Help With New House DIY

[lawrence567]

Afternoon All,

My friend is moving into a council house soon, she's a young mum with a baby on the way at the end of the year so i'm keen to help her in whatever way possible.
The house was occupied by an elderly couple before her & is in quite a sorry state.
Nothing too major but i'm going to take on as much of the work as possible to help her out & keep costs down as she has next to no money.
The upstairs is in the worst state as it has damp, the council will sort this out however before she moves in.
Every room upstairs will need stripping back to basics & filling / painting. - This i know is tedious but i'm more than happy to take this side of the works on myself.
TV points (aerials & such) will need to be put in as it has none upstairs.
It has sockets but not the aerials - is there anyone who could give me a budget (guestimate) on how much it'd cost to lay 3 points in?
I know it's a how long is a piece of string answer but i'm just trying to get some ball-park figures.
I have next to no DIY experience but i'm more than happy to attempt stuff, however i feel this is more suited to someone qualified?!
The floor-boards upstairs are not in a great shape so she will need to have the whole of the upstairs re-painted & carpetted.
Theres a small family bathroom that has a neutral white suite so this will just need a deep clean & a good decorating.
I've done a small amount of tiling before & i'm confident i could tile the bathroom for her.
Downstairs is in just as bad a state, the kitchen was nackered, so the council is putting new units in but she will need to be putting new washing machine / fridge/freezer & cooker in, she has all the other various plug in appliances already.
The new kitchen floor will be laid by the council & probably the walls painted aswell.
The living room needs stripping back to basics, it has no carpet & the walls need stripping, again, filled & painted a neutral colour, the boards are in good conditon apparently & she's looking to sand them & varnish so to keep costs down until she can afford to carpet the place.
She has the majority of other furniture already although it's also in a sorry state it'll do until she can afford new.
Where's the best place to buy some new kitchen units @ dirt cheap price?
If anyone could give me any pointers & costs on what it'll cost to sand & varnish a floor & to tile a floor would be much appreciated.
How much do you reckon a sparky would charge (cash in hand) to put some TV points in?
The garden is also about 10m x 10m & will need a fence around to keep the hound in, this i anticipate will not be cheap to put in, but i'm willing to do it on my own / with help of friends.
Any pointers anyone can give me will be much appreciated.
As she has little-no money saving every penny will count.

Cheers guys & sorry if i rambled on a bit!

[russ_a]

Are you allowed to change tiles and kitchen units in a council house?

[Simpo Two]

lawrence567 said:

TV points (aerials & such) will need to be put in as it has none upstairs.
It has sockets but not the aerials - is there anyone who could give me a budget (guestimate) on how much it'd cost to lay 3 points in?

Three tellys upstairs seems rather excessive for one expectant mother...?

[lawrence567]

The kitchen was in such dis-repair that the council is putting a new one in but it won't have any units.
Part of her contract with the council says she can decorate it anyway she wants but can't change anything structural, etc.
The garden needs a fence as it does'nt have one.
She's going to be there for a while as it's a nice house in a nice area & will look to purchase after 3 years so she'd like to make the place nice.
There is 3 bedrooms, 1 is hers, 1 is for her 2 boys already & the 3rd will be for the baby, she'd rather get the TV points put in so she can then decorate / carpet without having to have the carpets pulled up again or holes drilled in walls.

[Simpo Two]

lawrence567 said:

1 is for her 2 boys already

Ah.

[lawrence567]

Simpo Two said:

lawrence567 said:

1 is for her 2 boys already

Ah.

I suggested putting those £10 aerial boosters in from Tesco or an electrical store but she wants to do it properly, is there any kits & how to guides?
As i don't really want to pay a sparky £00's to come and do something ridiculously simple.

[illmonkey]

lawrence567 said:

Simpo Two said:

lawrence567 said:

1 is for her 2 boys already

Ah.

I suggested putting those £10 aerial boosters in from Tesco or an electrical store but she wants to do it properly, is there any kits & how to guides?
As i don't really want to pay a sparky £00's to come and do something ridiculously simple.

Sorry, but there is something wrong about this.

[Ferg]

lawrence567 said:

My friend is moving into a council house soon, she's a young mum with a baby on the way at the end of the year so i'm keen to help her in whatever way possible........i'm going to take on as much of the work as possible to help her out & keep costs down as she has next to no money.

I'm sure you don't want it, but big up from me for being a proper friend.

[B17NNS]

No need for a spark to do the aeriel points - very straightforward. Will post up a how too later

[GreenDog]

lawrence567 said:

Simpo Two said:

lawrence567 said:

1 is for her 2 boys already

Ah.

I suggested putting those £10 aerial boosters in from Tesco or an electrical store but she wants to do it properly, is there any kits & how to guides?
As i don't really want to pay a sparky £00's to come and do something ridiculously simple.

Have a look at the screwfix site for aerial boosters - they're not too pricey. Fit on of those in the loft (you need to have a power supply to run them off though) and then work out a way of getting the outputs to where you need them. Mine were fitted by a mate who's a sparky and he just ran them down the outside of the house then drilled through the walls and attached the plates on the inside. A friend who has a new build was able to drop the leads through the gap between the blockwork and plasterboard.

[lawrence567]

Ferg said:

lawrence567 said:

My friend is moving into a council house soon, she's a young mum with a baby on the way at the end of the year so i'm keen to help her in whatever way possible........i'm going to take on as much of the work as possible to help her out & keep costs down as she has next to no money.

I'm sure you don't want it, but big up from me for being a proper friend.

Cool cheer

[andy43]

Cost and hassle to hire a floor sander, get very dusty, buy varnish, apply varnish, get high on solvent fumes vs cheapish carpet - I'd go with the carpet option - bet it works out cheaper.

[B17NNS]

andy43 said:

Cost and hassle to hire a floor sander, get very dusty, buy varnish, apply varnish, get high on solvent fumes vs cheapish carpet - I'd go with the carpet option - bet it works out cheaper.

This man speaks the truth.

[Simpo Two]

Ferg said:

I'm sure you don't want it, but big up from me for being a proper friend.

More of a friend than whoever gave her three kids and ran away. Or maybe she needs to choose her men more wisely and/or tie a knot in it. But this is the DIY forum not the Morals forum