Victorian Renovation in London Part 3 - Finish line?
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6 years ago
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6 years agoJulie Norris
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POLL: What's the most stressful part of a renovation?
Comments (78)TRADESMEN. It's a miracle when one bothers to quote at all ... as such, I now build walls, can plaster, and drive a digger lol... I tile, fit carpets, fitted the kitchen, all with only half of one of my lower spinal discs left. By the time you get a quote back, its more often a month or more down the line and have already hired a couple of lads on a daily rate doing things how you dictate after weeks of research. I hired a roofer to replace my cast iron guttering with aluminium ones, he put up new soffits and fascias BADLY, ran off to assume weigh in my old gutters and ran off with the money for my new ones - steep learning curve there, and a CCJ is no use getting my money back. I purchased a kitchen, it turned up in bad shape, then commenced over 8 months to get to court for my money back... Hired a tree co to remove a load of trees overhanging the house and clear the boundary... an old man cried about a tree that wasnt his anyway so the tree folk abandoned the job. Thankfully I have a great electrician and a reliable plumbing company, but only call them for either gas or. heavier electrical work.... the husband does to electrics and plumbing but he hates it and we do get it checked. I keep trying to find a good builder though. Everything takes so long and its physically and mentally draining on me.... I would MUCH rather have someone I can trust but no luck yet....See MoreExtension, renovation and reconfiguration ideas? (Cuffley, London)
Comments (23)I've included my take on it (2nd pic) but the upstairs could probably be tweaked to work a little better as a larger family bathroom would be good. You could also easily change the pantry/downstairs bathroom proportions to put in a small study too if thats more important to you than a large mud room space (first pic). Both of these have the advantage of not changing too much of the existing structure so should cost less and/or mean you can tackle redecorating those spaces at a late time when budget allows....See MoreVictorian House inspiration please!
Comments (229)Also, top tip, folks! If installing an island with plumbing/electrics in it, make sure you have an access panel somewhere to get to them - especially for the plumbing. I speak from bitter experience in the last house. This is a particular problem with Belfast sinks mounted, you guessed it, under a stone worktop, meaning you can't easily take the sink out. I had this in my old house - learned my lesson the hard way, A bad situation when your dishwasher or waste disposal unit are leaking or need replacing, and you find out that there are a load of connections you need to get to that are hidden behind the sink. Even worse if that Belfast sink has an Insinkerator waste disposal plumbed into it and the dishwasher is plumbed into that - the bits you need to get to are directly behind the unit, and not easily reachable from the space in the cabinet under that sink, even if you cut out the back panel. Very awkward. So that stone worktop has to come off (not realistic) or you have to cut through a cabinet back or two with a jigsaw (better option by far - but you do it very carefully). Which is what I did - replacing the hacked up back panel with an access panel held in place by magnets, for the next time. Trust me, it's easier to do this at installation stage! This island is 90cm wide, and one side is the seating area, which is behind the row of front cabinets, which include sink, fridge, dishwasher etc. The whole kickpanel in the seating area will be mounted on a stud frame which has six metal threads installed, so that the panel (plywood, as we determined above) bolts to these six screws. Need access to the plumbing and drain? Drop the panel in minutes, and everything is in front of you and easily accessed......See MoreVictorian Renovation in London Part 5 - outdoors
Comments (33)Sometimes small projects bring as much satisfaction as big ones. I decided that the kitchen fireplace needed some dressing. Decided to do it myself. Used the rusted old fireplace bought years ago on ebay, and kept it rusty. Tiled with crackle glazed tiles, washed with black grout to accent the crackles and give the impression of age, grouted in olive green. Then took some lengths of steel and rusted them with peroxide, vinegar and salt. Chopped them up with a mitre saw. Result is a nicely aged looking, rustic fire surround in tiles and steel. Finished by rubbing back lightly and several coats of furniture wax, which give the rust a lovely, glossy patina as if rubbed smooth by hand over the years....See MoreAMB
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