First Home - Renovation Project

[Brozart]

you got all that in the back of a Corsa? Fair play to you Sir!!

nice job subd!

The trick is to remember speed bumps and breaking distances

Like wise, I never pay for skips. My car is my mobile skip.

It's just a pain at the waste recovery centre aka tip as you got to sort it out into sections. They won't allow you to just chuck it all in together.

The one I go to is like a mans club, all load of guys and tradesmen talking about the work they are doing haha. The biggest problem I had was that they made me empty the bags of plaster and I didn't have my mask or goggles with me.

 

[SideWinder]

Hows it going? Looking good so far mate!

 

[Nightglow]

Making some good progress.

Ripping down plaster lath ceilings, that is one job I hate doing.

One suggestion, now you removed the ceilings insulate between the joists, a 200mm joist, stick in 170mm insulation & leave a 25mm air gap, to run the wiring.
Will cut down a lot of the noise from above & insulate.

 

[Brozart]

The kitchen has been cleared out, the cabinets came off the wall easily, a firm shake and they came off whole, this will be readdressed when reinstalling the new kitchen

Removing the lath and plaster has been a pain because of the polystyrene titles and we couldn't use much force because of the copper pipes above.The damp in the corner is mainly from rotten window frames and roof plate, there is also some shoddy rending that's blown which isn't helping neither, a very damp house!

I'll be replacing all the back windows with new double glazing, fitting new guttering and removing the blown render which will stop the penetrating damp (I hope).

 

[Brozart]

Hows it going? Looking good so far mate!

Made good progress so far, started sorting upstairs out this week, already cleared out the attic and spare bedroom. Hoping to have all the ceilings down and out by this weekend

Making some good progress.

Ripping down plaster lath ceilings, that is one job I hate doing.

One suggestion, now you removed the ceilings insulate between the joists, a 200mm joist, stick in 170mm insulation & leave a 25mm air gap, to run the wiring.
Will cut down a lot of the noise from above & insulate.

I'll be glad when all the lath and plaster is gone, only three more rooms to go!

Totally agree, I am planning on insulating between the joists to lock in the heat from the log burner and dampen noise, haven't decided on what type of insulation to use yet, any recommendations?

 

[Maccapacca]

Any insulation will do you're just topping up not having to meet a specific U value. Solid insulation will be quicker to install as you can cut in sheets if your joist centres are all the same but then rolls of loft insulation can be had for pennies with the grant schemes.

I'd just have a think about fire and the 'what if', what if you get a leak from your heating or hw cw? Roll installation will act like a sponge until it either comes all crashing down or never dries where as solid won't.

If it were me I'd invest now in a hw cylinder with another coil and a log burner with a heat exchanger and pump then you can heat your hw and heating from the log burner or at least provide a decent amount of base heat and let the boiler top it up.

 

[Nightglow]

This would be perfect at the right price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171094106...l?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=171094106989&_rdc=1

 

[Brozart]

Any insulation will do you're just topping up not having to meet a specific U value. Solid insulation will be quicker to install as you can cut in sheets if your joist centres are all the same but then rolls of loft insulation can be had for pennies with the grant schemes.

I'd just have a think about fire and the 'what if', what if you get a leak from your heating or hw cw? Roll installation will act like a sponge until it either comes all crashing down or never dries where as solid won't.

If it were me I'd invest now in a hw cylinder with another coil and a log burner with a heat exchanger and pump then you can heat your hw and heating from the log burner or at least provide a decent amount of base heat and let the boiler top it up.

Yeah some good points there,

The only problem with the hot water tank is space and installation costs, I might consider this if we decide to swap the bathroom and spare bedroom around, that way the log burner would be directly above the boiler...Tempting

This would be perfect at the right price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171094106...l?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=171094106989&_rdc=1

Great find, could pick that up tomorrow! What would a decent price be for all 17 sheets?

 

[Maccapacca]

Yeah some good points there,

The only problem with the hot water tank is space and installation costs, I might consider this if we decide to swap the bathroom and spare bedroom around, that way the log burner would be directly above the boiler...Tempting

I've done not far from what you've done and wish I had made the effort to instal a log burner and the additional coil, you can buy a cylinder with an additional coil for solar use.

I did find a log burner thatw as a direct replacement for a radiator that you just plumbed in either side and the pump and the heat exchanger in the log burner pumped it all round.

 

[MatteH Oxford]

If you don't mind me asking, what sort of price difference is there between a house that is in good order and one that requires work in your area?. Not too specific and nosey, a percentage will be just fine

Here in Oxford there is little scope for renovating a place at a decent price, they sell for silly money and are often in a pretty terrible condition considering the cost.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

I love threads like this.

I have added it to my favourites so keep the updates coming .

 

[Brozart]

If you don't mind me asking, what sort of price difference is there between a house that is in good order and one that requires work in your area?. Not too specific and nosey, a percentage will be just fine

Here in Oxford there is little scope for renovating a place at a decent price, they sell for silly money and are often in a pretty terrible condition considering the cost.

I managed to get the property for £80,000, which I think is a bargain for its potential, I'm not bothered on profit margins as I'm planning on living here long term which is why my main focus is on energy efficiency and adding a log burner as a cheap source of heating. I will revalue the property as soon as I've finished renovating, my guess is between 120-140K.

The majority of homes around here are terraced houses which go for 60-100K depending on size, land, location. Run down properties fluctuate a lot, between 35-60K. I've seen larger semi and detached house go up to 250K.

 

[Brozart]

Earlier in the month I noticed two walls had sunk upstairs, the problem was that they were built between two joists, these joists have dipped due to the weight of these brick on edge walls. I called in a favour with a structural engineer who advised me that I should either reinforce the joists with an extra two beams or replace the walls with stud framing which would take away the weight problem. Here are some pictures to help visualise the issue:

I decided to take down the walls because it will be easier to rewire & add sunk power and network sockets, we'll be able to fit British standard door sizes without the hassle of shaving sides down and we'll be able to level out the floors that have dropped (this wouldn't be possible if we went down the route of adding the extra beams because the walls had settled, the beams would only prevent further dropping). A pretty daunting task but will be worth it in the long run...

As for framing it will be 4x2 timber and 400mm centers, filled with acoustic insulation.

Updates,

 

[Brozart]

The Beam!

The 6 meter girder arrived from Cardiff, I went with a 203x133x30 UB spec which exceeds regulation and limits any deflection. We've managed to get 8 inches in the wall either end so its nice and secure

 

[Nightglow]

Seen several houses where the upstairs walls as settled, had it happen at my previous place, almighty great split up the wall.

Pretty daunting & challenging sorting out the problem though, many people wouldn't even think of tackling it.

That's some rsj you have put in, will solve the problem though.

 

[Brozart]

Seen several houses where the upstairs walls as settled, had it happen at my previous place, almighty great split up the wall.

Pretty daunting & challenging sorting out the problem though, many people wouldn't even think of tackling it.

That's some rsj you have put in, will solve the problem though.

It was pretty daunting but I couldn't relax if I left it in that condition, everything is now safe, sturdy and level, well worth it

Yes it has solved the problem By removing the brick walls upstairs, the rsj has managed to level out the joists and floorboards nicely, this will be reinforced further when we add noggins in between the joists for plasterboard support.

 

[Brozart]

I decided to lose one of the rooms to maximise space and light in the master bedroom. I will re-add a room sometime next year when I can afford a loft conversion.

 

[Mark A]

Great work so far. Can't believe I missed this thread.

Looks like getting them plasterboards upstairs will be a fun job .

 

[Brozart]

Great work so far. Can't believe I missed this thread.

Looks like getting them plasterboards upstairs will be a fun job .

Funny you mentioned that because I've actually lost one of my labourers because of the plasterboard, he said all the work wasn't worth the money! The lazy ******* . Will upload more progress shortly, just downloading the pictures from my phone...

 

[Brozart]

I decided to plasterboard all the walls (Dot & Dab) instead of just doing the new stud work and skimming over the old, less risk of cracking and better insulation.