First Home - Renovation Project

[R.O.S.S.I]

Aye. Siding more and more with the fixer-upper job to be honest. Generally get an older, more solidly built house and quite often more generously sized (compared to new builds around here).

Some actual not bad houses to be had really if you're willing to grin and bear a month or so or graft and dirt which I am (I love the prospect of big DIY jobs, that may change though once it starts)

For the price of a 3 bed new build round here which is pretty pokey, I can get an equally (more often than not bigger) sized fixer upper house with a much, much bigger garden with extension prospects.

Now I best get back to counting my copper jar........................

 

[Brozart]

Coming along niceley here, i love the look of a room with a fresh coat of plasgter! I'm hoping to get my kitchen to where yours in within the next few weeks, im running out of space though, all my tools and things are currently in my living room which is due to be carpeted soon and dont know where to put everything after that.

Do you have an idea of a completion date for the full project?

I would have finished by now but ended up splitting from the girlfriend just before December which ate up some of my fund to finish the kitchen... so just another twist in the plot to keep me busy But should be back on track this month, hopefully another 2 months work before completion.

Bloody love threads like this. Currently saving like a mad man for a deposit for a house and have been toying with buying something that comes up that needs a lot of work for cheap as I like the challenge and freedom you get with something like this.

However the Mrs is fancying something that needs minimal work doing and just needs repapering/carpeting.

I can defiantly relate to this, so glad I went ahead with the renovation though, far more fun! Try convincing your Mrs that by renovating a property, you can avoid the risk of property developers who have more than likely cut corners in areas to maximize profit (basic kitchen quality, lack of fire-board under the stairs, high foc paint, bad plumbing blah blah )

 

[Brozart]

Any updates on this project?

Awesome so far. Need an update though!

Started painting the undercoat which has really amplified the sense of space in the rooms, I think I will focus on neutral colours throughout for now. Considering secondhand parquet flooring in the living room...

Some of the bathroom furniture has arrived:

Took the bathroom wall away as it was unsafe, was so easy to kick down... will be nice and easy to fit the bathroom now

 

[Vaglin]

Looking good

Good choice taking the bathroom wall out. I've found that any niggling doubts will amplify over time. Hence the reason I am saving up to redo our bathroom, the current bathroom was installed by a previous owner and not to what I would call a good standard.

When funds are available, we'll be ripping it all out, starting again and doing it right.

Where about in South Wales are you located?

 

[ndaar]

Nice to see the bathroom suite starting to appear. I think once you get the bathroom and kitchen done it starts to feel like your almost there

 

[LeeUK]

Looking good. Would love to see pics of it finished.

 

[Tesla]

Any updates?

 

[Brozart]

Big update So quite a lot has happened since my last post...

We decided to go for 7" skirting for the rooms, using Ronseal Colron Knotting solution to seal the knots from leaking/discolouring and went with a egg shell white for the main coat - it took three coats due to the knot seal!

Coving, Electrics and Painting

Kitchen,

The 1st fix electrics were a total **** up, so I needed to butcher the walls and have the new sparky re-d the work. I'll post out kitchen designs in a later post.

 

[Brozart]

Damp issues!

In my first post I mentioned that I was going to start by dealing with the damp & water penetration, well this has come back to haunt me. I should have focused on that but instead it slowly went to the back of my to-do list...

The guttering and fascia board was completely gone and needed replacing, it was even starting to degrade the roof plate!

Guttering sorted, next job is to replace the rotten windows and sort the internal walls out

 

[Brozart]

As you've seen from my other posts I don't do things by halves so my attention is going on the bathroom now... I'll start by drying out the walls; they are so damp the lime between the stone is like soil.

I didn't realise how beautiful the stone work was behind the render, I'm considering turning one side into a feature wall.

Concrete rendered the damp wall using a SBR slurry and waterproofer.

New windows fitted, double glazing throughout now

 

[Defiant306]

You sir are a machine, kudos!

 

[Brozart]

You sir are a machine, kudos!

Haha thanks, it keeps me busy.

Stone wall,

So me and the mrs have decided to keep the stone wall as a feature instead of tiling over it like previously planned. We are going to get it sandblasted and traditionally point it with fat lime putty motar.

I stud framed the shower area for a few reasons,
1. The shower tray will fit perfectly for the cement board, seal, tiler etc
2. We want the shower mixer installed in the wall by the walk-in part to prevent getting caught by the dretcher as it warms up
3. I initially went with dab plasterboard which isn't ideal in a wet area or for holding up heavy tiles long term. It wasn't worth risking it with leaks

As you can see, perfect snug fit now




Mrs picked up the lime motar from Tŷ-Mawr in Brecon, we've gone for the chesire colour.

Hopefully it will suit the stone work lol

 

[Brozart]

Looking good

Where about in South Wales are you located?

RCT

 

[{SAS}TB]

Excellent thread subbed

 

[Bigpig]

Mental. That's some home your making
Subbed also

 

[Brozart]

We prepared the room for sandblasting but it didn't make much difference - The company used a German grit called Cerablast (Mineralische Strahlmittel)

Outcome Hopefully getting it pointed tomorrow

 

[Brozart]

We finally found a decent plumber that wasn't aiming for early retirement! One guy quoted us £2300 labour for 5 days work... At £460 per day I was tempted to drop my IT career and go study plumbing haha.

I always like to supply my own materials as I like to do my research and get high quality parts (and it still normally works out cheaper ) For anyone doing their plumbing soon I highly recommend investing into decent fittings and traps, I went with McAlpine for the shower, bath and basin traps - The parts are heavier, better designed and far superior quality compared to the ones that came with the bath and shower. I don't want to risk any leaks as I'd have to go through the ceiling as I'll be plying and tiling the floor.

If you want TVR's on all your radiators make sure you install a automatic bypass valve to control the water flow through the boiler and to limit circulation pressure when other water paths are closed. I went with a Honeywell DU144.

I really don't like the radiator between the window and door as it takes up the whole wall, so I'll be removing it and getting a 450 x 1400 P+ for under the window instead. I'll keep this one for my next project

 

[Jim99]

Great work, and glad you went with the feature wall. I think that'll turn out really nicely.

 

[SPG]

Dont fancy underfloor heating ?

 

[Brozart]

Dont fancy underfloor heating ?

I would much rather underfloor heating, I absolutely hate the look of radiators! I did look into it but retrofitting underfloor heating was too much hassle and would cause steps into rooms...