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Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

No idea if this is your kind of thing or not, but this kind of colour scheme would work. (I made these from African fabric).

View attachment 303782
We loooove African fabrics. Mother in law has a whole stash she's bought from Cape Town and she's offered me some to use for dresses if I want, but I should take a look at them at some point and see if there's any we might use for cushions and the like. Our stairwell is decorated with boards that gsv basically stapled a bunch of cool shwe-shwe fabric onto that we bought on a Cape Town jaunt - did it years ago and they still look great. Best cheap decor ever!
 
I am back home and really want to get some things sorted out. The main thing is getting shelves and pictures up. Can I please have an idiots guide to putting shelves up? What do I need? Willing to go out and buy a drill/tools as long as they will be well used in future. Where can I go and just get everything at one time? I actually want to learn some basic DIY this year - I haven't got any handy friends or family around and don't want to have to pay/find someone everytime I need a little job done.
 
Ah ok. How do I find that out? I have noticed that in some rooms it's really hard to even get a nail in the wall. So far I've just been using whatever nails/picture hooks were left up.
 
Ah ok. How do I find that out? I have noticed that in some rooms it's really hard to even get a nail in the wall. So far I've just been using whatever nails/picture hooks were left up.
Sounds like you have some solid walls. Having any solid walls at all points to a traditional build rather than timber frame so all your perimeter walls will be solid (walls to outside and your neighbours).

Tap these and they should sound the same and not hollow wherever you tap.
You can fix anywhere on these walls using rawlplugs and suitable length screws, being careful of buried pipes and cables.

You might have internal stud walls, say, between bedroom and bathroom ( tap and they’ll sound hollow but moving across horizontally you’ll hear the sound change as you pass over the timber uprights (studs) and these will need special cavity fixings, type dependent on what you want to fix. Unless you can hit the timber, which is by far the best option here.
Of course, you might have solid internal walls so ignore that bit.

There’s is another type of wall which you are unlikely to have if you have hard, solid walls (plaster on block) and they are dot and dab or drywall. This is where plasterboard is stuck on dabs of drywall cement to quickly cover the wall and with minimal drying time as opposed to plaster.
There is a small gap between the back of the plasterboard and the blockwork and this can make it a cunt for fixing unless you default to fucking long screws, although you can still have issues with heavy items. There are special drywall fixings too though.

The end.
 
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Can any DIY type give me some advice on extensions?
Planning to buy a house that has no downstairs toilet, a tiny kitchen and a couple of extensions already and trying to work out what we could do to the layout.
Here’s the floor plan
E3F47A06-06CC-4427-A708-202FE15EAD61.jpeg
This is the current kitchen and utility, so initially would plan to put fridge, freezer & tumble dryer plus coats and boots in the utility bit.
66E3D17E-9023-472B-AFCD-FF78E6EA5F38.jpeg46EEC4EE-C1E0-42B7-8BE5-B48E52E98173.jpeg
Then there’s the weird conservatory/greenhouse on the back of the dining room. It’s not really a conservatory as not accessible from the house.
4EFC926A-F3F9-4603-9E87-9EBF9C95B177.jpeg
I’m thinking it would be possible to extend along the back of the house and include utility & toilet in there but not sure about layout and where the toilet would go.
 
Can any DIY type give me some advice on extensions?
Planning to buy a house that has no downstairs toilet, a tiny kitchen and a couple of extensions already and trying to work out what we could do to the layout.
Here’s the floor plan
View attachment 308768
This is the current kitchen and utility, so initially would plan to put fridge, freezer & tumble dryer plus coats and boots in the utility bit.
View attachment 308769View attachment 308770
Then there’s the weird conservatory/greenhouse on the back of the dining room. It’s not really a conservatory as not accessible from the house.
View attachment 308771
I’m thinking it would be possible to extend along the back of the house and include utility & toilet in there but not sure about layout and where the toilet would go.

I'm not an expert at these things and don't know all the regulations about it and it would depend upon finances/planning permission/supporting walls - but my initial thought is to extend across from the utility room across the width of the building (getting rid of the conservatory) - you then have a lot of space to re-organise into downstairs loo/bathroom and large kitchen/diner while retaining a separate reception room.
 
Me neither, but looks like there's space behind the stairs before the kitchen for a toilet? Then extend across the back fullly and make the existing kitchen a utility and bootroom.
 
Me neither, but looks like there's space behind the stairs before the kitchen for a toilet? Then extend across the back fullly and make the existing kitchen a utility and bootroom.
Ah yes, I hadn’t thought of that but there’s a little pantry bit between the stairs and kitchen
E5DE6394-2051-450F-8426-9617665E6B7F.jpeg
I think a little toilet could squeeze in there.
 
For sure if you were going to extend across the whole width, I'd have that bit in the extension as kitchen/diner across the width of the house, and put the loo either under the stairs, or turn part of the current kitchen into a bathroom
 
I think we will probably try to squeeze a loo under the stairs soonish, and then when we win the lottery the little kitchen can become a utility and the extension across the back can become a big open plan kitchen/dining space.
 
I think we will probably try to squeeze a loo under the stairs soonish, and then when we win the lottery the little kitchen can become a utility and the extension across the back can become a big open plan kitchen/dining space.

Aye, I spend probably too much time involved in "if I won the lottery" perusal of house floorplans :oops: Bit of a hobby, probably missed my calling somewhere along the line.
 
If you went for an extension right across the back of the house Thora, you could use those sliding doors or French window with skylights to get light into the space.
 
Not sure exactly what the question is, but yes you could almost certainly extend across the full width of the back and there would be any number of potential layout permutations. One think to watch for is that you don't landlock existing rooms as a result, in this case the "dining room" and end up with space that is largely wasted.
 
Who would I need to speak to about building a downstairs toilet? A builder? Or a plumber?

You'd probably want to check services (ie plumbing, and suitable locations for installing a new loo wrt extending any provision of water/drainage with a plumber) before making any decisions that would involve a builder.

I don't know for sure mind you but that would seem to be the crucial bit for a new loo.
 
Who would I need to speak to about building a downstairs toilet? A builder? Or a plumber?
If it needs new walls and a door and stuff then a builder. A decent builder will know enough to check out the plumbing situation and tell you what's feasible.
 
Who would I need to speak to about building a downstairs toilet? A builder? Or a plumber?
Be wary of those macerating toilets that are often advertised on TV as 'suitable for anywhere', they're not worth the effort.
 
I've finally decided on a colour to paint the hall a mid cool-toned grey. I will paint the kitchen the same colour. I was originally going to do white but the kitchen has cream gloss units and black tiles/black marble effect worktops, so white will look awful.

I shall post step by step before and after photographs as usual.
 
Who would I need to speak to about building a downstairs toilet? A builder? Or a plumber?
When I did my garage conversion, I got a total price from the builder and he subcontracted the plumbing & electrics. Just make sure you get to choose your own toilet or they'll just get the cheapest one from a builders merchant.

Toilets need a large waste pipe so the easiest place to put one is directly under the bathroom one so that it can be joined to the same pipe.

Be wary of those macerating toilets that are often advertised on TV as 'suitable for anywhere', they're not worth the effort.
I inherited a saniflow and it has been fine, but it is noisy. Basically it liquidises the shit and pumps it away down a relatively narrow pipe so can be installed in places where you can't access the main waste pipe. Mine is in an ensuite bathroom so only used by one person, and I agree it might be hard pushed to deal will a family of 5.
 
I think the only place it could go is next to the kitchen - kitchen is directly under the bathroom but the toilet is on the opposite wall.
 
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