Jump to content
Funding the Forum - Thank You ! ×

TheMitchells

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    900

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by TheMitchells

  1. TheMitchells
    After removing the old heating system a couple of weeks ago, the engineers arrived at 10am Monday morning last week - waiting for the delivery of all the 'bits'!  We'd installed a couple of electric oil filled radiators for mum and dad and luckily the weekend was mild.  
    The lorry arrived around 11am, things were unloaded and taken into the back garden, then the guys all disappeared to go and get the pipework.....
    So after lunch, back the 2 chaps came and installed the ASHP into the back garden, with pipes into the roofspace.  (one lives in Stamford, 2.5 hrs drive from here! - no wonder it took a while for them to arrive.)

    Tuesday, we had 3 guys, ftting the radiators into the place.  I was told the electricians would be there thursday and friday to connect everything up. 
    Wednesday 3 guys again, all sorted of things were now fitted into the cupboard and the radiator installations continued.  There were 2 under bench blowers in the kitchen as there are no walls for a radiator.  They were fitted but not connected - needed an electrician.  Two radiators had to be removed and replaced as they had faulty paintwork (nice to know they arranged that themselves, we didnt have to complain). 
    Not sure what happened thursday but no electricians turned up. 🙁
     
    Friday, 2 electricians arrived and started to connect the system.  But then one said they had to leave at lunchtime!  I was not impressed but to be fair, they carried on, until the system was up and running.  I had a quick explanation and off they went, around 2pm.  The house was lovely and warm with hot radiators!  Yippee.  😁
     
    Saturday as I drove to a friends many miles away, we had a call from the parents - they had no heating!  Grrr.  But after emailing the 'boss' - within an hour, he arrived at the house and sorted out the problem - air in the system.  Heating resumed.  😄
     
    Sunday - Mums 85th birthday.  House toasty and all happy.  😁  Dad mentioned a problem with his bathroom radiator which was so cose to the door that it could only be opened half way.  email sent to 'boss' who arranged for an engineer to come MOnday. Which he did (from Stamford), he moved the radiator (cursing the idiot who placed it there) and fixed the fronts onto the under bench heaters.  All looking good.
     
    Tuesday - unknown to me (they didnt tell me), there was no heating again and the 'boss' was called by Dad. He arrived after an hour and got it working again, telling them it was all sorted.  But today, wednesday, when I arrived at 9am, the house was cold.  Arghhhh!!!
    After emailing the 'boss' who arranged for his business partner (the elctrician from last week) to ring and come out. 
     
    In the cupboard, the box which seemed to talk to the thermostat was flashing amber - and not sure that was right, i pressed a button and it turned flashing green.  But still no heat after half an hour.  I then found a manual online for the thermostat - Drayton Digistat - from which i discovered it had been set to a particular schedule for those out at work all day - ie on for a couple of house in the morning, low during the day, warmer for the evening and off at night!  Not ideal for two 85yr olds, at home all day.  After installing the app on the tablet - didnt work - and then on my phone, i was albe to amend the temperatures up to 21oC from 6.30am to 22.00pm with 16oC at night. 
    I could see the Digistat registering that change and start the heating symbol.  but the radiators stayed cold and the temperature did not change from 17oC.  The electrician rang and I told him about the flashing light.  I was told to press it till it was constant green which we did.  And then i heard the pump start and water could be heard moving.  But still no heat. 
    After a couple of hours, he arrived and confirmed that while the App was controling the Digistat, they were not talking to the bix in the cupboard.  After some work and a call to the Manufacturers, he re-set the system and everything seemed to be talking to each other.  I was able to boost the temperature with the App and the house started to warm up. 
     
    So thats the current situation - its taken several visits and several days without heating but fingers crossed, it continues to work.  When it does work, the place is toasty, and I have to admit that all the guys have been great with mum and dad, moving out the way when needed, and being polite/helpful. And the 'boss' and Electrician have been quick to come out and try to fix the problem.  I just hope there are no more calls. 
     
    Will update in a few days.
     



  2. TheMitchells

    The Plans, version 2.

    By TheMitchells,


    Renovation
    How things can change on a six pence! 
    After deciding to go for the ASHP, I had a couple of local firms in to quote.  CVC did come back with a quote of around 20K but without a site visit, I was worried things could add up and that seemed too much.  see the whole ASHP saga here;
    So next week, the new ASHP is being installed.  And the unit is going in the back garden, under the kitchen window.  This is not where I wanted it to go but the company were adamant that we could not have it at the front of the bungalow.  And with certain changes in the pipeline, I am not sure now that we will be doing the extension at all.  therefore I am going with the easy option for now.  If at a later date, we DO decide to add an extension, we'll just have to move everything. 🤔
     
    The reason for the big change is that the property next to this one came up for sale and after looking at it, we decided to put in an offer.  It is larger than our current bungalow and while my parents need help and care, it makes sense to be next door, rather than a 20 mn drive away.  It ticks all the boxes for our current situation, garage, workshops, as well as being next door so seemed the right thing to do.  We now have a complete chain so are just waiting for it all to happen - hopefully January 2025.  Fingers crossed!
     
    Looking to the future, we will have the option to choose which we live in and which we sell.  OH prefers the new one already....... and we arent even in yet. 😁 
     
    I'll update things once the ASHP is in. I just hope it works as well as they say it will.
     
  3. TheMitchells

    The plans. version 1.

    By TheMitchells,


    Renovation
    After building the shower room, we had a free shot at planning so I put in for an extension down the side of the bungalow, to create a utility room and this was granted.  But we did not think my parents could cope with the building work so it was never implimented.  And, as they do little cooking, the current kitchen is enough for them.  See origional and permitted plans.
    However, now that we are planning to move into the bungalow ourselves in the future, we would be  looking to remove the flat roofed lounge extension and extend across the whole back to give a larger open plan kitchen/sitting room/dining area. 
     
    We now need to upgrade the current heating system/addition of ASHP and it would need to have capacity for the new extension too.  So we need a plan for whenever we do the renovation. 
    This turned out to be far harder than I thought.  The side would be extended out 2m, which would then extend to the current length of the lounge.  We would like to have a pitched roof, giving a valted ceiling, tied into the current roof. 
     
    The new exension would have patio doors to the garden and we'd need another door into the garden (I assume we need a second door rather than use the patio doors).  But positions of those and new windows are flexible.  We looked at what furniture we would be taking with us, and then after much discussion, came up with plan 1.  I am thinking the utility room could have a complete wall of units, including the washing machine and a tall fridge freezer, then just an under-counter fridge in the actual kitchen.  We dont have a dishwasher (thats his job) and am thinking an induction hob could sit on the kitchen island.  But our plan does not look like we'd have many kitchen units.  However, he plans to get rid of anything we dont currently use so is convinced we'd manage. 
    (that arguement does not apply to the garage and workshop - just the kitchen!😁)
     
    So with our plan, we can now go ahead with renewing the heating system with an ASHP, radiators in the bedrooms, bathrooms and one large one in the entrance to the lounge.  I am hoping the large night storage unit at the far end of the lounge (under a large window) will be able to stay for now.  Then, we'd install UFH in the new extension eventually. 
     
    My main concern would be to see if we can have a single beam across the whole exension, to avoid a post/pillar in the middle of the open plan room.  It would need to be nearly 8m.  If it were a gulam beam, that would make a fabulous feature with the vaulted ceiling.
     
    Any thoughts??



  4. TheMitchells

    ASHP and radiators.

    By TheMitchells,


    Renovation
    Life has been busy since I started the blog so apologies for the lack of posts.  However, the hot water went off in the bungalow on Monday so this has become an issue again.  In April, the hot water also stopped working.  I called Worcester then as the hot water cylinder was still under warranty. When the engineer arrived, he replaced the immersion but he did say that the installed hotwater cylinder, a GreenStore SC 120l indirect unvented cylinder, should have a boiler to heat the water.  We dont have a boiler.  The hot water is heated overnight by economy 7, via the immersion.  He said it was not designed to heat the water all the  time and that was probably why it failed.  It was installed in Dec 19.
    So I am not sure if the plumber who provided and installed the cylinder gave us something incorrect or not?  He obviously knew we didnt have a boiler.   But too late to moan about that.
     
    It does mean that we really ought to to get cracking on installing a new system that works.  And I would like to make use of  the government grant for ASHP, before they close down it down.  Especially as we have a new government!  Having looked at the Air-to-air systems, I believe we should just go down the ASHP route, with radiators. 
     
    I have therefore contacted CVC to come up with a plan!  The extension and renovation of the kitchen/rear of the bungalow is not looking like it will happen in the next few years.  So it makes sense to go ahead with the ASHP, add radiators to the bedrooms and rear of the lounge, keep the night storage heating for general heating in the lounge (my parents like to be warm) with an electric fire for when it is really cold!  the system will need expansion for when the extansion is built, whenever that is.
     
    If we remove the old warm air unit, which is in the centre of the bungalow, we will gain an extra cupboard.  But where would the ASHP go?  I'd rather not put it in the rear garden or side as thats where we will add the new extension.  Am i able to put it in the front garden?  I have asked if CVC do site visits, so I can be sure they understand the requirements and oddities of the bungalow.  But I dont think anyone does these now - its all done via email and drawings 😕.  I shall let you know what they suggest. 
     
    The second decision is with regards to the addition of PV on the front roof.  If we are doing all this, I need to find out if this would be a good time to add the PV too.  My guess is that it is worth doing everything together. 
    I shall report back what CVC suggest. 
     
    Another call from the parents this morning changed things slightly.  They had not realised but it was the whole night-time electricity supply that wasnt working, not just the immersion!  They have a very strange system with 2 completely separate rings. One, runs off daytime, and has everything on it apart from the hot water cyclinder immersion and the night storage heaters.  The other, night time has the rest.  It would make sense to run the washing machine at night but this is on the daytime ring, so uses daytime supply, whenever it is used!  Very odd.
     
    So I therefore cancelled the Worcester engineer and called Octopus who were very good and sent an engineer out this afternoon.  he checked and confirmed that the night time supply was not getting though so installed a new smart meter.  We are holding our breathe to see if tonight, it heats up the hot water.  But the cable did light up his gadget - so it looked okay.  And the Smart meter should help us see what is using their energy as they seem to be using far more than I would have expected from a small bungalow. 
     
    I have also contacted a local supplier of Renewables to get a quote from them to give us a comparison.  I shall post in the relevant section for comments.  
     
    I guess we knew as part of the renovation, we would have to change the heating system, but we had hoped to do it all in one go.  Hopefully we can make the changes needed now, with the ability to expand into the new extension, once done.
     


  5. TheMitchells

    Solar advice.

    By TheMitchells,


    solar
    While my parents are still in the bungalow, we are reluctant to do any major work as they would not cope with it.  However, I am keen to make improvements if possible.  The heating system is a large very old solid block in the centre cupboard, heated by electric coils overnight (economy 7) and then blown around the place.  It works fine and is quickly heats the place up, which they like.  There is gas in the road but not to the property and when they needed a new hot water tank, we installed a new one.

     
    But their electricity bills are rather large!  They like it warm with a couple of extra night storage heaters on full most of the  time and an electric fire in the lounge for when its cold🫣.  So as their roof is south facing with no shading, I thought it makes sense to add PV and could be used to help bring down their bills (the OH says it will not be of much help).   Adding a battery is an option though it may have to go into the garage which is abuot 15/20m away from the main building.
     
    We had a quote done but someone a friend recommended.   -
     
    DATE: 24/05/23 Page 3 of 8

    Description of goods and services we will provide…
    ........................................ Limited recommends the following price proposal based on the information and suitability of
    your property.

     

     
    This seems quite reasonable and is about £3k less than one we had from Scottish Power who didnt even come and have a look.  At least the first chap came and measured up and had a good look round the whole property. 
    BUT, the OH is quite worried that if we had it installed now, when we did do the main renovation, it would all need to be changed.  he thinks it would be better to wait and do it all at once.  Which I can understand.  On the other hand, we could be having free elctricity for several years.....
     
    Time for a think........
     
  6. TheMitchells
    After my OH's reluctance to go for PV  soon, I needed a plan.  We had already talked and visited a local Eco Architect company when researching for our planned Passivhaus for the time we thought we had a plot.  I therefore got in touch to see what they offered.  We had a zoom meeting when i explained my plans.  Basically i wanted someone to help me plan the stages we could do now to help improve the parents comfort, with the intention to do the whole extension renovation when they don't need the bungalow anymore. So I was thinking cavity wall insulation/triple glazed windows to the front bedrooms (we wouldnt change this when extending) and PV with battery. 
     
    But on talking to the architect, it was suggested for them to help, we needed the long term plan finalised first, which i guess makes sense.  They suggested they help us come up with a plan for the extension and then they could make suggestions for several levels of build - Passihaus, AEBC retrofit standard at 50kWh/m2 and EnerPHit.  they produced a proposal;-
     

     
    Helping to prepare a phased approach will be a further cost which could be up to £2k.  
     
    But when I said that my planned budget for the whole job was £100k, I was astonished when the architect suggested we'd need up to twice that!  That just would not be doable - the place would never be worth that much being spent on it.  I dont mind spending a good amount to make it a lovely place for us to live into our old age but at that rate, it would be cheaper to just make it comfortable with a standard extension and spend the rest on additional heating to keep us warm.  We'd never get anywhere near that back, even with lower bills. 
     
    My calculations -
     
    PV and Battery                                                               10k
    new windows to front and cavity insulation                10k
    new extension to rear                                                   80k  including airtightness tapes, underfloor heating in the rear half, MVHR.  
     
    But maybe I am being unrealistic.  It woud not be a huge extension and we'd keep most of the internal walls.  

     
    The plan above shows the extra space we have to work with.  When he did the shower room, Patrick moved the wall out slightly in the porch, and when he put in the window, he added a lintel suitable for the front door to be moved to the side, leaving the old front door as the door into the new utility room.  we were already thinking ahead. 
     
    The plan now is to have a chat with our builder, Patrick, and see what he suggests.  I know he has done a Passivhaus and so knows how to build well.  I trust him to do an excellent job and with the advice of folks on here, I hope to be able to come up with a plan for the extension then a phased scheme of work which hoepfully Patrick can help with.
     
    And I am going on an airtightness tape workshop soon so I can help with work too. 
     
     
     
     
  7. TheMitchells

    The story so far.

    By TheMitchells,


    Renovation
    We bought the bungalow in 2018 to move my elderly parents closer to us following Mum's stroke.  While she recovered, they needed help most days, i was spending a lot of time travelling back and forward so it made sense to move them closer.  As they lived in Windsor, we could not afford to move that way and I was very suprised when they agreed to our suggestion to move closesr to us.  But it has proved very valuable in the years since. 
     
    I think we were very lucky in that when we started looking, this property was up for sale.  Its a 15 min drive for me but not too close.  The layout was workable and it came with a garage, workshop and a large garden, mostly on the outside, wrapping round the corner plot.  And it was perfect fo a Motorhome, which we'd be wanting for years but had nowhere to keep it.  😃
     

     
    Our first change was to add a shower room as they both struggle to get in and out of a bath.  We had a good builder, Patrick, who we had used on our previous renovation (Scooby Cottage) though we did have to wait nearly a year before he could start work. 
     

     
    Having the shower room made a big difference to them and as we had applied for planning permission, we had a free shot at another for 6 months.  So i drew up plans for an extension to the kitchen, as it is not very large with only a small amount of worktop.  After receiving pp, we decided that the parents would not cope with the disruption so left it. 
     
    But now we are looking to the future and what we can do.  In the long term, when parents no longer need it, we want to extend the kitchen and across the back, to give a larger open plan space, and move in ourselves. Selling our current house to pay for the renovation.  We dont need a lot of space and the bedrooms are fine, we'd use one and convert the other into a dressing/storage room. 
     
    But after wanting to build a Passivhaus for years, and hearing about the benefits of living in such from many on here, I am hoping we can renovate to a good enough standard to give us a warm, low energy, home without any draughts. 
     
    So thats the plan!  I hope you'll enjoy the 'journey' as we progress through the renovation.  Next time - Using an Architect firm.  🤔
     
  8. TheMitchells
    Well, at last we have finished our renovation and have had an offer that we have accepted.
     
    It took longer to get here than we ever thought, over 17months, but I think it was worth it.  After Christmas and our little party, we had the estate agent in who had already sold one of the neighbours houses and before we knew it, the photographer was there and the next day it was online!  we still had a few snags to sort out but we soon had those done, apart from the wooden mantle for the lounge fireplace, which we hadn't found yet. 
     
    After a couple of weeks, we had a good offer and so we are now in the hands of the solicitors.  I am hopeful to have it all completed by end of April. Our buyer was in the middle of selling her place to a first time buyer so I am keeping my fingers crossed that there are not too many problems.  We did say we didn't want a chain, prefering a FTB or cash buyer. 
    So here are a few of the photographs of our amazing house, together with the origonal shots, if I have them. 
     
     
     

      
     
     
     
     
    The dining room.
     
     

     
    The lounge.
     
     
     
     
    Our lovely bathroom - Am very pleased with this
         
     
    The back bedroom.
     
     
     
    I am so proud of what we have acheived. it was our first big renovation and we had to take on many challenges that we had not done before.  But apart from the builder (who did the structural work on the side gable wall and removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room) and the plasterers, we did the lot ourselves!  Poor OH has still not recovered, although his knees are much better now that he is no longer crawling round the floor doing plumbing/electrics/boarding etc. 
    Whenever I mention another nice place I have seen on Rightmove that needs renovating, he turns a strange colour of pale and goes to lie down.  I think I shall have to wait for a little while before looking too seriously.
     
    I hope you have enjoyed sharing this experience/blog with us and maybe have learnt some things on the way; I know I certainly have.  I shall be sad to see the house go - it has always felt a friendly /warm house, even in the middle of winter.  But onwards and upwards!  Maybe we will eventually find a plot and can build our own house or, if not, a renovation for us rather than for profit.   And whatever, I shall make sure there is a blog on Buildhub!  Cheers, The Mitchells.
     
     


  9. TheMitchells
    I am really hoping that this will be the penultimate blog on our renovation!  The Kitchen is finished (apart from a couple of things) and the place is really starting to look nearly finished.  As we aproached Christmas, we decided to have a nibbles and drinks for the neighbours on Christmas Eve, to give everyone a nose around and say hi properly.  we say hello as we pass but thats usually as far as it goes.  It was a good thing to do as we then had the incentive to crack on with the tiling and finish the kitchen as well as tidy the place up.  The OH did two runs to the local tip with his car choc-a-bloc with wood/plasterboard/rubble.  We think there should only be one more tip run before we sell - unless we can just keep adding it to the wheelie bin.  He had a huge session in the cellar with his DeWalt Chopsaw and chopped up all the spare wood into little bits for the woodburner.  All the treated stuff went to the tip but he filled a builders bag!  Then he tidied up the cellar and took quite a lot of the stuff home - we're hoping that we will not need it as it will be a pain to bring things back.  He also fixed the handrail into the cellar and rubbed down the paintwork before giving it a coat of paint.  what a difference a lick of paint makes! 

     
    So here it is ready for the neighbours.

     

     
    The kitchen flooring cleaned up really well and once we had coated it in Topps Tiles Enhancing Oil, it looked great.  we also used the oil on the fireplace, which has eventually had the back painted too.  Still not sure about whether to fit a mantle over it??
     

    And this is the view from the lounge corner into the kitchen.  before it was a very tight, solid right angle corner but opening it up has made such a difference.  the light from the front door gets into the middle room and I love the way the view opens up.  The oak posts are great - still deciding whether to oil them or leave them as is......
     
    So now I have to get on with the coving in the lounge and fixing the stone fireplace.  We have always planned to use bamboo flooring on the ground floor but now we are having second thoughts.  Our Interior designer (sister in law) thinks we should just put carpet down.  It will be cosier, possibly cheaper, and means we can get on with fixing the skirting without worrying about gaps due to the uneven floor.  The carpet will cover any gaps. 
     
    Hopefully the next post will be all the finished photographs.  And hopefully it will be in the next month................................... or two.......................


  10. TheMitchells
    Finally!!  At last there seems to be light at the end of the renovation tunnel.  We had planned to have the house finished and up for sale by spring 2017 but that did not happen.  Then the deadline was summer but no such luck ,  everything seems to take twice as long to do than planned.  But at last we are nearing the finish line.  The kitchen arrived at the end of October from Howdens and I thought we'd have it all fitted within a couple of weeks.  Yet here we are nearing the end of November and its still not finished.  Its half in but we cannot fit the breakfast bar and units till the flooring is done.  We decided to keep the kitchen tiles for two reasons.  A -  they arent too bad - slate tiles which do clean up quite well and B - I tried taking one up and it was a nightmare. They have been concreted in, with underfloor wiring. So I agreed that we would keep them. However, that meant there were a couple of places where our new units did not match the position of the old ones and we needed some extra tiles to fill in. 

    I found some similar tiles at Topps Tiles which should be fine.  Apparently the slate tile is quite 'on trend' so it just shows that old things eventually become trendy and are worth keeping. ( I wonder if it applies to the OH??)
     
    This is the old kitchen before we took out the wall on the right hand side.  That was half of the kitchen with a large range cooker taking up the other side.  The breakfast bar is going where the old house wall was, which was taken out and replaced with rsj's. 
     
    Once the rest of the wall was removed, we were left with a large hole as well as a lump of concrete.  We worked out where the units were going and using an angle grinder, we took out the excess concrete so I could add the tiles.  This was a really dusty job which the OH was not happy about doing but after covering everything up with sheets, as he cut, I hoovered up as much dust as I could and it wasnt as bad as we thought. 

     
    But then when the units were placed in position, we'd got it wrong and we had to cut some more out!  The OH was not impressed but in fact it only took half an hour and I had the area all cleaned up and ready for tiling.
    Unfortunatly that was when I came down with the flu bug which has meant no work for nearly a week, and then we are away for a few days at the weekend so its into another week before I can get the tiling done.  Thats the way its been and why the renvation is taking much longer than planned.  But never mind!  We are getting there slowly. 

    So here is the kitchen to date.

    The new sink and tap has been plumbed in and the oven (Ikea) and induction hub (Howdens) are in and working.  Two sections of the Rustic Oak worktop are in place but now he is waiting for me to get back to work and get the additional tiles in place so he can add the breakfast bar units and top.  The single unit on the right faces into the middle room and next to it will be a 700mm wall unit under the worktop and accessed from the main kitchen side.  These units are where the wall was and it makes the kitchen much bigger.  The compromise is that the breakfast bar takes space from the middle room but we think the kitchen was the important part and it does give much more storage than it ever had. 
    The OH has been quite impressed by the Howdens units.  The quality and fit have been very good and there have been some improvements made since the last kitchen we bought, ten years ago.  Okay, it is not a top quality kitchen but we are very happy with it.  Little things are much better.  For example, the small bits of metal that support the shelves now have a little sticky up bit which locks the shelf in place so it does not slide out.  And the legs were much better to fit and adjust than the old ones.
     
    The only issue occurred when he went to fit the legs onto the drawer unit (far left) and realised that the base had been put on upside down so the holes were actually inside the carcass.  I rang the lcoal store and explained the problem but they did not seem to believe me (a mere woman - what would I know!!) and decided to send out a sales rep to see what the problem was.  He turned up within the hour and was very good in arranging a replacement the following day once he agreed withour diagnosis.   And we got to keep the old one as it was of no use to them - it would be impossible to turn the base round without damaging the unit.  So all we need now are some drawer fronts and we have another drawer unit for free.
     
    In the rest of the house, the carpets and doors have been fitted to the bedrooms and stairs. The rest of the house has been plastered and I have been busy getting the garden sorted.  We had pushed the garden back in front of the house to give ample room for sitting but I wanted to create a proper wall and border (I am a gardener after all).  So I installed concrete foundations, then a twin wall using concrete blocks at the back and reclaimed bricks from the house.  It took a lot of work but I am very pleased with the result.  I did think that as the bricks were all odd sorts and colours we may have to paint the wall but it looks brilliant as it is.  And we got the concrete blocks from a skip in BIcester so the only materials were the sand, cement and the coping stones for the top. 

    I have used driveway pavers for the lawn edge and have now planted up the border.  The only job now is to level the lawn and re seed where necessary.  By the time we come to sell - probably in January or February now, it should all have settled in and the bulbs I have planted will be coming up - snowdrops and Narcissis. 
     
    So what is left to do - finish the kitchen, clean and tile the kitchen floor, lots of odds and ends with CT1 and Filler, much painting, finish the coving in the lounge and then lay the bamboo flooring. Not much at all...... 
     
     
     
  11. TheMitchells
    Wow, I cannot believe its 4 months since the last blog entry.  Life has just been busy, busy, busy and for a while, there didnt seem to be much to report, even though we have been busy.  The bedrooms have been plastered and painted, skirting fixed and the bedrooms doors have been bought and are awaiting fixing.  The best thing was finally gettitng the bathroom fitted. Its been a while since we had a working loo and while the 'portaloo' in the cellar was adequate, the new one is fab!
    Fist we had to rebuild the walls which was a shame as the middle room has looked great with all that space. 
    Then we addede 9mmply (I think) which covered all the chipboard joins and gave it rigidity.  Sealed with pva and screwed down.  Although there are joins on the left hand side, these are going to be under the units and bath so we arent worried about them.  The main part is all one for the lino to cover.

    The bath was one of the smallest we could find, 150cm long and we extended the side wall into the middle room to fit it in without having to dig into the exterior wall to fit it in, although fitting it was a PITA. 
    AS always, the OH soon had it all fittd and I could start the tiling.  having looked round at showrooms, we went for couple of vertical mosiacs, one opp the loo so you can see your relection!, and the other above the bath, along the shower line.  They look smart although I did have some issues as they are a thinner tile than the rest and it took a bit of time to get it right. 

    The loo was a bit of a pain as we didnt really have many options for its location due to the plumbing already in place, but then we had to get the waste through the floor avoiding the floori beams, which of course were directly where he wanted to go.  So he had to use a side bendy thing to mive the waste a few inches to the left.  Its not perfect but it works and once the sink was in, it was not too noticable. 

    We're quite pleased with the final look - sorry about the photo's - its hard to get a decent picture of such a small room.  But its almost finished, just a couple of little touch ups with the sealant and a glass screen.  Even the radiator is up and running.  still needs a door!  but a curtain works for now.

     
     
     
     
     
    Upstairs the walls were plastered and painted and I'm very pleased with the look. 


     
     
    The lounge has also been done and the ceiling repaired from the foot through it - you cant see where it happened.  Am very happy with the plasterers apart from the mess they make!  I spent a couple of hours cleaning the stairs, ready for painting the edge, only for the OH to paint the walls and not bother cleaning off the excess off the wood, so I had to do it all over again!

     
    But after filling and rubbing down the wood, I have undercoated the sides of the stairs ready for the final coat and the carpet.  Its not briliant but as the wood is probably over a hundred years old, the buyer will have to accept the odd bump and crack that I couldnt cover.
     Here are before and after shots.

     
    So what else?  Here's the lounge with the lights fitted and working.  the skirting is cut and just needs to be fixed and I ahve the coving to put up - going for a polyeuythene one from Screwfix which had excellent reviews as its very lightweight and easy to cut.  I shall let you know how it goes as i have ever done coving before. 
     


     
    We had a chap in yesterday to come up with a plan for the kitchen.  As it is such as small space, we wanted to get some ideas to add to the layout that we have come up with.  We have gone for Howdens as they are very reasonably priced and they have a sale on now so hopefully we can get a really good price.  But thats for the next blog post - I'll have finished the garden wall then too so more photo's.  Its all coming together now but still seems to be taking ages to get to that finishing line.  I guess we'll ge there, when we get there, no good rushing and making a mess.
     
     


  12. TheMitchells
    Its been a while since the last blog and lots has happened.  We'd been busy with other things and planned to crack on with the house but while on the way to our house a couple of weeks ago, the OH was hit by a car which failed to give way at a junction.  He was riding his cycle, got thrown up and across the road, landing on his head.  Luckily, nothing was coming the other way, and he was wearing a helmet which took a lot of the impact and somehow, apart from lots of scrapes, his main limbs were fine, it was just his head that was badly hurt.
    He suffered a fractured cheek and eye socket but luckily, his eye appears okay.  There were no fractures of the head or neck so after a night at the hospital he was sent home.  A week later he had an op to fix the cheek and is now recovering from that.  His good looks have returned with only a small scar around the eye.   Another week and I'll be sending him back to work - he can do the painting at least!
    And in case you are wondering; the car driver was reported for careless driving and has admitted liability.
     
    Back to the house and a few pictures of the plastered bedrooms.  What a transformation from their origonal state. 


    The old windows had plasterboard added right up to the glass so I did take it all off and redid the reveals.  It looks so much better now. 
     
    The new cupboard on the landing and door to the front bedroom.

    and the back bedroom;


    This is the wall in the last blog which was my first plasterboarding attempt - it looks much better now.
     
    We are looking to start on the bathroom downstairs next.  I have been busy sourcing everything and once the OH is back to normal, it should leap forward.  The stud wall is in place, the bath is sitting in the bedroom and I am waiting for Nicholls to give me a good price on the rest of the furniture. More to follow...............
  13. TheMitchells
    Some of the plaster of the bedrooms was very loose and severl months ago, I stripped these areas, leaving any sound plaster.  However, this has left me with very uneven walls. 

     
    The plasterer suggested that we apply plasterboard to the walls and then he'd come in and skim over, making it all look nice (hopefully).  But before we could apply the plasterboard, I had to get the walls to the same depth or the dots/dabs would be huge in some areas. 
    So I decided to use the pieces of plasterboard I had and stuck them onto the wall, before using Hardwall plaster to fill the gaps. 
    It may look a little strange but it seemed to have worked.

    Okay - it might not look pretty and I am sure there was probably another method I should have used,  But it was all I could think of. and all I had to do then was fill in the gaps ready for the PB.
    We got a stack of 1800x900 delivered as these were not too heavy to carry and we didnt think the larger ones would actually fit up the stairs.  so after manhandling them into the house, (down the alley and along the path, one at a time!) and I had watched several HooTube clips of how to fix PB, I was ready to have a go.  I even had bought a hawk to go with the rest of the tools.  But as I am sure you all know, its not as easy as it looks.  Mixing the adhesive was okay but getting it from the hawk, onto the trowel adn then onto the wall was impossible.  It all ended up on the floor!  So I swopped for smaller tools - the  trowel for holding the adhesive and my faithful wallpaper scrapper for applying it to the wall.  Worked a treat.  The only thing was that the dots and dabs were a bit smaller and so there were lots of them.   

    Dont laugh!  This was my first wall and It worked; the boards stuck like glue and once dry, it was all completely solid. I did get a bit better and even started making sure all the edges were sealed by the adhesive, particularly around the sockets and ceiling join. 
    The same wall once finished

     
    We even have made a lovely cupboard on the landing - ideal for hoovers and stuff.

    We are now waiting for a plasterer to come and give a quote to come and skim all the walls and ceilings, hopefully making it all look pretty. 
     
    So after many months we have pretty much finished upstairs, apart from the painting and fixing the radiators after its been plastered.  the next job is the big one which we've sort of been dreading!  The lounge floor! 
     
    When we had the survey done (nearly a year ago now), it was highlighted that some of the ends of the floor joists, where they sat on the exterior alley wall, were rotting and needed replacing.  we just were not sure how much would need doing or how we would do it.  But we'd give it a go.

     
    First job was to take up the floor. 

    It started with pine tongue and groove, follwed by silver thermal bubblewrap sheets, help down with upside down gripper rods ontop of the chipboard. 

    As we lifted it, we were surprised by the amount of mould on the boards, under the insulation.  But I guess we should have expected it.  that corner of the cellar below was always damp and they had fitted rockwool between the joists which were sodden.  So I guess the chipbaords and the joists were always going to have issues with damp.


    We could pull up the chipboard with our hands around the front door, it was so damp.
     
    As we lifted the floor, we could check the conditions of the other joists and luckily the ones on the firepace side were all okay.  There was a very large cross beam on which all the  joists were supported which was supported in turn
    by two accro props and a very large lump of wood, which was stood on the damp floor, so had a very rotten base. 
    We could see where many bits of wood had been added to the ends, underneath, alongside the joists, anywhere extra support was needed.  it was a real mishmash!


     
    We decided to add a new joist, across the middle of the floor which would allow us to get rid of the accro props.  And replace all the beams at the alley side of the room, which had the most rot.  I popped to the shop for milk and when I got back, the whole front floor had gone.  access was now via a ladder! 
     

     
    After cutting our new cross beam, the OH used joist hangers to attach all the cut beams.  The far end was to sit on the wall, where that loose brick is, sitting on a damp proof membrane with the other end attached to another structural beam, next to the stairs.  However, that wasnt looking great so we plan to add a wooden prop once i have created a brick plinth for it to sit on. 

    Okay, it isnt attached on the photo - I'll get one of that on Monday But it is done and looks so much better.  all the rubbish beneath is gone and the accro props are only supporting the new beam till the new prop is fixed in place.  The end on the wall is fixed on an engineering brick with dpm around it.  so hopefully this beam will not rot in the next few decades.
     
    Next job is to attach the rest of the new beams and hope the floor is level.  It wasnt to start with so any improvement will be a good thing. 
     
    More photo's next week after we fit the new periscope airbrick thingy to give additional ventilation to the cellar, and fit the new joists so we can actually walk in from the front door without falling into the cellar. 
     
     
     
     
  14. TheMitchells
    We seem to have made huge strides in the last two weeks with both of us spending a good amount of time at the house.  The pipes have been laid ready for the radiator as well as the lights for the downstairs lights.  

     

    To try to get the rooms ready for skimming, we needed to sort out the bedroom floors.  they were a mish mash of old boards, some damaged where we'd lifted them (tongue and groove is hard to lift without lifting them all).  So we took the decision to replace them all - 20 sheets of chipboard at £150 for both bedrooms from a local builders merchants which I have started to use.  It was £50 cheaper than the others I got quotes from and they delivered the following day.  I had already bought Earthwool from Wickes while on offer a few months ago and we filled up the floor to help damp down the noise passing into the rooms below and also I wanted to minimise draughts between floors.  That went fine. 

    Then we started to lay the boards with the OH marking the locations of all the pipes and wiring. 


    It was all going well when someone got a bit cocky and forgot to watch where he was going - and you can guess the rest!  Luckily, he fell backwards and landed on the previously laid boards but we now had a new hole into the lounge ceiling which was the only nice ceiling in the whole house and wouldnt have needed anything doing to it. 

    I was just happy he didnt fall though and he was happy he didnt land between two beams! 
     
    I was also glad it wasnt me or I wouldnt have heard the end of it..... But it was great when we later went home and discovered some plants I had on the bathroom window cill had leaked water onto the wood beneath, warping the wood - he didnt dare say too much as I'd been so understanding about the hole in the bedroom floor!! 
     
    We managed to stick some pieces of PB ontop of the hole so we can, later, repair the ceiling and hopefully our plasterer can make it look nice.

    At least then we could carry on and get the job finished and I have to admit, it looks much better than the piecemeal effect earlier. 
    The pipes for the two bedroom radiators were installed with the board above left loose so it can be lifted when we get round to installing the radiators, which is after the walls are skimmed.
     
    As we took out the wall between the two front bedrooms and created the large bedroom as seen above,we also had lost the landing bedroom wallAs was.
    As is now. seen from inside the bedroom.  You can see where the old wall was on the ceiling.
    so with some of the Wickes timbers which were bought when on offer (£2.15 each less our 10%discount), we created a new bedroom wall and also a cupboard for the landing.  Its always useful to have somewhere for the hoover/ladder for the loft etc. And should the new owners want to reinstall the third bedroom, they can do it easily enough by going through the cupboard. We put a strip of wood on the back of the cupboard and OH will wire in an aerial cable and socket as that top corner will be the ideal place for a TV on a bracket.  Perfect for watching tv while in bed, if thats their thing.  The OH will get that PB'ed next week.  Hopefully we'll be ready for the plasterer upstairs in a week or two.  And it will be fantastic to see upstairs almost finished - even though there is a huge amount to do downstairs, it will be a nice milestone completed.
     
    Next blog - my plastering attempts and all change in the garden.

  15. TheMitchells
    Well the kitchen wall has gone and we love the extra space - shame its only for a while till the bathroom wall gets put back.  Our neighbour needed somewhere to store her old sofa and asked if we could keep it for a while so the room is now half full with that.  It gives us somewhere comfy to sit in front of the wood burner but it is a pain wehen we have to move it back and forward.  Luckily we are concentrating on the upstirs so its not getting moved often.
     
    Most of the last couple  of months has been spent sorting out the electrics upstairs as well as preparing the windows of the front bedroom windows for plaster boarding.  The OH has been doing the lights and switches upstairs, with the cables in position for the downstairs ceiling lights. Its lovely that we now have working switches although as the hours of daylight are getting longer, its much easier than it was moving portable lights around to where ever we were working.  
     
    The surrounds of the front bedroom windows were awful and I ended up taking the plasterboard and various bits of foam/wood and brick from around the sides and bottom of the frames, to enable me a) to clean the frames and b) to actually see a frame.  It looks so much better and in one part, there was a huge hole behind the plasterboard

    and I ended up building a column of half bricks in the cavity to help fill it up. 
     
    I then used low expansion foam to fill in the gaps (I could see daylight at the top of one side) and stuck some pieces of wood at the top of each side, thinking that at least they now have something to screw into if the new owners decide to fit blinds.  

    It probably looks a right mess as I used spare bits of wood stuck to the foam to fill out the spaces before fixing the plasterboard to the sides, having already fitted the cills, using the Soudal foam to fix it in place.  That worked a treat until the foam gun stopped working! 
    The OH spent a good hour cleaning it all out, using the Soudal cleaner that came with it.  but when we put the gun back on, the foam oozed out in a trickle!  Then when we disconnected it, the foam suddenly squirted out all over the place - and its very sticky!!!  It was all over the floor and us. 
     
    Eventually, he gave up and we binned the gun - he really did clean out every single bit of it but still it just oozed.  So I ordered online some hand held ones which come with a straw and were much cheaper than buying them at the BM - but thats another post!
    They arrived the next day and I had a go - I was not happy as the foam just oozed out too, till I remembered that I had to hold them upside down and then it worked great. (that wasnt the reason the previous day, we were doing it correctly then)   So the windows now had new sides, completely covered in plasterboard and they look pretty good, if I say so myself.  And we can see most of the frame too.

    Following the advice from a plaster post here, I have been experimenting with plaster and adhesive, to try to make some repairs to the walls. 
    Downstairs, (actually in most rooms) more of the plaster was loose so had to be removed.  but this revealed rather a large crack.  This is a wall between us and next door, and next to the chimney breast.  
     
    The pillar on the left is the new one which holds the RSJ's between the kitchen and middle room.  So I dont think the crack is too much to worry about - I cant see that wall disappearing anywhere - apart from into the cellar beneath!  Oh dear, hadnt thought of that, So it was out with the pva then I patched up all the holes with hardwall plaster.  I plan to practice my plastering skills on that wall, once the wires are in for a socket  or two, when the OH gets round to those. Maybe we'll take a look at the foundations under that wall in the cellar and make sure they exist......  I dont want to spend all that time plastering it, for the whole thing to fall into the cellar. 
     
    One of the things we were concerned about was the way the rear bedroom floor bounced - it was quite a lot..  So we bought some extra joists and the Sawmill kindly cut them down to match the old size of the new ones.  I thought the price was quite reasonable - £12 per length - is that good?  110 x 50mm x 3metre.
    We added them to the old floor, typically adding one every second old beam.  Once the noggins were fitted, the bedroom floor scarecly bounced at all! 

     
    One of the big problems were are having with the renovation is deciding in which order to do things. I couldnt sort out some of the walls till the floor is on place.  We wouldnt fix the bedroom floor will we have all the lights fixed in place for the rooms below and I cant fit the insulation into the fllor space till the lights are in.  we couldnt fix the lights till we had a dining room ceiling so it was time to get the ceiling done now that the new joists were in. 
    I was a bit worried about doing this as we discovered how heavy PB is when we did the top of the stairs ceiling - my arms were aching holding the boards in place till they were screwed in.  I did fnd a large wooden post that I could jam under one end while I held the other but it wasnt ideal.  The decision was made to buy 1800x900mm sheets to make it much easier on ourselves.  and we also managed to borrow a couple of props which were brilliant.  It may not be the best ceiling plasterboarding but it works and I am quite proud of it - for our first attempt (not including the small landing ceiling)
     
    We have even managed to cover the RSJ - using a sheet of hardboard, to make up the difference in levels and give us something to screw the light fittings to, then one of plasterboard.  CT1 worked brilliantly!  We left it overnight and it was absolutely solid by morning. 

     
    The props youu can see are under a small corner bit left for me to do today.
     
    Speaking of hardboard - a week or so ago, I popped to a wellknown brand of kitchen supplier to find they had moved. The guys were just sweeping the floor, ready to shut up shop. Outside was a huge skip, and I could see lots of nice pieces of wood sticking out the top.  I asked if I could take some and while they didnt say I could, they didnt say I couldnt.  He actually said they'd be gone in an hour..... And the skip was being collected that afternoon......
    An hour later I was back and with ladder, was able to get up to the top and I took out 10 sheets of hardboard, around 4x5ft.  It was heartbreaking to see so much wood going to waste - and if I'd found out earlier, I would have spken to the manager to see if we could have had more.  However, its better than nothing. And to make sure it didnt look sneaky, I parked in front fo the skip in full view of everyone passing and wore a bright yellow jacket!  I'm still waiting for that knock on the door...
     
    Unfortunately once home, we discovered that some of the sheets were slightly thicker than the rest.  But three fitted onto the bedrrom floor really well.  Most of the old boards were tonge and groove and getting them up to work underneath was horrible, with most getting damaged corners and sides.  so we plan to use the best of the two rooms in one and buy new for the other.  Its just a shame all the boards were not thick enough to use.  They'd have done one complete room.  
    I am sure they'll all get used eventually. 
     
    So with the ceiling fitted, we had to make decisions about where the downlighters were going.  The OH had put wiring in for 4 in the dining room and two in the bathroom and today we measured and mused and eventaully made decisions on where they'd go.  Then it was down to Denmans to get the lights.  They had some new ones whch the OH liked the look of.  From KSR Lighting, they are 'three in one' LED downlights.  on the back is a small switch which changes the light from warm to mid to white light (6000, 4000 and 3000kelvin), they are fully dimmable and easy to install.  At £17 each, we agreed to give them a go.  He particularly liked the fact that we could choose which light we wanted, once in situ.  We'll probably leave them on the mid setting but they can be eased out and changed if needed.  I shall let you know how they turn out.  They must have been easy to install as I only left him there for a couple of hours and its all done. 
    I can now start getting the insulation fitted into the joists before we screw the boards down for good. Then we can get the walls ready for plastering. 
     
    Oh, and we've bought radiators so they need to be fitted (or the pipes put in place) too.  But I think thats enough for one post.  its slow progress as we both have other things which take us away from the house more than we'd like but we're slowly getting there.  And as long as we dont start listing all the things that still need to be done, we remain reasonably happy with progress. at least I do - and I am learning all the time.  Initially we hoped to have the place ready to sell by spring but thats not going to happen. 
    Maybe we'll be out for Christmas......
     
     
     
     
     
     


  16. TheMitchells
    Not a lot happened over Christmas and New year while we waited for the builder, Patrick, to arrive to remove the pillar between the kitchen extention and the middle room.  We initially decided to not remove the pillar but after great thought, it seemed to be the best thing - it would create more light into the dark middle room and hopefully it would make the kitchen easier to fit out.  And at a cost of around £2k it was a large chunk of the budget. 
    This is the view across the room, into the kitchen from a couple of months back.  You can see how dark the middle room is.

    This one makes the room look bigger than it will be as we have removed the bathroom wall - it currently has an open plan loo....

     
    The RSJ's in the garden - our only snow of the winter so far.  Very exciting day when it all got going.  but then, I am easily pleased......

     
    The back wall of the house is a thick rubble wall while the kitchen extension was only build a couple of decades ago so of normal construction.  But I dont think any of us realised how large the stones were in that rubble wall.
    Getting the RSJ's into position - I wouldnt have thought of doing that and then once all the props were in, I wouldnt have been able to bring in the steels.  Good job we had an expert!

     
    This shows some of the rocks taken out of the back wall in the bedroom, above the middle room.

     
    The view into the kitchen!
    There had been a pillar to the right of the wall being removed on which the RSJ would sit but once exposed, Patrick was not happy with it.  So he removed it all and build a new pillar.  The unexpected advantage of doing this, is that now the new wall will be level with the rest of the kitchen wall, making it much easier to arrange kitchen units. 
    This is the new pillar - much better!

     
    Patrick and the OH removing the current wooden beam.

     
    The new steels are in place and the middle room joists are refixed with steel hangers.
     
     

     
    Then its my turn to get busy.  To avoid too much mess, I took out the bricks and stones individually and was able to clean off the lime mortar to leave a rather large pile of perfectly useable bricks.


     
    So this is how it looked on Saturday by the time we packed up. 
     

     
    What a difference!  we are thrilled.  And we have now decided to have a U shaped kitchen with a breakfast bar where the rest of the wall is.  Thats the next project for me - plan the kitchen units and get prices from Wickes, Howdens and Ikea.  Hopefully before the sales run out next week.  Even if it means storing them in the garage till we need them, if we can get a good price, it will be worth it.
     
    And does anyone need any large cotswold stones?? we have a few.
     
     
     
     
     
  17. TheMitchells
    Things have been moving forward last month with the render on the gable wall finished.  I think it looks great and so I was able to get it painted as we have had such good weather!  Three coats on the new bits and one coat on the rest.  And the idiot that I am, I have no photographs of the finished work from up the scaffolding.  You will just have to take my word that it looks really good! 
     
    But with autumn here and winter arriving far too quickly, it was becoming clear that we needed to get some heat into the house.  We had had a quote for woodburning stoves for the front and back rooms but it was for over £6k so we said no thanks.  After much researching online, it seemed that while we could do it ourselves, we would not be able to certify the work and I found no one was willing to complete a certificate if they had not done the work themselves, understandably, I suppose. 
     
    A friend recommended one chap who came to have a look.  He quoted around £2,300 for a stove, liner, all the trimmings and the certificate.  After looking aorund online, I found the same stove for £130 less than he quoted and he was happy to order it for me, and even had it delivered to his address which solved the access issue at ours.  So we went with him.  And I made sure I was there to watch how it was all done. 
    Before the installation, he told me I had to raise the hearth by about an inch to comply with regs.  I managed to remove the tiles, only breaking a few (they had been there for years!)  but as we had found a pile of spares in the cellar I was not too worried.  So after buying a bag of self leveling compound, I set about edging the hearth with some wood and after mixing it up, poured a bucketful of the compound onto the old hearth.   
    I guess I should have realised that the wood round the edge would not work very well as it was sitting on tongue and groove.  Groove being the problem! 

     
    It was like that chap who tried to keep the tide back.......As fast as I sponged it into the hearth, it seeped out again.  Luckily it started to set after 10 mins and after I pushed kitchen paper into the gaps, it stopped seeping out.  And I guess thats part of the learning curve! 
    I returned the next day and mixed up another bucketful and this lot stayed within the wood surround but it was too thick and dried uneven.  By the third bucketful, I think I had it right.  Not too runny and not too thick.  It leveled out up to the top of the wood surround and I was happy to lay the tiles ontop. 
    However, when laying the tiles, I ended up being two short! 
     

    After visits to several tile shops and quite a few telephone calls I discovered its quite hard to buy hexagonal quarry tiles of that thinkness.  But I was not deterred!  I bought another tile of a similar colour and after making a cardboard template, I was able to cut two tiles from the one larger one and fit them in.  Due to the variable colouring of the tiles, I dont think anyone will even notice. Particulaly as they will be under the stove.

     
    We will need to edge the whole hearth evenually but thats a problem for another day.  Our intention is to have bamboo flooring thoughout the ground floor and we may try to edge it with something similar.
    So the chaps came on wednesday and after providing tea/coffee and biscuits (and toast for elevenses) in large amounts, they seemed happy enought answering all my questions.  And to be fair, I think we made the right decision to get the professionals in.  Following instructions from Online sites and YouTubes would not have been enough and we would not have been able to install it as well.  so we now have a working stove! 

     
    Unfortunatly due to circumstances, we were not able to light it till today so I was quite excited to finally get it going.  And with the drop in temperatures outside, the house is really starting to feel cold. 
     
    And later we enjoyed our first lunch sitting in front of the fire. 
     
    The OH had been busy making a log store using a load of featheredged boards that I had found in a skip. 

    Theyre around 3 ft long and they filled the car boot.  so for the price of four lengths of treated timber for the frame we now have a great store outside for when we get more logs.  Picture to follow of the finished article - I was too busy gazing into the fire!    
     
    Things learnt - slef leveling compound does not go very far.  It took two bags for that small area.  And when doing the budgeting, I did not include costs for things like the compound and the adhesive for the tiles - all of which will add up to quite a lot by the time we finish the house.  They are more expensive than I thought. 
     
  18. TheMitchells
    Tuesday was the date given and, yippee, he turned up and got started.  By the end of day, the render at the top of the gable had been removed so we could see the area that was bowed out.  We were all a bit suprised to find that the actual wall was quite sound. we thought it would be fairly loose but it wasnt and the render was sound too.  So the decision was made to only remove the top 18'' which is the main part bowed out.  The cracked render would be opened up, re-rendered and I will paint the whole wall, once everything is complete.  The edge of the roof was exposed and the tiles were removed along the edge. 

    The battens and felt seem okay apart from the very ends.  The first three ridge tiles are loose and will need fixing. 
     

    this is an unusual view of the inside of our attic - we'll not see this again after tomorrow.  You can see the pile of cement blocks with which he will build a pillar in the centre on the wall, to tie it into the outside brick wall.  And there are 4 metal ties which will tie the wall to the rafters to ensure it does not bow out again. 

     
    Day 2 - the gable wall has been rebuilt. the pillar in the attic has been built and metal ties added in four places. 
     

     
    I think it looks really good - but then, I am no expert - any comments welcomed from more experienced persons.  By the time I arrived this morning, (day 3), the new slates were being fitted.  When I got back to the house by mid afternoon, it was all done.  the slates look super and the ridge tiles have been fixed in place.  I am a very happy bunny!
     

     

     
    And this is the pillar in the attic.

     
    Although the garden/patio area now needs some tlc
     

     
     
     
     
  19. TheMitchells
    Well another month has passed and the OH is now only 2 months away from retiring.  He can't wait to get cracking on the house full time - no rest for the wicked.
    We have been doing various things, fitting in with our usual work but nothing major; we are waiting for the builder to arrive to start the outside work. the scaffolding has been up for 2 weeks and the builder should have been there at the beginning of the month but its nearly the end of Sept and no sign yet.  I have been chasing him up and he promises to be there tomorrow......
    We want him to repair the top of the gable wall and add an internal pillar in the attic to support the single brick wall, repair the render and check the overhang of the roof, which isnt too good.  As well as repoint the chimney breast.  The great thing of having the scaffolding is that we can get a better look at what needs doing.

    There is one point where we can see the wooden battens, there is a gap of about 2 inches at the worst place. 

    the end ridge tile is completely loose and the next two look like they'll be loose too. there is quite a lot to check but hopefully not too much unexpected.
     
    On a completely different subject, its great fun looking at all the other properties around. I did get told off for pointing at a neighbours garden.  There was no one looking!

     
    So - updates on the cellar dampness.  Having spoken to several of the neighbours it seems that the area does have a high water table.  Most of our neighbours and the local Waitrose, 300yds away, regularly has a flooded basement and so I am not worrying so much as before.  Also, we realised that the front porch guttering was emptying into a water butt but the butt has no overflow and as it was damaged/cracked halfway up, it just overflowed onto the patio area, directly above the corner which was damp.  I have now installed a new water butt and am keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesnt overflow.  But this is just a temporary solution until we can find a long term way of taking the water away - there isnt a drain anywhere handy so it needs sorting long term.
     
    In the cellar itself, we have removed all the Rockwool insulation that had been stuffed between all the beams, beneath the lounge cellar.  The Rockwool was soaking wet in places and of course the beams and flooring above it was also damp.  A hygrometer I bought showed the humidity at 99% and there was mould forming all over that front corner of the cellar.
    To help dry it out, we need to add an airbrick at the front corner - it has one at the back corner but not at the front.  in the meantime, the OH installed a fan which is moving the air around and since then, the humidity has dropped to 93% with a definite difference in the feel of the place. The moulds have disappeared and it has lost its damp smell.  Obviously there is still damp there, but its a lot less than before.  We shall see how it changes once the winter rains start.
     
    One question I now have is with regards the removed insulation.  we oviously need insulation between the cellar and the lounge above.  We dont want to replace the Rockwool as I am sure it was adding to the problem.  So we need to find a different method - I shall ask on the forum for suggestions.  Maybe wood fibre board to replace the lounge boards?? Or a better insulation between the beams??  I need to research this.
     
    In several blog posts, I have mentioned the dilemma of the bathroom location.  However, the dilemma is no more - its staying where it is.
    We have tried it in all sorts of places but for various reasons, it just didnt work anywhere. And after an Estate Agent came round, we are reasonably happy to leave it on the ground floor, next to the middle room. He was not too concerned and said that while families would rather have a bathroom upstairs, it was less of a problem for young couples, which is likely to be our target market.  However, that then created a problem in that the middle room is quite dark and small and it does not work with the small kitchen. The obvious solution is to remove the large pillar and wall between the two rooms.  But as it holds up the whole of the thick rubble back wall of the house, its not an easy undertaking. 

    So as well as maybe removing the pillar to open up the kitchen and middle room, creating larger, more usable space, we plan to add a sunpipe to the top of the stairs and then open up the stairs into the middle room.  That way, there will be loads of light coming into the centre of the house which we hope will add to the sellability.
     
    It didnt take the OH long to open up the stairs.  and it looks great. 

    The uprights look like some branches that have been cut to length and stuck in. They have all the marks of the lathes s well as bark and I love them.  It would be great to clean them up and leave them, but the OH thinks I am mad and says 'No'.   I'll work on him  Watch this space.....
     
    As well as giving more light, opening up the stairs means we can remove the bottom most upright (to the right out of sight in the above photo) which will help enormously in moving furniture in and out of the room. And it feels really nice, coming from the lounge and seeing the room open up.  Hopefully it will not be too cold and cause draughts once the house is finished.
     
    One of things that amazes me about this house is the fact that it is still standing.  Almost everytime I remove some plaster, I find holes - lots of them. And loose bricks/rubble.  This is the top of that pillar between the kitchen and dining room - the one holding up the whole back wall of the house.

    There are bits of wood, gaps, loose bricks!  And below is the upstairs front bedroom window.  I assume someone changed the size of the window and bricked it up - but why didnt they brick it up both sides, rather than just the outside??
         
     
    There are lots of places where i think I may have to add some mortar, just to ensure the walls are stabilised before we do anything else.  I have looked into doing a Lime course but realisticlly it will probably be cement mortar. 
     
     
    Today we had a visit from a local structural engineer.  We want details of the beam needed to hold up the back wall, if we remove the pillar as well as confirmation of the beam sizes to replace those under the lounge.  Our builder has used him before and his price for a visit and report was reasonable compared to others I contacted. (£260 plus vat).  At least he turned up which is more than our builder has done...
     
    Anyway, he had a look round and suggested that we use three beams side by side to minimise their size (its a very wide wall), cutting the ceiling beams that hold up the bedroom floor, and refixing them to the new beams with joist hangers.  That would keep the height between the two rooms.  I had not thought of doing it that way but then I havent done this before, so we are learning, which was the idea.
     
    Then he had a look at the cellar.  He said that he'd leave the beams in place.  he agreed with our 'expert' brother in law, to remove some of the wall under each beam end, and fix in place an engineering brick with a piece of dpm on top to keep the beams dry.  but he then said rather than replace all the beams, just check each one and if needed, cut off the end, then add/bolt on extensions either side which will sit on the new dpm.  Again, not something we had thought of doing.  He will provide details of new beams, in case we want to do that. But he doesnt think we need to.  We will have a chat with our builder to get his opinion then probably decide once we see how bad they are.  I am hoping that as the cellar is drier and we have removed the Rockwool, the beams are not getting worse.  However, the SE did not have any suggestions for what to use in the place of the Rockwool.  Maybe we need to leave the beams bare to breathe and stay dry and think about adding the insulation to the top of the beams, replacing the boards in the lounge.  We intend to eventually lay bamboo flooring throughout the whole downstairs so maybe we can consider that. 
     
    The last thing to report is that we now have a 2 bedrromed house instead of the 3 bedroomed that we bought.  We had great fun the other weekend, removing the stud walls from between the front two bedrooms.  Both were too small to be of any real use and openign them up has created a lovely large room.  The estate agent agreed that two large bedrooms was a better idea for this house - it will not be bought by a family that needs the extra bedroom and if whoever buys the place really needs it, they can always put the stud wall back again. 

    And having two large bedrooms has helped convince the OH that we should add insulation to the inside of the external walls to help create a much warmer home.  He was concerned that the additional thickness would have made small rooms even smaller but as they are larger, loosing a little of the space is not likely to be noticed at all.  And I have costed up the additional costs to be around £4-500.  I realise that we may not get that back  when we come to sell but hopefully the EPC report will show the benefits and I will feel happier knowing we did something to help keep the new occupants warmer.   I know - I should not be doing anything that does not give twice the value back.  But it is the right thing to do - even if it does cost us more.

     
    Oh, and we have had a new boiler fitted so hot water again in the kitchen.  It allowed us to finally get rid of the boiler from the upstairs bedroom which was really nice.  The new boiler is in the kitchen in the alcove, the other side of the bathroom wall, which was perfect for taking the pipes into the bathroom and straight down into the cellar, ready for the plumbing when we get to that. 
     
    Well, I think thats all the news to date.  Hopefully the next post will have pictures of our nice, new gable wall!!  Keep you fingers crossed that the builder actually turns up tomorrow and gets started. I keep telling myself that there's no rush but the weather is changing and it would be nice to get the roof and gable wall done while its still quite dry.  Patience, Mrs Mitchell!!
     
     
     
  20. TheMitchells
    Sometimes I wonder if this building lark is the right thing to do - both myself and the OH had a disturbed sleep last night.  He was up around 3-4am, unable to sleep and around 5 it was my turn, worrying about the water in the cellar.  And we are just renovating; what will it be like if we get to do our self build - one night without sleep and I'm a very grumpy bear, how will I cope with a couple of years! Maybe I should ask how will the OH cope with a grumpy grizzly bear....
     
    Anyway, yesterday I spoke to Building Control for our area as it has become apparent that we need to make several applications for Building Notices and I wasnt sure when they had to be applied for.  Seems it is before we do any work - does that include removing what was there....??  Opps.  However, a very friendly officer was happy to give me advice. 
    For the electrics we need to apply as the OH can only install, being Part P trained but he cannot certify so needs BC to pass the electrics.   Thats a £360 charge. 
    If we move the bathroom, that needs another notice but if we decide to leave it as it is and just replace, we dont. 
    All the plumbing and new boiler will need a Notice but the chap we are planning to use is a Gas Safe plumber so he can certify his own work.  the OH will be doing most of the labour but the plumber will be checking everything and providing the certification. 
    The new windows would need a Notice except the company are FENSA certified so can do it themselves.  And as long as we dont take off all the render, that didnt sound like it needed anything either.  So it sounded like we only need to apply for the Electric work.  Its a shame that the OH cannot certify his own installation but until he is doing more elctrical work, then it just was not worth paying the registration fees as they were more than he was making. 
     
    What a monopoly the electricity providers have.  We had to ask Western Distribution to come and check the earth of the house supply as  the OH cannot touch their side of the electrical supply - ie the black box on the left. 

    He had been unable to get a good earth in the Cu so installed an Earhting rod into the corner of the cellar and connected it, (the green/yellow wire on the right) to the CU which worked fine.  For some reason he then arranged for WD to come out to check the incoming earth, which they did.  they used a meter to give a reading (5 seconds work), said it was fine and then changed the fuse from 60 to 80amps.  And that was it - £200 invoice to be sent out for 5 mins work,  They werre unable to install an isolator switch between the incoming suppy and the CU as the OH had hoped so he could safely work on the new installation.  thats not their side of the board - thats the electrcity providers!  They only deal with the left side!    
    They completely understood why he would want the isolating switch but could not help.  They suggested he just cut off the wires going into the CU and instal his own Isolator switch between the meter and CU.  But that would mean dealing with live wires unless he pulls their fuse out, which he isnt allowed to do!  Hmm. 
     
    While waiting for Western Distribution to turn up, I checked the cellar and was surprised to see our new Hygrometer showing a humidity of 99% in the front right hand corner of the cellar.  It has always been the wettest area but this time, I could see lots of water drops on the rockwool insulation and the whole area was soaking wet with moulds growing in several areas.  Its odd as the rest of the cellar is dry with no sign of water.  And as we have had no real rain for several weeks, I would have thought the damp would have improved, not got worse.  So now I am wondering where it is coming from.  We were told before buying that there had been a problem with the drains between the house and next door, leaking water into the cellar so Anglian Water had relined the drains.  However, it does not seem to have stopped all the incoming water.  There are no downpipes which could be directing water to that corner of the cellar, so I cant see where it is coming from!  Very strange and something we need to sort out.  My thought is that we need to start digging down alongside that corner of the house to see if there is a problem with the drains.  And ideally before it rains too much so we can see if it really is the drains or something else. ButI dont think we'll be able to get a mini digger in there and as the gas supply runs along there too, I think it will have to be done by hand. Very carefully. 
     
    The joys of renovations.
     
  21. TheMitchells
    We had our visit from our 'expert'; the ex - brother-in-law, who is an experienced renovator of old buildings as well as a building engineer to help guide us in the work that needs doing.  It was quite interesting and unexpected at times.  where to start?  Maybe the gable end.
      
    We knew that the gable end wall needed to have the render removed and replaced as it was quite badly cracked.  we also had been told by the Surveyor that the top of the wall was bowing out slightly and needed to be repaired and possibly tied to the rafters to stop any further movement.  But when we examined the wall in the attic, the BIL pointed out that the twin brick wall stopped at the ceiling of the bedroom and continued as a single skin with two pillars onto which the attic purlins were sat.  the actual gable was single skin and does not appear to be attached to anything.  His advice was to take down the top of the gable which was bowing, and rebuild adding another pillar of double thickness bricks to the apex which could then be tied to the rafters. 
     
    Regarding the outside gable wall, he thought it best to remove all the render and redo as trying to patch it would not work very well.  we have spoken to our friendly builder who we hope will get started in Sept to do this.  We have also asked him to repair and point the chimney which is in a poor state.
     
    the roof overhang is a little dodgy with some areas devoid of any overhang.  He said to remove the first 2 or 3 tiles to make sure the battens behind were sound then replace the tiles, ensuring the correct overhang - all of which will help keep the gable wall damp free.
     
    The other main area of concern is the beams- mostly in the cellar, under the front room.  He was not too concerned about most of them, although there were a few which hada damp ends and needed replacing. He said to remove some of the stone/brick below the beam and mortar in an engineering brick topped with some dpm wrapped around the end of the beam to make sure it does not get damp again. 
    However, he did spot that to one side of the stairs, there is a main supporting beam which definately needs the end replaced.  whether we replace it all or just splice in a smaller piece, supported by an upright, is a decision to be made. 
     
    There were a few other beams which we had been a little worried about but he did not think any of them would cause an issue, which was good news.
     
    As well as the BIL, we also had the sister visiting too with her new partner. (Luckily they all get on.)  That was helpful as he is also very handy around the house and she is an interior designer.  While it is likely to be a while till we need her creative skills, they were ideal for bouncing ideas off, particularly about the location for the bathroom.  many positions were discussed with the BIL favouring the front bedroom and taking the stack outside and across the front of the house, connecting to the drain under the path.  We laid pieces of wood in the rear bedroom and agreed that to have the bathroom there would create too small a bedroom with wasted space for a corridor. 
     
    The kitchen layout was designed with the bathroom gone completely, a cloakroom giving a slightly larger middle room or leaving it as it is.  we all agreed (well - those that count) that leaving a cloakroom was okay with the bathroom upstairs.   Now we just need to work out how/where to put it. still.
     
    One of the other things we need to decide is whether to use the local building inspector for all the notifications or whether an independant inspector may be better.  We have quite a few things that we need to notify the council that we are doing; changing the electrics, replacing the boiler and central heating system, moving the bathroom (if we do), and probably a few more that we cant remember or know about.  My thought is to invite the Building Inspector round for a general viewing and to discuss all our plans before we got any further.  But I am not sure they'll do that. The OH would prefer to use an independant who he thinks is more likely to be flexible.  Has anyone had any experience or does it depend on personalities as to whether they are helpful or not? 
  22. TheMitchells
    Well, a month into our renovation project, I thought I'd post an update on the progress made so far.  Bearing in mind that we didnt plan to do much till OH retires in november, we have not been able to stop ourselves and have been there quite a lot, naturally.
    Starting in the lounge, this was made instantly better by the removal of the old carpet - less doggy smell now.  As the OH plans to redo all the electrics, he has been stripping most of the cabling out, leaving just a couple of working plugs on each floor. the cabling tended to be attached to the outside of doorways and along skirting so easy to pull off, or hidden behind plasterboard at funny angles, which have been fun to trace back and see where they go and what they are for.  The electric board is on the outside wall, above a radiator and we thought about moving it along to the bottom of the stairs, so that lounge wall could be clear.  But having been told by Western Power that its likely to be around £800 to move the location of the incoming cable, we may leave it where it is and just build a nice cupboard.
    The Earth was not reading very well even after much fiddling about (my description - not his) so eventually he bought a new long rod and fitted it in the cellar floor and he's very happy now to have a good Earth to the house.  Apparently its quite important!
    Apart from removing all the radiators the other day, thats all thats really happened in the lounge.  We plan to replace the window with patio doors to bring in more light and push the garden back giving a nice sitting area. It faces south and is a real suntrap.
     
     
    Moving into the bathroom, this is the one room causing the most discussion.  Should we move the bathroom upstairs so we can remove the stud walls and create a large kitchen/diner, leaving the old kitchen to become more of a utility room?  I believe most buyers will prefer an upstairs bathroom.  Thats option one. 
    Option two is to keep part of the bathroom, swop the loo to the far wall and have it as a small downstairs loo with 3-4 foot gained in the middle room.  The problem is the same as option 1 - where do we put it upstairs? 
    Option three is to leave it as it is.  This has the advantage of being the cheapest but does mean the middle room is quite small.  We plan to open up part of the stairs and put in a sunpipe to add to the light coming into the middle of the house.  We have to bear in mind this is a renovation to sell for a profit; it is balancing the cost of doing things agaisnt the possible increase in value.
    I shall continue this discussion in a post in the bathroom section or I will never get this update done.
    As it was.
    So while thinking of what to do with the bathroom and wanting to ripe out more things - its quite addicitve this demolishing business, I suggested we remove the bath to give us a little more room in there.  Before I could say 'Scooby Cottage??', the water was turned off and while I ripped off the tiles around the bath and back wall, the OH had disconnected the pipework and we were able to manhandle the bath out.  What is great about doing all this work, is that is doesnt matter if water sprays everywhere and the doors/walls get knocked about - its all getting changed anyway!
    It did reveal a couple of anomolies.
    When they put in the bath, they had bought the wrong size - it was too big by about an inch.But rather than build it into the stud wall, it was easier apparently to hack out the external wall bricks and fit it that way!!    
    and once we had the bath out we could see that the wall between the bathroom and kitchen behind, was only a short distance, not the two foot thick rubble wall we expected.  Which was great news as the new position of the boiler is likely to be the other side of that wall and the OH was worried about getting the pipework through the wall - piece of cake now!
    Of course the only issue is the large hole in the bathroom wall - but an old towel does the job nicely.  We just whistle.  And its nice to have plenty of space while we whistle.....
    Where the floor is wet on the picture below is the only part of the house (apart from the cellar) that we have found damp.
    The floor board is disintergrating as are the uprights.  Its wet in the picture as we had just removed the bath and didnt worry too much about catching all the water.
    In the dining room, we have done quite a lot.  The horrible wooden tongue and groove ceiling has gone so we can see the beams above. (you can still see the nail holes and shape of the Laths that must have been there - long gone though. 

    the cupboard has been stripped and most of the redundant pipework removed.  Now the hot water has been disconnected the upstairs boiler could go but we've not done that yet so some of the pipes are still there, running up the back of the cupboard.  As I was warned not to nick them, I had the brainwave of using some of the old insulation to wrap around the pipes, protecting them.  Well, I thought it was a good idea. 
    The OH has removed the old wood burning stove and back boiler.  It was extremely heavy but he managed to get it into the garden along with quite a lot of copper piping.  The chimney looks in fairly good order with only a few loose bricks that will need mpointing and securing.  A nice small wood burning stove with Victorian surround should bring this room to life but thats in the future.    
     
    The beams were in reasonable order apart from the one which runs across the room in front of the fireplace.  One end appears to be sitting on nothing and the middle has a rather large split, so that will need replacing.
    The kitchen is pretty much as it was, with only the range and hood gone.  It will probably be the last room to get stripped as its useful to use while doing the renovation.  After all - we need our cuppa's and biscuits.
    Upstairs in the large rear bedroom I have started stripping off the plaster but did not know whether to take it all off or just the parts that are loose. 

    At the top of the wall, I was surprised and excited to see that the ceiling appears to still have the laths and plaster. 

    So we will try to keep the ceiling and just repair any damage.  How lovely that there is still at least one piece of history still there. 

    Hopefully not long now and the boiler will go. The space will create a nice cupbard eventually and it will be lovely to finally get rid of all those pipes.  Although that was one corner of the bedrom where we thought we could put a new bathroom.  The disadvantage of putting it there would be the position of the window in the remianing bedroom - I think it will look silly as it will be right agaisnt the new stud wall, rather than in the middle of the wall and thats the really thick stone rubble wall, we cannot easily move the window position. But it would be easy to plumb with pipework running down the dining room cupboard as it does currently.
    The third bathroom location option is at the back of the rear bedroom which would be easy to install as it is above the current location and it would be easy to plumb in the wastes but it would mean the bedroom becomes quite small as we'd also loose  some of the space on a small corridor to give access. 
    The second and my preferred option is the small front bedroom. 

    This room could quite easily take a bathroom.  I would make that window half size, bricking up the right hand pane, with the right hand side of the room moving into the the other front bedrrom, which would make that a nicer size,  its currently only a single and it would make it a small double.
    But the problem with that part is where would be put the loo waste stack. It could go straight down but thats through the lounge and into the cellar, but its a long way for it to connect across to the drain, almost the whole diagnal of the house.  And there may not be sufficient drop.  It could be taken out to the front of the house and down the outside, witha new drain connecion in the alley.  That may not look very nice as its the main part of the house seen and would involve digging quite a large trench to connect it into the drain.
    As said, i shall discuss this in a bathroom post and I'd welcome any comments/thoughts. 
    With regards the rest of the work demolition; as you can see, the woodwork has been removed as well as the radiators.  so the rooms are now empty and waiting to be transformed. But thats for the next time.  When I will report what advice our 'expert' has given us on what we can and cannot do and what he thinks we aught to do.  Some good and some not so good but all doable.   




  23. TheMitchells
    While we have been popping in to the house to have a look at things, today was the first day when we went intending to start pulling things to pieces.  tool boxes and hammers were taken in and OH went to work in the upstairs bedroom.  It's the whole width of the house at the rear with a delightful wooden cupboard housing part of the chimney breaast from the dining room and the newish boiler and pipes.  As well as antique wallpaper which you may have seen in the V&A interior design section - not.
    Here is the boiler and shelving in the bedroom. I am not sure about the safety aspect of having a gas boiler in the bedroom.  Isnt there rules about that?
    The door leads to the landing.  Note the architrave; or lack of it.That is really how it looked.
    The skirting was easy to remove - the planks of wood only had a couple of small dabs of something.  We didnt even need any tools, they just pulled off. (This is something which is happening lots). 

    So the carpet came up, the shelving came out of the cupboard and before long we had a lovely pile of wood.  As well as the door, which is quite nice.  That went down to the cellar together with any wood he thought we may be able to use elsewhere.  The broken/useless stuff is being piled up in the garden ready to go for a nice cheering bonfire in a friends field.

    And the cupboard is now almost gone.
    Lovely wallpaper!
    The pipes were presumably not needed when the boiler was fitted so they just cut them off!  And there's a couple going down to the room beneath too.

    While the plan has always been to completely renew all the electrics, running new cabling before plastering; we didnt really plan to re-do the plumbing, but we are now considering it.  The radiators in the house are pretty dire and it would be nice to move the boiler to a more suitable position.  So when the floorboards are up and plasterboard is off the walls, it may be best to strip out the plumbing and start over again.  especially as we would like to create a bathroom upstairs in part of the front bedroom.  And it will be good experience for us. 
    And look what we found hiding in the attic......


    He's rather large!  Our poor dog was terrified when he came face to face downstairs.  He needs a name - any suggestions?  Keep it clean please - my parents are reading this blog!   
    And while all that demolition upstairs was going on, I was cleaning the oven - anyone want a second hand Rangemaster??  It was caked in grease but its gradually coming off.  Was quoted £90 to get it professionally cleaned so am doing it myself with lots of elbow grease and Ajax cream (other brands are available).

    Not bad for the first days work.  Many more to go!
     
     
  24. TheMitchells
    I thought it was about time I added the tour of the second floor - it will not take long as its fairly small.  I hope you all like the landing colour scheme.  +We think we will keep it, as well as the mock black beams which unfortunatly fall off when pulled. 

    We dont think these banisters are legal - but its probably all going anyway.  those are the doors to the front two bedrooms.  Both are quite small and have lovely sliding doors.  Also painted interesting colours.  My thought is to remove the stud wall and create one large bedroom.  Easy to do and much nicer than the small spaces they are now.  Thinking of the end result, the most likely buyer will be a young couple with maybe one child.  All couples so far buying into this row of cottages have moved once child no 2 comes along.  Or it will be an older person and again, unlikely to need  three bedrooms. 
    The rear bedroom is really big and houses the boiler, soon to be going.


    As you can see, we have removed all the woodwork and doors, starting a huge pile of wood in the garden. 
    It was not difficult to remove as it had mainly been stuck on with a couple of dabs of glue.  (or it could have been blu-tac??)
    Most of the flooring has also been removed to see the beams and OH has removed pretty much all the wiring that was going everywhere around the house.  Its scary to see how many notches have been taken out of the beams.
      I guess the floor boards spread the weight but we think we may have to replace or at least supplement the beams.  And some do not even join the wall....

     Here is a couple more pictures of the front rooms.  Things that need doing include removing the plaster from the walls where it has blown.  We think its likely to be damp inside as it was origonally built with lime, we think, but the current render and paints are all modern, sealing in any moisture.  And we know the end gable has loose render.  Also the roof does not overhang the gable end wall - possibly when the render was added - so water runs straight onto the top of it and is likely to be penetrating the whole wall. 

    And looking the other way, it was a small cupboard but obviously used to have a door through to the back bedroom.  Not sure why??

    To the left of this room is the smallest bedroom, used by the previous owners as a study.

    Its a really small room and I am considering taking most of it for a bathroom with about 2ft going into the other bedroom to give a smaller second bedroom but a bathroom next to the bedrooms.  It would mean bricking up part of the window and we are not sure how the plumbing will work.  So still thinking about that one. Do we really need a bathroom upstairs or would two large bedrooms be worth more?
     
     

  25. TheMitchells
    As the OH has had a week off work, we have been at the house everyday so things are disappearing quite quickly.  Most of the woodwork has been removed from the bedrooms and the dining room ceiling has gone, as well as the taped downlighters.  Most of the electrical cables have been removed apart from those needed.  The plan is to completely renew all the electrics but till then, we are leaving one simple power circuit to plug lights into and work from.    It was quite funny in that most of the cables ran over the walls and along skirting, not behnd, just in front.  So once disconnected, we just had to pull and up they came. 
    So here is the guided tour.  First downstairs.

    The front room faces south and we are thinking of changing the window for french doors.  The porch is hidious but does create a space for coats, just.  With  new front door and paintwork, it may look acceptable.

    As you can see this is an excellent example of a typical Victorian lounge!  The carpet is now residing in the local refuse skip and the stonework should follow soon.  We hope to restore the room with a classic surround and fireplace as well as some cornice and ceiling rose.  (Similar to a house on George Clarke's TV programme on last night - Old House, New Home)

    To the right of the fireplace, something has been removed, possibly a unit which has left a cblack stone plinth. Strangely the wooden floor was cut to the plinth - its all a bit strange. 

    Moving from the front room, we pass the stairs and arrive at the bathroom.  Its not far.  Our aim is to move the bathroom upstairs as I think most people will want that.  I certainly would not want to have to climb downstairs everytime I needed the loo during the night.  Although as pointed out by OH, we use the loo more during the day then night time.  so he thinks its better downstairs.

    If we take out the bath and rearrrange things, we could have a small cloakroom and add a couple of feet to the middle room, which is small and quite dark. 
    That alcove on the right leads to the stairs to the cellar.  The fire is an old woodburning stove with a back boiler.  It does not look like it has been used for many years and I cannot even open the door.  I think it will be going soon. 
    To the left of the teddy is part of the origonal back wall which is about 50cm thick and solid stone.  Its certainly not something we'll be moving, which is a shame as it would be lovely to open up the space between the middle room and the small kitchen. 

    thats it - its a small room and with the Rangemaster filling up one side, there isnt much room for anything.  There is a fridge and freezer under the sink unit so goodness knows where they put all their stuff.  there is hardly any cupboard space.  So plenty of thinking to do to improve the layout and create a spacious kitchen/diner in the two rooms. 
    Next time - upstairs! 
     


×
×
  • Create New...