Renovating on the cheap

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Renovations just got redesigned
2007-02-08 16:10:00
I decided that if my house was going to get a face life, so should this blog. Better design, better layout more content. Please continue to visit at www.renovationcentral.co.uk.Or click on the homepage image below.
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Plumbing - Heating systems explained
2007-02-05 13:50:00
Now that our system is dead I’ve been forced to look into the world of heating 3 months early. When broken down, heating systems are fairly uncomplicated. There are 3 main types; free standing, wall mounted and back boilers. Free standing:These are slim boilers that are situated on the floor and usually installed between kitchen units.Wall mounted:Smaller, more compact heat exchangers. These boilers don’t require the room to be vented. Back boilers:These are the first central heating systems that were on offer. They do require the room to be vented. They were installed in the fireplace and thus are treated as open flued models. When these boilers break down they tend to omit poisonous flumes. This is the system we are replacing and I can confirm that when ours started to go, the room stank.Other systems are condensing boilers and combination boilers (combi)Condensing boilers have been around for some time and as more efficient designs are bought out, more savings on fuel costs c...
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Gadgets - wireless scarts
2007-01-31 18:57:00
Now this is my knd of gadget. Anything to get rid of the snake pit behind my tv. These scart plugs allow you send signals from your video, dvd, satellite reveiver and anything else you care to mention that has a scart socket to your TV without the need for wires.For more info go to http://www.marmitek.com/en/catalogus/prod uct.php?product=366
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Gadgets - 3 in 1 for the kitchen
2007-01-31 18:22:00
I thought I'd seen everything, but when I l ived in a poky studio flat I could have done with one of these. Candy have designed a 3 in 1 cooker - Hob, Oven and dishwasher. The hob can either be gas or ceramic depending on the model and the dishwasher can take a full 6 place setting. For more details go to their site http://www.candy-domestic.co.uk/trio.asp
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Diary - Saving £1500
2007-01-31 17:44:00
So it looks like the heating is going to cost us around £2500+VAT to fix. I'll add an entry itemising what gets installed and why later. But it isn't all bad. We got a call from a friend that knew of a house that was going to get levelled by developers to build 7 flats. Most of the interior was going to a clearing company but she could bare to see her range cooker go to vultures. So calling on a 'man with a van' we grabbed a Rangemaster dual fuel double oven for the princely sum of £50. Moral of the story....swallow your pride and grab what you can.
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Diary - New heating system is needed
2007-01-26 16:23:00
When we bought the house we negotiated £10,000 off the price to pay for the new heating system. We knew it wouldn’t last - The survey said so, the plumber we got to check it over said so and, to the sellers credit, he said so. But we thought it would last until we started the renovation so that we could plan the installation into the build plan and prevent extra costs of multiple visits from the plumbers. Unfortunately the boiler died yesterday. No heating, no hot water and to add salt to the wound – it started to snow. We called in our trusted plumbers, Abbey Boilers, and they gave it the final rights. We’ve used Abbey Boilers in the past to sort leaks and replacements of hot water tanks etc. You know you are on to a winning company when they advise you on ways to get things done cheaper without compromising quality or safety and advised us not to throw money after bad hardware. We have been quoted £2300 to install the new boiler, emersion heater and pumps. The bos...
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Tips regarding Planning Permission
2007-01-19 17:53:00
1. Eight weeks is the target that most planning offices aim for to arrive at a decision. 2. A little known fact is that you don’t need to own the plot – you can apply for planning consent on any land. 3. If you feel that the result isn’t going to be favourable, you can withdraw you proposal and resubmit it another time without incurring extra costs. You are also not restricted by the amount of proposals you submit. 4. You don’t need to include you nieghbours but it certainly help if you pay a visit to explain your ideas and talk through the plans. The final decision isn’t effected by their objections though. 5. Land with planning permission is worth more than land without. So even if you don’t go ahead with your plans and decide to sell– add this to the valuation. Did you find this article helpful?Leave your comments below so I can tailor this site to your needs.
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Tips on finding your Architect
2007-01-17 20:56:00
1. Get recommendations from friends/ family2. 'Interview' the architect - it's important you get along3. Look for creativity in their past work4. Don't be bullied by them - it's your house5. Don't forget to compare costs.We scouted about asking friends and family if they could recommend anyone. We also got in touch with some trusted builders to ask them who they used. We got 4 firms around to see the space, talk to us about their ideas and give us an idea on how expensive it would be.We were stunned how reluctant architects are in sketching or even talking through their ideas. What we were looking for apart from reasonable cost was inventiveness and a clear understanding of the space.The first company – Loftplan – was a company we used on our last house to convert the loft. They impressed us with total professionalism, patience in waiting for us to commit without getting pushy and willingness to discuss every aspect the project. They draw up the plans, explained the proce...
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Diary - The first hurdle - planning permission is granted
2007-01-16 13:21:00
POP - the champers is on ice. We have the go ahead from the planning office. The official line is -Decision: Certificate of Lawfulness GrantedDecision Date: 01/15/2007So onward with the building plans.Cost so far - £900 for the proposal planshere's the letter of consent
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Tips on finding the right house to renovate
2007-01-15 18:11:00
Still no news so here are my ideas on finding a good house to renovate.Research Use www.upmystreet.com to research the social demographics. If you are going to add value to the house, it's wise to make sure that those you're targeting would actually want to live there.Research what your target wants. A house for young professionals and a house designed for a family will turn out totally different. Large open plan spaces may be what a young couple would like but a family need spaces to hide away from each other (trust me on this – I have 2 kids). If you are in a good area where crime is low and the schools are great then this will have a greater pull on a family than a hip area that would appeal to the younger buyer.Are there any plans to build new houses in your chosen neighbourhood? These will be cheaper to buy and could make selling your house harder as the demand in decreased.Stick to areas you know. You’re more likely to understand local trends which will...
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Diary - Killing time until the 17th - when permission may be granted
2007-01-13 14:03:00
Submitting our plans to the council seems along time ago. I phoned to see how things were progressing to be told sign off will come around the 17th of Jan. So to kill time I've taken more photos, this time close up to show the horror of the house at the moment. The hanging wires, the mould, the chewed skirting boards and the ladder that is the stairs. So enjoy the photos and keep your fingers crossed for Wednesday.House so far
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Diary - Our plans
2007-01-09 00:41:00
These are the plans that were submitted on 1/12/07. The dotted lines are the existing walls and roof line. The Dormers are new as is the barn end style roof. One of the back doors will be converted into a window. All this is within the allowed 10% extension, but the dormers and roof alteration could cause concern at the planning office.We've been told the a decision will be made on the 17th of this month.Fingers Crossed
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Diary - The Grand Plan - Our renovation ideas
2007-01-03 18:37:00
Quick background. We bought a house last June. It's a 1930's detached Bungalow - 2 beds, large lounge and a big kitchen and dinning room. What grabbed our attention was it's potential. It was run down. huge roof space and big garden. The walls are made of what can only be described as cardboard, the heating is on it's way out and the wiring needs sorting.The plan is to install some stairs, add 3 bedrooms and a bathroom on the new first floor. Knock through from kitchen to dinning room to make a huge kitchen dinner. We also want to create a hall way and move the lounge away from the front door. A study and kids room will also be created by adding a wall and moving the kids upstairs.We've found a Polish builder that will undercut all others by 60% and the plans have been submitted to planning.We plan to start work in February.If this isn't going to be stressful enough I thought I'd write to Channel4 to see if they would be interested in documenting the project.I'll keep you po...
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