What have we got planned for 2016? We have a few personal goals, but we have a good few house goals too :)
1. Start demo-ing the living room
There is a lot to do here. I hate, hate, hate this room. Take off all the wallpaper and cheap coving. Replaster the walls and ceiling. Sort out/ replace the fireplace. Make some built ins. Replace the flooring. I'm not expecting to finish this project this year, mostly due to funding, but some good progress would be a fab start.
2. Patch up and repaint the front of the house
The holes where insulation had been put in the cavity walls (before we moved in) are so obvious, and there are a few cracks that need patching up above the living room window due to the lack of lintel above the window (which we fixed this year). It's also a bit patchy in colour so I think a quick lick of paint will do it wonders.
3. Finish the hallway!
We aren't far off, but a few weekends are needed to push this one over the line. A few Christmas gifts will also be good finishing touches.
We also need to get the carpet fitted for the stair runner, but I've just had a text from a recommended fitter so hopefully that should be lined up to be done soon.
4. Get the garage water tight
The old asbestos cement roof is pants. It leaks. Like crazy. Dan also spends a lot of time in the garage so the asbestos worries me...
I got a quote for £2000 to get it replaced, which is waaaaay over budget. So, we are going to do it ourselves for significantly less. I'm aware of the dangers of asbestos and the necessary precautions to take when handling it.
5. Learn how to plaster!
I've only gone and booked myself onto a plastering course in Feb/March. Yay! I figured I've not been totally happy with the plastering that we have had done to date so why not give a go myself?
The course is two full weekends (4 days) and is very reasonable at just £200. It's also nearby at Newark so I don't have travel too far. Watch this space!!
What have you got planned for 2016?
£200 plastering course is a bargain!! Where's this at? I needed this before my terrible attempt at our bathroom ceiling! I actually thought it was OK at the time, but since having a bath and staring at the ceiling at night with bad lighting, it's imperfections are really beginning to bug me.
ReplyDeleteYou're super brave with tackling the asbestos yourself, I had nightmares just from the existence of the stuff in our garden! But it definitely makes sense with that giant price tag! We used a company, but I didn't think he was particularly careful about the removal - no water spraying, definitely smashed to smaller pieces & he didn't double bag the stuff until it was taken to his van on the street. So in all, probably safer to do yourself anyways! Looking forward to reading about your renovations in 2016! Hope you had a great new year :) X
The course is run by a company called Trade Ability at Balderton. I got a special deal as I booked pre-Christmas so got £50 off, but £250 is still great value I think.
DeleteIt was actually your blog post that made up my mind that we would do the garage roof ourselves. I hated the idea of paying someone so much money for them not to do it properly. At least now I know everyone will be properly protected. Fingers crossed it all goes well!
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