Is it a car?... No it's a Flat!

[essexgte]

Well, it's a project & a restoration, I know it's not a car, but it has been my substitute for working on all things car related for the past 4 months (and counting!)... So that's my excuse

For anyone who's interested here's what it's like to strip & start from scratch on your own renovation...

It all started at the end of last October when we got the keys to our new purchase... our second flat, in need of some straightening up. We had budgeted for tarting it up, e.g new kitchen, bathroom & general refurb.

Here's how the story started....





















So the first day we had the keys we started... no time like the present is there? So the stripout began... After stocking up on supplies



Bathroom remodelled:



Kitchen updated



Bedroom 2 - keep an eye on that crack, it gets bigger...



Bedroom 1



Chipping away at all the plaster:





We thought we were doing well, that's when we realised we may have a little more to do then previously thought....

The very first time I pulled the light switch in the bathroom it blew, was it a bulb? No, was it the first sign that all the wiring should have been condemned, er yes, that'd be it!

On closer inspection, I found a junction box arc'ing away in the loft spitting sparks everywhere, once I started looking at the other electric points I realised what I had let myself in for, ah an entire rewire, that's what we need, brilliant.

Plus this was the state of the consumer unit:

1956 o/e spec



So once we knew that, I thought well if we're re-wiring, why not add some more sockets, as there was 1 double per room, all above above the radiators FFS!

I love surface run electrics!


We added a few more, 16 more to be precise.... Let the chasing begin: nod:



All the sockets chased in 1 day, thankfully I bought a wall chaser, no hammer & chisle for me

As you can see when I started on the cracks in bedroom 2 & the living room, they grew, in the same way that rust grows when you see a small speck on your car...

Time for some wall stitching:





Brick & fill...



Hallway entrance.



Then, I forgot to take a load of photo's as we had the whole place replastered!!!

But it's safe to say I was rather busy behind the scenes, as all the work I was doing was going on in the loft, new cables & pipes etc.... All the behind the scenes work takes the time I tell you....

So then we jump to last week:

Ensuite :



Hallway, with 2nd ensuite in bedroom 1



Look no cracks in Bedroom 2!



Kitchen, so far...



The first rad of 9!



Then the fun begins, all the walls are painted now & the Living room rads are in:







Saturday we went live with the electrics, oh how having lights & power is such a treat!

[Joe Boy]

Good Work Mate, Looking very smart

[lee303]

nice crack, arf arf
loving the rads mate, very nice

[spanishfly]

Did ya weld the crack?

[racingsnake2]

nice makes change from looking at cars lol

[Dave Dempsey]

Nice, little bit different seeing a house being modified.

[Benn]

like the big long rad,and cool idear,

[neo1]

loads of work done there fella, keep up the work looking nice i like those verticle rads, nice touch...

[Ghost_Walker]

i love the vertical rads have one in the kitchen. no room for the trad one

[steveturbocal]

i've fitted a work top like that before

[Ginge]

Damnit, if i had know someone was going to do some chasing i would have been well up for doing it for them, i love chasing out... was about one job i actually enjoyed when i was a sparky/data cabler... ..

Work looks good so far, the rads are awesome, used them on a job a couple of years ago when we converted some old offices in to "luxury" appartments... plasma's in wall, speakers in ceilings no cables anywhere sort of flats...was a good laugh ...

Ginge

[MSG]

Arn't you glad you own a Calibra and I know it can carry some stuff, all that stell could only fit in a Cally, LOL

I am really glad someone on mig has taken interst in something different, I love this thread.
very inspiring and usefull too. Gives you ideas what you can do with those cracks!
I bought a house 5 years ago and I am still doing it up ! and it is unbeleivable!

[Drizz]

Id love to be able to buy somewhere. Just dont have the funds. Thanks for bringing something different to look at. Keep the updates coming!

[essexgte]

I figured i'd show you all what i've been up to for the past few months. Cheers for the comments guys, especially about the rads, they are one of my favourite bits, other than the bathroom, see below.... it's been a bit of a labour of sweat blood & tears so far... oh & yes shed loads of cash

MSG, believe it or not it's a corsa all the stella was in (20 bottles per box not the full size 24 ), well spotted it was a vaux though.

4 months & counting oh & we move in this week, latest Saturday as the day we leave our rented flat.

For the wall cracks I used a stainless steel helical reinforcment bar inset in a "special" (read expensive ) mortar, you angle grind the wall halfway through the bricks 500mm either side of the crack at even intervals clean the new groove & with the aid of a mortar gun inject a bead of mortar to seat the helical bar in then cover with more mortar, wait tio dry then plaster over, job done.

I've got some more piccies as of last night, starting with my to be boarded out soon massive loft:





New wiring:



Light switches & sockets are these cool magnetic jobbies:



Close up of some tight fitting pipework for the kitchen radiator:



View from the loft, (you can see the sanded Oak floor here):



New toilet, Well Vanessa (that's the girlies name) christened it last night, I'm yet to give it full post curry test yet, but no leaks so far:



Sink, shame about the waste pipe i know, I don't want to box it in & I couldn't run it anywhere else & it looks more conspicuous in the photo than reality:



I'm not a professional btw, I take too long to get things done to charge for it, but as the sparky said the other day who came round to do the earth loop & continuity checks, it's neater than he'd have done so I'm happy about that. At the end of the day you live with the final result way longer than it takes to get it done, & I would say that also translates to the whole car restoratitive / renovation thing too.

Here's the new (read safe!) consumer unit, & yes that is a radiator in the cupboard, it's there to warm / dry out the shoes & coats for when it's cold & rainy.



& now for the bit I'm most proud of, the bathroom, yes it's rather compact but I couldn't do too much about that, just try & fit things in as best as possible, I've still got the mastic, bath panel & screen to do, but everything works so that's the most important thing:



Screen is yet to go on, tonight's job, & here's the sink & tap:



Must move that drill, I don't want a cracked bath do I?



Concealed taps, that was some work, plus had to buy some special tile core drills for cutting the holes...







I hope this post inspires anyone to get that bit of DIY done that's been nagging you for ages.... Or hope th

I'll keep the piccies coming, kitchen is next on the list, just the main pipework done so far:



Another tall column rad for the kitchen, with the obligatory chrome pipes...



Matt.

[MSG]

Good progress, and thanks for pointing out that boot looks exactly like a Calibra's boot, with the ribbed plastic panel and the smaller fold down seat to the right with the wider seat to the left my apologies since I have never looked at a corsa's boot so still a Vauxhall indeed.

As far as the works is concerned very good overall quality, better than so many builders these days, yes that corner sink waste pipe really needed have tucked away, shame you can't always faind an alternative route.

I bought a 3 bed house in 2001 just shortly before 9/11, and having spent over 25K it is still a building site, I had it completely ripped up, internally, all new ceilings, new plaster and skim on most internal walls, new door frames, new skirtings, new doors, double glazed, new drainage, new fencing, new paving, my garden looks like a jungle, where as you have a beautiful garden, kitchen units were bought 3 years ago and still need to be fitted, I have two full size baths both need fitting and tiling, kitchen floor requires levelling, all new plumbing, wiring, new boiler, new rads, apart from skimming and plasterong and skirting and door frames, I am doing the rest myself all by myself with no one's help, and I can only manage perhaphs 1 day in a month! I have kind of lost 12K x5 yesra potential rent on top of what I have spent and I am still paying full Council tax and a few small energy bills for an empty property! a bit of a bad luck there tbh.

[essexgte]

MSG, why don't you register the property empty? or take out the toilet & it's classed as uninhabitable then you won't have to pay any council tax, that's what i've done for the past 4 months. Completely legal & above board.

You got any pictures of your build?

[Kabouter]

how do you bleed that kitchen rad upsidedown? Or is that spesially like that, with bleeding nipple on valves side?

[essexgte]

Originally Posted by Kabouter

how do you bleed that kitchen rad upsidedown? Or is that spesially like that, with bleeding nipple on valves side?

I've put air vent valves in the loft as in one of the piccies above of the loft pipework close up, you can just see a brass knurled cap the other side of the joist:



I've done that for the rad in the bathroom as well.

[Ghost_Walker]

ugh plastic water pipes. easy to use but i'd prefer a proper copper job anytime. plastic should only be used for waste water in my opinion.

but thats just me and was shown a lot but an ex plumbing and heating engineer. who did all the hospital gases as well when he was with BOC so very old school

[essexgte]

Originally Posted by Ghost_Walker

ugh plastic water pipes. easy to use but i'd prefer a proper copper job anytime. plastic should only be used for waste water in my opinion.

but thats just me and was shown a lot but an ex plumbing and heating engineer. who did all the hospital gases as well when he was with BOC so very old school

Yeah, I agree in a way, old school copper is tried & tested, known to last ages etc.....

However, there a few reasons why I wanted to use plastic over the traditional copper route, mainly, cost, copper isn't cheap at the minute, I wanted to run all the pipes through the joists, with copper you have to chisel out the joists rather than drill through which weakens them way more than drilling a central hole. I was also doing the whole thing single handedly & figured it'd be quicker with plastic, which it was...

Plus the plastic route has been in force for ages in europe, tried & tested over there.

Finally, I consulted a plumber friend of mine who himself recommended the use of plastic.

At the end of the day, the plastic should last at least 15 years by which time I either won't be there or it'll be time to upgrade the whole system, as the new condensing combi boilers life expectancy is around 7 - 10 years. A change of boiler then may well mean a new kitchen etc so if it means replacement of pipes so be it.

But yes, I still have major issues getting my head round the pipes being plastic.

[MSG]

Originally Posted by essexgte

MSG, why don't you register the property empty? or take out the toilet & it's classed as uninhabitable then you won't have to pay any council tax, that's what i've done for the past 4 months. Completely legal & above board.

You got any pictures of your build?

Got to be ahead of the game, if a property remains unoccupied whilst there is a shortage of housing, the local council has the powers to place a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)which means I could be forced to sell it to them at a loss, or the average current price for that property would be about 200K and they will probably offer me even less as it is not finished and there is still to spend something like 10K - 15K, so imagine them offering me £180K then I would loose out heavily, so I am going to get some builders in now and get it finished off and start renting it, currently I am classifying it as a second home, so I have to pay full rates or council tax. I did receive a letter from the council asking me the status of this property 2 years after my purchase, since during the first year I did not have to pay any council tax due to major refurbishment, 2 nd year I had to pay 50% and during the 3rd year a new rule came where all empty properties has to pay full council tax as there were so many empty whilst there is a shortage of housing in london. (I am keeping mine reserved for professional working family and not giving it to the council who will only put in refugees and who end up screwing your property )

[Kabouter]

Nice thinking that! Plastic is so easy and quick to repair or if you have to make any changes.
Plastic is also quite forgiving if you do knock it or step on it.Copper,well you have a problem
as it is not so quick to repair.lol, keep a couple of bits spair in the loft.

[MSG]

Originally Posted by essexgte

Yeah, I agree in a way, old school copper is tried & tested, known to last ages etc.....

However, there a few reasons why I wanted to use plastic over the traditional copper route, mainly, cost, copper isn't cheap at the minute, I wanted to run all the pipes through the joists, with copper you have to chisel out the joists rather than drill through which weakens them way more than drilling a central hole. I was also doing the whole thing single handedly & figured it'd be quicker with plastic, which it was...

Plus the plastic route has been in force for ages in europe, tried & tested over there.

Finally, I consulted a plumber friend of mine who himself recommended the use of plastic.

At the end of the day, the plastic should last at least 15 years by which time I either won't be there or it'll be time to upgrade the whole system, as the new condensing combi boilers life expectancy is around 7 - 10 years. A change of boiler then may well mean a new kitchen etc so if it means replacement of pipes so be it.

But yes, I still have major issues getting my head round the pipes being plastic.

Beware, though, plastic piping has the tendency to become brittle over time, although it may be good for a good few years from now, after about 20 years the pipes may suffer from brittleness, and any bending cracks them, I had a flat in Harlow when I used to work over there, I accidently bend the pipe and it cracked spilling all the water under pressure. I don't know if modern manufacturing has sorted this problem or not. (UV Treated)

[lee303]

house looks great , MSG still talks alot of pish i see

[essexgte]

Originally Posted by MSG

Got to be ahead of the game, if a property remains unoccupied whilst there is a shortage of housing, the local council has the powers to place a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)which means I could be forced to sell it to them at a loss, or the average current price for that property would be about 200K and they will probably offer me even less as it is not finished and there is still to spend something like 10K - 15K, so imagine them offering me £180K then I would loose out heavily, so I am going to get some builders in now and get it finished off and start renting it, currently I am classifying it as a second home, so I have to pay full rates or council tax. I did receive a letter from the council asking me the status of this property 2 years after my purchase, since during the first year I did not have to pay any council tax due to major refurbishment, 2 nd year I had to pay 50% and during the 3rd year a new rule came where all empty properties has to pay full council tax as there were so many empty whilst there is a shortage of housing in london. (I am keeping mine reserved for professional working family and not giving it to the council who will only put in refugees and who end up screwing your property )

Oh, bugger!