WouldBe
Dislicksick
They were still using rafters and perlins round here into the early 80's. So could be a regional thing.
Show us yer house and house-related meddlings
- Thread starter mauvais
- Start date
teuchter
je suis teuchter
While I'm here. I have some questions:
I don't suppose anyone has had a loft conversion on a 1960s end terrace have they?
I don't think we can afford to extend the kitchen due to the cost of a w truss loft conversion but we could do with a re-model. I need to check what money we can borrow. The space we have is ok, a kitchen diner, a good size living room but its north facing and gloomy and i hate it, open planning would help would help but we need some wall space. The flow doesn't work, and there is unused space. I want the back wall replaced with sliding doors but we have a toilet that juts out from the back, a bit like a porch., if that makes sense, so its not straight at the back. I'd quite like to get rid of it, but we could also use the space for utility room. In a way, it's simple, but have also wondered if an architect could give us some ideas? I'd feel silly for such a little job. I'm not sure who to contact - do we get specialist loft conversion for the loft and.....architect technician for the downstairs? Or architect for all?
There are some architects locally who look good, they do domestic work,extensions etc. but will they laugh at me????
A good architect should be able to help you if you want to consider a few different options, including some you might not have thought of yourself.
Local architects shouldn't laugh at you - but they might ask what sort of budget you have for the project, and if it's below a certain amount, they might say they are not interested. The main reason for this is that for them, the amount of work involved in (say) a £40k project is not 1/4 of the amount of work involved in a £160k project. So, the fees that are necessary to charge for a very small project (in order to spend enough time on it to do it properly) are very likely to be too high (from your point of view) as a proportion of the overall amount of money you have to spend.
If you already know pretty much what you want to do, or if there are few options anyway, then it might make sense to go to (for example) a loft specialist company. They will look at your loft, have done loads of similar ones before, and repeat a version of something they already know how to do. They won't spend a lot of time showing you lots of different ideas and options because they make their money doing the building work, not by spending time doing any more design work than they absolutely have to.
In theory the advantage of having an architect (who is paid to act in your interest, not the builders') is that the design advice is independent, and you can have a fully drawn up design that you know is what you want, that you then take to a number of builders to get the most competitive price. But, again, the smaller the job, the more theoretical this advantage is... for a number of reasons.
You'll also find people who might describe themselves as surveyors, architectural technicians, or similar, who aren't really designers as such but they can produce a set of drawings for things like planning permission and building regulations, or maybe to some extent for construction. They will likely be cheaper than an architect but will spend less (or no) time looking at design options with you. However, they can be someone who is independent of whoever the eventual builder is.
It's difficult to give advice for what the right approach for small domestic project is. It all depends. In reality it is inevitably a bit of a messy process.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Yes, that's right.
That's actually very helpful, thanks for that.
danski
"vibey"
Procrastinating although it is necessary.
Washing not drying as well as it was now but too warm to switch on heating. Airing cupboard getting used to finish off drying but not enough room for everything so the unusable space needed optimising.
Built a pretty standard slatted shelf but didn't have anywhere to put one of the side support timbers so instead of making some kind of frame as I first considered, I made it hanging so it can fold or be easily removed when other work needs doing in there. Far too early for a permanent shelving set up.
And the least sexy money shot evar.
Washing not drying as well as it was now but too warm to switch on heating. Airing cupboard getting used to finish off drying but not enough room for everything so the unusable space needed optimising.
Built a pretty standard slatted shelf but didn't have anywhere to put one of the side support timbers so instead of making some kind of frame as I first considered, I made it hanging so it can fold or be easily removed when other work needs doing in there. Far too early for a permanent shelving set up.
And the least sexy money shot evar.
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equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
mauvais
on reddit or something
We spent an entire day yesterday looking at bedroom lighting with no real conclusions.
I think we've settled on this ceiling light from MADE:
although my wife likes the pink one:
It's for a bedroom with about 2.7m high ceilings, picture rail and coving, plaster ceiling rose. It'll mostly be painted white or near-white.
I think we've settled on this ceiling light from MADE:
although my wife likes the pink one:
It's for a bedroom with about 2.7m high ceilings, picture rail and coving, plaster ceiling rose. It'll mostly be painted white or near-white.
bellaozzydog
rolling turds in glitter
Finally chucked some stain/oil at the new decking
It really brings out the terrible grain of the cheap decking
It really brings out the terrible grain of the cheap decking
izz
Increased Leisure Citizen
Pink
danski
"vibey"
Look like G9 lamps. I'm sure you'll be getting led but in case you're not, do.
Halogen G9 lamps are so shit, I've had them go due to shutting a door. The tiniest vibration....poof
Ahem
Also, I'm not one for brass generally but I think the pink is nicer.
Suppose the rest of the room will swing it
quimcunx
imprimeo, lamino, distribuo
Chain! You may have just solved an extremely minor issue I have in my hall cupboard. At some point.
danski
"vibey"
The reason I chose chain is that I thought I had some left from a fairly recent job.
Couldn't fucking find it anywhere. I was literally expecting for it to trip me up when I walked into the house with its replacement.
Actually glad in a way as the new chain is stainless as opposed to galv.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Nice! How would you estimate the difficulty rating for the self levelling? I've got concrete floors with vinyl tiles very firmly adhered in most places but cracked and breaking up in others- have been considering various options including removal of any loose bits and then self levelling compound, but if it is tricky to do I really don't want to balls up my floors
(upstairs flat so I wouldn't need any additional dpm)
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Looby
Well-Known Member
We bought a dark magenta glass shade and it did have an air of brothel about it.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Same question from me... it's always seemed like the sort of thing that appears simple in principle but might be a complete nightmare to do well in practice as a DIY-er.
danski
"vibey"
Nice! How would you estimate the difficulty rating for the self levelling? I've got concrete floors with vinyl tiles very firmly adhered in most places but cracked and breaking up in others- have been considering various options including removal of any loose bits and then self levelling compound, but if it is tricky to do I really don't want to balls up my floors
(upstairs flat so I wouldn't need any additional dpm)
I've only done it myself as the layers I'm doing won't affect the final layer before the LVT. The Floor Layer will be doing that so it will be spot on. Any trowel marks I may have left will be lost beneath the insulation boards.
I would definitely not do it myself if the floor covering was to be lain on my work.
It was ok doing it but I have prepared massively, bought loads of extra tools and bought decent gear to lay. I've also been fortunate enough to have the advice of my floor layer and had my dad help me knock up/spike roll. On a big area you have to keep moving.
If it was quite a small area, then possibly but you will need a lot of tools that you may never need again. I've a couple more rooms after this so was worth the investment.
Get a quote from a decent floor layer first, then go from there.
eta....the reason so much work is because there was bitumen left down from old oak parquet (a surprise find once I took up the crappy laminate) which was sadly rotten in places so I had to sort out that damp problem (was a bridged cavity and fucking shite threshold of the patio door) and being old there was no dpm under the floor so needed one.
It's been fucking heavy.
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Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Ah - it would eventually be every room in the flat needing doing since all the rooms have flooring issues. It isn't something I could currently afford to pay to have done. Even if I break up all the tiles currently adhered to the concrete, it isn't going to be level once that is done, I'd still be putting carpet or vinyl down on a lumpy mess!
I mean it is kind of academic right now anyway, since I can't afford carpet either - the old carpet needs to come up though, and then I'm left with concrete and broken tiles. It would be ok to deal with if I wasn't completely financially fucked.
I mean it is kind of academic right now anyway, since I can't afford carpet either - the old carpet needs to come up though, and then I'm left with concrete and broken tiles. It would be ok to deal with if I wasn't completely financially fucked.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I can't quite make out from the pics, did you/were you able to salvage any of that parquet for re-use? My favourite flooring I've ever had (in a previous flat) was parquet - beautiful and easy to look after and a lot better at absorbing sound than some other non-carpet flooring types which makes it a good option for upstairs flats.
danski
"vibey"
Yeah, took up what I estimate to be around 8000. The dining room also has the same under the crap laminate and will probably be in far better condition.
Annoyingly, we won't use them for these rooms as there aren't enough due to rot and there were large swathes of concrete filling gaps in the parquet. Can see the outline in the last pic. Might use them elsewhere, if not I'll sell them.
The parquet LVT is identical in colour to them so really excited to get it down.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Oh for sure offer any that don't have a rot/mould/woodworm issue that can't be treated - getting wood block parquet isn't cheap and someone may well be keen to take those off your hands if they have a small room that needs flooring or need spare blocks for repair of existing floors in a renovation.
danski
"vibey"
I’m sure you’ve sussed already but you might get the hue you want with appropriate colour temperature lamps.
Not actually sure how comprehensively G9s are covered though.
not-bono-ever
meh
These were big in the 50/60 70s - Sputnik lights I think. I urbexed a former DDR theatre last year that had a few still in situ
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
I gave myself a fright earlier, thought the paint had started to bubble and peel on the bedroom ceiling. Was about to blame the upstairs neighbour buy upon checking it appears to be a bodge job done by the previous owner, and only visible in certain lights.
So that was a huge relief.
So that was a huge relief.
