All Activity

You may find it useful to get some measured plans of the existing building and site and any proposed new layout. That will make it easier to specify what you want. Do you want to improve insulation, ventilation, heating, hot water, solar, cooling etc? These are worth considering early on. £250k sounds a healthy budget but windows and external doors, kitchens, landscaping, automatic gates, wrap around balcony and glass balustrading can eat through a lot of cash.

Where to?

Yes it has been neglected. The ivy has attacked the property pretty badly!This view it's more towards the back of the house and the entrance is higher up towards the right (the driveway is steep). Its definitely a unique layout and part of the reason we fell in love with it. Regarding what needs doing -blimey, how long do you have? The major/structural works include: - knocking down walls between kitchen and dining room (will leave the steel installation and plastering to pro's but can do the fireboarding of the RSJ's myself) - installing a new steel wrap-around balcony with gall balustrades (I can do things like installing the composite decking but the actual fabrication and installation of the frame will need to be outsourced. - Replacing the existing entrance gates (as the entrance is too narrow), with a sliding gate. Ill have to see how much of this I can do myself! Other than that, the whole house needs refurb - new kitchen (might use DIYKitchens for this if they have decent quality worktops), new windows, new external sliding doors, new front door, flooring, lights, plastering in some rooms. The garden needs major refreshing too as we plan to have a outdoor kitchen and vegetable garden. Also plan to turn that garage you see into a gym. WE already have a separate detached garage up the driveway. We've budgeted £250k but i know in the current climate, that may not be enough.

Welcome to the forum. That's what I like, optimism.

The drought has also had me thinking about this and I've been playing around with a pump and diverted shower water. Setup - cheap submersible pump, a long length of hose, and an large old plastic dustbin at the bottom of the garden, next to the greenhouse. I diverted the shower water outlet to a holding tank where the shower drain exits the house, put the pump in there and attached the hosepipe. Simples. Results/comments I thought showers were good for using less water but was surprised at how much still gets dumped each time. I know a shower uses less water than having a bath but it still seems a lot. Two showers and the old plastic dustbin is full. Even using natural shampoos/soaps the soapiness of the water seems strong and there's a lot of scum. Makes me unsure about putting it on the lawn/shrubs - never mind anywhere near vegetables (which apparently you can do with some caveats/caution). This seems like a huge waste of water with few secondary uses unless put through some sort of filter/centrifuge system to clear out teh gunk. We will be setting up a proper rainwater recovery system on our outbuilding using some IBCs, but this was an interesting experiment to keep me occupied for a few days. Also got me thinking about rainwater recovery being the wet equivalent of solar power - the time you really need it is when there isn't much around!

Hello Hayden and welcome. The house looks a bit neglected. It is quite unusual being 3 storey with the integral double garage. What changes are you considering?

It's true that buildings without a DPC rely on moisture evaporating from the wall. However some height difference is needed between external ground level and internal floor level, so that enough moisture has evaporated before it reaches that floor level. If the floor is timber, then you also need ventilation beneath the floor, from one side to the other, to prevent excessive moisture build-up. If there's now a concrete floor with a DPM, that will block the evaporation towards the inside - in which case, unless the wall can evaporate the extra moisture to the outside, it's likely to cause problems on the inside above floor level, making that height difference even more important. In other words, sandstone can only deal it in the right conditions. So definitely a good idea to do some remedial works as suggested above.

Hi! All the best. I'm currently undertaking a full refurb of our new forever home. Ive had experience of dong refurb as I recently did a flip but bit daunted by the scale of the job. I'm planning on taking it easy, enjoying the process and the house, even if it means it will take 2 years Regards Hayden

Hi everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Hayden. Myself and my wife have recently purchased our dream house, which is in need of a lot of TLC, and it's going to be massive DIY undertaking. I'm really excited to join this buildhub community and will input where I can. If people are interested, I will be happy to share my progress as I go along. Happy building!

Done that, using a 3m drywall stud which is nicely straight and is stiff enough. 2mm under the straightedge is generally the worst so that is not significant. 2 areas of about .5m2 are a little worse so I'm going to try the old fashioned 'rub it with a brick' first. I'm still keen to find how thick the adhesive is generally applied. Also any recommendations on brands for primer. As often, the wickes price sets a target.. less 10% and including vat. And of course I am open to being told that I'm wrong on any of the above.

That's the theory. But most warehouse floors are left as they are. And structures likewise. So I think it's overstated, unless the laitance ("fat" to concretors) is very severely overworked and is a paste of very wet gypsum. Even then I am not convinced it's an issue in a domestic situation.

I have a hinge jig, but the slots are a bit larger than the hinge and The hinge positions have conspired against me

Double post? Other one here:

Forgive me for not answering your question and asking another but I thought you always wanted to remove laitence because it was a weaker layer so if you bond on top you risk separation later. If your tiler isn't bothered by it then I'm probably wrong, but would appreciate to know what I've got wrong.

Also, make a story stick from a 2x4 (or whatever) so you can avoid a repeat on other doors (and ideally put the hinges in the same place on all of them)

Fill in the existing holes (drill them one size bigger then glue in dowels of that size/trimmed down wood, matchsticks, etc) This might not technically be allowed in a fire door (not sure, they are pretty stringent on modifications) but I thought to be a legally valid fire door they had to be installed by a certified person anyway. I'd guess in a simple residential door this isn't an issue and once the door is mounted no-one will see it and I very much doubt the filled hole will make any difference whatsoever in a fire.

Well I have fitted my first fire door and it's got too big a gap at the top. 🤬 Any advice welcome. I only pilot drilled half the holes in the door lining, but I'd like full support really. They're 76mm / 102mm = 3" x 4" hinges (photo below). Is it possible to get these with a different screw hole pattern so that I'm dealing with fresh wood for the screws once I have adjusted the routed slots? Is there an easier solution I'm missing?

I'm getting conflicting info re preparing the screed for timber flooring. In other words, people like spending my money. Where there is tiling, we have no issues. The screed has not been ground back to remove ripples or laitence. Dips and ridges disappear using the tiler's skill and some double buttering. In the other rooms we will have oak faced multi ply planks, t and g, 12mm thick. I can't see what is different in laying this instead of tiles. But someone says the screed needs to be ground to remove ripples and laitance. Someone else says it needs latex at any dips. The floor planks are very high quality and won't be bending or slapping in use unless the gap is significant. I'm about to survey all the floors using a 3m straightedge, and will consider the 3mm rule as a pass. Any thoughts on that? Does anyone know how thick the adhesive is as standard, or what might be considered acceptable at any dips? Then the laitance thing. These floors only receive downwards loading and won't be flying up in a draught. But is the screed surface so soft that it comes off if the floor moves? I was thinking that a coat of primer would suffice. And if it's a blue colour then everyone will be happy to see it. Any very big dips or ridges will be dealt with on their demerits... I will soon know the significance.

I'm getting conflicting info re preparing the screed for timber flooring. In other words, people like spending my money. Where there is tiling, we have no issues. The screed has not been ground back to remove ripples or laitence. Dips and ridges disappear using the tiler's skill and some double buttering. In the other rooms we will have oak faced multi ply planks, t and g, 12mm thick. I can't see what is different in laying this instead of tiles. But someone says the screed needs to be ground to remove ripples and laitance. Someone else says it needs latex at any dips. The floor planks are very high quality and won't be bending or slapping in use unless the gap is significant. I'm about to survey all the floors using a 3m straightedge, and will consider the 3mm rule as a pass. Any thoughts on that? Does anyone know how thick the adhesive is as standard, or what might be considered acceptable at any dips? Then the laitance thing. These floors only receive downwards loading and won't be flying up in a draught. But is the screed surface so soft that it comes off if the floor moves? I was thinking that a coat of primer would suffice. And if it's a blue colour then everyone will be happy to see it. Any very big dips or ridges will be dealt with on their demerits... I will soon know the significance.

I've never tested it tbf. But then again I've never had a problem with it.

The conservatives have announced their energy policy It appears to be based on this document https://ukonward.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Powering-Britain_-A-comparison-of-policy-pathways-to-2050.pdf The net effect seems to be to get a lot more of our energy from gas than the current trajectory. This makes their cost savings assumptions very dependent on their assumptions of future natural gas prices. They have assumed a stable future price around £24 per Mwh (in 2025 prices) They are also relying on building an extra 7Gw of nuclear capacity (about 2 to 3 new plants). And they will achive this by making government more focused on delivering nuclear - as if this is a magic wand. These assumptions seem to be, in the words of Sir Humphrey, "courageous". Nowhere on the document can I find anything addressing the energy security in the context of being able to source gas from abroad. There is a lot of focus on "security of supply" - which in the context it is used seems to mean firm Vs intermittent power. But nothing on how we secure the continuity of our power supply if there is an issue with gas imports eg a pipeline or LNG terminal being destroyed by sabotage.

Thanks for all the input folks. Wish I knew more about the construction of these old buildings! Got some full-time patio pros who did an excellent job at a similar property down the road coming to take a look (should have used them in the first place rather than someone who seemed to be more a "landscaper"; ho hum you live and learn). It's basically the same patio as was there before but the slabs were pretty much just laid on earth as a quick-fix for a grassless back plot (think some sand or gravel went down, but no membrane) about 20 years ago. It was grouted but I think a lot of water just drained away down through cracks. It's not so dissimilar from what neighbours have.... there's certainly no "French drains" up against the building. But the last time we had damp problems it around 15 years ago when a storm ripped the gutters off the back wall roof above it (and most of the roof felt too!) and by the time that was properly fixed (it took months) the back wall had gotten quite damp and everyone (there's 4 floors above us) needed plaster stripping and dehumidifiers running. Keen not to have a repeat of anything like that though, so want to get on top of this pronto. BTW, received wisdom is that sandstone construction tenements of this age do not normally have a damp course; supposedly the sandstone's breathability enables it to deal with it: see e.g https://mysweethomes.co.uk/tenement-damp-why-the-standard-answer-is-usually-wrong/ and https://dampdetect.com/rising-damp/edinburgh . Fortunately we've never seen anything like the "rising damp tide-marks on ground-floor flats and stair walls" one of those mentions as a common issue.

Why are you not doing a sump test when the truck arrives one bucket full out the truck, slump test, if it fails it goes back. every video I’ve seen on scc the test it as soon as it turns up.

We don't notice the small rises and falls and especially not consistent slopes. Eg we have a dreadfully poorly screeded room with 17mm variance from one corner to the opposite. ( v Big room) You cannot feel it in walking. The tiler has dealt with it skillfully with double buttering which also loses the dips and ripples. But: it is visible and a pain in fixing skirtings. If the floor was thin LVT then it would follow the curves and show every ripple and I'd worry about it not even lying in straight lines. If the floor was thin laminate I'd worry about ridges and hollows being bridged and bouncing. What am I saying? 1. It depends what floor you are laying. Appearance may be more of an issue than performance or final shape. 2. The screeders' work is awful and next time I'd ask very rigorous questions about method and control. Because of seeing it done well once, I assumed a level of competence which was not there.

@Mr Punter yep, all cut to size. Each one 100mm shorter than the previous. The longest/heaviest was 30kgs so very easy to move around.