Yesterday afternoon, I spent on my hands and knees up in the loft trying to install an extractor fan for the bathroom. It actually wasn't too difficult a job, it was just time consuming as whichever tool I needed in the loft was in the bathroom, or conservatory, or the sitting room, or had been stolen by the tool fairies.
First of all I marked out the spot on the ceiling where the centre of the extractor fan should go. I checked from the loft that this was clear of any joists etc. and cleared back the old blown-insulation away from the prospective hole, so as not to be covered in it once the hole drill had sawn through. I did this simply by drilling a smallish hole in the centre and poking a biro through it so it was visible from both sides.
Next up checked the hole saw against the size of the extractor fan only to find that my hole saw fits neatly inside... meaning it's about 5mm too thin (from a radius point of view).
With dustsheet in bath and lotions and potions cleared off the side, let the drilling commence! Oh and let the plaster dust cover everything, including me. A few seconds later the core from the plastered ceiling pops out with a clean circle left above me.
I broke through the wooden slats after a few tries, as they tend to spring away from the drill, but once through I could stare in awe much like a channel tunnel engineer (although obviously on a smaller scale).
As the hole wasn't quite large enough, I then cut around the edges using a plasterboard knife, using it more like a file just to shave away the edges giving me that few extra millimetres. A bit wider on two 'sides' allowing for the fixings to poke through and a quick wiggle and push and the extractor fan was in (the downlight and extractor opening).
Next up I secured the fixing screws which hold the unit in place in the ceiling opening and went back up into the loft to wire the electrics up. We already had a pull switch in the bathroom for the previous electric shower which we had removed, so it was a case of taking this switch live and neutral feed and splitting in parallel to the downlight transformer and the fan unit.
Once all the connections were made and tested, I attached the flexible ventilation hose from the ceiling unit to the fan unit and secured it in place using the cable ties provided.
The final job still sitting on the to-do list for the extractor fan job is to get the ventilation to the outside... but we'll save that for another day
Home Insulation Grant - Cold Victorian House!
Last night was cold, very cold, it was about -1°C outside and our c1890s Victorian house was very very cold!
The problem is that we only have limited loft insulation, there is about 1"-2"s of insulation between the actual roof joists and then in between the ceiling joists we have an inch of sprayed polystyrene-ball-type insulation over some of the ceilings and crucially not over our bedroom (1980s extension) or over our daughter's bedroom.
This means it's very difficult to keep the house warm as any heat finds it's way out into the loft. PLUS on top of that we have 2 chimneys, one open fireplace in the dining room, one wood burner in the kitchen, 1 bricked up fireplace and 3 poorly blocked off fireplaces. The bay windows, the porch and the utility/WC have zero insulation.
So I turned the thermostat up to max (about 40°C) and turned the boiler temperature up a notch too - we managed to stabilse at around 19.5°C too cold!
I registered with the energy saving trust to find out about free or grant subsidised cavity wall and loft insulation. They forwarded our details to all the energy suppliers (as that's how the government distribute the funds) and you would hope that all 10 (approx) of them would contact us? 3 did.
Atlantic Electric and Gas (our energy supplier), part of Scottish and Southern Energy Group wrote to us to tell us they would write to us when they could to arrange a survey when they could fit it in... great. EON phoned me (proactive, like it!) told me they were too busy too, but would write to me to tell me they were too busy and would write to me again when they weren't. British Gas said they would send around a surveyor on the 31st October - brilliant! We might just get the house warmer by Christmas.
British Gas... saviour of cold brits!
British Gas use another company to actually carry out the insulation survey and following work, in this case Mark Group.
Mark Group wrote to me yesterday cancelling tomorrow's appointment and rescheduling for 2 weeks time. Points for apology, points for using 1st class post, loss of points for not telephoning me, not sticking to the appointment, and not giving a reason for the cancellation.
Call me a pain, but I don't mind people making mistakes, I don't mind problems, I don't particularly want blame to be pointed at an individual, but I do like to know the reason for problems, not to appease some weird necessity for information gathering, but to know that there IS a reason and more importantly that someone has understood the reason and can learn from it.
"No surveyors in the area that day" said the very nice lady who answered the phone. Hmmm, ok, so why was the appointment booked for that day? "British Gas booked that appointment for you". Ok, it's not her fault and I'm not going to push the point. I've worked in a call centre and I know that being an arse on the phone does not get you anywhere. BUT I can't help wondering why British Gas, surely one of their biggest business referrals is allowed to book appointments for them ON THEIR SYSTEM without some guidance on the availability of a human being to actually carry out the work.
NOT IMPRESSED, although still better than any of the other energy companies have managed.
I recommend you check out the energy saving trust website and apply now as the waiting time seems to be 6-12 weeks from application to completion and it looks like this winter could be a cold one!
The problem is that we only have limited loft insulation, there is about 1"-2"s of insulation between the actual roof joists and then in between the ceiling joists we have an inch of sprayed polystyrene-ball-type insulation over some of the ceilings and crucially not over our bedroom (1980s extension) or over our daughter's bedroom.
This means it's very difficult to keep the house warm as any heat finds it's way out into the loft. PLUS on top of that we have 2 chimneys, one open fireplace in the dining room, one wood burner in the kitchen, 1 bricked up fireplace and 3 poorly blocked off fireplaces. The bay windows, the porch and the utility/WC have zero insulation.
So I turned the thermostat up to max (about 40°C) and turned the boiler temperature up a notch too - we managed to stabilse at around 19.5°C too cold!
I registered with the energy saving trust to find out about free or grant subsidised cavity wall and loft insulation. They forwarded our details to all the energy suppliers (as that's how the government distribute the funds) and you would hope that all 10 (approx) of them would contact us? 3 did.
Atlantic Electric and Gas (our energy supplier), part of Scottish and Southern Energy Group wrote to us to tell us they would write to us when they could to arrange a survey when they could fit it in... great. EON phoned me (proactive, like it!) told me they were too busy too, but would write to me to tell me they were too busy and would write to me again when they weren't. British Gas said they would send around a surveyor on the 31st October - brilliant! We might just get the house warmer by Christmas.
British Gas... saviour of cold brits!
British Gas use another company to actually carry out the insulation survey and following work, in this case Mark Group.
Mark Group wrote to me yesterday cancelling tomorrow's appointment and rescheduling for 2 weeks time. Points for apology, points for using 1st class post, loss of points for not telephoning me, not sticking to the appointment, and not giving a reason for the cancellation.
Call me a pain, but I don't mind people making mistakes, I don't mind problems, I don't particularly want blame to be pointed at an individual, but I do like to know the reason for problems, not to appease some weird necessity for information gathering, but to know that there IS a reason and more importantly that someone has understood the reason and can learn from it.
"No surveyors in the area that day" said the very nice lady who answered the phone. Hmmm, ok, so why was the appointment booked for that day? "British Gas booked that appointment for you". Ok, it's not her fault and I'm not going to push the point. I've worked in a call centre and I know that being an arse on the phone does not get you anywhere. BUT I can't help wondering why British Gas, surely one of their biggest business referrals is allowed to book appointments for them ON THEIR SYSTEM without some guidance on the availability of a human being to actually carry out the work.
NOT IMPRESSED, although still better than any of the other energy companies have managed.
I recommend you check out the energy saving trust website and apply now as the waiting time seems to be 6-12 weeks from application to completion and it looks like this winter could be a cold one!
The Plumber commodity market
Well it looks like the bathroom will finally be finished today. Well, when I say finished I mean finished up until the point where I actually have to do some work and not just pay professionals. Hmmm, stage 3 could take some time then!
The tiler finished last week, the plasterer somewhere then too (although the bags of old removed plaster are still by the front door where he promised he'd pick them up from), and the plumber was in yesterday and today to install the new suite.
Well the plumbers assistant is, anyway.
I arrived home last night to find the toilet still in the kitchen (please don't use it, it's not plumbed in) and the sink and bath installed. How exciting! The bath was full of water. Apparently not, as I suspected as a mosquito farm, but in order to ensure the sealant settles correctly.
The bathroom obviously looks smaller now, having enjoyed it empty for a couple of weeks (great for admiring your tile choice, not so good for bathing), but it will be a relief to be able to use a brand new bathroom, you know isn't leaking into the ceiling below!
The tiler finished last week, the plasterer somewhere then too (although the bags of old removed plaster are still by the front door where he promised he'd pick them up from), and the plumber was in yesterday and today to install the new suite.
Well the plumbers assistant is, anyway.
I arrived home last night to find the toilet still in the kitchen (please don't use it, it's not plumbed in) and the sink and bath installed. How exciting! The bath was full of water. Apparently not, as I suspected as a mosquito farm, but in order to ensure the sealant settles correctly.
The bathroom obviously looks smaller now, having enjoyed it empty for a couple of weeks (great for admiring your tile choice, not so good for bathing), but it will be a relief to be able to use a brand new bathroom, you know isn't leaking into the ceiling below!
Preparing to move house
Last day in the office today before finishing off the packing tomorrow/over the weekend and moving house on Monday.
Just trying to work out if I have managed to change our address with everyone and who have we forgotten?
TV License
Gas
Electric
Mobile Phone
Magazine Subscriptions
Council Tax
Mortgage (obviously)
Life Insurance
Buildings and Contents Insurance
Cable
Credit Card
Bank
Post Office Redirect
Nectar Card
Dentist
Doctor
Car Insurance
DVLA Driving License
Just trying to work out if I have managed to change our address with everyone and who have we forgotten?
TV License
Gas
Electric
Mobile Phone
Magazine Subscriptions
Council Tax
Mortgage (obviously)
Life Insurance
Buildings and Contents Insurance
Cable
Credit Card
Bank
Post Office Redirect
Nectar Card
Dentist
Doctor
Car Insurance
DVLA Driving License
Damp and Timber Report
Following the full Building Survey we had carried out on the house, we were advised to get a member of the PCA (Property Care Association) to inspect the Victorian house for damp and timber rot or beetle infestations etc.
I contacted Mr Brown of All Tied Up and another member as well for quotes to carry out the Damp and Timber Inspection. Mr Brown came back saying that he carries out inspections for free (as opposed to the other quote of £50 + vat). he does this in the hope that you then employ him to carry out any works needed.
The report was carried out last week, during the wettest day possible (1 month's rain in a single day), so I'm not sure if that makes it easier or more difficult to test for damp?
Apparently the report arrived at home this morning, and my wife has read a few excerpts to me. Doesn't sound too bad, not a lot more than you would expect, although the quoted repair cost is higher than I would have anticipated. I'll have a read through the full report tonight
I contacted Mr Brown of All Tied Up and another member as well for quotes to carry out the Damp and Timber Inspection. Mr Brown came back saying that he carries out inspections for free (as opposed to the other quote of £50 + vat). he does this in the hope that you then employ him to carry out any works needed.
The report was carried out last week, during the wettest day possible (1 month's rain in a single day), so I'm not sure if that makes it easier or more difficult to test for damp?
Apparently the report arrived at home this morning, and my wife has read a few excerpts to me. Doesn't sound too bad, not a lot more than you would expect, although the quoted repair cost is higher than I would have anticipated. I'll have a read through the full report tonight
First Viewing of Victorian House
I've backdated this post to the day itself, but thought it would be interesting to reflect back on the whole process of finding and buying a Victorian house.
The 4th of June was a Wednesday, we had finally had an offer on our own house after having spent around 6 months for sale on the housing market. Previous to that I was starting to get sick of looking at houses.
We'd been looking at houses since before Christmas, we'd looked at new builds, 1960s, Victorian, Edwardian, 1930s, 1970s... all sorts. We'd looked in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Dover, Sellindge, Hythe, Lympne, Sittingbourne, Faversham... all over southeast Kent. That was the problem, we didn't really know where we wanted to live, just the rough area. We didn't have any preference on a 'type of house' we just knew it would feel right when we found it. We did have a 'wants' checklist though which I'll list in a separate post.
But now we had an agreed offer on our current house, we needed to find somewhere fast. The state of the current housing market means that buyers are hard to find, so when you have found one, you definitely don't want to lose them!
So we made a decision. Having searched most of the housing stock of Ashford in our price range, and not found anything we liked, we knew we had to give it another go. Ashford is right for all of the practical reasons, not the emotional ones, so checklist out, time to focus.
I spent Monday searching Google Maps for estate agents near Ashford, I registered with every single one of them. This was fairly time consuming, and depending on the agent, it was anything between a pain and a pleasure. Tuesday was spent fielding calls from estate agents trying to convince me that they "have the ideal property..." and "...you must see it..." I specified that we did not want to live on an estate, but it didn't stop most of them still sending through inappropriate houses. When you have approx. 15 estate agents ringing you and emailing you constantly, and knowing we need to find a house ASAP, I booked Wednesday off work to concentrate on the house hunt.
I booked six house viewings in:
A bungalow in need of complete restoration but set in a huge garden (about an acre) and next to a protected field/meadow effectively giving you a wonderful view
A bungalow in Sandyhurst lane - a very desirable road on the outskirts of Ashford - it was a really nice place, but felt more like a holiday cottage than anything else.
A 1970s house in Sellindge - it didn't feel right from the second we walked in, plus the estate agent had already annoyed me on the phone by trying to get me to come in and see his mortgage broker (think: I don't need to, yes you do, no I don't, but you must NO I DON'T, but you should...)
And then... the Victorian House. On paper I didn't like it. On RightMove there were no internal pictures, never a good sign. We pulled up outside. I liked it already.
Inside ti was clear that the original features had been ripped out or covered over, but the potential was there. The feeling was positive and we felt at home instantly.
The 4th of June was a Wednesday, we had finally had an offer on our own house after having spent around 6 months for sale on the housing market. Previous to that I was starting to get sick of looking at houses.
We'd been looking at houses since before Christmas, we'd looked at new builds, 1960s, Victorian, Edwardian, 1930s, 1970s... all sorts. We'd looked in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Dover, Sellindge, Hythe, Lympne, Sittingbourne, Faversham... all over southeast Kent. That was the problem, we didn't really know where we wanted to live, just the rough area. We didn't have any preference on a 'type of house' we just knew it would feel right when we found it. We did have a 'wants' checklist though which I'll list in a separate post.
But now we had an agreed offer on our current house, we needed to find somewhere fast. The state of the current housing market means that buyers are hard to find, so when you have found one, you definitely don't want to lose them!
So we made a decision. Having searched most of the housing stock of Ashford in our price range, and not found anything we liked, we knew we had to give it another go. Ashford is right for all of the practical reasons, not the emotional ones, so checklist out, time to focus.
I spent Monday searching Google Maps for estate agents near Ashford, I registered with every single one of them. This was fairly time consuming, and depending on the agent, it was anything between a pain and a pleasure. Tuesday was spent fielding calls from estate agents trying to convince me that they "have the ideal property..." and "...you must see it..." I specified that we did not want to live on an estate, but it didn't stop most of them still sending through inappropriate houses. When you have approx. 15 estate agents ringing you and emailing you constantly, and knowing we need to find a house ASAP, I booked Wednesday off work to concentrate on the house hunt.
I booked six house viewings in:
A bungalow in need of complete restoration but set in a huge garden (about an acre) and next to a protected field/meadow effectively giving you a wonderful view
A bungalow in Sandyhurst lane - a very desirable road on the outskirts of Ashford - it was a really nice place, but felt more like a holiday cottage than anything else.
A 1970s house in Sellindge - it didn't feel right from the second we walked in, plus the estate agent had already annoyed me on the phone by trying to get me to come in and see his mortgage broker (think: I don't need to, yes you do, no I don't, but you must NO I DON'T, but you should...)
And then... the Victorian House. On paper I didn't like it. On RightMove there were no internal pictures, never a good sign. We pulled up outside. I liked it already.
Inside ti was clear that the original features had been ripped out or covered over, but the potential was there. The feeling was positive and we felt at home instantly.
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