My house is a builders nightmare. Help!
Discussion
It appears my flat has been built by utter cowboys (their name is the same as a fruit..). Its getting on my wick so I've decided its just going to have to be redone. PROPERLY this time.
Was wondering if you clever lot would be able to give me more advice seeing as the painting help was just great (and it looks really good if I do say so myself - except the bit where I sneezed with the paintbrush in my hand and ended up with a green stripe on the ceiling...)
I realise some of this can't be done myself, but I'd like to do it as much as possible as lets face it, my labour is free and I'm doing it on the cheap.
Where to start....
The kitchen.
The lino (yes I hate lino too, but noise regs mean you can't have tiles laid) hasn't been fitted properly - its like they thought "hmm the kitchen is sort of this shaped and wahey lets cut it" none of it has been sealed, there is no underlay and it doesn't fit (jagged edges and straight edged walls but not straight cut lino)
The area is about 9 ft wide at the widest, and 12 ft long and L shaped (goes down to about 5 feet wide) What is a good price for reasonable lino, and what else do you need to use with it (like underlay) Where is a good place to get such stuff?
The shoddy electrics are going to be sorted by an electrician - just need to find some nice under unit lighting and that should be done.
Still a bit of replastering to be done on one wall but thats Friday nights job.... Thankfull the units are ok which is a huge cost saving.
The bathroom - needs a shower installed over the bath (and preferably a new bath sink and loo..but can live with the sink and loo) and re-tiling. Do you lot recommend tiling a whole bathroom (full height and its 8ft square..ish..) or half height and full height around the showering area? I don't want anything fancy - plain white tiles with a narrow blue glass edging. At the moment they are horrific floral mouldings. I didn't even know you could buy such nasty stuff in 2003.... Oh yeah, the taps keep falling out of the bath as the hole for them is too large...
Is B and Q a good option, or are there cheaper places (but still reasonable quality) and can I fit a bath myself? (all the plumbing is there for the current one) I take it the shower would have to be installed by a professional -is there a ball park figure for this? The shower in the ensuite doesn't appear to be a powershower but the water pressure is quite high. The flooring needs replacing too as it hasn't been sealed either....
Ensuite. Oh. Dear. God. The shower unit is a nightmare. This morning the shower fell off the wall as it has not been sealed and now as rusted. The rust marks have damaged the plastic of the enclosure and I think its all going to need replacing. The enclosure has had a wall built around one side of it, and I think I'd prefer it to be all glass. The less about the shower the better - its all rusting and impossible to clean. I want rid. The room is only about 4ftx 5ft so isn't a huge task to re tile, or re floor (the flooring isn't sealed here either and I didn't realise until this morning that the carpet in the bedroom is getting wet because of it....)]
New carpets for the bedrooms will have to wait (they don't have underlay either and random bits of cardboard underneath can be felt. I periodically lift the carpet to find more...no idea where it comes from but I have noticed that the fitted wardrobes are jacked up on cardboard...and they've cut the bloody carpet around them so when the wardrobes go, new carpet is needed) as will new wardrobes.
Goodness knows what I'm going to do about the horrific condensation problem (am getting a dehumidifier this evening to see if it makes a difference) but its caused the windowsills to bubble and expand. I'm fairly sure we have damp on one of the exterior walls too (on the interior bit) as its all bubbly, feels damp and the plaster flakes away along with the stuff under neath it.
I wont even mention the laminate that has started to delaminate and part company from its neighbours.
I don't know why I've not tackled it all before, but after the shower collapsing on me this morning it became apparent its time to take action. I could cry. Or move house.
So any advice you could give me would be gratefully received. I pick up DIY stuff quite easily and like stuff to be precise and beautiful so I wont be bodging it - I've got to grips with plastering and can cut tiles and grout. I suppose its where to look for the supplies as I don't want to spend money un necessarily.
Was wondering if you clever lot would be able to give me more advice seeing as the painting help was just great (and it looks really good if I do say so myself - except the bit where I sneezed with the paintbrush in my hand and ended up with a green stripe on the ceiling...)
I realise some of this can't be done myself, but I'd like to do it as much as possible as lets face it, my labour is free and I'm doing it on the cheap.
Where to start....
The kitchen.
The lino (yes I hate lino too, but noise regs mean you can't have tiles laid) hasn't been fitted properly - its like they thought "hmm the kitchen is sort of this shaped and wahey lets cut it" none of it has been sealed, there is no underlay and it doesn't fit (jagged edges and straight edged walls but not straight cut lino)
The area is about 9 ft wide at the widest, and 12 ft long and L shaped (goes down to about 5 feet wide) What is a good price for reasonable lino, and what else do you need to use with it (like underlay) Where is a good place to get such stuff?
The shoddy electrics are going to be sorted by an electrician - just need to find some nice under unit lighting and that should be done.
Still a bit of replastering to be done on one wall but thats Friday nights job.... Thankfull the units are ok which is a huge cost saving.
The bathroom - needs a shower installed over the bath (and preferably a new bath sink and loo..but can live with the sink and loo) and re-tiling. Do you lot recommend tiling a whole bathroom (full height and its 8ft square..ish..) or half height and full height around the showering area? I don't want anything fancy - plain white tiles with a narrow blue glass edging. At the moment they are horrific floral mouldings. I didn't even know you could buy such nasty stuff in 2003.... Oh yeah, the taps keep falling out of the bath as the hole for them is too large...
Is B and Q a good option, or are there cheaper places (but still reasonable quality) and can I fit a bath myself? (all the plumbing is there for the current one) I take it the shower would have to be installed by a professional -is there a ball park figure for this? The shower in the ensuite doesn't appear to be a powershower but the water pressure is quite high. The flooring needs replacing too as it hasn't been sealed either....
Ensuite. Oh. Dear. God. The shower unit is a nightmare. This morning the shower fell off the wall as it has not been sealed and now as rusted. The rust marks have damaged the plastic of the enclosure and I think its all going to need replacing. The enclosure has had a wall built around one side of it, and I think I'd prefer it to be all glass. The less about the shower the better - its all rusting and impossible to clean. I want rid. The room is only about 4ftx 5ft so isn't a huge task to re tile, or re floor (the flooring isn't sealed here either and I didn't realise until this morning that the carpet in the bedroom is getting wet because of it....)]
New carpets for the bedrooms will have to wait (they don't have underlay either and random bits of cardboard underneath can be felt. I periodically lift the carpet to find more...no idea where it comes from but I have noticed that the fitted wardrobes are jacked up on cardboard...and they've cut the bloody carpet around them so when the wardrobes go, new carpet is needed) as will new wardrobes.
Goodness knows what I'm going to do about the horrific condensation problem (am getting a dehumidifier this evening to see if it makes a difference) but its caused the windowsills to bubble and expand. I'm fairly sure we have damp on one of the exterior walls too (on the interior bit) as its all bubbly, feels damp and the plaster flakes away along with the stuff under neath it.
I wont even mention the laminate that has started to delaminate and part company from its neighbours.
I don't know why I've not tackled it all before, but after the shower collapsing on me this morning it became apparent its time to take action. I could cry. Or move house.
So any advice you could give me would be gratefully received. I pick up DIY stuff quite easily and like stuff to be precise and beautiful so I wont be bodging it - I've got to grips with plastering and can cut tiles and grout. I suppose its where to look for the supplies as I don't want to spend money un necessarily.
Where to start.
I'll start with the lino.
Lino ? It's a pain in the arse to get right. One of the only few jobs I happily paid a local carpet (flooring firm) to do. Should get a good deal this week.
and next the Shower over the bath.
I did this and managed to match the tiles, but found that the builder had NOT sealed between bath and wall so the kitchen got a little water damaged. I had to remove the bottom row of tiles and remove a section of plaster betweem wall and bath and fill with sealant.
I'll start with the lino.
Lino ? It's a pain in the arse to get right. One of the only few jobs I happily paid a local carpet (flooring firm) to do. Should get a good deal this week.
and next the Shower over the bath.
I did this and managed to match the tiles, but found that the builder had NOT sealed between bath and wall so the kitchen got a little water damaged. I had to remove the bottom row of tiles and remove a section of plaster betweem wall and bath and fill with sealant.
It was a little too long winded for me to read it all, but do not get a dehumidifier!!! it does as it says but draws the moisture from everywhere.
i.e things will get damper as it tries to suck moisture from outside through where you now have damp.
Get someone in and fix it, don't try and bodge it.
i.e things will get damper as it tries to suck moisture from outside through where you now have damp.
Get someone in and fix it, don't try and bodge it.
littlegreenfairy said:
The kitchen.
The lino (yes I hate lino too, but noise regs mean you can't have tiles laid) hasn't been fitted properly - its like they thought "hmm the kitchen is sort of this shaped and wahey lets cut it" none of it has been sealed, there is no underlay and it doesn't fit (jagged edges and straight edged walls but not straight cut lino)
The area is about 9 ft wide at the widest, and 12 ft long and L shaped (goes down to about 5 feet wide) What is a good price for reasonable lino, and what else do you need to use with it (like underlay) Where is a good place to get such stuff?
I recently fitted my own kitchen but 'got a man in' to do the vinyl floor, as one cut in the wrong place and you've wrecked it. My kitchen is a little narrower than yours and a nice tile-pattern vinyl was £225 fitted.The lino (yes I hate lino too, but noise regs mean you can't have tiles laid) hasn't been fitted properly - its like they thought "hmm the kitchen is sort of this shaped and wahey lets cut it" none of it has been sealed, there is no underlay and it doesn't fit (jagged edges and straight edged walls but not straight cut lino)
The area is about 9 ft wide at the widest, and 12 ft long and L shaped (goes down to about 5 feet wide) What is a good price for reasonable lino, and what else do you need to use with it (like underlay) Where is a good place to get such stuff?
littlegreenfairy said:
Still a bit of replastering to be done on one wall but thats Friday nights job.... Thankfull the units are ok which is a huge cost saving.
For small areas I'd strongly recommend B&Q Lightweight Plaster. It's cheap, comes in a bucket-size tub, is very easy to use and sticks to the wall, not the float.littlegreenfairy said:
The bathroom - needs a shower installed over the bath (and preferably a new bath sink and loo..but can live with the sink and loo) and re-tiling. Do you lot recommend tiling a whole bathroom (full height and its 8ft square..ish..) or half height and full height around the showering area?
Whatever you prefer. I did the latter as I'm not a great tile fan.littlegreenfairy said:
Is B and Q a good option, or are there cheaper places (but still reasonable quality) and can I fit a bath myself? (all the plumbing is there for the current one) I take it the shower would have to be installed by a professional -is there a ball park figure for this?
If you can do basic plumbing then there's no reason why you can't do this yourself. Just remember that plumbing is unforgiving, and if one of your joints doesn't hold, things can get very wet very quickly. I was baulking at the thought of fitting shower pumps etc until I chanced on a superb shower called an Aqualisa Axis Digital. If you can fit a bath, you can fit one of those. Brilliant.littlegreenfairy said:
Ensuite. Oh. Dear. God.
Pull the whole lot out and start again.littlegreenfairy said:
New carpets for the bedrooms will have to wait (they don't have underlay either and random bits of cardboard underneath can be felt. I periodically lift the carpet to find more...no idea where it comes from but I have noticed that the fitted wardrobes are jacked up on cardboard...and they've cut the bloody carpet around them so when the wardrobes go, new carpet is needed) as will new wardrobes.
You can fit your own carpet but IMHO it's never as good as when a pro stretches it. Get quotes from local carpet fitters.littlegreenfairy said:
I pick up DIY stuff quite easily and like stuff to be precise and beautiful so I wont be bodging it - I've got to grips with plastering and can cut tiles and grout.
Sounds like you're halfway there already. Just take it carefully and don't get into a position you don't know how to get out of. Once your water is off to do plumbing, you have to finish it. (Push-fit stop ends are a blessing here!) For high-risk DIY like that I always do it when the shops are open, just in case I need an extra bit unexpectedly.'A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step'
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 15th January 10:54
If its really that bad should you not be checking out the basic plumbing and electrics before you put a lot of expensive finishes over them.
Equally if you can plaster and decorate that's great, and I'm sure that if you can fit a bath you can fit a shower. I recommend that you put a valve at every fitting you put in so you can easily take back it out without draining the whole system down. Most 'housebuilders' these days don't bother.
However, if what you can see is rubbish what you can't see probably also is. It also sounds as if you have either a leak or a damp penetration problem, and that again should be sorted out before you start spending a lot of money. Finishes, and wood in particular, will get wrecked if they are subjected to excessive damp then heated or dried out.
Equally if you can plaster and decorate that's great, and I'm sure that if you can fit a bath you can fit a shower. I recommend that you put a valve at every fitting you put in so you can easily take back it out without draining the whole system down. Most 'housebuilders' these days don't bother.
However, if what you can see is rubbish what you can't see probably also is. It also sounds as if you have either a leak or a damp penetration problem, and that again should be sorted out before you start spending a lot of money. Finishes, and wood in particular, will get wrecked if they are subjected to excessive damp then heated or dried out.
Edited by cardigankid on Thursday 15th January 11:09
Lucy, If you're in the Sheffield area I can recommend Balfour Carpets. I've used them in the past and they've been bang on with price, and the fitting was excellent as well.
Under unit lighting for my Kitchen came from Screwfix (now open just off Queens road).
Tiles can be purchased from plenty of good outlets, the one just down from the Porsche Garage is a good place, near Meadowhall. Tiling can be quite daunting, but once you get going it's pretty easy. I'd say tile the whole room (I've done my 3 bathrooms and one for my daughter).
Fitting a bath can seem quite easy, but the plumbing for the old one may be slightly out of line for the new one. An easy way around this is to use flexible connectors (you can get a semi-flexible copper or fully flexible braided type). Whatever you do, make sure you fit service valves.
I would say that you will need to have the shower fitted, especially if you go for an electric shower or a power shower (part P and all that).
With regards to the damp; you can get some damp absorbing crystals (pretty much like Silica Gel) that can be placed on the window cills. Are you double glazed? If so are you sure that the seals haven't gone on the units?
At my old house (3 bed detached with 8 windows) we didn't have double glazing, and putting it in looked quite expensive. I opted to buy sealed units to replace the single panes of glass. Cost around £200 from a local supplier and took a weekend to fit. In addition to the glass I just needed a bit of putty, some wooden mouldings and a few pins to keep the glass in.
Under unit lighting for my Kitchen came from Screwfix (now open just off Queens road).
Tiles can be purchased from plenty of good outlets, the one just down from the Porsche Garage is a good place, near Meadowhall. Tiling can be quite daunting, but once you get going it's pretty easy. I'd say tile the whole room (I've done my 3 bathrooms and one for my daughter).
Fitting a bath can seem quite easy, but the plumbing for the old one may be slightly out of line for the new one. An easy way around this is to use flexible connectors (you can get a semi-flexible copper or fully flexible braided type). Whatever you do, make sure you fit service valves.
I would say that you will need to have the shower fitted, especially if you go for an electric shower or a power shower (part P and all that).
With regards to the damp; you can get some damp absorbing crystals (pretty much like Silica Gel) that can be placed on the window cills. Are you double glazed? If so are you sure that the seals haven't gone on the units?
At my old house (3 bed detached with 8 windows) we didn't have double glazing, and putting it in looked quite expensive. I opted to buy sealed units to replace the single panes of glass. Cost around £200 from a local supplier and took a weekend to fit. In addition to the glass I just needed a bit of putty, some wooden mouldings and a few pins to keep the glass in.
cardigankid said:
If its really that bad should you not be checking out the basic plumbing and electrics before you put a lot of expensive finishes over them.
Some flats have had issues with snap on plumbing snapping off and causing huge floods in the flats below, the problem being its all hidden and can't get access to it unless the walls are ripped down.However, as bits are removed, the plumbing will be checked as it goes along as best as possible.
Honestly, it is such a nightmare.
convert said:
Lucy, If you're in the Sheffield area I can recommend Balfour Carpets. I've used them in the past and they've been bang on with price, and the fitting was excellent as well.
And other great stuff.
Thanks for that! Am indeed in Sheffield. And other great stuff.
Is the tile place the one just down from the Stumble Inn (which is now empty)?
I can see this weekend being a long one. Thankfully mum and dad are popping up so I can ask dad for a hand. He's very good with this kind of thing
littlegreenfairy said:
convert said:
Lucy, If you're in the Sheffield area I can recommend Balfour Carpets. I've used them in the past and they've been bang on with price, and the fitting was excellent as well.
And other great stuff.
Thanks for that! Am indeed in Sheffield. And other great stuff.
Is the tile place the one just down from the Stumble Inn (which is now empty)?
I can see this weekend being a long one. Thankfully mum and dad are popping up so I can ask dad for a hand. He's very good with this kind of thing
Dad's are usually pretty good at most things
; My daughter currently wants me to fit a whole new bathroom for her, hopefully it won't be as much work as the last one I fitted for her (first house), which involved knocking walls down, building new ones, moving the locations of sink / washstand / bath and building a walk in shower (which meant moving cold water tanks to loft and re-siting hot water tank).Ah yes I know the place! Shall be popping down there!
Enjoy your bathroom fitting.
(don't suppose you'd like to acquire another daughter for a bit do you? 
)
Cardigankid - I shall take your advice regarding the valves.
I just don't understand how a new build can fall in to such disrepair so quickly - these builders should be brought to account for their shoddyness.
One flat had a leak at the back of the shower unit that had been leaking since the place was put up - it couldn't be seen as it was underneath the shower. One day the floors couldn't take it anymore and it burst into downstairs flat, which caused massive damage, but because it went down the inside of the walls it also flooded the shop underneath by way of the ceiling falling down. £30,000 worth of water flowed out in the matter of minutes. Was like a waterfall.
Enjoy your bathroom fitting.
(don't suppose you'd like to acquire another daughter for a bit do you? )Cardigankid - I shall take your advice regarding the valves.
I just don't understand how a new build can fall in to such disrepair so quickly - these builders should be brought to account for their shoddyness.
One flat had a leak at the back of the shower unit that had been leaking since the place was put up - it couldn't be seen as it was underneath the shower. One day the floors couldn't take it anymore and it burst into downstairs flat, which caused massive damage, but because it went down the inside of the walls it also flooded the shop underneath by way of the ceiling falling down. £30,000 worth of water flowed out in the matter of minutes. Was like a waterfall.
NiceCupOfTea said:
I may have missed something, but if your newish buuld flat is that bad then surely you have some recourse with the construction company?
They don't want to know. NHBC don't want to know. So many people have tried to get them to fix stuff and they'll have none of it.In some ways, I'm quite looking forward to redoing it all to my taste. The last owner was 83 and lets just put it this way. It aint my cuppa tea.
cardigankid said:
I recommend that you put a valve at every fitting you put in so you can easily take back it out without draining the whole system down.
I'd recommend that you don't. Unless you are going to fit really good quality full-bore lever valve (not pretty, or cheap) you will come to regret fitting isolators everywhere. They reduce flow and rarely survive being turned on and off more than a dozen times before leaking...normally when you aren't watching.'cos all the above is quite specific and it'll take me ages to reply here's some basics (us men are taught this in Junior school when you girls go off for the "ladies products" talk with the teacher)
Get the place dry and safe first, as suggested. The damp will be either coming from outside (ie rising damp or from leaking raingoods) or lack of ventilation. If you don't have a decent fan in the bathroom (pref a humidity controlled one) then consider this first. Otherwise ensure there is adequate ventilation. If you're unsure about the electrics / plumbing get them checked out obviously.
Only do one job at a time, and when the shops are open as suggested! Keep everything to manageble chunks.
Measure twice cut once (the oldest advise in the book)- you'd be surprised how many times you realise you've made a mistake when re-measuring. Where possible mark the piece to be cut directly inplace, rather than measure and then mark with a tape (ie when fitting a skirting board, mark the length on the board by holding it up against the wall, not measuring with a tape and transfering).
Use Tool Station or northern tool for everything you can, you'll save loads. If they don't have it use Screwfix. If they don't have it go to Wickes! Try and avoid B&Q...
Buy decent screwdrivers and bits. Buy a sprit level and use it!
Factor in a massive margin for even simple jobs. Seriously. That tiling job you mentioned - don't forget that as a minimum on top of the tile cost you'll need adhesive, grout and spacers (more than you'd think), and that's asuming everything goes well. Typically you'll at least need to replaster the wall underneath where you've takent eh old tiles off, then you might find some damp and have to patch a bit of the stud wall etc. etc. Factor in a MASSIVE margin for your first DIY jobs.
Now go out and buy a whole load of power tools.
Get the place dry and safe first, as suggested. The damp will be either coming from outside (ie rising damp or from leaking raingoods) or lack of ventilation. If you don't have a decent fan in the bathroom (pref a humidity controlled one) then consider this first. Otherwise ensure there is adequate ventilation. If you're unsure about the electrics / plumbing get them checked out obviously.
Only do one job at a time, and when the shops are open as suggested! Keep everything to manageble chunks.
Measure twice cut once (the oldest advise in the book)- you'd be surprised how many times you realise you've made a mistake when re-measuring. Where possible mark the piece to be cut directly inplace, rather than measure and then mark with a tape (ie when fitting a skirting board, mark the length on the board by holding it up against the wall, not measuring with a tape and transfering).
Use Tool Station or northern tool for everything you can, you'll save loads. If they don't have it use Screwfix. If they don't have it go to Wickes! Try and avoid B&Q...
Buy decent screwdrivers and bits. Buy a sprit level and use it!
Factor in a massive margin for even simple jobs. Seriously. That tiling job you mentioned - don't forget that as a minimum on top of the tile cost you'll need adhesive, grout and spacers (more than you'd think), and that's asuming everything goes well. Typically you'll at least need to replaster the wall underneath where you've takent eh old tiles off, then you might find some damp and have to patch a bit of the stud wall etc. etc. Factor in a MASSIVE margin for your first DIY jobs.
Now go out and buy a whole load of power tools.
Ferg said:
cardigankid said:
I recommend that you put a valve at every fitting you put in so you can easily take back it out without draining the whole system down.
I'd recommend that you don't. Unless you are going to fit really good quality full-bore lever valve (not pretty, or cheap) you will come to regret fitting isolators everywhere. They reduce flow and rarely survive being turned on and off more than a dozen times before leaking...normally when you aren't watching.I hate to sound like the master race, again, but in Germany this has to be done by law. I would suggest a good quality bronze ballflex valve, operated with a screwdriver, left open at all times, until the great day when you want to remove the sink. It will not have any of the effects you describe.
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff