First House Renovation / Do-er upper
Discussion
Harry Flashman said:
Congratulations!
On the burner I have a Gallery Classic 5 in my flat, in the TV room (4m x 3m) and it has been great, and far too much heat for the small room: it could heat something double the volume I think. Relatively cheap at £400 delivered, and no issues over 4 winters.
You probably have central heating as well though don't you?On the burner I have a Gallery Classic 5 in my flat, in the TV room (4m x 3m) and it has been great, and far too much heat for the small room: it could heat something double the volume I think. Relatively cheap at £400 delivered, and no issues over 4 winters.
Thanks all! So it's been a busy few days since thursday evening! Keys picked up after work..
You might remember the old electric fireplace:
..which was taken out straight away friday evening and the old back boiler was taken out to leave bricked up / closed fireplace which we knocked out to leave a very nice, large inglehook with a very nice slate lintel and an already lined flue, winner winner!
Wallpaper was all stripped in the downstairs living room And ceiling artex was also taken down and de-nailed to re-wire and plaster board the ceiling after stripping all the house. I've decided to re-plaster the whole house and all the ceilings to make sure it's all plumb and square. Looks like we're going backwards but i think i have a plan! Carpet also thrown out.
Also finally, started to strip the kitchen tiles and units. Finishing this is the next task.
Bought myself some new toys from screwfix too, an axe, mitre saw and a couple of new hammers.. See how much mess i can make this weekend.
Dion
You might remember the old electric fireplace:
..which was taken out straight away friday evening and the old back boiler was taken out to leave bricked up / closed fireplace which we knocked out to leave a very nice, large inglehook with a very nice slate lintel and an already lined flue, winner winner!
Wallpaper was all stripped in the downstairs living room And ceiling artex was also taken down and de-nailed to re-wire and plaster board the ceiling after stripping all the house. I've decided to re-plaster the whole house and all the ceilings to make sure it's all plumb and square. Looks like we're going backwards but i think i have a plan! Carpet also thrown out.
Also finally, started to strip the kitchen tiles and units. Finishing this is the next task.
Bought myself some new toys from screwfix too, an axe, mitre saw and a couple of new hammers.. See how much mess i can make this weekend.
Dion
A little progress - Doesn't seem like much but de-cluttering and sorting everything out has taken longer than anything else in the room.
So Took all the flooring up to reveal a relatively new/fresh concrete floor with waterproof/damp proof membrane underneath.
Radiators have been taken off. All rubble disposed of in the local tip (5 trips!) and stair banisters as well as the wall in the top of the landing which has also been ripped out - I plan on fitting banisters here instead to keep it light.
so a few pictures, I can finally see progress now the place is cleared:
Before:
After (Much Lighter)
My mate lending a hand!
In other news, Kitchen is also nearly stripped (No pictures unfortunately..) and I've bought a very good condition second hand full kitchen (Minus cooker) for £200 that fits perfectly to the sizes I already had and leaves me 3 spare cupboards too!
Here it is still fitted to the sellers' house. It's being removed in March which is absolutely ideal for me.
In the middle of taking the skirtings off and finishing the fireplace then it's on to finishing stripping the kitchen, progress finally!
Dion
So Took all the flooring up to reveal a relatively new/fresh concrete floor with waterproof/damp proof membrane underneath.
Radiators have been taken off. All rubble disposed of in the local tip (5 trips!) and stair banisters as well as the wall in the top of the landing which has also been ripped out - I plan on fitting banisters here instead to keep it light.
so a few pictures, I can finally see progress now the place is cleared:
Before:
After (Much Lighter)
My mate lending a hand!
In other news, Kitchen is also nearly stripped (No pictures unfortunately..) and I've bought a very good condition second hand full kitchen (Minus cooker) for £200 that fits perfectly to the sizes I already had and leaves me 3 spare cupboards too!
Here it is still fitted to the sellers' house. It's being removed in March which is absolutely ideal for me.
In the middle of taking the skirtings off and finishing the fireplace then it's on to finishing stripping the kitchen, progress finally!
Dion
I'm looking at ideas as of what to do with the stairs - should I be replacing the banister with something similar and adding the same upstairs? or replacing? I don't know enough about stairs to be making a decision!
Looked into putting spindles but i feel like it would be closing it up again?
Any ideas welcomed.
Dion
Looked into putting spindles but i feel like it would be closing it up again?
Any ideas welcomed.
Dion
Thanks both
Really not sure what to do with the stairs. The pole at the end of the stairs to the ceiling has been taken out as it wasn't holding anything - just decorative. So the stairs are totally open to use whatever option (Within reason) I want. I'd also like a matching style on the top of the landing area.
White with wooden (Pine or oak) handrail on the top is the only real constraint at the moment but I'm happy to listen to other options.
Cladding (£580), Gripfill solvent free Yellow (£125 for 45 tubes) tanked floor and shower former floor ordered for the bathroom too.. Feels Like progress!!
Dion
Really not sure what to do with the stairs. The pole at the end of the stairs to the ceiling has been taken out as it wasn't holding anything - just decorative. So the stairs are totally open to use whatever option (Within reason) I want. I'd also like a matching style on the top of the landing area.
White with wooden (Pine or oak) handrail on the top is the only real constraint at the moment but I'm happy to listen to other options.
Cladding (£580), Gripfill solvent free Yellow (£125 for 45 tubes) tanked floor and shower former floor ordered for the bathroom too.. Feels Like progress!!
Dion
So, few more bits and bobs done, Kitchen more or less stripped, a few small bits of stud wall taken out to open up and first scratch coat on the chimney breast ready for either plastering a or spot/dabbing fireproof plasterboard onto it.. Decided to leave the slate as a nice feature.
Fireplace - First time at plastering, had a friend round showing me what to do for the first few go's.. few places need filling in as the gaps are quite large, but getting flatter every coat. I'm very happy with it, and happier that i got to learn a new skill (sort of!)
This is how the 'living room' looked during this..
Stairs now fully clear ready for spindles and carpet taken off ready for joiner to come around. (Not chancing this myself as they're very expensive to get wrong)
And some of you may have read the start of the thread where I mentioned that the lady that lived here previous was a heavy smoker, before pricing up new windows I thought i'd try to clean them first as they're only 2 years old.. No real 'after' shots yet but a 50/50 using Autosmart Evo3 cutting compound on a polishing sponge.
Before:
After-ish:
Master bedroom Wallpaper and skirtings mid-stripping:
That's where we're at up to now, back bedroom is being left til last as I keep all the 'new' stuff and all tools etc. there so the rest of the house is empty always.
Electrician coming tonight to have a look as I'm replacing downstairs with downlighters, is there anything I should/could do before he arrives to make his life easier and save myself some dosh?
Any comments are welcome.
Dion
Fireplace - First time at plastering, had a friend round showing me what to do for the first few go's.. few places need filling in as the gaps are quite large, but getting flatter every coat. I'm very happy with it, and happier that i got to learn a new skill (sort of!)
This is how the 'living room' looked during this..
Stairs now fully clear ready for spindles and carpet taken off ready for joiner to come around. (Not chancing this myself as they're very expensive to get wrong)
And some of you may have read the start of the thread where I mentioned that the lady that lived here previous was a heavy smoker, before pricing up new windows I thought i'd try to clean them first as they're only 2 years old.. No real 'after' shots yet but a 50/50 using Autosmart Evo3 cutting compound on a polishing sponge.
Before:
After-ish:
Master bedroom Wallpaper and skirtings mid-stripping:
That's where we're at up to now, back bedroom is being left til last as I keep all the 'new' stuff and all tools etc. there so the rest of the house is empty always.
Electrician coming tonight to have a look as I'm replacing downstairs with downlighters, is there anything I should/could do before he arrives to make his life easier and save myself some dosh?
Any comments are welcome.
Dion
Those windows look like theyre externally beaded judging by the lack of bead on the inside, which means billy burglar could just pop a strip out and remove the window if he liked. Theyre very heavily stained so I think if I was doing a job, i'd be looking to get them replaced now before you start plastering any of the walls. I assisted BiL when he moved into a house which had been lived in by a heavy smoker and it was a complete strip out as the smell sticks to everything. I dread to think of what her lungs looked like if the house looked like it did. Yours looks very similar.
Electrician came round last night and He's happy for me to do all the first fixing. Should learn a little as we go along, then a case of him connecting everything up - makes it a lot easier seeing as there's no ceilings.
Also Joiner has been and priced everything up - should be getting started in a few weeks on the stairs, labour was priced at £250 inc. vat for three newel posts and putting all the stairs together (Spindles every 100mm) and enging etc. £200 inc. for fitting skirting boards to the whole house, (Kitchen, Living room, Two bedrooms and landind area), £70 for fitting and Jigging the new worktops and £30 per door inc. for hanging them, planing and fitting handles and latches. I thought that his prices were more than reasonable.
Dion
Also Joiner has been and priced everything up - should be getting started in a few weeks on the stairs, labour was priced at £250 inc. vat for three newel posts and putting all the stairs together (Spindles every 100mm) and enging etc. £200 inc. for fitting skirting boards to the whole house, (Kitchen, Living room, Two bedrooms and landind area), £70 for fitting and Jigging the new worktops and £30 per door inc. for hanging them, planing and fitting handles and latches. I thought that his prices were more than reasonable.
Dion
dionbee93 said:
£200 inc. for fitting skirting boards to the whole house, (Kitchen, Living room, Two bedrooms and landind area),
Thats a job you can do yourself pretty easily. Buy a mitre saw and off you go. If he really can do it all for £200 then I'd pay him, seems stupidly cheap to me. Also you've done far more in 2 weeks than I have in 2 years at home! The joys of being able to work with an empty house.
So, everyone (Sparkies, Joiners, plumbers, HETAS engineers and plasterers) Priced the jobs, Haggled and re-priced to to the point I'm happy with.
Only thing I've not yet set a price on is Double glazing as the prices seem to vary SO much! is there a reliable online seller that I can use?
So..
I'm plasterboarding this weekend, Electrician first fixing during today, plasterer doing the kitchen next weekend, and Plumber in tomorrow stripping and capping the bathroom so I can clad it during half term week when I'm off.
I'm getting the kitchen and bathroom 100% finished before I move on with anything else just to see if any plumbing needs sorting before I cover it with plaster boards. Seems logical to me, but it is my first house renovation!
Looking forward to the progress but my bank account is just decreasing faster than I can work to top it up!!!
Dion.
Only thing I've not yet set a price on is Double glazing as the prices seem to vary SO much! is there a reliable online seller that I can use?
So..
I'm plasterboarding this weekend, Electrician first fixing during today, plasterer doing the kitchen next weekend, and Plumber in tomorrow stripping and capping the bathroom so I can clad it during half term week when I'm off.
I'm getting the kitchen and bathroom 100% finished before I move on with anything else just to see if any plumbing needs sorting before I cover it with plaster boards. Seems logical to me, but it is my first house renovation!
Looking forward to the progress but my bank account is just decreasing faster than I can work to top it up!!!
Dion.
Only Photo update as of now.. The Log burner. Believed to be a £1000 + Villager Stove/unit approx 6-7KW and around 20-25 years old, Cast iron built. Was fitted in a holiday home and was lit occasionally (Maybe twice a year) bought for a bargain £200 and spent £100 on new fire bricks, fire rope, glass and coated in a fresh coat of stove paint. A new spanner was also bought open the doors as the original had gone walkies..
So.. here she is ready to fit!
Love it - New liner needed as the previous one fitted (Although not old) is only 5" compared to the 6" stove and is a gas only flue. Gutted at having to spend £270 for a new one but better in the long run as I know it's done properly.
Looking for a chimney pot and the black enamel pipe for the top of the stove now.
Dion
So.. here she is ready to fit!
Love it - New liner needed as the previous one fitted (Although not old) is only 5" compared to the 6" stove and is a gas only flue. Gutted at having to spend £270 for a new one but better in the long run as I know it's done properly.
Looking for a chimney pot and the black enamel pipe for the top of the stove now.
Dion
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