Support thread for House Renovators/DIYers

[LPlateFlyer]

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!

I have sooooo much DIY that needs to get done.

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!

Finally got around to sorting out the halogen lights in the top level (dressing room/bathroom) and re-fixed the light fitting in the front eaves cupboard (which is boarded so useful for storage). All the lights in the whole house now work!!

The ensuite bathroom looks much happier after a second coat of Dulux Bathroom. Next stage is masking taping and then repainting the walls, repainting the windowsill, then putting in our new Ikea mirrored bathroom cabinet and finishing the filling/silicone sealing of the bathroom floor edges. Then the ensuite bathroom will be epic and sparkly!

Congratulations on the lights! Good news on the ceiling paint too. I think our next coat will have to wait until Sunday, which is very annoying as I want it done now! We also still have the woodwork to paint, which is my most hated DIY job.

Over the weekend though, we managed to sort out the mess I made of the undersink cabinet and it's now in place and full of cleaning stuff. The cupboard from the ex-kitchen that we needed to go in the actual kitchen has been carefully removed, and DH has ripped up all of the sound proofing and odd panels from the ex-kitchen. Getting there slowly, I just hope we manage to get all the main stuff done before I get too big and run out of energy!

kilmuir your house sounds like it will be fantastic when it's done. We also could not stay as we were. We've been here a few years now and have slowly been plodding through, but are having a big push now as we needed to reclaim the third bedroom for DC2, due in September. As Aethelfleda says, this thread is a great motivator. It's also a good source of ideas and tips. I also keep picturing myself sat in my lovely finished house, with a glass of wine, knowing it's all done!

Hello, can I join in please? Am currently getting many quotes to do roof, sort out structural issues and re-render our crumbling new (to us) house. Then I plan to start the next 20 years of DIY.

At the moment just wish everyone would just tell me the same thing rather than all quoting for slightly different jobs! I believe whoever I'm talking to at the time which doesn't help me make any decisions.

Hi Karron, welcome on board!

We are all doing different things, Some window-dressing, and others rebuilding from top to bottom. I'm on the drowning in a million small tasks level myself...

New shower is in, washing machine and dishwasher are plumbed back in, and one of the new kitchen counter tops is in. DH and DD have been getting caught up with the laundry, and making the most of the breezy sunnny weather, getting it all dried, while I've been shoe shopping.

Hopefully this afternoon we'll get the final coat of paint done in the bathroom, and finish cleaning up the paint that's made it through the sheets onto the tiled floor. :( Tomorrow we'll hopefully have the counter tops finished by FIL, and the bathroom lights and shaver socket done by BIL (have a very handy family, lucky us!) We're so close to having the bathroom finished I can almost smell it, or it's just the white spirit!

Good work mango!

Ensuite bathroom paint is drying! I've changed it from blue to minty spa green, and am reeeally hoping it looks OK when dry as at the mo it's all patchy... Also fillered the edges of the laminate flooring, and will be finishing that off with silicon sealant later. Just gotta sand and repaint the windowsill, put up the new bathroom cabinet and get a feature mirror and then that bathroom is 100% finished!

puts fingers in ears and says la la la about the million and one outstanding jobs in every other room

Wow seems like everyone is painting bathrooms and our house doesn't even have a toilet in it anymore!
Our latest is 2 new veluxe windows fitted in the pitched roof of the kitchen. And new guttering.
We have also finalised design of our kitchen. We changed the plan and have decided not to have a logburner in kitchen as well as living room. This gives us a much better layout.
We are having oak units, 2 larder cupboards and a white island. We have also chosen our granite worktops and got an amazing deal as luckily no one else likes the granite we chose. Loved it at the stone suppliers all really beautiful.
We are looking at flooring options now and thinking we might go for slate.
And that's about it I think.

Ooh mama, that's the nice planning side of renovation.
we don't have enough cash for that

Got a nice mirror for the bathroom, so it's nearly done.

Unfortunately my impish DS threw a pot of radiator paint down the stairs today so have to add new stairs carpet to the list. We have insurance but think the excess will make it not worth it, plus it was pretty old anyway. I have (literally yesterday!) splashed out on a Bissell carpet cleaner from the internet, so when it arrives will try it out on the paint (sigh). And I'm SO annoyed at not being able to find anything! The one thing we haven't got nailed yet is storage,

Oh no Aethel what an imp indeed!
Good time to be expecting a carpet cleaner!
You are right and planning the kitchen has been lots of fun. It is going to be the main room and about a third of the budget is going on it. We are very pleased to be able to get the granite- the first quote we got was twice the price so definitely worth looking round.

Dp is off work tomorrow but is having a day off from the house! But hopefully the new roof will be going up this week.

Bathroom's done, la la la!

heads downstairs for a victory microwaved batch cooked curry

Bathroom is still not bloody finished! Got the floor cleaned, started on the woodwork, and I finished painting the walls this morning, but we haven't had a chance to do anymore with lots of last minute family things cropping up. This weekend we are finally getting the cabinets, so they'll go in next week, we'll finish off the woodwork, put the curtains up, and bask in the glow of having one room done! Starting to feel very aware that I probably don't have much time left before 3rd trimester exhaustion sets in. Please feel free to kick me up the arse and tell me to get on with it! :)

Aethelfleda did the carpet cleaner work? Tell me how lovely it is to have your bathroom finished.

Still no news on the secret room? Maybe it's actually a tardis, and Morebeta is off on an adventure with the Doctor!

Hiya! Well, the carpet cleaner didn't really get the dried paint off (I did the best job I could before it dried with simple dilution and scraping) but it did get a LOT of general muck/staining out of the stairs and my lounge carpet is in way better nick since I gave it a going over (it's the Bissell clearview, and is going to get a LOT of use I think!!) the stairs still look stained but it's not too awful, we'll just replace the carpet sometime when I'm back to work...

Haven't totally completed the bathroom as just realised i need to a) put up a new loo roll holder, and b) paint the doorframe, but neither of those are urgent. I must say it is lovely having one room that is nice, and calm, and uncluttered, and darn functional!!! Gives me inspiration for the rest of the heap....

Has been a slow week DIY wise: the list is still enormous! But today I am proud as I replaced the mortice lock on the back door ahem, only six weeks after I bought it. Now feel happy as we have a new (as in different to the vendors') lock on both the front and back doors. And tried to fit window restrictors on our windor but the beggars would not fit: I think (sigh) cos the UPVC is a little saggy with age. Will try tomorrow on the top edges and see if that works....

Bumpity-bump! Has everyone else decided to sell?!?!

We are still plugging away slowly with the DIY. Last tradesman comes tomorrow (to trim the tree), after that we have an optional phone extension re-do (have a quote for that) and that's it, just me and the screwdriver/paint/tools. Seriously need to reorganise the tool storage tho, we have SO many!

Latest thing was putting vertical tool hangers on the garage wall so our manky tool basket is heading tipwards and we now have a neat row of garden tools. Am really hoping they stay on the wall cos the supplied screws and rawlplugs were v cheap and nasty!

And having trouble with the window restrictors: still not managed to sort them out. Will try again later....

Hi, can I join in?

I'm a chronic diyer - on a neverending house renovation project. Feel slightly alone as none of my family or friends so much as pick up a screwdriver if they can avoid it, so would love some company!

Today dh and I have been doing a massive opening for a new french window. It's over 2 metres wide, so fairly hair-raising! Lots and lots of acrows in place...

Hi Liara!

it's been a bit quiet on the thread, but so far there's been a secret bricked-in room at Morebeta's, lots and lots of activity at Mango's and lots of people in and out with various projects in various stages. I'm at the many-many-smallish-tasks stage and have the huge advantage that my house is fully liveable in!

Hello Liara.

We have a week off this week, including today and Thursday child free. Today we have moved the dining room furniture about so we could bring down one of the cupboards from the ex-kitchen, only to discover cable trunking that we'd forgotten about, behind the bookcase. This means we're 4cm short of the cupboard fitting! Now I have to decide if I'm going to try to MacGyver it, or use it elsewhere and buy a different sized one.

The offending cupboard has been dumped in the conservatory for the time being, but at least both the bookcases have been re-organised, with lots of rubbish thrown out, so the dining room is almost tidy for the first time in a couple of months!

Hopefully this afternoon we will be doing the wood work in the bathroom, but we need our man back over to sort out boxing in the pipes. For that we need to have finished ripping everything out of the ex-kitchen so we can get him in to re-plaster at the same time.

Next time I mention we've decided to do 3 or more rooms at once while we stay here, can someone please slap me!

Hi! :)

Acrows are the things that (hopefully) stop the roof from falling on our head as we make a great big hole in the wall.

My project's been going for so long that we have our main living areas complete. However, it is a ridiculously huge rather rambling old farmhouse, so there is still loads and loads to do until it's done.

When it is done it will be far too big for us and we won't be able to face that amount of cleaning, so we'll probably sell up, but in the meantime we're having fun. I love planning new things and getting them started, but I'm not quite so good at seeing them through, so we have lots of different areas in various stages of lack of completion. You may find that I flit around quite a lot in terms of what I'm doing! I have huge lists of many many smallish tasks, so I know where you are coming from Aethelfleda.

Now Mango sounds like she's getting enough done in a day to make me feel ....

Well, I'll make you feel better liara, I'm queen of the baby-steps!

Today I was v pleased as during DS's nap I fitted a new loo roll holder (ooh the excitement!), and this evening finally got the window restrictors to work. Fitted four of the blighters. Need to order more now I know they work!.....
And one last velux blind for our top bathroom. And some fencing for our overlooked bit of patio now the tree has been cleared..

He he Liara, sorry! We're not normally this focused, but we have DD2 arriving in September, and a lot that needs to get done before I'm too tired. DD1 is taking the new bedroom (aka the ex-kitchen) to give her sister the nursery. We stupidly decided that as we were having to have the plumber and electrician in anyway, we might as well re-do the small bathroom, add another radiator, and sort out the kitchen while we're at it. This has run into us re-organising the dining room and conservatory too.

I'm actually looking forward to lists of small tasks, as I can do those on mat leave. Especially if the new one likes slings!

Didn't get round to the bathroom woodwork, but fitted the offending cupboard into the conservatory and moved the table from there to the dining room, so we now have some functional storage space while we focus on the ex-kitchen. Drew up a plan for where the furniture will go, and had a look around for which bits will fit. Also managed to break the new coping saw, shoddy thing, will be taking it back tomorrow!

Seeing as neither DH or DD are awake yet, I think I might make a start with the woodwork now. Here's hoping DD stays asleep for a bit longer!

Well we managed to put up one lintel today.

I blame it on the 9 new chicks that have hatched in the last two days. We've all been down to the hen coop about 17 million times and have a tendency to sit there watching them be clumsy and going Awww...(us not the chicks, they make a right racket).

Put up the last bathroom cabinet and new bathroom mirror in our family bathroom, and a new towel ring in the en suite while DE napped today. And I've ordered the new window restrictors and a replacement handle for the UPVC that helpfully broke off in my hand the first day we moved in

Hope it's all going OK for everyone: updates please!

I still want to know what happened to MoreBeta's hidden room!

New chicks, I'm jealous Liara. Trying to convince DH that we need a duck or two. Slugs have just devoured his veggie plot again, so I'm feeling hopeful.

So is the bathroom all finished now Aethelfleda? I managed to get all the woodwork sanded and washed down yesterday, just dropped DD at pre-school so I'm about to start painting. DH is going to start loading up for a run to the tip, so the ex-kitchen will finally be cleared out ready for our plasterer, who will hopefully be in next weekend.

Anyone else still about on the thread?

Hi everyone been a while since been on here and not sure what I updated on last. I'm impressed at all of you getting work done while little ones are napping. I can barely load the dishwasher with ds let alone join in with the diy.
We now have a new roof on the back extensions, and have had plasterer in rendering the rear of the house and started on the upstairs. We have blocked up 2 windows which were tiny and pointless.
Have 2 veluxes in roof of kitchen. And have started chopping down some trees. Think that's about it.
Need to find time to go look at flooring options for the kitchen as our kitchen units will be ready in about 7 weeks so hopefully the kitchen will be ready in time.

Considering stalking Morebeta to find out about the secret room

I nabbed MoreBeta on another thread earlier, the room is still sealed! The mystery continues.

I got the bathroom painted, DH got everything taken to the tip, including, we think, the brush for the dustpan. We also got the ex-kitchen walls stripped right down, so it's all ready for our plasterer. We also managed to get all DDs toys sorted out by type, some put aside for the baby, and some thrown. Stripping the walls was quicker, she has so much stuff.

Plan for tomorrow is to touch up any bits of woodwork I missed, get the unit fitted to the wall, and the towel rails & toilet roll holder in. Then the bathroom is finished! (At least until the other cabinet I want come back in stock )

mama, we booked a week off, so DD has been in her usual childcare while we've DIYd. She will happily help with painting the walls though.