doesn't drain very well. New one is broadly the same, but with a curved bottom. Annoying to have that extra expense, but it does mean I get a posh sink in the workshop. Awesome.
I've made a start on clearing the garden, so next time my Dad is here we'll be rotorvating and levelling it. Hopefully I won't need to bring any more soil in, but I think there's a bit of work to do moving soil around. That needs to be got properly on with as I think there's a garden party planned for August bank holiday, so we'll need some grass!
Hopefully I'll have a decent update in a couple of weeks time when I've had a good crack at the various finishing off jobs.
Oh yeah, in other news, I'm moving offices at the end of the month, so I've only 7 days left in Manchester. Will make a huge difference to be able to live at home properly and will free up a lot of time for working during the week, so things should progress a bit quicker.
So that big pile of conifers got dealt with a few weeks ago, got the lot into the trailer in one load by chopping the branches off the branches with an axe. Took a few hours, but saved me wasting some of my 12 free trailer passes unnecessarily. Still can't believe that the branches of three large conifers all fitted in here:
I've been a bit busy with things recently and although I managed a week off work I managed to pick up some bug or other and lost most of it and didn't get a great deal done in the end. I've finally moved out of Manchester, first week working up here this week, so I've had packing and moving and sorting to deal with too.
Anyway, during my week off this was about all I got done; built the bathroom cabinet that we wanted for about half the price of buying something flimsy crap and not exactly what we wanted.
First up, scribble a bit on some paper:
Then rough-cut all the pieces while there's someone to help support the 8' x 4' sheets while you saw:
Then cut to exact sizes by clamping pairs together and trimming back to length with the router and a guide:
Rout a recess for the sink to sit in up top:
Reinforce underneath:
Fit sink and you're done!
OK, it didn't quite pass the herindoors test for aesthetics and and was a waste of good workmates, so plan B; carry all the bits up to the bathroom and get screwing:
Day Two; Shelves fitted, front panel in, back added. Curse letting my Dad nick a strip from the back piece and make note to make some skirting-like bits to cover the gap later:
Varnish:
Legs on, test fit:
Cut a lump of iroko and get the plumbing through:
Now I'm a bit stuck. I need to make or acquire a suitable router guide to let me do the sink cut-out. I've decided to modify the back and then box in the pipework so I can move it back 50mm closer to the wall too.
Once that's done I've got to sort out a splash back and 3 coats of IPV67 to keep the worktop sealed. I've got the drawer and doors on order with my new kitchen and then I need to make an end panel to match. Should look good when it's finished!
I've been a bit busy with things recently and although I managed a week off work I managed to pick up some bug or other and lost most of it and didn't get a great deal done in the end. I've finally moved out of Manchester, first week working up here this week, so I've had packing and moving and sorting to deal with too.
Anyway, during my week off this was about all I got done; built the bathroom cabinet that we wanted for about half the price of buying something flimsy crap and not exactly what we wanted.
First up, scribble a bit on some paper:
Then rough-cut all the pieces while there's someone to help support the 8' x 4' sheets while you saw:
Then cut to exact sizes by clamping pairs together and trimming back to length with the router and a guide:
Rout a recess for the sink to sit in up top:
Reinforce underneath:
Fit sink and you're done!
OK, it didn't quite pass the herindoors test for aesthetics and and was a waste of good workmates, so plan B; carry all the bits up to the bathroom and get screwing:
Day Two; Shelves fitted, front panel in, back added. Curse letting my Dad nick a strip from the back piece and make note to make some skirting-like bits to cover the gap later:
Varnish:
Legs on, test fit:
Cut a lump of iroko and get the plumbing through:
Now I'm a bit stuck. I need to make or acquire a suitable router guide to let me do the sink cut-out. I've decided to modify the back and then box in the pipework so I can move it back 50mm closer to the wall too.
Once that's done I've got to sort out a splash back and 3 coats of IPV67 to keep the worktop sealed. I've got the drawer and doors on order with my new kitchen and then I need to make an end panel to match. Should look good when it's finished!
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