Living Room Project

[Lenny]

Update: 

Not much been happening recently due to car maintenance but still this may be entertaining.

 

We had an old chest freezer in the shed which I used to use around Christmas time to stock up on party packs and Ice as the shed is only a wooden frame construction; the freezer was cheaper to operate in winter as the surrounding temperatures would be lower 👌

But unused in summer months😕

 

Overall we don't really use it; 

I recently required a vessel to mix some concrete in 😕

I priced a steel wheelbarrow and there €90 if i was to purchase; id use it for mixing concrete only once, then i wouldn't need it again for another year or two when ill be doing the back garden.

 

So I decided to take the chest freezer out of the shed;while wife was out shopping, washed it out and mixed the concrete in it for the living room floor,😅

 

I had safety glasses on when mixing honestly I really did; but the spade hit side of the freezer, a drop of wet cement splashed up and caught me on side of left eye😣💩

 

Burned like mad, I washed it out for 15 minutes then being home alone; I had to carry on with mixing and pouring the cement otherwise it would have gone solid in the freezer and recycle centre wouldn't take it😦

 

So I carried on mixing and scooped it out of freezer in to a 10ltr bucket which I used to pour it in to the floor surrounding the conduit pipe #LikeABoss 

 

I purposely left a few millimetres below the surrounding finished floor level so the builder can put a fresh skim over the top.

 

I then had to go hospital 😅where they flushed my eye and give me drops for 10 days.

 

Next day I washed out the freezer like New and dropped it to the recycle centre😉

[Lenny]

Here's the concrete set three weeks now; 

 

 

 

Last weekend I went to my local DIY store and spoke to a store member; I told him i was planning to brick up a double door space and i wanted to purchase some sort of metal "L Brackets" to screw to the existing walls and tie in the new block work.

 

He says "we have a new product its called a EuroMetals wall starter kit" 

Brought me to a long blank cardboard box and took out two of these kits @ €14.75 each

Link: https://eurometals.ie/product/twin-pack-wallstarter/ 

 

 

 

There stainless steel constraints come complete with screws and wall plugs all you need to purchase is an 8mm masonry drill bit and a spirit level. 

 

I don't plan on building the wall myself no I want the job done right first time; and i knew the new wall section would need tieing in to the existing construction in some way to prevent cracking, I was glad to find this product which I can provide to the builder when commencing the job, 

 

While I was in the DIY store I picked up a roll of 32mm flexible PVC Drain pipe,  

This stuff is designed for use under sinks in difficultly shaped areas instead of a solid pipe or elbows. 

 

I'm going to use it for fishing cables between the back of television on the wall and the cabinet in the corner of the room 👍

 

 

 

The living  room is now at the stage where it's ready for all the block work and plastering to be done; 

Blocking up fireplace and door area, 

I contacted a local builder whom is highly recommend, 

He came last week and provided a very affordable quote of €520 to block up door area, fireplace area and plaster the bits around the front window where the cracks are exposed👍

 

He's arriving next Tuesday morning to commence work, I'm looking forward to this as it will put some shape back in to the room feeling less scattered.

 

Initially I had thought that after the doors had been blocked up, we would chase out a line for the tv cable conduit then plaster the wall over. 

 

However the builder has informed me there is an 80% chance of settlement cracks appearing in the joint where the new wall section joins to the existing structure.

 

The builder recommended slabbing the complete wall with 1.5" inch insulated plaster on both the living room and kitchen sides,

This results in a smoother finish which lines up lovely with the skirting board no partial gaps, 

Also means if the block wall developes settlement cracks over a period of time; they won't show through on the finished plaster. 

 

He's going to provide a quote for the slabbing when the block work has been completed, 

 

Ive also been down to the local home interior store last Thursday to look at some Luxaflex Oak venitian blinds for the living room and bedrooms basically the entire house except the kitchen, 

https://www.luxaflex.ie 

 

As the living room television is going to be on the wall directly corresponding with the front window I figured venitian blind would be the best option and ideal for the bedrooms aswell because I work nights every couple of weeks they really help with blacking things out preventing light transfer. 

The measurement guy came out Friday and meassured up for the order and provided the quote, 

 

There due to be fitted Wednesday/Thursday of next week, I'm going to have the living room blind fitted then taken down until painting and plastering have been completed but I'll get a picture before removing it for storage.

 

Mean time I've to create a time capsule with the kids and set it inside the fireplace before it's blocked up on Tuesday,

 

 

They may retrieve it in 30-40 years time as for the kids; its all about the memories and doing things together there not interested in blinds, cables or walls so I'm trying to involve them as much as possible.👍

[Lenny]

Bit of a late night update;

This image was taken monday night; last time I'll be able to stand in The kitchen and see The living room 😢 going to kinda miss it now😅 but excited to see results.

 

I installed the solid Oak window sill monday morning in preparation for builder arriving today,

I was holding off on fitting until last minute as our son likes to pick up hand tools if he can get them and take action 😁

 

I also meassured up the Chimney Breast to diagnose the exact loction where the power cable will connect to the Celsi ElectriFlame, 

Chased out the section with lump hammer & chisel,

Then fed the cable through to the switch location on side of chimney breast: 

 

 

The Builder arrived at 08:30 this morning and done an awesome job on the fireplace and the double door area, he was done by 14:00 👍

 

 

Very happy with the results & price👌

He's arriving again next Tuesday to plaster the inside front wall & Fireplace; 

 

Aswell as slab over the double door block work wall on both sides;

Also installing the conduit pipe for tv cables.

When plastering has been completed; we can then paint the kitchen side of the wall eliminating the kitchen space from becoming tied in to the living room project 

which will make it a bit easier to relax in the kitchen space at the end of the day,

Won't feel like we're in the middle of a new build home as 99% of current conversations were leading to "what needs doing next" as we sit trying to relax but looking in at it 😀

 

Much better with wall built now at this stage the project is contained to the living room space no longer disturbing other areas of the home😥

 

Next job is phishing all HDMI, Coaxial and RCA cables through the 35mm hose in preparation for next Tuesday hopfuly they all fit.

 

Its going to take a few days now for the wall and fireplace to dry out properly; smell of wet cement in the house is quite humid at present but that's part of the process well worth it.

 

[GMX]

That's coming together nicely Lenny

[Lenny]

On Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 1:51 AM, GMX said:

That's coming together nicely Lenny

Thanks mate,

Plastering is booked for next Tuesday 👍

[Dan P]

Nice to see you cracking on with a big project, even if it's not a Ford! I'm sure it'll be just as rewarding once you've got it all sorted.

[Lenny]

Meassured up the living room wall today to find the centre location.

I then marked out two locations where the 32mm flexible PVC Drain pipe will exit in to the wall;

A: From rear of cabinet

and

B: Enter at rear of television which will be mounted on centre of the wall.

 

Followed by cutting off the excess length from the 3 Metre coil after measuring requirements:

The 32mm pipe will exit through to the kitchen and re-enter behind the tv, 

The kitchen side of the wall is going to be partitioned and slabed with insulated plasterboards, the 32mm pipe will be housed inside this partition cavity instead of chasing out the blocks and installing.

 

This option was suggested to me by the builder whom pointed out; by routing cables out to rear of wall then returning back in where required, your eliminating any risk of ever drilling in to the cables at a later date when mounting a bracket or possibly a sound bar.

Now for the difficult part; fitting all of these cables inside😯

 

4 x 4M HDMI V2.0 Cables

1 x 4M Flat CAT7 RJ45 Network Cable.

1 x 4M C13 Plug power cable - 240V Plug.

1 x 5M Triple RCA Cable.

1 x 5M RG6 Quad Shielded Coaxial Cable.

First i labelled up the cables on both ends for ease of use at later date:

 

I then took the plug top off the power cable to reduce bulk and it around two hours to get them all through together in one stagared line from TV and back to cabinet end; but well worth the efforts forever more; as all the cables are within the pipe and moving freely; meaning the excess length of each cable can be pulled back to the rear of cabinet where it won't be saw atall👌

 

 

 

The loom is now ready for install next week👍

I'm very pleased with the result on this; As i was unsure it was going to work out 😅

 

The power cable I've fitted has a C13 male plug on the end to power a Television, however it is not yet known if the television will take a "C13" plug or if it needs a "figure 8" instead

I had thought of this before choosing to install the C13 cable and discovered there are adaptors available which convert a "C13" connection in to a "Figure 8" as saw here👇

 

This keeps the installation as universal as possible suitable for any brand of Television as it's capable of powering both supply options.

The final item added to complete installation are these Female - Female HDMI adaptors, they will fit on to the ends of the cables at the cabinet side making it possible to plug in a dongle device such as a Google ChromeCast or amazon Fire TV stick without having to access the rear of the television on the wall making it much easier.

[GMX]

That's a really good idea with the 32mm pipe

[salsheikh]

keep up the good work Lenny

Question - what type of tv bracket are you going to be using? Only reason I ask is that I used a nice flat/slim one for my kids tv and when it came to changing/removing cables when their xbox packed up it had to take the tv off the wall just to remove the cables which was a pig of a job. I have a nice tilt bracket for the tv in my bedroom which allows you to pull the tv forward by nearly 1 foot so access to cables is easier.

do not use on like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-UE65JU6000KXXU-SAMSUNG-65-ULTRA-SLIM-TV-BRACKET-WALL-MOUNT-FOR-SLIM-TVs-/152100596252?hash=item2369e6ea1c:g:0KAAAOSwDV1XQsTM 

use one like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-UE55JU6800K-SAMSUNG-55-TILT-SWIVEL-TV-BRACKET-WALL-MOUNT-/172216581054?hash=item2818e87bbe:g:vkEAAOSwR5dXQsTK

[Lenny]

On Monday, May 23, 2016 at 9:56 AM, salsheikh said:

keep up the good work Lenny

Question - what type of tv bracket are you going to be using? Only reason I ask is that I used a nice flat/slim one for my kids tv and when it came to changing/removing cables when their xbox packed up it had to take the tv off the wall just to remove the cables which was a pig of a job. I have a nice tilt bracket for the tv in my bedroom which allows you to pull the tv forward by nearly 1 foot so access to cables is easier.

do not use on like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-UE65JU6000KXXU-SAMSUNG-65-ULTRA-SLIM-TV-BRACKET-WALL-MOUNT-FOR-SLIM-TVs-/152100596252?hash=item2369e6ea1c:g:0KAAAOSwDV1XQsTM 

use one like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-UE55JU6800K-SAMSUNG-55-TILT-SWIVEL-TV-BRACKET-WALL-MOUNT-/172216581054?hash=item2818e87bbe:g:vkEAAOSwR5dXQsTK

Thanks mate,

And I really appreciate the advice on brackets as it's somthing I'll be looking in to in more detail soon,

My mother has her living room TV mounted on a swivel bracket comes out of the wall and turns left-right just like the one you linked there looks great,

I'm looking for a flat mounted bracket which tilts.
I would like it to sit close to the wall because the side of the television will be visible on entering the room 😕

I know that's a bit controversial to your advice regarding the Xbox but when the TV goes on the wall im plugging all cables in; then the cabinet in the corner mirrors the rear of the tv because I'm installing all cables the tv is capable of taking before the tv goes in to place. 
I don't currently need 4 HDMI cables but there going in for future compatability.

I'm also interested to find out; how long are the cables between voltage adaptor and Television on these large screens.
I would prefer not to have to try and hide the voltage adaptor block behind the tv if possible if prefer to have it behind the cabinet and phish the power cable through to the TV.

I probably won't be purchasing the TV until January Sales but it will be around 46-48" LED. I know January's a bit of a while away but I've gotta purchase tiles for hallway, three door frames, doors, handles, Solid oak floor, floating mantle and a sofa or two first 😅

The TV and possibly soundbar will be very final items so I currently anticipate it will be around January when purchasing them; all going well.

[Lenny]

The Builder arrived back this morning 10am and fitted the pipe full of wires in to the wall prior to slabbing both sides with 1.5" inch insulated plasterboards and plastering over them aswell as plastering the front wall and chimney breast.

 

I'm extremely happy with today's progress and results, things are working out very well so far in the project 👍

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know the image of the front wall ☝there looks like it's all different levels but it's really 100% smooth, it will flatten out when undercoated and painted.

 

[salsheikh]

looking good Lenny 

[Lenny]

On 5/22/2016 at 3:51 PM, GMX said:

That's a really good idea with the 32mm pipe

It's very workable aswell; there's no wire inside the spring shaped coil it's all rubber, I left it a bit long to ensure the builder would leave it; exiting the hole in plaster at both ends,

It was a bit long at the cabinet side and because it doesn't bend very tight i wanted to trim it back a bit; and im surprised to say it cut using only a scissors 👍

I then diagnosed each of the coaxial cables and labelled them on both living room and attic space ends theres a total of five coaxial feeds required for best results, the image below shows four and I later added a fifth.

1. 👇 RF Aerial signal from attic to the living room, this feed comes down from the terrestrial aerial on the roof, 

It then goes in to a HDMI to RF modulator, A cable then comes out of this modulator and goes back up to the attic via the:

2. ☝Multi room signal coaxial feed where it's shared throughout the home.

3. 👇TV feed from the splitter in the attic, this cable comes from the 4Ch splitter and contains all terrestrial channels aswell as the channel from the HDMI modulator.

4&5. 👇Twin Sattelite feed from sattelite dish on the roof in to sky box.

I later decided to install a 4 port Female "F Type" socket plate to reduce excess cables on the wall, later changed to a five port from Clipsal to reflect the change.

The 1.5" insulated plasterboard makes it very easy to install extra sockets by marking it out; drilling the four corners then cutting from corner to corner using a Stanley blade;

I've added an extra two sockets aswell as recessing the telephone socket and coaxial cables. 

Labelled up the F-Type ports instead of the cables 👍

found some military grade coaxial cables on eBay available in various pre-terminated lengths there super flexible and around the same diameter as a speaker cable 

Later fitted all the sockets,

May seem a bit excessive fitting twelve sockets; but when you add everything up: cabinet light, Games Console, Television, Satellite box, Virgin Media box, Virgin Media Signal amplifier, DVD player, Wifi Router, LAN Router, amazon Fire TV box, Hifi, there's the twelve sockets used up.

On 5/25/2016 at 9:21 AM, salsheikh said:

looking good Lenny 

Thanks mate, Its really taking shape now the plastering is done 👍

[Lenny]

The Luxaflex Oak Venitian blinds were fitted throughout the house yesterday, 

https://www.luxaflex.ie 

My first time having these; and I must say the bedroom one will be great for weeks im working night shift because they really block out the light when closed. 

 

The living room venitian I had fitted then taken down and put back in the packaging to protect from dust and paint,

I'll refit it at a later date when the project is complete.

 

My initial feeling was

"😯 there a bit prison cell style"

But then I discovered that they can be fully lifted just like a roller blind they fold up tight to the top

I like that option for upstairs but when tv goes on the wall corresponding to the livingroom window; The blind will be ideal in the lowerd position while still letting light in at an adjustable angle.

The guy fitting was an absolute Gentleman vacuumed up after himself with own vacuum cleaner and even fitted some Cleat hooks to the cords;

The main reason for fitting thd cleat hooks was for child safety to prevent them hanging themselves and also to protect paint work as the cord ends tend to smack around in a breeze.

Overall well worth every penny👍

Next stage is; 

Recessing the radiator pipes in to the wall instead of existing way of coming up through the floor.

 

For now though; im taking another break from the project and will get back to it in 4-5 weeks early July.

 

It's comforting to have had the cable management all complete there's nothing left to be mindful of; in case some cable was to be forgotten or somthing I kept re-thinking it and doing a list,

But thankfully all of that's now done and tidy.

[Lenny]

The Hall

First I removed the existing tiles and radiator; rented out a cango along with a chisel tip only cost €35 for three days since it was a bank holiday weekend at the time. 

 

 

The Plan was to remove all tiles and bonding from the hallway and under the stairs WC 🚽

 

I managed to lift some of the kitchen tiles before the doors were blocked up; using only a hammer & chisel but couldn't remove the bonding from the concrete floor it's quite toubh bonding😥

However; 

The cango removed it leaving the original smooth concrete finished floor👌 #LikeABoss

Extremely dusty job,

I had a dust mask, goggles and earplugs on and sustained some minor cuts to the head; as the shrapnel of porcelain tiles shatterd and flew, things calmed down then when chasing off the grouting so I let the kids have a quick try when removing the grouting; I held the kango and they pulled the trigger ☺️

 

The Finished results are awesome though; the concrete floor is as smooth as the living room which had underlay and laminate wooden flooring.

 

I encountered a problem in the WC toilet area though; 

The tiles are under the toilet and when chasing them out as close as possible to the toilet; I accidentally cracked the pedestal causing a minor leak 😣

 

Its not really a huge problem as I have the replacement Toilet upstairs in a box, ready to go in after the new tiles have been done.

 

However in order to prevent it continuously leaking; I've suspended up the ball 🐓 and removed the 90 degree elbow pipe which links the cistern to the pedestal.

 

Today the DIY store's were opened and I was able to purchase a 4" Soil Pipe blanking cap.

I was ideally looking to source a 3" variant but couldn't be gotten locally.

Had I been able to obtain a 3" I could have also removed the elbow pipe from the floor, 

 

Since the blank is 4" the only option was to leave the elbow in the drain and blank it instead preventing waste gasses from entering the house while eliminating leaks and preparing for tiling to be carried out.

 

Next step was to remove the cistern; however the water pipe feeding in to it; doesn't have a local shut off valve 😕

I purchased three 1/2" brass blanking caps to blank off existing fittings on both toilet and the sink.

 

Turned off the main supply in the house upstairs; then fitted a blank cap to the end until tiling is complete.

Removed the sink and blanked those pipes too, water supply turned back on and no leaks 👌

The paint lifted a bit when I removed the sink so I began peeling it a bit 😕 eventually had it all back to plaster 😁

Now ready for tiling👍

 

Went out with wife last Sunday to a bathroom store and decided to go in for a look as eventually will be tiling hallway when living room is complete.

 

Ended up purchasing a new sink, cabinet, mirror and toilet for downstairs WC😦

In fairness though it's a tidy little setup👍

 

Gotta tile hallway before installing these as down stairs WC will be the same floor but you don't see a corner sink like that every day, good to have it stored for when ready.

 

I've also picked up two of these half Inch diameter adjustable ball valves;

I plan to have one fitted to both hot & cold water pipe's supplying the new sink in the downstairs WC allowing the flow rate to be reduced to a mild steam, meaning;

The kids are less likely to flood the place or waste as much water when washing there hands because the fully opened tap won't provide full flowing pressure when it's flow rate has been governed or reduced by these adjustable valves underneath the sink👍

 

Anyway to leave the hall safe I've layed down another four of the cheapest mats available in IKEA large 120x180cm floor mats for €14 each there "IBSTED" / low pile Rug from IKEA item code: 603.668.12 

In order to prevent the kids from getting hurt on the concrete floor until the new tiles go in.

 

 

I've also removed the hall radiator as I'll be relocating it further down towards the front door and replacing it with a vertical type which will be situated directly below a coat hanging rail; resulting in the jackets getting warmed in winter while the central heating is active.

[salsheikh]

you doing the whole house up then? that floor came up good but it must have took some serious dedication and graft to get it that good so hats off to you Lenny 

is the living room finished off?

[Lenny]

On 6/7/2016 at 2:18 PM, salsheikh said:

you doing the whole house up then? that floor came up good but it must have took some serious dedication and graft to get it that good so hats off to you Lenny 

is the living room finished off?

Cheers mate,

Took around eight hours to chase the whole floor smooth, was toubh going; holding the cango at an angle and that especially when you've been working the whole night before aswell 😅

I finished up at 8pm Saturday having been awake 26 hours at that point had shower and went to sleep.

I will be doing upstairs at some point next year,

The living room hasn't progressed any further than shown above yet, 

It all started with an idea to change the living room door to oak then gotta have them all matching so one room leads in to the other...

The plan in near future is to change all three downstairs doors and frames to oak and eliminate the saddle boards.

next month will be changing the downstairs door frames to oak, 

so the tiles had to be lifted at this time to allow the door frames sit in correctly, the replacement doors will sit lower because there won't be any saddle boards, easier cleaned and looks better in my opinion.

When door frames are in, can then fit replacement tiles followed by doors, but will be adding progress to the living room aswell in between👍

[Preecematt]

Great progress again Lenny especially the floor & what the builder has done they both look quality jobs.  My only question is, why Oak venetian blinds?  We have them in our kitchen(from when we moved in) & I hate them lol, it's only because I can't be bothered to get up and change them that they are still here.  Bet you felt like the Michelin man after 8 hours on that Chisel

[Lenny]

On 6/8/2016 at 11:53 PM, Preecematt said:

Great progress again Lenny especially the floor & what the builder has done they both look quality jobs.  My only question is, why Oak venetian blinds?  We have them in our kitchen(from when we moved in) & I hate them lol, it's only because I can't be bothered to get up and change them that they are still here.  Bet you felt like the Michelin man after 8 hours on that Chisel

Thanks very much Mate,

We too had Oak venitian blinds in the kitchen when we moved in that were on the old back door and kitchen window, I didn't like them there atall neither 😕and removed them few years ago, they weren't the coated type and dust stuck to them, they were also thin strip type which restricts alot of light.

 

Currently we don't have anything on kitchen window or door,

I had planned to fit curtain to the door and matching blind for Window last spring but I then had accident and didn't yet get back to that one but I won't be fitting venitian's to kitchen or bathroom.

 

I chose the Oak venitian blind for the living room because the television is going to be mounted on the wall directly corresponding the window; I don't want people being able to watch it as the go past, venitian blocks shadows caused by the shine from the television out through the window aswell, 

 

I also liked the oak finish for the living room it will tie in nicely with the window cill, floating mantle and floor.

We then decided the venitian would be ideal for the bedrooms aswell; because I work nights every few weeks there ideal for blocking out the light in the room and it's easier to get the kids to sleep in there rooms with venitian blinds in these summer months too.

 

The venitian blinds we have fitted have a coating on them designed for bathroom use;

I chose this type for all of the windows as they don't soak dust or dirt there easily cleaned like anti-static.

 

The strips are 2" inch wide aswell resulting in less blockage of light when opened and less gaps for light to shine through when closed, 

Started off only planning to fit one in the living room but things snowballed with that plan too but great for sleeping during day when working nights without it being obvious to people outside that the blind is closed.

 

My hands and arms were feeling a bit cramped after using the chisel for a long period of time, swet was rolling out of me aswell as it's currently quite warm in general but was also wearing full boiler suit, goggles, knee pads and dust mask with all Windows and doors closed to keep dust as confined as possible, 

Very glad to have it all behind me now but at the same time I'm delighted was physically able to do it as this time last year I was stuck on sofa unable to even butter a slice of toast or carry cup of tea with fractured pelvis, that was a very mentally damaging experience at the time and to be honest I was afraid to be picking up a cango for the first time; last weekend following such injury 13 months ago as its a very long recovery time and can't afford any setbacks; only got all clear from Hospital back in May of this year. Im delighted that lifting the tiles caused no agrtivation to me atall I'm ordinary again👍

 

This response has worked out alot longer than planned but all valid information 

(in my opinion anyway)😅

[Preecematt]

2 hours ago, Lenny said:

 

Thanks very much Mate,

We too had Oak venitian blinds in the kitchen when we moved in that were on the old back door and kitchen window, I didn't like them there atall neither 😕and removed them few years ago, they weren't the coated type and dust stuck to them, they were also thin strip type which restricts alot of light.

currently we don't have anything on kitchen window or door, I had planned to fit curtain to the door and matching blind for Window last spring but I then had accident and didn't yet get back to that one but I won't be fitting venitian's to kitchen or bathroom.

 

I chose the Oak venitian blind for the living room because the television is going to be mounted on the wall directly corresponding the window; I don't want people being able to watch it as the go past, venitian blocks shadows caused by the shine from the television out through the window aswell, 

I also liked the oak finish for the living room it will tie in nicely with the window cill, floating mantle and floor.

We then decided the venitian would be ideal for the bedrooms aswell; because I work nights every few weeks there ideal for blocking out the light in the room and it's easier to get the kids to sleep in there rooms with venitian blinds in these summer months too.

 

The venitian blinds we have fitted have a coating on them designed for bathroom use; I chose this type for all of the Windows as they don't soak dust or dirt there easily cleaned like anti-static. The strips are 2" inch wide aswell resulting in less blockage of light when opened and less gaps for light to shine through when closed, 

Started off only planning to fit one in the living room but things snowballed with that plan too but great for sleeping during day when working nights without it being obvious to people outside that the blind is closed.

 

My hands and arms were feeling a bit cramped after using the chisel for a long period of time, swet was rolling out of me aswell as it's currently quite warm in general but was also wearing full boiler suit, goggles, knee pads and dust mask with all Windows and doors closed to keep dust as confined as possible, 

Very glad to have it all behind me now but at the same time I'm delighted was physically able to do it as this time last year I was stuck on sofa unable to even butter a slice of toast or carry cup of tea with fractured pelvis, that was a very mentally damaging experience at the time and to be honest I was afraid to be picking up a cango for the first time; last weekend following such injury 13 months ago as its a very long recovery time and can't afford any setbacks; only got all clear from Hospital back in May of this year. Im delighted that lifting the tiles caused no agrtivation to me atall I'm ordinary again👍

 

This response has worked out alot longer than planned but all valid information 

(in my opinion anyway)😅

I wasn't aware you'd had a serious injury matey, worst I've had is a sprained wrist from football.  I'd imagine the mentally damaging bit would be the rehab sort of thing for want of a better term, you'd be constantly asking are you going to be back to your old self in terms of strength and flexibility etc especially if you'd of been pretty much house bound.  Do you do any stretches etc?  Our oak blinds, if you so much as !Removed! it sticks to them, the amount of dust on them is ridiculous( and that's with weekly dusting) obviously as you know, you can't wet them as they just get even worse, I've always liked the office style vertical blinds, I don't know why but I'm very much a curtain man, just feels so much more homely with nice thick curtains.  Can't be doing with the nets though, so we don't have nets.  The blinds should hopefully look really nice with your window sill, I can't remember if you've said but what colour are you painting the room, or are you using wallpaper?  

Edit, put an F in front of art lol.  To guess the removed word

[Lenny]

On 6/9/2016 at 11:29 PM, Preecematt said:

I wasn't aware you'd had a serious injury matey, worst I've had is a sprained wrist from football.  I'd imagine the mentally damaging bit would be the rehab sort of thing for want of a better term, you'd be constantly asking are you going to be back to your old self in terms of strength and flexibility etc especially if you'd of been pretty much house bound.  Do you do any stretches etc?  Our oak blinds, if you so much as !Removed! it sticks to them, the amount of dust on them is ridiculous( and that's with weekly dusting) obviously as you know, you can't wet them as they just get even worse, I've always liked the office style vertical blinds, I don't know why but I'm very much a curtain man, just feels so much more homely with nice thick curtains.  Can't be doing with the nets though, so we don't have nets.  The blinds should hopefully look really nice with your window sill, I can't remember if you've said but what colour are you painting the room, or are you using wallpaper?  

Edit, put an F in front of art lol.  To guess the removed word

I had alot of physiotherapy doing exercises and go walking with the kids while they go on there electric scooter's means I can go at a proper pace of walking to exercise it properly,

I appreciate your understanding of the mental impacts such injury can cause aswell mate it was a dark time where I felt I was letting my kids down as I couldn't take them to the zoo or various activities because of the injury although they didn't take it as bad as I felt it myself at the time.

The venitians we have now; have a sort of clear coating on them which wipes clean nicely, thankfully not like the old ones we had in the kitchen.

Regarding colour for the living room I haven't said before; I wanted to paint it a light whitish green colour but the wife wasn't happy with that so it's going to be Fleetwood "Amethyst Night"

Should go nice with the oak and the fire is black, radiator and tv on other walls are also black so I suppose the grey should workout.

Wife plans to fit a grey sofa set then with some colourful cushions not sure what colour yet perhaps the odd citrus green cushion I dunno 😣 "whatever keeps her happy"😅

[Preecematt]

@Lenny don't let her get started on the cushions, seriously mate you WILL NOT be able to move.  Sounds really nice & that picture you've attached, it looks a very good choice of colour.  Will you be painting the oak doors or leaving them as they come out the factory/shop?  It would look even better just as they come out the shop.  We have kept the doors & sideskirts in the whole of our house standard wood(I think they are pine) 1.  Because I hate painting fiddly bits & 2.  White skirts & doors look horrible.  

[Lenny]

1 hour ago, Preecematt said:

@Lenny don't let her get started on the cushions, seriously mate you WILL NOT be able to move.  Sounds really nice & that picture you've attached, it looks a very good choice of colour.  Will you be painting the oak doors or leaving them as they come out the factory/shop?  It would look even better just as they come out the shop.  We have kept the doors & sideskirts in the whole of our house standard wood(I think they are pine) 1.  Because I hate painting fiddly bits & 2.  White skirts & doors look horrible.  

😅I darent try stop her, 

The picture there is from the Fleetwood catalogue, I'll be keeping the doors and skirting in the natural oak they come pre varnished from the factory.

I like the look of natural wood too

[Lenny]

Got a little side tracked from the living room space again this month due to a June sale being on at bestheating.ie 

I'd had the Milano Aruba - White Vertical Designer Double Radiator saved in my wish list with plan to purchase for fitting in the hall area at a later date,

 

This particular steel Radiator was now reduced by almost €70 for a short time in the two week June sale,

As result I ended up purchasing it a bit earlier than planned to cash in on the sale savings👌

 

Also picked up some Milano Square Designer angled valves to allow pipes exit from the wall instead of the floor.

The original radiator in the hallway was a small double layer aluminium style; located directly across from the side of the starcase.

The original location made things a bit difficult at times when carrying in bags of weekly groceries or wheeling in and out the kids buggy; the radiator was constantly getting struck.

 

I had the idea to change it to a vertical type and relocate it to fit directly below the coat hanging rail further down the hallway.

 

Purchased the Coat Hanging Rail from IKEA 

"PORTIS" 90cm Hat Rack Black ikea item code: 001.811.14 

 

 

This way; the vertical type radiator will warm up the coats aswell as the hallway area when the central heating is active👌

The new location is also better as it won't cause any obstruction.

 

This particular type of vertical radiator range is 1600mm tall,

prior to choosing the correct width I meassured the original horizontal one we had and calculated it's area came up with the 1600 x 590mm to be a little bit on the bigger than original size. but better than being 1600x200mm of area less than the original in choosing a slimmer version.

 

The 1600mm height will fit a little above the skirting board while allowing sufficient space above it to position the coat hanging rail without touching off the ceiling 👌

 

Ordered the radiator and valves last Friday morning and they arrived today on a pallet which I donated to a work college for firewood.

 

My dad is due to come down again at the end of the month to assist in chasing out the floor and relocating the pipes in the hallway aswell as dropping the sattelite cable out through the fascia from the attic as I don't have a two stage ladder to get up there and do it myself.

 

In preparation for next weekend when we will be relocating radiators and recessing the pipes to exit from the wall; above the skirting board I compiled a list of parts required.

 

Reserved all required items online and collected from local DIY Chain store, worked out nicely got 20% Discount off the bill as they have a special deal on Thursday's where over 60's get 20% Discount 😅 they informed me of this offer at the checkout and i told them my mother was in the back of the car outside 😀 saved over €30 on the bill.

 

First items were 1/2" straight connection compression fittings for fitting to the existing 1/2" copper heating pipes bridging them in to the new qualplex pipework within the floor I chose compression fittings for this joint as it's best for joining on to copper where slight dents are likely to occour compared to using the new "push fit" fittings which are ideal for joining qualplex to qualplex 

 

The rest of the 1/2" fittings are 90 degree "push fit" elbows to direct the pipework up the wall and out from the wall on both of the radiator's in living room and hallway.

Grouped them together with cable ties makes them easier to retrieve from the bag as required.

I feel is worth making a note that i required two different types of 1/2" pipe inserts; 

Copper pipe inserts are for use in joining qualplex when using compression fittings,

there a thin flanged cylinder which lines the inside of the pipe end to help retain cylindrical shape when joining.

However; 

Plastic inserts are for use in joining qualplex using push fit fittings, the use of copper inserts with push fittings is not recommend.

I'm a big fan of "push fit" fittings there quite reliable and alot quicker to install compared to traditional compression fittings.

 

Next was 1/2" pipe insulation lagging,

Sold in 2M lengths they had a special offer buy 4 for 3 so I picked up 8 in total, 

Will require your lengths; for use in radiator relocation, planned to use up the rest in the Hotpress upstairs but turns out the pipes in hotpress are larger 3/4" pipes😧

Next was some 1/2" qualplex pipe

Available in 6M lengths for €5.75each ☺ very cheap indeed,

Picked up two lengths in total, much easier to shape and install compared to using traditional copper pipework also more thermally efficient as qualplex won't conduct heat from the circulating water like copper pipework would. 

 

Finally then to finish the job; picked up three 25kg bags of Ready to use concrete mix, just add water and mix it.

 

 

 

[Lenny]

Starting more progress now with radiator Installation in living room and hallway

 

The Milano Radiators sit closer to the wall despite still being a double layer radiator taking up less space 👌

Now to have pipes extended and recessed in to exit from the wall,

 

 

 

I then surrounded the pipes at floor level with expanding foam;Left it for a few hours to dry out then trimmed off the excess foam using a plastic cake slicer from PoundWorld😊 less abrasive than a kitchen knife; as i didn't want to harm the pipes.

 

One 700g can of expanding foam and a 5kg bag of "Sand&Cement mix" was enough to cover both areas insulating the pipes and filling level with finished floor, The foam is easily removed if there's ever any leaks and the system was cold pressure tested to holding 2.5bar pressure for 24hrs to ensure no leaks were present prior to filling around the new pipes,
Normal operating pressure for the system is 1.5bar.

Cement levelled with floor

The wall sections of the pipes will be plastered but I'm holding off on that until the room has been painted because I'll need flexibility to remove the radiator's for painting behind prior to final installation. 

Now moving on from the radiator install;

Following the purchase of EndoTherm heating system additive; ive been in search of other ways to improve the efficiency of the home.

 

My local online EcoShop was selling these automatic bleed valves to fit on each radiator eliminating the need to manually bleed the air out.

However I've found the exact same top branded item from an alternative UK supplier cheaper website SmartGreenShop.co.uk 👍

 

The valves are available in 1/2" BSP which is the large size for most modern radiators, 

Link: http://smartgreenshop.co.uk/shop-by-brand/aladdin/aladdin-hv30c-auto-radiator-air-vent.html 

There also available with matching 1/2" BSP Chrome blank ends.

 

There also available for the smaller 6mm for standard radiators 

Link: http://smartgreenshop.co.uk/shop-by-brand/aladdin/aladdin-autovent-micro-barlow-6mm.html 

 

The internal cartridge has a 5 year life expectancy and are available to purchase separately 

Link: http://smartgreenshop.co.uk/aladdin-hv30c-replacement-cartridge.html 

These valves should optimise heat output from the radiators by eliminating any air pockets as soon as they manifest within the system.

With the radiators done; its now time to move on to removing the door frames and have them replaced with some Oak followed by purchasing some tiles;

But prior to staring all of that; I've gotten a bit side tracked again 😛

While looking at various tiles for the hallway, 

we noticed some of them have a sparkle effect which catches the light and looks pretty good, Considering the hallway in the house is quite dark; we went in search of some downlights for the narrow section of the ceiling.

 

I was reluctant to fit standard dimmable downlights as they use halogen bulbs and cost an absolute fortune to run on electricity also replacing bulbs can become a quarterly choir as they don't last very long.

Thankfully found these Dimmable 6W 500 Lumens adjustable position LED Downlight's from UK lighting manufacturer JCC purchased individually from WeSellElectrical 

Link: https://www.wesellelectrical.co.uk/jcc-fgled6-fireguard-mains-ip20-dimmable-6w-led-tilt-downlight-4000k-cool-white-brushed-nickel 

 

 

There said to be 88% more efficient than standard Halogen and have a 75,000hr lifespan also shine a nice cool 4000Kelvin available in a choice of finishes; The brushed chrome will match the new door handles nicely when fitted.

The existing light in the hallway will remain functional in its position centre ceiling close to the front door and will be upgraded at some point,

 

The existing switch setup for this main hallway light has a switch next to the front door & another next to the downstairs toilet door.

The switch for main hallway light; next to the toilet door will be changed to a Schneider Clipsal Dimmer wheel which will power the newly installed Downlights in the ceiling,

While the original switch next to the front door will continue to power the main hallway light on a seperate circuit.

The dimming feature and low running costs of these LED downlight's compared to running a full chandelier every night makes them a very affordable courtesy light for the busiest area of the house which will also compliment the finish of the tiles when all fitted.

 

Installation will involve lifting the hallway floor upstairs which I planned on doing in the near future as the floorboard covering has a few unnecessary joints in it which creek; most likely the covering is a combination of off cuts from the house next door as they were all built together.

 

While lifted I will pack the area between the floors with some attic insulation, while searching for the correct downlight's;

I found a new Dragon's Den type product from a UK based company "ThermaHood" 

There product enables the area around the downlights to be fully insulated while providing additional fire safety.

Picked up a 4 pack to be fitted as part of the downlight installation.