Discussion
Here it is! I've finally got out from under my parents feet and bought my first house!
No not the little yellow and green one on the right (although that's mine too), the big brick one on the left.
With this, life has suddenly got serious, bills to pay, much cleaning to be done and plenty of DIY and decorating.
Overall it's in pretty good nick inside and out just lots of little jobs like filling the gazillion screw holes in the walls.
First on the list however is this:
This is a picture of my kitchen ceiling which is rather annoyingly, directly below the shower tray in the upstairs bathroom.
The shower tray flexes probably 2mm and as such, the silicone sealant has come away. I cut away and thoroughly cleaned the offending sealant and reapplied it but I think the amount of flex is just too much to get away with. Unless I apply the sealant and sit in the shower tray for 24 hours straight
So my first question is how to solve this? I want to paint the kitchen but don't really want to start until I've cured this. Because of tiles down to the shower tray and a tiled floor I can't really see that the tray can be removed so I'm looking at either a better way of applying sealant or supporting the shower tray better by sliding something under it.
As far as DIY goes I'm a willing amateur but happy to get a decent tradesman out if that's what's needed.
I'm hoping to run this thread as a sort of blog with many questions along the way. Next on the agenda will be all of the exterior woodwork. Eaves, decking, hot tub, garage side door all need attention. From reading around here Liberon Deck Oil seems to come quite highly recommended so most likely the product I'll use. However I'll have questions on how to prepare my decking before application, ask for opinions on colours for each item or just all clear oil?
I've been having a read through the definitive GU10 thread as pretty much every bulb in my house is a GU10 and many already need replacing. My lounge light fitting is a star shape with 10 tiny 10w bulbs in, 3 of which work.
However it's not all bad news. The previous owners have left quite nice curtains or fitted blinds in every room, as well as the biggest wardrobe I've ever seen in the master bedroom. Seriously, I going to have to go the full Barney Stinson to get even close to filling it.
The Wendy house in the garden is a bit odd for a 26 year old bloke living on his own, as is the trampoline that was also left.
Having read the thread about odd things sellers do I was quite pleased to have dealt with a really nice couple. Really pleasant people and when I got the keys there was a lovely card and a 6 pack of beers waiting for me in the kitchen!
Well I think that's it for now, I'll carry on wandering around with my sander and filler. There were lots of pictures all on 2" screws, not a picture hook in sight!
Sam.
No not the little yellow and green one on the right (although that's mine too), the big brick one on the left.
With this, life has suddenly got serious, bills to pay, much cleaning to be done and plenty of DIY and decorating.
Overall it's in pretty good nick inside and out just lots of little jobs like filling the gazillion screw holes in the walls.
First on the list however is this:
This is a picture of my kitchen ceiling which is rather annoyingly, directly below the shower tray in the upstairs bathroom.
The shower tray flexes probably 2mm and as such, the silicone sealant has come away. I cut away and thoroughly cleaned the offending sealant and reapplied it but I think the amount of flex is just too much to get away with. Unless I apply the sealant and sit in the shower tray for 24 hours straight
So my first question is how to solve this? I want to paint the kitchen but don't really want to start until I've cured this. Because of tiles down to the shower tray and a tiled floor I can't really see that the tray can be removed so I'm looking at either a better way of applying sealant or supporting the shower tray better by sliding something under it.
As far as DIY goes I'm a willing amateur but happy to get a decent tradesman out if that's what's needed.
I'm hoping to run this thread as a sort of blog with many questions along the way. Next on the agenda will be all of the exterior woodwork. Eaves, decking, hot tub, garage side door all need attention. From reading around here Liberon Deck Oil seems to come quite highly recommended so most likely the product I'll use. However I'll have questions on how to prepare my decking before application, ask for opinions on colours for each item or just all clear oil?
I've been having a read through the definitive GU10 thread as pretty much every bulb in my house is a GU10 and many already need replacing. My lounge light fitting is a star shape with 10 tiny 10w bulbs in, 3 of which work.
However it's not all bad news. The previous owners have left quite nice curtains or fitted blinds in every room, as well as the biggest wardrobe I've ever seen in the master bedroom. Seriously, I going to have to go the full Barney Stinson to get even close to filling it.
The Wendy house in the garden is a bit odd for a 26 year old bloke living on his own, as is the trampoline that was also left.
Having read the thread about odd things sellers do I was quite pleased to have dealt with a really nice couple. Really pleasant people and when I got the keys there was a lovely card and a 6 pack of beers waiting for me in the kitchen!
Well I think that's it for now, I'll carry on wandering around with my sander and filler. There were lots of pictures all on 2" screws, not a picture hook in sight!
Sam.
BFG TERRANO said:
f
k the leak..... But a ride on mower! Nice first place!
k the leak..... But a ride on mower! Nice first place!
The garden really doesn't justify it, shame really. Not really a website I want to admit it on, but my mower is electric...
Though again another question when I get round to it, how to rid my lawn of all those sodding daisies?
blade7 said:
Detached with a garage for a first place 
Tell me you had to sell something dear to you like I did 
.
I have got very lucky with landing a good job. Coupled with getting on well with my parents who both agreed they'd rather put up with me for longer and see me save up and buy a place rather than move out for the sake of it and rent somewhere. Tell me you had to sell something dear to you like I did .My main criteria was that is needed to be detached and have a garage. Most in my price range (<£200k) were 2-3 bed and usually bungalows with pokey little gardens. Or a wreck of a house with a mahoosive garden. Then I found this and now have 4 bedrooms. Not sure what I'm going to do with them all yet but I'm seriously considering rent a room. I know I can afford it all without renting a room but it'd be a good way to stave off interest rate rises.
Matt.. said:
I also have just got my first place, and have exactly the same joyous task
It's a tiny terrace, but the number of nails/screws that were left in the wall was amazing. I have a horrible feeling i'll struggle to make them all unnoticeable once paint is done!
I've spent so much time in Homebase and Screwfix in the last week. You'll no doubt be the same!
My only tip so far (i know nothing about DIY... yet) would be to buy lots of those rubber flexible tubs/buckets. They are really useful.
I bought myself a little palm sander and it was only around £20. Paid for itself already sanding down the dozen or so holes I've filled so far. Honestly don't care how long it lasts It's a tiny terrace, but the number of nails/screws that were left in the wall was amazing. I have a horrible feeling i'll struggle to make them all unnoticeable once paint is done!
I've spent so much time in Homebase and Screwfix in the last week. You'll no doubt be the same!
My only tip so far (i know nothing about DIY... yet) would be to buy lots of those rubber flexible tubs/buckets. They are really useful.
Gretchen said:
That looks great. I'd happily rent the little yellow playhouse with it's own garage!! Looks like it has a decent roof on it. I bet it's got a mezzanine level too. Let me know if you want to sell it.
The MDF garage doors are a bit warped but other than that its rather swanky. A sort of felt tile roofing and the garage is the perfect place to keep the mower. It might get painted a slightly more manly colour at some point but I'll be keeping it as a garden shed as the proper garage is somewhat snug with the car in it.
Steve_W said:
Congratulations - very nice indeed.
BTW, if that's a bird table outside the back door, how big are the birds round your way; it looks about 3 foot across??!
I'll have you know my bird table is a modest 35" across. I've been assured by the neighbours that the dish is non functional. Purely for decoration then? I didn't ask.BTW, if that's a bird table outside the back door, how big are the birds round your way; it looks about 3 foot across??!
I'm 26 by the way, I've just had an exceptionally modest social life and, for the last 9 months at least, a good job.
As to why they left the tub. There's a narrow path down one side of the house and it's not fitting through the garage. It tips the scales at around 350-400kg dry so would need craning over the house. Access out the front would probably need quite a hefty, long reach crane, plus a truck to deliver it on. More hassle than it's worth I reckon.
Will be interested to see how much my leccy bill is running the thing. Debating getting a water meter as its only me living here but I will use 1700 litres every time I change the water...
Edited by samdale on Tuesday 15th July 21:21
B17NNS said:
Gretchen said:
Friend says about £30 a week running costs.
Sounds a bit high. A quick google suggests less that £20 per month.https://www.hottubbarn.co.uk/hot-tubs/info/running...
It's areas like this where people with PV panels win big time.
blade7 said:
samdale said:
Debating getting a water meter as its only me living here but I will use 1700 litres every time I change the water...
There's 3 people living in my detached house, when we switched to a water meter our bill was cut by over 50%. How often do you need to change the water in the tub ?As it is I can wash my car as often as I like, change the hot tub water as often as I like, hell even get a sprinkler on the lawn with plenty of feed and get the lovely stripey lawn I've always wanted. However if in a few months time I feel I need to economise then I'll look into it.
monthefish said:
An alternative product that does similar is Trimlux
Unfortunately I don't think either product would be suitable.Down the 2 sides would be fine but at the rear the tray is pretty much flush with the tiles so no where to stick the bottom bit to.
I've had the front off it and it does look a bit unsupported towards the edge. However I'm really reluctant to have the tray out as it would require quite a lot of tiles to be moved/broken
As for redoing the whole lot, there's a lot of tiles, I quite like it and it's quite new. One of the reasons I bought the house is I didn't really want a fixer-upper. Both bathrooms done recent, kitchen and new boiler more recent than that. Just a bit of decorating and sprucing, no big (read expensive) tasks.
Edited by samdale on Wednesday 16th July 14:30
Craikeybaby said:
That looks like a great first house! I bet the lack of social life and living with your folks feels like it was worth it now.
Am I the only person that made good all the picture holes when I sold my last place, I thought you were meant to do that.
Totally worth it! And now I won't be able to afford a social life... Am I the only person that made good all the picture holes when I sold my last place, I thought you were meant to do that.
This is what I've had out of the walls so far. Not including holes left by the 4 wall mounted TVs, the screws from which have been taken...
Right this shower tray. As had been suggested it looks like the best course of action is get someone to rip it out and start again.
The pic below shows a view underneath down the offending leaking side. The timber it's sat on is around 1.5" square. What's that the tray is sat on, a piece of chipboard? And the wood doesn't look like it's on a flat solid base at all, nothing underneath it along its whole length. No wonder it flexes so much!
The pic below shows a view underneath down the offending leaking side. The timber it's sat on is around 1.5" square. What's that the tray is sat on, a piece of chipboard? And the wood doesn't look like it's on a flat solid base at all, nothing underneath it along its whole length. No wonder it flexes so much!
AB said:
Indeed!
Looks lovely. I'd love a hot tub. Been thinking about it and I'd like to hear from you in a few months as to how much it actually gets used. I told the OH we'd use it every other day minimum but in reality... Would we?
I'm hoping to do some tests on running costs too. Use it for say 20 mins per night for a month and enter some meter readings online. Then just leave it idling for a month then finally completely drain it and turn it off for a while.Looks lovely. I'd love a hot tub. Been thinking about it and I'd like to hear from you in a few months as to how much it actually gets used. I told the OH we'd use it every other day minimum but in reality... Would we?
In the mean time there's decking to prepare, showers to fix and all manner of sanding and painting to be done
Right well I'm back on shift this week and then I'll start phoning around for a couple of quotes for the shower.
In the mean time I want to gather the things I need to treat my decking. I'm looking at using clear liberon deck oil. But what do I use to prepare the deck? Soap and water? Just a stiff bristle brush or wire brush? Want to get everything bought so when I get a few days clear weather I can just go for it.
Also got a couple of bits where the lawn had encroached and made the end of a couple of timbers start to rot. Turf has been cut back but is there any product the can be used to treat the ends and vault the rot?
In the mean time I want to gather the things I need to treat my decking. I'm looking at using clear liberon deck oil. But what do I use to prepare the deck? Soap and water? Just a stiff bristle brush or wire brush? Want to get everything bought so when I get a few days clear weather I can just go for it.
Also got a couple of bits where the lawn had encroached and made the end of a couple of timbers start to rot. Turf has been cut back but is there any product the can be used to treat the ends and vault the rot?
Well a friends pressure washer should be arriving today so I can make a start on my decking.
And look what else has arrived!
A box in a box in a box revealed this.
FYI I ordered from Jpenny Ltd (no connection). They seem to be doing a deal on 10litres with free next day fedex £52.44.
Quick before pic.
Watch this space
Sam.
And look what else has arrived!
A box in a box in a box revealed this.
FYI I ordered from Jpenny Ltd (no connection). They seem to be doing a deal on 10litres with free next day fedex £52.44.
Quick before pic.
Watch this space
Sam.
OK so the decking is still as is due to lack of pressure washer. Painting a room was done instead. For reasons that will remain secret for now, I need to find some 2mm sheets of clear acrylic. A dozen 500x700mm sheets should do, as cheap as possible. Only thing I can think of so far is them frameless picture frames but that works out quite expensive... Any ideas?
Well my "clip frames that aren't clip frames" project is well under way and around 60% complete. However I'm getting rather bored of all the blu-tacking...
In other news I have a true first world problem. My hot tub heater seems to have stopped working just 2 weeks before my house warming party. Continuity/resistance in heater seems fine but no voltage being supplied from the PCB. I suspect it's a problem with the control relay which seems to mean a new PCB, a £750+ part 
if anyone knows anything about hot tub repair that would be great. Its an '05 Arctic spa cub for reference
In other news I have a true first world problem. My hot tub heater seems to have stopped working just 2 weeks before my house warming party
. Continuity/resistance in heater seems fine but no voltage being supplied from the PCB. I suspect it's a problem with the control relay which seems to mean a new PCB, a £750+ part if anyone knows anything about hot tub repair that would be great. Its an '05 Arctic spa cub for referenceGassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff