The Home Improvements Thread (2)

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Mosgi said:
Who did you get to do your kitchen.

Any word on costs? Did they design as well?
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My brother in law is the contractor and he arranged the subcontractors for each of the different sections. He's a plumber by profession.

I'll do the total costs at the end. Its my wife's project that she's paying for and I'm just along for the ride. I did add some extras during the build like a new front and back door that I'll be paying for as she made it clear that any over runs due to my meddling in I'll need to pay for. And I'm already over R15k in from my own money
 
AchmatK said:
My brother in law is the contractor and he arranged the subcontractors for each of the different sections. He's a plumber by profession.

I'll do the total costs at the end. Its my wife's project that she's paying for and I'm just along for the ride. I did add some extras during the build like a new front and back door that I'll be paying for as she made it clear that any over runs due to my meddling in I'll need to pay for. And I'm already over R15k in from my own money
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Haha, jinx!

Had my wife do the kitchen since she kindly requested that I not be involved… had found a contractor at what 40% of what I “think” it cost her…

Waiting for yours to be done before I post my ache of a project..:
 
AchmatK said:
Day 9 update

Most of the new kitchen cupboards and doors were delivered today.

Plugs and lights are all live now and ceiling work started today.

Cats playing hide and seek View attachment 1272392View attachment 1272394View attachment 1272396View attachment 1272398View attachment 1272402
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Was there any thought given to the sequencing of the work done?
To my mind it would be best to do top down.
But yours seems to be floors first, then dust all over the new tiles then the ceiling which probably should have been straight after the demo and brick work.
It's not the end of the world doing it in this sequence and there could be reasons for it but it doesn't seem ideal to do it in this order.
 
Shella said:
Was there any thought given to the sequencing of the work done?
To my mind it would be best to do top down.
But yours seems to be floors first, then dust all over the new tiles then the ceiling which probably should have been straight after the demo and brick work.
It's not the end of the world doing it in this sequence and there could be reasons for it but it doesn't seem ideal to do it in this order.
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Time was not on our side and its what we could do to get the various subcontractors in. The floors are covered up with wood sheets every morning before any work starts and then plastic drop sheets on top of the wood sheet. It's a few of those backing boards that they use on cupboards. It's a 5 minute job before they start. The timer also didn't tile all the way to the wall. I think he's back tomorrow or Monday again.
 
It's the first time I've been able to track the internal temperature in my lounge since installing the controller for underfloor heating.

This is for the past 24 hours since the builders left yesterday. We were home for most of the day and temperature seems to not fluctuate as much.

Also have not put on the aircon in the lounge.

I don't have any insulation in the ceiling. I do have double glazed windows. Would adding insulation help in getting the temp lower? My understanding is that it would only prevent the inside temperature from fluctuating as much with the external temperature which is already currently the case.

I didn't lose much heat at night and it also did not heat up much during the day. Screenshot_20220319-170644_Smart%20Life.jpg
 
AchmatK said:
It's the first time I've been able to track the internal temperature in my lounge since installing the controller for underfloor heating.

This is for the past 24 hours since the builders left yesterday. We were home for most of the day and temperature seems to not fluctuate as much.

Also have not put on the aircon in the lounge.

I don't have any insulation in the ceiling. I do have double glazed windows. Would adding insulation help in getting the temp lower? My understanding is that it would only prevent the inside temperature from fluctuating as much with the external temperature which is already currently the case.

I didn't lose much heat at night and it also did not heat up much during the day. View attachment 1273590
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Insulation will help retain heat and will also prevent heat transfer from your roof space through your ceiling which will end up heating your living room..

I can maintain a 8 - 10 C difference between outside and inside temps on hot days, provided I close doors, windows and curtains at the right time in the morning and keep them closed as much as possible.. your lounge gets too hot for my liking.. anything above 25 in my lounge is uncomfortable and your graph there seems to hit 28 or so.. should you get insulation and close doors/windows/curtains before the heat of the day starts and keep it closed, you could also maintain a far greater difference in temperature between outside and inside..

Also, with insulation, your Aircon will run more efficiently, because if the minimised heat transfer..

Then in winter, any heating you are doing will also be more efficient, and less of that heat would transfer through the ceiling to the roof space..

Roof insulation is static and doesn't heat or cool by itself.. it simply provides a layer of blocking between areas, lessening heat transfer, making whatever cooling/heating you apply, more efficient..
 
WAslayer said:
Insulation will help retain heat and will also prevent heat transfer from your roof space through your ceiling which will end up heating your living room..

I can maintain a 8 - 10 C difference between outside and inside temps on hot days, provided I close doors, windows and curtains at the right time in the morning and keep them closed as much as possible.. your lounge gets too hot for my liking.. anything above 25 in my lounge is uncomfortable and your graph there seems to hit 28 or so.. should you get insulation and close doors/windows/curtains before the heat of the day starts and keep it closed, you could also maintain a far greater difference in temperature between outside and inside..

Also, with insulation, your Aircon will run more efficiently, because if the minimised heat transfer..

Then in winter, any heating you are doing will also be more efficient, and less of that heat would transfer through the ceiling to the roof space..

Roof insulation is static and doesn't heat or cool by itself.. it simply provides a layer of blocking between areas, lessening heat transfer, making whatever cooling/heating you apply, more efficient..
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I'll look into getting some for the ceiling.

It's about 150m² of ceiling to work with and I ask want to add some rooms up there eventually. I have over 2m of head room in the ceiling going to waste.

What happens when my son left the front door open for an hour and then me closing the door and letting the 24000btu inverter aircon cool it down again. It got the temperature down fairly quickly and then I just set it to auto. Screenshot_20220320-150439_Smart%20Life.jpg
 
Work will continue tomorrow even though its a public holiday as they will not be able to be here in Tuesday.

Plan is to remove the two windows in the kitchen and replace them. Tiler will also be back to start with measurements for the counter tops and island.
 
I have found a house I'd like to make an offer on, but there are a few things I'd like to do which include:

- Removing wall from kitchen to dining area
- Extending bathroom and adding a shower

How can I find out the feasibility of these things before committing to buying the house? Who do I consult with for advice? Is it normal to ask for some home renovations expert to come look at the house with me?

I would like to get some idea of possibility and price point before buying the house!
 
derp90 said:
I have found a house I'd like to make an offer on, but there are a few things I'd like to do which include:

- Removing wall from kitchen to dining area - shouldnt be an issue, most internal walls are not load bearing
- Extending bathroom and adding a shower - Also should not be a problem if space allows, keep in mind cost of updating plans if you are extending

How can I find out the feasibility of these things before committing to buying the house? Who do I consult with for advice? Is it normal to ask for some home renovations expert to come look at the house with me?

I would like to get some idea of possibility and price point before buying the house!
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Renovations are finally done, few months later. We basically replaced the entire inside of the house: flooring, kitchen, bathrooms. We also replaced windows and doors with aluminium ones. Only thing we didn't do were room cupboards, will do those later.


Kitchen before/after:

Removed everything, new cupboards, fridge closet, taps, sink...you name it.

IMG_9501.jpegIMG_0793.jpeg

Bathroom 1:

Gutted and replaced everything

IMG_9488.jpegIMG_0741.jpeg


En-suite bathroom:

Removed bathtub, replaced shower with double shower and moved toiled around new shower wall. Also added double vanity

IMG_9492.jpegIMG_0777.jpeg
 
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prOd said:
Renovations are finally done, few months later. We basically replaced the entire inside of the house: flooring, kitchen, bathrooms. We also replaced windows and doors with aluminium ones. Only thing we didn't do were room cupboards, will do those later.


Kitchen before/after:

Removed everything, new cupboards, fridge closet, taps, sink...you name it.

View attachment 1275384View attachment 1275386

Bathroom 1:

Gutted and replaced everything

View attachment 1275388View attachment 1275416


En-suite bathroom:

Removed bathtub, replaced shower with double shower and moved toiled around new shower wall. Also added double vanity

View attachment 1275392View attachment 1275394
Click to expand...
Looks fantastic, congrats!
 
A sort of broadband question.

I wanted to make sure that as far as possible I have wired connections all over the house and have managed to get most rooms covered.

I’ve got a quote for 10 points to be crimped either side at R400. Is that a good price at all? I’ve used CAt6 cables all around already run to where they need to be.

The intention is for the wall points to be keystones and the other side to connect to the 48port Poe switch set up in 1 of the rooms which would be in the wardrobe which happens to accidentally have a plug point.

1. Is there a cheap way to get the 4x4 boxes with keystones? All the standard items seem to be quite a lot. Thinking it might be easier (not neat) to drill a hole big enough for the keystone and macguyvering the mount somehow.

2. The existing fibre point is in the wrong place relative to the location of the new switch. The ideal one is around 25m away (would this be covered under the new installation 30m allowance from the isp?)

3. The living room ended up with no points behind the Main TV. With a gas fireplace, is there much heat that goes up the chimney (thinking they were wood before and changed to gas later). As stupid as this question sounds is it possible to run a cat 6 cable down the chimney? Down from the ceiling into the lower floor?
 
@ToxicBunny a while ago you mentioned a website with lots of house designs/ideas...I know this is pretty vague but do you maybe recall what the site name was? It wasn't a local site, was probably a 'Murican company IIRC.

EDIT: Found it - https://www.houzz.com/
 
Anyone have a Hans Grohe kitchen tap or have any experience with them?

We have one that looks like this model: https://www.hansgrohe.co.za/article...min-pull-out-spray-2jet-31815223#installation

The spout seems 'lose'. When you swivel it, it doesn't stay where it should and it swivels back to the middle, wondering if I can tighten it myself or should I just get a plumber in? There's a little grey button at the back which seems like it can be pulled off and from the installation instructions it seems there might be a screw behind it that needs tightening, but thought I'd ask here first. Relevant photo:


1648399064465.png
 
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