Alternative Christmas Shopping

Whilst it is traditional this time of year to be out buying lovely gifts for friends and family (and I have done that too!) as the walls of the extension got higher it became apparent that I really need to start ordering things!  So in the past week I have bought;

12 New Door Handles
11 Wardrobe Knobs
10 Square Metres of Kitchen Units
9 Square Metres of Work Surface
8 Plantation Shutters
7 New Lights
6 Metres of Bi Fold Doors
5 New Appliances
4 Tins of Paint
3 Paint Brushes
2 Foam Rollers
And a New Toilet! (oh and wall mural for Alex)

Ok so it doesnt really rhyme and I made some of the numbers up, but you get the general picture! The bank account has a headache! And I am not finished yet, still got at least one bathroom to get ordered by early January, new bedroom furniture for Alex and a new carpet.

I have nearly finished Alex's room, then will move onto Charlie's so once the Shutters have been fitted will post some before and after shots.  In the meantime see some progress pictures below of the extension.......Happy Christmas,  sooooo glad we booked a restaurant for Christmas Day!!

I

Un Edited!

 

Well having spent the past three weeks painting ceilings (8 so far), I havent had time to sit and edit the Video.  However as the extension is almost up to roof height and we have almost completed the decoration of our first room (hoorah!) I have decided to publish the unedited version....you can just fast forward whenever you like!

Or if this doesnt work try the link......http://youtu.be/Ae65nBbg4qk

We have completed decorating the study, including flooring, however I cant order the shutters until the two front bedrooms are decorated (next on my list) so will publish before and after pics at a later date. 

In the meantime some "interesting" ceiling shots for your perusal.

Technical hitches!

I was hoping to post a video today as there is so much happening, however for some reason our video camera and PC are just not talking! So some pictures will have to do for now.

Its all about getting things in the right order with any refurb project, however as I am not the most patient person in the world (and prefer to be outside when the sun is shining!) I have forged ahead with having some of our unnatractive Artexed ceilings plastered.  We have decided to just have upstairs and the study and porch done as we are concerned that there could be some movement downstairs when the walls come down for the extension.

Coving and Artex in the hall

 

All of the ceilings will eventually be done and we are also having to cover the existing coving in the hall, master bed and lounge. As we are also having spotlights put in several areas it was important to get the wiring for these put in prior to the plastering being started.  Kelvin, our electrician arrived last Monday and Dave the plasterer arrived on Thursday http://www.davegilbertplastering.co.uk/default.html.  It has been a challenge to empty rooms and swap them about, but so far it is all going to plan.  Four of the bedrooms and the landing are all now done and ready for me to paint and Kelvin is back today fitting the spots on the landing.  Dave (the tidiest plasterer ever!) has now moved in the master Bedroom and ensuite, where he is also removing some arches!

The builders also started last Wednesday, however we have hit a slight glitch here..... a drain is in the wrong place so they have had to down tools until some further drawings can be done! Oh well, you have to expect these things with building work.

The pictures below show the existing Kitchen and dining room which will be knocked together to form a new bigger kitchen. The walls at the back (where the windows are) will come down and the new kitchen will then be open plan to the new family room. Note the chaos caused when you have to move the contents of the study, as well as the boys playstation and the ironing board,  all into the dining room! Oops, and all my upholstery stuff.....needless to say we didnt have Sunday lunch in there!

I am proud to anounce that I have completed not one, but two dining rooms chairs, just 4 more to go! Hopefully, with a bit of technical help, I should be able to get my video uploaded for next time.

MORE BEFORES THAN AFTERS!

Still more befores than afters!!

Well the front of the house is finally coming together, we still need to get shutters for the windows (cant do this until the decorating is done), however I think it is starting to look quite smart and has definately been dragged out of the 1980's "brown" look.  We have enclosed the porch, with the help of our talented carpenter Steve, added new lights and a new number and all in all it has cost a small fortune but I love it! 


BEFORE



AFTER




NEW INNER DOOR

NEW OUTER DOOR

Unfortunately once you make it past the front door, everything is pretty much the same!
I have therefore been keeping myself amused, I have started undercoating the "teak" coloured door frames in white.....there are 21 in total (including wardrobe frames) and all will need 4 coats so no mean feat!  I have also given my humble garden shed a "makeover"....

The reptile house!

 

 

and I have started an upholstery and soft furnishings course to utilise and update someof our existing furniture and curtains, and hopefully saving a few ££££ in the process as most of our budget is allocated to the house and not its removable contents! You will have to wait for the after picture of my dining room chairs!

I have also been busy making mood boards and have found the easiest way is to "screen print" stuff I like from the internet and make a collage using the "pic collage" app.....this means I have a picture of the website I found the product on saved in my photostream for future reference.  The plasterer starts on our nasty Artexed ceilings at the end of the month....along hopefully with the builder.

 

 

 

Before



In between



 

A bit quiet

Well it's all been a bit quiet whilst we were waiting to decide which builder to use for the extension, obviously the build will take the lions share of our budget so we were not going to proceed with any other majors works i.e. bathrooms until after the extension is complete. We have however had our wardrobes updated and the damp proofing and screeding for the porch ready for it to be enclosed as part of the double glazing. We took delivery of a fab new Superking bed from johnlewis.com and not being able to decorate the room is very frustrating.....but patience etc etc!!   We also had the hedge at the front removed, a couple more trees lopped and the windows have now been installed.  So rather than gabbling on I will let the pictures speak for themselves........................next post should be able to show you our repainted exterior and lovely new oak front door, thanks to our friend Mark at www.beaverai.co.uk for some great quality door furniture.

The Alarm, The Windows and The Wardrobe!

OK so the sun has been shining and we have been getting on with some smaller DIY jobs whilst waiting for trades people to get back to us.  I have been weeding, Miles put up some new fence panels (which I sprayed, along with adding a few extra freckles to myself!) and I have started stripping and sanding the window sills so that I don't damage the sealant that is put around the new windows when they are installed.  These are our current Windows;


We asked for quotes from 3 companies, 2 came back to us and one didn't bother....erm thought it was a recession! Anyway we decided to use www.micronwindows.co.uk mainly because they specialise in Aluminium and we were impressed with their showroom. Also because my Dad was friends with the owner many years ago and had his windows fitted by them.  We are having a side door and 1 bay window, plus full height glazed porch wall.  The average cost for each of the standard windows is £750-£800.  We are also going to use Micron for our bi fold doors in the new extension.                                                                   



Our Dressing Room

We trotted off to Ikea the other day, thinking we could refurbish our wardrobes, but unfortunately they aren't standard sizes so back to square one.  I found a great website www.diyhomefit.co.uk which will supply bespoke sized doors, drawer fronts etc.  We did price it all out, but I decided to get a local company to quote as well.  The local company only came in at £200 more and they do all the fitting, so this time we have decided to go with them, www.thecwc.com .  They are basically replacing all the wardrobe doors, drawer fronts and unit tops plus adding an internal chest of drawers, shoe racks, tie rack and some new shelves.  The carcases of our existing furniture are good so we are just updating the look.  We are also taking delivery of our Super King Size Bed from www.johnlewis.com next week, which is very exciting! Just need to remember to buy some new bedding!!  I will add photos of the new windows and wardrobe when they are completed (Although the bedroom won't be re-decorated until next year).

Finally we chose www.wickhamsecurity.co.uk for our new alarm, which is being installed next week.  Although the initial installation is about £400 more than ADT, once installed you just pay an annual service charge of £80 plus VAT.  ADT wanted £26.99 per month, forever, and that could go up at any time, so we should break even in 2 years and be better off in 3 years.  Additionally we will own the alarm so could take it with us if we decided to move (highly unlikely!!!).

I have also been busy gathering quotes for front doors, bathrooms, glass panels, tiling and builders............the list is endless.  It's all in the preparation, so needs must! I am looking forward to choosing the bathroom suites and new kitchen next...far more exciting!

2 Weeks in...



BEFORE



AFTER



And so the work begins! We have been here for two weeks now and thanks to British Telecom delaying the installation of our new broadband for 10 days we were in an internet no go zone, the 3G here is not very reliable either!

The structural engineer has been and we are awaiting his drawing before asking for quotes from builders.  The planning costs for anyone thinking of extending; Architect - sorry don't know as I used my Dad!, Structural engineer £444 (inc VAT and a site visit), building regulations £624(inc VAT).

In the meantime not wanting to waste time we have forged ahead with some things we can do.  First job was to have the trees that were unsightly and blocking the view down the garden removed, we used our friend Pete who lives around the corner evergreentreeservices.com.

Next task was to tackle the 30 year old boiler, which whilst in perfect working order wasn't particularly environmentally friendly and would probably have made our heating and hot water bills astronomical.  For this we decided to only get British Gas to quote, we know they are the most expensive but we wanted to the peace of mind.  The final total came in at £3,200 and the boiler was fitted yesterday.  We had a team of three here from 7.30am to 6.15pm and they did a great job. As Miles is a gadget lover, we have opted for their new myhome.britishgas.co.uk
remote system, which allows you to control your heating from your iphone!!  We were the first people the engineer had installed it for, so we learnt how to use it together!!

We have also had quotes from 2 alarm companies and 3 double glazing companies and I will save this for a later date, once we have decided who to go with. In the meantime check out our retro cloak room below.....mmm wouldn't you love one just like it!

Nearly there!

OK so it took about a month longer than expected, especially as there were only three of us in the chain! However we finally exchnaged last week and are moving on Friday 4th May.  In March, I flew my Dad, a retired architect, over from his permanent home in Spain to measure up for the extension.  I am very fortunate that my Dad and both brothers are Architects! So dad has done the plans, and now I just need to get a structural engineer over once we have moved in before submitting them for Building Regs.  We have decided to stay within permitted development, which is 4 metres for a detached house, that way we wont have to wait months and months for planning permission!  Although we have booked Christmas Dinner in a local restaurant....just in case we dont have a kitchen by then!  We will be going to at least three builders for quotes, it will be interesting to see how they compare as my brother Paul has already given me an idea of what the extension should cost!  I discovered some great 3D planning sites whilst we have been waiting and have had great fun planning. The IKEA kitchen site is OK, although a bit tempremental and you can obviously only use IKEA kitchen units, but its usefull for planning the layout.  Another great site is MyDeco http://www.mydeco.com/ ,  I have the whole house on there and have even furnished it and it sends you 3D photos!

We are planning to knock through the current Kitchen and dining room and add a full width family room and dining area on the back with bi fold doors. Upstairs I am going to knock together the guest ensuite and family bathroom to make it bigger. Other than that the whole place is going to get a make over, i.e. windows, doors, floors, heating, lighting, electrics, exterior decor, staircase, ceilings, coving, bathrooms, kitchen, fireplace and then finally the decorating and garden! Phew, think I may be a bit busy for the next 12 months, but looking forward to it.  Miles and I have both been compiling folders when we have come across pictires or websites of stuff we like, so I will share some of these as and when we start each project.

Waiting for exchange and completion!

Having sold our house in one day and having two offers on houses which required very little help rejected (one sold to a friend, the other decided not to move!) we finally had an offer excepted on the house above.  The main difference is that this house needs a major refurb, it is still well and truly stuck in 1984, including coloured bathroom suites, artexed ceilings and lots of very brown wood! So why did we offer to buy it? Location, location, location was absolutely key, its ideal for both my boys comute to school, right opposite the woods and only a half mile from our local high street (Starbucks prepare for more regular attendance).  It also has HUGE potential, is clean and can easily be lived in for now and has a 200 foot garden.

I have decided to start this blog so once we have finally completed I can track our refurb progress including before and after snaps, costs, time scales etc etc which I hope will be interesting to my friends and family and maybe a useful source to any other homeowners refurbing out there.....also hoping to pick up any tips along the way.

So, whilst we wait for the sales to go through please add yourself as a follower and watch this space for the Refurb Reality to start.......................................