Neils 2009 Property Blog |
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Monday, January 26, 2009 |
I met the patio door man from West Kent Windows today at the house to do the final measurements - all done now.
The plastering is almost done in the main and middle bedrooms and all the bathroom stuff turns up on Friday.
They were also digging a trench down the end and side of the garden for the retainer wall to hold the mud back, then we can finish clearing the garden ahead of putting down the garden slabs.
Also, the electrician was there today and we finalised where we put the telephone sockets. |
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Saturday, January 24, 2009 |
We were at the house for about two hours this morning with the kitchen man from John Lewis. We've changed a few things in the design - for example we're having a normal sink rather than the corner sink which is less space-efficient.
I had a quick call to the window man and it looks like we might be able to put in a bigger window which will bring a lot more light into the darkest part of the house downstairs.
The guy at John Lewis (Ox. St) didn't write down all the appliances we'd chosen so we had to do that all over again.
Anyway, we should get a design & computer rendition next week with and without the extra cost of the installation - then we can decide how to proceed.
I think the kitchen will be the last major installation in the house, so we might even move in before it's ready. |
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Thursday, January 22, 2009 |
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We went to BathStore on the Commercial Road today with a list of everything we need. The price was about half that of Aston Mathews, but you could really see it in the quality.
So despite the Credit Crunch and not having a job right now I think we have to go for the Aston Mathews stuff because long term it will add value to the house.
Here's the photo of the bath we're having. |
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009 |
Went to the house briefly today to pay Kevin. There was some progress but it was a bit slow. They've cut out a channel alog the kitchen and out to the downstairs loo for the plumbing (so there's no ugly pipes showing along the walls).
Kevin has started to install the first solar tube into the bathroom which is very exciting.
All the bathroom stuff comes to about 50% more than we budgeted for, so we're going to a cheaper place on the Comercial Road (East London) tomorrow to se how much it'd be for the same stuff.
Sorry, completely forgot to take any photos today. I'll be there again on Friday and promise to take photos. |
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Monday, January 19, 2009 |
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It's been raining and raining and some idiot had a crash in the Blackwall Tunnel (which connects the Isle of Dogs to Greenwich) so the builders couldn't get there this morning. Anyway, I went to the bank to take out a wedge of cash for their first payment. Can't make it tomorrow so next blog will be on Wednesday. |
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Friday, January 16, 2009 |
Saw the house again today - all the walls are up and the garden is about 90% cleared out. I need to get sme cash to pay the builders - so a trip to the bank on Monday towithdraw a load of cash.
The main bedroom has been plastered and it looks (and smells) great.
We found out our neighbours have been around for a nose around the other day - no problem - but it would have been nice if they called us before or after.
We've finally decided on all the bathrrom stuff - I'll publish the list and prices etc as soon as the order has gone through. This is the most important next step so Kevin & Crew can proceed. |
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Thursday, January 15, 2009 |
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Didn't go to the house today - but decided to go for the slightly more expensive windows and patio doors after all. Also, went to ScrewFix in Charlton to look at door handles, only to discover that they run an Argos-like shop where it's basically a warehouse. They let us look at a few and we've decided on the "Soft" brand as it's called.
I sent off cheques to the engineer (for calculating lintels etc) and a deposit cheque to West Kent Windows. |
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009 |
Went to the house for a couple of hours to see the electrician (George). We went over each room working out where and how many sockets we need, and what ligting we need. Basically we're having low-energy warm fluroestcent flush-to-ceiling lamps in every room except;
1. Bathrooms - we're having halogen because we need strong light right away (the fluroescents take a minute or two to fully warm up).
2. Cupboards - we're having LED's because they're really bright (although a bit cold light).
3. Everywhere else is warm fluroescent lamps. This is a good idea because they're low-heat also, so ideal for the ceiling.
Also, they've knocked out the two windows in the main bedroom including the space in-between to make a massive hole which will become the main bedroom window.
They've also knocked out almost all of the foundation from the old conservatory and I can really see now that the garden will be quite big (although still east-facing).
The other decsion from today is to buy a smaller basin for the main bathroom as it will definitley be a squash and a squeeze - so we need more compact stuff in there. |
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Tuesday, January 13, 2009 |
Went to Aston Matthews in Islington today - very helpful staff - spent 2 hours talking about what we were doing and they were very helpful - maybe because we're the only people buying i the credit crunch?
Anway, I think we've decided on everything - the main issue is the fact that we're having a combi-boiler, so we need a shower head that's ok with about 1 or 2 bars.
We've decided on a big fied shower head - but if it's too low pressure we can change the 8-inch head for a 5-inch head which will in effect increase the pressure.
One thing we found out is that it's impossible (apart from bespoke) to get a toilet with a soft closing wooden seat. Only plastic. I also found out that it's worth sitting on the toilets becuase they all feel very different on the arse - some big, some small.
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1. Go to a bathroom shop off-peak - like a monday morning - that way you can take 1 hour plus of the salesmans time to (hopefully) get good and in-depth advice. |
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Monday, January 12, 2009 |
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It's early days yet but we went to the house today and we measured up all the rooms now that the stud-work is up, so we know how much of our existing furniture we can fit in.
We're going up to Aston Matthews in Islington on Wednesday to have a look at some basins we like. It's not that much more than going to an online discount place - so we'll see if we can agree on shower fittings, taps etc. The main consideratin is for the basins, and Kevin the builder said today that we can have off-the-floor WC's which is good news.
Dayo basin pictured above. |
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Sunday, January 11, 2009 |
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Here's the last photo for today - this shows the conservatory (which will be gone in a few days) and the garden which has been half cleared. We're gutting the whole garden laying the Raj Green slabs as mentioned before. We have some nice furniture on our current balcony whice we'll take with us. If the neighbours are ok we'll replace the fence and our door to the back alley. |
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Sunday, January 11, 2009 |
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Here's the upstairs. Closest on the left with be our sons room, then it's the bathroom, then at the back it's the main bedroom. The bedroom and bathroom have been made larger by losing the ensuite which you don't need in such a small house - especially because there's a downstairs toilet.
There are two square windows which we're having knockd out into one really big window. The bed will be on the left and mirror-sliding-doors on the right. |
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Sunday, January 11, 2009 |
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Went to the house today (Sunday) to take some photos and to start thinking more about how the kitchen layout will work. Here's a photo. Originally we went for a free-standing fridge & freezer but then changed our minds to built-in, but now we're back to a separate unit again. The corner sink is still a good idea but it's not cheap (like most of our decisions). |
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Tips
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1. Plan, plan then plan again. Right up to the last minute when plans have to be frozen, keep considering the alternatives. |
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Saturday, January 10, 2009 |
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This is the kind of downlight I was talkng about yesterday. I like the fact that these kinds of downlights don't generate much heat. Note that they come in cold and warm light, so if you're buying make sure you get the right ones. |
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1. The electrician isn't only there to do the wiring - talk to him/her about your ideas for lighting, wall sockets, dimmers etc. They might have some ideas you haven't had yet. |
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2. Lighting is very very important so have a good think about where you need lights, what type they should be and how much they'll cost. |
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Friday, January 09, 2009 |
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The stud walls are going up now that we've defined the bedroom and bathroom spaces. The bathroom is still not as large as I'd like it, but it is a small house so we're stuck with it.
I met the electrician today "Jonesey" (no not the really bad one from the 4th movie) - he was really good - up in the loft then down stairs tracing all the wires that needed rewiring.
He showed me some lights for the in-ceiling lighting, and I didn't know that you can get fluorescent bulbs that dim now. Anyway, I've decided on having 6 in the kitchen, 4 in the hallway and one by the front door, 6 in the living room, three in the landing, 4 in the two small bedrooms and 6 in the main bedroon - and that's a lot of lights, so best to make them energy saving. |
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Friday, January 09, 2009 |
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I had a brain-wave last night (first one sine 1991). If we put the plumbing / shower / toilet & basin on the wall to the main bathroom, that means that if we have to flush during the night it won't make so much noise agains the wall to our son's bedroom. I spoke to Kevin the builder just in time as the stud-work and some walls will go up today - so basically we're reversing the bathroom configuration last minute. |
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Tips
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1. Don't stop thinking about the pros and cons of your renovation decisions. Even the decisions you think are made and done - if there's still time have another think just in case you see a better way (ref: Edward de Bono - Po: Beyond Yes and No - Challenge for Change). |
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Friday, January 09, 2009 |
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I was going to go for the less expensive option of uPVC cocertina doors because the aluminium ons are about twice the price. I just had a chat with the architect and he's sent me some photos of another job he did and the aluminium windows look really nice.
They use Schucco sections/ironmongery and I like the idea of the internal blinds.
Still undecided. |
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Thursday, January 08, 2009 |
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We were going to use an expensive sandstone in the pation / garden space but at £30 m2 plus vat it's just too expensive. I measured the patio area and we need about 40m2.
So I think we're going with the classic Raj Green which comes in at £16 m2 plus vat, ie about £750 for the lot.
Given that Greenwich park is about 1 minute away I don't want grass in the garden, especially with our boy running around there all the time.
Ok that's enough blogging for today - I'll take more pictures tomorrow as the stud-walls are going up, upstairs. |
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Thursday, January 08, 2009 |
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I want a shower bath, and the apartment I rented in Islington in 2002 had a P-shaped bath - ie a bath with a big round bit for the shower. The problem with those is that you can't tile over the round bit unless you use mosaic tiles which I don't like.
So after loads of googling I found the TC Dynamo bath (see picture). Like most of my decisions it's a bit pricey but I really like the look of it.
The next decision is whether or not to match a square basin and toilet, or go for more rounded ones and hope it doesn't look stupid mixing round and square. I need to do more research on this. |
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Thursday, January 08, 2009 |
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I don't think I've mentioned these before - we're buying two sun tunnels (or solar tubes if you prefer). The basthroom has no windows and the landing is fairly dark, so we're going to have a sun tunnel in each. This means we'll get real daylight into the bathroom through a tube from the roof of the house through a tube into the ceiling of the bathroom.
A friend of mine has one and says they're great. I like the idea of piping natural light into the bathroom, and the one on the landing will pump daylight right down the stairs to the hallway. |
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Thursday, January 08, 2009 |
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Ok so here are the official plans the builders are working from - although it's never an exact science and I think we'll deviate by a few cm here and there - mainly upstairs as thats where all the walls have been knocked out so we can totally reconfigure the space. |
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1. Keep all plans anf official documents in a box. When you sell it's all really usefu stuff to have to show to buyers so they can see what you've done (and that you did it legally). |
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Thursday, January 08, 2009 |
I went over to see the house at lunch time and apart from making good progress clearing out the garden they've also knocked out the wall between the kitchen and living room, so all of a sudden the house is looking very open plan.
It's taking shape nicely and tomorrow they'll put up the stud-walls to define where the bathroom and bedroom walls will be.
I've decided to go for the more expensive aluminium sash windows for £3k, in part because they're safest for the boy - ie we can open them a bit and lock them so he won't be able to climb out.
I can see now how the garden will work now that it's being cleared out - I'll order the Raj tiles on Monday - nice big 800 x 500 cm slabs. |
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Tips
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1. Enjoy the project management process - after all how many times do you get to do this kind of thing? Of course there is stress, but try to unplug your head and come up for air. |
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2. Talk talk. I've found that by constantly talking over ideas (eg for bathroom layout) new ideas come up all the time. Don't sit and stew on your ideas - talk. |
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Wednesday, January 07, 2009 |
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Forgot to mention - it's only day-2 of the renovation and I'm already changing the plans. Originally we were going to have a cupboard at the top of the stairs but a bigger bedroom sounds like a much better idea. |
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1. Stay flexible. Have a plan, but don't be afraid to deviate if your gut tells you there's a better way. |
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Wednesday, January 07, 2009 |
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Great progress - upstairs all the walls have gone, it's just one big space. Downstairs it's almost all cleared out - just a few cabinets lfet in the kitchen. Also the window guy came over today from Kent Windows who measured up for all new windows which came in a bit expensivly at £3k (incl vat) for 5 windows. Admitedly they're all custom size, aluminium sash windows, but it's definitley not cheap. Phots to follow. |
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Tuesday, January 06, 2009 |
I was up at 6am - drove over to meet the builders at 7:45am at the house - there were all there on time. I was there for 45 mins going over the master plan for the house with kevin while the crew started taking off the doors, taking up the carpets and taking a sledge hammer to the bathroom and ensuite.
I read the electric and gas meters and once home I called British Gas to put everything in my name. Very dusty, very exciting. I'll go back tomorrow to see how it looks - and to meet a guy from Kent Windows who'll give me a quote.
Also, posting the architechts plans and calculations to Greenwich Council along with a cheque for £137 for the building inspector. |
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Monday, January 05, 2009 |
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Done. Exchangd and completed this morning - so I took the DLR to Greenwich after lunch. It just started to snow as I walked to the estate agent. I picked up the keys but they didn't look right. After some negotiation they drove me over to the house so we could check - and I foind all the other keys in the house - ie for the sliding doors, garage etc. Phew. All I need now is some more money to pay for two mortgages for 3 months.
I spoke to Kevin the builder and I'm meeting him and his crew at 7:45 tomorrow morning at the house. Their first job is to totally gut the house. In freezing weather in a house with no heating I'm so glad it's not me doing the work. |
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1. Before you pick up the keys when buying, make a list if all the keys you're expecting to get. It's MUCH harder once the deal is done to get agencies to fish arond for missing keys. |
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Monday, January 05, 2009 |
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My solicitors is in, she was very calm unlike myself. The money is back in the account from the bank, so we should be good to complete & exchange today. Hopefully I can then go over to Greenwich today to pick up the keys so we can start work tomorrow. |
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Friday, January 02, 2009 |
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The sellers solicitor is open, as is the estate agency - I spoke to them and we should be ok to exchange & complete on Monday. |
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Tips
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1. As I mentioned before, no one else drives your property projects, so you have to call, call, email, email, push, push all the time. |
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