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Original poster

Support thread for House Renovators/DIYers

304 replies

LPlateFlyer · 17/04/2013 11:41

Was wondering if anyone wanted to join me in a support thread for all of us doing lots of renovating, odd jobs, diy etc. This can be somewhere we can do some well deserved bragging on a job well done! Smile

I have sooooo much DIY that needs to get done. Shock

I almost finished the downstairs loo yesterday. All that needs to be done is a second coat of paint on the door and a towel rail and toilet roll holder to be put up.

Yesterday's Tada list:
Painted skirtings in loo 2x coats
Painted door frame in loo 2x coats
Painted door in loo 1 x coat
Put together and installed a small bathroom cabinet

I'm about to start putting together an Ikea book case so that I can get some of the books out of storage!

OP posts:
MrsMangoBiscuit · 15/05/2013 13:13

Well after all the rain we had yesterday, we have discovered that there is a small leak in the roof over the small bathroom. That's the room that's just had the ceiling and parts of the walls replastered and primed.

Our lovely plasterer/joiner/handyman is hopefully coming over tonight to have a look at it for us, we're hoping it's minor and easily repaired. Going to keep telling myself that at least we've discovered it now, rather than once the room's finished.

TerrysNo2 · 15/05/2013 13:20

Is it just me who wants to know more about more's secret room??

Come on More - we want more juicy details. How many bodies were there Wink

Aethelfleda · 15/05/2013 19:01

Nope, terry, not just you!

at this end we have nearly got loverly showers! Just one day's more plumbing and the electric cable needed...house smells of vinegar from all the sealant but I'm so glad we got people in for this bit as t'would have been impossible with DS about. Plus rejoice, me joists are OK!!!!

mamapants · 15/05/2013 19:58

Oh no MrsMango, hopefully it will be easily solved.
I am also dying to find out about the secret room.

We now have new windows upstairs! Seems a bit odd putting something into the house as so far we've just been taking things out. Skip number 6 should be arriving tomorrow.
The inglenook is now clear, DP has knocked out all the cement and bricks that they'd filled it up with.
The floor in living room has been dug, bathroom dug. Roof has been taken down from study and bathroom. Hopefully it won't rain too much now.

MrsMangoBiscuit · 17/05/2013 06:37

Well it looks like it's minor damage to the roof, either just the cracked tile that's been cracked for years has finally given up, or there's a nick in the felt just underneath. Should be easily fixable apparently. The tiles are in, in the shower, just needs grouting. Overall it looks lovely, but there's a couple of parts where they're not completely flush. :( DH is going to speak to our lovely plasterer/joiner/handyman and see if he can fix it before grouting.

It also appears I ordered WAY over the top on the tiles. 2 and a half boxes too many! Blush At least I can now re-tile around the sink, and the windowsil.

Blimey mamapants, it sounds like it's all go in your new house. Digging floors?! Shock I'm going to have to have a re-read of the thread to get up to speed I think. :)

MoreBeta, any news on the secret room?

Aethelfleda · 17/05/2013 22:17

I have painted a third of the fence. Then ran out of fence paint Blush

Bathrooms coming along well: the workmen have finished apart from the lectrician who's coming next week to wire in the new shower. And I have bought some moisture resistant bathroom paint to give our ensuite a spruce up what with the lovely new bidet, sink and shower. I do need to sealant the floor edges in there too, and replace the bathroom cabinet with a nice new one we got from Ikea. We can use the feed shower when the silicone is all dry

I think morebeta has got locked in the secret room......

MrsMangoBiscuit · 18/05/2013 08:20

Maybe the secret room is the Viridian Room!

Good news on your bathroom, Aethelfleda. :) Our shower is now almost all tiled, our plasterer/joiner/handyman is coming back today to finish off. Then we can paint the ceiling, and get the plumber back in to finish fitting the shower, as well as move the kitchen sink and plumb the washing machine into it's new spot.

The bathroom is currently a stoney cream, not yellowish. The floor tiles are soft brown stone, the wall tiles are a pale brown marble effect (called mocha!). The cabinet, toilet seat and shelving unit are all going to be beech, and the suite is white.

We'd just assumed we'd keep the walls the same colour, but I'm starting to wonder if it won't look nicer with white walls. Opinions please?

MrsMangoBiscuit · 19/05/2013 18:36

We've gone for white. Polyfilled, sanded, and got the base coat on. So far it's looking good, nice and clean and bright, not cold and sterile which is what I was worried about, so that's good. DD had great fun helping us paint too. Grin

We've also done an Ikea trip, bought a new under-sink cabinet and lots of storage for DH's huge DVD collection. The DVDs will be going in the loft, after DH has finished ripping them to his media centre, so that should give us quite a lot of space back. Sadly I have realised that the under sink cabinet is only "cut out" to fit a sink at the top. I've already trimmed it slightly to fit, so now I'll have to take it to FILs to use the jig saw and cut out the bottom too. Stupid mistake, should have checked before I picked up the saw!

How is everyone else's weekend going? Has MoreBeta escaped yet?

Aethelfleda · 19/05/2013 22:26

We've had a pretty DIY-lite weekend. Can use the feed shower tomorrow as the silicone is finally dry: yay!! I need to compile a proper to-do list but fear it would be depressing... So will continue plodding one kne step at a time instead.

One thing we did manage was to put the final fence panel in place (well done DH who circular-sawed it very nicely to the correct width and nailed the panel edge in). I have now painted our side with Wilkinson's wood preserver (dark Oak, £7 a 5 litre tub, will take four tubs to do both sides of all 8 panels, but hey, it's cheaper in the long run. Internet forums claim that the wilcos stuff is better than the big brands for fence/deckimg so who am I to argue with the wisdom of the net!!!)

My next plan is to fit the final velux blind in the top room, cut away the damaged carpet, paint the new skirting and then get cracking on the new bathroom while simultaneously kicking the electrician.

Mum2Fergus · 20/05/2013 20:34

Evening all Smile back at it today! Large cupboard in main bedroom prepped and ready for fitted interior. Joiner rehung door so it opens to right. Electrician been and will quote for extra sockets and porch light. Lovely day so spent some of it outside...3 old rose bushes dug out. Sat for ages just looking at it...huge, well in my mind it is lol...no idea what to do with it lol...

Aethelfleda · 22/05/2013 19:46

The showers are finally complete! Loverly loverly hot water was a bit underwhelmed with the flow rate in all honesty, but hey, that makes it eco-friendly, right?

Have urges to painty painty the walls and ceiling but DS didn't want to nap this lunchtime so no cigar :( oh well, at least we have paid all the tradesman so it's DIY from here on in....

MrsMangoBiscuit · 25/05/2013 17:59

Two more cupboards, and the extractor hood have been removed from the ex-kitchen. Three to go then we're pulling up the sound proofing, stripping tiles, wallpaper and patching up the walls. As for the bathroom, I've gotten the splash back and the windowsil tiled, will get them grouted tomorrow, then we can finish off the painting. Plumber is in on Thursday to finish the shower, and the piping in the kitchen so we can have our washing machine back!

Aethelfleda did you manage to satisfy your painty urges? Grin

Mum2Fergus · 25/05/2013 19:26

Cupboard/wardrobe interior done...will start filling it up later Smile fabric bought to make 2 new roman blinds for bedroom, hopefully nice again tomorrow so can get sewing in the garden! Hunt for feature wallpaper needs to start soon too...have websites for everything else I need. DP can start the wallpaper stripping when hw finishes for hols (teacher) Grin

MrsMangoBiscuit · 26/05/2013 07:36

Wardrobe envy! I can't wait to get the new bedroom storage sorted out so I can start moving stuff back in! How easy is it to make roman blinds?

For anyone who's planning on getting things from Ikea, they have a sale starting tomorrow, so worth checking their website. We'll be rushing in to get DD's new bed (Kura).

Mum2Fergus · 26/05/2013 09:29

Oooh...Ikea, love the place! Blinds fairly easy...you can buy kits which make it super easy, you just supply your fabric. Or you can make from scratch with cords, eyelets and hooks. Ive used both but have kits this time round as they were half price. Using some old curtains for fabric...new pair bought for last house but never got to put up...and the blackout linings from an older pair. Search on YouTube, you'll find tutorial videos there.

Aethelfleda · 26/05/2013 23:28

Well, the bathroom ceiling is painted (or attempted at least.) tomorrow will tell if it's streaky (painting under halogen lights is annoying as it's hard to see every corner well)...

And have done 3/4 of the fence painting, just one more pot needed from Wilcos and it will be complete.

My neighbour commented that we had "new house enthusiasm" to do all this DIY. I think he was saying it in a nice way! Certainly it's very pleasant being able to sit and enjoy bits of house/garden knowing all the effort is making it a nicer place to live in.

MrsMangoBiscuit · 27/05/2013 07:06

I'll keep an eye out for cheap blind kits, but the one's I've seen so far don't look much cheaper than buying ready made. I think I might end up making my own. Got a while to think about it though, as it'll be for the landing (long way down the list!), with big door curtains for the hallway. That way I can choose the fabric I want, rather than just what I can find, thank you. :)

Looks like we'll be doing a third bloody coat on the small bathroom as it's still looking patchy. I just want it all to be white! I hope your ceiling is looking better than our walls, Aethelfleda. At least the grouting is finished and looking nice. Hopefully we'll pick up the wooden bits for the bathroom today and get it all finished by the end of the week.

2 and a half hours until Ikea! Grin

mamapants · 27/05/2013 09:14

Sounds like you've all been busy.
DP is back at work again. But we've had people in doing the timber work for the new roof which will be on the 3 rooms at the back of the house. Also our new utility room is pretty much built. My stepdad is putting up timber work for the new higher ceilings upstairs. We are raising them so the beams will be exposed.
Also DP has knocked down another wall, as the stone wall was about 4ft deep we are going to have a bit more space in bathroom and study now.

Still eagerly waiting to hear about Morebeta secret room.

mamapants · 27/05/2013 09:20

Also very jealous of all you people shopping for furnishings and painting, we are so far away from that point right now!

But have been looking on ebay anyway! And seen some lovely antique desks which is one of the things on our shopping list. And some nice fireplaces, we are looking for one for the kitchen.

kilmuir · 27/05/2013 09:23

just started 6 months of building work, so will be watching

mamapants · 27/05/2013 09:35

Hi kilmuir, what's your house like? What needs doing?
I have an old stonebuilt cottage which needs completely knocking down and rebuilding quite a bit of work. We are trying to retain as much character as possible though as it really is a beautiful house.
We are also looking at a 6month timetable. And are 1mth (and 8 skips) in.

MrsMangoBiscuit · 27/05/2013 12:15

We got the bed! Last one on the shelf, phew! £49.50 down from £130, so I'm quite happy.

kilmuir · 27/05/2013 15:13

Place has been gutted, plaster off all external walls. Need decent insulation as house over. Ahundred years old and was blooming chilly before.
We are having 2 newbedrooms with en suites for teenage daughters, bigger kitchen, hopefully sunken area off kitchen to lounge in, another reception room, moving hallway, and everywhere else decorated
Not looking forward to it. i am rubbish at interior design stuff. Would quite happily wake up and it was all done for me.
I do worry about getting things right as this is really our only chnace to get it right, costing a lot but could not stay as we were.
The builder mentioned how lovely a balcony would be off our revamped bedroom, we look out over fields, husband spent all last night googling glass balconies!
How do you keep interested in the project?

Aethelfleda · 27/05/2013 16:33

Hi kilmuir, this thread is a great motivator! Your house sounds lovely (as does mama's old cottage)... And we're all waiting to see if morebeta emerges from her secret room with a million pounds of pearls...

We'd have loved an old place but the Georgian four bed pile we tried to buy came off the market (sob) and there were no old exciting buildings in the quite specific area we needed to buy in. We were left with the choice of wait a year to see what came on, or look at newer places. And then our current place had its price reduced and we looked at its newness (shudder) but then realised how much space and potential it had... So we're never going to have a gorgeous low-beamed ceiling (sniff) but do have lots of flexibility and a lovely cool airy place with a huge study that's big enough for the family to grow up in. We luffs our house...

Aethelfleda · 27/05/2013 16:36

And well done on the bed mango! the bathroom ceiling is a bit patchy so off to coat two.... Really hope it will look better after the next one!