SD's new house, the practical stuff

Latest Articles

SD's new house, the practical stuff
Page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Next

Downsizer Forum Index -> Finance and Property

Author

Message

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Fri May 04, 18 9:03 pm Post subject:

plenty is done
some stuff is part done

once most of it was drying out the other issue became clear and has been sorted by mending the drain gully and fitting channel drains to stop a lot of water getting in

at last they decided that the kitchen floor was beyond saving
the last few days of digging and filling has been heavy work but as a bonus i have a 25mm dry riser for a new water feed in which is good as the lead pipe with a dead leg is functional but far less than ideal

the original tiled floor in the hallway should be ok as it has had a fair bit of "stabilisation" . doing the conservation stuff under a floor that could be replaced for a few K is a matter of taste, mine ,

the material are cheap but the labour is not.
once it gets a decent acid peel and a nice wipe with some makeup it will be very pretty and quite a architectural rarity as most get skipped due to the condition of em.

as far as i can see once the concrete is in, tomorrow uggghhhh, i recon we are out of first fix in every department.
most of second fix is carpentry with a bit of plastering and the 3rd fix stuff to get it to fit to move into and re-mortgageable is significant but quick and relatively cheap

35 cu meters out , 15 metric tons in at a very rough guess by the end of the refurb:roll:

the number of little and larger issues caused by bad historic decisions in a job like this makes me think that getting one that is very messy and getting back to basics rather than trusting the last hundred years or so of "improvements" is a good strategy

for instance i would not consider a new or second hand house without a full rewire or thorough eyeball from a trusted spark
gas can have issues, just blank the meter and re pipe
etc etc etc

i will do photos and a proper write up when it is done.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon May 07, 18 6:09 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

the number of little and larger issues caused by bad historic decisions in a job like this makes me think that getting one that is very messy and getting back to basics rather than trusting the last hundred years or so of "improvements" is a good strategy

We were the third owners of our 1912 house in Motspur Park, buying it from the lady who'd bought it in 1927. It had had central heating installed and some secondary glazing. Was a dream to sort out, rewire, new boiler, new kitchen and a towel rail.

This one in Devon has been hacked about by a string of morons over the years. We're going to have to spend some serious dosh in the next couple of years sorting it.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Mon May 07, 18 8:48 pm Post subject:

ummm, tis rather like that sometimes.

the structural part of the slab is 100/125 mm thick in 2 ballast/2 grit/1 ordinary with a bit of waterproofer laid on visqueen over lots of compacted hardcore, gravel and sand

and i have a 25mm dry riser in mains water pipe routed under it

the screed needs an undetermined but significant amount of volume, it would be rather fun to do it in 1/4 inch to dust shiny granite and snowcem with a power float finish

if the price differential is not too horrid i might surprise em just for fun

spose what might get spent on concrete now gets saved on less permanent flooring over a lifetime, not my lifetime but i can see them having their grandkids round

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Tue May 08, 18 5:54 pm Post subject:

fancy concrete is too expensive so more half ballast half sharp sand to fill 75 mm or so and then topped with lots of sharp sand and float work lying on a ladder

the surface profile is a tad challenging as the 1970's extension floor slab is about 30 mm higher than the lower part of the hallway tiles which are charming but have a rather concave and now stabilised shape

i need to decide on the best way to connect the fixed points and shapes, mostly flat and level is good for a kitchen

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 18 5:56 pm Post subject:

doing not posting but lots of stuff is done

waterproof hopefully.
leccy done
concrete ( apart from one hearth ) done
new mains water feed ready to connect to mains
plastering done
bathroom in ( apart from shower surround and a cupboard door)
one floor to finish and one to do.
mist coat done
doors all sealed
kitchen in progress
well into 2/3rd fix

we have another 10m2 of mud n rubble and stuff in the yard

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 18 7:15 pm Post subject:

re kitchens, the super cheap carcasses from ikea seem better than most super cheap carcasses but the wood doors, panels,work surfaces etc are very good value.
the fittings are better than i expected, the draw slides work first time even when fitted by a first timer, let you know about hinges in a while.

packing the leg for the breakfast bar in the bed base kit was a rather unusual ploy to upsell another leg

so far the approved supplier list also includes: there is a foam theme.
screwfix -electrical stuff their main cheapo brand is actually very ok . long fisher frame fixings, odds n ends, toupret for the discerning decorator . a few years ago the gun foam was ok but i didnt like the hand held one i tried .
a handy "iron mongers"

travis perkins , timber, doors, heavyside, screws, drill bits , own brand non gun fixer foam ( dont get the gun foam, it got rather messy very suddenly ), mastic gun stickystuff of every description etc etc helibar/structural brackets etc .
TP is my builders merchant of choice, to develop a relationship a cash account will get you 10% off and decent deliveries

nice folk, good stock, used em for decades including full time.

jewson is ok as well if you talk to em in builder, the local one was a bit uppity with householders sent on a mission to buy a pipe, i got it the next day on the phone for £25 and made em deliver it "now", they had been asked for £82.50 . dont use the own brand fixer foam

eventually i will do a full report with photos but for the mo a few words will have to do. i could do 1000wds just on fixer foam

nah --TP own brand-- edited to 3

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Nov 03, 18 7:11 pm Post subject:

the muckaway men commeth on monday

there is quite a lot again maybe 15 cu m or 10 t depending how one measures it .

2nd fix almost complete ,3rd fix well under way.

loads of snagging and ongoing stuff for a while but they might get to move in next weekend

we decided to sand and seal the wood floors , easy to live with, value for money ( if you get several weeks of master polisher for free

) and downstairs it fits in with my cunning plan to use the natural pressure differences between the chimney tops and the snorkel air vents to ventilate the underfloor void which was a little damp a while back:wink:

man cleaning the hall floor might require a different mask to the madness of catalysed floor resins but so what. i will drop the hcl to dog stomach acid levels and wear wellies with the windows open instead

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15985

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 18 8:21 am Post subject:
Go careful with the floor work Dpack. Always as well to wear protection just in case.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 18 8:17 pm Post subject:

2nd top coat to the wood floors looks good

I'm not poisoned and it wasn't on fire when i left

there are a lot of jobs where common sense and some instructions are ok and it might even be a decent job to pro standards.

imho this isnt one of them.

it isnt just the health and safety issues there is also the machine handling skills, knowledge of timber, surface coating and a multitude of site related skills and sops

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 18 10:06 am Post subject:
Glad you're still living DPack but we're all still waiting on pictures

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jun 19, 19 8:40 pm Post subject:
we might be in the sunday times paper this weekend i thought i was a media tart but nowt to do with me this time, i deliberately kept out of it and await publication with a grin hope they mentioned that the slugs in the sitting room took a bit of suppressing by mending the drains and that the sarcostain was well disturbing:lol: good bits , bad bits , they have a nice house

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15985

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 19 7:00 am Post subject:
Congratulation. I don't see it, but if you are able to post a link would love to see what you have been working on. The main thing is that they have a nice house.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 19 9:37 am Post subject:
Well done DPack We might get some photos at last

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 19 11:58 am Post subject:
i will link or confirm when i know.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 19 12:50 pm Post subject:
ps i had had enough once i crushed a disc in my back finishing the shower so they have been doing the odds n ends n stuff for a while. it is not decorated yet, just a white builders finish, but it is rather nice.

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Finance and Property	All times are GMT Page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Next
Page 5 of 6

View Latest Posts