https://vimeo.com/119494656

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.

Thanks guys - we did a lot of experimenting and testing on some old floorboards before deciding on this stuff. The Osmo oil gives a deep and rich finish on old pitch pine that looks very different to varnish - deeper and with more of the grain being brought out. It's more like a beeswax finish from olden times, without the backbreaking labour and maintenance. Interestingly on the new boards (in the top bedroom), it makes far less difference: the new pine just looks yellow and shiny, much as it would if varnished. But the oil should be tougher and lower maintenance. We decided to restore these floors rather than replace as they were actually in remarkably good condition: this house has never had fitted carpets fitted, nor central heating fitted until 2014, and when it was installed it was installed with regard to keeping the floors intact (many systems installed in past decades saw the boards sawn up and hacked about). I wanted look that is obviously original, and can't be mistaken for engineered wood. I did think about a limewashed finish, but bottled it at the last minute and went totally traditional, as I thought less risk of a finish done to a trend that would be hard to reverse.

The his is too big a question. What are you looking for? Do you need to find an architect or builder? In which case try the Professionals part of this app. If you want advice about how to use the space or decorate then consider a number of different posts for each area you want help with. Photos and plans will be invaluable.