The House Projects Thread

[DeskJockey]

Good shout! Thanks.

[mik]

Have also had an issue with a survey - a few houses back - surveyor stated evidence of mould in roof space indicating a leak. Lopped £15k off the valuation (TC). Roofer came and said zero leaks - insulation was too effective - creating condensation in roof space. Fitted 3 vents to sort it. Satisfied the buyers and their mortgage co, but despite negotiation probably cost us £5k.

[dinny_g]

Thankfully, after 7 or 8 companies saying "Sorry mate - can't fit you in till March", we got a guy coming over next Saturday. I've used him before for roof work so I'm confident he'll sort it.

And he did...

There is a very odd ventilation box at the top of the pitch where it joins the wall which wasn't installed correctly at all. The flashing didn't overhand this enough so when rain got in, instead of flowing to the sides and off the roof, it flowed into the center of the 2 part piece - which wasn't joined - under the tiles and down the waterproof membrane - which wasn't installed correctly at all.

Anyhoo, 2 hours and £120 later, it's all sorted and judging by the amount of rain since Christmas and not a drop has got in, I reckon it's all sorted!

[Gavster]

Fitted some carpet in my office. A neighbour moved into a house that had recently been refurbed with a single colour carpet throughout. So they ripped up the nearly-new carpet in several rooms and gave it away. I grabbed a piece fo put in my office and figured I'd have a go at carpet laying. It's fairly easy - obviously. I mean, not wanting to judge carpet fitters, but c'mon, they're somewhere between labourers and painters on the skill level. Yet it's also one of the most intensely physical jobs, with constant lifting, pushing, pulling and crawling around on knees. I'd do it again, purely because it's a quick job and means I can fit the carpet whenever I want.

[jamcg]

It’s all about the stretch. Getting a knee kicker is essential otherwise it’ll stretch with use and wrinkle. Even just a cheap one is a worthwhile investment if you plan to do more- I got this one from B&Q that’s only £20

https://www.diy.com/departments/magnuss ... lsrc=aw.ds

[Gavster]

It’s all about the stretch. Getting a knee kicker is essential otherwise it’ll stretch with use and wrinkle. Even just a cheap one is a worthwhile investment if you plan to do more- I got this one from B&Q that’s only £20

https://www.diy.com/departments/magnuss ... lsrc=aw.ds

I got exactly the same one, it worked nicely and the knee pad stayd in place too then used a cold chisel as a 'tucker'. Amazed at how quickly cutting the carpet blunted my knife blade too, for such a small room.

[dinny_g]

Thankfully, after 7 or 8 companies saying "Sorry mate - can't fit you in till March", we got a guy coming over next Saturday. I've used him before for roof work so I'm confident he'll sort it.

And he did...

There is a very odd ventilation box at the top of the pitch where it joins the wall which wasn't installed correctly at all. The flashing didn't overhand this enough so when rain got in, instead of flowing to the sides and off the roof, it flowed into the center of the 2 part piece - which wasn't joined - under the tiles and down the waterproof membrane - which wasn't installed correctly at all.

Anyhoo, 2 hours and £120 later, it's all sorted and judging by the amount of rain since Christmas and not a drop has got in, I reckon it's all sorted!

Spoke too soon...

We've just had an absolutely biblical rain and hail storm to accompany the Thunder and Lightning and we've had more leaks.

I think I've no choice now but to file a claim with the House Insurance and see what comes of it.

[DeskJockey]

That sucks. How much damage is there internally (that you can see)?

[dinny_g]

Ok very little, thankfully. water streaks on the walls in a few places and the caulking has cracked where the roof joins the wall.

My concern is that in the roof itself, there could be damage building up.

It takes biblical rain AND wind from a particular direction for there to be any issue

[DeskJockey]

That's at least something. But still an annoyance.

[GG.]

Ok very little, thankfully. water streaks on the walls in a few places and the caulking has cracked where the roof joins the wall.

My concern is that in the roof itself, there could be damage building up.

It takes biblical rain AND wind from a particular direction for there to be any issue

Yes exactly - the problem is lots of water can accumulate and be absorbed before one day the ceiling just falls in... definitely worth getting it checked.

[dinny_g]

Indeed …

And the extension is 9 years old but we’ve only been in for 2.

[GG.]

On a separate note - I forgot to mention that we had the front bay window replaced. Was eye-wateringly expensive. I'd recommend coke and hookers as a cheaper alternative



Still no shutters yet hence my A4 paper and bluetack privacy solution



The company who fitted it (they still outsource production to eastern Europe despite being 'premium') were pretty good but even so nearly fitted it an inch out from the wall on one side to keep the angles of the two sides the same. My response was err, why don't we compromise and have one side at 5 degrees wider angle than the other an have it flush with the bloody wall!! I mean honestly...

Next job is the non-original fireplace that was tiled around a gas fire which was removed leaving the smashed tiles... We're having a replacement original victorian cast iron one fitted tommorrow - in the middle of heatwave naturally

[GG.]

Et Voila

[DeskJockey]

That looks rather better!

[V8Granite]

Patio grout smashed out as it was cracking, then new grout put in. Smashing it out by hand as I didn’t want to damage the sandstone.


I knocked through where the original fireplace had been bricked up, very easy till it got to the original brick and cement, no sand at all. After bending the tip of my cold chisel twice and only getting this far….


I then called in the pros who 6 hours later and all the impact tools made this….


The other day I saw a tree getting chopped down so helped them load their truck and they let me take anything I could carry in payment.


So a bit of chopping and I’m about a 3rd of the way through it. Handsaw and axe only as it’s a good workout.


So once the rest is cut that’s my 2023 and 2024 wood supplies all done. I’ll start looking for 2025 supplies in the spring.


Dave!

[Jobbo]

Handsaw and axe only? The bears will be even more
scared when you next wrestle them

[V8Granite]

Trust me, when you hit log 10 and your arm feels dead you start to question your decisions.

Dave!

[Gavster]

On a separate note - I forgot to mention that we had the front bay window replaced. Was eye-wateringly expensive. I'd recommend coke and hookers as a cheaper alternative

They are ridiculously spendy! When I lived in north London I got a quote to replace the draughty, wonky, timber box sash bays at the front of our place with new, double glazed ones and tbh I'm still shocked 10 years later. Suffice to say we just turned the heating up

[GG.]

They are ridiculously spendy! When I lived in north London I got a quote to replace the draughty, wonky, timber box sash bays at the front of our place with new, double glazed ones and tbh I'm still shocked 10 years later. Suffice to say we just turned the heating up

Sadly I expect the price is around double what it would have been 10 years ago - maybe even more. Apparently the cost of wood / glass increased about 30% since the pandemic.

I have some old invoices provided by the prior owners with the FENSA certificates when we bought the house and it was depressingly cheaper even 6/7 years ago.