# Buying my first house



## dionbee93

Hello everyone,

As title really - I'm 23 and have been looking for the last 12 months for a first time buy to renovate and live in. (And maybe sell on in a few years time when I can afford a larger house) 

I have done a lot of research and looked at a lot of different houses in the area and i think i've found one I'm really keen on and I've made an offer. (I'ts quite low but I can always go up if I need) 

So, although researching on the net etc. Is all good I'd like some advice and tips off someone that's "been there and done that" 

tips on the renovation side?
Anything i should do before committing? (Apart from survey?)

Thanks in advance,
Dion.


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## insanejim69

Where are you based. As when we bought our first house last year (we are in Scotland) its the sellers responsibility to have a home survey, gas safety check etc all in place before selling. All the buyer has to do is find the house first and then get the mortgage in place for the house. pay the deposit and fees and agree a transfer date. I believe England is totally different to that? 

I always disliked the part where we had to find the house first before we could even apply for the mortgage at all. Always felt backward.

James


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## LewisChadwick7

im just in the process of buying my first house too! got everything in place, viewed the property last night and will probably have a second viewing again while the mortgage is been sorted we have an idea what will be accepted, we're just pushing on with getting the mortgage finally put through now and getting it in principle then we can make an official offer and crack on  all getting very real now as well as exciting at the same time!! like jim has said i dont like how you have to find the house then get the mortgage is a bit frustrating waiting about for people who are dragging their heels


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## dionbee93

Cheers to both for your replies.. I'm in Wales so I believe it's the sellers' responsibility to get everything done except for the survey. That's what i think anyway.

The house I've seen has a little bit of cosmetic work to be done but is structurally sound and needs a new (Updated) kitchen and bathroom - It will be a bit of a project and I can live with my parents until I'm ready to move in anyway which is quite lucky.

I agree Lewis - very exciting stuff but I'm just a little scared that the excitement is making me gaze over something important. 

Dion


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## LewisChadwick7

dionbee93 said:


> Cheers to both for your replies.. I'm in Wales so I believe it's the sellers' responsibility to get everything done except for the survey. That's what i think anyway.
> 
> The house I've seen has a little bit of cosmetic work to be done but is structurally sound and needs a new (Updated) kitchen and bathroom - It will be a bit of a project and I can live with my parents until I'm ready to move in anyway which is quite lucky.
> 
> I agree Lewis - very exciting stuff but I'm just a little scared that the excitement is making me gaze over something important.
> 
> Dion


thats it as much as i want it and want to it all to hurry up and be sorted i'm trying to keep myself busy and not think about it too much haha!! one thing i have to keep telling myself is there is no rush its not a car im buying that i can just flog on in 18 months when i'm bored :lol: this will be my home for a fair few years i hope


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## DarrylB

My Girlfriend and I moved in to our first property last Friday. It took exactly 4 months from the offer being accepted to getting an exchange date. Our seller was a bit of PITA really, as they kept chopping and changing what they were doing and taking ages to reply to queries. 

it wasn't what I would describe as stressful for us, as we we're in the fortunate position (similar to you by the sounds of it) of having time and little obligation on our side, it was frustrating however having to wait weeks for replies to frankly simple things. 

My advice having been through it:

1. Add up the costs and then add at least 10-20% more for costs: Solicitor fees, searches, stamp duty, service charges, ground rent (obviously specific to where you buy) etc. A little buffer is great help

2. Email or write a letter for everything and create a neat folder structure to keep it organised. Every time the lawyer phoned me I'd ask him to summerise the call in an email or I'd email him saying something like, "further to our conversation, we outlined this, this and this....." 

3. Be prepared for it to fall through! Our chap kept put the exchange date back by a week THREE times - and you can't exactly threaten them  they could be just iike, "fine, sod you, I'm not selling anymore!" We ended up saying that if it goes on much longer, we'd be forced by external factors to pull out and look elsewhere. We also allowed them 2 weeks between exchange and completion just so that we could actually exchange and tie them in. 

That's about all I can think of for now

Good luck!


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## insanejim69

Wow 4 months !! ?  .......... took us 3 weeks from seeing the house we liked, mortgage approved and getting the keys.  We were quite lucky. Our solicitor fees, broker fees and stamp duty came to £2360 in total plus our 5% deposit on top obviously. 

Also make sure the valuation isn't less than what you are buying the house for as you will need to make up the difference. I.e. if the house is valued at £150k, but the asking price is £155K, the mortgage company will only give you a maximum of the valuation price (so £150k) you will need to find the extra £5k on top plus all fees and the deposit. We almost got caught out with that until our solicitor explained it all to us. 

James


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## AndyN01

As with everything else the prep is the key.

Loads of good advice already.

I'll bet you’ve already done this but an internet search will come up with loads of ideas and lists about what to do, when, and some reminders - like take some loo roll when you move :lol:

Be very careful about what you are getting for you money with the solicitor, agent, surveyor etc. etc. They can have a "nice little earner" with the "add ons" you thought were included.

If you are having a full survey, check out what happens if the surveyor misses something that then costs you to put right. Some have a wriggle out clause that effectively means you can't recover whatever it costs you to put right.

Timescales are always variable. Once our date was set the sellers wanted to move it back a week. Our solicitor said fine, that'll cost you 1000 in compensation for us having to cancel removals etc. etc. We moved on the original date :thumb:

The very best of luck in your new home.

Good luck.

Andy


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## dionbee93

My first offer was (as I thought would happen) unfortunately refused but I've gone in with a slightly higher offer so hopefully it will be accepted this time around and I can move on with proceedings asap.

Thanks to all up to now for your help - really appreciate it.. Any more?

Dion


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## Hereisphilly

After having just got married, the missus and I are now onto the task of buying our 1st house too, so I'll be following this thread with interest

Looking to hopefully move in about 6 months, when we recon the deposit will be saved up

We were a bit miffed with the government 'clarifying' the time at when they give you the help to buy ISA topup

Turns out its on completion rather than at exchange, so it is basically useless for helping to put towards the deposit
Basically every piece of advertising we saw was advertising it as helping to save for the deposit, but in reality you will never get it at the stage you need the full deposit


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## Darlofan

Be prepared for it not to be quick. Ours took 3months I think which doesn't sound long but not much happens in that time. We used same solicitor as seller of one we were buying and still had excuse of I'm waiting to hear from their solicitor. I might have used the phrase "they're in the next room to you"!

Our surveyor valued the house at 5k under our "cheeky offer" that they'd accepted so we thought we'd lose house. I rang EA told them mortgage company wouldn't lend us the amount we needed based on survey valuation and 10mins later seller accepted 5k lower. Happy days😀


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## Rollinlow

On My second house now an you find if it looks good an has been done you'll have to do it again it's like women the look good in the club but in the morning or weeeks later the makeup wares off an an the cracks show, a house is just that


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## AndyN01

Looking ahead a bit.

Once you move in there's a temptation to roll up you sleeves and crack on with all sorts of projects, decorating etc. etc.

Assuming you're not borrowing Nick Knowles and his crew of dozens (and his money)......

May I suggest, from experience, start with the bits you really can't stand and must change - colour of the walls, state of the carpet etc.and much more important than those things......where and how are you going to store your detailing products :buffer:

After that step back and live with what you have for a few months. You may well find that what you originally thought you wanted to do isn't what you want to do now you've lived there for a while.

It's not an easy thing to do but it can (does - been there, done that) save you loads of time and money rushing into doing stuff you promptly undo a few months down the line.

All the very best with the purchase - keep gently prodding the professionals - they generally take on more than they can properly deal with and you need to keep your purchase near the top of their to do/chase up list :thumb:

Andy


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## dionbee93

I totally understand what both of you are saying.. 

Rollinlow - that's exactly why i'm going for a property that needs modernising and a little renovation anyway as I know, any work that would have been done to sell the house would have been done cheaply anyway and would probably need to be re-done.

AndyN01 - I think that what you're saying is really fair. I think I'm being fairly realistic at what I want to do if my offer get's accepted, carpet and paint throughout and new kitchen and bathroom. Nothing too drastic and maybe about 6 months / year down the line get the garden sorted. I plan on doing exactly like you said - live in it a little to see what works and what doesn't.. I got the exact same advice from someone else!

Thanks Both. 

As for nobody wanting to do anything quick - still no reply on my second (More realistic) offer on the house. Cross fingers.

Dion


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## dionbee93

So - my second offer was accepted, My surveyor is having a look at the house tomorrow to make sure everything is hunky dory and we'll go from there - Exciting!

Dion


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## AndyN01

Hi Dion.

Great news.

Fingers crossed for you.

All the very best - Good Luck.

Andy.


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## LewisChadwick7

we had our offer accepted last week  we were told there was another one but he took ours which was what he told me he was fater when i went to view the proprty! just sorted out the deposit etc. now so just waiting for the formalities to be done hopefully soon be sorted! we're in no real rush to move in but ideally want to be in before christmas


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## Rollinlow

Well done an good luck you learn a lot on your first house an how much you can do just by looking it up an having a go. We did everything fast in our home an has to do some again a year later so take my word for it, take your time one room at a time work out what you want it to be first an in the long run will stand the test of time. Ive still loads to do on my new house but the bits we have all went well an look so much better for planning and taking longer.


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## Clancy

Sounds good mate good luck

Depending on your current renovation budget, I would advise staying at your parents and gutting and sorting the house before moving in. Far easier to do when it's empty and your not in, can do a far better job quicker. Obviously only works if you currently have the money to do so. If not one room at a time is the best way if your living in it

If you need any advice/info on the renovation building side of it just ask bud. 

Independent surveyor is a must for anyone, irrelevant of who's responsibility it is where you live, can't hurt to have another person look over a property before you buy it. It's the most expensive thing you'll ever buy so best to know what your getting yourself into


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## potter88

Hereisphilly said:


> After having just got married, the missus and I are now onto the task of buying our 1st house too, so I'll be following this thread with interest
> 
> Looking to hopefully move in about 6 months, when we recon the deposit will be saved up
> 
> We were a bit miffed with the government 'clarifying' the time at when they give you the help to buy ISA topup
> 
> Turns out its on completion rather than at exchange, so it is basically useless for helping to put towards the deposit
> Basically every piece of advertising we saw was advertising it as helping to save for the deposit, but in reality you will never get it at the stage you need the full deposit


I'm intrigued by what you mean on this? As I have a help to buy isa which I put the maximum in it each month. Had it for a while now so there is a fair chunk of money in there and will be looking middle of next year realistically.

Barclays have told me that for every £200 they put in £50 and a maximum of £3000 in total over the whole term, and as long as I'm using for a mortgage then I shall be entitled to it all for the deposit

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## Hereisphilly

potter88 said:


> I'm intrigued by what you mean on this? As I have a help to buy isa which I put the maximum in it each month. Had it for a while now so there is a fair chunk of money in there and will be looking middle of next year realistically.
> 
> Barclays have told me that for every £200 they put in £50 and a maximum of £3000 in total over the whole term, and as long as I'm using for a mortgage then I shall be entitled to it all for the deposit
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


I've got exactly that, except with Halifax, we've had ours for over a year too

Basically the treasury recently 'clarified' you get the 25% on completion of the mortgage, rather than at exchange

Because you need your full deposit at exchange in order to get the mortgage, the scene is basically useless in helping you save for your deposit. You will get the money but only after you have your mortgage set up, so it just reduces your overall mortgage value

It's a massive scandal

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...dal-500000-first-time-buyers-told-scheme-can/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal...us-buyers-had-no-idea-it-wasnt-for-a-deposit/

If you check all the promo material that your bank has now, you notice they will have changed the wording

Oh and Barclay's won't give you the money, it comes from the government

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## potter88

Hereisphilly said:


> I've got exactly that, except with Halifax, we've had ours for over a year too
> 
> Basically the treasury recently 'clarified' you get the 25% on completion of the mortgage, rather than at exchange
> 
> Because you need your full deposit at exchange in order to get the mortgage, the scene is basically useless in helping you save for your deposit. You will get the money but only after you have your mortgage set up, so it just reduces your overall mortgage value
> 
> It's a massive scandal
> 
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...dal-500000-first-time-buyers-told-scheme-can/
> 
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal...us-buyers-had-no-idea-it-wasnt-for-a-deposit/
> 
> If you check all the promo material that your bank has now, you notice they will have changed the wording
> 
> Oh and Barclay's won't give you the money, it comes from the government
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


Cheers for this pal. Yea I know it comes from government overall. Bit of a scam then as like you say it's useless as the whole idea is to bump deposit money up which it doesn't do whatever.

The deposit is the hardest part which I thought was part of this whole idea of helping people, not the repayments as I currently rent which is about the same as a mortgage so I won't have any problems paying it.

Small print hey 😂

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## Hereisphilly

potter88 said:


> Cheers for this pal. Yea I know it comes from government overall. Bit of a scam then as like you say it's useless as the whole idea is to bump deposit money up which it doesn't do whatever.
> 
> The deposit is the hardest part which I thought was part of this whole idea of helping people, not the repayments as I currently rent which is about the same as a mortgage so I won't have any problems paying it.
> 
> Small print hey 😂
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


No problem, yeah it's best you find out in advance rather than when you have an offer waiting and can't get the funds

What's bad is that all the promo material from everyone said that it's helps you to save for a deposit, which it in no way does!

Now that this has come to light, what a few people have said Inc. Martin Lewis is used it as a negotiating tool, as lenders may accept it, as they are guaranteed the cash, just slightly later than normal. The reasoning is they are unlikely to turn down a mortgage sale on timings of receiving the funds

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## dionbee93

I looked into these whilst searching for the house and opted not to as the interest you pay on them in the long run is also astonishing.

I'm currently in the stage of securing a mortgage etc with Natwest and getting it all sorted - exciting but painstakingly slow!!

Dion


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## Hereisphilly

dionbee93 said:


> I looked into these whilst searching for the house and opted not to as the interest you pay on them in the long run is also astonishing.
> 
> I'm currently in the stage of securing a mortgage etc with Natwest and getting it all sorted - exciting but painstakingly slow!!
> 
> Dion


You're probably thinking of the Help to Buy scheme, not the Help to Buy ISA

We're not going with the scheme on account of the high interest and poor mortgage rate you get with it, but the ISA is well with it, as long as you know when you get the money

The government has also just scrapped the help to buy scheme

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## scuba-phil

This is what i did in my first house about 10 years ago, although by purchasing at peak and selling in a trough didnt work as well as id hoped.

But for me i found it best to plan and write down the jobs i wanted to do. This way i could see if was going to generate enough rubbish it was best to get a skip and strip everything out.
Then i could taking things off and getting work done like electrics/plumbing where walls and floors may be disturbed.
Then started to rebuild area like getting plaster in and bathroom/kitchen fitters to do their jobs.
Then decorate all the rooms and finish with furniture. 

Made life easy as whilst rooms are empty and 'in construction' you dont mind storing a bathroom in the living room for example. I have a mate who is trying to do room by room as we type, and hes struggling. The dust generated from each job ends up dirtying his finished rooms, storage is an issue and so on.


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## c87reed

Currently in the process of purchasing using the help-to-buy ISA, you can use the funds from the ISA at exchange (as I am doing), but you have to wait for the bonus to be paid which will come in at the completion.

So in theory, it's still better than nothing. Only valid if purchasing a house worth less than £250k outside London.

If there is an issue with needing the 'bonus' amount to make up the 5% or 10% deposit, then this can be negotiated with the buyer to exchange with a lesser figure buy way of a deposit. 

The actual Help-to-buy has its positives and negatives. The first 5 years is interest free, although being an equity loan it will cost you more to repay if the house goes up in value. After five years there is interest to pay on the borrowed HTB amount, although this isn't then clearing the HTB debt.


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## Zebra

*Electrics*

Have the seller pay for the electrics testing - wiring - fusebox and so on.

You don't want to move and find you need a re-wire.

Also change your mortgage regularly - its worth the brokers fee if they can get you a better deal every two years.

Good luck.


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## AndyN01

+1 for keep checking on mortgage deals.

Can save huge money overall - think little bits of short term pain (getting your a#$% into gear to get sorted) to get long term gain (lots of saved pennies).

Good luck.

Andy


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## Taxboy

Zebra said:


> Have the seller pay for the electrics testing - wiring - fusebox and so on.
> 
> You don't want to move and find you need a re-wire.
> 
> Also change your mortgage regularly - its worth the brokers fee if they can get you a better deal every two years.
> 
> Good luck.


A nice idea if you can get them to do it. As a seller I've always been happy for any buyer to have whatever inspection they wanted...... at their expense. Also would you fully trust any survey commissioned by a seller.

Having said that an electrical survey is a good idea and on our current home early cost me £50 and acted as a lever to support my offer


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## Arvi

Hereisphilly said:


> I've got exactly that, except with Halifax, we've had ours for over a year too
> 
> Basically the treasury recently 'clarified' you get the 25% on completion of the mortgage, rather than at exchange
> 
> Because you need your full deposit at exchange in order to get the mortgage, the scene is basically useless in helping you save for your deposit. You will get the money but only after you have your mortgage set up, so it just reduces your overall mortgage value
> 
> It's a massive scandal
> 
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...dal-500000-first-time-buyers-told-scheme-can/
> 
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal...us-buyers-had-no-idea-it-wasnt-for-a-deposit/
> 
> If you check all the promo material that your bank has now, you notice they will have changed the wording
> 
> Oh and Barclay's won't give you the money, it comes from the government
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


As the maximum you will get from the government is £3000 a sizeable chunk of Your deposit will be in your ISA and own savings. You can access the ISA saving as soon as you close your ISA so do that inthe beginning of the month you want to exchange and not complete. Your solicitor will then claim the government contribution for you when you have given them your ISA closing statement and First Time Buyer declaration.

Solicitors fees, stamp duty and other legal costs will come to about £2-3k which will be payable on completion by which time your solicitor will have the funds so your not really out of pocket /being scammed. if you don't have a few thousand set aside for house emergencies/ mortgage increases you should take further consideration as to if you can afford to buy.


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## Hereisphilly

Arvi said:


> As the maximum you will get from the government is £3000 a sizeable chunk of Your deposit will be in your ISA and own savings. You can access the ISA saving as soon as you close your ISA so do that inthe beginning of the month you want to exchange and not complete. Your solicitor will then claim the government contribution for you when you have given them your ISA closing statement and First Time Buyer declaration.
> 
> Solicitors fees, stamp duty and other legal costs will come to about £2-3k which will be payable on completion by which time your solicitor will have the funds so your not really out of pocket /being scammed. if you don't have a few thousand set aside for house emergencies/ mortgage increases you should take further consideration as to if you can afford to buy.


I never said I was being scammed or that I didn't have the extra funds in case of emergencies

We will be doing exactly as you say, letting the solicitors claim the government contribution and paying off all the various fees with that

My point is that it's poor form of the government to move the goalposts halfway during the scheme, especially for people who are relying on the contribution to get them thr necessary funds to exchange

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## Arvi

Sorry @Hereisphilly if my post came across the wrong way (guess I shouldn't have quoted your post, sorry). 

I was trying to get across how the scheme works in practice to assist anyone looking at this thread.


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## dionbee93

So... Agreed the price, Mortgage is sorted, (Ready to go when everything else is)
Done the valuation, done the survey and given my solicitor the go-ahead.

This was about a month ago.. had a phonecall today saying that the sellers' solicitor has found that there are no full title deeds for the house for anything after 1956. so they have to apply to land registry etc etc. and is not likely that I'm going to complete until after christmas.

Am i in a point to ask for a lower price on the house because of this? 

I fear that the seller will say something like "ah ok, forget it then, cancel the process" because I really like the house, BUT at the same time - i don't want to be taken for a mug waiting around ages for everything.. Especially when I've been getting everything from my side done and pushed through as soon as possible. 

Thanks - Dion


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## Taxboy

Welcome to the stress free world of house buying 

As to whether you can ask for a discount is something only you can decide based on your dealings with the seller. The way to think about it is what would your reaction be if the situation was reversed and you were selling. The loss of the deeds appears outside the seller's control and the risk is they might tell you where to go.

There is also the possibility that they need every last penny to move on so a reduced offer may simply not work for them. You need to balance the risk of getting a reduction with the sale falling through and you've already spent out on legal fees and a survey for zip if that happens.

Frustrating I know but if its the right house for you at a fair price I might be tempted to wait until the new year. There's nothing to stop you viewing other properties in the meantime though as a back up


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## slineclean

Will be following this thread 

Me too looking at a house with GF and moving so we are both roughly a 50/50 split to travel to our works. 

Want to enquire about a fixed deal
As least then you know what you are paying each month. I only see the interest going up


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## gaswizards

Also looking for a house atm. Some interesting info on the government scheme as i am currently in this scheme. Subscribed


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## dionbee93

Taxboy said:


> Welcome to the stress free world of house buying
> 
> As to whether you can ask for a discount is something only you can decide based on your dealings with the seller. The way to think about it is what would your reaction be if the situation was reversed and you were selling. The loss of the deeds appears outside the seller's control and the risk is they might tell you where to go.
> 
> There is also the possibility that they need every last penny to move on so a reduced offer may simply not work for them. You need to balance the risk of getting a reduction with the sale falling through and you've already spent out on legal fees and a survey for zip if that happens.
> 
> Frustrating I know but if its the right house for you at a fair price I might be tempted to wait until the new year. There's nothing to stop you viewing other properties in the meantime though as a back up


Thanks Taxboy - I was debating and going through the pros and cons of this last night.. I think my best bet is to do as you said and sit tight and bite my tongue for a while. 
I've been looking for a house for too long to get it thrown back at this stage, the money spent on checks, mortgage valuation and surveys etc also makes it too much of a risk.



slineclean said:


> Will be following this thread
> 
> Me too looking at a house with GF and moving so we are both roughly a 50/50 split to travel to our works.
> 
> Want to enquire about a fixed deal
> As least then you know what you are paying each month. I only see the interest going up


Slineclean - I've done exactly this - I've gone for a 5 year fixed but you do pay a small premium each month (mine is £8 more) to be on a fixed. I got mine at 3.8% apr. My mortgage advisor was saying with leaving the EU in a little over 20 months, the interest rates could go either way, so it's a little bit of a risk in my eyes.. If it goes down to lets say 1%, yep i'd be gutted but... if it goes up to something ridiculous like 9.5% - happy days.



gaswizards said:


> Also looking for a house atm. Some interesting info on the government scheme as i am currently in this scheme. Subscribed


Where are you based? i think the schemes differ between Wales, England, Scotland and N.I

Dion


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## Hereisphilly

Had a very surreal two weeks, which has ended us having our offer on a house accepted yesterday!

Initially we had planned to start looking in Feb, but the missus who constantly checks rightmove saw this house that on paper fitted the bill

Went to the estate agent and got a mortgage appointment with them, so we could then arrange a viewing

Turned out that this house, although massive would need about £20-£30k spending on it, as it has had nothing done to it in over 20 years and although we don't mind getting our hands dirty, that amount of structural work and money is just something we didn't fancy for our 1st house

But after having the appointment and finding out the costs for things made us realise we could move alot sooner than we thought
4 viewings later and finding nothing, this house popped up on the market on Friday, which fitted our list perfectly, modern and fitted to such a high standard

Viewing Monday eve, offer in Tues morning, accepted in the afternoon

Just had the mortgage approved in principle today, 5 year fixed at 2.99% Apr, £1000 cash back £200 fees

All being well we'll be moving in late Jan!

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## MDC250

Hereisphilly said:


> Had a very surreal two weeks, which has ended us having our offer on a house accepted yesterday!
> 
> Initially we had planned to start looking in Feb, but the missus who constantly checks rightmove saw this house that on paper fitted the bill
> 
> Went to the estate agent and got a mortgage appointment with them, so we could then arrange a viewing
> 
> Turned out that this house, although massive would need about £20-£30k spending on it, as it has had nothing done to it in over 20 years and although we don't mind getting our hands dirty, that amount of structural work and money is just something we didn't fancy for our 1st house
> 
> But after having the appointment and finding out the costs for things made us realise we could move alot sooner than we thought
> 4 viewings later and finding nothing, this house popped up on the market on Friday, which fitted our list perfectly, modern and fitted to such a high standard
> 
> Viewing Monday eve, offer in Tues morning, accepted in the afternoon
> 
> Just had the mortgage approved in principle today, 5 year fixed at 2.99% Apr, £1000 cash back £200 fees
> 
> All being well we'll be moving in late Jan!
> 
> Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk


Don't mind me asking who was the mortgage with? Appreciate everybody's circs are different and I've not looked into remortgage products for a while but that sounds tidy


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## Hereisphilly

MDC250 said:


> Don't mind me asking who was the mortgage with? Appreciate everybody's circs are different and I've not looked into remortgage products for a while but that sounds tidy


It's with the west brom, they do some really good deals atm actually, worth checking them out

The Coventry bs were also extremely close behind them if that doesn't work out for you

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## MDC250

Hereisphilly said:


> It's with the west brom, they do some really good deals atm actually, worth checking them out
> 
> The Coventry bs were also extremely close behind them if that doesn't work out for you
> 
> Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk


Cheers, if you can just sort me the extra £100k we need to move that would be great. It's all about good schools


----------



## Hereisphilly

MDC250 said:


> Cheers, if you can just sort me the extra £100k we need to move that would be great. It's all about good schools


Fortunately nowhere near that stage!

Everyone is asking us when's the baby due now that we've got a bigger house, but we just want the extra space

Looking forward to kitting out my 1st garage too 

Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk


----------



## Cookies

Hereisphilly said:


> Fortunately nowhere near that stage!
> 
> Everyone is asking us when's the baby due now that we've got a bigger house, but we just want the extra space
> 
> Looking forward to kitting out my 1st garage too
> 
> Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk


Brill Phil. You'll have the garage kitted out in no time. It'll then be filled to the rafters, and you'll be looking for a double garage then chum. That's where I'm at lol.

I hate packing though.....

Cooks

Sent from my D6603


----------



## Hereisphilly

Cookies said:


> Brill Phil. You'll have the garage kitted out in no time. It'll then be filled to the rafters, and you'll be looking for a double garage then chum. That's where I'm at lol.
> 
> I hate packing though.....
> 
> Cooks
> 
> Sent from my D6603


Cheers mate, it's actually pretty well done already, painted floor and walls, so all I need to do is move my stuff in to it

Haha yeah I've said to the missus the perfect size garage is always 1 bigger than the number of cars you have, and she just glared at me  

Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk


----------



## Cookies

Lol - you're absolutely right chum. I get severe garage envy when you see some of the spaces some of the guys have on here. That's a great equation - the cycling fraternity use something similar in that the number of bikes you want is always one more than the number you have (N+1). I use that with money lol. 

Get a few cupboards from ikea. They're great for the garage and have so many add ons too. When (read 'if') I refit our garage, I'll def go to ikea. 

Cooks

Sent from my D6603


----------



## Arvi

Good luck with the move. Looking forward to the pics of the garage, oops I mean house.


----------



## wee man

Good luck to all of you with your properties, consider a weekly mortgage if you can afford to rather than monthly. This helps to pay it off quicker and saves a lot of interest. Consider the number of months with five weeks, it can mean you pay the equivalent of 13 monthly payments a year instead of 12! This means a lot of saving over the term.
I make my last mortgage payment on Friday and using this advice has saved me a lot of interest and a couple of years.
Just to make you all feel better I paid an interest rate of 15% for part of my mortgage in the so called good old days!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


----------



## dionbee93

So... fast forward a month and a bit - Got my keys on the 19th of jan (Last thursday) so here's some pictures of the house from the brochure and when I viewed etc.
A little old and tired but solid and most importantly new central heating pipe work, boiler and radiators 2 years ago, new roof 4 years ago and no damp.

The one with the little porch.


Kitchen




Rear


Living Room




Finally the LOVELY bathroom!



No Pictures of the 2 bedrooms yet..

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

First day of official Home ownership, Me and my dad and a couple of mates went in and took it to pieces to see what we could find!

Fireplace knocked out and opened up into a nice inglehook for a multifuel burner and there was a couple of bonuses.. Nice Slate lintel and an already lined chimney.. Winner winner!

Wallpaper stripped.


Old Electric fire and surround removed to find back boiler and brick filled fireplace.


What we're left with after the weekend and a LOT of trips to the tip.



Also made a start on the ceilings



And the kitchen..




..Til next time.

Dion


----------



## LewisChadwick7

congrats on getting it all sorted dude! we're finally getting our keys this friday (27th) after almost 12 weeks from when we originally started the process.... wont be doing it again for a long while i can tell you that :lol:


----------



## dionbee93

Thanks mate, and to you too.. Have you got much to do in the house once you get the keys to yours?

Mine took way longer than 12 weeks, I made an offer late summer if i remember correctly!

Dion.


----------



## wee man

Paid mine just before Christmas, collected the deeds this week. Now it's mine!!!!!!!

Wee Man


----------



## LewisChadwick7

dionbee93 said:


> Thanks mate, and to you too.. Have you got much to do in the house once you get the keys to yours?
> 
> Mine took way longer than 12 weeks, I made an offer late summer if i remember correctly!
> 
> Dion.


cheers man!! nope just got one of the bedrooms to decorate to the needs for our little girl and thats it its pretty much good to go at  i'll try get some pics of it when i'm in and start my own thread :lol: i thought our took a while but blimey thats a fair bit! i'm guessing its all been dragged on by solicitors? finally starting to get exciting again now, i'd lot interest a few week back with it taking so long


----------



## Hereisphilly

dionbee93 said:


> So... fast forward a month and a bit - Got my keys on the 19th of jan (Last thursday) so here's some pictures of the house from the brochure and when I viewed etc.
> A little old and tired but solid and most importantly new central heating pipe work, boiler and radiators 2 years ago, new roof 4 years ago and no damp.
> 
> The one with the little porch.
> 
> 
> Kitchen
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rear
> 
> 
> Living Room
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Finally the LOVELY bathroom!
> 
> 
> 
> No Pictures of the 2 bedrooms yet..
> 
> Dion


That bath suite is amazing! Can't see on earth why you would want to rip it out 😂😂😂

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## slineclean

Hopefully getting our keys in a fortnight


----------



## Hereisphilly

Finally signed all the paperwork on Friday, just waiting for an exchange date but I'm told it will be this week

Then all we need to do is firm up a completion date, which we provisionally agreed last month would be the 24th feb, so hopefully no reason for that to change

Not long to go now!

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## LewisChadwick7

Hereisphilly said:


> Finally signed all the paperwork on Friday, just waiting for an exchange date but I'm told it will be this week
> 
> Then all we need to do is firm up a completion date, which we provisionally agreed last month would be the 24th feb, so hopefully no reason for that to change
> 
> Not long to go now!
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


exciting times!! have fun packing and been ready to move in


----------



## Hereisphilly

LewisChadwick7 said:


> exciting times!! have fun packing and been ready to move in


Oh god tell me about it, missus started 'sorting out' on the weekend, which basically involved throwing away lots of stuff

Turns out she plans to replace alot of it when we're in, so I can feel my wallet groaning already!

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## LewisChadwick7

Hereisphilly said:


> Oh god tell me about it, missus started 'sorting out' on the weekend, which basically involved throwing away lots of stuff
> 
> Turns out she plans to replace alot of it when we're in, so I can feel my wallet groaning already!
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


haha exactly like mine! fair play to her though it helped me when i had to move everything, everything was well labelled so it could all be dropped into the right place when i got to the new house.... the amount of stuff she sold or threw out is unbelievable

get ready for the ' i want to go to ikea ' :lol:


----------



## dionbee93

A little progress - Doesn't seem like much but de-cluttering and sorting everything out has taken longer than anything else in the room.

So Took all the flooring up to reveal a relatively new/fresh concrete floor with waterproof/damp proof membrane underneath.

Radiators have been taken off. All rubble disposed of in the local tip (5 trips!) and stair banisters as well as the wall in the top of the landing which has also been ripped out - I plan on fitting banisters here instead to keep it light.

so a few pictures, I can finally see progress now the place is cleared:





Before:


After (Much Lighter)





My mate lending a hand!





In other news, Kitchen is also nearly stripped (No pictures unfortunately..) and I've bought a very good condition second hand full kitchen (Minus cooker) for £200 that fits perfectly to the sizes I already had and leaves me 3 spare cupboards too!
Here it is still fitted to the sellers' house. It's being removed in March which is absolutely ideal for me.





In the middle of taking the skirtings off and finishing the fireplace then it's on to finishing stripping the kitchen, progress finally!

Dion


----------



## JordanE

you are very brave to tackle all that lot on your first house.
i went for a new build  dont shoot me !


----------



## dionbee93

JordanE said:


> you are very brave to tackle all that lot on your first house.
> i went for a new build  dont shoot me !


Thanks Jordan! I have a lot of help from family and friends, my dad has been doing a lot there during his time off etc. too!

The area I live in, there's not many options on new builds, and the ones that are there tend to be ridiculously expensive and poorly built, therefore most younger first time buyers like myself tend to buy terraced houses like this for circa £70-80k spend maybe 10-15 and it's a brand new house again.

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

Really not sure what to do with the stairs - any opinions and ideas for working with what I have? The pole at the end of the stairs to the ceiling has been taken out as it wasn't holding anything in. So the stairs are totally open to use whatever option (Within reason) I want. I'd also like a matching style on the top of the landing area. 

Cladding and Gripfill and tanked floor ordered for the bathroom too!

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

Edit - Double post


----------



## JordanE

dionbee93 said:


> Thanks Jordan! I have a lot of help from family and friends, my dad has been doing a lot there during his time off etc. too!
> 
> The area I live in, there's not many options on new builds, and the ones that are there tend to be ridiculously expensive and poorly built, therefore most younger first time buyers like myself tend to buy terraced houses like this for circa £70-80k spend maybe 10-15 and it's a brand new house again.
> 
> Dion


wow thats amazing.
i need to live in your area!

i think our next house will be older and need work. its the best way to make a house a home and make some dollar


----------



## JordanE

dionbee93 said:


> Really not sure what to do with the stairs - any opinions and ideas for working with what I have? The pole at the end of the stairs to the ceiling has been taken out as it wasn't holding anything in. So the stairs are totally open to use whatever option (Within reason) I want. I'd also like a matching style on the top of the landing area.
> 
> Cladding and Gripfill and tanked floor ordered for the bathroom too!
> 
> Dion


just my opinion, Sand back the paint on the wood, and if theres carpet (cant tell) rip it out and sand the stairs too, give it a light colour varnish and leave it.
should be nice and modern and not cost the earth


----------



## dionbee93

So, few more bits and bobs done, Kitchen more or less stripped, a few small bits of stud wall taken out to open up and first scratch coat on the chimney breast ready for either plastering a or spot/dabbing fireproof plasterboard onto it.. Decided to leave the slate as a nice feature.

Fireplace - First time at plastering, had a friend round showing me what to do for the first few go's.. few places need filling in as the gaps are quite large, but getting flatter every coat. I'm very happy with it, and happier that i got to learn a new skill (sort of!)





This is how the 'living room' looked during this..



Stairs now fully clear ready for spindles and carpet taken off ready for joiner to come around. (Not chancing this myself as they're very expensive to get wrong)





And some of you may have read the start of the thread where I mentioned that the lady that lived here previous was a heavy smoker, before pricing up new windows I thought i'd try to clean them first as they're only 2 years old.. No real 'after' shots yet but a 50/50 using Autosmart Evo3 cutting compound on a polishing sponge.

Before:







After-ish:


Master bedroom Wallpaper and skirtings mid-stripping:





That's where we're at up to now, back bedroom is being left til last as I keep all the 'new' stuff and all tools etc. there so the rest of the house is empty always.

Electrician coming tonight to have a look as I'm replacing downstairs with downlighters, is there anything I should/could do before he arrives to make his life easier and save myself some dosh?

Any comments are welcome.

Dion


----------



## benji1205

dionbee93 said:


> Electrician coming tonight to have a look as I'm replacing downstairs with downlighters, is there anything I should/could do before he arrives to make his life easier and save myself some dosh?
> 
> Any comments are welcome.
> 
> Dion


All looking good mate - when we had an electrician round, i ended up drilling the ceiling holes and threading the cable (that he supplied) through exactly as he requested. Also placed all the cables for the switches etc. He literally turned up, checked the wiring, connected the wiring and job done. Albeit some electricians may not actually like you doing that


----------



## dionbee93

Thanks buddy - I guess i could easily do that.. Is that basically first fixing? As I guess it would save me a load of cash. 

I'll ask him tonight! 

Thanks.


----------



## graham1970

Yep...first fixing😀

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk


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## dionbee93

Electrician came round last night and He's happy for me to do all the first fixing. Should learn a little as we go along!

Also Joiner has been and priced everything up - should be getting started in a few weeks on the stairs.

Dion


----------



## slineclean

Finally collect our keys tomorrow 😊


----------



## Hereisphilly

After 8 agonising weeks (9 if you include xmas) we finally exchanged yesterday!

Completion is slated for the 24th, and then we'll be in! Very much looking forward to having a garage

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## LewisChadwick7

slineclean said:


> Finally collect our keys tomorrow &#55357;&#56842;





Hereisphilly said:


> After 8 agonising weeks (9 if you include xmas) we finally exchanged yesterday!
> 
> Completion is slated for the 24th, and then we'll be in! Very much looking forward to having a garage
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


congratulations chaps! exciting times!!  best of luck in your new homes too! trust me it's a great feeling getting the keys and opening the door!


----------



## dionbee93

So, everyone (Sparkies, Joiners, plumbers, HETAS engineers and plasterers) Priced the jobs, Haggled and re-priced to to the point I'm happy with. 

Only thing I've not yet set a price on is Double glazing as the prices seem to vary SO much! is there a reliable online seller that I can use?

So.. 
I'm plasterboarding this weekend, Electrician first fixing during today, plasterer doing the kitchen next weekend, and Plumber in tomorrow stripping and capping the bathroom so I can clad it during half term week when I'm off. 

I'm getting the kitchen and bathroom 100% finished before I move on with anything else just to see if any plumbing needs sorting before I cover it with plaster boards. Seems logical to me, but it is my first house renovation!

Looking forward to the progress but my bank account is just decreasing faster than I can work to top it up!!!

Dion.


----------



## LewisChadwick7

dionbee93 said:


> So, everyone (Sparkies, Joiners, plumbers, HETAS engineers and plasterers) Priced the jobs, Haggled and re-priced to to the point I'm happy with.
> 
> Only thing I've not yet set a price on is Double glazing as the prices seem to vary SO much! is there a reliable online seller that I can use?
> 
> So..
> I'm plasterboarding this weekend, Electrician first fixing during today, plasterer doing the kitchen next weekend, and Plumber in tomorrow stripping and capping the bathroom so I can clad it during half term week when I'm off.
> 
> I'm getting the kitchen and bathroom 100% finished before I move on with anything else just to see if any plumbing needs sorting before I cover it with plaster boards. Seems logical to me, but it is my first house renovation!
> 
> Looking forward to the progress but my bank account is just decreasing faster than I can work to top it up!!!
> 
> Dion.


not messing about are you :lol: it'll be done in no time... it all sounds good too, cant wait for some more picture updates!


----------



## dionbee93

Only Photo update as of now.. The Log burner. Believed to be a £1000 + Villager Stove/unit approx 6-7KW and around 20-25 years old, Cast iron built. Was fitted in a holiday home and was lit occasionally (Maybe twice a year) bought for a bargain £200 and spent £100 on new fire bricks, fire rope, glass and coated in a fresh coat of stove paint. A new spanner was also bought open the doors as the original had gone walkies..

So.. here she is ready to fit!









Love it - New liner needed as the previous one fitted (Although not old) is only 5" compared to the 6" stove and is a gas only flue. Gutted at having to spend £270 for a new one but better in the long run as I know it's done properly.

Looking for chimney pots and the black enamel pipe for the top of the stove now.

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

So... a fair amount of progress being done this week, most evenings and throughout the weekend with a lot of help I've managed to:

Get the electrician in to First fix
Ordered UPVC windows for the house
Finished the bottom of the fireplace and got it nice and level
Started to plasterboard with the help of dad and a mate.
Fully stripped the kitchen and bathroom of all units/suite and plumbing
Stripped the downstairs Loo of wallpaper etc. ready to re-paint (Not bothering with a new suite here just a new toilet seat and new basin)

So Pictures....
The stripdown:








You can really see the colour of the walls due to the tobacco here!!!


The fireplace:
Started by emptying of rocks and bricks to only be left with the concrete centre (Which was sloping backwards to put membrane down and filled up with a mix of sharp sand, building sand and cement:




Started to plasterboard (took us 2 hours to cut and fit 2 sheets ha ha) none of us had tried it before. tried to get them as neat as possible, also used battens to close up the window from kitchen to living room (Other side will be done the same) :







Downstairs Loo:




Also some bits ready for the plasterer to skim:



Comments welcome, Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Looking great, some real effort gone in there. I will look cracking when its done. Looking forward to the updates.

You will be a pro when you have finished.


----------



## dionbee93

0-MAT-0 said:


> Looking great, some real effort gone in there. I will look cracking when its done. Looking forward to the updates.
> 
> You will be a pro when you have finished.


Cheers Mat, certainly is a lot of effort but I'm learning a lot of skills and saving myself a lot of money - there's a certain feeling of being a little more 'proud' of jobs when I've done most of them myself I must say!

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

So a little update - off for half term next week so hoping to see a bit more progress during the week.

Whilst waiting for stuff to arrive etc. I've been trying to de-nail and cut old pieces of wood, treed and skirting etc into fire wood to try and get the pile of scrap wood in the garden a little smaller.. every little helps:



Inside the beaten up shed (New logstore coming soon!)


Also nearly finished the plaster-boarding in the kitchen.. time consuming and is a little hard to get 3 of us there at the same time during the evenings but getting there and getting easier as we're going along:









Looking for a small impact driver this afternoon - using a drill really doesn't work for the plaster-boarding and driving the screws etc. so a budget of less than £200 I'm looking at the screw-fix own branded Erbaur, Makita kit with drill or the dewalt. any suggestions please say!

Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

I once purchased a Titan SDS drill from screwfix which suited my purpose just fine which was drilling into a concrete Garage floor.

If you have any other decent power tools and have the batteries then you could go for a bare impact driver.

The one here http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri6041pd-18v-2-0ah-li-ion-cordless-impact-driver/7485f looks just fine for the price. Comes with 2 batteries, so you wont be left without power, and half your max budget. Some good reviews.

With the left over money you could look at getting one of these for 50 quid to compliment your tool collection. It will drill through anything and when used in chisel mode will rip up anything.http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb653sds-5kg-sds-plus-rotary-hammer-drill-230-240v/6846h


----------



## dionbee93

0-MAT-0 said:


> I once purchased a Titan SDS drill from screwfix which suited my purpose just fine which was drilling into a concrete Garage floor.
> 
> If you have any other decent power tools and have the batteries then you could go for a bare impact driver.
> 
> The one here http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri6041pd-18v-2-0ah-li-ion-cordless-impact-driver/7485f looks just fine for the price. Comes with 2 batteries, so you wont be left without power, and half your max budget. Some good reviews.
> 
> With the left over money you could look at getting one of these for 50 quid to compliment your tool collection. It will drill through anything and when used in chisel mode will rip up anything.http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb653sds-5kg-sds-plus-rotary-hammer-drill-230-240v/6846h


That's the exact same as the erbaur unit I borrowed off my friend to do half of the ceiling.. Was very light and I felt it had more than enough power to do it.

The situation I'm at with power tools is that I haven't really done 'house' work before so my drill, lamp and impact wrenches etc. are all snap on so have the heavy 18v li-ion batteries. So that's definitely a no-go. Used my drill for first part of the plasterboarding but felt it heavy and I've actually dropped it and cracked the body too so It's either going for a re-build which is £82 plus VAT or I'll buy an impact and drill set for cheaper with a lighter battery and body.

I hope that made sense.. phew!

these are what I've looked at...

(Same as you recommended but with the drill too..)
http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri619kit-18v-twin-pack-2-x-2ah-batteries/7201g
Or this one being the updated version..
http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-e...i-drill-impact-driver/9478t?_requestid=191577

or this kit which seems good for the price I think..?
https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/DeW...ack/p/912394?gclid=CJXi-bSFl9ICFecV0wod-vQGDg

Thanks for the input.
I've also bought a cheap SDS I found on a facebook local 'for sale' site a few weeks ago too.. £30, good enough for what I need.

Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Personally, I would go for the Screwfix dual pack. The Dewalt one is just 10.8V as to the Screwfix one which is 18V, this will make a difference.
The Screwfix one is good value for money and has a 2 year warranty.
You could also get one of these http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri660bat-18v-4-0ah-li-ion-battery/2626j which is a 4Ah battery which will give you longer between charges.


----------



## dionbee93

0-MAT-0 said:


> Personally, I would go for the Screwfix dual pack. The Dewalt one is just 10.8V as to the Screwfix one which is 18V, this will make a difference.
> The Screwfix one is good value for money and has a 2 year warranty.
> You could also get one of these http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri660bat-18v-4-0ah-li-ion-battery/2626j which is a 4Ah battery which will give you longer between charges.


Thank you - yes the 10.8 did put me off a little.. the warranty is also good on the erbauer as my friends' unit broke and they replaced it straight away no quibble about 6 months ago.

Decision done then..

Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Let us know how you get on with them.


----------



## dionbee93

So - Half term is here! hoping to get a lot done this week..

Started off Saturday by building a stud wall in the living room for two reasons, 3" difference between the top right corner and the bottom left of the wall (Majorly on the ****!) and because the plaster had cracked I was having to hack it all back to the stonework and re-scratch and dry line the wall if I wanted to plaster it again... So-stud wall in 3X2 which cost £55 and plaster board (Other side of the fireplace being done during the week too)

Second reason - allows me to run my internet, satellite and leccy cables through it:
Packing out the top to get it perfectly level..



top and bottom perfectly level and ready to cut the vertical 3x2's:









Second, I built some boxing around the waste pipe in 3x2 and some 2x1 for some parts for clearance. Put some noggins in to make it solid and plaster-boarded the boxing in (we did finish it, but forgot to take a picture):





Also after looking at soooo many different impact driver and drill sets, I went out to buy an erbauer set from Screwfix and even the lads behind the counter told me not to buy them!! quality is not the best they said even though they do get replaced with no quibble. So Dewalt 10.8v drill and impact set, 2 batteries, charger and box £110 plus vat on offer in travis perkins. Bargain.





Also ordered:
Shower Bath
Screen
Toilet
Corner Basin
Extractor fan
LED Waterproof dome lamp

And got a chrome curved towel rail from screwfix - that should see the bathroom getting done in the next month or so hopefully.

Any comments welcome as always - Dion


----------



## LewisChadwick7

looking well now mate! it's taking shape now!


----------



## Guitarjon

I've got the impact driver and it's been cracking. No problems and it's done a fair few jobs. I'm a DIYer but when I start something it's usually a fairly big job. Very handy tool.


----------



## dionbee93

So... Half term been and gone -a lot of progress...

All the kitchen plaster-boarded, drywall taped and filled all the bits in.

New window came and it was fitted that night with the help of a mate and an SDS drill:





Blue gritted all the walls ready for the plasterer and bought some beading to square off the edges all perfectly.













My friend also filled in (Sand/cement) all the big gaps around the window and filled in a new window sill to get it nice and square.







Another 3x2 wall built in the living room (opposite side to the fireplace) to match the other one. that room is now ready for plasterboarding and self levelling the floor but no pictures yet!

My new bathroom came - Toilet broken, got a new one, totally different pan. NEVER using Big bathroom shop again!!



In other news... bought a new toy!



Takes us to today... Plasterer was coming at 8.00 this morning, text at 7.55 saying he wasn't coming until tomorrow - A little ****ed off but could be worse I guess.

Dion.


----------



## dionbee93

Left the plasterer there this morning with the instruction to take face-plates off the sockets and light switches - hopefully next update should be a freshly plastered kitchen... Excited!

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

So plasterer has been and done the kitchen - must say I'm really pleased with it. I supplied the plaster and beads. and he charged £100 which i thought was very cheap, and to be honest was expecting a [email protected] job at that price. But i was pleasantly surprised..



















So - how long until I can mist coat?

Also - The drill in the Dewalt set i bought came in very handy on pancake day yesterday!



Dion.


----------



## dionbee93

Electrician has been and fitted the down lighters, LED batten and new MK flush fit sockets in the kitchen last night - Looks awesome, pictures to follow.

Next question - which shower do I go for? Plumber coming tomorrow to fit the bathroom suite and electrician is wiring the new shower mid next week.

these are the options i'm looking at after recommendations from my plumber and electrician to go with Mira Sport:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/mira-spor...tracking url&gclid=CJjLyIyDutICFeEp0wodOksBNw

http://www.screwfix.com/p/mira-spor...tracking url&gclid=CKneyOKDutICFe4V0wodCfgMiQ

Any others - I'm happy to have a look at any. Ideally after a minimum 9kw but best if it's 10.8kw really.

As always - opinions welcome.

Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Dion

Does it have to be an electric shower? If you have your bathroom stripped out and your plumber is coming tomorrow and can add a hot and cold water feed to where you need the shower I can 100% recommend one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GROHE-272...576999?hash=item1c24dd7327:g:hZIAAOSwnDZT~Z6Z

It may be a bit of additional cost with the plumber having to put a bit new pipe work in, but I have this one fitted and can honestly say it is immense. Fantastic quality and so much better than an electric shower.


----------



## Darlofan

0-MAT-0 said:


> Dion
> 
> Does it have to be an electric shower? If you have your bathroom stripped out and your plumber is coming tomorrow and can add a hot and cold water feed to where you need the shower I can 100% recommend one of these:
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GROHE-272...576999?hash=item1c24dd7327:g:hZIAAOSwnDZT~Z6Z
> 
> It may be a bit of additional cost with the plumber having to put a bit new pipe work in, but I have this one fitted and can honestly say it is immense. Fantastic quality and so much better than an electric shower.


How expensive!?:doublesho

I have a similar shower with the 2 heads from e bay but mine was about £50/£60!!! Brand new and has been in over 2 years without a problem.


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Darlofan said:


> How expensive!?:doublesho
> 
> I have a similar shower with the 2 heads from e bay but mine was about £50/£60!!! Brand new and has been in over 2 years without a problem.


Darlofan

Granted it is by far not the cheapest you can get, and I will gladly admit that you can get similar looking showers for less, but I was refurbishing an apartment which I have had rented out for 15 years, for me to move back into. The Grohe sanitary ware was recommended by the plumber I was using, so I went with his guidance from his experience. I was fortunate that I had quite a generous budget and was looking for a quality finish throughout with quality products which I hope will add to resale value when I sell it.

You could liken it to buying a machine polisher. You could get a Rupes which is expensive, or a Chinese copy which will do the same job for a lot less money!


----------



## dionbee93

0-MAT-0 said:


> Darlofan
> 
> Granted it is by far not the cheapest you can get, and I will gladly admit that you can get similar looking showers for less, but I was refurbishing an apartment which I have had rented out for 15 years, for me to move back into. The Grohe sanitary ware was recommended by the plumber I was using, so I went with his guidance from his experience. I was fortunate that I had quite a generous budget and was looking for a quality finish throughout with quality products which I hope will add to resale value when I sell it.
> 
> You could liken it to buying a machine polisher. You could get a Rupes which is expensive, or a Chinese copy which will do the same job for a lot less money!


As posted in the links - I'm (Sort of) in the same boat as 0-MAT-0 where I am looking at quality rather than price (to an extent) and am happy to spend up to £350-400 max for a good and well powered shower.

Dion.


----------



## dionbee93

Electrician has been back to extend a few sockets and fit the down lighters and LED batten in the kitchen. Ceiling and the board part of the window was bone dry so given it a first mist coat at 50:50 emulsion:water to be able to leave the mist to properly dry whilst the rest of the plaster is drying.

Down lighters fitted with GU10 LED's but Cool white are not 'white' enough for me - looking for an alternative - will pop to screwfix this weekend.



Plumber also been in - First fixed the whole bathroom ready for me to fit the cladding, ran Hep2o through the wall for a neater (invisible) shower plumbing instead of the previous (see picture) ugly pipe running from the attic.

Bath fitted and a twist-lock bath plug / waste fitted to it.

Waterfall bath taps, corner basin and pedestal, shower screen, Mira sport Max 10.8kw shower and 25m of 10mm twin and earth cable arrived too. 


Feels like progress now!

Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Looking very good. Some great progress there.


----------



## dionbee93

Cheers 0-MAT-0, Feels like things are moving along much quicker now - that goal of being in before the school summer holidays is still a big push though!

Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

dionbee93 said:


> Cheers 0-MAT-0, Feels like things are moving along much quicker now - that goal of being in before the school summer holidays is still a big push though!
> 
> Dion


Dion

I am sure you will get there in quicker time than you think. The time consuming thing is getting all the trades people in, and in the right order. You may be in before the summer holidays, but might find you will be finishing bits of snagging after you move in.
My top tip - don't rush it or try bodging it or you will notice it after you have moved in and it's so much harder to rectify afterwards.

Regards

Matt


----------



## dionbee93

So - Unfortunately been off work sick with my tonsils for a few days last week.. here's the progress I managed before then.

Kitchen painted, One mist coat and two normal coats of emulsion. two coats of Pure Brilliant White 'kitchen' paint going on later on this week hopefully so I can fit the kitchen asap as it's taking up the living room!

Watered down mist coat:





Onto first and second:











Kitchen taking over the living room - ready to go..



And the reason the progress has been fairly slow these last few weeks, I've a rally this coming weekend and been trying to squeeze in some time getting the car ready.. Nearly there.



Dion


----------



## dionbee93

So - rally car finished, Rally over and done with until the next event at the end of the year (When i should be living in the house!) 24th overall out of 90 starters and 6th in class. Here we are if anyone is interested in rallying:



.. Back to the house! Progress has been a little slow over the last few weeks.

Joiner on holiday, HETAS engineer on holiday (for a month!) and my friend who's a builder that's helping with everything is working away building a house in Mallorca..

All good though, I needed the break to be honest.

So - Kitchen and bathroom plumbing now all done, Waterfall bath tap fitted and I have running water again downstairs! Plumbing fitted for the towel rail and ready to fit the hardiebacker to the bathroom floor before Tiling with 10mm real slate tiles. Same tiles are going throughout the rear half of the ground floor (Kitchen, toilet room and small corridor/room)

Spark also been in to wire 10mm cable for the shower through the ceiling and into the stud, Added some extra sockets to downstairs wall and chased a few new lights in.

Progress should pick up this weekend, Joiner back from holiday so New worktops & kitchen is being fitted, skirting boards and hanging a couple of the new oak doors. Living room and all of upstairs should be plaster boarded ready for the plasterer to come in and give the house a whack in a week and get it done.

Pictures will be up as soon as I can get some (No lights in the house is a real downer) until it's boarded and skimmed.

Dion.


----------



## dionbee93

Another busy weekend, Fitted the kitchen units, new legs on them, cooker hood fitted, chased up the wiring for the cooker and hob in the wall, hung the doors and fitted the plates for the wall units so they're also ready to hang.

Units Fitted: (Measures to the mm for a 600mm fridge! - lucky!)




Cooker hood on (leaving cellophane until everything is painted)


Doors Fitted and cooker wiring chase filles with conc before filling and tiling:




Tonight's job is to fit the worktop and cut holes for the hob and sink and finish that off before hanging the wall units and fitting doors to them. 
Here's the worktop (3 lengths) I love it:


Dion.


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Great progress there. Coming along nicely. 

Once you have the bulk of the kitchen done you wil, sail through the rest of the house. 

Keep the updates coming.


----------



## dionbee93

0-MAT-0 said:


> Great progress there. Coming along nicely.
> 
> Once you have the bulk of the kitchen done you wil, sail through the rest of the house.
> 
> Keep the updates coming.


Cheers Mat - That's what I'm hoping.. Once the kitchen and Bathroom are done apart from a few skirtings, trims and plinths etc. The rest of the house 'should' be a doddle. (Hopefully!)

So here is the kitchen with the worktop, Sink, units, Hob etc. all in.. Still needs cleaning, I know!
Very happy with the choices of worktop/unit doors - works really well I think.











Plasterer coming in this weekend to board the rest of the house, Living room ceiling, stud walls and spot/dabbing around fireplace, landing ceiling, 2x bedroom ceilings and then coming in the following week to plaster the house.

Dion.


----------



## WHIZZER

looking good


----------



## dionbee93

WHIZZER said:


> looking good


thank you - progress seems to be going a little quicker now


----------



## dionbee93

Busy few days on the house over the end of term holidays.

Managed to get the rest of the house boarded over, Downstairs and the landing area skimmed and nearly dried off.

Cleaning the walls and boarding ceiling:






Stud Boarded and more sockets first fixed in:


Spot & Dabbed the fireplace out:




Boarded Landing area:


Back bedroom:


Whilst doing the rear bedroom I looked out to the rear garden and got a little depressed looking at the mess so used one of the nice sunny days to sort it out, shed taken down and put to one side:


Emptied so I can get the van in for now:


All the wood had to go somewhere so I built a tidy logstore:


Dion


----------



## dionbee93

A little more...
Chalk lining the kitchen to match bonds and get the tiles right after dry fitting:


Plastered downstairs and Landing Drying nicely:


















Any comments welcomed - Dion


----------



## dionbee93

Progress has been coming along nicely although unfortunately my iphone has gone into lockdown and just wont work so I've lost hundreds of pictures of the refurb from the start - gutted to say the least!

I'll carry on from where we are at the moment. Firstly the slate flooring has been put down in the kitchen, needs grouting and sealing properly;







Also as you can see the kitchen has been tidied and cables routed through the wall ready for a plug and TV socket (the tv in the kitchen will be in the alcove infront of the cables)

Doors have been collected from Penrith, Cumbria - 400 mile round trip for oak veneered doors bought new off ebay at a bargain price. New ball bearing hinges fitted to them all and smith & locke satin handles fitted too (mortice locks and twist on bathroom and downstairs toilet)



One coat of Danish oil applied (Going to give it another 2)



I'll take some new photos of the rest of the house (a lot has happened) - bathroom nearly finished, living room lights all fitted and working, sockets etc fitted in the drywall.

As always - any comments welcomed.

Dion


----------



## Hereisphilly

Looking good! Starting to look less like a building site and more like a home now

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## dionbee93

Hereisphilly said:


> Looking good! Starting to look less like a building site and more like a home now
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


Thank you - I'm very happy with the way it's turning out.

Next challenge is to fit skirting boards. Researching and asking a lot of people there seems to be mixed opinions. These being three options:

- Fitting with adhesive and propping/clamping until dry
- Fitting with adhesive and plugging/screwing parts into the wall
- Fitting with adhesive and masonry nailing and nailing parts to the wall

this raises many questions for me as a first time skirting fitter! Firstly, which adhesive do I use? and secondly - Do i nail and take them out once the adhesive is set or use hidden head nails and leave them in?

I want it to be a proper job that I won't have to do again in the near future.

All advice welcomed

Dion


----------



## enc

dionbee93 said:


> Thank you - I'm very happy with the way it's turning out.
> 
> Next challenge is to fit skirting boards. Researching and asking a lot of people there seems to be mixed opinions. These being three options:
> 
> - Fitting with adhesive and propping/clamping until dry
> - Fitting with adhesive and plugging/screwing parts into the wall
> - Fitting with adhesive and masonry nailing and nailing parts to the wall
> 
> this raises many questions for me as a first time skirting fitter! Firstly, which adhesive do I use? and secondly - Do i nail and take them out once the adhesive is set or use hidden head nails and leave them in?
> 
> I want it to be a proper job that I won't have to do again in the near future.
> 
> All advice welcomed
> 
> Dion


It's going to depend on how straight your walls are. I know mine even after skimming were not straight (house is around 60 years old) and we ended up bonding and screwing the skirtings. Even then a little corking was required along the top edge. All screw were countersunk and filled.

Nice work so far btw :thumb:


----------



## dionbee93

enc said:


> It's going to depend on how straight your walls are. I know mine even after skimming were not straight (house is around 60 years old) and we ended up bonding and screwing the skirtings. Even then a little corking was required along the top edge. All screw were countersunk and filled.
> 
> Nice work so far btw :thumb:


That's what I'm worried about... It's quite an old house but it's all been freshly skimmed (Obviously following the curves of the wall) I think I'll have to do the same as you and use some sort of grab adhesive too (gripfill as said below) probably the green solvent one or the pinkgrip maybe?

thank you.


----------



## Hereisphilly

dionbee93 said:


> That's what I'm worried about... It's quite an old house but it's all been freshly skimmed (Obviously following the curves of the wall) I think I'll have to do the same as you and use some sort of grab adhesive too (gripfill as said below) probably the green solvent one or the pinkgrip maybe?
> 
> thank you.


I've been fitting some architrave using the green gripfill and it works a treat
Cheap from screwfix too

I've been 3 using nails per section to hold it to the door while the adhesive is curing, with the heads hammered below the surface of the architraving

I plan to then locally caulk over to hide them before painting

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## dionbee93

So it's been a busy half term!

Firstly - Got most of the garden finished with help:

Some of you might remember how it looked beforehand;








Chopped the trees down, got rid of the fugly rotten shed and the fence and dug up all the tree stumps etc;

http://s146.photobucket.com/user/dionbee93/media/6D832B2A-4E73-43CD-867E-2BB418B1D6D2.jpg.html?o=180

Handrail ripped off and another layer of side-on blocks laid on top of the existing little wall to be able to fill in the garden to level it out so it doesn't run towards the house;









Weed membrane put down in double thickness and sub-base/slate waste then filled in and whacked into place;







The end was also dug up (Towards the back lane) and a new concrete ramp/slab was put down although i forgot pictures of this - you can just about see it at the end there!

3m square of grey cement slabs places on the part closest to the house for bbq's etc - thought it was a little nicer than just slate waste on all of the garden. These cost £2 each so didn't quite break the bank;





Next is to clean the concrete path on the left and to paint the walls white to freshen everything up before putting a gate across the end.

Dion.


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## dionbee93

Other bits and bobs that have been going on during half term are the following:

Kitchen tap and waste etc all fitted and working, worktop edges sealed and sink fitted properly. (Chainsaw only there as weight!)



Hob and cooker all wired in, fitted and working - just need a plinth underneath now to fit it tidy.



Single plug socket and TV aerial point chased into the alcove to put a TV up on the wall in the kitchen without seeing the cables hopefully!



Shower fitted and bathroom is nearly ready for painting the doorframe, grouting the floor and then finally sealing all the edges with silicone;



Twist-to-open waste fitted and tesing for leaks;



Corner basin fitted and sealed;



Heated towel rail plumbed in and working;



LED bathroom light and extractor fan fitted and working off a timer, cladding on the ceiling looks really nice now I think;



That's all for now:

Joiner is in this saturday doing the stairs and handrails and fitting the rest of the doors

Dion


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## enc

Flying along now mate ! Great work in the garden ... looks so much better. Don't know if it's an age thing but I've recently become interested in maintaining the garden:doublesho:thumb:


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## dionbee93

enc said:


> Flying along now mate ! Great work in the garden ... looks so much better. Don't know if it's an age thing but I've recently become interested in maintaining the garden:doublesho:thumb:


Thank you! I'm very happy with it. I just wanted a low maintenance option (no grass, no flowers etc.) that would keep tidy all year round. chose the slate waste/sub base because it will double as a soak away for washing the car etc. hopefully!

To be fair I don't think it's an age thing.. I'm only 24 and I really enjoyed working on the garden. Either that or I'm getting old before my time:doublesho

Dion


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## dionbee93

Inside the fireplace skimmed last night (my first go at plastering..) ready to have the 'back wall' of it tiled and concrete laid for the hearth this weekend. Hopefully ready for some flooring and skirting boards then.

I can see it taking shape slowly now. 

Joiner is in this weekend finishing hanging doors, fitting the stair handrails and spindles and I'll be placing new floorboards all of upstairs. Both upstairs bedrooms being plastered next week also. Then hopefully a case of cracking on and getting everything painted and put in place. 

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

Busy weekend on the house, had a friend over all day Saturday to help me with whatever he could so we got started early. Popped to the builders merch to grab some stuff and started on tiling the kitchen splash-back in cream/off white metro tiles, Between us he measured, I cut and buttered the tiles up for him to fit them.. Worked like a well oiled machine by the end!

Started by getting the bottom perfectly level and went from the centre line of the cooker hood:



Fitted all of the 'full' tiles first so we could gauge the 'plumb' of the wall before starting on the cuts on the edges and around the plugs etc:



Must say I'm particularly proud of this cut!





So bought cream grout to go between as I didn't want white but stood back and decided to go for grey grout instead to break the tiles up a little. Grouted them all and cleaned as we went. I then sealed the worktop edge with anthracite kitchen silicone. Will do the rest once the kitchen is properly painted.



Onto the Fireplace, as said above.. me and my friend had a go as plastering the edges with the mindset of " how hard can it be? " - turns out, Very! got there in the end, looks ok. Measured and made a 2" frame to go around for the hearth and filled that in on Saturday too. Neighbours weren't best pleased when we realised the mixer was going in the street and it was 10.30pm!







More to come..


----------



## dionbee93

Joiner was also in saturday morning and got the top of the stairs done. New base rail, handrail, newel post and spindles. all going white:





Now covered for painting the landing area:





Also Sunday as a chill-out hour or so I set up my new toy (Karcher K4) and set about cleaning a part of the garden/outside area. Started by brushing all the loose stuff and shoveling it into a bucket and then went over with the karcher to remove moss etc. Some before's:

gone very 'green' and was unbelievably slippery.











And the 'after':



Also made a start on the wall and path, removing paint and cleaning ready to paint the walls white. around 3-4 layers of white, cream and magnolia coloured paint on top of each other flaking to hell and back:



50/50 after a pass or two -all the loose stuff comes off fairly easy leaving the rest to paint over:



During - (afters to come once they're all done!



Next job is to sand both bedrooms down (Need rid of all the paint off the walls as its old, nasty oil based paint we reckon and keeps bubbling up when the grit is put on for plastering) Get both rooms plastered and then crack on with getting it all finished! End is now in sight:

Rear bedroom / office:







Front/master bedroom (Can see the chases we've put in to get cables to the attic and to have a TV point and a plug in the middle of the wall to hide cables etc. Ethernet/phone chases also around the window:







That's that - fairly good weekend i'd say!

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

Nice delivery Yesterday.. Anyone want to guess what I'll be doing this weekend?



Dion.


----------



## dionbee93

Dunclane said:


> 100% the right choice for going with the grey grout opposed to cream!


Cheers Dunclane - I'm glad I chose to do it in grey now - Grey silicone to seal the edges too blends in nice. Chosen to do inside the fireplace in white metro tiles and grey grout to match.

Bottom of the fireplace tiled last night in 10mm thick slate (same as kitchen and bathroom because I had some left over!) leaving 13mm overhang on the front - enough for putting a slate slither on the front and still have a slight overhang.

Went for a 9mm gap on these as it seemed to suit it a little better.





White tiles around the inside of the fireplace next.

Guy coming around tonight to quote laminate flooring for the living room and carpet for the bedrooms, landing area and stairs.

Dion


----------



## 0-MAT-0

Absolutely cracking progress there from where you were a few months ago.
The end is in sight and you will be sitting there in another couple of months sitting proud with a beer in your hand looking at what you have achieved.
Great effort.


----------



## PugIain

Lots of work. Looking good.

How's the bank account looking 

Sent from my Vodafone Smart ultra 6 using Tapatalk


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## enc

Hellish job Sandi g those bedroom walls ... glad it's you you and not me 
How did it go with the French door fitting ?


----------



## dionbee93

0-MAT-0 said:


> Absolutely cracking progress there from where you were a few months ago.
> The end is in sight and you will be sitting there in another couple of months sitting proud with a beer in your hand looking at what you have achieved.
> Great effort.


Thanks - that's the plan.. given myself a date of July 29th to start off with but after yesterday's antics with fitting the windows and finding out that I need to plaster the downstairs hall and toilet it'll no doubt be a little longer. 
But ploughing on none the less!



PugIain said:


> Lots of work. Looking good.
> 
> How's the bank account looking
> 
> Sent from my Vodafone Smart ultra 6 using Tapatalk


Thank you - ha ha, bank account is absolutely rock bottom at the moment! Credit card is maxed at just over 2k but i've got 24 months interest free to pay it off so not worrying too much about it! That doesn't even come close to the amount of favours I now owe my dad and my friends for helping me out!



enc said:


> Hellish job Sandi g those bedroom walls ... glad it's you you and not me
> How did it go with the French door fitting ?


Sanding the bedroom walls was an absolute MARE! started off with 40grit on a DA but it was just pitting and dragging the plaster and paint so decided to scrape as much as possible off, leaving it a day and then re-scraping the loose parts off again. I'll keep doing that for a week or so and then ready for plastering next week hopefully!

A little progress to come..


----------



## dionbee93

So yesterday fitted two rear windows and the rear door (I might have measured the windows from the inside and didn't account for the windowsill! oops) so I'll need to mix a little more mortar when I'll be doing the reveals and fill in under the sill too.

Here are the old rear door and the old downstairs toilet window.

No pictures of the new ones fitted just yet - I'll grab some tonight.









Also made a start of cutting and fitting the bevel edged tiles in the fireplace (cheapest I could find at £12 per sqM from B&Q) going to use the grey grout on these too so that it doesn't stain with smoke from the stove. 
Will probably finish the rear wall tonight if I have a spare hour and then start on the edges. (decided to tile the edges too - didn't like it after I'd plastered it - typical!
Had to use a batten to start the bottom layer as the slates aren't totally flat so wanted a level line to start off with - the amount of stuff I've learnt whilst re-doing this house is unreal!



Not too happy about the centre line on the tiles but the sides of the fireplace isn't perfectly square so the cuts on one side are 10mm longer than the other - this is because i've gone with the centre line of the slate on the hearth so make it look straight to the eye.

As always - ideas and comments welcome.

Dion


----------



## enc

dionbee93 said:


> Thanks - that's the plan.. given myself a date of July 29th to start off with but after yesterda
> 
> Sanding the bedroom walls was an absolute MARE! started off with 40grit on a DA but it was just pitting and dragging the plaster and paint so decided to scrape as much as possible off, leaving it a day and then re-scraping the loose parts off again. I'll keep doing that for a week or so and then ready for plastering next week hopefully!
> 
> A little progress to come..


I can highly recommend langlow strip awY pro paint stripper. Just paint in leAve 10 minutes and scrape off with a wall paper scraper. Like stripping wet wall paper. It £25 for 5 ltrs from eBay but you'll have plenty over for other task. 
Forget nitromores and the like which are water based these days. This is oldschool stuff. Just don't splash it on your skin :doublesho

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262970502700


----------



## dionbee93

enc said:


> I can highly recommend langlow strip awY pro paint stripper. Just paint in leAve 10 minutes and scrape off with a wall paper scraper. Like stripping wet wall paper. It £25 for 5 ltrs from eBay but you'll have plenty over for other task.
> Forget nitromores and the like which are water based these days. This is oldschool stuff. Just don't splash it on your skin :doublesho
> 
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262970502700


I was thinking of using paint stripper yesterday - I was advised against it because the stripper would soak into the bare plaster and might come back to haunt me when it comes to skimming and painting over it in a few weeks time.

I don't know what the official advice is on this though? I just thought I'd rather not chance it!
Although that stuff you've linked me to will come in useful in other parts of the house - just ordered a 5L tub. Thank you


----------



## dionbee93

Typical really - phone battery went out just as I was about to take pictures of the windows and doors..

So last night it was slightly cooler than it has been so took the opportunity to go in the garden to carry on stripping the paint off the wall ready for re-painting in white.

The amount of flakes and crud that came off the wall was unbelievable - enough to shovel it by the time i was moving on up the wall! crazy.





Also took the opportunity to trim the neighbours tree (my side) to clear it up a little.. it had grown massively in the last month or two.



Quite a big pile of branches and leaves etc. by the end!



Dion.


----------



## dionbee93

A little bit of cleaning up last night - cutting up the old doors and windows to logs, taking the copper pipes to scrap and clearing out junk (5 recycling boxes and about 4 full bin bags worth!)

Managed to grab some pictures of the door and windows too:

Back door:


Downstairs toilet window in stipolite frosted glass:


Upstairs 'back' bedroom fully opening window now changed too (you can also see the kitchen one we fitted a few months back)


I'm not too sure on how to plaster the outside reveals as the new windows are slightly smaller than the old ones (my mistake) Should I be shuttering them and filling in? Or doing small layers at a time with a trowel and then pebble dashing the outside part?

Joiner is 'round tonight to finish the stairs and/or fit the doors upstairs so that should be done then and heating engineer is coming in the next few weeks hopefully to fit the logburner in.

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

Seems like photobucket has died and all the old pictures seem to have been lost! But I'll update regardless..

I've been busy blue gritting the bedrooms ready for the plasterer to visit. 

It's now less than a month to the date I set myself to be in by.. 29th of July!!

Ply lined half of the upstairs now too (putting grab adhesive behind the plywood and then a 25mm screw through it and the floorboards at every around 150/200mm distance. 

I'll keep you updated when I can host pictures again..

Dion


----------



## dionbee93

So now set myself up an IMGUR account that should work with the images.

To recap where we're at - new windows and doors fitted last week ish:




























And onto this - Living room emptied (tiling nearly done in the fireplace) and self levelled to the best we could get it (plasterer did it for me for beer tokens) and bottom of stairs finished.





































Floor brushed, hoovered, brushed again and hoovered again.. and again.. and again!!
PVA / water mix brushed onto the floor, dried and then self levelled.










Looks a lot better now it's dry.

So Laminate flooring wise - I've been looking at this from B&Q 10mm thick Click fit medium oak styled laminate. Fair price really - I need 22.75sqM for my living room.










Also bought an Ikea chair for the 'breakfast bar' type piece for the kitchen in a cream/white/ivory colour same as the kitchen units and thought it was too light so to match the units I'm in the middle of cutting and shaping an oak top for it instead of the plain white one that came with it!










Dion


----------



## enc

nice work dion.. liking the choice of flooring. whats the plan for the rad pipes bt the window ?

been looking at starting on our hall, stairs and landing... gonna be a big job


----------



## dionbee93

enc said:


> nice work dion.. liking the choice of flooring. whats the plan for the rad pipes bt the window ?
> 
> been looking at starting on our hall, stairs and landing... gonna be a big job


Thank you - Firstly I'm going to clip them back to the wall. I'll be boxing the bottom in behind the skirting and just a double talon cover running down from the ceiling and meeting the boxing at the bottom. Should be nice and discreet.

I had a friend come round last night who's been fitting laminate for a few jobs at work - once the first line was down it was really simple. Only advice I can give is measure it all first to make sure both edges are going to be equal when it's all down!

Stairs I wouldn't be looking forward to - Good luck!

Dion


----------



## enc

dionbee93 said:


> Thank you - Firstly I'm going to clip them back to the wall. I'll be boxing the bottom in behind the skirting and just a double talon cover running down from the ceiling and meeting the boxing at the bottom. Should be nice and discreet.
> 
> I had a friend come round last night who's been fitting laminate for a few jobs at work - once the first line was down it was really simple. Only advice I can give is measure it all first to make sure both edges are going to be equal when it's all down!
> 
> Stairs I wouldn't be looking forward to - Good luck!
> 
> Dion


ahh, not actually laminating stairs or landing thats to be re carpeted ... just the hall floor to be laminated . i was referring to not looking forward to stripping the wall paper on the high ceiling in stair way and possible plaster skim


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## dionbee93

So a fair amount of progress this last week.. Firstly the laminate floor was laid. One 3mm underlay with a DPM and I put another 5mm thick onto that too to make sure all the little lumps and bumps in the floor would not be felt through the floor. Expensive but worth it I thought)

Also all the joints were glued to make sure they don't come apart - very time consuming but again, I thought it was worth doing properly.























































Then the skirting and the scotias are being fitted (boxed around the pipes etc.) 18mm thick by 150mm (6") high OGEE profile MDF primed skirting was chosen for the whole house apart from the bathroom.





































ALL of the upstairs floors have now been boarded (Waterproof hardiebacker for the landing and the bathroom and 9mm marine ply for the bedrooms) It's made a HUGE difference to the floors, now feels much nicer to walk on and doesn't creak etc. Walls have been also been blue gritted and scraped ready for the plasterer.

Back bedroom:




























Then onto my ikea chair again!

Before:










During:



















After:










Very happy with it! and it matches the white/cream units with the oak tops.

Looking promising for moving in on the 29th!!

Dion.


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## dionbee93

I post this thread to another forum too but all the pictures seem to be HUGE on detailingworld for some reason - it's fine on pistonheads? Any ideas?

Dion


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## enc

Yeah .. the pics are certainly huge. Are you uploading them Straight from your phone ? 
Maybe, the other site automatically re sizes them !?


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## Zetec-al

Any update on this?


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