Owning your own home

Looking good. On purples, the previous owner here decided to do the bathroom in what I can only describe as "bruised testicle". Was a bastard to get rid of.

It was, took sanding, primers (2 coat), normal Matt white (1 coat) then Amey’s favourite farrow and balls.

The previous tenant have a dog, and the carpet that was there smell of wet dog constantly, and managed to find pee marks on the wood after it been removed (!!)

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Question for the hive mind, we were quoted £90 to get two door dipped to remove the paints, sanding it down reveal the wood to look ok, but can’t really tell if it’s original(ish) wood or just a cheap door that I could spend £35-90 replacing with a new one instead.

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Am no expert but if the door is nice and heavy i’d be tempted to keep it. Doors are expensive and those look like the traditional style at least.

I’d look for soft spots yourself by giving it a poke all over with something sharp.
£90 to get two ready to paint doesn’t sound too bad?

Fitting a new door would be a bastard job so just get these sorted. Can always paint them if the wood is a bit shrug.

Given the paint looks pretty thin and you've already started sanding, why not just finish the job yourself? Only 2 doors, days are getting short and such.

London prices are wild. We paid £20 a door, including pickup and delivery (and meeting a very loud dog). The doors we had were 5-6 coats of paint deep + a coating that turned into real sticky gross goop when even a little heat was applied. Would have taken years.

Glad to hear all this, we’re keeping the door as it does look.

Sanding them going to be a bastard in that gap thought even with a dremel

Doing the panels and the detail will probably be quicker by hand. Either wrapping sandpaper in a block of wood to get into the edges and some sort of sanding sponge for the detail.

London prices are wild. We paid £20 a door

How many years ago was that?

Last year, Manchester tho.

I'm also in the north-west, but often find doors going for cheap if not free on FB Marketplace.

Is that Setting Plaster?

I'd keep them.

We just had four doors replaced (they were horrible, yours look nice) and I showed the builder the knotty pine ones I wanted to replace them with. I got home and they'd fitted four doors with those cheap MDF fronts designed to look like wood grain, which my wife had signed off on while I was at work.

If you've got decent, solid wood doors, keep them - even buying a disappointing replica is quite expensive.

Yup, gonna be the bedroom.

Keeping doors!

Been quoted plumbing at £70 an hour plus VAT, it's a smallish (3h) job. High end of normal? London prices.

We've got it in one room.

We bought Little Greene "Light Peachblossom" for another which looked like an even nicer version of it.

It wasn't good at all, we had to paint over it and buy another tin of Setting Plaster.

£84 quid an hour isn't the cheapest but london innit. Wish I could get that although we are £60 first hour and £40 after.

Plimico the worlds most expensive plumbers are £120 an hour

Ta, thought so. I don't really want to get multiple quotes for a small job it just seems like a waste of everyone's time, they've got a good rep locally so will just go with it.

I've been trying to get any plumber to come and quote me for a job for 3 months. Pay up and consider the job done.

coating that turned into real sticky gross goop when even a little heat was applied.

Ours all had that. The best part is when you're using the heat gun and wearing flip flops and a glob of it lands on an exposed toe.
Like napalm.
Yes, I'm an idiot.

What @Grumpy_Git said, if it's a small job, I would almost consider any slightly higher cost the necessary premium of getting it done any time soon. You could probably save £50 - £60 on the job, but have a total ballache of multiple parties quoting and then ghosting you.

Saw this. HOW MUCH?

I’m in the wrong line of work

Dread to think what the hourly rate without the discount is. SIGH.

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Jesus.

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all this chat has reminded me I don't think I actually paid for my last boiler service

Pimlico were also the only folks of 23 plumbers called willing to come out on a Sunday to fix an exploded pipe (small baby, winter, needed heating and running water back)... pricey, but available and excellent service...