How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

Jealous - we're waiting for a complicated operation to commence involving lifting boards, then putting down insulation, electrics and pipes for a new radiator before they go back down and get sanded. None of the trades involved are that excited because of the logistics involved, and the boards are tongue and groove (even though I think they're the original 1940s boards) so taking them up semi-intact will be a massive pain in the arse.

Thanks - just been in there :)

Howdens fire doors are what they got replaced with

Gentrification r us

We needed fire doors for building regs

Oh, we've had that. All the joists downstairs were rotten and got replaced, then insulation went in as well as a total re-wire and re-plumb of the house. Upstairs the floors are a bit slanted but putting them totally level would basically mean taking the house apart, so we're going for flat-but-not-level up there. But in a week or two it should all look like nothing's been done to the floor in years.

I've had a few doors dipped'n'stripped, and I really wouldn't recommend it. It fucks the surface of the wood, dissolves glue in the joints, and occasionally warps the door to buggery. 1/10, would not dip again.

Just bought 5 doors from Wickes- lpd doors that we saw at lunch and Wickes had on special- oak veneer and look well classy..

Wickes seem great overall I must say , which has been a pleasant discovery.

Update from us . We bought an Edwardian end of terrace in east Penge , and moved in a week before Xmas . Started in the loft room about two weeks ago, and will be moving down the house for a full revamp . Nothing structural thankfully, and windows / roof etc are good . Eaves opened and being boarded . Inbuilt storage order placed for three rooms , which is coming end of the month and should mean we can move out of the boxes ..

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Tile grout: Mapei, or Kerakoll?

Kerakoll has nicer colours, Mapei seems to be very well regarded... This is for encaustic cement tiles, around a bath, so mould resistance is paramount.

Also after tile sealer recommendations; again, for encaustic cement tiles (Winckelmans)...

I bought Mapei adhesive and grout on the recommendation of the chap helping us .

Thanks; how's it holding up? Did you use the normal grout, or the epoxy flavour?

We're also looking to tile the shower, so would love to avoid the grout discolouring/moulding...

I bought it yesterday and it is still in the bag. Got the anti mould stuff , in a colour 132 to match the tiles ish.

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Mapei Every time. Purely for the cycling connection obvs.

Especially this time of year

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Mapei UltraColour Plus grout and silicone with Lithofin Stain-Stop.

Make sure to order extra if going for one of the more obscure colours because Mapei do change them up every few years (ask me how I know etc.).

More importantly, make sure to seal properly because encaustic tiles love to stain.

You don’t have enough to do?!?

Hmm good point. I'm too knackered now after more hacking off today but will try to remember tomorrow. Expect progress to be underwhelming though!

Thank you!

I basically am stripping the entire thing back to brick, but I definitely don't have a £500k budget!

You really don't need to spend that much or strip back to brick for EnerPHit though. Remember we're planning on external insulation, so in theory you just wrap your house in EWI, use an external airtightness product like the purple gunk I linked to and suitable windows and doors and job's a good un. In theory.

I saw a good case study today which was social housing where they used Passive Purple on the exterior, covered it in insulation and the tenants didn't even have to move out.

I think our practical problem will be the loft roof - will be difficult to get enough insulation in without going higher than allowed. And fundamentally I'm not sure how much I care for certification, especially if I have to do things like spend several hundred quid on Excel files to achieve it!

Ah, forgot you're looking to wrap the house! EWI makes everything a breeze, for sure. Which product are you looking to use, and how thick?

I managed to squeeze 170mm of PIR into our warm-buildup flat dormer roof, and 180mm in the pitched part, exceeding building regs.

Wouldn’t recommend them for a bathroom refit, mind…we thought they’d be ideal as a national chain but turns out any old clown can pass their vetting and become one of their installers.

Initial install was such a mess we ended up with a total rip-out and re-fit after going through customer services and a regional installation manager inspection - 34 days of work in the house over the two installs (43 without a bathroom including weekends) and who knows how many hours spent researching, writing and generally trying to sort the problems.

Products are good, but their installers are an absolute lottery.

Sorry to hear that , thankfully we found a local chap to do our work, I just need to keep him supplied with materials - which I am relying on Wickes for .

My MIL had a surprisingly good Wickes installer. I was pleasantly surprised how neat all the work was.

We used Ardex for coloured mould resistant flexible grout and mastic. Builders seemed to be pleased with it and commented that Ardex is top quality stuff. Sure thats probably the same with mapei and the other stuff too though

Any radiators experts . Looking for the holy grail of efficient convection radiators that retain a traditional look . Just being told the column rads we thought looked nice are pretty poor choice if you want the house to be warm.

Think about the location in the room, because this plays a big part in the convective game.