Advice wanted please - complete house renovation

[jacko555]

tracytop,
Beware of whatever this jacko555 user name is posting. He's already made an number of errors, and he's not even read your original post properly.
He's trying to be a big shot building trades expert when he cant even fix a curtain rail in his own house - beware!

Hi Ted/Tel/ree/vin/bobasd,

I really must have upset you when you couldn't understand how a quote worked that contradicts you.
Such a pity you and your many usernames troll people looking for help.

OP search for content for any of the previous usernames tel has (he keeps getting banned) and make your own judgement.

Im sorry he had to pollute your thread, he easily gets upset when people point out his trolling or bullying.

Note it was all bluster. I do actually feel pity for him, he has some "issues" and this is probably his only human contact.


[Edit]
The curtain pole question. I am happy to ask advice from experts to build a 4m, 4 corner mitre joined bay window pole instead of paying £450...
No shame in learning

 

[CBW]

Tracy, at least you have come on here 1st rather than being burned and then asking questions, so good on you.

 

[cdbe]

Personally I would prioritise central heating and hot water. Everything else can be done later, roof leaks can be managed (even if it's by a bucket), forget about the fireplace and the secondhand fire (which may be unusable anyway) for the time being, it's a finishing touch, not a means to heat a damp dilapidated house. If there is extensive mould and mushroom growth this is a health hazard and should be dealt with (by heating the house and ventilating and doing as much as you can to prevent water ingress). Shivering with an oil radiator will just make you ill.

 

[sxturbo]

you can use excel as a gantt chart tool (gantt chart is what woody suggested he just didnt call it that) there is a layout already within excel for this, estimate how long you think it will take you to complete each task, try and stick to this, having everything down as lists helps keep your sanity as you tick off jobs. Having dates to try and stick to means you have an end in sight.

tradesman will not be instant (if they are good they will be stacked with work, if they can start straight away avoid them) so book a tradesman in and that will give you a completion date for your other jobs

most of the 1st and 2nd fix stuff you can do yourself, after a few tries of doing it you'll get the hang of it, there is so much information out there on youtube this forum etc,

 

[dontbelieveawordofit]

If the roof/gutters/pointing need work, I dont see them on your list. Also what are the windows like? Looks like this winter may be tough but, maybe think about making it water tight sooner.

Depending on time, skill/willingness to learn, and funds, I would consider joist replacement/supports/strengthening as a diy task.

Id also, as heating is dead, see if you can open that fireplace sooner yourself. It may be usable with an open fire after a sweep, which is cheap. Installing the burner safely and legally will take a heatas engineer and maybe flue, but, an open fire could be warming you now.

good advice, make it watertight to stop any further deterioration.
find the safest ,cleanest ,driest ,easiest room to heat and do your living in there.

 

[JP_]

Sounds like a big project.

If you are replacing all electrics and plumbing, and all the wood is rotten, then maybe consider replacing the suspended wooden floor with concrete over insulation?
Rotten floors will have a cause too - so before replacing all the joists, check that air bricks are not blocked, that ground levels have not been raised etc. I had all this in the bungalow I bought 3.5 years ago. The quicker you can understand how your particular house was built, the easier it is to understand what changes are causing problems.

I have been replacing rotten joists (not too many luckily), floorboards and insulating everything (walls, floors) and over-boarding ceilings (luckily no rot in ceiling joists though). So it is doable - I've been doing one room at a time. Maybe focus on getting 1 bedroom and the lounge sorted first, then you have somewhere comfortable to live. If you have kids, you or they can sleep in the lounge when done while you sort out the other rooms.

But, builders bought the house next door to me, and they stripped every out back to brick walls, put down damp membrane (covers subfloor and goes up walls to floor level), jablite insulation sheets, then screeded over, and ran new electrics and plumbing through the ceiling and down the walls, rather than under the floor and up. This should be quicker to do, and provide better insulation - but get a pros advice from here (I am still a noob DIYer!) before doing that. I was tempted, but as I am living in the house with family felt it was better to just go one room at a time and repair what was broken.

Biggest thing for me really was probably lowering a path outside (3 layers of concrete built up over the airbricks) and making some new airbricks (get a labourer for this, even with an SDS drill it was bloody hard work getting through my 9 inch brick walls), then cleaning out the subfloor (don't leave all that muck down that as it is probably home to fungal spores and will also act as a sponge to hold onto moisture).

Share photos here as you go along and I am sure you'll get loads of great advice, this place really helped me turn my mouldy, damp, rotten bungalow into a nice home.

I'm still working on it though, hope to be done by the summer!

 

[mrrusty]

Having done pretty much what you are planning - house back to bare brick, roof off and on, new floors, ceilings, all services etc, you are going to get totally overwhelmed if you start general threads.

The overall plan must be to get the main fabric of the house structurally sound and watertight, so deal with roof, any extensions, structural wall changes first. In doing this you may have to address drains, water supplies.

Put a plan together. The main thing is to plan all your services and get the first fix in before you install floors, ceilings etc. Start threads to ask about specific information, but be aware there are many opinions out there, and not always just one correct way of doing things...

And just for reference, doing much work ourselves, but paying tradesman for electric, central heating. small extension brickwork and roof, re-roof, our build-spend, including a kitchen and bathroom using decent quality fit-out was in the ballpark of £50K

If you want some inspiration about what amateurs can do have a look here https://www.whathavewedunoon.co.uk/

 

[tracytop]

Never source tradesmen from internet sites. Loads of threads on here of people being done over by chancers.

Do some networking....if you see an extension being built near you, pop in ask the builder running the job for a few contacts.

Of pop in to your local independent builders merchant / electrical merchants etc and ask for some contracts. Tradesmen in your town will go to a local branch.

Thanks, yes I hadn't thought of this, but sounds very sensible!

 

[tracytop]

Sounds like a big project.

If you are replacing all electrics and plumbing, and all the wood is rotten, then maybe consider replacing the suspended wooden floor with concrete over insulation?
Rotten floors will have a cause too - so before replacing all the joists, check that air bricks are not blocked, that ground levels have not been raised etc. I had all this in the bungalow I bought 3.5 years ago. The quicker you can understand how your particular house was built, the easier it is to understand what changes are causing problems.

I have been replacing rotten joists (not too many luckily), floorboards and insulating everything (walls, floors) and over-boarding ceilings (luckily no rot in ceiling joists though). So it is doable - I've been doing one room at a time. Maybe focus on getting 1 bedroom and the lounge sorted first, then you have somewhere comfortable to live. If you have kids, you or they can sleep in the lounge when done while you sort out the other rooms.

But, builders bought the house next door to me, and they stripped every out back to brick walls, put down damp membrane (covers subfloor and goes up walls to floor level), jablite insulation sheets, then screeded over, and ran new electrics and plumbing through the ceiling and down the walls, rather than under the floor and up. This should be quicker to do, and provide better insulation - but get a pros advice from here (I am still a noob DIYer!) before doing that. I was tempted, but as I am living in the house with family felt it was better to just go one room at a time and repair what was broken.

Biggest thing for me really was probably lowering a path outside (3 layers of concrete built up over the airbricks) and making some new airbricks (get a labourer for this, even with an SDS drill it was bloody hard work getting through my 9 inch brick walls), then cleaning out the subfloor (don't leave all that muck down that as it is probably home to fungal spores and will also act as a sponge to hold onto moisture).

Share photos here as you go along and I am sure you'll get loads of great advice, this place really helped me turn my mouldy, damp, rotten bungalow into a nice home.

I'm still working on it though, hope to be done by the summer!

Hi, i Have a room downstairs that is better than the rest which I am currently living in. And the kitchen is functional as is the bathroom, they are in a bit of the extension so concrete floors, and no leaks in this part of the roof. I will definitely add pictures as I go. And like you it will be one bit at a time due to being able to afford thins, so definitely slow going for me!

 

[tracytop]

Having done pretty much what you are planning - house back to bare brick, roof off and on, new floors, ceilings, all services etc, you are going to get totally overwhelmed if you start general threads.

The overall plan must be to get the main fabric of the house structurally sound and watertight, so deal with roof, any extensions, structural wall changes first. In doing this you may have to address drains, water supplies.

Put a plan together. The main thing is to plan all your services and get the first fix in before you install floors, ceilings etc. Start threads to ask about specific information, but be aware there are many opinions out there, and not always just one correct way of doing things...

And just for reference, doing much work ourselves, but paying tradesman for electric, central heating. small extension brickwork and roof, re-roof, our build-spend, including a kitchen and bathroom using decent quality fit-out was in the ballpark of £50K

If you want some inspiration about what amateurs can do have a look here

Thanks for the advice, yes i'm definitely hoping to get it water tight first! Once I make the first move on it I will definitely ask more specific questions. I guess this was just really making sure I'm starting with the right things and not doing anything that will have to come back out again if somthing else needs doing first. I'll definitely take a look at the link! Thank you

 

[jacko555]

jackoo555,
What are you talking about? Who are you? I see you babbling incorrect info as tho you have actually ever done up a house or even fixed a curtain rail. You've done neither - your words give you away, they show ignorance.
Why dont you delete the rubbish info you've posted?

And you copy the diynot resident troll to make all kinds of wild claims about who you think i am - none of your weird suppositions are correct by the way. Perhaps you will provide proof for your mouthing off - come on, proof please?

But why are you even interested in me - what a weirdo.
And why do you consider an internet DIY site to be a place of "human contact"? Thats very sad.

Must not feed the troll

 

[Nige F]

- none of your weird suppositions are correct by the way.
.

Oh yes they are "tel" you've been here for years since" ree " your friends the mods will look after you and all this will disappear. You're free to waffle and abuse . You're just a telephone tough guy, tel. that and your limited use of punctuation gave you away a while ago.? You go with the Moon too - as was common knowledge to workers in the Victorian asylums , before they were closed .