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S1 EP 6 | The £100k Bungalow Renovation - End of week 3
69 Plays3 months ago
The builders begin! The money starts to flow out of Nick's account with the council and Thames Water to name a few sticking their hands out and Nick plasterboards the ceilings, begins the rewire and re-plumb!
Email - Hello@diyguyspodcast.com
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Transcript
Introduction to DIY Guys Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY Guys, the podcast where home renovations, power tools and mild panic go hand in hand. I'm Nick Morris. And I'm Dan Doher. And each week we'll be chatting with some property pros, some DIY diehards, and hopefully be able to help you with some tips and tricks along the way. Welcome back to the DIY Guys podcast.
00:00:19
Speaker
As usual, I'm joined by my good friend, Nick. How are you doing, Nick? Good, thank you, mate. How are you? Good, yeah, not too bad. I can't believe we made it to episode six. We're on number six. We could get confused about the actual number we're on, but yeah, number six. So yeah we're doing well. What are going be like at like 20? We're just not going to... I'm not going to mention what episode it is going on, basically. Exactly. And we do have more than six listeners, which is good, as well. Which is always positive. Actually, way more than I was expecting. So thanks to everyone so far who's been tuning in. Yeah, definitely. Thanks for everyone tuning in and also for sending in all your messages.
Dan's 40th Birthday Celebration
00:00:52
Speaker
It's quite humbling, isn't it? Yeah, we've got one we can talk about at the end today once I've banged on about my bungalow as usual. And also we need to talk about Dan turning 40 as well. So since the last episode, Dan is the old man of the podcast. 40, so what did you get to?
00:01:08
Speaker
ah Basically went out for a bit dinner with the family, know, nice bit of my own family and time and then also like spending time with my parents, brothers and stuff. nice Pretty cool. You went to the Transport Museum and that was so funny. What do you have to do when you've got kid? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Being a DIY guy's podcast, obviously did some DIY as well on the weekend. So that's always good fun. Nice one. Nice one. So yeah, I'm next on 14 February as well. So this is our midlife crisis podcast. hi
Planning Home Renovations
00:01:38
Speaker
That's it. Yeah. Next week we'll be getting the sports car. if We can afford one from the podcast. I definitely would. Second hand sports car. yeah
00:01:48
Speaker
But yeah, how's it going at the house? Good. I know last week we kind of spoke about you were expecting to get some information back about the windows. Yeah, so I've got information on the windows, I've got information about the builders, stuff I've been plodding around doing as well. I spent three days there. So where you want to start? Should you start the most exciting, the builders? Yeah, let's get into the builders. That's awesome. Such good news. um Dave and Toby, who are the builders you used and I have used at least half a dozen times. yeah um I got price from them a few months ago when we started putting in for planning.
00:02:22
Speaker
was in the 40 grand region, which I'm putting on my spreadsheet that we've now updated on Linktree as well on our Instagram page. If anyone wants to go on there, just go to our bio. There's a Linktree link and then the spreadsheet. All of my costs are on there, which is making me feel really vulnerable because I've said the whole, whole time it's 100 grand bungalow and that number's pretty much plugged out the air with some other experience but it's going to be a little around that i think but anyway um the builder's given me two weeks because he's got a delay in a job he's got some structural issues on our mate's house yeah which is quite amusing because i'm sure when we see him he'll be fuming yeah um so he's given me two weeks so they are they have started this week and they've been digging the foundation all week which is awesome that's amazing So when you get a cost for a builder, what are you like looking at?
00:03:12
Speaker
Like, obviously, some people might be out there who've never done this
Selecting and Evaluating Builders
00:03:15
Speaker
before. Are they specific things you're looking at? know you trust Dave and you've used numerous times, but are there certain things that people should be looking out for?
00:03:24
Speaker
100% I think um we've spoken to a few people. Well, we haven't aired this podcast yet, but we've we've spoken to someone who fell out of their builders and a few people. I think you really have to marry up in personality as well.
00:03:34
Speaker
I think if you don't actually like the sort of idea of them or their personality, i don't actually think it's right. and you've got going on but So I try and get a quote for for the bungalow. I just wanted the structural work.
00:03:47
Speaker
um So knocking down the garage, which I was tempted to do myself, but I've spoken previously about a shared wall with a neighbor. i didn't want to go and touch just in case her garage suddenly has a massive hole in it and I have to start spending even more money. So i wanted him to take down the garage, dig the foundations, which all like my carbon turn, a few of my my brother and few of my brother's friends were like, you could just dig the foundations. And now they started because I can't wait to tell you. is i'm so glad I didn't even think about it because he has absolutely meant to what they've had to do. yeah
00:04:19
Speaker
Foundations is so busy. yeah um so yeah dig the foundations pour the concrete and then do the block work and the brick work and the insulating in the cavity and then i've priced it to do all the stud work in insulating um up to floor level in the extension but i'm tempted to rip that out and do that myself to save a bit of money yeah but yeah i think it's really hard isn't i think it's like when you meet like a girlfriend or a boyfriend or whatever you know your friend you just got instincts about people haven't you yeah i always look for like a clean van and like them to be quiet i know they're builders and they're in digging holes and stuff but i feel like if they're giving you a quote for 100 grand they should be a bit more well presented and not like smoking in your house or dirty shoes on or something, you know? Yeah. And I always think, A, like the response time. Yes. Because the amount of time you ask a tradesman, they don't come back to you in bits and pieces. I always find that as a bit of a red flag. Yeah. i know people are busy and stuff, but
00:05:17
Speaker
Even sometimes I've had like Dave message me and go, oh, I'm thinking about this, but I'm busy doing this one. That's fine. I understand that people's lives get in the way and stuff like that, but that's sort of response time. And also, and know it's a sensitive subject about money, but sort of working out, right, we're going to pay you once a month or are we going to give you like 10% and then you're going to do like monthly installments rather than, know, I think a red flag is always, can you just pay me everything up front? Yes.
00:05:46
Speaker
know nine times out of 10, those people aren't um legit. That's a really good point. Actually you two really good points because yeah, I think you should never ever pay anything upfront. There's no need. Like even if they're spending like Dave always says he spends like 10, 15 grand a month on materials I'll build her. But everything's on credit.
00:06:05
Speaker
So they there's no way they're outlaying anything before they start your job. um But Dave always builds on a Friday. And I think that's quite common. It's quite demoralizing because you're like yeah, they're doing loads of work and it's on the weekend and then they bill you like 8,000 pounds. It's quite annoying, but it just makes sense because they're there Monday to Friday.
00:06:23
Speaker
You're physically seeing them do the work yeah and then they bill you at the end of it. and So that you're right. That's a really good and important thing. So I think to people at home, if anyone's asked you for money upfront, red flag, massively. Yeah, exactly. And I know sometimes they've got a lot rent machinery in bits and pieces, but like you say,
00:06:40
Speaker
majority of time is on credit right yeah and they've dealt with these companies time and time and time again like my brother builds garden rooms and they're probably spending like 20 or grand on materials every time it's all on credit in machinery everything's on credit yeah because they've got relationships over like a decade Dave even said that when he was looking, some of the Travis Perkins phoned him the other week and said, oh, I'm your new representative. Some of the stuff you're getting off us, you're like, we're barely making any money because they've given him like this bit really cheap add on other stuff and he was trying to like put the prices up. so
00:07:13
Speaker
That's a really good point. And I think, yeah, just gut feeling is is important as well. That's it. And like, you've got to open your house these people. So you've got to be comfortable and you can't always be there. Like I know a lot of people, especially now you can work at home, you want to be in when the tradesmen in, but you want to be comfortable leaving them and making the decisions and coming to you with, oh, we need to do this because there's always something that crops up, right? Yeah. And I always want to ask questions. I'd rather that,
00:07:40
Speaker
they're a person asks questions and just do something they're like well that isn't right or what i was thinking yeah and i think actually trying to be find out how they like to communicate as well because dave and i communicate a lot by whatsapp which i really like yeah because everything's written down for such a bad memories but if it's on the whatsapp it's there and he's really good at responding yeah a lot of the time now he does work but he's also just managing the other guys so he's in the van a lot texting or whatever Whereas my brother likes a phone call.
00:08:10
Speaker
So I know for a fact, if i text him, he's not reading it. So like, I'll be like, um how much cable on this job do you need? And I'll get nothing. So, but I say like, oh, actually calling might not suit someone like you in an office yeah
Foundation Challenges and Solutions
00:08:22
Speaker
where you just can't nip off, and but you could send a little WhatsApp while you're at work or whatever. So that's quite important as well. yeah But yeah, I think instinct and those points you made are really good just to get going.
00:08:32
Speaker
So yeah, they started digging the foundations and it's, um Obviously you expect, or I think people realize as you expect when you're digging foundation. So Gran obviously had a garage right next to her house, adjoined to her house.
00:08:44
Speaker
That's been demolished. They took it down in a day as I thought very easy. There's something I could have done to save some money annoyingly, but i just didn't have the time. And anyway, it's fine. Yeah. um So they started digging and what you're going to expect when you're digging up, if you did like a driveway or if you did a side extension, usually you'll have, you know, gas coming in, mains gas. mains water ah mains electrics and they've literally obviously found all of those things but there's also a drain in the middle of the garage so they've got the soil stack pipe coming from like the right hand side as you look at it going all the way to the left hand side i've got a rainwater plaque under there going from the right hand side of the left side there's the electricity coming in where you wouldn't expect it like front left they must have gone down i'll guess is like
00:09:31
Speaker
the split in between the two houses then split off like a Y, because it's just not where you'd expect it. um And then yeah the gas pipes in another bit and the mains water's in another bit. And so they have to like shutter around those points when they pour the concrete. um And even some bits they can't even dig out because the pipe's literally on show. So they they literally have to put lintels across there.
00:09:54
Speaker
which haven't actually seen done in a while. yeah They literally can't dig it because it's too risky of like hitting a drain pipe from a neighbor that feeds a neighbor's house. yeah but They've literally got, I think it's two, maybe five or six pockets dug now. yeah um Big ones, obviously, but they've just left little sections where it can't be dug. So I was like, if I was doing that, hey, don't know how to drive a digger. I know I'd have to learn this slowly and stuff. yeah They've also said,
00:10:21
Speaker
It's been tricky because the digger's been so close to the neighbour's house a lot and he'll be like doing something lightly, but then the body of the digger sort moves and hits, like taps the wall the house. It's like, oh God, that's all. I was like, it was job that you just need an experienced hand. I think maybe you could do it if...
00:10:39
Speaker
Maybe my house was easier because I had like a side plot that was nowhere near the neighbor's house. So maybe that would be the one you knew there was no mains gas mains electric. There was just, there probably would have been just the soil stack. Yeah. so That's like an easier one for someone to do. Yeah. I'm so glad I didn't even think about doing it. I was going to say like back is fine, right? Because like said, there's probably only a soil stack there or maybe like rainwater sort of thing. but Yeah, like to then take a digger, which you've never used yeah and then start digging bits and pieces up where they could be like, imagine went through the gas. Exactly. I mean, all the water, I mean,
DIY vs Hiring Professionals
00:11:16
Speaker
gas is obviously worse, but water just scares the pergesos out me as well. It's like just going and going and going. I'm so glad, yeah. Sometimes you just gotta pay people who are trained and better at you and what they're good at, right? Yeah, exactly. And so, yeah, so that's all dug out, looking good. And then next week they're gonna pour.
00:11:33
Speaker
Wow, that's crazy, isn't Yeah, and then they shuttered it um because I think we've spoken about this on the pod that in my house, we they were going to shutter it, ran out of time and it rained and it all collapsed. And Toby actually pointed out if you're still going Google Earth of my house, it's when it collapsed. It was looking all neat and I've got videos of it looking so neat and then on Google Earth is the one which just literally gone poof and it all collapsed. We had to dig it again. they've shuttered it all so it can't collapse. So I'm pleased because there's no worries of the neighbour's garage having a crack in it or something happening. So yeah it's exciting. It's cool seeing it like open and
00:12:12
Speaker
when you're in the kitchen now and you look through the window that was just to the back of like this patio garage space, and you can sort of envisage like the kitchen utility bit now and it's quite like exciting. It's like, it's quite nice size actually.
00:12:25
Speaker
That's it. And that is exciting. Like when you see the space, right? Because then you can start envisaging like, oh, this is going to go here and that's going to go there. Yeah. Do you ever get to that point and go, I might actually move stuff around or are you quite like set on like- No, definitely. it's Yeah, would be tempted.
00:12:41
Speaker
to like change things. i was like, oh, could the kitchen push into that corner where the extension is going right in the back corner and then it would give room for a dining room table and things like that. But I think on this case of how the architect, who's my father-in-law, so I have to suck up a bit, has designed it, just works for like the drainage and like the room. he He drew that back room as a study and I've changed it to utility. But other than that, it's um going to stay as it is. But yeah i have changed changed and tweaked things in the past. Emily changed a lot on our house as we got going. Yeah. as you like oh you Did you like remove a wall or something and do something and you're like, oh, actually, I think this could be X, Y, Z. Yeah. I think don't be so like stubborn about it. But yeah yeah, every change does cost money, obviously, down the line. I know, but if you're spending that much money, you've got to have what
Managing Renovation Budgets
00:13:30
Speaker
you like, right? Yeah, exactly. And actually, I'm going talk about money because just wrote money flowing out exploration. this
00:13:37
Speaker
It's the money grabbing time. So the builders are the first payment. I've got all my payments here. So it's on this spreadsheet. It's all started just to flow out now. It's like 4,800 at the end of this week. It's just gone. You're just like, whatever. Then he's hired machinery. He's had three people there, including himself.
00:13:55
Speaker
um you know He's obviously got to earn some money from it as well. yeah So it's one of those things that started coming out. And then the building regs thing that i spoke about last week has come in. yeah So for those that didn't listen the last episodes, I've got planning permission, but you need to apply for building reg application as well for someone to oversee, make sure it's done properly.
00:14:15
Speaker
I was tempted to go private, did a massive embarrassing 180 because they quoted me 1800 pounds and the building regs for the council came in at 864. So I've had to pay that this week as well.
00:14:28
Speaker
So that's five and a bit. And then building regs guys were like, I did know this, but again, because the builders surprised me with when they were going to start, they're like, you need a drainage build over drain application as well.
00:14:42
Speaker
yeah So I quickly did that before they started as well. and that was 520 pounds. So that was with 10s Walter. You have to go and say, we're building over where the drain was and we're relocating in the drain.
00:14:53
Speaker
And they again send someone out to make sure it's all done properly. So as I say, it's money grabbing week because 4,800 to the builder, which is 4,000 plus VAT, 864 from the council and then 520 from 10s Walter.
00:15:07
Speaker
yeah just like um My spreadsheets look so good up to this point. And then now it's brutal. feel like it's wedding right everything all comes at once when you pay for it and you're like damn it there goes all my savings so annoying it's like they say so much money goes into like the ground we're doing the extension and stuff but it's true isn't it i think you include the council and everything it'd probably be like 60 50 60 of the bills probably going to the ground and like for the extensions mental When you told me when I was doing my extension, like half of the money is just literally that sort of like groundwork and you don't stuff you'll never see again in your life. Yeah.
00:15:43
Speaker
You get money and it just looks like a bit of concrete on the floor. No, it's so depressing because you want money at the end when there's like quartz work tops and stuff. then that's when you're like, ah damn it. But... is what it is i can't be down about the builder starting early and im cracking on and the foundation is going down next week that's awesome let's hope the other job of our mates um gets delayed and'm i might try and go over there and botch something so gro yeah i'll take a hammer to a few things i've never seen you so happy about one of our friends having a major structure his wife moaned with me about um one of the weddings we went to as well as saying oh
00:16:16
Speaker
Your builder hasn't started yet. And now I've taken him away. was like, oh God. Oh well. But yeah, so windows as well as the other thing. So talk about money flowing out. So, well, actually this is what we're speaking about with the builder though. So this window quote,
00:16:33
Speaker
it's all been agreed and it's not just because I know him, um no money is going out before the windows
Window Replacement Costs and Choices
00:16:39
Speaker
are in. wow So with some window companies, you probably will have to pay a small deposit. But again, it's like I'm saying with the builder, yeah if you've got 50 grand, nice easy sum to say, by um extension or whatever, and they're asking you for five grand, it's just wrong in my eyes. There's just nothing. It shouldn't be happening.
00:16:55
Speaker
um so I've got quote, actually haven't totted it up, but £7,500 including VAT. it's probably what £6,000.
00:17:07
Speaker
And that is for the porch squared off. So I've got that weird hexagonal porch. I keep calling it hexagonal. Five-sided porch is really weird and ugly.
00:17:18
Speaker
yeah And we're squaring it off into a rectangle. so that's removing all the glass, I'll ask the builders, or maybe it's a DIY job for me to change it into a rectangle porch and make sure the foundations that are for that porch are okay. They should be okay.
00:17:33
Speaker
If not, they'll have to do that. And then he's putting in obviously the door and then three bits of glass. So just make it a bit more modern. So the big that was the big bulk, which was 3,300. So all the prices I'll give you, I just said they were all included VAT. yeah um so the porch squared off 3300 patio doors out the back so that's in the living room they're exactly the same as the patio doors that were there not making anything bigger or smaller um it's too small a room to think about like bifolds and stuff yeah and i think patio doors are really nice because there's less um edging yeah the metal less down the middle and obviously we're trying to keep this reasonably low patio doors 1800 and then kitchen window
00:18:15
Speaker
and then kitchen window with two openings equal sight lines 812 pounds so that's the window we are going to be extending i think i spoke about before in the kitchen yeah imagining that's where the sink's going go there's a window already there but we're getting rid of the door to the garden so we're going open up that window and make it bigger make it like a feature to look out again there's lighting as well yeah and then the two front bedroom windows as well so they're 900 and 800 just under 800 pounds for those well And whilst those prices are good, it's actually for like, I'd say a higher premium of Windows. It's basically copy in my house, but the cheaper version of that. So it's called Krommerling. So K-O-M-M-E-R-L-I-N-G.
00:18:57
Speaker
a o m m e r l i n g they are like a make and anyone can google them so common yeah flush 70. so they it's supposed to look like timber aren' the youpvc yeah and they've just got 70 mil edging the whole way around so 70 mil actually sounds a lot it's really not just like like that isn't it going around so it just looks really neat and nice and it's going to be anthracite gray on outside and white on the inside which i haven't done for ages and i didn't know if it's gone out of fashion but i just think i need something to make the bungalow pop a bit and loads of neighbors have done it it looks good yeah i think so and that would affect like obviously i've seen yours like it's so good like it does look like wood doesn't it yeah and i've gone down the road and seen some that are just like if you say to a window guy give me the cheapest upvc you can find
00:19:49
Speaker
I was looking and I was like, we could go down that road, but it just doesn't look as visually appealing to me and we're selling it. And yeah some people might not care, might just need it for the double glazing and the insulation. yeah i was like, this is a house that's being sold. It needs to look instantly like, oh, this is nice. yeah And also we're not spending money on things like the drive or the patio or the garden.
00:20:09
Speaker
So it can't just can't come to the front and all looks a bit old and ropey. It's got something like popping about it, I think. Yeah, definitely. And it's just worth spending that little bit extra, right, to get something that's a bit more premium. Like windows are a big deal, like the amount of heat they let out and, you know, the amount of noise they let in. It's quite important to spend money in those sorts of areas, right? Exactly. so I'll all this in the spreadsheet, but I've still got the extension windows and doors to think about. So that would be...
00:20:37
Speaker
um a window in the front bedroom, which would be, i imagine that would be the same sort of price as this front bedroom here, like probably about 800 or less. Window utility. Again, that actually that would be cheaper, I think, because that would be quite small because there's going to be a back door in there as well. yeah And then back door, front door is something going to have to do.
00:20:56
Speaker
was just thinking in my head, was like, is the front door nice? And I was like, it's really nice. back in the back door, the front door will need to do it as well. as So I think Early ballpark, it would be like 10 to 12,000 max on those, but hopefully 10 is realistic because i'm i'm up here I'm at five, six, seven, eight. I'm less than eight.
00:21:17
Speaker
yeah Another couple. Front doors are quite expensive. So may be eleven maybe 11, maybe 11, hopefully. Yeah, because front doors can set you back a couple of grand, can't Yeah, we Emily and I spent a lot on our house, but I think it's slightly different, isn't it, when it's your own? like We've just got to try and find the nicest one for blood the most reasonable yeah cost um and I don't even know what style to do either because it's a 50s bungalow. yeah um So then the brick's not that attractive so it's not going to be like a nice 30s door or Victorian door which are expensive. yeah um So yeah that'd be something to look into the moment. But yeah as I say cost week has been a bit
Cost-Saving Renovation Strategies
00:21:57
Speaker
overwhelming but um
00:21:59
Speaker
I'll put it on the spreadsheet, but probably not under like the paid section. You almost need to be like pending or something. yeah Yeah. I've also been putting on the spreadsheet what we've been speaking about savings. So I just put this, this is obviously something that most people can't do, but I saved about 1500 pounds in architectural fees because my father in order did it. That might even be a low ball, but I think structural 600 pounds. We spoke previously about saving using that online company.
00:22:25
Speaker
and all the asbestos test as well, which we've spoken about using the Amazon test, saved about 600 pounds as well. So I'll keep trying to document that as I go. And hopefully people find it useful because everything's on there. I think some things like but the drainage crossover thing people might forget so hopefully it's of use yeah definitely and we had to do that vars because similar to you there was a drain where we were extending to so they move it over and then like you say you have to pay thames water for the privilege and nothing you've got some blokes turn up and go yep that's definitely a drain yeah that you need to move that yeah i know know yeah where are you going move it oh there yeah that's fine It's literally that is all it is. It's just a money grabber, isn't Yeah, oh, massively. Fix all the pipes bursting in the whole world. Yeah. So yeah, so that's all what everyone else has been up to, but then it's been what I've been up to yeah um I've been there three days. um I've been working alongside my plumber to rip out the cylinder and the pipe work. So the cylinder's gone now.
00:23:25
Speaker
um Amusingly, I told you this off, I think, but I'll say, the cylinder is like a really nice copper one and i'm going to do a video about scrapping all the copper because i think there's probably like at least six seven hundred pounds worth but the plum wants it for a garden feature which i'm absolutely fuming about there's no ways going list as podcasts i mean years it was i can just basically go and or flag off yeah exactly god use i've taken a cinlin the day before and i got like one hundred and twenty pounds yeah this is like a slightly bigger one
00:23:55
Speaker
and apparently it's the best price ever for copper don't know if all this is changing because I've heard all this gold and silver has gone. men yeah but So I reckon I could have got like 150 quid for it. And he's like, oh, just ask the guy on your day I'll give you the money. But I've known this guy for so long. so I'm going to have to do that for the purpose of the video I'm making about scrap price and stuff. But I'm secretly so annoyed because I was going after thinking about how the video is going to look. was going to put the cylinder with all the scrap next to it on the scale, the thing and that's just going to be a load of copper tubes in there. So I'm feeling that too. I have to do like a little black outline of the cylinder, like what could have been. What AI it was on with. Yeah, I'm so annoyed. He said, yeah, it's perfect because he said there's no like,
00:24:38
Speaker
there's no mesh on anything stuck to and it looks really attractive so it's going to turn into a garden feature i was like oh man that's so annoying so yeah so we'll be ripping out copper so i've got a good stack of copper now that keep taking home just because of the thieves and we're writing about the old thieves you know have no side yeah and then i've been boarding the ceilings wow and i've been um had my old friend the plasterboard voice yeah you got the hoist out your favorite favorite girl uh yeah 100 and 106 pounds think something like that from my house I bought my ceilings in my house pretty much mostly by myself although my carpenter does listen to this and he did help me a lot he's secretly fuming he's like in a minute he did help me do most of upstairs I did do a lot of downstairs by myself yeah um
00:25:25
Speaker
so i've had that going so that just literally works by getting the plastical sheets putting it on the hoist and then then you like hoist it up yeah unintended go spread and see you and then you get your gun and drywall screws and just go around fixing to the joists yeah so it's taken i've basically done like a room per day almost um which is quite slow but i even though i've had the ceiling tested for asbestos yeah i'm worried Artex is just renowned for having it and I've only taken samples from here and there so I just wanted to like not destroy the seamstress by finding the joists. I've had to go up in the loft, work out where the joists are yeah and then go downstairs and transfer it and then use a chalk line and put it on the ceiling. It's been quite hard and there's been so many times where I've missed obviously. because you guys the wall might be out or my measurement might be out it's quite hard but i'll usually start right and then as i've been going along i'll just start to miss in the middle so i like shift it and go little bit so the ceiling does it like he's had a machine gun to it point it's mostly been good and mostly the first rooms in the longest which is the smallest room a i think because i'm massively out of practice yeah haven't we've been in our house a year and a half so i probably haven't boarded for
00:26:36
Speaker
like a year and nine months or something. And and actually a small room is a faff, because you've got these massive plasterboard sheets.
Ceiling Boarding Techniques
00:26:45
Speaker
And you're like, oh, I need it the other way. And you've got to go, oh, the hoist is in the way, the ladder's in the way, the hop-up's in the way. It actually took me the longest in the little room. And then Gran's old room, which is a big room,
00:26:55
Speaker
yeah it's like flew up that's awesome yeah nice yeah but don't know you've got plastered up in sections where you can't use the voice because it's like oh by yourself it's so hard i did that in my house all the scenes i did it was me and my father-in-law sorry martin but he uh he helps and it was a lot of like balancing and then you get it up and it like doesn't quite fit yeah like surf it down a bit and then you're like just like just feel the neck pain already. Yeah. So in the hallway, I can't think what the width was off the top of my head, but it's got to be like that. So like 90 centimetres. Yeah. So I was like, oh, a hoist can't fit down, i just got to do it. i'm by myself. So I was cutting the length short. So they're not heavy. They're probably like...
00:27:37
Speaker
six seven kilograms but after a while was holding anything above your head yeah so i was like trying to pin it with my head missing the choice and honestly the whole ones were such a bad job i did there's so many holes gonna have to get the old screen tape and put it all there so it's all done properly but yeah it was so hard if that was hard the whole was harder than like any other room yeah and there's literally 90 centimeter cuts yeah and ridiculous i was like just swearing constantly chucking plasterboard around everywhere yeah So yeah, so all the scenes are boarded. Next week I'm going to start in the living room bit and I'm going to do like as far as I can go. But my plan next week is to take down the wall in between the living room and the kitchen.
00:28:20
Speaker
So the builders being there this week have told me, I i think I've said previously, I suspected it was... um a solid wall yeah and supporting wall of the joist above because you can see the joist sitting on it and i'm taking it out so they've obviously done an acro for me and a scaffold ball to support that and i can then take down the wall and then they can put in the lintel it's only a lintel going in there actually it's really awesome yeah it's so handy having in there because i'm I could take the pillar to certain set like was it said like anything over like 40 centimetres is fine. Yeah. But on one side I've left 60 because I thought the kitchen could end there and butt up against it. Yeah. I'm going to leave 60. And at the other end, I was trying to work out what distances to have, trying to think, oh, would a sofa fit in here?
00:29:05
Speaker
and trying to think forward as much as I can. um But then they were like, oh, well, there's a lintel that's like 2.4 meters. So don't you do the opening at like, you know, 1.8 or something. Yeah. And it's stuff like that. it's just so helpful having like the guys that do it all the time there. Yeah.
00:29:20
Speaker
And that's it, isn't it? It's like, I know you get plans and everything gets signed off, but these little decisions as ah as you're doing them, you're like, oh, I want to change that, like make the wall slightly bigger and
Removing Walls Safely
00:29:30
Speaker
smaller.
00:29:30
Speaker
um I know we definitely did that, like you say, like working out counter depth and then how far the walls come out and stuff. Yeah. because You do kind of have to work on the fly a bit. and Yeah. So I'm looking forward to that, although it's a physically demanding job. but I'm just going to like allow one day to do it, take it out. yeah go away for a bit because I've got a rewire for someone else and come back and do it fresh again. yeah And they said I can borrow their grinder as well and borrow their sort of heavier duty drill as well. So that's pretty good. yeah And actually I totally forgot, I'm selling myself short here. I would do an electrical chases and plumbing chases as well.
00:30:05
Speaker
I've had the old chaser out. Obviously I said before, where I've been stripping walls, I've been thinking about where things are going. because you're just standing there for hours and hours and hours. yeah So I've chased all the walls for bedroom one, bedroom two, hallway,
00:30:20
Speaker
and the living room so far um sockets and lighting that's all chased out i haven't fixed anything back there or run any cables yeah and then i've also done some for the plumber as well so they're like deeper chases for the pipes yeah and taking into account the bends and soldering and stuff just for the radiator drops as well because i said the more i can do yeah and it's one of those things you know when you're just filthy yeah might as well just keep going and do like as much as like on this room i'm not going to leave till that radiator pipe's done those three sockets that light switch that light Yeah. Now the ceilings are balded.
00:30:52
Speaker
I can then drop the cable through as well and actually start like changing it over. said So that was cool as well. So I've been doing that as well. But um the place was an absolute tip and I had a really therapeutic Thursday.
Cleaning Up Renovation Debris
00:31:04
Speaker
So I've just been like leaving them, like tying a bit of a heavy rubble up and leaving the dust, leaving the dust, leaving the dust. And I finally the point where I was like, right, getting too stressful and i cut all the carpet. Nice. All the carpet, all the dust went with it. Yeah. And I've got a specials tiles underneath, which I knew, which is obviously a pain in ass. But yeah the beauty of it, and they like clean like a dream. Yeah. literally just brush everything. ah it's amazing.
00:31:29
Speaker
I mean they're black, I can't believe that ever in fashion, just have like a black tile running through the whole app, let alone it could kill you. It's been really nice actually because now when I'm tired and it's easy to sweep and stuff, I just need to be really careful because Imagine if a brick falls on your special tire it breaks, that's yeah's dangerous. So it just needs a lot of planning now of like, okay, I need to put a sheet of plywood down or something for XYZ to fall on that.
00:32:05
Speaker
Or just leave some of the carpet in bits where need to do like the massive work. but So yeah, it's been really therapeutic take the carpet It feels so good. very nice to do that. How many skips are you at? Because it sounds like you've ripped a lot out. Yeah, so I've filled up one. I'm on my second skip. Nice. I've got a £2 discount for no reason whatsoever. I don't know why. It's only because I'm writing all this down. i probably wouldn't even remember. But it's the first one was £3.20 and this was £3.18. I idea why. I wrote this down on my notes. as well It was the best service ever. It must have been luck.
00:32:36
Speaker
Because Norris skips, I don't know where they are, if they're like countrywide or just near us. Yeah. um And I phoned them. but i was like, I've got a skip. can I have a changeover? She was like, yeah, just give me second. She was like, oh, pick up in 20 minutes.
00:32:50
Speaker
And I was like, oh, I'm not there. She was like, that's fine. Don't worry about it. And literally the neighbor across the road was oh, you're a new skip. I wanted some timber out of it. I was like, oh, sorry, mate. I just couldn't believe it. It was obviously luck of the draw. Yeah. Yeah. Can that count as a two pound saving in the saving collection? Yeah, getting in there, mate. I don't forget. I'm embarrassed to do that.
00:33:10
Speaker
So yeah, new skip as well. So as I said, my costs have been really low. announced And now the bill is ruining it all. Selfish of them wanting to earn a living. Exactly. Absolute comeback. So yeah, that's all I've been up to.
Discovering Treasures in the Loft
00:33:25
Speaker
I mean, I've made a few other notes, like I found some random vinyls in the loft. Oh, that's cool. Frank Sinatra up there. someone else I can't remember. I was to say Buddy Holly. Was he an actor?
00:33:37
Speaker
No, no, he was a singer. Someone else like that as well. So I went to Dad, was like, I didn't know Graham was into Sinatra. There's literally like six of them. Yeah. And he's like, she was... I was like, well, she must be. She must be. I was like, oh, so I just left it there. was like, don't know what to with this. I'm hoping one of them's worth like eight million pounds or something. Apparently they're sort of back in fashion for selling. So I think I won't sell them all, but I'll look into obviously some more I'm going to do them. It could be like a little thing to remember her by as well, even though that says nothing to do with her. Maybe she's a thief, I don't know. Sinatra was part the mob, right? So maybe your man's part the British mob. I'd be slightly proud of that. Is that weird?
00:34:22
Speaker
So yeah, we're looking to get rid of those as well, I guess, as well. I'm to keep one, but I don't feel like they're going be worth anything sad. Although did sell... A Beatles one from a house I found once in the loft. It got over 100 quid.
00:34:34
Speaker
Wow. don't know. It was ambitious, but if I got anything over 100 quid, that would cool. Are they like cool working ones? Like, could you frame them and like put them Yeah, that's what I thought. And obviously the vinyl's all intact and stuff. And she's got loads of books and stuff up there that i need to get down. and I need to like tackle loads of stuff in loft. There's like an old, there's two old water tank, you know, those metal ones that everyone has, the silver ones. It's one of those things I could not do it. Yeah. A viewer's probably not going to go there, but it's just morally, I still feel like if you're doing a job, you've got to do it right. So um' I'm up there wiring.
00:35:07
Speaker
It's going to take me an hour to get rid of it or something. so Will that fit through the loft hatch then? I'll have to cut it up there. and Yeah. I'll have to get a grinder. That's why ours is still in the loft. is shamely yeah that's the thing but yeah we've got plastic one which obviously just so sharp but there's that metal one yeah the plastic one we had one easily cut it and i was like this metal one it's just like in the corner like yeah it doesn't really matter but i'll just thought oh i've got to skip i'm removing stuff why not just someone does put their head up there it looks quite nice i guess but yeah both of you know unless you think about extending up there one day i don't know Yeah, but even then, when the roof's off, it's easy to take that out, right? Yeah, yeah, exactly. So maybe, anyway, it's stupid not to do it, I think. I've got the time to do it.
00:35:53
Speaker
I'll just squeeze it in. Maybe I can moan about it on here as well. Yeah, exactly. Would you get any scrap for that? What's it made? Yeah, I think you would. is's probably that... It's not that really heavy stuff that's worth all that cast... Is it cast iron? Cast iron, It looks just... I don't know, very good with that sort of thing. It's so strong. was thinking it must be stronger than tin. don't know what that's Everyone knows. Please tell us. Yeah, that's it. There must be something for it. If I'm going there with the copper, might as well shove it in, right? Unless it weighs an absolute ton, but that could also be good. Yeah, yeah. I don't think it's cast iron. I think it must be something else. No, yeah. So, yeah, we might as well do and add it to the video. Why not? Yeah, why not, yeah.
00:36:30
Speaker
I think that's it. Apart from I spoke previously about getting some freebies, and I'll be really transparent with all my costs. yeah And I've managed to stack the skirting. Nice. Which is nice. i's I've got 30 lengths of OG six inch for free.
00:36:44
Speaker
Amazing. So it's a company I've never dealt with before, but they've got loads of branches of different things. I'll mention them as not now, but when we go to install down the line. yeah um And they sent me a sample. it was obviously just like standard skirting, looked really nice.
00:36:57
Speaker
um and they were like yeah we've got it all now if i want to send it i was bit like oh so i've sent it to my house and which might would be a massive like pay me ass in like two three months or one month whatever gonna do it was just like it's gonna be so it's three meter length 30 of them and i think everyone when they're having a rena has that thing they move around constantly and annoy to them so i thought just have it my house in the garage is kind of better how are you going to move three meter lengths uh so it'll be on top of one of my steward's van or my brother's business partner dave's he's got a truck yeah i got in the back of that yeah but i have to ask for a few favors yeah i'm glad i've got it there already though because i've had over 20 sheets of plastic all do the ceiling yeah and i've used 15 of them i think and there's five and i keep having to move five and it's so annoying and they're only 2.4 meter lengths or whatever so it's it's not like my house where we were a bit lucky have to have a bit more space to store stuff yeah so i'm so glad there's actually not mine but yeah it's probably going to be ah an inconvenience down the road especially plasterboard every time you try and move it just like you just like I can't now use it that's so heavy I bought those plasterboard ever seen plasterboard gripper things no it's like um it's like a handle and it goes under the plasterboard it's plasterboard carrier think it's called oh amazing oh it's really clever But I just did get on with it. We moved so many sheets in my house. when We had over 300 here. yeah I just thought it was easier i putting it like under my armpit. I was at the front.
00:38:25
Speaker
I had like a laborer, a helper at the back. Yeah. And my dad helped me for a bit as well. um It was just easier. But it's actually a really clever idea. It takes a lot of the weight sort of out of your back and stuff. It was good. But yeah, I've used those before. But yeah, they might be worth a shout out for someone doing DIY if they might help you. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
00:38:44
Speaker
They're just awkward to carry, right? Yeah. 2.4 meter ones. You're like trying to go like that and like move it around. I weigh 25 kilograms as well. And the um the other ones, the bathroom ones, I think weigh 30 and the fireball ones are like 35. Yeah.
00:38:59
Speaker
It's ridiculous. Crazy. You ever seen those guys? i I've always said this but in Mexico or wherever. No. And they they do it. So literally one guy's measuring. And the other guy runs around and goes, I mean, literally, bought like a room this size in like an hour. is Wow.
00:39:16
Speaker
It's so fun. It's so good to watch. My follow on Instagram is absolutely fascinating. He doesn't even really measure properly, like scores. Oh, yeah. So he just goes with the same measure, goes score, and goes one cut with a knife somehow, whereas I have to do about six. And he just cuts it and he's balding. It's awesome to watch. That's how the hell they do it. That's all they do. More depressing for you when you're doing it. It takes like four days. You're like, this guy done it like an hour. And he's like, no one shoots. It looks like Tommy gun up there as well. Exactly.
00:39:45
Speaker
So yeah, I think that's the progress. And then next week, yeah, the builders are pouring the foundations, which is, um I think they're doing it by hand, like they're wheelbarrowing it in. don't know why, it must be slightly cheaper for them, I guess. I thought you'd just get the thing and pour it in the little segments. But maybe it's because it's not as large a large amount as well, as so they just barrow it in.
00:40:04
Speaker
um is what they said they're going to do and then i'm assuming then they're going off for a bit so hopefully the other job gets delayed some block work and stuff can come up yeah at least six weeks seven weeks early to start my job so feel like i'm ahead yeah definitely but then is your job gonna then start getting pushed back right yeah exactly so there'll be delays but there's just i'll just go back to doing internal works and stuff removing those kitchen walls The windows going to be put in wherever they're really i in. I mean, they're ordered now, so the windows will start going in. the front two bedrooms, and then once the front two bedrooms windows are in, I can drop the pipes or ask my plumber to drop the pipes and start actually plastering some rooms, which feels minimal. The bedrooms are kind of easier to just think about. It's like bathrooms and kitchens and yeah stuff like that. way more planning and way more work.
00:40:52
Speaker
But yeah, i can definitely do the two bedrooms at the front, I think soon. Amazing. Yeah. That's so good, wouldn't it? There's nothing better than like the first plastered room, right? So nice. so I was like, should I do it just in case the building work like cracks it or something? pass i've done it before and it never would. It's like, what the buildings doing with bricks or the blocks? I'm just smashing it into the wall. yeah so just like It's just good to get... we We've spoken to a few guests as well, just concentrate on getting one nice room for yourself.
00:41:19
Speaker
You can have like a place to plod and eat lunch or whatever. Or if you're living in it, it'll be like your bedroom so you can sleep in it or cook in it or whatever. yeah I think that's key to then start to have a few rooms. You're like, oh, that's nice. You can think about painting and stuff, which is ugh. I think this one will be easier than my house because it's smaller so I think it's more attainable. I just didn't have it in me in my house. You know, the energy. yeah i was exhausted. i just couldn't do it. Are you going to go like white everywhere because obviously you're selling it and people might want to put their own stamp on it or do you try and use a bit colour here or there? haven't thought about it. I have got some old paint colours from my house left over but like
00:42:01
Speaker
I made a mistake with the painter. I told the painter, he was like, oh, actually want this color. And he got it made up in Brewers of Farron Bulls. It's a Farron Bull copy. It's cheaper to do that. If you don't know that, by the way, you can just copy these paints. They're not as good quality, generally, but you go to Brewers and there's another one. oh like b and q and stuff yeah i don't know home base yeah they've gone now yeah think that i did b and q and used what's it fouls bar but i just found like they weren't as good quality yeah like you knock it and it just chips off basically yeah exactly so it depends obviously what you're doing if it's your forever home and budget and stuff yeah it's quite a cost effective way of getting their nice colors so i've definitely got a couple of large tins of a really nice far and ball color in there and i've got some other tins left over from other jobs that literally unopened
00:42:51
Speaker
So could go for it little bit in certain areas. I feel like people don't want White Houses anymore. No, they're not going to spin on it. Yeah. It's hard, isn't it? You don't want to go like too out there and then it's going to put some people off. You don't want to go too like...
00:43:06
Speaker
most people we've spoken to they're like anti-beige aren't they no beige um but yeah white is quite clinical isn't it so it's not everyone's taste yeah and especially the bathroom would be white assume or the ensuite so like that would be something i could always do one bedroom white maybe yeah i think while i've got a garage full of tins i'll start there yeah and see what I can do. Yeah, just doing it a cost-effective way, but again, not doing it like cheap, g cheap, cheap. I don't want it to be undervalued because of like the finish of everything. There's no point in spending all this money on really good builders to then muck it up by doing a bad job on skirting or doing a bad job on painting, yeah other finishing touches. Well, people come around and look at your house, right, before they buy it. So they're going to want to see like a nice finish. Like even if they like the property, it's like you don't want to buy a property and go, oh, but i'm gonna have to redo everything because it wasn't done to a high standard. I think if I'm targeting older downsizers, which I think I am in my head, yeah um i um' imagine they don't want to do any work. They just want to move into somewhere and just live in it. Yeah. um Um, just rewired a house for someone who's downsized, but had to do up their whole house. and They were so sick by the end. Did you move in from rooms of like one bedroom, ready?
00:44:22
Speaker
Then one bedroom, like they were living in was a complete chaos and moved to the next one that got sorted. The next one that got sorted and they were constantly moving furniture and were just like so stressful. Yeah. It's just hard work. You don't need it, especially at that time your life when you are downsizing, you're like, right. just want to move in somewhere and just kick my feet up and relax. yeah exactly exactly but yeah i think that's it for this week so some exciting things at the so this is the end of week three we're saying um i've only done three days myself but the builders have been there five days think they lost a bit of days because the weather has been awful hasn't it yeah rain in there but um yeah end of week four we should have foundations in and then i should be updating a lot and hopefully i've got a wall taken down
00:45:05
Speaker
no maybe i'll take down that one bit of block of the fireplace i'm just refusing to take down i say we're on fireplace watch has it come down or not three weeks i'm sort probably bothered want to do bigger things i'm leaving it and leaving it and leaving it maybe that'd just be a feature yeah can you imagine that yeah right feature on it does yeah but thanks everyone who's been emailing in and also obviously we said the beginning listeners we've had so many more than we were both anticipating at this point, only six episodes in.
Listener Question: Adding a Toilet to a Bungalow
00:45:35
Speaker
Our email is hello at DIYGuysPodcast.com. And we actually have an email, Dan. Yeah. So I'm sorry to go on my phone, but my memory is terrible. So there was someone, I did actually write down her name here, sorry. Her name was Philippa Campbell and she saw the plans for mya bun my grand's bungalow and that I'm putting in a bedroom and an ensuite at the front.
00:45:57
Speaker
And she said um she wants to squeeze in an extra toilet into her bungalow. And actually, how would you go thinking about that? um You said off camera, very hard for us to say without plans, right? Yeah. About seeing the plans. So if you wouldn't mind sending in your plans, I think Thinking out loud about like ones I've extended, you obviously need to think about external things such as um where the pipework is. yeah So there'd be a downpipe down your house for the sort of soil stack for the toilet to go into.
00:46:30
Speaker
um You need to feed your new toilet wherever that is into that for a start. It obviously you then goes into the drain so you need to think about that. Now, I don't know, you just said toilet. i don't know if you went bathroom or just a toilet because then that brings in other things about it. But in terms of room size, I guess you're just looking for big rooms, right? That can take it on the street.
00:46:50
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And I suppose you'll have to be on an outside wall because you'll want like a window in there, won't you? And you'll probably need an extractor fan, right? And a downstairs toilet. So you're probably looking like, you say, an outside wall. So you can tap into the soil stack and stuff like that.
00:47:07
Speaker
and Size-wise, I don't know, what you say? you're just doing toilet and basin, you can get away with quite a small space. Yeah, I've seen some really small ones that when you're building the studs and stuff, you're like, oh, God. But then my in-laws have a shower suite. They've got a shower, a toilet, a sink, and a really confined space with a slope and ceiling. It just works the way they've designed it. It's even got a nice skylight in it.
00:47:34
Speaker
um but yeah downstairs toilet would need a fan if it doesn't have a window yeah i believe um but if it does have a window you don't need a fan as you say you probably want a fan anyways it needs to be near an external wall yeah i'm assuming unless you're it's a bungalow isn't it so the fan could go up the loft amount that way yeah um yeah so send us your plans and we're trying to like give you a better answer and if we're not sure we can speak to our builder and stuff about what he would advise but yeah i think Some rooms don't quite work, like my grand's um bedroom is the biggest room and I was thinking, oh, that could have a toilet in and that could be an ensuite. Yeah. Because it's kind of funny because with the third bit bedroom we're building, it's kind of like not the best room, it's got an ensuite, so it kind of doesn't make sense. But when I was trying to squeeze an ensuite into grand's old bedroom, which is the master bedroom really,
00:48:25
Speaker
It would just be a nightmare because we've got solid concrete floors. So we'd have to chase out the whole concrete floor, which as we said is already on asbestos tile on it, we'd have to remove it. But we'd have to dig it all out for the soil stack and you have to make sure there's obviously a drop in the soil stack. So if there's no drop in the soil stack along a long run or little, you have to put, what's it called, a masticator? It's a really dangerous word to say. It's called a masticator, which is basically a pump that pumps out the door. Yeah. So you have to think about stuff like that as well. So it definitely is not really advisable in all areas of like your house and you have to have to think about it. Yeah.
00:49:05
Speaker
But also, yeah. Send us the plans. We'll have a look. We'll try and explain maybe a couple of options. can hopefully pick something from there but yeah if you do go with it i'd love to see it yeah pretty cool anyone anyone renovating even if you don't have a question for us just like to see before and after pizza what you're up to just so we can speak about on here and just we just love seeing that stuff like nosing on instagram is just my favorite thing yeah there's thousands of them yeah at the moment and then i start to speak with them every week yeah so who have we next week
00:49:38
Speaker
we have got a female plumber next week um airing yes aaron female plumber
Preview of Next Episode
00:49:44
Speaker
yeah so it's gonna really interesting speaking to her because her social media is blowing up not to try and sound young exactly but she is obviously by like the name a female plumber and i have never worked with a single female person in my industry apart from playing together which is mad isn't it yeah literally mad i went to college with two girls that were brick layers i think Yeah. I literally you just do not see female tradesmen.
00:50:09
Speaker
Yeah. easy Even tradesmen, tradespeople. I think be really interesting to chat to her because it's kind of got a stigma against it, i think, I'd imagine as well. How much she finds working, I'm guessing she works in a mainly male-dominated industry yeah and how she gets on with that, right?
00:50:27
Speaker
Exactly. i think there's a big niche though for that industry. I'm sure a lot of particularly women would like women working on their home. It's also probably a really dangerous industry of weird men who want women who don't want. Yeah, that's the issue. Even my car owner told me recently that there's a pink skip company now.
00:50:46
Speaker
Oh, really? And apparently it's like all over social. It's like the pink, and they're cheaper currently. I know where they're based. I keep seeing these pink skips. It's like, it's quite a good niche, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Yeah. So yeah, we're going to be chatting with her. if have any plumbing questions the meantime, we can ask her. Yeah, that's right.
00:51:01
Speaker
and But yeah, otherwise, email us, hello at DIYGuysPodcast.com. or DM us on DIY Guys Podcasts. Yeah, and please keep liking, subscribing, sending and them like yeah We just really appreciate that the number of listeners we've got. It's pretty crazy. right It's mad. we'd just be family. just yeah well A lot of your siblings are messaging me like, the Doers are in. course We're all the way in. yeah but Thanks, guys. i We'll see you speaking with Aaron next week. Yeah, see you all next week. Cheers.
00:51:30
Speaker
Bye.