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Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

Is there? It doesn't make a huge difference but what is it?

If you are leasehold, the freeholder is generally liable for all the services and drainage in and out of your property once it leaves the interior of your property (although the freeholder may charge you for remedial works according to the terms in your lease) - if you are leasehold and the freeholder is someone/some organisation other than you, check the lease - it may or may not be your responsibility.
 
I'm considering having my tiny bath (too small to use and old and dirty anyway) removed and replaced with a shower booth thingy (there's already an electric shower but it's over the bath and there's a small space to shower in due to shower curtain arrangement.) Friend of a friend has given a quote but I have zero idea of how much such a thing would cost. Any ideas?
 
I have no idea miss direct -will the area need re-tiling & new floor? If so I’m going guess at £1200. I would want to have the biggest shower cubicle possible. I have an over the bath shower & contemplating having no bath but I don’t have the cash for this so it’s moot right now.


I have decided to get an old swivel chair re-upholstered which is £280 & is as much as I can afford right now but good to get it finally sorted. Went for a moss green velvet from a grubby check fabric.
 
I think you're supposed to measure the inside of the hole, I'm not entirely clear. But anyway.

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Going by the outer bit, where the larger arrow points to, it's 20 x 25 inches (51 x 63.5cm).
Going by the inner bit it's 17.5 inches x 22 ( 44.5 x 56cm).

I should probably check if they were going to replace the frame as well, which is a bit rusted.
£25 from Wickes Link should be big enough. Similar prices from elsewhere. :)
 
£25 from Wickes Link should be big enough. Similar prices from elsewhere. :)
Someone has to install the frame though which involves drilling and concrete, it's not just bunging a new lid on.

However, I've now got a more pressing problem which is that my ancient gas oven has started burning everything and clearly needs replacing. A gas plumber told me ages ago that I couldn't now legally put a cooker in that space because of how the adjacent cupboards are arranged. There is no very clear explanation of the actual regulations online that I can find anywhere. But I'm now not sure they don't also apply to electric cookers.

There's no problem with the overhead cupboard which is miles away. But there are cupboards on either side, flush with the sides of the gap for the cooker, and they are 45cm above the work surface. I think that's the bit that violates the regs.

I started out thinking I needed to get an electrical cooker circuit put in and now I'm not sure I don't also need to have the whole fecking kitchen remodelled. Or at least the cupboards modified, which won't really work, so replaced, which I don't want.
 
I think the relevant stuff is here - if you are re-using an old cooker. I think it differs acording to whether it's built in or not - rather than whether it's gas or electric.


That contains some terrible diagrams though, which are ambiguous and not clear at all. The actual requirements are probably stated in a British Standard document somewhere.

If it's a new cooker, you should find guidance in the manufacturer's info.
 
Someone has to install the frame though which involves drilling and concrete, it's not just bunging a new lid on.

It's not hard to DIY it. It's certainly not £25 worth of materials and £425 worth of labour. :eek:
However, I've now got a more pressing problem which is that my ancient gas oven has started burning everything and clearly needs replacing. A gas plumber told me ages ago that I couldn't now legally put a cooker in that space because of how the adjacent cupboards are arranged. There is no very clear explanation of the actual regulations online that I can find anywhere. But I'm now not sure they don't also apply to electric cookers.

There's no problem with the overhead cupboard which is miles away. But there are cupboards on either side, flush with the sides of the gap for the cooker, and they are 45cm above the work surface. I think that's the bit that violates the regs.

I started out thinking I needed to get an electrical cooker circuit put in and now I'm not sure I don't also need to have the whole fecking kitchen remodelled. Or at least the cupboards modified, which won't really work, so replaced, which I don't want.
Are you looking at brand new or second hand?

Looking at the pdf here
It clearly states that the cooker should be installed according to the manufactures instructions. So you may be able to get a secondhand one that predates these regs and will go in without altering your kitchen.
 
75A37BAB-A2C9-4F27-A7F5-1489D00F52CE.jpegNot anything I’ve done, and I just saw it on a Rightmove listing, but I found the concept of putting what I assume are tiles on the stairs to be quite interesting, don’t recall ever seeing it before.
 
Please could I ask some advice?

I need to get a new bathroom. There’s so much black mould, the toilet is bust, shower rail keeps falling down etc. I’ve saved up 8 grand over the last two years cos someone told me that’s roughly how much it would be. It’s a standard 1950s council house bathroom.

What is the best way to go about getting one? I don’t want anything fancy, bath with shower over it (no room for separate), and ideally toilet and baisin in a built in unit with storage cupboards. Ideally I’d like to choose one and get it fitted from same place?

Also, the lady who owned the house before had these apparently really expensive tiles put in. I don’t mind them, they are in good nick, could I save money by keeping them somehow?!

ADCEFF2F-2934-42DA-A99B-6C43A5807785.jpeg
 
Please could I ask some advice?

I need to get a new bathroom. There’s so much black mould, the toilet is bust, shower rail keeps falling down etc. I’ve saved up 8 grand over the last two years cos someone told me that’s roughly how much it would be. It’s a standard 1950s council house bathroom.

What is the best way to go about getting one? I don’t want anything fancy, bath with shower over it (no room for separate), and ideally toilet and baisin in a built in unit with storage cupboards. Ideally I’d like to choose one and get it fitted from same place?

Also, the lady who owned the house before had these apparently really expensive tiles put in. I don’t mind them, they are in good nick, could I save money by keeping them somehow?!

View attachment 292991

Were you left any spare tiles?

I'd say if you can replace any damaged ones, and you like them, keep them. Paint your ceiling a different color to white, use some wood, that'll look nice with the green, and a decent mirror and lighting would make a big difference.

and is there any space to reconfigure? Your sink position needs to move, at least.

eta we've never got a new bathroom, so I can't answer your specifics or about actual bathroom stuff. someone else will be more helpful.
 
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If you've got a mould problem in your bathroom, get an extractor fan fitted when you get the refurb if you don't already have one and if there is a suitable external wall for it to be fitted - using it for a bit after every shower/bath will help to prevent condensation and mould in the future
 
If you've got a mould problem in your bathroom, get an extractor fan fitted when you get the refurb if you don't already have one and if there is a suitable external wall for it to be fitted - using it for a bit after every shower/bath will help to prevent condensation and mould in the future
Get it rigged on a timer with the bathroom light too if you can.

Definitely prefer having a sink built into a vanity unit. Tidies everything away.
 
Also, the lady who owned the house before had these apparently really expensive tiles put in. I don’t mind them, they are in good nick, could I save money by keeping them somehow?!

View attachment 292991

Depends on whether the wall has been tiled before the toilet and wash basin have been fitted which is unlikely so you would have to get larger units to cover up any tiles that have been cut to fit around the fittings. Or you could have some sort of unit with the fittings in that so it covers any missing tiles.

Looks like the shower curtain rail is telescopic which are prone to keep falling down. Easy enough to get one with fittings that screw to the wall and the rail slots into them.

Definitely get an extractor fan installed.
 
Regarding extract fans, do not go for one of those with a built in light. Shower light/fan thing. They are crap. We have two here (installed before we moved in) and they are shite. In my last place I fitted a decent inline one so it was away in the loft so less noisy than being fitted to the ceiling but sucked like fuck.
I’m sure a decent wall/ceiling mounted one would be adequate, just a bit noisier, being in the same room.
 
Please could I ask some advice?

I need to get a new bathroom. There’s so much black mould, the toilet is bust, shower rail keeps falling down etc. I’ve saved up 8 grand over the last two years cos someone told me that’s roughly how much it would be. It’s a standard 1950s council house bathroom.

What is the best way to go about getting one? I don’t want anything fancy, bath with shower over it (no room for separate), and ideally toilet and baisin in a built in unit with storage cupboards. Ideally I’d like to choose one and get it fitted from same place?

Also, the lady who owned the house before had these apparently really expensive tiles put in. I don’t mind them, they are in good nick, could I save money by keeping them somehow?!

View attachment 292991
Buy a dehumidifier and run it for a month in there. Pay someone to decorate. Save the money. Those tiles look great.
 
I think I’ll ask a plumber their opinion. I bet it will end up more expensive to keep them.
Not necessarily. Removing the tiles will damage the plaster requiring it to be skimmed before re-tiling so lots of extra cost there. Vanity units aren't that expensive and you can get toilets where the cistern is hidden in a unit that aren't that expensive either. So could hide any cut tiles.
 
Please could I ask some advice?

I need to get a new bathroom. There’s so much black mould, the toilet is bust, shower rail keeps falling down etc. I’ve saved up 8 grand over the last two years cos someone told me that’s roughly how much it would be. It’s a standard 1950s council house bathroom.

What is the best way to go about getting one? I don’t want anything fancy, bath with shower over it (no room for separate), and ideally toilet and baisin in a built in unit with storage cupboards. Ideally I’d like to choose one and get it fitted from same place?

Also, the lady who owned the house before had these apparently really expensive tiles put in. I don’t mind them, they are in good nick, could I save money by keeping them somehow?!

View attachment 292991
Just had ours done for similar reasons to you and (probably) with a similar specification (just basin, toilet and bath with shower). Ours had got hideous! Loose, leaking tap, leaking shower, limescale everywhere, mildewed grouting etc. etc.

In terms of getting it done, we tried to get three quotes but ended up only getting two. I looked at local neighbourhood forums for recommendations. We ended up going with a local-ish showroom who came round, did computer drawings of what it would look like, and invited us to the showroom a couple of times to choose fixtures and fittings. They use their recommended fitter but we paid him separately.

The alternative was to use a plumber and buy the fittings separately.

We paid about 9.5 grand, for a very small bathroom, but this is in London and the company did use slightly upmarket fittings. We were OK with that as we had saved for it and really want it to last (never want to have it done again). We did, however, bargain down on the £900 bath. I mean £900? For an acrylic bath? Got them down to about £450 which I still thought was expensive.

Feel free to ask me anything.
 
Just had ours done for similar reasons to you and (probably) with a similar specification (just basin, toilet and bath with shower). Ours had got hideous! Loose, leaking tap, leaking shower, limescale everywhere, mildewed grouting etc. etc.

In terms of getting it done, we tried to get three quotes but ended up only getting two. I looked at local neighbourhood forums for recommendations. We ended up going with a local-ish showroom who came round, did computer drawings of what it would look like, and invited us to the showroom a couple of times to choose fixtures and fittings. They use their recommended fitter but we paid him separately.

The alternative was to use a plumber and buy the fittings separately.

We paid about 9.5 grand, for a very small bathroom, but this is in London and the company did use slightly upmarket fittings. We were OK with that as we had saved for it and really want it to last (never want to have it done again). We did, however, bargain down on the £900 bath. I mean £900? For an acrylic bath? Got them down to about £450 which I still thought was expensive.

Feel free to ask me anything.

Jesus fucking christ that is eyewateringly expensive!!! It is a nice bathroom mind you but omg so expensive.

My bathroom looks really dated and could do with an overhaul but there is no way I am ever going to have that sort of money available. What do kitchens cost these days? That used to be the amount it would cost for a really phenomenal kitchen last time I looked into it cries slightly
 
i recently discovered this product and it is fucking amazing.
God knows what's in it best not to think about that, but it works.
Screenshot 2021-10-17 at 06.17.20.png

Another vote for prioritising ventilation.
I don't think you should have to spend anything like 8k on sorting that bathroom out, unless you want to move the toilet and things like that.
 
Thanks oryx I just don’t know where to start, I need someone (a designer or tradesman or someone who knows what they are doing).

The ceiling is beyond awful. It’s been painted three times in bathroom paint, there is an extractor, and we always open the window. My theory is someone put the wrong paint on donkeys years ago and now it heaves off. It was painted a year ago and here’s the full horror:

7BCD098A-896E-4EEF-A1E2-F9ADAA91BBD3.jpeg

Whoever does the bathroom I’m gonna say the whole ceiling needs to come down to try and fix this problem. Plus the light is over the bath which I think is illegal or something.

Toilet handle is broke, and it doesn’t flush properly. Even a wee with toilet paper takes two or three flushes:
D1C360FF-5EC4-487B-8BD1-398E2937B79D.jpeg

And the black mould obviously:
B99EDB50-0644-4F5C-90C7-EF5B75651674.jpeg

Mates I can’t live in these conditions :D I will see if I can save the tiles tho. It would be utterly amazing if I can get it done for say £5k instead!
 
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