Any interest in a build thread?

Corbally

I've just bought a house (1950's mass conc semi-d) and will be doing a lot of work on it. I will be probably be asking for some advice here so thought I might do a step by step build thread with pictures and costs etc. Would anybody have any interest in following it or would I be wasting my time?

I will be:
Removing a chimney
Adding a few velux windows
Some rewiring
Moving a bathroom to another room
New kitchen
Full decorating
Garden + Driveway
Making a double width opening in one wall
New heating
Plus loads of other jobs I can't remember

swailer

100%

TopTec

Yep. Threads like this, as long as there are regular updates are popular. The boat build was a scorcher. The personal touch makes for a better connection.

TT

Corbally

Regular updates shouldn't be a problem!

Anyone have experience cutting and drilling mass concrete? I've read it's hard but how hard? So hard it will wreck core bits or just takes longer?

Corbally

Here's a couple of rough drawings of my possible plans. Let's see how much they change over time.
I pinched this drawing from a similar house that was for sale. The black pen lines are the current layout of my house with the bathroom at the top of the drawing and 3 bedrooms to the left. Bottom right is the kitchen/sitting room.


The second picture is the proposed layout without building an extension. Move the bathroom to the small bedroom and then the bathroom and utility will become the sitting room with a double width opening into the kitchen.


Last picture is with a proposed extension. This picture is upside down compared to the other two. The north arrow is pointing nearly directly to the front door which opens onto a corridor that leads straight down the bathroom and third bedroom.


These pictures are from Facebook so not sure if anyone can view them. I can see them because I'm logged in with Facebook but if others can't see them can I upload pictures or is the URL the only way to add pictures?

TopTec

I can see them, don't know if I am logged into FB. Not able to enlarge though so it's difficult to understand the plans. A picture of the existing house might help?

I thin there is a rule about posting pictures under a certain post count.... one for others more experienced than me.

TT

Calahonda52

50 posts before links or pics so it will be well finished...
If there is rebar/mesh in the mass concrete then it is tough, been there done that

Double width opening, if it requires a beam, will require an engineer sign off if u want to sell

Corbally

I should be getting the keys this Friday so I will post some pictures then. I have some pics but I don't think it would be right to post them until I have the keys in my hand. I have a few questions someone here might be able to answer for me.

When building an extension does the wall construction have to match modern regs? IE Does it have to be double leaf with an insulated cavity or seen as how the house is mass conc and I will be insulating externally can I build an extension with solid block and insulate after? What other construction types for extensions are possible? Timber frame, cavity block etc?

What's the correct way to replace lead flashing on a chimney? There's some flashing loose on the lowest side of the chimney. Cut a groove with a grinder, put in flashing and repair plaster?

Last question: How much for floor to ceiling windows? Rough guess would be 3.4m wide and 2.4 tall. I'm toying with the idea of 2 big windows like this. One will be just a window and the other will be a window with a glass door. I will start ringing around when I get in and do some measuring but until then I'm just playing with figures in my head.

Thanks guys and girls

Corbally

Mattresses - what's the craic with them? I've never bought a mattress so should is a €1000 mattress worth it or is it all marketing?
Also, can I change the name of this thread?

TopTec

Mattresses? Yeah, I always wondered why they were so expensive. Tried a few out and the difference between say a sub 500e one and one above that is huge. I eventually got a king size for 850e and it is the best one I have ever slept on.

I have a cheap, 200e one on a double bed for visitors and I could only lay on it for a short time before Mr Back starts groaning. My advice.. buy the most expensive one you can afford.

TT

seamus

Yeah, the rule of thumb with mattresses is not to scrimp. We'd think nothing of spending €1000 on a comfy sofa that we might sit on for few hours a week, but think twice about spending that amount on a mattress that we use for 8 hours a day, every day.

Corbally

I think I'll splash out on a matress and scrimp on everything else! I'm going to Scotland next Wednesday to collect a jeep for someone so I think I'll load it up with bits for the house. I've been procing hoovers, washing machine, lawn mowers etc and I think I can make a decent saving

FrancieBrady

'Good shoes and a good bed', my father always said.
If you are not in one you are in the other!

Corbally

Few delays with getting the keys but I have them now. I've been in the house a few days. No heating but the Gas Networks guy is supposed to be here today between 8 and 1, I'll believe it when I see it.
Electric shower is knackered aswell. I'll put in a new one tlday. Grass is cut and weeds are sprayed so at least it doesn't look too bad from the outside.
Now how do I upload photos? Do I need to upload them somewhere else and then post the links?

Corbally

I saw somewhere I need 50 posts to upload photos, this is my 50th post so can I upload photos now or am I cheating?

muffler

hanksy123 wrote: »

I saw somewhere I need 50 posts to upload photos, this is my 50th post so can I upload photos now or am I cheating?

get your camera

Stoner

hanksy123 wrote:

I will be: Removing a chimney Adding a few velux windows Some rewiring Moving a bathroom to another room New kitchen Full decorating Garden + Driveway Making a double width opening in one wall New heating Plus loads of other jobs I can't remember

I did everyone of those jobs on my house, it's only semi mass concrete though.

If you have the budget consider a final wrap in external insulation don't spend any money on jobs it will cover up, like external finish etc. It will keep.the inside of your house the same size too save you thermo board , they can match into your neighbours too. This is expensive but you'll get a grant. Save a huge amount of external decorating wind need to be too fussy patching over opes , even things like electrics and plumbing could be run outside your house to save money, the external installation could be shaped to encapsulate it.

Stoner

hanksy123 wrote:

I will be: Removing a chimney Adding a few velux windows Some rewiring Moving a bathroom to another room New kitchen Full decorating Garden + Driveway Making a double width opening in one wall New heating Plus loads of other jobs I can't remember

I did everyone of those jobs on my house, it's only semi mass concrete though.

If you have the budget consider a final wrap in external insulation don't spend any money on jobs it will cover up, like external finish etc. It will keep.the inside of your house the same size too save you thermo board , they can match into your neighbours too. This is expensive but you'll get a grant. Save a huge amount of external decorating wind need to be too fussy patching over opes , even things like electrics and plumbing could be run outside your house to save money, the external installation could be shaped to encapsulate it.

Corbally

I'm thinking about external insulation. I need to get someone out to tell me which walls are load bearing or not. If I can't move walls my plan will have to change.

Any tips for knowing if walls are load bearing or not? One of the walls I want to move comes up between the joists in the attic. The only think I can see that's making contact with the wall is the ceiling slab so as far as I can see it's not load bearing. I want a pro opinion thought before I get the kango out.

Some pictures of the house:

Corbally

20160928_095738.jpg

20160927_114146.jpg

20160925_200810.jpg

20160928_095759.jpg

Corbally

20160928_095834.jpg

20160928_095844.jpg

20160925_195459.jpg

20160925_195517.jpg

Corbally

Havn't done much yet. Got rid of the weeds and cut the grass, widened the gate and the driveway because it was tiny, powerwashed the moss away, put in low energy bulbs, replacedthe back door barrel and put up a sensor light at the back door.
Electric shower isn't working so I'm washing in the bath. I feel like a kid every night and I'm on the look out for a few rubber ducks.
The house was fairly damp when I moved in. I could feel it in my clothes and duvet but I've the heating on every night and the wondows open all day so it feels much better now.
20160925_200727.jpg

20160928_102456.jpg

20160928_121242.jpg

20160928_160832.jpg

20160929_081441.jpg

Is there a better way to add photos to a post? With these pictures I took them on my phone, uploaded to dropbox, downloaded onto PC, resized with paint and then uploaded individually.

lgk

hanksy123 wrote: »

...widened the gate and the driveway because it was tiny

Presume you got planning for that, could cause issues down the line if not.

Alkers

lgk wrote: »

Presume you got planning for that, could cause issues down the line if not.

Or he drove into it by accident and never got around to repairing it :pac:

For posting pictures, I normally use:
https://postimage.org/
Just upload them en masse and then you can put a link to each photo in your post so that it appears as an image rather than a link.

Actually if you've already uploaded them to dropbox, you can just link to the photos on dropbox rather than uploading them to boards or another site again.

Corbally

Planning to widen a gate? Do you need it? They'll have some job getting me to put it back up...anyway, I didn't build anything. I knocked something down, I'd be very surprised if that pillar was a listen structure.

Alkers

hanksy123 wrote:

Planning to widen a gate? Do you need it? They'll have some job getting me to put it back up...anyway, I didn't build anything. I knocked something down, I'd be very surprised if that pillar was a listen structure.

It is required!

pippip

Chances are council will never find out.

I'd keep in the good books with the neighbours.....you don't want an anonymous tip off.

Right2Write

Rented a bungalow like that with mass concrete walls once. I never examined the structure much as we were only there for a few autumn months. But it was the coldest house I ever lived in. And it wasn't overly shaded or anything like that. So you'd be wanting either exterior cladding for insulation or else good insulated dry lining throughout.

Edited to add: exterior insulation would be best but as I see it's semi detached, that will probably not work. So see what the various neighbours have done as regards wall insulation and how it works for them. Do this now, as any major interior work like this is best done when you can gut the rooms.

Corbally

It's all down to money! Exterior insulation is expensive. Most of the exterior walls are dry lined but the job was a bit of a bodge so it will be coming down. I'll prob end you going down the dry lining. Waiting for a call back from an engineer. I'm going to get him out to see which walls are structural so I can know what I can knock. Started getting prices for windows today as well. Once I do all the quantity surveying it will be full steam ahead.

Right2Write

hanksy123 wrote: »

When building an extension does the wall construction have to match modern regs? IE Does it have to be double leaf with an insulated cavity or seen as how the house is mass conc and I will be insulating externally can I build an extension with solid block and insulate after? What other construction types for extensions are possible? Timber frame, cavity block etc?

Yes, any new building work must comply with current regulations as far as I know. As to whether you do this, depends of whether you need/ have planning permission, have a mortgage etc. This sometimes causes wee 'problems' e.g. we have a small step in floor levels upstairs as the floor joists in our extension are deeper than original construction.

You mention external insulation above - have you investigated this? It is the best job but will quite an impact on the exterior of the building, could be c 150mm added all round, including loss of window width etc. Semi-detached? You'd better talk to the neighbour!!!

Anything to do with windows, exterior door opes, chimney flashing etc., take care, get advice, look at good practice.. It's easy to build a waterproof box, nearly any fool could do it. It's the openings like above that are a little trickier, water has a habit of finding weaknesses

the_syco

hanksy123 wrote: »

Mattresses - what's the craic with them? I've never bought a mattress so should is a €1000 mattress worth it or is it all marketing?

If going cheap, go by brand.

Cheap brand will be bad, but expensive brand cheap can be good. For example; Sealy. Have gotten cheap Sealy mattresses from beds.ie that did me fine. Usually spent €200 or below on a single Sealy orthopaedic mattress.

Basically, look for expensive brand that are cheap.

=-=

Regarding photos, ensure widest side is no more than 800 pixels wide, as some photos can balloon in size.

Right2Write

hanksy123 wrote: »

It's all down to money! Exterior insulation is expensive. Most of the exterior walls are dry lined but the job was a bit of a bodge so it will be coming down. I'll prob end you going down the dry lining. Waiting for a call back from an engineer. I'm going to get him out to see which walls are structural so I can know what I can knock. Started getting prices for windows today as well. Once I do all the quantity surveying it will be full steam ahead.

Exterior insulation is expensive but it's by far the better solution. Look carefully at how to do the dry lining. One of the problems with a solid wall, is that rain water hits the outside, some soaks in and then evaporates back out. That's the theory, but some level of moisture will penetrate through. If you trap this between the inside surface of the wall and any timber for dry lining, eventually the timber rots. I think your best solution lies in plaster slabs that are insulated and have a vapour barrier etc. This are fixed direct to the wall. I've not done it, but from what I've seen, that would probably work best but get advice from others and manufacturers.

Structural walls? If you have access to attic space, just have a look to where the ceiling joists are resting on. It'll be the exterior walls but also possibly some interior walls. In our older house, the chimney even support some. These walls supporting the ceiling joists or other structural roof timbers are the ones to be taken into account.

lgk

hanksy123 wrote: »

Planning to widen a gate? Do you need it? They'll have some job getting me to put it back up...anyway, I didn't build anything. I knocked something down, I'd be very surprised if that pillar was a listen structure.

Yeah, you need permission to widen an entrance. If they find out and decide to act, refusing will land you in an expensive legal mess.

It's most likely if/when you go to sell that this might become an issue. Any decent solicitor acting for a buyer will seek evidence that any work carried out meets the building regs and anything that required planning is in order.

Corbally

I was planning on widening the gate by around 18 inches and moving the pillars back and putting up a new gate. I'll have to get planning for the extension so I'll add it into it then. Thanks for the heads up. Never ever thought of planning.

Corbally

Slow and steady progress. More weeding and grass trimming today and I hung a gate. It's a farm gate and I'll put timber on the front to make it look a bit smarter. 100 for a 12' gate in Stradbally. Found a hardware place with decent prices.
I'll put up a picture when Iget near a laptop.

Corbally

Picture of new gate. It's temporary and I'll be reusing it in the back garden. I have a trailer there that I don't want to go missing. I'm going to screw timber to the front so it will look a bit better. It's bolted into the pier but the pier is made with 4" blocks so not sure if it's strong enough. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
20161010_174120.jpg

These are my new curtains, again it's a temporary job. I messed up here. I was tired and rushed so bought them in a hurry. The quality of the curtains are good but they're a few inches short so I had to hang the rail really low. The rail is really bad quality as well. It cost me €40 so wasn't expecting it to be so bad. Lesson learned for the future.
I also had big screws and wall plugs to hang the rail. I forgot totally about the dry lining and didn't have fittings for plaster board so the rail is a bit precarious. Another mistake chalked up.
20161011_192749.jpg

20161011_192819 (1).jpg

The house is dry and fairly warm considering there's very little insulation. I had 2 leaking radiators that I've fixed but not sure if they will hold up or not.

I was planning on pulling down the dry lining when I decided what way I was going to insulate and it's a good thing too. I've noticed some rust running down the skirting where it's nailed to the wall so there must be damp behind the dry lining.

I measured and drew and was pricing an L shaped extension with a court yard and 8ft windows to capture the sun light. I didn't factor in 'Certification of Compliance' to building regs. I had assumed an electrician would certify his work and a plumber would certify the plumbing etc but from what I've read I need a chartered engineer or surveyor to do multiple site visits and charge me a fortune.
I've read a few conflicting articles on this. First I read that any extension over 400 sq ft needs to be certified. Can't understand why they picked a figure in feet instead of meters but whatever. The extension I had planned would come in about 50 ft too big so back to the drawing board.
I read another article saying if the extension is under 40sq m I can opt out of certification but that can cause issues down the line with insuring or selling the building.
I had an engineer booked to call out on Monday but I got called into work so had to blow him off. I'll get him out next week and grill him about the new regs and what I can and can't do.

FrancieBrady

hanksy123 wrote: »

Picture of new gate. It's temporary and I'll be reusing it in the back garden. I have a trailer there that I don't want to go missing. I'm going to screw timber to the front so it will look a bit better. It's bolted into the pier but the pier is made with 4" blocks so not sure if it's strong enough. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
20161010_174120.jpg

These are my new curtains, again it's a temporary job. I messed up here. I was tired and rushed so bought them in a hurry. The quality of the curtains are good but they're a few inches short so I had to hang the rail really low. The rail is really bad quality as well. It cost me €40 so wasn't expecting it to be so bad. Lesson learned for the future.
I also had big screws and wall plugs to hang the rail. I forgot totally about the dry lining and didn't have fittings for plaster board so the rail is a bit precarious. Another mistake chalked up.
20161011_192749.jpg

20161011_192819 (1).jpg

The house is dry and fairly warm considering there's very little insulation. I had 2 leaking radiators that I've fixed but not sure if they will hold up or not.

I was planning on pulling down the dry lining when I decided what way I was going to insulate and it's a good thing too. I've noticed some rust running down the skirting where it's nailed to the wall so there must be damp behind the dry lining.

I measured and drew and was pricing an L shaped extension with a court yard and 8ft windows to capture the sun light. I didn't factor in 'Certification of Compliance' to building regs. I had assumed an electrician would certify his work and a plumber would certify the plumbing etc but from what I've read I need a chartered engineer or surveyor to do multiple site visits and charge me a fortune.
I've read a few conflicting articles on this. First I read that any extension over 400 sq ft needs to be certified. Can't understand why they picked a figure in feet instead of meters but whatever. The extension I had planned would come in about 50 ft too big so back to the drawing board.
I read another article saying if the extension is under 40sq m I can opt out of certification but that can cause issues down the line with insuring or selling the building.
I had an engineer booked to call out on Monday but I got called into work so had to blow him off. I'll get him out next week and grill him about the new regs and what I can and can't do.

Know nothing about curtains but I would reckon a tap of a hammer on that block of wood holding the gate would have it open in a second. In fact, moisture getting in through the open end grain might see it fail around the fixings very quickly. Just a thought. Could you not get some iron work/bracket that will bolt directly to the wall?

Corbally

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Know nothing about curtains but I would reckon a tap of a hammer on that block of wood holding the gate would have it open in a second. In fact, moisture getting in through the open end grain might see it fail around the fixings very quickly. Just a thought. Could you not get some iron work/bracket that will bolt directly to the wall?

I know it's not the most secure gate in the world but I'm bringing my dogs to the house in the next few days so it will keep them in. They've been living in my mothers.
If someone has a genuine reason for calling in they can drive into the front garden and knock on the front door without having to go past the dogs. Without the gate the back was wide open so anyone could drive in and behind the house.

FrancieBrady

hanksy123 wrote: »

I know it's not the most secure gate in the world but I'm bringing my dogs to the house in the next few days so it will keep them in. They've been living in my mothers.
If someone has a genuine reason for calling in they can drive into the front garden and knock on the front door without having to go past the dogs. Without the gate the back was wide open so anyone could drive in and behind the house.

Well if security isn't a huge issue - protect those end grains, water will ingress and the block will split. Try siliconing a cap of anything rubber or even light metal onto it.

Corbally

I have great plans to make a steel bracket but in the mean time I might lash a bit of epoxy onto it. Thanks for pointing it out. I think of the timber splitting.

seamus

lgk wrote: »

Yeah, you need permission to widen an entrance. If they find out and decide to act, refusing will land you in an expensive legal mess.

Can you provide a link to the specific regs for this which define what an "entrance" is?

You don't need planning permission to remove or erect a boundary wall. So what's the difference if you knock a wall and then erect a slightly shorter one in its place?

Or knock the wall completely and erect nothing in its place?

What defines the "entrance" from the planning point of view?

Right2Write

seamus wrote: »

Can you provide a link to the specific regs for this which define what an "entrance" is?

You don't need planning permission to remove or erect a boundary wall. So what's the difference if you knock a wall and then erect a slightly shorter one in its place?

Or knock the wall completely and erect nothing in its place?

What defines the "entrance" from the planning point of view?

In my experience, issues around entrances normally arise at planning permission stage for a new building or substantial extension and change to site layout. It's an aspect that the planner and roads dept. etc., consider when an application like above is being reviewed. This is for obvious safety reasons. Once an entrance is established as safe and appropriate, I don't know what issues arise thereafter. In above case, the entrance is being widened a little but that arguably makes it safer.

There would be a clear issue if there was no entrance to the front garden and a brand new one was being opened up. But that's not the case here. Personally I doubt there are any problems but if I were the OP, I'd have a wee chat with the neighbours and make sure they're happy. More than likely, they won't even have thought about it.

lgk

seamus wrote: »

Can you provide a link to the specific regs for this which define what an "entrance" is?

You don't need planning permission to remove or erect a boundary wall. So what's the difference if you knock a wall and then erect a slightly shorter one in its place?

Or knock the wall completely and erect nothing in its place?

What defines the "entrance" from the planning point of view?

See here, for example. They're not going to define an entrance under planning legislation, the meaning is well understood.

Again, the exemption for boundary walls has criteria attached to state exactly what you can do without planning permission. The Acts contain a number of sections that deal with exempted development, if a change/development is not explicitly listed as being exempt, then planning is required.

seamus

lgk wrote: »

They're not going to define an entrance under planning legislation, the meaning is well understood.

Is it though?

Let's take a farm with a hedge all along the road edge and a gated entrance.

The hedge comes down. Has the "entrance" been widened? I would say not, especially since the farmer is still only going to use the same access point to get into the field.

But more specifically in an urban/suburban setting, the "entrance" typically takes the form of a dished part of the path which the vehicle is driven over to access the property.

In this case, the location of any boundary wall or pillars is irrelevant - the "entrance" to the property is still the dished part of the path. If they remove the walls, they're not going to start driving up a kerb to access their property. So the width of the "entrance" doesn't change unless the householder actually changes the (council-owned) path.

So IMO it's a mistake to say that the meaning of "entrance" is well understood. Since the definition of the word "entrance" is not necessarily contingent on the existence of border walls or pillars. If you remove the walls but vehicular traffic still uses the same 2m-wide track/road/concrete as the entrance, have you widened anything?

lgk

seamus wrote: »

But more specifically in an urban/suburban setting, the "entrance" typically takes the form of a dished part of the path which the vehicle is driven over to access the property.

In this case, the location of any boundary wall or pillars is irrelevant - the "entrance" to the property is still the dished part of the path.

Sticking to an urban setting, the entrance width/ position of piers will be established in the planning granted. Knocking the piers would effectively widen that opening, and as such would not be allowed without planning.

Right2Write

lgk wrote: »

See here, for example. They're not going to define an entrance under planning legislation, the meaning is well understood.

But that's Dublin City Council. What local authority covers the OPs area?

As far as I know, urban requirements as regards entrances are somewhat different to rural ones.

For example, take a street with front suburban gardens and on street paid parking. The local authority will take a dim view of any resident breaking or widening an opening into their front garden so as to provide parking there. Now the entrance cannot be blocked or parked on and leaving aside the visual impact, they lose revenue.

Rural areas, it's more about road safety. Is there an adequate sight line for people pulling out of the house entrance onto the public road. Is the entrance too close to a bend etc. Usually a splay is required at the entrance, wider than the actual road leading in, to enhance visibility. In this sense, the wider the entrance, the safer it is, as it's the adjoining ditches that obscure visibility and create a hazard.

Corbally

The entrance is on a rural road, on a bend with lunatic drivers. I widened it because if you're approaching with the house on your left you need to swing out accross the white line to get in. It's safer now. I am going to make it wider again but before I do I'll bell the CoCo and see what they say.

Corbally

I've just had an epiphany. The last week or two I've had a bit of a sore throat and I'm starting to get a rash on my face. I've never suffered with a rash or allergies so it's odd. I think there's mould in the house!!
It seems pretty obvious now but I didn't put two and two together. I'm going to strip one of the rooms tonigh and see what I find. Carpets, skirting, wallpaper and dry lining will be ripped out.
Anyone have advice for what to do if I find a big mould growth behind the dry lining? Wash it with bleach and wait and see if it grows back?

Stoner

hanksy123 wrote:

I've just had an epiphany. The last week or two I've had a bit of a sore throat and I'm starting to get a rash on my face. I've never suffered with a rash or allergies so it's odd. I think there's mould in the house!! It seems pretty obvious now but I didn't put two and two together. I'm going to strip one of the rooms tonigh and see what I find. Carpets, skirting, wallpaper and dry lining will be ripped out. Anyone have advice for what to do if I find a big mould growth behind the dry lining? Wash it with bleach and wait and see if it grows back?

Look at a ventilation solution.

bonzodog2

Are you sleeping there? Are the rads on a lot, or using dehumidifier? These can cause respiratory symptoms, maybe skin too.

Right2Write

hanksy123 wrote: »

I've just had an epiphany. The last week or two I've had a bit of a sore throat and I'm starting to get a rash on my face

There's a dose like that going around, time of the year for it with the change of seasons and temps, know plenty of people with similar symptoms. So don't necessarily jump to conclusions