How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

Apart from the brick party wall which means exposed pipe work.

but alas the aesthetics is of concern to my better half

You've got to find a balance.

We didn't have a rad in our sitting room, and there was an easy spot in the corner behind the sofa so chose a short ugly one you wouldn't see.

We wanted/needed to move the one in our dinning room to gain space, but didn't want a really ugly thing to be so visible. My one regret was not getting the next size up, as I think we could have got away with an extra panel. But even though it's not as good, I wouldn't change it - it makes the space look smarter and more considered.

Cost wise I'm not convinced. Yes high spec fancy alu colmn rads are more expensive, but our nice looking one was still<£200.

I guess what I'm saying is see if there are spots you can put in a standard practical rad. Then save the form over function ones for where you'll see a visual benefit.

Yeah. No offence to your OH, but that is an exceptionally shit idea.

We used to only have a gas fire in the sitting room. We haven't had it on since we got a rad in that room.

• a faff to turn on/off
  
• you only turn it on when you're in the room so it gets cold and takes longer to heat
  
• creates a safety risk
  
• can't leave young kids on their own in there - a faff to clean all the little rocks, then put them back in the right order
  
• relatively expensive
  
  

I mean we managed for 6yrs with it. But it's definitely a shitter option all round. We inherited it, so that's fine. But spending your own money to put one in is mental.

Thanks gents :)

I did one using painted tgv pine.

That’s a much cheaper option!

So we are going with columns , we are not big ones for a warm house , so can live with that .
Any showrooms you can see these in south London ??

Possible Gas fire in lounge on hold until we do an extension ..
Off to buy 76m of Edwardian skirting now, and whole heap of fittings..

My next door neighbour is a very nice bloke and wants to knock his shonky conservatory down and build a proper kitchen diner extension and open up the entirety of the downstairs.

He wants to go for a beer with me next week because hes never had building work done and has seen me clambering all over my roof/nearly dismembering myself with an angle grinder/covered with paint on a regular basis and hes asked me to make a list of things that it might be useful to know on his first rodeo/things I would have done differently.

Im gonna make a list for him, but id be interested to know what people would do differently if they had the chance to do their building works again?

Me, I dont regret much but I do regret:

1)going for a cheap lvt floor-it does its job and looks ok but you can feel its cheap and engineered wouldnt have been a life changing amount more

2) i wish id given more thought to the lighting, all i did was go to screwfix and buy a load of spotlights and throw them into the ceiling. It would have been better to have had fewer spots better placed.

I think thats all I have for now apart from think about where your sink and dishwasher is and dont have a sink in your island unless u live in essex.

Any thoughts? What did u fuck up when you spent hundreds of thousands?

Talk to a builder as well as an architect early on - builders know things your architect might not.
Spend the money on the space, the finishes can come later.
Budget for more than you can possibly imagine.

Never spent that much, but a light coloured floor is joyless to clean.

For me the most important things are thresholds and glass. If I were to do it again I’d have the same flooring inside and out.

Don’t tell him what you spent on yours, it’ll break his heart / bank when the quotes come in

Hes already been given an initial broad costing of about 1/4 mil to do the work.

Loads of plug sockets. Much neater than trailing wires or having to plug/unplug stuff.

Private building control

There are a million tiles and some have long lead times

Bouji wall paint is a waste of money

Do what you like not what’s buzzing on Pinterest

Think hard about how you use your kitchen and what you’d like to have or what annoys you about the current one

Natural light (and good lighting) is very important

As a first timer get a main contractor that is responsible for all the trades so there’s no question of who’s responsibility it is to make things right.

Don’t accept “that’s how we always do it” etc. If something isn’t right, see it, say it, make them re-do it

Loads of plug sockets. Much neater than trailing wires or having to plug/unplug stuff.

Seconded. Also light switches, make sure they're on the correct side of doors etc.

Anything that needs chasing into walls/under floors/making good - do it now while the house is a mess, or forever hold your peace.

I used 3 coats of silk wood floor varnish - apparently yacht varnish is the good stuff ( being marine ply! )

Get @dbr to do his kitchen.

Some negging of light floors up thread. We have lived with forbo marmo 3584 White Chocolate for two years now, and probably still one of my favourite choices about our house.

don’t do it, it’s not worth it.

You’re prob just cleaner than me. House is constantly filthy.

Anyone reading this?
Would recommend 👌

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Not read it but totally agree with the light, space, nature, materials(things you touch)and decoration(art)

250k quotes seem common now, fuckin should have been a builder 😂

U and me both

Gas was the wrong game.

Someone i know has been quoted 390k plus vat for a cosmetic refurb of a 1700 sq ft house, and a 25 sq m kitchen diner extension and a 380 sq ft loft conversion near me.