Lupus
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The Home Improvements Thread (2)
- Thread starter TedLasso
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Thank you @ElixirCoder , @Mars, @Smokey mcpot and others for the reply. It's the plaster in picture below.
Its all over the house. We thinking of maybe doing the bedrooms first before we move in. The two rooms are about 9sqm each (including window, door and wall with cupboard). Does anybody know how much it would cost per sqm to get somebody in and do it? (Johannesburg).
I could DIY it, but I'm afraid if I mess it up I would have wasted time and money and would rather get somebody in with experience.
Its all over the house. We thinking of maybe doing the bedrooms first before we move in. The two rooms are about 9sqm each (including window, door and wall with cupboard). Does anybody know how much it would cost per sqm to get somebody in and do it? (Johannesburg).
I could DIY it, but I'm afraid if I mess it up I would have wasted time and money and would rather get somebody in with experience.
Lupus
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They would normally sand it down and use rhinolite to smooth that out, I did last year, but it turned out that even the same 'contractor' can get any wally off the street and you'll get very different results.
So be careful on the quotes, also make sure they fill any cracks properly before rhinoliting as that isn't really designed to fill in cracks.
I did my kitchen 7 years ago in a complex, small kitchen, called out one of the big kitchen companies to quote me.
The quote was R130k without appliances.
My budget was 70k, so this was more than double.
A few months later a friend who was doing his kitchen invited me over, the kitchen came out amazing, I asked him who completed the work and he said a private carpenter, but only could work a few days on and a few days off as he worked for a big kitchen company(the same on who quoted me). I called the guy, showed him the drawings, he charged me 15k labour, material came to about 20k with appliances and stone tops about 20k, and in 3 weeks, job done, less then half, with the same guy that would have done it anyway.
ElixirCoder
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No, I used my Makita polisher with the Velcro attachment
My labour component for two bathrooms was around R80k.... but it involved removing and replacing roof sheeting above the bathrooms (and one bedroom). Only way to get to the pipes. Also moved and replaced all plumbing, and put in new electrics for towel rail, extractor, powered mirrors and more than one light switch.
Maybe try to do the whole house before you move in.
Smokey mcpot
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9m2 is the size of the floor area, you actually need the wall area for each wall to get your total.
Dont know about jhb costs, but I'm cape town from around R50m2 (cheaper private labourer costs) up to R250m2.
You can also find a decent builders/hardware guy to do it from around R350 per day and up. A guy who can skim generally wont want less than R350 per day as that's the starting rate and it goes up the better they are. I had one guy working for me at R650/day. He was probably the best I've ever seen in the business. Didn't mind paying his rate as he could do twice as much as anyone else in a day and the finish was always just a step up from the rest. Sadly he got offered more by a bigger company and I could not afford the R850 rate to keep him.
However finding the decent guy outside builders can be hit and miss. Your R80/m2 or R450/day guy could possibly give you a R30/m2 or R200/day finish... and at times the R350/R50 guy can also give you the higher costing finishes.
Personally I dont always give a cost per square. If I'm doing other work at a client's place I try to give an overall figure for the job to keep the price competitive.
Smokey mcpot
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I agree with this. It can become quite messy so get it done while the house is empty. Living in a house while doing this can be quote annoying and difficult. Even worse for the guys when they have to move things around to get things done.
Smokey mcpot
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Bathrooms and kitchens are pricey. Personally I wouldn't skimp on it.
Kitchens are not really my thing and I recommend someone great though. Sometimes the kitchen alone costs the same and even more than me painting and skimming the entire house with some extras on the list. Most expensive I saw was R800k!
Kitchens are not really my thing and I recommend someone great though. Sometimes the kitchen alone costs the same and even more than me painting and skimming the entire house with some extras on the list. Most expensive I saw was R800k!
AchmatK
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Had some high water loss from the pond. About 400l per day. Was expecting water loss due to the surface area being so large but not this much. Managed to find some low areas over the weekend and raised the plastic sheeting in those areas. Water loss is now down to about 100 to 150 litres per day. I think the total surface area is ±15m² so losing 150l to evaporation per day is within the norm.
Only place I can check water loss is the bottom collection pond where the pump is located. It has a fairly small diameter of about 50cm and 50cm deep. The level was dropping 30cm overnight and now its dropping only 5cm. Can now top it up weekly instead of daily. Pond and stream will cost me 2kl of water per month. Fortunately the water comes straight from my well. Summer there would be higher water loss.
Only place I can check water loss is the bottom collection pond where the pump is located. It has a fairly small diameter of about 50cm and 50cm deep. The level was dropping 30cm overnight and now its dropping only 5cm. Can now top it up weekly instead of daily. Pond and stream will cost me 2kl of water per month. Fortunately the water comes straight from my well. Summer there would be higher water loss.
Steamy Tom
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I always thought the same, but damn this winter my evap is much higher than my summer, i suppose in summer there was rain falling which was possibly holding it at bay more
AchmatK
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We had some rain last week and on those days there was nearly zero water loss. We don't get much summer rain in Cape Town.
At least I can now rule out any leaks within the system.
ElixirCoder
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Also, wind contributes to escalated evaporative water loss in sunny conditions, especially warm dry winds like we’ve had the last few days in Cape Town.
Trying to find a tiler can be daunting. We had some work done in the kitchen recently and decided to go through CTM installers. If you don't find anyone try CTM out, can at least just get a quote...I think they might be more expensive but in the end you do get some guarantee on the work and we are happy with the people they sent (I think it was OnCallSA that eventually rocked up and did the work)
Definitely this ^ if you can.
The dust from the rooms will go throughout the house. Easier to clean an empty home than when you have move things in already.
Controlling temperature in a home question(s)
The temperature in our home is really cool … okay, it feels cold. This winter has had a couple of really cold spells and the ambient temperature has been really cool.
I am looking for ways to improve this.
One of the options I am considering is roof insulation, as we have nothing. The different websites talk about up to 80% improvement in room temperature.
If I can ask, what is your experience? Does it make a big improvement?
The one concern is how much heat will be lost transferring through windows. Obviously, this will reduce the effectiveness of “trapping” temperature, but is there a way to determine what impact this will be? Our windows are not particularly big; probably average.
Are there other cost effective ways of controlling the temperature indoors? A neighbour close by has an indoor wood-burner, which I think I need to consider too.
The temperature in our home is really cool … okay, it feels cold. This winter has had a couple of really cold spells and the ambient temperature has been really cool.
I am looking for ways to improve this.
One of the options I am considering is roof insulation, as we have nothing. The different websites talk about up to 80% improvement in room temperature.
If I can ask, what is your experience? Does it make a big improvement?
The one concern is how much heat will be lost transferring through windows. Obviously, this will reduce the effectiveness of “trapping” temperature, but is there a way to determine what impact this will be? Our windows are not particularly big; probably average.
Are there other cost effective ways of controlling the temperature indoors? A neighbour close by has an indoor wood-burner, which I think I need to consider too.
WAslayer
Honorary Master
Roof insulation can be a big help.. when I had mine installed, my inside temperature went from same as outside or colder, weirdly to anything between 4 - 6 degrees warmer than outside with no additional heat source.. if you do have an additional heat source, the insulation will then retain that heat for longer when the heat source has been turned off, so makes it more efficient..
TheBadMadMan
Expert Member
Roof insulation is a must. Go as thick as you can. You will feel an immediate difference.
Joburg Architectural approval + Project Manager Recommendations
Looking for recommendations for people on an addition/alteration to a cottage. This is to cover:
* Architectural design development steps, including council engagement on plans, zoning, drafting plans etc.
* Key project management and site instruction aspects, such as proper planning to ensure materials etc. are fully covered upfront.
Looking for recommendations for people on an addition/alteration to a cottage. This is to cover:
* Architectural design development steps, including council engagement on plans, zoning, drafting plans etc.
* Key project management and site instruction aspects, such as proper planning to ensure materials etc. are fully covered upfront.
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