New Bungalow - Refurb

Martynt74 · 3 Jul 2017 at 13:03

I know i like following build logs and i didn't want to call it Bungalow Build Log given @The Craig has that currently in use and it feels like it'd add confusion!

My mother in law has recently bought a new house on a street she's been after for a while, it's a bungalow with 2 extra bedrooms fitted upstairs.

Google street view pic of it until i get more pictures

Inside it's very old fashioned. It belonged to an old guy who's recently gone into a home. The electrics are very old and it has very thick textured wallpaper absolutely everywhere which is going to be great fun to strip.

Yesterday i spent stripping the wallpaper in the lounge which is a lot bigger than i realised.

We had an electrician round to quote for a rewire which was very reasonable. Some of the wiring is comical so will be sure to provide photos for all of your amusement!

Lastly we had a quote for plumbing which i thought seemed high, what do you think? For reference the bathroom is about 2m x 2m

Description----------------Cost
Strip suite------------------£150.00
Skip-------------------------£150.00
Suite------------------------£610.00
Materials--------------------£150.00
Tile walls--------------------£540.00
Tile floor---------------------£120.00
Plumber--------------------£1,000.00

I'll probably remove the suite to save a bit of cost and it'll be easy enough to do.

The tiling cost is purely labour, any adhesive/tiles are extra, as is plastering if it's required.
Not sure whether this includes VAT or not, need to check.

There's also an extra £650 to supply and fit 3 radiators in their existing position and supply and fit a radiator which will be move to another wall. Again i might do the radiator replacements depending on how much of the above cost is labour based.

This is the first quote so will see how the others compare. but any initial thoughts would be appreciated.

Martynt74 · 4 Jul 2017 at 15:50

WHats the best way to cap a pipe? If i rip out the existing bathroom suite and also remove some of the old radiators i'd like to just cap off the pipe in preparation for the plumber fitting the new bathroom and me fitting the new radiators.

Am i right in thinking these?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedfit-pse4615w-stop-end-15mm-10-pack/24331

Though these are cheaper. How do they fit on though? Do they need brazing?
http://www.screwfix.com/p/p923-4-stop-end-15mm-10-pack/93637#product_additional_details_container

rexehuk · 4 Jul 2017 at 16:55

Marvt74 said:
WHats the best way to cap a pipe? If i rip out the existing bathroom suite and also remove some of the old radiators i'd like to just cap off the pipe in preparation for the plumber fitting the new bathroom and me fitting the new radiators.
Am i right in thinking these?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedfit-pse4615w-stop-end-15mm-10-pack/24331

Though these are cheaper. How do they fit on though? Do they need brazing?
http://www.screwfix.com/p/p923-4-stop-end-15mm-10-pack/93637#product_additional_details_container

Yes you want end stops.

Drain system. Cut pipe. Slide nut and olive over pipe and offer up the cap. Then just tighten up with two wrenches.

I wrapped some PTFE over the olive in cross pattern for mine. No leaks yet and been a few weeks.

By god remember to open the valves on radiators when draining! I almost had a disaster on one I was cutting pipe for.

BigBoy · 4 Jul 2017 at 17:44

Just use push fit end caps, get them from screwfix as they do reusable ones.

Martynt74 · 5 Jul 2017 at 08:33

Which ones though Bigboy, are both those i've linked to not push fit caps? Obviously i need to get behind to check the size of the pipe. Would be nice if there were isolation valves but i'm not expecting it.

Had another quote from a plumber this morning. It's broadly in line with the first, perhaps a little less but my mother in law felt he was a bit better after having met him.

I'm off work for a long weekend so should get more pictures up of the rest of the house. Sadly i started before thinking about pics or you could have seen the beautiful wardrobes and the room which included 3 different types of wallpaper!

Buffman · 5 Jul 2017 at 08:45

Sounds good, circa £4k fitted for a full bathroom suite including removal seems ok? I've never had one done but I'm sure it's generally about 3 to 6k..

Maundie · 5 Jul 2017 at 08:54

The plastic ones are push fit, the brass ones are screw fit (they're called compression fittings I believe).

The bathroom quote isn't bad I don't suppose, ours is 3m x 2m and it was £7k (included tiles though) 3 years ago but that included vat, you need to check the quote includes vat because if not there's another £500+ to add on.

Martynt74 · 5 Jul 2017 at 08:59

Yeah thats a factor, i checked and it doesn't. We're a bit confused as it seems my mother in law stated she'd supply the suite so not sure why he's quoted for it.

Think my main was if he's charging £1000 to just fit the suite i'm not sure i see 5 days work (at £200 a day). Perhaps it's just the going rate though

Ah thanks for the update on the fittings, for the sake of a fiver i'll just get the push fit ones. They'll only be in place for a few days anyway.

Martynt74 · 5 Jul 2017 at 10:15

Another question i have, and i know it's open to interpretation!

The existing boiler is about 12 years old and is tiny, need to find the model for exact details. My mother in law wants a plumbed in shower to replace the electric one currently fitted. Both plumbers have suggested installing a pump from the hot water tank (second floor) to increase the pressure.

Is this the best option, given the cost of a pump is around £200, or would it be better to just go full overhaul and get a combi boiler fitted which could supply the water at a decent pressure and do away with the water tank

Maundie · 5 Jul 2017 at 10:43

I think the thing you will need to check is the water pressure into the house, mine was good and since having a combi fitted and then a mixer shower I've never looked back, would never go back to an electric shower.

I was coming from a back boiler situation so had the hot water tank removed (also the cold water tank in the loft has been disconnected) and just go with a straight feed now.

Martynt74 · 5 Jul 2017 at 11:37

Ok cheers.

I think this place had a back boiler but then moved to a regular (non combi) one around 12 years ago.

The existing garage is coming down. We suspect the roof will contain asbestos so have got someone booked in to remove that. She's also found someone who'll knock down the shell for £100 which she's happy with. Is that much of a job? I'd assume a sledge hammer/breaker would do it easy. it's a concrete built garage.

Finally the garage is on a concrete slab base, i've asked her to check if the guy is removing that aswell. I assume not so looking at how best to do it. Would this Titan do? Looks like it'd also be good for tiles which need coming off, though i have my multi tool for that.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb698drh-4kg-sds-plus-demolition-breaker-230-240v/5237p

Its probably about 4m x 10m and i'm not sure of the depth. Or do you think hiring a bigger beast would be better?

rexehuk · 5 Jul 2017 at 17:23

I'd grab the Titan SDS over a dedicated breaker just for other uses.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLO4u8vG8tQCFUqoUQodPF8L0w

One I have, love it...

Martynt74 · 6 Jul 2017 at 08:35

I've been reading and it seems the local tip accepts asbestos waste.

Is trying to remove the roof myself a big no-no even if i bought a respirator face mask?

bushmins · 6 Jul 2017 at 20:14

I smashed up a few large panels of corrugated asbestos. I suited up and got a decent mask. In my case I was able to lay the sheets on the floor, out in the open, and wet them down before smashing. Its perfectally doable as long as you get the right PPE. Luckly I got rid of mine, which was a fair amount, before they started charging. Had to go to several dumps, one would only take a small amount and took all my details, where as the other just unlocked the skip and let me throw in as much as i wanted.
You'll need to bag it up. I'm able to get hold of a lot of very thick/large bags, the lady at the first dump said she had never see asbestos so well wrapped.

If its a roof you are removing I would imagine it would be a bit harder than my walls. Some people will tell you that if you do it yourself you'll die a horrible death, along with your neighbours, their cats, dogs and goldfish.

Martynt74 · 13 Jul 2017 at 15:49

Our local tip offer plastc packaging and bags for asbestos. Think my first option is going to be facebook and see if anyone wants the whole garage and can take it away.

Figured i'd finally throw some pictures up

Front bedroom - The wallpaper in here was really thick, must've cost a fortune, had about 6 layers of backing paper

Also finally found a use for the demolition bar set i bought because it was cheap

Small understairs cupboard in the above room, this was completely blocked by fitted wardrobes, despite it containing the stopcock

Aparently this is for the boiler

Such a pretty bathroom, this has been ripped out now

Lovely modern fusebox

For some reason this is being painted instead of scrapped

The kitchen seems a good quality, although will be ripped out at a future date

The Lounge is a great size

Apparently this is a "lamp plug"

Lights with some damn old wiring

The small storage part of the loft, look at that decoration! The light in here has the wiring snaking around and then drilled through a wall into a bedroom with a plug on the end and into a wall socket. That'll be getting wired up properly!

One of the upstairs bedrooms, curtains look weird in a window mid way down the wall!

About the only room which is modern

Love a bit of net curtain them old folks!

Don't think this shower has ever been used, it's the ensuite to the above room

LeeUK · 13 Jul 2017 at 18:05

Ohh that red bathroom suite is pretty kitsch. I'd keep it if it was me

DXP55 · 13 Jul 2017 at 19:02

Did you mean the lounge is same size as the grate ?? - I did buy a 3 bed semi once with all the 15amp sockets on top of door frames - could have been because they has 6 great Danes.

Good luck - our bungalow was just as bad and we managed to make it habitable in less than a year - i was young then -only 65.

the_r_sole · 13 Jul 2017 at 19:52

See the lamp plugs, is there many of them?
We put in 5amp sockets in a lot of higher end places these days so you can turn on all the floor lamps from a wall switch... You want to keep them badboys (maybe just update them!)

Martynt74 · 14 Jul 2017 at 08:35

No just that one in the lounge. Seems a little pointless.

Hopefully the plumber/electrician should be done by tomorrow. Then the plastered comes Tuesday. I wouldnt have said it really needed skimming, just touching up in the odd place but she's insistent. £1150 doesn't seem bad though for pretty much the whole bungalow (except the kitchen)

Looking to get her moved around the 30th, she wanted next saturday initially but i've talked her out of it as the plaster will still be wet and it'd be a lot better be paint and try and get flooring in first.

She was planning on getting someone in to do alcove cabinets but think i'll try and have a bash at it. If i don't do a decent job then at least it's only about £50 lost.

Martynt74 · 14 Jul 2017 at 08:37

DXP55 said:
Did you mean the lounge is same size as the grate ??

I'll admit its not the biggest but it's quite a bit bigger that the pictures seem to suggest. Enough room for a main seating area by the fireplace and then a seperate section with small sofa looking out over the garden.