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Ferdinand

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Everything posted by Ferdinand

  1. Ferdinand
    Correction. I have been happily talking about "AB Multipanels". It turns out that AB Building Products are actually a distributor for Multipanels made by a big supplier called Grant Westfield, and that they are available more competitively at eg Plumbnation https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/wet-wall-shower-panels/?manufacturer=grant-westfield and The Big Kitchen Warehouse. http://www.thebigkitchenwarehouse.co.uk/ourshop/cat_975511-Multi-Panel-Wall-Ceiling-Panels.html Seem to be about 15-20% less. Ferdinand
  2. Ferdinand
    We have previously talked about seondhand kitchens and French Doors on ebay. I have just been looking for a pair of bi-fold doors for a 1.2m hall closet (probably need to pay £30 for pine bi-folds, and came across quite a lot of interesting deals for general doors. Probably it is all in "go and see first" territory. But lots of potential. So just a heads-up for a place to look - potential savings of hundreds of £££. Example: 5 brand new 1981*838mm Cotrtage Oak doors for £249 Buy It Now. Alloa http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Internal-Oak-cottage-veneer-doors-1981mm-x838-/272843925264?hash=item3f86c3e710:g:q~0AAOSwhIFZoqAI 5 B&Q Shaker Oak Doors (27" x wide) potentially for £20-40 each. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-x-B-Q-4-PANEL-SHAKER-OAK-VENEER-INTERNAL-WOOD-OAK-DOOR-1981-X-686-27-Inch-/272886337093?hash=item3f894b0e45:g:rmIAAOSw76JZ4PZL Wickes Oaks Veneer will need a sand down - about £20. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wickes-Oak-veneer-Internal-door-1981x762-/272886004685?hash=item3f8945fbcd:g:54cAAOSwn1FZuR2N 8 1920s trad doors just sold for £3 each. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1920-internal-doors-/172915651218?hash=item2842937292:g:AqcAAOSwp0NZ0hkF&autorefresh=true 3 used Cottage Oak 78x30 doors where the auction is currently at £47. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-OAK-VENEER-INTERNAL-DOORS-/282694187985?hash=item41d1e2fbd1:g:J5kAAOSwb0hZ4hiD Cottage Oak door near me that looks liike gong for £20-40. Unfortunately I need 6 and they have to be trimmable by 50mm+. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cottage-style-Oak-Veneer-internal-door-/222678011131?hash=item33d8a4ccfb:g:3LwAAOSwVohZ4eqj
  3. Ferdinand
    You probably want to post to an online marketplace where etablished developers offer such skills - same mechanism as the ones where Caddies offer their AutoCAD skills to draw up your plans for a few 10s of £££ over a weekend. Someone here will know such a marketplace. Probably. Or - of you are suitably connected - smuggle it onto the Final Year Project list for your local uni Comp Sci or Med Tech course. F
  4. Ferdinand
    Just checked. Water pressure is good - so I will go for a mixer shower. Thanks all. Ferdinand
  5. Ferdinand
    The offspring of Noggin the Nog. Or do you want the other definition?
  6. Ferdinand
    Far from being my specialist subject, but I am about to buy replacement doors plus one door set. Todd Doors are directing me to *this* product for a pre-primed MDF door lining kit for £30.00. Ferdinand
  7. Ferdinand
    Further comment. When we came to do the topcoat I used a Dulux paint (from Wickes) which did not say spray on the tin, but both Wickes staff and the local Dulux Decorating Centre told me it was sprayable. It was not sprayable - claggy stuff. Dilution did not help. We ended up rollering the topcoats. This was described on the tin as "Matt for Walls and Ceilings". So take care. Ferdinand
  8. Ferdinand
    I am sure you have it covered, but a replacement drawstring just in case :-). Ferdinand
  9. Ferdinand
    It was always a rental project, so we have not moved. Ferdinand
  10. Ferdinand
    Yep. I have done better with Miras than Trtons, but both seem OK - I have one that has been going since 1994. I think I just need a check on the water pressure then it will be a normal electric shower or a mixer. Cheers all. F
  11. Ferdinand
    I wonder how I check that given that the water is currently off for the install of the new bathroom ? I think it is OK, even though it is a high property. Mainly because I had the wiring in as part of the rewire, and I have had little trouble with electric showers in the past. Thinking... F
  12. Ferdinand
    Loving the clear opinions. More ...
  13. Ferdinand
    I need a shower for the Little Brown Bungalow - which is a well-fitted out rental property. I have wired for up to a 10kW model. The nominal budget is up to £125, but I can stretch it if I need as I saved £250 elsewhere in the bathroom. The shower is mains fed; there is no tank. I am inclined to go Mira / Triton, and I think I want 9-10kW with variable shower patterns. Q1: What is "Airboost"? Is that aerating to use less water? Q2: Is there a major benefit to a thermostatic electric shower? Q3: I think I cannot have a Power Shower in the above setup. Correct (I am not hot on plumbing :-) )? Q4: Can anyone recommend a solid model that will take any abuse and last a decade or two? Cheers Ferdinand
  14. Ferdinand
    There are also the Unknown Unknowns - things you haven't asked for because you do not know that they can be done. You only find them by visiting lots of interesting houses. eg increase the perceived size of your interior against a path or wall on a boundary (or hiding a closed off view) by putting in a window below the height of the wall outside and planting something green against the wall that feels like a windowsill a metre away but is actually outside. A window with the top at 1m and sill at 0.2m is a good trick in the front if you ar tight to a path and do not want the public to see in, but the Council limit your wall to 1m or 1.2m. Equally something similar looking inside, lit froma source that cannot be seen (consider a former fireplace lit from a hidden source above) and you start playing games with inside/outside. etc. F
  15. Ferdinand
    Thanks for that. Will edit the post.
  16. Ferdinand
    Welcome. Nice to see another one from the East Midlands. My nugget: spend the time to build up your own knowledge so you know enough to direct your architect in fulfilling *your* expectations. Otherwise you can end up with your architect's vision, not your own.
  17. Ferdinand
    Slightly OT, but I have just posted Wickes clearance Table Saws to the offers thread. Edit - shot down in flames by @PeterW and @Barney12. Ignore.
  18. Ferdinand
    Deleted ... not a good offer. See comment from @PeterW and @Barney12.
  19. Ferdinand
    This is what I am ending up using for this bathroom: Shower panels for 3 of 4 walls: Multipanel Classic range from AB Building Products. 4 x 4x8 Aqualock panels in Blue Eiger pattern, adhesive, corners, trims and profiles, and silicone. = £650 approx. (Actually £610) Bath 1600 x 850/700 L-Shower bath with Screen from Cheeky Bathrooms: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172603618735 = £265 Taps / Waste Wickes Kuban bath filler: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Kuban-Bath-Filler-Tap-Chrome/p/209438 = £40 Bath swivel flip plug and overflow: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391493900884 = £22 Cube Chrome Bathroom Basin Sink Mono Mixer Tap & Slotted Sprung Pop Up Waste = £35 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cube-Chrome-Bathroom-Basin-Sink-Mono-Mixer-Tap-Slotted-Sprung-Pop-Up-Waste/332383435828 WHB / Loo Wickes Positano Loo, Cistern, WHB = approx £170 http://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Bathrooms/Bathroom-Suites/Contemporary-Bathroom-Suites/Positano-Suite/c/1001012 Floor Square of Vinyl from B&Q = approx £25 Cabinet Budget £75 Radiator Budget £50 Actual £38 for 900 x 450mm. Screwfix. Shower Still to be chosen. Likely 9.5kw Electric. Budget £100-125. Actual twin head mixer £80. Other sundries, trims, plumbing bits, silicone etc. Budget = £60 Total = just under £1500 for all materials.
  20. Ferdinand
    We have that covered. The bath is a little shorter than the room is wide so there will be a return where the taps /shower are, and the panel with the return is a standalone between the door and a corner joint so can be most easily be removed should that prove necessary. Cheers F
  21. Ferdinand
    Thanks for all the comments on this. F
  22. Ferdinand
    Wickes clearance for taps and other items. Various lines of tap are in clearance. And other bathroom bits. And other products. Link: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Bathrooms/Bathroom-Clearance/c/1039004 I just picked up a "Kubik bath filler" (ie mixer tap no shower attachment) for £40, down from a previous price of £150+. 10 year guarantee, and hunky-chunky. It seems this has been on for some time and I missed it. What is left is what is left. Though there are a few deliverable, most are collect in store. Useful for cloakrooms utilities where you only need one item. At our local Wickes some bright spark has been through everything and picked out all the matching sets for their stock.
  23. Ferdinand
    Thanks @Crofter. Interesting idea. I think that would be marketing / perception problem - able-bodied people do not like obviously adapted premises to buy or to rent. For me that would limit my market - which for this premises is likely to be people wanting to send their children to the local school, a young family, singles / dinkies, work from homers, or several kinds of retirees wanting a quiet life and access to services / countryside. I need to cater for potential changes, as it could avoid the £several k cost of a change of tenant. If they buy a disabled-adapted house, quite often the first thing that happens is that obvious adaptations are removed by the purchaser. Wider doors are fine, but an 'inappropriate' (for the non-disabled person's opinions) grab handle or loo could cause an entire bathroom to be redone. We have even flirted with it at the margins on BH with debates about how to hide access ramps or change them later etc. Wasn't there a Scandinavian chap on ebuild who was quite militant that he could ignore the building regs if he wanted to in this area? Plus I have already ordered the bath and it arrives tomorrow . I went for this one. Ferdinand
  24. Ferdinand
    Cheers @Nickfromwales. Perhaps agree on spares. But this stuff is so pricey that I would prefer not to waste any of it at all. By the time the glue, trims, delivery etc have all been bought (add 40%) it is not far sort of £60 per sqm. Done properly it is worth it, but when I do the conversion I really want to leave what is already in place, in place. I can see a couple of options for my ceilings which are just over 2.4m high: 1 - Fit sheets horizontally (8x4 then an 8x2) and leave exactly the right amount to add an extra 8x2 sheet around the bottom - which would work either as a pattern match, or as (potentially) a contrast eg up to knee height in the shower in pure white or dark blue, or as the background tone from the rest. Not sure about fitting a single run of 8x4m above the bath to give a waterproof cover up to 1.85m. is that enough? 2 - Fit 8x4 or 8x2 sheets vertically, but cut very carefully, and keep the offcuts for fitting later should it need to turn into a shower. I will need to think carefully about interlocking and butt-joints, and which ones are more appropriate and reliable in that situation. Costs are interesting - I can find ways to cut that 60 per sqm to about 45-50 by playing with order volume and careful design, but not much below that as it is a commodity + trims product. But even on a tiny bathroom like this that is £100+ now and much more when converting to a shower. The 8x3 sheets are exactly the same price as the 8x4 sheets, and Hydolock adds just under 10% over flat edge and loses a smidge of board size. Ferdinand
  25. Ferdinand
    OK have checked. The tech people at AB Building Products say that they can be installed horizontally. The Hydro Lock tongue and groove joint would need orientating so that the joint would tend to let water out into the shower rather than the other way. This is a cross-section, so it is not absolutely clear which way the orientation should go. Hmm. F
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