TheMitchells

Iam planning to use bamboo in our renovation and I think it would look so much better right through the ground floor, into the kitchen too. If we were to seal it well with that Sikaflex that you recommend, do you think that would be sufficient protection from flooding/water damage. I too was looking at the 10mm strand woven t&g from Simply Bamboo. I dont really want to use tiles but neither do i want to leave the new owners with a possible problem should they ever have a water leak/flood.

Dont forget to start a blog as we can follow the process.

Cheers - I'll get it ordered! thought as much but its nice to have it confirmed. The OH is out of action for a while as he was knocked off his bike during the week so i didnt want to bother him. he's really pi**ed off as the weather is gorgous and he's not getting to enjoy any of it. I shall show him your photo's and make sure we do the same.

Hi - advice please. we are on the point of ordering a trojan bath (as recommended on this site) and I need to know whether to order one with two holes for taps or none. is there a set distance between the tap holes as we are getting the taps from a different supplier? I dont want to get the bath and taps and find they dont fit the holes....... Also has anyone had dealings with QS Supplies as their price for the bath looks very competitive. Thanks in advance.

Jeremy, Any chance of photo of the bottom edge with the pvc moulding. My parents want a shower installed in place of their current bath and they like the look of these panels. am I right in thinking to fit the shower base first then the wall panels so any water is flowing into the tray, rather than the wall panels and then the tray with the issue of water possibly seeping beind the tray if the seal goes?

I think I prefer this one https://www.todd-doors.co.uk/cottage-6-light-oak-door As there are no windows on the landing, I was hoping to borrow some light from the bedrooms so wanted a glazed door for the bedrooms. And actually the only other door needed is the bathroom. only three internal doors in the whole house Yous could be the bathroom one and this for the bedrooms. sorted. I think a trip to St Albans is in order!

Oh and we had a plasterer in this week to quote for skimming the bedrooms. I was a bit worried that he would tell me I had done all the plastering worng but he was quite complimentary - phew! He did point out a few things I could have done differently but I am happy to learn. Apart from how to plaster!

They look nice - thanks for the heads up.

In our renovation of a Victorian end terrace, we have been replacing the lounge floor beams as they had been rotting where they sat on the cellar wall, which is reasonably damp most of the time. In most cases there was no dpc. as can also be seen, as we removed the flooring, the chipboard was quite damp too with mould. The make up of the floor was as follows: beams, with rockwool insulation squashed between and in some areas, around the front door and alley wall, the rockwool was wet. tongue and groove chipboard - some of which was damp. upside down gripper rods - to hold the insulation in place. foil backed insulation sheets. pine tonge and groove. In two areas, the chipboard was quite rotten and could be pulled away with fingers. So we have removed all the flooring and the old beams, fitted a new extra thick beam across the whole floor and then put in new joists. We have sat them on dpc, with engineering bricks, slate and strong cement used to level them to the correct height. Then we have laid new 18mm T&G chipboard across the whole floor. My question is how to insulate the floor to provide a comfortable lounge without any draughts while avoiding any future damp issues? This house is to sell so we do not want to spend too much yet still want to do a reason job. We want to lay bamboo flooring above the chipboard. but do we need any membranes? and how best to insulate? The cellar could always have damp issues, particularly in that corner, although we have added an airbrick to the front so there is now a cross flow of air to the other airbrick under the bathroom. so if we just add Earthwool between the new joists, will that get damp and eventually rot the new joists and chipboard? Or would a thin insulation go on top of the chipboard before the bamboo? We dont have much head room, only 2.1m in the lounge, so do not want anything that will reduce the height further. Any suggestions/advice.

love the look of that deck - nice job.

point taken and will be considered. It is something we could add. Thanks.

No we havent involved BC for the flooring. I used tables and then went closer together for all of them. so its well supported. here are the new beams. supported by hangers on the cross beam and sitting on dpc on bed of cement on the house wall. The cross beam is sitting on the front house wall on engineering brick and dpc and at the inner side, its on hangers off the main beam across the house which supports the stairs but additionally we have added a significant prop, sat on a cement bed with the base protected from damp with thick dpm. So overall, we dont think this part of the house is going anyway for a good few years yet. chipboard flooring should be going down in the next day or two. then its deciding what to do next; bathroom, walls, electrics downstairs or middle room floor..... decisions, decisions!

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.

they are LED downlighters and we kept the insulation away from then. They are dimmable and also have a switch to change from warm white to mid to cool white. so if the new owners want to change the look of the room, they can. we've left them on the mid white and it looks fine but once all sorted and decorated, we may want to change them. And it wasnt the bathroom floor, just the wooden cill above the loo. and now its dried, it has lost most of the warp - its only water marked now. whereas the ceiling still has a large hole in it........

sorry - dont have any advice to offer but interested in any comments on this deal.

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.

sedums and sempervirens are both good as they can cope with dryness. A lot depends on whether you want a roof that stays green or one that changes with the seasons. I think there are quite a few companies that provide advice. But I havent done one myself. I like the idea though.

give it a lick of paint and its a prezzie for the granny - latest magazine rack. No??

big claims but little to back it all up. will watch that space.

Coincidentally, I was listening to Ben Adam Smiths podcast this morning and its on that subject, as well as other things so may be worth a listen. Its certainly something I'd like to know more about. http://www.houseplanninghelp.com/hph164-taking-on-the-role-of-principal-designer-with-belinda-and-paul-wilson/

I love it when others ask questions that I want to know the answer to - I'm not the only one; thanks OnOff - keep 'em coming!

Looks great and the stonework on the house is lovely. Well done to the missus - it does annoy me when we watch the self build programmes and the man does all the work while the woman looks on. She can push a wheel barrow at least, even if she isnt very handy at DIY. We may not be able to do as much as the chaps but we can have a go and help out. So well done Mrs Nod. Its great to see that we can hold our own on these builds. The OH has even acknowledged that I may come in useful occassionally in the last couple of weeks when I have pointed out the error in his plans! Like reminding him that we still had to add noggins to a stud wall, just before he was about to run cables up and into the ceiling...... He siad he was just testing to see if I spotted his deliberate error

Just had a good deal from Blanchards Builders Merchants for 20 sheets of chipboard for the bedroom floors. It was working out at £200 from TP and they did it for £152 and delivered it the next morning. They seemed very keen to provide a good service so I'll be going there from now on (and will check prices first). They have opened a new branch in Bicester (hoping for the Graven Hill work) so are keen to get their toes in.

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......

It all looks great - well done and good luck with the final third! Love seeing the photo's of build and Roger.