I've waited 5 years for this

[JanieB]

Brian & I re-mortgaged our house to enable us to renovate it. He died before we got that far and his children took me to court. I won but it cost me.

I've now saved enough money to begin the work. My bathroom is being taken out tonight, but the new one doesn't arrive until 1st May, (have to accept free/cheap labour when it's available).

Had my last bath in the old bathroom this morning, and am moving into a friends house tomorrow.

I am finding this whole experience incredibly scarey.

I had enormous trouble finding tiles that didn't look like the kitchen/bathroom version of magnolia.

And this is just the first room .

I've six more to go, plus the hallway & staircase.

The front part of the house is around 1780/90 ish. The main part of the back 1820 with a 1981 one storey kitchen extension that replaced a kitchen that was built 8 ft from the back of the 1820 extension.

The main fascia of the house is red brick, I don't know what material seperates me from the rest of the terrace, but the original exterior back wall ( now interior) and the current back wall are a mixture of stone and cob.

I will try and set up a site where I can put before and after pictures as I've now got to the stage where, instead of lurking, I seriously need help.

 

[skier-hughes]

Congratulations, you'll either really enjoy the ups and downs or give the ******* house to the kids before the end

We've been without a proper kitchen for two years now, but things are on the up, as we are now at the stage where we are building things, rather than taking them apart!!!

 

[JanieB]

OMG :shock: What have I let myself in for?

The plumber has just turned up with the comment "I've come to destroy your bathroom.

 

[Jon Maine]

Good, the quicker he gets the old one out the quicker the new will come in, try not to be to scared plenty of good advice to be had here.
I found the easiest way to manage pictures was to use picasa 3 which is free from http://picasa.google.com/

You can create a google account and upload pictures straight to albums which are visible either privately, by invitation or publically depending on what you choose.

Good luck.

Jon

 

[Penners]

Janie

Very good luck with your first project. Don't let it scare you - installation of a bathroom isn't rocket science, and the guys who are doing it will undoubtedly have done loads of them before... and lived to tell the tale!

Just look forward to your first luxurious bath in your new bathroom, accompanied by a chilled glass of Chablis. :wink:

As to the rest of your project, always remember the old adage:-

Q: How do you eat an elephant?

A: A spoonful at a time.

Try not to look at the entire house project and let the enormity of it overwhelm you. Just divide it up into bite-sized chunks, handle each chunk at a time and allow yourself a little while to enjoy each finished bit before you move on to the next.

Do let us see some photos if you can, and pay us regular visits to keep us updated. There are plenty of experts on the forum to give you useful advice.

 

[Feltwell]

The plumber has just turned up with the comment "I've come to destroy your bathroom.

Plumbers are good at making helpful comments!

Penners advice sounds very wise. I think most people, unless they are employing someone else to do all the work for them, find that their 5 year plan takes at least 15 years - especially if they are fitting that work around the rest of their life and cannot work full time on the house. Don't let it stress you out, keep it in small chunks, admire the bits that you have done and learn to shut out the bits that you haven't!

My house isn't tatty, it's "shabby chic" which is very "now", dahling. That's what I tell my friends. They think I'm talking cr@p as well!

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Hello Janie

So glad everything has worked out for you.

I agree with Penners & Co, renovate in small chunks. You will probaly find that as you clear and sort out each area that it will all 'bond'together smoothly!

Very Best of Luck and keep us posted.

 

[Lime]

I wish you the best of luck.
Don't expect things to go smoothly.

When you feel like crying, go for a walk.

 

[Pford75]

Congratulations.

I would also add that it's good to try and remember that there is life beyond your restoration project. Give yourself a weekend off now and again, you'll feel invigorated and the project will benefit in the long run.

Last weekend, even though the garden is growing furiously and there is guttering to fix and the cistern valve needs changing in one toilet etc. etc. my wife and I spent a glorious afternoon sitting in the sun sipping something cold, watching the kids play in the garden. I felt a little guilty...but actually, we needed it.

 

[dragonfly]

Our bathroom is still not quite finished 2 months on from starting - more due to availability of BIL (who is a carpenter) than anything else, although about a week was lost sorting out rotten timbers that we hadn't accounted for. Whilst fitting the extractor fan, BIL had to step onto the pantiled roof of the utility room. I said, careful of the moss, scrape it off if it will give you a better footing. No, he says, the moss is holding the tiles together and keeping it waterproof. So off we went this weekend to source hand thrown, 120 odd year old pantiles to patch in.

Now we know that another job to add to the ever growing list is to pull down the utility room ceiling to see what lurks beneath, having first got the roof properly sorted out. I feel another LBC application coming on.....


So anyway, the moral of this story is, yes it is daunting, but at the same time very exciting and gives you the chance to wallow in reclamation yards spending money you haven't got and planning how to spend the next bit of lolly that comes your way and feel rather smug and virtuous that you are a million miles away from h*meb*se & Ik*a!!
And that first bath in the (almost) finished room is well worth the wait........

 

[Moo]

When you feel like crying, go for a walk.

And then come back home, pour yourself a stiff one, and tell us all about it. If there's one place you're guaranteed plenty of sympathy and encouragement, it's here!

 

[JanieB]

Update :shock:

So I was told my bathroom would take about a week to install. We are now 5 weeks on. The warm floor mat is on, the floor tiles are mostly laid. I had to insist that the loo was connected as it is impossible to clear the house when it takes 40 mins round trip for a pee or whatever.

The bathroom suite has turned out to be a nightmare. We (my son and I) looked round several places, measured up and decided on a suite from B&Q. It turned up, but isn't the same spec as the one on show. The one we saw had a mixer shower tap and what was in the box is mixer tap only. They wouldn't exchange it so it cost me another £169 for the one I want. Also the basin, whilst still the same design, is several centimetres larger, and we've had to redesign the bathroom to accomodate the difference.

B&Q say that the suite is an offer in sealed boxes and we get what is in the box. I feel that when space is a premium I should get what is on show.

This is the first room . If the others take the same route I'm in for the long haul.

 

[Pford75]

Sorry to hear about your problems.

However, under the Sale of Goods act you are entitled to return any item (with proof of purchase) and as long as it is in saleable condition (ie. unused) you are entitled to a refund. Many large stores will try and insist that this is not the case, or that you must accept vouchers or a credit note....stand your ground and insist on a refund. Use Consumer Direct if needed.

I realise that sometimes you just want to get your bathroom finished and can't face shopping all over again...FWIW...family members have reported that Bathstore have some very competitive prices and also resolved some quality issues very promptly and satisfactorily (I have no connection with Bahtstore myself)

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Janie,

Glad to hear you are making progress - even if some of it is frustrating. That is inherent in the nature of what we do and makes the satisfaction at the end (anyone ever finshed a project??) all the better.

I'm surprised at B&Q - I've always found them very happy to exchange anything, even without a receipt. I know I've had receiptless refunds from them for things I'm sure came from Homebase next door!

I'd be inclined to have another go - maybe complaining to the manager or Head Office. If you have purchased a kit based upon the spec advertised or on display, and they have supplied something different, then it seems clear cut to me. Mention 1979 Sale of Goods Act - often does the trick. If not, you'll have to eBay the other taps.

Robin

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Snap Pford. Sale of Goods Act.

I have bought a number of suites from Bathstore over the years and found them very good indeed - and keenly priced if you wait for their sales.

 

[Pford75]

Re: Bathstore....My brother even managed to negotiate a further 200 quid off the advertised price (plus free delivery) on the basis that he was fitting 2 bathrooms....always worth haggling

 

[Nigel Watts]

I bought my North London house in 1999 and still havn't done the main bathroom. Before the credit crunch we contacted several bathroom firms and none many any real effort to follow up our enquiries. They must have decided that that had enough business elsewhere and/or that we were likley to be too demanding as customers.

I have now decided to do the design work myself and then find a builder/plumber to make it. I have started by making a scale model of the room. My next step will be to make models of the shower enclosure, loo etc, from dimensions downloaded from manufacturers' websites, then move them around to work out the best placing. There appear to be some great deals on bathroom fittings at the moment. Matki shower enclosures for example seem to be available at 50% of the list price.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I think you're likely to get a much better job anyway by designing it yourself Nigel. I've spoken before of megalomaniac Ron of Bathing Beauties, Muswell Hill, he charged a fortune and had hissy fits when I wanted gold taps, made me have chrome, and a load of other boring fittings with the obligatory buff-coloured travertine, a naff chipboard built-in cabinet, all for 7k. It does look good, tenants like it, but, I dunno, that kind of bathroom is so ubiquitous.

How will you approach the cupboard/cabinet decision?


Poor JanieB, how stressful. Hope it gets sorted out for you and you can get in a big bubbly bath with a large glass of wine and forget all about how long this took and how diffcult it was.

 

[ilona73]

Victoria Plumb has 60% off most items at the moment.. don't know if anyone is interested but might be worth a look

I have just bought this for our en suite from signature hardware.

 

[AMc]

FWIW there is often a massive discount available on bathroom furniture and fittings - 50% off the list is not uncommon even with the big names in my experience. In the bathroom showrooms be prepared to haggle hard.

If you search about online you'll find keen prices but a company up the road from me always seem to beat them ("Bathroom Warehouse" in Rackheath if you're in the Norfolk/Suffolk area).

You can also get very good deals from Screwfix if you subscribe to their newsletter. They've been regularly offering 10% off over £50 coupons - our Mira Discovery shower was cheaper than just the valve anywhere else (I only needed the valve, the rest will be ebayed). Screwfix also do a decent small range of utilitarian suites from the major manufacturers.