Bought house, what next?

Heart Break Kid

So after 3 odd months of uncertainty, finally closed and got our keys. Any recommendations for things to do next.

Things I think of straight away are changing locks, setting up electricity and gas. Anything else?

Break in the jax

Heart Break Kid

BrownFinger wrote: »

Break in the jax

Need to run a few trials , make sure its capable.

Graham

Heart Break Kid wrote: »

So after 3 odd months of uncertainty, finally closed and got our keys. Any recommendations for things to do next.

Things I think of straight away are changing locks, setting up electricity and gas. Anything else?

Congrats on the new house.

I noticed you said 'our keys', in which case I wouldn't worry too much about what to do next. The other half will be along very shortly with an ever increasing list of things to do next.

Enjoy

NickNickleby

Insurance.
Security - window locks and if you can afford it, an alarm.

Delighted for you, hope you'll be very happy.

Mrs OBumble

Make babies to put into the bedrooms.



(You asked!)

godtabh

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Make babies to put into the bedrooms.



(You asked!)

Or at the very least practice

Mint Sauce

NickNickleby wrote: »

Insurance.
Security - window locks and if you can afford it, an alarm.

Delighted for you, hope you'll be very happy.

If they have a mortgage, Insurance will all ready be in place. Agree with you on the locks OP.

Christen every room. Congratulations.

myshirt

Heart Break Kid wrote: »

Need to run a few trials , make sure its capable.

One flush. All gone. Like clockwork.

Alkers

Give everything a deep clean, note the meter readings and find out how everything works. Then start moving your **** in!
If.you have any painting or DIY to do it's a lot easier before all your stuff is in place

the_syco

Don't move anything in.

Get masking tape. Mark where you'll put stuff. Note the lack of plug sockets.

Get an electrician in, do all the plugs.

Paint the walls.

Move your stuff in.

=-=

If you move your stuff in straight away, you'll take a LOT longer doing the other things.

Wesser

Have a gin and tonic.

Bananaleaf

How much should I expect to pay for lock change?

SuperSean11

Pick your spot in the living room and get an ass groove going.

Heart Break Kid

Take a dump.
Practice makig babies. (In every room)
Makes babies.
Get my ass groove in a chair.
Drink booze.

All solid advice.

Any tips on finding out how the house works?
Old council house so lots of pipes and and stuff. Already immediately terrified of gas.

Em regarding a lok change, were actually getting a new door & windows so em couldn't say how much a lock change is, you could probably fo it yourself depending on the door.

splinter65

The main thing with me was always “where do I turn the water off?”
I know it’s cold today but if the vents in the rooms have been blocked up then unblock them.
You need a smoke alarm upstairs and downstairs and if the heating boiler is inside you need acarbon monoxide one too.
If the house has been empty for a while don’t be surprised if there are mice or bats in the attic.
Yourvin the property ladder OP well done and happy Christmas

Lumen

Heart Break Kid wrote: »

Already immediately terrified of gas.

I think Bord Gáis do gas safety checks. They're not expensive.

Has anyone suggested getting the chimneys cleaned/inspected? Chimney fires are bad.

L1011

Bananaleaf wrote: »

How much should I expect to pay for lock change?

DIY job if they're normal euro profile cylinders

Zoney

Find out what each switch or fuse in your fuse box does (if fuses, check if colour makes sense for the circuit). Check if you have earth connections at the light fixtures, if not, you'll need to only install double insulated fixtures. If you do, bear in mind existing installations may not be properly installed/earthed. If installing metal fascia switches and sockets, bear in mind you may not have earth at the light switches, which would prevent you installing them safely. Also even for the sockets, they may not be installed perfectly, e.g. metal back box not earthed as well as socket.

Check what the taps on your pipes do. Leave kitchen tap running and try adjust the likely one for mains shut off. See if radiators are hot all over, if not, may need bled. If you have a back boiler, check for the pump switch. Also check radiators upstairs and see if they heat up without the pump, providing a safe way for heat in the back boiler to be released. Clean chimney if using for the first time. You might need your heating system serviced, sometimes people don't really do that regularly enough. If problems identified, at least you are aware you're on borrowed time even if you can't fork out a few hundred immediately. Better to diagnose now before it stops working and either get peace of mind or know you need to save up the cash (or use credit card for fix instead of some new purchase).

Plan ahead, if expecting kids in future, get the largest capacity washing machine and dryer that you can. Good time of year to get a deal. Plan ahead for larger fridge freezer when arranging the kitchen. Get a super king bed for master bedroom if you can possibly fit it. You can use two single mattresses on the frame while waiting for a really high quality mattress to be on sale (check the full price expensive ones in advance to see which type you want). We got a €1000 one for €500, sound investment. You can do similarly for the bed frame, just use the two single mattresses together on the floor while waiting for a deal on something appealing.

Get an attic stairs installed if you haven't already, and some flooring up there. Even if just to have somewhere for Christmas decorations! Check that the insulation is sufficient and not blocking air flow at the eaves.

Get a screwdriver set, drill and bits, socket set, hammer, saw and hack saw.

If you have a small lawn, get an electric mower, way lighter and less hassle than a petrol engine. We got a pack a mow, takes up little space in the shed. Electric hedge clippers if you have leylandii hedge and cut it twice a year without fail.

the_syco

Zoney wrote: »

Plan ahead, if expecting kids in future, get the largest capacity washing machine and dryer that you can. Good time of year to get a deal. Plan ahead for larger fridge freezer when arranging the kitchen.

OP; do you have a shed, and if so, is it wired for electricity? Sheds are great for large freezers (allows you to bulk buy meat that you can live off for a month or so) and dryers (less chance of causing dampness in the house).

LirW

Zoney wrote: »

Get a screwdriver set, drill and bits, socket set, hammer, saw and hack saw.

This! Get yourself basic tools, even if it's just the ones from Lidl or Aldi, they do the job. Electric screwdriver is the best thing when you have to assemble loads of furniture.
The chances you'll use everything mentioned above in the first few months in the house are pretty high.

If there are open fires, get the chimney swept before you light the fire, you don't know how well they were maintained before. Ours weren't swept in a few years and we had about a 1cm layer of soot in it.

Also the chances that you're living out of boxes and have a lot of stuff standing around are pretty high. It'll take you a good while to unpack everything and settle in. The first year in your house is over in no time.

And last but not least: For your own sake if you don't have a dishwasher get one. If you have kids you'll realize you can't be bothered washing tons of dishes by hand when you can just load it and it does all the work for you.

Black_Knight

Zoney wrote: »

Get a screwdriver set, drill and bits, socket set, hammer, saw and hack saw.

Oh yes. This little guy is the hardest working tool in our house (7 months in now). Regularly drops to £19 on Amazon, and definitely worth it so far.

CeilingFly

Most important thing is to call around to neighbours and introduce yourself. Ask them to recommend a local restaurant / bar / shop - you'd be surprised at how such small talk and introduction can help in overall living experience.

As its an old council house many neighbours will be there for years and some will have "authority". Maybe also ask if there's a resident's group


Also as mentioned above

If you have a real fire, get the chimney swept
Get the central heating system serviced and at same time get the service person to check all the rads.

Change light bulbs to led.

Heart Break Kid

@splinter65: Still trying to figure out how to turn the gas and water on. Figured I'll get inspected first before I use it properly. Further have no idea what I'm doing with the boiler. Probably get a plumber to do an inspection too.

@Lumen: Chimney is another thing, it use to be gas but it was disconnected and covered wood, but will need someone to have a look at it too,

Cheers Zoney for the advice, getting an electrician to check the fuse box, its old and house will need to be rewired. Need a few new sockets and need to remove a few others. I do need to figure out how to work the heating, So use to just pressing a button and everything works. Waiting for January sales to get cooker, fridge & washing machine. Bough attic stairs today, just have to fit them. getting it insulated before christmas too. Doesn't cost that much. Also working on a small selection of tools.

@CeilingFly, Introduced ourselves to some neighbours already, most are very old(70+ years old). Some young couples have moved in but haven't seen them around. Somewhat awkward with one neighbour as we want to cut down a tree that overhangs into the driveway and kills some light. Conversation for the future.

Jellybaby1

If you do have a leylandii hedge I'd get rid of it as it is very high maintenance and grows fast, its also too big for most council gardens. But if you have the space I'd recommend planting an apple tree or some other fruit tree. I'm sorry no one told me to do that 40 years ago.

Mrs OBumble

Old council estate you say ... paint the front door some unique colour that no one else has.

Heart Break Kid

Punching the neighbour might kill them, probably give that one a skip. Getting a unique colour door that no one else has will probably happen.

Question about tap water:

House was vacant for 4-6 months and the water was slightly brown. We let it run for a while and its cleared up but is there any way to test if tge water is ok to drink.

Heart Break Kid

Heart Break Kid wrote: »

Punching the neighbour might kill them, probably give that one a skip. Getting a unique colour door that no one else has will probably happen.

Question about tap water:

House was vacant for 4-6 months and the water was slightly brown. We let it run for a while and its cleared up but is there any way to test if tge water is ok to drink.

Not sure on the test but make sure to let all taps and showers in the house run for a while as legionnaires disease is a risk whenever water hasn't be ran through piping in a while. Letting it run for a while should wash anything nasty that's developing away.

CeilingFly

Heart Break Kid wrote: »

Question about tap water:

House was vacant for 4-6 months and the water was slightly brown. We let it run for a while and its cleared up but is there any way to test if tge water is ok to drink.

These guys will do it for about €30 http://altesting.ie/services/water-testing/

You will need to bring about 1/2 litre in a sterile container (most pharmacists have them)