Rutter's House renovation
Discussion
Not sure if this will get much interest but its a good way for me to document the changes etc as they happen and to listen to constructive criticism of any plans we make. Don't get your hopes up for anything too exciting as its just a 70s 3 bed semi!
We moved in 2 weeks ago and plan to make a few changes to the house in order to make if better suit our needs.
This is the original floorplan
Here is my mspaint amended one to show the changes we intend to make.
The main work will be to knock through the wall between the kitchen and dining room, block up the back door to window height and replace with a larger window.
Create a partion wall between lounge and diner to create a separate room.
We will also be making changes to the central storage cupboard, this originally housed the warm air heating system but we intend to utilise the space by housing the kitchen fridge.
Upstairs there is not so much work, we just plan to take the fitted wardrobe from bedroom 2 and use it for a very large wardrobe in bedroom 1. To be where the mirrors are in the pic below:
New windows, french doors to replace the patio ones and a new composite front door are first on the list and should be ordered this week.
New boiler was never really planned until day 5 of living here when the electric shower exploded mid shower. The loft had 3 water tanks in various stages of decay so we decided to replace the aging system with a new combi boiler which we have had installed in the loft. a couple of pics of the state of the old system mid changes.
We went with an ideal Vogue boiler, i think its a 32kw so should be fine for the two of us.
Here is my temporary shower fix until I have time to fill the hole left by the old shower and patch in some tiles!
We are looking at new kitchen ideas currently, here are a couple of the proposed ideas
That gets us pretty much up to date for now, I hope to update this regularly as things progress, as before any suggestions or improvements are welcome. We are still getting quotes for the building work so fingers crossed we can get it done within a reasonable budget.
We moved in 2 weeks ago and plan to make a few changes to the house in order to make if better suit our needs.
This is the original floorplan
Here is my mspaint amended one to show the changes we intend to make.
The main work will be to knock through the wall between the kitchen and dining room, block up the back door to window height and replace with a larger window.
Create a partion wall between lounge and diner to create a separate room.
We will also be making changes to the central storage cupboard, this originally housed the warm air heating system but we intend to utilise the space by housing the kitchen fridge.
Upstairs there is not so much work, we just plan to take the fitted wardrobe from bedroom 2 and use it for a very large wardrobe in bedroom 1. To be where the mirrors are in the pic below:
New windows, french doors to replace the patio ones and a new composite front door are first on the list and should be ordered this week.
New boiler was never really planned until day 5 of living here when the electric shower exploded mid shower. The loft had 3 water tanks in various stages of decay so we decided to replace the aging system with a new combi boiler which we have had installed in the loft. a couple of pics of the state of the old system mid changes.
We went with an ideal Vogue boiler, i think its a 32kw so should be fine for the two of us.
Here is my temporary shower fix until I have time to fill the hole left by the old shower and patch in some tiles!
We are looking at new kitchen ideas currently, here are a couple of the proposed ideas
That gets us pretty much up to date for now, I hope to update this regularly as things progress, as before any suggestions or improvements are welcome. We are still getting quotes for the building work so fingers crossed we can get it done within a reasonable budget.
singlecoil said:
That appears to the the same kitchen from two different angles? What make is it?
Looks like a very interesting and exciting project, keep us updated.
You are indeed correct I misworded the OP, we have only had one design proposed so far, and that is from both angles. It is a company called Springhill, an irish company trying to break into the UK market apparently. colours wise etc its not what we are after merely a suggested layout.Looks like a very interesting and exciting project, keep us updated.
illmonkey said:
1. Subscribed.
2. that kitchen looks very impratical. Thin walk way between wall and the bar area, oven only acccessable from 1 side.
We are still getting some ideas for the layout at the moment, its trying to squeeze as much into a relatively small space. Oven wise we were always going to go with a base level under the hob, but the planner suggested an eye level combi oven. good point about the narrow walkway tough, we need to check widths etc to make sure its practical.2. that kitchen looks very impratical. Thin walk way between wall and the bar area, oven only acccessable from 1 side.
hornetrider said:
You appear to have moved the downstairs loo door to open into the kitchen. This is a tactical mistake.
Edit: just noticed it is a cupboard. Carry on. /coat.
We had planned on putting a front porch on the house as the hallway is quite wide and could fit a cloakroom but with all the other costs it will have to wait for now, that and the fact that waste wise it would likely need a macerator as the soil pipe is at the back corner of the kitchen.Edit: just noticed it is a cupboard. Carry on. /coat.
Edited by hornetrider on Tuesday 24th February 13:32
The cupboard is currently underused space so we feel it would make more sense to put a fridge in there to free up cupboard space in the kitchen as per the 2nd picture of the proposed layout.
hornetrider said:
I understand the reasoning, however where will you put your hoover? Ironing board/iron? Shoes and coats? Other 'stuff' that you need to put away etc? Will you be using one of the bedrooms for this type of stuff?
All good points. Hoover and smaller bits will go in the under the stairs cupboard. Coats etc there should be room in the hallway on a coat hook thing, maybe a shoe storage jobbie too. Ironing board could go in the airing cupboard upstairs, until yesterday this was full of hot water cylinder so i will build some shelves for towels and bedding but this could go in there, or potentially there could be storage next to the fridge in the kitchen as the cupboard is pretty big so could accommodate more than just a fridge.The house we moved out of was a new build and had absolutely zero storage of any kind, even the airing cupboard was full of solar water tanks etc so cupboard wise we don't (currently...) have enough stuff to fill everything!
Bluebarge said:
I would think hard about creating space for a second loo, possibly under the stairs if there is sufficient room. One bathroom for 3 beds is a bit light these days, especially if those other bedroons are going to be used by guests or kids.
I do agree with you, we came from a 3 bed with family bathroom, ensuite to the main and a downstairs cloakroom so I know exactly where you are coming from. Under the stairs just wouldn't have the ceiling height and rerouting the gas and electric meters would be expensive. The only place we could really fit one would be in the hallway at the front with a possible porch extension but this would require a macerator which neither of us are keen on really.furtive said:
As you are opening up the current dining room to the kitche, have you considered swapping the two rooms around so the current diner becomes the kitchen? More scope for a better layout then as you haven't got a door opening into it, so you have 3 full walls to play with
We did consider it at great length! I agree it would be a better use of space but rerouting the waste worked out prohibitively expensive due to the french doors etc and funds are tight enough for the work we are planning as it is.singlecoil said:
I quite like having the oven in a tower, it's good from the user's point of view. In terms of space utilisation it uses up 600mm of worktop space and can feel a bit bulky, but it also means there's 600mm of under worktop space available for drawers or cupboards.
So on the whole I think the layout proposed is quite a good one, it just needs tweaking. Consideration needs to be given to the worktop material. If it's to be laminate (easily the least inexpensive option) then that will make if difficult or impossible to put a generous radius on the outboard corners of the peninsula. If you use wood or any other material that is homogeneous such as granite or Quartz then you can put a bit of overhang on the end and curve it.
I don't like the end panel of the peninsula going all the way to the ground like that. As well as creating difficult to clean floor areas it means no foot space for anyone standing at the end of the peninsula (as people tend to do).
Attention needs to be paid to the handing of the doors, one of the doors on the side of the peninsula facing the dining room opens the wrong way in the drawing.
I like to see plenty of drawers in kitchens, they are somewhat more expensive than plain cupboards but they make the space easy to use, we have all our pans and crockery in large drawers and are much easier to access than they would be in cupboards.
Great suggestions, looking at your profile it would appear you probably know your stuff, if you wanted to come take a look and give your ideas it would be welcomed.So on the whole I think the layout proposed is quite a good one, it just needs tweaking. Consideration needs to be given to the worktop material. If it's to be laminate (easily the least inexpensive option) then that will make if difficult or impossible to put a generous radius on the outboard corners of the peninsula. If you use wood or any other material that is homogeneous such as granite or Quartz then you can put a bit of overhang on the end and curve it.
I don't like the end panel of the peninsula going all the way to the ground like that. As well as creating difficult to clean floor areas it means no foot space for anyone standing at the end of the peninsula (as people tend to do).
Attention needs to be paid to the handing of the doors, one of the doors on the side of the peninsula facing the dining room opens the wrong way in the drawing.
I like to see plenty of drawers in kitchens, they are somewhat more expensive than plain cupboards but they make the space easy to use, we have all our pans and crockery in large drawers and are much easier to access than they would be in cupboards.
We had a kitchen consultation last night and will be going to a single oven as the pictured one with an additional combination oven was just too much for us to stretch to, so we will need to make room for our existing microwave.
I hadn't thought of the end panel and do agree with you, so will mention that to them. The walkway is at least 800mm so should be wide enough I feel.
Door wise the peninsula one you mention that opens the wrong way is actually the washing machine with a small cupboard to the right of it, it would appear the designer left off the handle for this...
Drawers wise we are going for a 600mm 3 stack below the hob and another 2 stack below the oven.
I hope to have the drawings and quotation back today so will put them up as I get them.
furtive said:
BoRED S2upid said:
You don't get many bricking up openings to create smaller rooms now it's all open plan. However I'm a big fan of separate living rooms and kitchen diners as if your like us the kitchen can get a bit messy nice to keep the kitchen smells away from the living room too.
I would be tempted to put some french doors between the living room and the dining room though, rather than block it off comopletelyGot a bit of prep work done this weekend. The wife started on the skirting boards with the smallest chisel she could find...
We then took the rest of the dado rails off as well as the laminate flooring in the lounge and diner to reveal some very trendy flooring beneath.
The existing stud wall was build on top of a carpet and so seemingly is of little structural benefit!
Then onto everyone's favorite task, stripping wall paper...
A bit of plaster seems to have come away with this one!
Not so bad in the dining room.
I had a go at tackling the shower whilst all this was going on, master tiler i am not but i'll put these here for you to laugh at..
Domino's pizza box templates.
I did the best i could with my limited tools, remember this is only a temporary fix until we get the bathroom replaced! hence why i didn't bother with a new tile when the corner chipped off!
We also had a crack at the kitchen window, It must have been replaced at some point as the brick work outside is well below the tiling inside, i forgot to take a pic before it was set at with a hammer and bolster but here is the end result.
Quite why it was packed out as much i don't know, but the new window was measured to the brick height outside so it needed sorting.
Who needs insulation in the wall cavity?
My girly soft IT hands have never known work like this, and I know the work we are doing pales in comparison to most but i'm proud of what we have achieved so far and really looking forward to the end result.
We then took the rest of the dado rails off as well as the laminate flooring in the lounge and diner to reveal some very trendy flooring beneath.
The existing stud wall was build on top of a carpet and so seemingly is of little structural benefit!
Then onto everyone's favorite task, stripping wall paper...
A bit of plaster seems to have come away with this one!
Not so bad in the dining room.
I had a go at tackling the shower whilst all this was going on, master tiler i am not but i'll put these here for you to laugh at..
Domino's pizza box templates.
I did the best i could with my limited tools, remember this is only a temporary fix until we get the bathroom replaced! hence why i didn't bother with a new tile when the corner chipped off!
We also had a crack at the kitchen window, It must have been replaced at some point as the brick work outside is well below the tiling inside, i forgot to take a pic before it was set at with a hammer and bolster but here is the end result.
Quite why it was packed out as much i don't know, but the new window was measured to the brick height outside so it needed sorting.
Who needs insulation in the wall cavity?
My girly soft IT hands have never known work like this, and I know the work we are doing pales in comparison to most but i'm proud of what we have achieved so far and really looking forward to the end result.
Another weekend of odd jobs in prep for the builders starting today.
Kitchen cupboards taken down, wall ones sold off for £20 rather than me taking them to landfill...
Before
After
Wardrobes upstairs removed, a few light fittings taken down and a ton of stuff up in the loft along with more coving removal and wallpaper stipping.
Today the builder has taken the curve out of the archway before it gets blocked up.
But the main job for today is to sort the fuse board to 17th edition
We are thankfully moving into my brother's tomorrow for just under a fortnight whilst he is on holiday so we can save our lungs from the brick dust!
Kitchen cupboards taken down, wall ones sold off for £20 rather than me taking them to landfill...
Before
After
Wardrobes upstairs removed, a few light fittings taken down and a ton of stuff up in the loft along with more coving removal and wallpaper stipping.
Today the builder has taken the curve out of the archway before it gets blocked up.
But the main job for today is to sort the fuse board to 17th edition
We are thankfully moving into my brother's tomorrow for just under a fortnight whilst he is on holiday so we can save our lungs from the brick dust!
PlankWithANailIn said:
The house you brought looked fairly well decorated. Any reason you did not buy a fixer upper when that's what you are doing?
Looks can be very deceiving! To be fair it wasn't in terrible condition, just that the wallpaper was falling off in places along with 45 years of bodged DIY attempts, a lot of which seem downright dangerous now that we are taking things like 30 amp plug sockets out that have been wired in with 5 amp wires! We looked at loads of houses but couldn't find any we liked the location of, This was the only house we liked but we liked it how its going to be rather than how it was. We looked at new builds but all the ones we could afford had tiny rooms and poor layouts.The work we are doing isn't all that extreme I wouldn't have said, nowhere near the cost of a full renovation of a total fixer upper or adding an extension.
When the old kitchen door was knocked through yesterday we figured it was blocked up in 86 as there were some 1986 barbie panini stickers, shame there wasn't a Gary Lineker mexico 86 sticker in there as it would probably be worth something!
Bit of a progress update.
The fuse board has been updated,
From this
To this
A skip has arrived on site and hasn't been filled with crap from the neighbours yet!
The bedroom walls are very wonky, Builder is going to have a go at the plaster to see if its worth bothering trying to fix or just easier to take the lot down upstairs and stud wall the lot. Can't really see in the picture here but the baton is straight and a discrepancy of 50mm bottom to top.
And finally the steel has arrived and should hopefully be up today.
Popped in this morning to see the British Gas surveyor and talk about free loft and wall insulation which we are eligible for, just as I was leaving the brick saw was about to come out so I'll pop back tonight and see if the dust has settled!
The fuse board has been updated,
From this
To this
A skip has arrived on site and hasn't been filled with crap from the neighbours yet!
The bedroom walls are very wonky, Builder is going to have a go at the plaster to see if its worth bothering trying to fix or just easier to take the lot down upstairs and stud wall the lot. Can't really see in the picture here but the baton is straight and a discrepancy of 50mm bottom to top.
And finally the steel has arrived and should hopefully be up today.
Popped in this morning to see the British Gas surveyor and talk about free loft and wall insulation which we are eligible for, just as I was leaving the brick saw was about to come out so I'll pop back tonight and see if the dust has settled!
outnumbered said:
Cavity wall insulation is a bit controversial as I'm sure you realise... The "expert builder" bloke in the Torygraph last week reckons that it's going to be the next PPI scandal, for example.
Oh? In what regard it doing more harm than good or people paying for it to be fitted?
Not a huge amount of progress that warrants photographs, plasterers are in currently scraping off a lot of the artex ceilings in readiness for a flat skim coat and then the walls, that should see bedroom 1 & 2 ready for decorating, skirting and carpets which we ordered yesterday.
In the front room we have moved the light socket to the other side of the door as we thought the room seemed to flow better with the door hinging on the other side.
Kitchen/Diner spotlights are going in today and the steel is pretty much boxed in now. New windows and doors are being fitted next week.
In the front room we have moved the light socket to the other side of the door as we thought the room seemed to flow better with the door hinging on the other side.
Kitchen/Diner spotlights are going in today and the steel is pretty much boxed in now. New windows and doors are being fitted next week.
Not a huge amount of progress that warrants photographs, plasterers are in currently scraping off a lot of the artex ceilings in readiness for a flat skim coat and then the walls, that should see bedroom 1 & 2 ready for decorating, skirting and carpets which we ordered yesterday.
In the front room we have moved the light socket to the other side of the door as we thought the room seemed to flow better with the door hinging on the other side.
Kitchen/Diner spotlights are going in today and the steel is pretty much boxed in now. New windows and doors are being fitted next week.
In the front room we have moved the light socket to the other side of the door as we thought the room seemed to flow better with the door hinging on the other side.
Kitchen/Diner spotlights are going in today and the steel is pretty much boxed in now. New windows and doors are being fitted next week.
Its been a while since I've updated this so here are a few progress pics.
Most of the boxing in and plastering has been done now, still a few bits to do but we no longer have artex on the ceilings!
We have nearly finished decorating the back bedroom, just waiting on fitting the skirting. Quite happy with the skirting, we managed to get the ones we wanted on clearance at wickes so bought 40 2.4 metre lengths, hopefully this should be enough for the whole house, was a bit of a squeeze in the skoda though so I had to leave the wife at the shops...
Windows and Doors are being replaced this week so we should get rid of this mess, I had considered getting a fish for the right hand window...
Back door is being bricked up today in prep for the window to go in.
Other than that its been a lot of cleaning and pictures of decorating along with me sulking that I couldn't go and play on my motorbike over the weekend! Neither of which will be of much interest I'm sure.
Most of the boxing in and plastering has been done now, still a few bits to do but we no longer have artex on the ceilings!
We have nearly finished decorating the back bedroom, just waiting on fitting the skirting. Quite happy with the skirting, we managed to get the ones we wanted on clearance at wickes so bought 40 2.4 metre lengths, hopefully this should be enough for the whole house, was a bit of a squeeze in the skoda though so I had to leave the wife at the shops...
Windows and Doors are being replaced this week so we should get rid of this mess, I had considered getting a fish for the right hand window...
Back door is being bricked up today in prep for the window to go in.
Other than that its been a lot of cleaning and pictures of decorating along with me sulking that I couldn't go and play on my motorbike over the weekend! Neither of which will be of much interest I'm sure.
More windows and doors, all sorted now, back door now looks like this
Patio doors have changed too
But perhaps the biggest change is the front door
Happy with the windows and doors, they seem great quality, the making good however could have been done a little better, It seems that filling holes in plaster isn't the done thing, so just whack a 2 inch trim all around the window frame to cover any damage. Is this normal? Is it normal to fill any holes larger than the trim with silicone?
Building work should be mostly finished by the weekend so it will be onto decorating, carpets etc which I doubt anyone is really interested in!
Patio doors have changed too
But perhaps the biggest change is the front door
Happy with the windows and doors, they seem great quality, the making good however could have been done a little better, It seems that filling holes in plaster isn't the done thing, so just whack a 2 inch trim all around the window frame to cover any damage. Is this normal? Is it normal to fill any holes larger than the trim with silicone?
Building work should be mostly finished by the weekend so it will be onto decorating, carpets etc which I doubt anyone is really interested in!
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