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Yeah. Tiles do look lovely, and there’s some option to just replace the broken ones. But, that doesn’t necessarily fix the problem long term.

Done right, and not Landlord Special? It’s a more permanent solution.

Hire a specialist. It is easier than ever to find local folks online, but you still might want to ask around with the new neighbors and or local flooring stores.

I would skip Linoleum myself and go with a good tile. However, that is me.

If you go for tiles it's worth buying some extra so when you inevitably crack some you have replacements to hand

Yeah, we had tiles in our old place but in a kitchen they get cracked really easily, especially if your washing machine has a potent spin cycle......

We haven't replaced the kitchen floor in the new place yet but after much deliberation we are going to go for lino. It's the most cost effective vs hard wearing solution we can find for now and it looks ok from what we can tell.

I don't know if they have them where you are but we are going to use a company called Tapi. They did all our carpets at a very reasonable price and I was happy with the work. We saved a fair few quid by ripping up the old carpets and taking them to the skip. Apparently we can do the same for the kitchen floor (but we don't have tiles which might be more of a hassle). You can hire a tile remover from HSS if you wanted to save some money.

Definitely recommend getting someone in though. I thought I was "OKish" at DIY and tried to put some lino in a tiny toilet - didn't go well.....

Even if you don't go with Tapi, they have a cool app on their website where you upload a photo of the room and then AI will show you what it looks like with a particular floor covering, so worth visiting online just for that.

In contrast we had vinyl for years in the kitchen and found it wears out. Burns, dents, scrapes. The worst was the last set we had where it got one or two small dents and then someone got a cheap steam-cleaner and used it which of course found its way under any micro-pore and lifted the top layer.

Meanwhile the tiles we had fitted (fake wood effect) have proven to be far more durable and you don't have to worry if someone walks through with a stone in their shoe/highheels/etc....


We did hire someone to install it - the MidnightTiler - who was true to his name!

A lot of stuff you can do yourself, but I think anything that's going to take a lot of work to install, is a hassle if it has to be reinstalled/repaired and is going to take a lot of regular wear and tear - then its worth both spending good money on good materials and having someone who knows what they are doing do the installation work.

Esp if you're not a normally "hands on" kind of person. You can learn a LOT from youtube these days but you'll always make mistakes the first time you do something. Tile a smaller room or a shed or such where its not as much a problem if something goes wrong and you can take your time over it without it disrupting the house.

Another question? Do I need to insulate a shed if I want to keep my tumble dryer in it?

It’s currently waterproof and in good condition. Also has a pre-drilled hole for the exhaust tube.

Just not sure if I can just bung a machine in there safely.

You shouldn't need to insulate (assuming you mean thermal insulation here - definitely need electrical insulation!). Tumble dryers with an exhaust tube spit most of their humid air outside. The shed itself will still get quite damp and humid, though, so consider that, and what else you're storing in it, before you put a tumble dryer in there.

Also, tumble dryers are one of the more dangerous things in a house. Modern ones are fine, but they are basically putting flammable clothes next to a very hot thing, which can lead to big problems very quickly if anything does go wrong. There are pros and cons to putting that fire risk outside the house where it's less likely to cause major damage but also less easily observed and not near a smoke alarm.

Looks like the shed had power to it at some point, but needs hooking up. So will be getting an electrician in. Also to replace a couple of wall lights with ones much more in my style. So he’ll have a few wee jobs.

Definitely not mucking about with wiring myself.

Lino can be a bit slippery. For a kitchen I would (and did) just go for some kind of kitchen proof laminate. But if you are redoing the kitchen don't do what my kitchen fitter tried to do and put the units on top of the laminate...

Lino or laminate really. Anything but these tiles!

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/53211/drysoon-heated-drying-pod-airer?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20891890221

I'd recommend something like that in place of a tumble dryer, those things are notoriously energy intensive and expensive to run

I have a tumble dryer and a heated airer in the utility room. Much prefer the airer myself, but the tumble dryer is so easy to shove everything into straight out of the washing machine.

Yeah, had mine coming up….7 years now? Maybe longer. Was the first thing I bought when I got a decent sized flat.

Today, the roofers begin their work. Turns out at least some, possibly all, existing tiles included Asbestos, which has pushed the price up due to specific disposal obligations.

Nothing can be done about it. The roof needs replacing, and you can’t magic away the asbestos element.

Also, gonna rename the thread to a more general home owner discussion.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also? Just had my first Bin Day involving my own bins!.

As someone who’s only previously lived in flats/apartments with (often entirely inadequate) shared bins? It’s gonna be really, really nice to know if something is in my bin, it’s me wot’s put it there.

No more wandering downstairs, full bin bag in hand, only to find the Wheelie Bin chock full.

My bins. My muck. My recycling. And yes, I do take the time to separate into landfill and recycling. It may not solve anything in itself, but at least I’m not wilfully adding to it

Nice.

I wish I had a place like that, but I'm honestly looking at joining a ship's crew and saving my money until retirement.

 Skinflint Games wrote:
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/53211/drysoon-heated-drying-pod-airer?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20891890221

I'd recommend something like that in place of a tumble dryer, those things are notoriously energy intensive and expensive to run

I had never even heard of one of these. Fascinating.

The notion of putting a clothes dryer in a shed is also alien to me, but one concern would be the temperature of the shed. Yes, it puts out hot air, but depending on the climate, drying may take extra time of the dryer can't get warm enough.

Of course, I understand that Great Britain has a constant temperature of 60F and rains 18 out of 24 hours a day.

Except for three days in December, when it snows, and the big tennis matches, which is the only time there is full sunlight.

I've gotten good mileage out of simply using a clothesline. Not only dries clothes for free, but airs them out so they smell fresh too.

Granted, it doesn't work all that well in winter, but if you can hang your clothes out half the time you're still ahead of the game.

I do have a clothesline in the garden, and I will make use of it. But right now garden has building debris and scaffolding in it, not conducive to laundry.

It will be a working from home perk though. No pegging it out in the morning hoping for the best. I can pick and choose my times, including scuttling out to bring it in when the weather decides “yeah sod it, I’m gonna rain now”

New question.

The downstairs is painted mostly to my liking. A nice forest green (somewhere between Dark Angels Green and British Racing Green) and an earthy salmon.

But I think I want it all that green I described.

How reliable are paint matching attempts?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
New question.

The downstairs is painted mostly to my liking. A nice forest green (somewhere between Dark Angels Green and British Racing Green) and an earthy salmon.

But I think I want it all that green I described.

How reliable are paint matching attempts?

They are pretty good BUT have a hard time adjusting to times impact on shades (I.e. fading from sunlight, grime, etc). The newer the paint the better it is.

I would consider matching the paint, and re-paint all the green and the new areas as well.

Suggest repaint whole. Paints shade change due to UV and you don't get same colour for new and old even if you knew right color code.
We painted kitchen with nice ivory-like washable paint and after only 2 years, when we decide to fix paint job(some damage due to inaccurate fridge movement) we order same paints with same coloration and it's looks like 2 different colours. So just repaint whole wall.

Fair points

On a slight downer? Had a wobble last Friday night. I’m a creature of habit and whilst not a slave to it, I prefer to have a routine.

With the house move, having to go into the office for work, issues with deliveries and the lads in sorting the roof? I hadn’t had a chance to have my home to myself since I first moved in.

It felt like I was just house sitting, something I did for a period around 15 years ago when I was homeless. New environment, lots of things going on. Just made me want to go “home”.

I’m struggling to describe it, but it was just too much variation on routine in too short a space of time. And having to get up three hours early for my commute, with no broadband for comfort watching? I was left wondering if I’d made the right decision.

I mean…I had, of course I had. I’ve bought a bloody house, cash down. If there’s a world where that’s an objectively bad idea it’s not a world I want to live in. But still the out of sorts feel persisted.

Feeling much more Me now. Got some of my woodcuts up, my delightful books are around 50% unpacked and shelved. The last two days I’ve been back to Working From Home. So it’s all settling down.

Still a bit to go with the unpacking and finding a home for my assorted bits and doodads and gubbins and thingies and wotsits and that. But on the right side of Temporary Discomfort Hill.

So... when are you installing the war room?

Hobby Room is currently the storage room.

Many boxes, many gubbins, only the one idiot.

I hope to get the unpacking done this weekend though. When that’s done, I’ll take a bit to suss out what’s where, where’s got nothing and plan from there.

I do have space for a gaming table, but would have to be one I can pack away.

Also need to get one of them telescopic legs ladders, so I can properly access the attic. There’s loads of space up there currently not put to good use.

Just a shame my mate is a shortarse, as such redeployment of “precious but not gonna be used terribly soon” goods will involve someone being in said attic, and someone handing them up.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
So... when are you installing the war room?

You can’t fight in here! It’s the War Room!

—

If you don’t have a few “WTF did I just get myself into” moments after buying a house, you underestimate the magnitude of home ownership. It’s a lot of very muchness. But also stuff you can deal with. Either yourself with a little research, or calling in the pros.

I had a bunch when I bought the house I’m in now. Still do sometimes. But it was still worth it.

Jokes entirely apart?

Given this a gift received through quite serious grief? Now I’ve got more of my bits and bobs out and on display (ooooer missus) and all the other Life Guff of the past couple of weeks?

I’m on the happy side of this song. Not going home. I am home.

Do you have any fluffballs in your new home?

I'd got that "I'm home" feeling after may be half a year. Because earlier it's too much action to set it up properly.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Do you have any fluffballs in your new home?

Not yet, but I will be getting a dog eventually.

How is your house heated in cold weather? Coal? Firewoods? Electricity?

Got central heating, fired by the gas boiler. Also got double glazing for greater insulation.

It’s been pretty cosy so far, and the radiators seems sensibly placed throughout.