New House

[SJB]

Well I've finally decided to get on the ridiculously overpriced UK property ladder and had an offer accepted on a 1950s ex council place, hopefully gonna have a month to work on it between getting the keys and moving out of our rented gaff. The Mrs wants laminate floor all the way through, upstairs and down before we get in there, to which I am agreeable. BUT she says I'm mad for wanting to totally rip all the existing heating and water copper out and re-do it before we go putting the laminate in.

Im thinking rip it all out of the notched joists and run new JG through the centres of joists courtesy of my angle drill a la new builds, making getting to it easier in future via the ceilings.

thats not mental is it? To you lot anyway....

So much bloody work to do in there it's keeping me up every night! Don't think I'm gonna get my rest for at least five years once this starts.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Your biggest concern is laminatr floor right through ,
immediate devalue

 

[Best]

Sounds like your Mrs is a typical woman - wants all the cosmetic stuff done, covering everything, but who cares about the essential and perhaps at risk of faults or leaks, old pipework all buried? :smile: I bet she also wants bathroom, kitchen, fireplaces, etc, etc, replaced or major revamped?
Personally I don't think you are mental wanting to replace the pipework and I would also consider the wiring, lighting, alarm systems, television cables, etc.
But I would just replace any pipework with the Rolls Royce traditional copper pipes, but that's me

 

[newcastle phill]

I think its a good idea. But i do like the feeling of carpet under my toes

 

[joni os]

New kitchen,new bathroom,new heating,new consumer unit, paint,carpets. Smarten externals. Don't worry about what can't be seen. Sell and move on to next property within 2 yrs. Only legal way to avoid tax on your work. Should have been doing it years ago instead of making money for others.

 

[SJB]

No way Joni I'm only doing this moving lark once so anything I do now I've got to live with for the next 30+ years, the place is big enough that once it's done unless we have another three kids to go with the two we've already got we won't outgrow it (already been extended once to the side and got plans to extend out to the front as well)

The best part of it is it's only two streets away from the in laws...

 

[Stanios]

Makes sense though still I would change whatever I could to make energy bills lower as a #1 priority - insulation, double glazing, condensing boiler, LED lights why not, all will amount to £1000s in savings over 30+ years. Pipes are worth changing if they are full of sludge then change radiators too that's more energy savings.

I'd not touch anything else after that, plenty of decorators, carpenters and tilers who can make me look like a DIY so leave their work to them besides time spent painting I can go fit a boiler and have the whole bloody house painted by a pro instead.

 

[Destroyer2813]

Gutted mine top to bottom when bought it re-plumbed, re-wired, skimmed new bathroom chimmney breast out all the way through , re-decorated new doors, skirts and arcs, new bathroom only thing didnt do was the kitchen that extension project is currently on going . If your planning on being there a long time do all the stuff under the floors now before you get all your stuff in there

 

[Ric2013]

If the existing copper pipework is sound and suitable, I do think it would be mental to change it. Yes, you _might_ get a pinhole (it happened to my gran - BUT it was covered by her insurance and they repaired the pipe, fitted new plasterboard, plaster skimmed and painted the kitchen ceiling and it was actually a significant improvement) and sometimes you realise you can waste a lot of your life trying to get peace of mind, when you can just as easily get peace of mind by realising that the worst case scenario isn't actually that bad and that things will always go wrong.

But then I do have an alternative outlook to many. There is no one right answer.

That said, if you're planning any alteration that might make the existing seem undersized or inappropriate, or if it's just not very good, then, yes may as well change it, saves piddling about later.

Since it's ex-council it may well be slathered in Artex or similar, and a lot of it contains asbestos. You can always send samples off by post for a "reasonable" cost to have them analysed.

 

[Ric2013]

If the existing copper pipework is sound and suitable, I do think it would be mental to change it. Yes, you _might_ get a pinhole (it happened to my gran - BUT it was covered by her insurance and they repaired the pipe, fitted new plasterboard, plaster skimmed and painted the kitchen ceiling and it was actually a significant improvement) and sometimes you realise you can waste a lot of your life trying to get peace of mind, when you can just as easily get peace of mind by realising that the worst case scenario isn't actually that bad and that things will always go wrong.

But then I do have an alternative outlook to many. There is no one right answer.

That said, if you're planning any alteration that might make the existing seem undersized or inappropriate, or if it's just not very good, then, yes may as well change it, saves piddling about later.

Since it's ex-council it may well be slathered in Artex or similar, and a lot of it contains asbestos. You can always send samples off by post for a "reasonable" cost to have them analysed.

 

[Best]

I would be worried though that after I had grafted for a couple of years and replaced all the pipework and rewired etc, to make a perfect job, that my Mrs could throw me out and some other bloke could end up living there with her, enjoying my work. Does happen! :grin: