Marky's refurb thread. 1940 run down semi.
Discussion
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Looking good marky, chin up-it'll all be worth it in the end.
Hi Craig, I hope you're well. Yeah it's hard going but we'll get there. Got to try and get the kitchen in and bedrooms done for xmas for my wife's daughters to come home from uni etc. Money still running out. I've squirrell'd some away from the sale of the GT3 but I've a feeling it'll go too. I'm hoping the classic car market crashes to be honest as I really want a 964 again at some point. Not fussed what as long as it's manual and rear wheel drive. Can be Targa, cab or coupe for me, as I like all of them. I've never subscribed to the "Has to be a coupe" thing.Wozy68 said:
Mark me old chum. That is a lot of work, it looks like the worse maybe over now? Hopefully home straight from now on.
Hey up Wozy, I was reading about your trip the other day. You jammy bugger. Will be a few years before i get out on another road trip. Can't wait. Yep, we are over the worst of the works now. Builders finished today although there'll be more work outside for them next spring, including blocking up the garage windows, building a retaining wall when we widen the drive etc.Basically plastering downstairs, joinery, flooring, kitchen and decorating left now. Then the mammoth task of outside, but we have decided to do that over years not months.
Pixel-Snapper said:
Looking good pal almost through the hard stuff.
Cannot believe people are moaning about the gate posts! It's not like there not in keeping or 10 foot tall!
Thanks PS, yep hopefully no more expensive surprises from now. Just putting things back together from here on in. Cannot believe people are moaning about the gate posts! It's not like there not in keeping or 10 foot tall!
Yeah the Parish council have given their objections to the proper council stating things like the house is in a prominent position and the posts are exactly the type of development the conservation order is there to prevent. Well the house hasn't changed position so the rotten old posts and gates were in equally a prominent position, so they'd rather look at those then? They just have a real axe to grind. Don't know if it's because we are townies moving in, but it's their problem not ours.
CoolHands said:
very good. It looks like a massive project when it didn't look that big on reading the opening post. You're missus is doing well if she's living in that and going to work as a teacher! Little do the kids know she's sitting on a garden chair of an evening! 
Haha, cheers Coolhands. The missus appreciates that. She says you must be someone in the know. Yep there's been a lot of work. I fully expected all of it, bar the dining room floor being dug up. The store I knew we'd have to due to building regs but then to have to dig up the dining room one last minute was a blow especially when the funds are all gone or allocated. Anyway, done now. Craikeybaby said:
Wow! That is a lot of progress, it's looking really good!
Hi Craikey, thanks. I was catching up on your thread the other day, you're getting on really well, especially with the man-space/garage. Well done.bennyboydurham said:
Coming on well Marky. The gates thing is a huge f*cking joke. You've made it look a million times better and the lighting and slate sign are bang on. Are you going for UPVC windows or timber? We're going for Georgian sash style in UPVC 'foil' effect and whilst they are clearly not timber, they are pretty convincing until you're very close up. We decided to go with wood on the stuff you touch everyday, like the front door and the back door. Still undecided about the bi-fold doors as to have them in timber is very expensive and they tend to be more troublesome than the aluminium or UPVC ones due to shrinkage, flexing and maintenance etc.
In fact, we're up almost to the top of the second floor so I should really update my thread!
Hi mate, thanks for the comments. I'll have to catch up with your build soon. I've thought somedays during this project that it would have been easier to build something from scratch. That probably isn't true as you have all the same hassles of organising workmen etc, but it hasn't quashed my enthusiasm to build somewhere one day. Doubt we could do that in this village so we'll be in this house for a while.In fact, we're up almost to the top of the second floor so I should really update my thread!
Windows wise we are just going UPVC in white. Luckily (or not, depending on your view of UPVC
) the house had UPVC fitted before the conservation order went on, hence we have grandfather rights, so don't need to revert to timber. That also made the permission for the new porch easier as well. We are going for georgian bars to back date the house a bit as mentioned above. We have chosen where the openers are carefully as they alter the appearance of the frame quite a lot, so we have more openers than maybe we normally would but it keeps the window frames symmetrical, if you know what I mean.The dimensions of our windows aren't ideal for sash I don't think, especially the small upstairs ones as they are square. Our house wasn't that period either so it may look a bit mock-tudor.
I'm sure yours will look great as the house will be designed with a certain look in mind so it won't look like an afterthought like ours would.
Likewise the bi-folds are in white UPVC, mainly so they match the rest of the frames. They'll do for a few years while the budget is tight and if we are still here later we can go for something longer lasting. My only real concern is drooping etc but ours are only 3m wide so not huge.
Anyway, I hope your job is going well and I hope the remainder of the build goes well.
CoolHands said:
Out of interest, how do they tie the new ties from that front skin to the inner skin? I'm thinking of the stainless steel wire things yeah? So if they poke them through those slots, how to they fix to the inside? And if you're going to say they cut slots on the inside too - how do they get them to line up?!!! And then do they just put mortar in around them? ta
Ha, it's nothing like as hard as that Coolhands, thankfully. The slots are the old ties being isolated. They are a flat piece of metal laid in the cement coarse of the inner and outer leaf of the wall when the houses are built. Over the years they rust and swell to 2 or 3 times their original thickness, causing cracks right along the front of the house. They must be isolated by grinding the cement away around them. They can be extracted or knocked into the cavity or expanding foam sprayed around them so they can't cause cracking again. The new ties must go into the brick as they won't work in the cement. That's what all the polka dots are in the walls. Drill through the outer leaf and into the inner leaf, insert new tie, tighten up, repoint bricks with coloured cement. The new ties are basically like a wall fixing. A stainless rod with a bolt head on the outer end and a rubber covered expanding inner end. They just tighten up with an electric screwdriver/drill and pull the wall back together. All done from outside. Hope that helps. Really messy work and guaranteed to pee off your neighbours, as the mess from grinding the cement out is horrendous. Unavoidable though unfortunately.
cossy400 said:
Good thread OP glad its coming together.
I have to ask what the problem is with the brick pillars??
Simply because we ve just dug out for a wall which will have pillars where you enter our drive.
Hi, as cool hands says it's simply a case of the material changing. Only affects you if you're in a conservation area or a listed building. We are the former which means anything facing the main road is under strict guidelines of what can be done. You can do pretty much any normal developments around the back of the house without planning, such as our bi-folds or new upstairs window. I have to ask what the problem is with the brick pillars??
Simply because we ve just dug out for a wall which will have pillars where you enter our drive.
dazwalsh said:
Some people just like to moan for the sake of it, and unfortunately one of the situations where you cannot tell them to p
s off.
Its a lovely house so far, finished product will be stunning no doubt.
Too right, it's not a great feeling to think that certain people driving past while you're working are just whinging and phoning the council up about any improvement you try and make. Thankfully most of the village is made up of normal people who just laugh at the parish council. We have a great pub with great people in it and you always feel better when you come out, than you did when you went in, not just due to the alcohol either s off.Its a lovely house so far, finished product will be stunning no doubt.
. It's great.Thanks for the comments. I hope it does turn out as good as we hope. Bit of a blow not being able to render the house, Would have added much more kerb appeal but we didn't really think we'd be allowed anyway. Will just have to work with what we have but the brickwork will be the thing that holds the house back. The inside is where we spend our time though and that will be lovely.
Biker's Nemesis said:
I drove by a few weeks ago Marky in my RS
Hi Jon, I'll keep an eye out for you when I'm working outside. We get loads of special stuff coming through all weekend when the sun is out. Cars, bikes, everything. It's great for a petrol head. Means the gardening takes a bit longer mind, as the minute I hear something fruity I down-tools and head to the fence. Zingari said:
Looking good. Following with interest. I take it that was your Turdis out front? How very eco friendly.
Thanks Zingers. Yep the Turdis as you put it was there for all the workers. It went back last week yet a man pulled up in a little van yesterday and got out with his cleaning gear. He was ever so upset when I told him it was gone. Apparently they come from Teesside (60 miles away). He wasn't a happy bunny. Anyway cheers chaps. Busy weekend ahead, not least pulling out the bathroom TV which has a constant buzzing through the ceiling speaker even when the volume is on zero. Think it has to go back. Bummer! It'll be a right pain getting it out. It's all siliconed in. Apart from that it's a big push with the second bedroom and I'm also plying over the living room floor. It's the only ground floor we've kept and apparently we'll always be at risk of the chair legs sinking into the asphalt when it gets warm off the stove. I figure wood sheets will spread the load of the chair legs. Not great but hey-ho.
Anyway, I'm off.
Edited by marky911 on Friday 12th September 23:43
Our architect emailed on Friday and said apparently our planning application for the gateposts had been approved without the need for us to go to the committee meeting. Excellent news. That was at 4.30pm so we had time to pop to the fancy dress shop and then modify the posts for the parish council when they pass by. I don't usually do tttish behaviour but the spiteful idiots have given us nothing but bother.
ttish behaviour but the spiteful idiots have given us nothing but bother. 
Windows went in on Friday -
Bi-folds -
Still have the phone cable to re-route then that's all of the cables moved from the front of the house. Garage door and porch/garage outside lights to sort. They'll probably wait until the spring now.
I also want to colour the window sills to match the welsh slate roof but I think I need planning permission. Here we go again. So far it's Parish council 0 - Us 2.
Bi-folds -
Still have the phone cable to re-route then that's all of the cables moved from the front of the house. Garage door and porch/garage outside lights to sort. They'll probably wait until the spring now.
I also want to colour the window sills to match the welsh slate roof but I think I need planning permission. Here we go again. So far it's Parish council 0 - Us 2.
Edited by marky911 on Monday 22 September 22:09
marky911 said:
Sad day. The GT3 has to go. My wife and I have both put extra coffers in the pot along the way to enable me to keep the car but to be honest it will be a weight off my mind to just sell it and get the house done. It's getting to the point where I didn't want to use the car due to racking the miles up, so what's the point of having one. I'll go back to basics once the house is done and get something I can just use and enjoy and maybe something too nice to use as well, just for shows. Nothing grand just a little classic or an old Ford or something. I still have a bikey itch too, maybe a retro style cafe racer though as I don't trust myself on super bikes anymore.
So it'll be bye bye GT3 soon. I've hardly used it for 2 years now (in fact I've only had it 2 years ) and it's currently hidden away in a mates barn out in the wilderness.
"But what about Bailey the stzu!?" I hear you ask. Ok, I don't but I'll tell you anyway. Well he's still been in the wars.
He got bad hay fever which blocked his nasal passages, which meant really goopy eyes. We took him to the vets and they put some drops in to examine him. They turned his eyes bright green and to make matters worse he was also overdue at the groomers so he had not one, but two bobbles in his hair. The pic below is not photoshopped or anything -
Anyway he's all better now. He lost that bottom tooth at the last house chewing on a door frame when we were at work. He thought "You leave me on my own, I give you a door frame to paint." -
Not into his IT as much as he was at the last house though -
Great effort OP.So it'll be bye bye GT3 soon. I've hardly used it for 2 years now (in fact I've only had it 2 years
) and it's currently hidden away in a mates barn out in the wilderness.
"But what about Bailey the s
tzu!?" I hear you ask. Ok, I don't but I'll tell you anyway. Well he's still been in the wars. He got bad hay fever which blocked his nasal passages, which meant really goopy eyes. We took him to the vets and they put some drops in to examine him. They turned his eyes bright green and to make matters worse he was also overdue at the groomers so he had not one, but two bobbles in his hair. The pic below is not photoshopped or anything -
Anyway he's all better now. He lost that bottom tooth at the last house chewing on a door frame when we were at work. He thought "You leave me on my own, I give you a door frame to paint."
- 
Not into his IT as much as he was at the last house though -
Nothing constructive to add (excuse the pun) but I went to a zoo one day and all it had was one dog; Shih Tzu.
Edited by OdramaSwimLaden on Wednesday 24th September 11:31
Odrama, you apologise for the "constructive" pun and then go on to do that st zoo joke. A man after my own heart.
I grew up with my dads cheesy jokes. Here's one of his -
Him: I seen an Elvis impersonator the other night.
Me: Any good?
Him: Better than the last one, he just lay in a coffin for a couple of hours.
Anyway, as ever cheers for the comments guys. Update in a minute.
t zoo joke. A man after my own heart. I grew up with my dads cheesy jokes. Here's one of his -
Him: I seen an Elvis impersonator the other night.
Me: Any good?
Him: Better than the last one, he just lay in a coffin for a couple of hours.
Anyway, as ever cheers for the comments guys. Update in a minute.
Anyway, a non-housey update just because I can.
Pretty fed up with the house this week. Still plodding along but I had a big fallout with next door. I've bent over backwards to keep them informed of the schedule and noise etc. I even stopped work for a week because their daughter was getting married at the weekend. That was a couple of weeks ago so work resumed last week. I promptly got a phone call at work from my neighbour calling me selfish and self-centred and saying that I only care about myself and my house. They viewed the house before us but bought next-door (after we moved in) as our house was too big a project for them, so they knew what was ahead.
I do understand the noise has been bad but we are through the worst of it, just plastering, joinery and decor left. They are just odd though, so I give up. I've been working within the council guidelines of 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, and rarely on a Saturday but if we do it's 8-1. No pleasing some folk though and they'd happily see us live in squaller as long as they had no noise.
So today I decided to to service my wife's Focus with my dad, so it's ready for winter. Once we did that my dad wanted a hand to fit the dash into his MG Midget. He got the car a few years ago after someone wanted rid and one thing led to another, so it's now had a nut and bolt rebuild. It's a rubber bumper one but will still be a lovely little car.
It's painted (but needs flatting and buffing up once the work is finished) and has the engine, suspension, and panels back on. It just needs interior, lights and hood to finish.
Once the Midget is done, my Dad will sort the MGB. He found this in 2012 where it had sat since 1981. 31 years!
It won't be getting a full nut and bolt rebuild like the Midget, but will be thoroughly sorted, resprayed etc. The metal work is done, including new sills etc, but that's all that's done up to now.
Chrome bumper model so will be a pretty little car once finished.
Like I say, a non-housey update tonight, I just wanted a bit of a break. I have done some house stuff, but just mundane tasks, like decorating.
Pretty fed up with the house this week. Still plodding along but I had a big fallout with next door. I've bent over backwards to keep them informed of the schedule and noise etc. I even stopped work for a week because their daughter was getting married at the weekend. That was a couple of weeks ago so work resumed last week. I promptly got a phone call at work from my neighbour calling me selfish and self-centred and saying that I only care about myself and my house. They viewed the house before us but bought next-door (after we moved in) as our house was too big a project for them, so they knew what was ahead.
I do understand the noise has been bad but we are through the worst of it, just plastering, joinery and decor left. They are just odd though, so I give up. I've been working within the council guidelines of 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, and rarely on a Saturday but if we do it's 8-1. No pleasing some folk though and they'd happily see us live in squaller as long as they had no noise.
So today I decided to to service my wife's Focus with my dad, so it's ready for winter. Once we did that my dad wanted a hand to fit the dash into his MG Midget. He got the car a few years ago after someone wanted rid and one thing led to another, so it's now had a nut and bolt rebuild. It's a rubber bumper one but will still be a lovely little car.
It's painted (but needs flatting and buffing up once the work is finished) and has the engine, suspension, and panels back on. It just needs interior, lights and hood to finish.
Once the Midget is done, my Dad will sort the MGB. He found this in 2012 where it had sat since 1981. 31 years!
It won't be getting a full nut and bolt rebuild like the Midget, but will be thoroughly sorted, resprayed etc. The metal work is done, including new sills etc, but that's all that's done up to now.
Chrome bumper model so will be a pretty little car once finished.
Like I say, a non-housey update tonight, I just wanted a bit of a break. I have done some house stuff, but just mundane tasks, like decorating.
Edited by marky911 on Sunday 28th September 23:52
Cheers Benny, yep we've just got to keep on going. Only one way out and that's to finish it.
No updates from you on your thread for a while. I trust everything is flying along nicely though?
Thanks Brother D, yep the windows and new porch have transformed it. I was a bit undecided at first but they are an improvement either way. We had to keep the upstairs frames and just fit new gas filled glass units with the georgian bars, due to budget. Still a big change from page one though eh.
No updates from you on your thread for a while. I trust everything is flying along nicely though?
Thanks Brother D, yep the windows and new porch have transformed it. I was a bit undecided at first but they are an improvement either way. We had to keep the upstairs frames and just fit new gas filled glass units with the georgian bars, due to budget. Still a big change from page one though eh.
Mark house is looking great been a while since I checked in here you've been a busy beaver I see! Sorry to hear that the gt3 had to go but you made the right call. We should combine forces for the 997 purchase to see if we can get a bulk buy discount!
Keep up the good work esp on the classic restos!
Keep up the good work esp on the classic restos!
Marky we're actually putting the roof trusses on at the moment so it will be a big update! I have tonnes of pics but a lot of it is just blocks and bricks so I'll sort through them and make a 'best of' for a thread update. We've had a few challenges, mostly with people letting us down. A farmer friend of my BiL was supposed to be here to today with a loader to help us get the bigger trusses up but didn't show. The guys ended up doing the smaller ones by hand but it'll be impossible with the big ones. So tomorrow we have another farmer friend on standby for the rest. We got our SAP report (took months, we've built the bloody house in the time it took to do it) and thankfully we've escaped having to put on solar panels for the hot water which was a significant outlay. Anyhow I'm hijacking your thread. Good work!
Hi Ravi, yep things still moving along. Hope you got your drive all done nicely? 997!? I'll be lucky if I get back into a 986. You should be able to bag yourself a nice 997 for sensible money soon though especially with winter coming.
Benny - Sounds like the house is flying up. I'll keep an eye out for an update. Don't worry about a thread hijack. Anything goes on my threads.
Hi Eggs, here are a few quick snaps I took tonight. The builders were going to board straight across the bottom of the 2 purlins to form the flat central part of the ceiling but we thought it would be nice to make a feature of the purlins. The builder went across from the top edge of the purlins instead and we had the purlins plastered as we didn't want exposed wood. They weren't oak or anything.
Anyway, must dash. Off to work.
You should be able to bag yourself a nice 997 for sensible money soon though especially with winter coming. Benny - Sounds like the house is flying up. I'll keep an eye out for an update. Don't worry about a thread hijack. Anything goes on my threads.
Hi Eggs, here are a few quick snaps I took tonight. The builders were going to board straight across the bottom of the 2 purlins to form the flat central part of the ceiling but we thought it would be nice to make a feature of the purlins. The builder went across from the top edge of the purlins instead and we had the purlins plastered as we didn't want exposed wood. They weren't oak or anything.
Anyway, must dash. Off to work.
Just spend 40 minutes reading all of this. All I can say is well done on all your hard work! This truly is a big project but I can totally see why you bought the house! Really interested to see how the farmer gets into his field as the access road looks really tight from the pictures. Hope you can get an arial shot.
Neighbours are always a pain what I don't get is why be awkward and arsey when you have to live next to them for 10+ years. Why not support and get on with them as I've found from my parents that it makes living next to people is so much more pleasant!
Looking forward to seeing the kitchen finished! Love seeing good kitchens and by reading this I reckon it's going to be pretty nice!
Rich
Neighbours are always a pain what I don't get is why be awkward and arsey when you have to live next to them for 10+ years. Why not support and get on with them as I've found from my parents that it makes living next to people is so much more pleasant!
Looking forward to seeing the kitchen finished! Love seeing good kitchens and by reading this I reckon it's going to be pretty nice!
Rich
richatnort said:
Just spend 40 minutes reading all of this. All I can say is well done on all your hard work! This truly is a big project but I can totally see why you bought the house! Really interested to see how the farmer gets into his field as the access road looks really tight from the pictures. Hope you can get an arial shot.
Neighbours are always a pain what I don't get is why be awkward and arsey when you have to live next to them for 10+ years. Why not support and get on with them as I've found from my parents that it makes living next to people is so much more pleasant!
Looking forward to seeing the kitchen finished! Love seeing good kitchens and by reading this I reckon it's going to be pretty nice!
Rich
Thanks for the comments Rich! Yep that access lane is tight alright. Literally a few inches to spare. It doesn't help that just like cars, tractors have increased in size considerably over the years. Neighbours are always a pain what I don't get is why be awkward and arsey when you have to live next to them for 10+ years. Why not support and get on with them as I've found from my parents that it makes living next to people is so much more pleasant!
Looking forward to seeing the kitchen finished! Love seeing good kitchens and by reading this I reckon it's going to be pretty nice!
Rich
I totally agree regarding neighbours. I always try and get on with people. It makes all the difference and makes a place feel like home. My joiner currently doing our staircase and doors etc is a mate/neighbour who lived opposite us at our last house. He was at the house the other day when next door came round to complain about the noise as they wanted a lie in. It was 9.10am on a Tuesday morning. They only work 2 days a week as they're semi-retired at 53. I can't model my life and project on them though, when builders and workmen work Monday to Friday from 8am. Unfortunately they are making things pretty impossible. Don't get me wrong they've had a lot of noise to put up with since July but I've always warned them and kept them up to date every step of the way.
They just want to rule the roost though and we had our differences even before the work started. The more I try and accommodate them, the more they try and dictate.
It's a strange feeling when someone thinks of you as the bad neighbour. All I want to do is provide a nice home for my wife and stepdaughters. None of the noise is intentional or out of malice.
I'd give some examples of what's gone on but I'm not one for airing my dirty laundry publicly.
We are planning the kitchen now with the aim of having it done by Xmas. It won't be out of this world but will be good quality, well thought out and well installed, like the rest of the house.
I was adamant I wanted stone worktops but we've actually found a wooden one that we both went "ooh" straight away at, so we'll see. We are having trouble deciding on classic or contemporary too. We thought farmhousey but then we saw a lovely modern one. Time will tell.
Edited by marky911 on Thursday 2nd October 02:01
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