I think the camera was lying to be honest. The problem with them was that the units were put up against bare bricks and were rotting from the back . The carcasses of the wall mounted ones were ok but not great. Karndean is a hard wearing vinyl, its very durable and practical but has a feel and finish thats much warmer than "traditional" vinyl. The only downside is it is expensive. I worked it out as about £1000 for the planned floor space (not including fitting). I am looking to try and source an alternative product but I've not had much luck so far.
More eye candy to follow later today hopefully, I have a lot of pictures to put on. Been a bit manic with all the demolitions work thats been going on.
So as requested eye candy....... Demolitions mainly at the minute but theres been a few bits of actual building happened as well. BATHROOM So old floor has come out of the bathroom and then new joists have gone in Just to give an idea of how much the bathroom floor has been raised Slightly odd wall safe built into the bathroom wall (empty unfortunately) Underside of the bathroom floor GABLE END Came home and found a large hole at the back of the house Gable end had to be rebuilt as there was no supporting lintel above the bathroom window and it was sagging. A smaller window is also going in so it needed bricking up at the same time. From the bathroom looking out A bit of a close up of the gable end DRAINS New manhole cover and the first lot of concrete has gone in as well KNOCKING IT ALL INTO ONE ROOM So this is the major bit of the whole build, with two structural walls coming out and new steels going in The Steels Outer skin of the kitchen wall down Walls gone and steels in (well nearly one little bit still to come out)
Its getting there, the demolition always looks impressive, still a fair way to go yet More to follow today/tomorrow hopefully!
Loads more photos to come including photos of the new windows in, the gable end rebuilt and more besides.
Right massive update, work has really progressed and we are now only 3 weeks from practical completion. Apologies for the lack of updates previously, balancing work and the house has been............. challenging Its a bit difficult to know where to start but lets start with the external stuff first Back of the House Looks a lot better now its original brick rather than painted. Gable end has been completely rebuilt, new lintels installed for both the bathroom and the kitchen. They have used the bricks from the kitchen wall rather than trying to match reclaimed. Also ground out the existing mortar and repointed the whole back of the house. Ten times better than it was! The new steels have been fully installed and the interior walls removed completely. Starting to get a real sense of the "space" that has been created! Bathroom So I decided to get the ceiling down in the bathroom (bravely without checking with the better half). Messy doesn't even cover it!!! Also had the new doorway created and the old one blocked up. Note the new windows and insulation in the roof space (there was NO insulation up there previously, cold doesn't even cover it in winter.) Floor has been boarded out and first fix plumbing is in ready for the bathroom suite to be fitted. Raising the floor level has made the bathroom substantially smaller feeling so light walls and tiling/flooring should lift help. 2nd Bedroom We decided to get this bedroom window replaced so it matched the rest of the house. Downside is that this room now needs replastering and painting Back of the House...again Back of the house with new windows, we are pleased with the size and the bars, more in keeping with the house. And for UPVC they dont look to bad at all. Still slightly larger than "standard" but the extra light will make a big difference. Electricians Not sure if all electricians are dumb but as the subbies we had in couldn't read a fairly simple electrical drawing I wouldn't be surprised Had to hold their hand around the whole 1st fix to ensure they installed everything correctly. And even now we have realised we are short 2 lights in the dining room! Old consumer unit ready for replacement New sockets (wanted loads as I hate not having enough sockets in a room). Interior extension So ready to go with the concrete pouring for the floor, insulation is in place and ready to go. Then checked the weather report and realised that rain and concrete are not a good combination so the builder started the new roof so we are watertightish. Note the gap for the roof light!!
No need to apologise. Doing any kind of renovation takes it out of you, there is a lot going on and decisions to be made all the time. Resizing images and making useful posts also takes time. I have found in small bathrooms using larger format tiles and tiling the walls to the ceiling is very effective. It seems counter intuitive but using large tiles in a small room makes it feel bigger.
Yep are going for larger format tiles in the bathroom although currently only tiling the right hand wall, nice light paint for the left hand wall.
Right another massive update to come on this tomorrow, only 2 weeks off pratical completion so loads has been done. Things happening this week include 2nd fix electrics, tiling and bathroom fitting. Have got a few more pictures as well
Thanks for the updates. Glad to see you're making progress! Nice to see all that insulation too! Makes a MASSIVE difference (we had a room re-done with insulation put in - even in the coldest winters it's ok to be in there in just a t-shirt now )
Thats the plan, old extension was baltic in the winter with the massive gaps everywhere the wind really used to blow through the house. When we spoke to the builder we said that whatever else extra we had done we wanted as much insulation as possible. Had a load put in the floor before the concrete was poured as well so should be snug! We will be doing the whole front of the house November time hopefully so that should make another huge difference .
So another big update for you, quite a lot has happened over the last couple of weeks. Highlights include a roof for the extension, plaster on the walls and the bathroom starting to go in. On a more negative note some of the trades are a bit… intermittent with their attendance schedule! Extension Concrete floor poured and set, amusing as the wife didn’t realise it was a chemical reaction to set so was trying to get the rain off it. Roof has also gone on and the new Velux has gone in. It’s even better than we hoped for letting the light pour in. Patio doors have also gone in and look amazing, he even put the dog flap in for us. Boarders and Plasterers So after the floor and roof we finally got some boards and plaster on the walls. Boarding took a weekend, had to put an insulated board on the outside wall after building control raised it as a potential issue. Plasterers were in the weekend after and have done a great job, really looking forward to getting on and painting on nice, straight and smooth walls for once! Bathroom So the bathroom is starting to take shape at last, the shower tray has gone in, the bath is in place and the tiller has been out laying the flexible floor ready for the floor tiles to be laid. Rest of the bathroom is being fitted over the weekend so from next week we will actually have a shower!
It's looking great! It's amazing how the space seems to grow and shrink as it moves between bare walls, to plaster, to painted finish. I was looking at the plasterboard thinking it was quite a patch work but I always forget you skim the walls down south. We tend to joint and tape the walls up here.
I was the same thinking it was a bit shabby looking as my company does a lot of boarding. Plasterers did a great job, still working till 7.00pm on the Sunday night to get it finished. Should be able to paint the bathroom on Sunday as the tiller will be done and can't wait to actually have a shower. We were concerned that the shower and bath would be a bit close but once they are in it doesn't seem as restricted. Next big challenge is to find flooring for the kitchen/diner/snug. Had a couple of Karndean fitters out but first quote was £1300 for the basic Knight tile which is too rich for my liking. Now looking at alternatives. Karndean choices were http://www.karndean.co.uk/en-gb/floors/products/kp39-warm-oak.aspx?fromsearch=true http://www.karndean.co.uk/en-gb/floors/products/kp91-victorian-oak.aspx?fromsearch=true but I'm know looking at LG Hauys (yes the telly company) http://flooring.lghausys.eu/en/products/decotile/wood-designs.html Same wear layer as Karndean but appears to be 1/2 the price. Only problem is a lack of suppliers in the UK. If anyone has any other suggestions let me know.
Nice choice on the flooring. We looked at Karndean but ended up going for engineered oak as it was cheaper and my mates a joiner so fitting was also a lot cheaper. I'm afraid I don't have any other input with vinyl flooring. What make of bathroom fittings are you going for?
Its all stuff from Victoria Plumb who are an online store, builder recommended them. Good quality and much cheaper than the DIY stores. http://www.victoriaplumb.com/
