Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

[Looby]

Dumb question, but does anyone know what the hell is the status of having workmen in during this lockdown? Is it allowed as paid work? Or are you only supposed to be doing essential repairs? Or is it just 'at your own risk' by mutual agreement?

Cos it'd be good to have our front room redecorated in the next month or two and we could do it fairly low-risk as in we'd not be in the same room and we can declare one loo just for decorator during the day

It’s allowed.

 

[mauvais]

Dumb question, but does anyone know what the hell is the status of having workmen in during this lockdown? Is it allowed as paid work? Or are you only supposed to be doing essential repairs? Or is it just 'at your own risk' by mutual agreement?

Cos it'd be good to have our front room redecorated in the next month or two and we could do it fairly low-risk as in we'd not be in the same room and we can declare one loo just for decorator during the day

It's work and called out as such:

Living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19

Guidance for living safely with respiratory infections, including coronavirus (COVID-19).

www.gov.uk

for work purposes, where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home (including if your job involves working in other people’s homes)

Hence why we're still getting stuff done.

 

[Cloo]

If I can get a decision on the blue paint out of gsv we might try and book it then!

 

[mauvais]

Day two of parquet is complete - one more day apparently, sanding and whatever else tomorrow.

 

[bimble]

that is a beautiful bit of floor mauvais. Proper.

 

[Saffy]

That's a gorgeous floor. I'm trying to talk my husband into getting parquet flooring.

 

[Aladdin]

Lovely floor mauvais.
I remember when people were ripping out parquet floors.
Always thought they were beautiful and could never understand why anyone would cover them over or rip them out

 

[wtfftw]

I'd like a parquet wall.

 

[mauvais]

AnnO'Neemus while I remember you asked about this a while back, well this is the guy I mentioned, I J Casey, I had probably better wait until the whole job is done before recommending but so far so good.

 

[mauvais]

Done - this photo makes it look slightly more intense than it really is. Very happy with this.

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

Got our key today. Developer still has some issues to work out, but the surroundings and views are stunning...

View from the neighbours patio... (our friends)
View attachment 211555

Me on the patio...
View attachment 211556

View from garden boundary..
View attachment 211557

View from roof terrace..
View attachment 211558

Interior is coming along....

Kitchen

Spare bed

Main bed

Bathroom

Bathroom

 

[kabbes]

I have parquet envy

 

[equationgirl]

mauvais love that parquet floor, it's wonderful.

FabricLiveBaby! It's coming along nicely, well done to both of you. Can't wait to see the finished house X

 

[ash]

Dumb question, but does anyone know what the hell is the status of having workmen in during this lockdown? Is it allowed as paid work? Or are you only supposed to be doing essential repairs? Or is it just 'at your own risk' by mutual agreement?

Cos it'd be good to have our front room redecorated in the next month or two and we could do it fairly low-risk as in we'd not be in the same room and we can declare one loo just for decorator during the day

It’s allowed as they can’t work from home. We are having our double glazing done at the moment as it was planned before lockdown. The guy just phone and said he was happy to come and asked how we felt about it.

 

[Looby]

People have done some beautiful, well planned and painstaking work on this thread. Such lovely projects you should all be proud of. So I thought of this thread earlier and was chuckling to myself as I slapped paint on a damp and peeling pantry using a rusty tin of paint I had in the outhouse.
It’s called mink and it’s much darker and pinker than I thought it would be.
I didn’t rub anything down just gave it all a cursory wipe.
I was initially just doing the walls then thought fuck it, do the woodwork too. I accidentally got some on the ceiling so I did that too until my arms hurt and I left it for Mr Looby to finish.
And I did the inside of the door. I think people will open it and feel like they’re in a womb.
I’ll post a picture when it’s finished.

 

[Cloo]

We just washed all the scatter cushions on the sofa and it's killed two of the covers and finished off two that were pretty broken so I've ordered this off etsy after gsv semi-jokingly asked if you could get a Blue Monday cushion cover (you can)

 

[Saffy]

My old coffee table and some pallet wood have been put to good use. My son has been after his guitars on the wall for ages. The third guitar hanger will be filled on his birthday.

 

[equationgirl]

Very rock and roll Saffy uber cool.

 

[mauvais]

Question for you lot. How much do you reckon it should cost to prepare and paint the bargeboards (first photo) and the fascias (second), with us already providing the scaffolding?

For reasons, assume not doing the soffits.

 

[teuchter]

Don't take this as any kind of expert opinion, as cost estimates are notoriously easy to get wrong, and it can vary a lot depending where you are and how busy people are... But I guess I'd be pleased if it came back less than £500 and raising eyebrows if it were near or above £1k.

 

[mauvais]

So I'm due to pay £630 for it which I originally thought was OK, although I was arranging lots of jobs and didn't think as hard about it as I should have. But the actual work was a bit mystifying - the guy turned up and did the job on the quiet without saying hello or goodbye, and I reckon he was only there a few hours at most on a single day. I'm not sure how he can have done it properly with priming and undercoat and the rest, but I didn't see it. At least the cost is ballpark reasonable by a few measures.

I still need the soffits doing which I also didn't think about, I wonder what that will add. I might find someone else!

 

[Epona]

Has the job been done OK? You are paying for that, not a hello and farewell greeting!

Also what were the terms of the work and related contract? You are paying for a job to be done rather than for someone to sit and watch paint drying while they remain on the premises and drink tea, often there is a point where you just have to wait for stuff to dry before you get on with the next stage - that sometimes means coming back the next day

 

[mauvais]

Well, I don't really know. The point is that I would expect this to take a while, for the prep and then undercoat and then top coat. Normally people spread this sort of stuff over several days. So the speed it was done at - untouched at 10am, done when I first looked at 3pm - seems a bit odd to me and I'm left wondering what I've paid for, especially compared to rates on other jobs. This money gets you an interior room fully painted, for instance. But then obviously on the other hand there's a working at height element and all the rest.

 

[Epona]

Just have a chat with the person who was doing it, go through a snagging list before payment if necessary.

Exterior painting does cost more than interior, that is normal.

 

[WouldBe]

So I'm due to pay £630 for it which I originally thought was OK,

Seems bloody expensive to me. As you have the scaffolding you could have done it yourself.

 

[mauvais]

Seems bloody expensive to me. As you have the scaffolding you could have done it yourself.

Heights are not my cup of tea at all

 

[kabbes]

Is there a value to be gained from saying what price seems reasonable after the event? Other than for you to feel momentarily good if it seemed cheap or rather shit for rather longer if it seemed the opposite? It’s a bit late now — you were quoted and accepted a price and the work has been done. I’d concentrate purely on whether or not the job was done up to spec.

 

[mauvais]

Is there a value to be gained from saying what price seems reasonable after the event? Other than for you to feel momentarily good if it seemed cheap or rather shit for rather longer if it seemed the opposite? It’s a bit late now — you were quoted and accepted a price and the work has been done. I’d concentrate purely on whether or not the job was done up to spec.

It's true. They'll get paid, I'm just interested in learning from it. Fortunately most jobs so far, and there have been many, have gone very well.

 

[Looby]

Our bathroom is gone. They weren’t going to plaster all the walls but it all came off when they removed the tiles. We still have a toilet that we have to flush with a bucket. I cried this morning and am now at my friend’s house and I’m not going back until I have a functioning toilet and bath.
There was a dead bird behind that bit in the corner which used to be the sink.

 

[mauvais]

That's going to be grand when it's all done. Reminds me of mine: Show us yer house and house-related meddlings