House refurbishment project. Plenty of pictures.

[Steve]

Day 326 in the big brother house. . .

Spent the day there today and feel like I've been at it all day but hardly got anything done.
I got the battens fixed onto 3 of the living room walls where the pipework runs to box it all in.
I also ran phone cables from the bt master to under the stairs, then to the tv point in the living room, then to roughly where the virgin media point may be located in the future. The idea is if we get virgin in future i can just drop the cable out of the bt socket.
the electricians have all but finished. This is now the nerve centre for the electrics and the alarm. The electricians just have to finish the aerial system in the loft and the bathroom extractor, and the alarm sensors.
plumber has been in for 3 days and got the boiler in and the pipework finished. He's just got to come back tomorrow to do the flue and pressure test his pipework. Then return to fit the radiators once the plastering is done. This photo is from below the airing cupboard.
tiles we picked for the bathroom
dining room radiator point
one of my phone outlets behind the tellybox. Also i put a box for the sky cable which for simplicity I'll just put through a flex outlet.
boxing in the radiator pipes
lots of plaster fell off when the electricians made their chases
plumber has been hard at work!
more pipes.

 

[Steve]

my final phone socket where the VM socket will go if we get that installed in future.
the main pipes that feed the downstairs rads
the master bedroom, plasterer started today.
again.

 

[Steve]

new doorway framed out. Not pretty, but it works. I have put a piece of 63x36 cls against the right wall to give the plasterer some leeway.
bottom.
back bedroom plastered
again
radiator position in back bedroom
front bedroom partially plastered
again
again
didnt mean to attach this lol, its my vague markings on the bathroom wall showing the centre column of tiles, and the location of the shower valve to avoid them.

Progress feels quick now, theres nothing as satisfying as a freshly plastered room as a blank canvas. Especially after all the destruction of the last few weeks.

 

[Steve]

The plastering is compete! Just waiting for the final bits to dry out. Today we did a mist coat in the two big bedrooms and couldn't believe we got through a 10 litre pot of paint just on this. It was watered down too so about 12-13 litres in all. Wow. I will post a few pictures later on.

The plumber is returning at the end of this week to carry on the bathroom but he's doing that piecemeal around other jobs until the 17th when he's got a free week.

 

[Steve]

First 3 pictures of todays activity. Painting a mist coat. Ceilings and walls in the 2 big bedrooms. And the leftover did 2 walls in the little bedroom. We had our 2 year old helping us, she loved it and threw a tantrum when I said there was no more paint! Used 10 litres. Going to get another 10 litre tub tomorrow before we start. We also mopped the floors throughout to try to get some dust up. It worked to an extent. May do another mop tomorrow.

 

[Steve]

Some bathroom picture, sort of.
the cast iron stack is gone.
interesting markings on the old pot. 1950s origin.

stack gone!
hmm. Not sure whether this is ok left like this? There is still a pipe sticking out of the roof, so i guess the stack goes up the middle of that pipe.
fcu king huge nails that were holding the brackets on. Looks like the plumber grinded them off.
shower valve first fixed.
downlights in bathroom
doorhole boarded and skimmed over.

6 weeks in, we've achieved a lot. Very pleased with progress.

 

[Steve]

Right we have used 35 litres of pbw emulsion mist coating the 3 bedrooms, hallway and living room, and finish painting the ceilings. Unbelievable.

Anyway, doors are being delivered tomorrow. Skirting and architraves coming friday. Joiner coming to hang doors saturday. Friend of family, doing them for £25 each and a tenner for architrave. Plumber is coming back next week to do the radiators and bathroom.
ive done some prep in the bathroom for the bath and boarding. This is the back side of the door that was boarded up. The plasterer did the framework so I've strengthened it by adding a second layer attached by noggins. Second layer is attached into the door recess, which just happens to be perfect for the no more ply boards.
wider view. I have framed out the back wall too for the shower valve.
boiler cupboard
surprise!
downlights in bathroom
here you can see just how much wider the new bathroom door is.
nicely painted ceiling.
essentials!
colour testing.

 

[phatboy]

Will you put some insulation in that boarded up old bathroom door? With a shower on the other side, sounds may transmit into the hallway. Some Rockwool should do the trick

 

[Steve]

Will you put some insulation in that boarded up old bathroom door? With a shower on the other side, sounds may transmit into the hallway. Some Rockwool should do the trick

Oooh you know, i never thought of that. I will put some in there, and along the adjoining wall too, as the room next door there is my daughters room and it'll be nice to stop as much noise as possible getting through from showering.

 

[phatboy]

If you really want to reduce the noise you should look to proper acoustic insulation. But I found Rockwool was good enough when I rebuilt the bathroom walls at my last place, and that was a 3" thick stud wall.

Tim

 

[Steve]

Been at the house this morning and started chipping the magnesite off the floor in the living room. I'm only taking off the high points then filling in with self levelling. Using a length of timber to find the high points and the sds drill to chip it off. Its coming off in big chunks mainly, though some areas are very well stuck down.

In other news, the doors have come. Just as the heavens opened! Luckily they were all wrapped in plastic.


Something else we have decided to do is to replace the ugly 50s stair railing with something more attractive. So i have stripped all the hardboard off. Joiner has been and looked at it, and says he can do it but it'll be a bit unconventional (or awkward) to do as it was never designed to take spindles.
yuck. Cant wait to get this replaced.

 

[Cgas]

Your probably already wise to this but don't leave them doors stood up like that, lay em flat. Progress looking good keep the updates coming !!

 

[Gossamer]

Your probably already wise to this but don't leave them doors stood up like that, lay em flat. Progress looking good keep the updates coming !!

Why? Do they bend?

 

[Gerrydelasel]

Why? Do they bend?

Yep.

 

[Steve]

I have stood them up in their respective rooms as upright as possible.