Eeek! Just bought my first flat - Inept at DIY :)
Discussion
Well, I've just bought my first flat, it's far from sealed and delivered, but it's been taken off Rightmove, my mortgage application is progressing, and solicitors are instructed.
Without wanting to get my hopes up too much, I've already been starting to look at what I'll do with it, but realised I have no experience with DIY at all, and no tools.
The flat is in good order, but some of the rooms definitely need re-painting, for example, some of the walls are coated in purple emulsion which I'll want to cover.
So, are the Paint Pods any good that I've seen on the B&Q website? Or am I better off sticking with an old-fashioned roller?
What else should I have on my shopping list other than-
I promise to update the thread with pictures, although please don't expect anything too grand, it's just a repaint and new furniture job, not that this stops me being hellishly excited about it
Without wanting to get my hopes up too much, I've already been starting to look at what I'll do with it, but realised I have no experience with DIY at all, and no tools.
The flat is in good order, but some of the rooms definitely need re-painting, for example, some of the walls are coated in purple emulsion which I'll want to cover.
So, are the Paint Pods any good that I've seen on the B&Q website? Or am I better off sticking with an old-fashioned roller?
What else should I have on my shopping list other than-
- A sander of some sort?
- Polyfilla
- Loads of dust sheets
- Brush cleaner
- Grout cleaner for the bathroom maybe (it's not bad but would like to freshen it up)
I promise to update the thread with pictures, although please don't expect anything too grand, it's just a repaint and new furniture job, not that this stops me being hellishly excited about it
Thanks for the tips guys and please keep them coming, I'm taking notes
Having been up into the small hours last night figuring out the best way to furnish the place I was rather horrified by the bill I ran up very quickly with Ikea (I figured this has to be one of the cheapest "one stop shop" approaches to furnishing it).
By the time I'd priced up two beds, mattresses, wardrobes, drawers, a couple of pictures and some odds and ends for the kitchen I'd clicked over £2K and I haven't even looked at sofas yet! I think I'll keep DIY to a minimum and just re-coat the walls and some of the glosswork rather than spending a fortune on loads of work which would ultimately restrict the amount of furniture I can afford to buy...
Incidentally, if anyone has advice about anywhere even cheaper than Ikea for bedroom furniture (without buying something that will drop to bits inside a year as per the reviews on Argos website) then I'm all ears.
I'm furnishing two bedrooms as I want a lodger, but am unsure whether I should even bother buying a mattress or leave it until I have a lodger lined up first in case they either have one already or have specific preferences. Will still probably buy the rest of the furniture as I don't imagine many lodgers look for unfurnished rooms(?), and I want to be able to make the most of the photos.
Having been up into the small hours last night figuring out the best way to furnish the place I was rather horrified by the bill I ran up very quickly with Ikea (I figured this has to be one of the cheapest "one stop shop" approaches to furnishing it).
By the time I'd priced up two beds, mattresses, wardrobes, drawers, a couple of pictures and some odds and ends for the kitchen I'd clicked over £2K and I haven't even looked at sofas yet! I think I'll keep DIY to a minimum and just re-coat the walls and some of the glosswork rather than spending a fortune on loads of work which would ultimately restrict the amount of furniture I can afford to buy...
Incidentally, if anyone has advice about anywhere even cheaper than Ikea for bedroom furniture (without buying something that will drop to bits inside a year as per the reviews on Argos website) then I'm all ears.
I'm furnishing two bedrooms as I want a lodger, but am unsure whether I should even bother buying a mattress or leave it until I have a lodger lined up first in case they either have one already or have specific preferences. Will still probably buy the rest of the furniture as I don't imagine many lodgers look for unfurnished rooms(?), and I want to be able to make the most of the photos.
Thanks guys, the bed that I've priced up is a standard 5ft King for the main room, and a 4ft 6in for the smaller room.
Pricing wise, rather than getting the cheapest I'm looking for the Malm with underbed storage to help make the most of the space in the flat, I could save £80 by not getting the drawers, but I think I'd regret that as it would be an ideal place for towels, linen etc. (the flat doesn't have loads of space). There are a couple of even cheaper options but they either don't have storage or are the wrong colour.
I've had a poke around on eBay and stuff like this seems very cheap but I doubt it's even up to Ikea quality...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-High-Gloss-Black-2-o...
For general day to day use, assembling flat pack etc I thought this may do?
http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/drills-driv...
Pricing wise, rather than getting the cheapest I'm looking for the Malm with underbed storage to help make the most of the space in the flat, I could save £80 by not getting the drawers, but I think I'd regret that as it would be an ideal place for towels, linen etc. (the flat doesn't have loads of space). There are a couple of even cheaper options but they either don't have storage or are the wrong colour.
I've had a poke around on eBay and stuff like this seems very cheap but I doubt it's even up to Ikea quality...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-High-Gloss-Black-2-o...
For general day to day use, assembling flat pack etc I thought this may do?
http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/drills-driv...
GreenDog said:
Just spotted this : http://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-general-tool...
Looks good!I'm not tempting fate by buying anything until the mortgage is officially approved, advisor says that should be by the end of this week with any luck
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