Old House, New Home

En-Suite Bathroom Reveal... Part 2

2012-09-28T12:20:00.001+02:00

So... here it is.. the last of the en-suite bathroom posts! Enjoy.

Let me know what you guys think?

Here are a few pics of the tiling after we finished the grouting...

Next we grouted the floor (sorry no pics of just the grouted floor) and then started on installing the shower. It wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be, but it was a little stressful when carrying the glass and placing it because it was only guaranteed against breakage if installed by a registered/qualified plumber. So we took a chance but we won in the end!!

After it was in and we started using it for the first time, we realised there was a small drainage area on the one side of the frame and the way we had put it in, according to the great Chinese instructions, the drainage was on the outside of the shower so it leaked. We also had one other problem, because our mosaic tiles aren't entirely flat, the seal on the bottom of the door didn't seal tightly against the tiles. So as always my amazing D.I.Y husband made a plan and got a strip of aliminium left over from the edging we used on the shower and window sill and siliconed it so the shower seal would seal against it and after that.. WE HAD NO MORE LEAKS AND A WORKING SHOWER!!!!!! FINALLY!

Next we installed the basin table. We ended up cutting off the back two legs and bolting it against the wall. After that we put in the basin and taps and hooked it all up This wasn't all as easy it sounds and as usual there were a few things that had to be fixed/fiddled with until they worked or stopped leaking. After the basin was in and working, in went the toilet and then all the accessories. And Voila!!!! En-suite bathroom COMPLETE!! (Well except for the curtains I still had to find/buy and put up, which I have done and I am yet to take photos of)

So what do you all think of our labour of love?? Would love to know your comments... Anyone else doing bathroom renovations?

Here's a before, during and after shot just for fun!!

Next on the list...

Diningroom - painting, new curtains, new light fitting & ceiling rose, new light and plug switches etc etc.. Here's a before shot just so you know what we are dealing with (sorry for the bad quality).

It comes in the form of horribly yellowed, dirty walls, a terrible blind that was put up backwards and a huge menacing mirror that we are not sure how we are going to get it off the wall without it breaking...

Until next time...

En-Suite Bathroom Reveal... Part 1

2012-09-10T16:13:00.000+02:00

Finally our bathroom is complete... well nearly. There are still a few bits and pieces we need to do but for now its done. We can shower in our own shower...

After all the hard, messy work and plastering and waterproofing was done, we focussed our attention on the fun stuff.

First off we started by removing that yucky light in the centre of the room.. We decided to replace this light with four downlights. We bought two 3-packs of downlights from Builders' Warehouse for about R140 per pack. We used a 65mm circle saw that fits onto the drill to make the holes. We made one in each corner of the room.

It wasn't as easy as just drilling the four holes... After trying to drill the first hole, we hit a wood beam. Luckily it wasn't a structural beam, it was just a thin plywood beam used to strengthen the ceiling boards. After discovering this, we moved all our holes slightly inwards and that seemed to work...

Until we hit another beam after trying to drill the second hole!!! But because we had already moved them slightly so we wouldn't hit the beams, we just decided to carry on and then go back and deal with the beams afterwards. Eventually we got the beams out of the way and had four lovely holes in our ceiling.

We used one of the circles that came out of the holes to plug the hole from the previous light fitting and then filled in the rest of the gap with crack filler. After this had dried, we gave it a nice sanding and then painted the ceiling with two or three coats of white Dulux Bathroom+ and installed the lights once the paint was dry.

While the ceiling was drying we painted our walls. The paint we used was Plascon's Kitchen and Bathroom Paint and the colour we used was called Ivory Snow. The reason we had the Dulux on the ceiling and the Plascon on the walls was because they couldn't mix the colour we wanted in the Dulux Bathroom+ paint (and the Dulux was almost half the price of the Plascon because it was on special). The Plascon colour we chose was as close as we could get to the lighter colour we used in the stripes on our bedroom wall. (you can read more on our bedroom here).

After the walls and ceilings had dried completely we put up our cornicing. We used the same cornicing as we used in our bedroom. Before we put it up I gave it a coat of the white Dulux Bathroom+ paint.

Next we started tiling the walls. This was to be our first time tiling. We did some research and then just jumped right in to it.

The first thing we did was find the centre of the section of wall we were tiling. Because we were only tiling halfway up the wall, we just marked that off and then found the centre of that section both vertically and horizontally. We also made sure the lines we drew were level.

Once we had all two lines measured out, we mixed our tile adhesive. The adhesive we used was called ProGrip Superbond Porcelain from CTM.

Then came the scary part, the actual laying of the tiles. We started from the top down because we knew our flooring wasn't completely level (and I hadn't researched it completely properly).

This worked reasonably well but in hindsight we should have maybe nailed in a level piece of wood just up from the floor and started from the bottom up. We used 3mm tile spacers between the tiles and just did small sections at a time.

After we laid each section, I went back with a kebab stick and cleaned the excess adhesive out of the tile spaces. We only discovered how much easier it was to tile from the bottom up when we had done a section of the shower area. This section had to have the tiles go higher than our halfway line.

When we got to the taps we wanted to try and cut a circle out around the taps. We didn't want to break the tile down the middle. So we bought a round diamond blade which worked very well (after a few practice attempts) and we ended up with perfect circles cut out of our two tiles.

Once the majority of the tiling was finished, we went back and cut all the smaller, thinner tiles that had to be done for the corners and the edges. This process seemed to take way longer than laying the full tiles. Once this was finally done we started on the floor which we thought would be slightly easier than the walls because the tiles couldn't slide downwards.

It was also a lot easier because we didn't need to use the tile cutter to cut the tiles. They were in square sheets on a backing so we just used scissors to cut them. The only place we really needed to cut half mosaics was in the shower around the drain hole and some of the edges.

We just used the same tile adhesive that we had used for the walls and only later found out that you get a mosaic adhesive which acts kind of like grout so you don't need to go back and grout afterwards. This would have made the process a lot quicker and easier but hey, you live and learn. (I won't miss all those evenings sitting tiling and cleaning out adhesive from 2,5cm square tiles, especially fun after a long day at work)

We used a square aliminuim edging on the shower and on the window sill to finish it off.

Once the floor and walls were tiled, we waited for a week or two for it to dry completely before we sealed the mosaic tiles. We used a sealer specifically for natural stone tiles. It was very easy to apply. We just did one very good/thick coat with an old paintbrush and left it to dry and air for a week. It had a really strong smell that left us both very light headed after applying it.

They say the sealer lasts for about a year to a year and a half and protects the natural stone tiles from staining and dirt.

Once the sealer was completely dry it came time for the part I had been waiting for... the grouting. I loved this part (although after a while I was wishing for it to end).

We used Pro Grip Waterproof Grout in white for the walls and we used the light grey for the floors.When I started the grouting I couldn't find the grout squeegee that you use to apply the grout, so I found an old bank card and used that and it worked really well.

After all the grouting was done it was time to put everything back in... Check back in a few days for the final en-suite bathroom update to see the final pics.

Old Chair, New Look...

2012-08-28T11:05:00.000+02:00

Before we carrying on with the next bathroom update,

check out our chair that we revamped...

Remember all the old things I found under my parents house a little while ago?

(You can read more about that here).

Well after staring at this poor chair for a few months,

I finally decided it was time for a revamp. This and the fact that I had now found material to use for the cushions. BUT before I carry on with how we did it, can i just say that I got such a good deal with this material!! I got it from Biggie Best in La Lucia Mall for an absolute bargain. Most of the material there is in the range of R270 upwards but I got three metres for R105 total!!!! It was on sale for R35/m. So despite being short on cash, I went ahead and bought it anyway. Normally this material would have cost me at least R800 for the same amount. After finding the material, I also got some foam cut for the seat of the chair and wadding/padding for the back of the chair. (actually Karin did this for me... Thanks Karin!!) We just used some brown paper to trace the shapes we needed for the foam for the seat and the back.

After cutting out my material, I started off by ripping out all the old torn canvas you see below. The original backing of this chair used to be cane and there were still little bits of cane stuck around the edges of the chair so we had to pry this out before carrying on. It was quite a time consuming process as we sat with a hammer and screw driver and slowly hammered it all out, being careful not to damage the chair.

After this was done, I gave the whole chair a light sanding before painting it with two coats of wood primer. The wood primer I used was Plascon Wood Primer UC2. I then left it overnight to dry before bringing out my can of white spray paint. I have found an awesome white spray paint that is really good quality and covers really well. It is called RUST-OLEUM Painter's Touch: Ultra Cover, Gloss White. I only needed two coats before it was looking lovely and white...

Because I loved this paint so much I went and bought two more cans and I gave our two bed-side tables and some frames we found some new glossy white life.

Below you can see the chair in all its lovely white glossy-ness. (it looks better in real life)

The other picture shows the backing material on. We just cut it to size, using the brown paper pattern we had made and used a staple gun to attach it to the chair. We had to make sure that we pulled the material quite tight before we stapled it on. We stapled it from the front but the staples won't be visible because of the cushion that goes on the front.

Before we started on trying to upholster the back section of the chair, I attempted to make a cushion for the seat of the chair. Thanks to Karin for lending me her sewing machine and guiding me through making my first cushion cover...

it even has a zip and piping around the edges...

To make the backing of the chair, we did a bit of recycling and pulled the masonite back off an old cupboard we were going to throw out. Again we used our brown paper pattern to draw out the shape it had to be. Once we had cut it out of the wood we laid some wadding over it and the material on top of that and slowly pulled it over the edges and then stapled it at the back. This process wasn't as quick or simple as I have just explained. Because this was our first attempt at any kind of re-covering/upholstery, it was very trial and error but it turned out well in the end. After the piece of wood was covered and looking pretty, we stapled it on to the back of the chair, this too was not terribly easy but after some time we got it to work. It would have been slightly easier if we had used a thinner wood but we were just using what we had lying around.

After this was done we used some edging/lacey stuff and glued it around the edges with a hot glue gun and finished it off with a some nice tacks, the edging and tacks were also compliments of Karin. While we were attaching the backing Karin sat quietly at her sewing machine and within fifteen minutes had whipped up the lovely little scatter cushion. Thanks for all your help with this Karin.. it turned out lovely. It really was a team effort...

A quick project breakdown

The chair:

Removed old canvas, removed old cane edging, sanded lightly,

two coats of wood primer, two coats of white spray paint.

The cushions:

Made a pattern of the seat and backing using brown paper, bought foam and wadding,

bought material, cut out material, sewed the seat cushion, cut out wood for chair backing,

upholstered chair backing, attached to chair, finished off with edging, tacks and scatter cushion.

This whole project cost about R380 to do. You could never find such a lovely, real wood chair for that price in the shops. So D.I.Y and finding and re-vamping old things is not only cheaper but we have fun doing it.

Of course it always takes a whole lot longer than you think it would and is never as easy as you think but the end product is always so satisfying...

Next up... COMPLETED EN-SUITE BATHROOM..

Plumbing, Plastering and Priming

2012-07-17T12:31:00.001+02:00

Here is a quick update on what happened after we had the en-suite bathroom stripped...

Firstly, we hired a double blade wall chaser and industrial vacuum cleaner from Coastal Tool Hire in Durban. They were very helpful and we will definitely go back there for any other power tools that we need to hire. You can check out there website here: http://coastalhire.co.za.

The Wall Chaser basically cuts 30mm x 30mm grooves into the wall (in my opinion looks like an angle grinder with two blades instead of one). We used this to cut grooves in the wall so that the pipes for our shower and basin would sit inside the wall. How hard could it be???? (This is going to be our slogan and we are going to print it really big and put it up in our house, it is the story of our D.I.Y journey: HOW HARD COULD IT BE?) The answer is usually: Way harder than we originally thought. :)

Before we could start cutting the grooves in the wall, we had a plumber help us mark out where the pipes for the shower and basin would be. Then the cutting started and it took a good couple of hours, because it wasn't just cutting with the chasing tool. It didn't cut deep enough into the wall so Stu had to go back with and hammer and chisel and knock out a bit more. Thank goodness we hired the industrial vacuum that attached to the chasing tool - even with the vacuum and a sheet stuck up over the door, there was so much dust.

After the walls were chased and we were happy with it, we started on the plumbing and building the base for the shower. This process took place over a weekend and then the Wednesday after that was a public holiday so we finished it off then. We kept all the rubble and bits of brick that came out from chasing the plumbing holes and used it when building the base of the shower.

Then the next weekend we plastered the holes - our first attempt at plastering and it didn't turn out too badly. It was very frustrating at first but once we got the hang of it it went well.

These pictures show the finished product after the plumbing and plastering was done.

The next step was to grind back the wall where we would be painting.

There were lots of lumps and bumps and old adhesive still stuck to the wall. We used the angle grinder with a sanding pad to grind it back and make it nice a smooth to paint on. This process was very dusty and took about two weekends to do. It was one of those exersizes that don't really show much progression but have to be done in order for the next step to take place.

This grinding stage also resulted in a trip to the emergency room. Not wearing gloves when using power tools can have awful outcomes. Somehow the angle grinder slipped and caught Stu's index finger. But long story short, he luckily didn't lose the tip of his finger and after two months it has healed so well you can hardly see the damage.

After the grinding was done we plastered the top sections of the wall with a thin layer of Rhinolite plaster. The below pictures show the end result.

After the Rhinolite had dried properly we primed the section where we were going to paint with a general plaster primer and waterproofed the shower section with Coprox Masonary Waterproofing. The Coprox was really easy to use and apply. All we had to do was mix the powder with the right amount of water and paint it on. While it was drying we had to spray it with a light mist of water just to help the drying process and cure it so that it didn't leave a coat of powdery dust. We did two coats of this and we had some left over so we painted it on the entire floor to just add some extra waterproof protection.

The second coat we did in the evening with the help of our trusty headlight.

Nothing like a bit of midnight waterproofing...

So thats all the hard/ugly/messy stuff finally done. YAY!!

Check out the next post when we get to show you the fun stuff like putting in the downlights, cornicing, painting the walls and finally the tiling!!!

Bathroom Demolition

2012-06-11T08:40:00.001+02:00

So…. it's been nearly three months since we last posted an update.

We have been very busy trying to get the en-suite bathroom finished and it is taking way, way longer than we ever imagined (well at least longer than I had imagined, Stu knew in reality it would take a long time, especially since weekends are the only time we can work on it.) We are making great progress though and finally feel like we can see the end!! So here is the first in a series of what i think will be quite a few updates...

Tile stripping and ripping out all the old accessories. Smashing tiles is quite therapeutic. The pic on the right shows the top section and part of the basin pedestal out.

The thing that amazed us both was the amount/thickness of tile adhesive

(which looks more like cement). Not to mention how the tiling was quite obviously done after installing the toilet, basin and bath. Guess they didn't get the memo about tiling first?

The above four images show the removal of the toilet. Man, were we glad to get that ugly brown toilet and basin out??!!! Another thing that had us flabbergasted was how the toilet and basin pedestals had been cemented in. It took throwing a 4-Pound mallet at it a good couple of times to pry it loose/smash it up into tiny little pieces...

After we started smashing out the floor tiles we discovered a

not-so-lovely mustardy-yellow linoleum flooring.

By this stage we were not even surprised, I mean could we expect any less

after all our wonderful discoveries already? :)

Some shots of tile demolition…

The top white/off-white/smokey/creamy/dirty coloured tiles came off really easily and in huge chucks. The brown and white ones however, took a bit more effort and patience...

Then it came to trying to figure out how one person could get a cast iron bath out and down and case of stairs without dying of over exertion… The only tools that were used was a small crowbar/tommy bar and 4-Pound mallet.

The bath wall finally out after a lot of hammering and prying…

Half the bath out… See how badly damaged the wall underneath

the tiles was due to lack of waterproofing?

After the entire bathroom was completely stripped, I couldn't wait to place the toilet and basin pedestal in to see how they would fit and to see if the space we had allocated for the shower would be enough.

After a lot of thinking we realized our original idea of having a walk-in shower running along the left side wouldn't be that great because although it would be a metre in length, it would only be 650/700mm wide. So we have decided to go with a different layout.

As it turned out we managed to find a really nice semi-frameless shower that was cheaper than the long one we originally wanted. Below is a picture of what it will look like... We can't we to get it all in and finally start using our long, very long awaited shower!!!

So next on the list of things to do (which we have done already, I am just really behind in posting) is to sort out the plumbing and build the shower base. This is the thing we are/were most worried about... luckily it all turned out great so stay tuned for a plumbing update :)

Garden Update . . . Before & 4 Months After

2012-03-12T16:08:00.001+02:00

So after a few weeks break from everything D.I.Y and a nice weekend away camping on the banks of the Vaal River with a whole lot of other Kombi enthusiasts, we have got stuck back into the home renovations, more specifically, the bathroom.

But before that here's is a quick garden before and after for you to enjoy . . .

We still have quite a way to go and a lot more stuff we want to add / do in the garden but I think its looking way better and a lot greener than it was before we moved in.

BEFORE

AFTER 4 MONTHS

Striking it Lucky . . . Awesome Old Finds

2012-02-09T16:19:00.001+02:00

So this last weekend we were planning on stripping tiles out of the bathroom. But as you can see, we didn't get around to doing it. We didn't actually do anything D.I.Y or house related. We have decided to take the rest of this month off and chill out a little and then hit the D.I.Y again hard in March. . . But don't despair, I still have quite a bit of stuff to share with all you lovely people who are actually following our blog . . .

Check out all the rad stuff we have been finding over the last few weeks . . .

THE CLOCK

Starting with this awesome old clock that is in need of A LOT of TLC. It belonged to my great grandfather, W. A. Russell. I actually found it under my parents house. From what we can see it needs to be sanded down, re-varnished and have a few holes fixed and then the working parts need to be made to work again. It has a plaque on it that says it is from 1928. So that makes this clock 84 years old. Is anyone in the clock business and have any helpful tips on restoring old clocks like these? I wonder how much it would be worth now?

THE BALL & CLAW CHAIR

While I was under my parents' house, all covered in dust and sand, I also stumbled over this old oak ball and claw chair that belonged to my mother's grandmother. It also just needs to be sanded down and varnished or sanded down and painted in a nice glossy white enamel paint? We are still deciding what look to go with . . . It originally had a wicker/cane back but we aren't really fans of the wicker look, so the plan is to make a nice backing out of plywood and then cover it with a cushion and also have a new cushion made for the seat part. We are thinking stripes, maybe cream/white/grey/navy blue stripes. We will just have to go and scout out some fabric and see what is available.

Maybe something along these lines? What do you think? We will be doing a charcoal/grey feature wall in the dining-room so I am thinking top-right if we want to keep it neutral, or maybe the top-middle if we want to bring in some blue/navy to the room. Bear in mind the chair will be painted in white enamel paint . . .

THE KIST

Next up on the list of cool things we have found is this kist. It is nice and big and also just needs a light sand and varnish/wood sealer. There are lovely brass handles on the sides and a brass latch on the front that needs to be polished up to reflect its former glory. I had the perfect place under the window in our dining room just waiting for something like this to be placed there . . .

THE DINING ROOM TABLE

Up until December we didn't own a dining room table. We have never really had the need or space for one. After we moved into the new house the area that was the 'dining room' was so bare and in desperate need of a nice table. Although we have never had a nice big table, I have always had a picture in my mind of what it must look like but I had yet to find it in reality. One weekend around Christmas time we were window shopping and browsing in a couple of shops and we saw this table and both instantly fell in love with it. We had no intention of buying anything, let alone a dining room table. We didn't really have the money for it at the time but as always we came up with a plan and thanks to Mom & Dad Strydom we now have a lovely dining room table . . .

THE CHAIRS

BUT we didn't have any chairs. Ever since then we have been on the chair hunt. We have seen some lovely chairs for around R500-R800 each which doesn't seem too bad if they are real wood (We have also seen some for this price that aren't even solid wood and made really badly). So thanks to Gumtree, we now have two chairs to add to our table and the two of them together only set us back R350. Yes, they are completely different chairs, but that is the point. I am wanting to get 6 completely different old looking chairs that are made from real wood. I want the whole mix-n-match vibe. BUT my challenge is to get them for under R200 a chair, or free if that is at all possible. So, two down, four more to go . . .

*Side Note: If you are reading this and you have something similar hanging around full of dust and unwanted, we would gladly take it off your hands. Drop us a mail and we will make a plan to get it from you. :)

This first chair looks like it has already been 're-done' and although its got a few bumps and scratches, we love the way it looks and are going to keep it just the way it is.

And here is the second chair we picked up today, like all the other pieces it just needs a bit of attention. We are thinking of just sanding it down and putting a darker stain on it so it matches the colour of the other chair and then getting some nice cushions for them . . .

THE WINGBACK

This lovely old wingback chair wasn't really part of our search for dining room chairs but while browsing Gumtree, I found this lovely old chair was going for R150! I felt like I had struck gold when I found it!! I couldn't pass up the chance. So off we went all the way to the Bluff last night to pick her up. Don't get me wrong, the old lady, as she will now be called, needs to be fully re-covered and needs a makeover but for R150 it is well worth it. The legs also have a few holes in them from borer bugs but nothing that can't be treated and fixed . . . I have got a few quotes to get her recovered but I am really toying with the idea of us trying to re-do and re-cover her ourselves. Maybe another 'Step-by-Step' in the pipelines? Has anyone ever done any furniture upholstery before? Feel free to drop us a mail with any helpful hints/comments . . .

Last, but not least, check out this rug we got for a bargin and a half (R200). This is one of those natural fibre woven rugs. It is massive and it weighs a ton. (The width of it is slightly longer than the length of our 6-seater dining-room table. It also needs a good clean and a little TLC but I think it's going to look just fine in our new lounge . . . Compliments of a lovely co-worker and friend . . . Thanks Raapie . . .

*Side Note: I have no idea why there is an arrow on the right pic :).

Sometimes weird stuff just happens . . .

What do you think of all our lovely finds? Let's hope we can fix them all up and make them look really good. We will keep you posted as we go along. Not sure when they will all get done, the en-suite bathroom looms . . . but maybe they can just be side projects when we have had enough of the big projects :) Has anyone else got any D.I.Y, home projects, furniture restoration they are busy with?

Let us know . . . Send us your before and after pics with a short write up and we'll pop it up on the blog. We are very keen to get a South African home renovation vibe going where people can get a chance to show others what D.I.Y / renovation jobs they have managed to pull off on a small budget . . . and even if you not from S.A, drop us a line and say Hi, we would love to hear from you :)
oldhouse.newhome159@gmail.com
Until next time . . .

A Sneak Peak at Our Bathroom...

2012-02-03T09:33:00.002+02:00

So next on our ever growing list of things to do, and the thing we would LOVE to get done ASAP is our en-suite bathroom. Currently as far as we are concerned, IT IS DISGUSTING. . . it is so outdated and has been done really badly and the entire thing needs to be completely stripped out and re-done. That, and the fact that we have two bathrooms and neither of them has a shower. . . We NEED a shower. So that is the plan for this bathroom. To make a shower and make it nice.

This is what it looks like now. (We actually don't even go in there if we can help it.)

It actually doesn't look as bad in the photos as it really is.

A couple of months ago I downloaded Google Sketch Up to see if I could play around a bit and do a quick mock up of how I saw our tiny en-suite bathroom working. I made everything to scale so I could figure out how we were going to fit everything in. Having never used any kind of 3-D/Modeling program before it took me a very long time to figure out enough of the program to do what I wanted to. There were some things I couldn't figure out, like how to take the path lines off so you could just see the shapes and not the points they were made up of. But after I had figured out the sizes that everything had to be, and how it all fitted in, I gave up on trying to make it look pretty and just left it with the lines on. This is what I ended up with:

Now you have an idea of what we are aiming at and you can see the amount of space we have to work with. As you can see from the sketch, our shower isn't going to have a door. I don't think the water will splash out too much because we are going to have a small row of bricks which should solve this problem but we will only really know once it is done. We have already bought all our materials and accessories, the only thing left to get is the shower glass and brackets.

BAMBOO ACCESSORIES

Now that we had an idea of what we wanted to do, the fun part was buying everything.

Let's back track a little to October last year, even before the house was registered, straight after we got bond approval we saw a really nice bamboo toilet seat, then our eyes moved slightly up to the next shelf and we saw the bamboo towel rack and then we saw the soap dishes and toilet roll holder and and and... Basically every bamboo accessory we could see in front of us went straight into the trolley!

We have a couple of really nice bamboo kitchen accessories and really love them, so we are suckers for bamboo stuff.

THE TILES

The next thing we got was some floor tiles. Originally our idea was to have mosaic tiles in the shower only BUT because our bathroom is so incredibly small, 1,73m x 1,73m, we just decided to do the whole floor with the same tiles. We found these really cool natural stone tiles from CTM. They definitely weren't the cheapest ones but there were only four boxes left and thats exactly the amount we needed. So we just bought them. It was R49.95 per sheet and there were 11 sheets per box so it did work out a bit expensive but you can do the maths if you really want to :) The awesome thing about these tiles is that every sheet (30cmx 30cm) is completely different and random. I am so glad we bought them when we did because even though we were told they were getting more in, we haven't seen them again in any of the stores we have been into and there are similar ones but none that are quite as nice as these ones.

I could not wait to lay some of the tiles on the floor to see what they would look like. This is what it looked like after I laid them out. Like I mentioned earlier, every sheet is different so when they are laid down there is no specific pattern, which we love!

THE TAPS

The next things we bought were some taps for the basin and the shower and a shower head and arm. We spent a little more money on the taps. All the taps and the shower head and arm we got from Bathroom Bizarre. The total we spent on this was about R1,800.00. We could have got cheaper ones but these are the ones we wanted...

THE BASIN AND THE TABLE

Finding the basin and the table happened at pretty much the same time. Originally we wanted the basin to sit on top of a nice concrete counter but after more thought we realised it wouldn't look so good in such a small area and the 'heaviness' of the concrete counter might make the bathroom look even smaller than it is. After a couple of weeks of thinking and looking around for just the right thing, we can came across this table. The only thing wrong with it was that it was completely the wrong size. So I snapped a quick pic in the hopes of sending it to someone to have it made up in our dimensions.

The basin we ended up buying to was a Trio 3-in-1 Drop-in Basin from CTM. Initially I was a little hesitant to buy it because it looked a bit funny. But when we saw it 'dropped-in' to a table/counter, it looked really awesome. It was also really well priced at R249.00, compared to all the other counter-top and stand alone basins we had seen that ranged between R500-R900. There was one basin I really loved but I couldn't justify paying R900 for a basin.

After we had bought our 'drop-in' basin, we then figured out the dimensions of the table we wanted, including the size of the hole that would have to be cut into the top of it to allow us to drop our basin in, and sent it to a furniture company in Greytown called Traditional Furniture.

This is what we got back after a few weeks . . .

It was made of Saligna rather than the usual Pine. I can't explain how happy I was with the finished product. When I sent the pic as a reference I wasn't expecting it to be EXACTLY the same, I would have been happy with something similiar, but as far as I can see, it was exactly as per the pic we sent them! Normally when I have asked for stuff to be custom made there has always been some problem and it is not exactly right the first time round but this was the exact opposite. Thanks so much Graham and Charmaine from Traditional Furniture. We love it!! We asked for it to be unvarnished and we bought some Matt Wood Doc sealer and sealed it ourselves. We have done 3 coats of Wood Doc so far but want to do another two or three coats to be extra sure it is properly sealed as it is going to be in the bathroom. The total amount we spent on the table and the basin together was about R650.00.

Here is the finished table with the basin placed in the table and the taps balancing very carefully on the basin.

THE TOILET

This is the toilet we picked up for R399 from Builders Warehouse. This is as close as the toilet will be to the basin because we don't have too much space to work with. The only major thing is going to be changing the plumbing to allow for a shower instead of the bath that is currently there.

We are planning on doing most of the work ourselves except for the plumbing. After the bathroom is complete we will be able to add a whole lot more skills, including plastering walls and tiling to name a few, to our ever growing list of things we can do. We realistically only see it being completed in a couple of months time, as it depends a lot on whether we have budget for the plumbing to be done and when you are doing it yourself after-hours it obviously takes way longer than if you just hire someone to do it for you.

And the stripping begins . . . (We did this small amount of tile stripping about a month or so ago)

This weekend we are planning to spend most of the day on Saturday knocking out tiles . . . Check back next week to see if we actually managed to do what we have planned and hopefully we will have some more progress pics to show you all . . .

If you have any thoughts, ideas, helpful tips we would love to hear from you. or if you have done something similar before send us your before and after pics, we would love to put them up on our blog.

Drop us a mail: oldhouse.newhome159@gmail.com or leave a comment . . .

Wish us luck :)

Adding more green to our green... (Our step-by-step guide to making a vertical garden)

2012-01-26T10:46:00.004+02:00

After laying down our lovely lush, green grass, we decided to put up a vertical garden. We have been wanting to do something like this for awhile, even before we bought the house. I have seen many ways to make a vertical garden and read a few very quickly but not in much detail. But we chose to go the gutter route. It wasn't super expensive. All in all everything, including all the flowers and herbs and soil, it came to about R533.00. Okay, maybe it was a little more expensive than we thought it would be, but it turned out really well and we love it and can't wait for the flowers and herbs to grow.

What We Used...

• 6m piece of u-shaped gutter cut into 3 x 2m pieces. • 9 x mounting brackets

• 6 x end stoppers to match your gutter. • 18 x screws with wall plugs

• 18 x small washers. • drill. • hammer. • screw driver. • craft knife.

• 4mm drill bit (it is important to match the drill bit to the diameter of your wall plug.

• 1 x bag of compost/potting soil.
• flowers and herbs of your choice (don't forget to get the right type of flowers for the area you will be putting them in.) All the flowers we got were ‘full sun’ as the wall we put our vertical garden on, gets the full morning and midday sun.

A note before you continue reading: This step-by-step guide of how we did our vertical garden was written by the muscle behind all our D.I.Y. Not only is he charming and wonderful and very able and capable but he can write too :)
Take it away Stu . . .

Step: 1

Start by using your 8mm drill bit to drill holes along the bottom of your gutter pieces. This is to drain water so the plants don't drown. I drilled my holes about 20cm apart, but remember that the more holes you have, the better the drainage. Drill your holes according to the type of plants you will be planting and the amount of sun the area gets.
So if you plant succulents and cacti drilling more holes is better because they need less water (but to be honest I'm no horticulturist so best to use your discretion)

Step: 2

Next it's time to put the end stops in. The nice thing about PVC gutters is that they just clip together. When looking at your gutter, the lip with the largest diameter is the side that faces away from the wall, all the fastening mechanisms hinge on this lip. So for the end stops, place the circle side of the stop in the large lip and rotate back to close off the end, then force the smaller side of the end stop under the smaller gutter lip till it clips into place. Its as easy as that.

Step: 3

Next, use the gutter to figure the hight of your three "levels". Space them evenly down the wall and make sure that the gutters are level. Mark along the top edge at ether end and in the middle of your gutter using your pen or pencil. This will dictate the position of the mounting brackets.

*Remember: 1. Plants need space to grow so don't place the gutters right on top of each other. 2. You're going to want to access the highest gutter (to plant and water) so don't put the top gutter too high up the wall. Its a good idea to start with the highest gutter and work your way down.

Step: 4

Once your happy with the spacing of the gutters its time to mount the brackets.

On the lines you have marked, place the brackets so you can see the line through the screw holes. Use your pen to mark their position on the horizontal line. Next use a masonary drill bit that matches your wall plug diameter and with your drill set to "hammer" start to drill.

*Remember: • When you drill it is important to be aware of the wall you are drilling into. You don't want to drill through any power cables or water pipes, so it's a good idea to use a "stud detecter" to find any potentially horrible booby traps. A stud detecter is like a mini metal detector (similar to the type used to find buried treasure on the beach). Fortunately the wall I was drilling into had no utilities running in it.

• Also you don't want too drill to deep or too shallow. Most modern drills come with a depth gauge that can be set to your required depth. However if you don't have a depth gauge you can stick a piece of insulation tape or masking tape around your bit at the depth you need. The depth is dictated by the length of your wall plug.

Step:5

Once you have drilled you holes place the wall plugs in the holes the assemble your brackets with the washers and the screws.

Step 6:

Place the screw in the holes. (I used screws with a tapered thread so they can be driven in with a hammer). I personally don't use the hammer to drive them in all the way as this some times damages the wall plug. So I give them a little tap just to get them started then use a screw driver to finish the job.

Step: 7

Securing the gutters is as easy as installing the motor in my VW Kombi.... Just kidding. It's as easy placing the end stops in. First place the gutter at an angle in the brackets with the far lip lower than the big round lip. Rotate the gutter towards you till the far lip stops against the bracket lip. Now clip the big round lip over the knob at the end of the bracket.

Once all your gutters are up. its time to get dirty... with potting soil.

Place a small stone over each hole in the bottom of your gutter (this insures that the hole stays open and drains properly).

Next being careful not to disturb the stones, add your potting soil.

Next, go nuts with plants (I am aloud to say nuts aren't I?)

And finally sit back and admire your lovely vertical garden.

If you like our blog and want to follow us, please scroll right to the bottom of the page to where it says 'Followers' and click here to follow us.

Don't be shy to leave a comment either. We would love to hear from you.

Time to get started on stripping out our bathroom . . . Until next time . . .

A little bit of green...

2012-01-23T08:38:00.003+02:00

Our lawn is finally done. We got our grass from a nursery/grass depot called Inglewood Grass and Nursery in Chakas Rock, Ballito. Check out their website here. The type of grass we got is called Berea Grass (Dactyloctenium austral). It is a lush, soft looking grass with a slightly broad leaf and a pointed tip.

It is amazing how much of a difference a little bit of grass makes. Not only does it cool down our back yard by at least 2 or 3 degrees, and look really great, it is also very good for the soul. The dogs also seem to quite enjoy it but here's a little side note for you:

*After you have spent all morning laying down your lovely lush green grass, don't go out and leave a Labrador and Jack Russel puppy alone. They WILL lift up a section of your brand new grass and dig a huge crater!* Luckily the damage wasn't too bad and we managed to put it all back down again.

The first thing we did when we arrived home with the back of the kombi FULL of rolled up grass, was put down some top soil and fertilizer. We used 3 bags of top soil and 3 bags of fertilizer for 13m2 and mixed it into the sand/soil we already had, about 150mm deep.

After it was mixed in, we just leveled it out with a rubber rake.

We then began rolling out the grass. It was much like rolling out pieces of carpet. We just layed them edge to edge with a slight overlap. The whole process only took about an hour and wasn't nearly as labour intensive as last weekend when we lifted all the bricks.

We trimmed it around the edges and used the smaller off cuts to fill in any other odd spaces that were left. We thought we could just cut the pieces off with a spade but found it didn't really work too well, so we just used some shearing scissors and it worked perfectly.

After all the grass was down, we watered it and compressed it. To compress it the suppliers recommend rolling the grass with a heavy roller for larger areas but our area wasn't very big and we didn't have a roller, so we just put down a plank of wood and stomped it down.

Lastly, we added some nice little stepping 'stones' to finish off our lawn. We have actually lifted them up for the moment and want to wait for a few weeks before putting them down so the grass has a chance to take and put down roots.

Now all thats left to do is water it everyday for two to three weeks, and hope and pray it takes root.

Relaxing after a hard days work.

On Sunday we decided to put up a vertical garden, I must say it turned out really well and wasn't all that difficult. A walk in the park actually, compared to last weekends brick lifting.

We can't wait to show you some pics of how it turned out. Watch this space for pics and our first attempt at a step-by-step: 'How to build your own vertical garden'.

Painting our lounge and adding a feature wall...

2012-01-19T14:15:00.002+02:00

Painting the lounge took us three days to do. The longest part of it was scrubbing down all the walls with sugar soap and water to get the dirt off. We cannot tell you how a wall that is behind curtains that reach from the floor to the ceiling can get so filthy! It looked like someone had rubbed coal along certain parts of the wall behind the curtains, and the plant you can see in the below right side photo had obviously grown up the wall. We couldn't figure out what the marks were from when we were cleaning but now as I look back at the photos from the day we went to sign the offer to purchase, I see what made those marks. The only good thing about that awful plant, was the nice BIG pot it was in.

It took ages to try and pry the ugly plant out of the pot. But now the ugly plant is gone and I some nice plants in it growing outside where plants should be.

We had already moved all our furniture into the lounge when we moved into the house, so the first thing was to move it all out again. We then started with taking down the curtain rails that were butted up against the ceiling, and taking off the very old, very rusted blinds. We found out that those blinds were still there from the previous, previous owners. Instead of them being taken off, they were just covered by the curtains. Another very strange thing we discovered was that the door (shown below) was clearly never used because the air-con power cord came straight out the wall at the bottom and ran along the wall, over the doorway and along the other wall to a plug on the other side of the room.

It wasn't even nailed down near the door, it was just loose, making tripping very likely if you were to come in that door. When we did get the front door open we realized we wouldn't be able to use it just yet because you can't open the door from the inside because of the gate on the outside.
You would have to go all the way around the house and first unlock the gate from the outside and then open the door. AND having the door open when its a windy day isn't a particularly good idea because you can't hook the door to the wall to stop it blowing closed because the gate is in the way. Not very well thought out at all. In the next few months, our plan is to get a Trellidor or some kind of similar sliding gate and have the gate inside the door, so we can have the door open while still having the gate closed and actually use it as our front door.

This is the other side of the room. Believe it or not the side door isn't really terribly functional either, it was put on so badly that it scraps against the floor when you open it so you need a slight dose of determination and muscle power to get it open. I can rarely open the door though with out being irritated afterwards. Opening side door = instant bad mood.

Next to the door you can see where the three not-so-lovely mirrors were. Again there was so much dirt and so many grubby marks around these mirrors. They were obviously used for rubbing up against as well as looking into. I was SO glad when they came off. I even for a short while preferred the way it looked with the old mirror tape and dirty marks, rather than those gross mirrors.

Just next to the mirrors, the intercom had a wire that randomly ran down the wall. I don't know what it's purpose was because we removed it and the intercom still works. Replacing the intercom phone is on our ever-growing list of things to do. It is so yellowed and even after scrubbing it, it still looks grubby but enough about the intercom and mirrors, let's move on..

Look what colour this place was painted before - PURPLE!!

It took us a whole day and a half, nearly two days to clean walls and fill holes. While this was happening we cleaned and painted the ceiling with two coats of Dulux Luxurious Silk Brilliant White.

Finally after all the prep work, it was time to paint. The paint we used for the walls was also Dulux Luxurious Silk and the colour was Chalky Downs 4. This colour is the shade that is in between the colours we used to paint the stripes in our bedroom. It is only a shade lighter than the darkest colour in our room but it just looks so much lighter. We had to do two coats to cover properly, we thought we might need to do three coats but when it had all dried, it looked perfect so we are keeping the extra paint to do the dining room.

Before we started revamping the lounge we had decided we wanted to make one of the walls a feature wall to liven the place up. The thing I was most worried about was our decision to paint it.... RED. After much deliberation in the paint aisle and a few heated arguments, we eventually agreed on the colour for the feature wall... Burnt Autumn.

The pic below shows the first coat of red going on. We thought we would only need 1litre of red paint because we could only get it in a 1 litre or a 5 litre tin and we really didnt think we would need 5 litres of red paint. 1 litre was scary enough! After one coat, the 1 litre paint tin was half empty. Red seems to be one of those colours that needs way more coats than you would initially think.

After not one but two more litres of red, we did another two coats of red (after having to go to at least three different stores on new years eve because no one had the base colour available in 1 litre).

So in total we did 3 coats. We could have done another coat, making it four in total - just to make sure it covered absolutely perfectly but by that stage we figured the wall was going to be covered in our handmade wooden frames and we just wanted to get it over and done with so we left it as three coats.

The funny thing is we probably could have saved a couple of trips and the extra running around trying to get paint if we had originally gone with the 5 litre tin.

We really liked the ceiling rose we put with our light fitting in our bedroom so much that we decided to put one in the lounge too. This one is a bit more flashy than the one in our room but with the light fitting and everything painted, we think it looks really cool. We picked it up from this dodgy building supply place in south coast road, near the Bluff. We used the same adhesive to put it up as we used to put up the cornicing in our bedroom.

This is with the first coat of red, two coats of Chalky Downs 4 on the other three walls and the ceiling rose up. Ready for the light fitting.

The light fitting we chose is also kind of similar to the one in our bedroom. It was the only other one we liked at the light shop we went to. That and the fact it was 50% off. Every deal when you trying to get a house renovated on a normal-working-person budget, is a good deal!

I got some really nice lined white curtains from Mr Price. The really brighten up the room. I still need to get some nice tie backs and hooks for the curtains as well as some curtain netting so when the curtains are open, you cant see right in. I also just prefer the way curtain netting looks. You still get light in but it's not so bright and jarring on the eyes. Originally I wanted the curtain poles to be dark brown. But our lovely neighbour, (and aunt) already had some white ones that were exactly the sizes we needed so we made use of them. Eventually we will get darker ones.

Trying to put up the frames was such a mission. It had to be random but still look good.

It took a good couple of hours to get it figured out and to get them up.

*Side Note: I think the red wall looks really good in this pic.

Finally got our furniture in. There are still so many things to do and add but those will come in time and as money comes in. We have some really awesome old street posters advertising art shows that came from France that we found in under the house at our parents place in Greytown. We need to make some rad frames for them first, but they will go on this blank wall.

We also have a T.V we have been promised (we don't own one, by choice), but I think it will look really good mounted on this wall with our two posters on either side. I am also on the look out for one or two nice tall old looking lamps and some tall bookshelves.

The frames will eventually have photos in. I have chosen the pics and sent them to be printed so when we get those back, I'll get some glass cut and then we will put those up. This wall is open to new frames though and maybe even some nice laser cut wooden words or something.

Look what my husband found and resurrected. A very cool old school record player.

I always knew I had married a very handy, clever, lovely, amazing... (the list goes on) man but after our short two and half months of moving / renovating / painting etc etc.

I am convinced that he can do / make / fix ANYTHING.

We will post more of the lounge when the T.V and other posters and photos are up.

I also want to try and finish painting our bedroom cupboards. It seems we are always finding other things to do besides getting those cupboards done. I cannot wait for Saturday when we pick up our grass. I will update on Monday so you can all see how lovely it looks..

Making a garden in a sea of bricks...

2012-01-16T17:07:00.000+02:00

In an effort to make our paved, brick back yard a little more pleasing to the eye, we decided to put down some grass. We have already tried to make it a little more home like by adding some nice pot plants and herbs. Here are some pics of some of my herbs and flowers...

MY FLOWERS & HERBS

RIPPING UP BRICKS

How hard can it be to pull up a few bricks? We started pulling up bricks on Saturday evening when the blistering hot sun had disappeared and carried on till about 8pm. When it got too dark to work we called it a day. We were up and working by 6.15am the next day. It was supposed to rain and be a little cooler but when its 6.45am and you are already red in the face and dripping with sweat, you know its going to be a long, hot day.

We had to use an angle grinder to cut around the edges of the paving so that when we lifted the other bricks, they didn't crack the ones we wanted to keep. We then just used a crowbar and hammer to smash and lift the bricks. Some of them came out without a problem but others we just had to hit with a hammer until they broke and then we pulled the pieces out. We managed to save quite a few bricks but had to do two trips to the dump to dispose of the other rubble. We had about 7 or 8 big black dustbins full of rubble.

After all the bricks were finally up, we had to mix cement (which neither of us had done before). We wanted to put a cement 'lip' on the edges of where we had lifted bricks just to give the remaining bricks a bit of support so they didn't all collapse inward. It came out a bit watery but because it was so hot it dried very quickly. After we had put cement all around the area, I went around and just smoothed it out a little with my hands. I really should have worn gloves and probably used some kind of tool to smooth it but the grass we plant there will most likely cover it and it actually ended up looking ok.

The sand under the bricks is just beach sand for about a meter down so we bought 6 bags of compost and after we let the cement dry, we mixed it all in just to give the sand some nutrients before we put down grass. It looks like we may need a little more compost so that is the next job and then on Saturday we pick up some roll out grass and put that down. We found a nursery out in Chakas Rock that sells grass because we don't want to have to plant seeds and wait for them to grow, or not. We can't wait to see what it is going to look like with some nice green grass. Keep checking back next week for some pics of our new 'lawn' if all goes according to plan.

Building up the Front Wall & Adding Another Garage Door

2012-01-10T15:33:00.000+02:00

While we were busy with our bedroom, we also began building up our front wall because the wall as it stood, wasn't very secure. We also needed to make space for an extra garage door so we could park our two cars in the property. We had to source an extra high garage door so we could fit our 1977 Bay Window VW Kombi in.

Sounds easy enough. But it wasn't. Building started during the week of the 21st of November and was completed on the 7th December, after what seemed like an eternity (although it was only 2 and a half weeks later). I now know why people say that building is a stressful thing. During the building we had a guy walk off the street and into the property, straight past our builders. He told them his granny worked there, and because they had only been on the site for two days, they didn't know we never had a domestic worker so they let him walk right on by. After a while they got suspicious and called their boss who then in turn alerted us. It ended up that they guy had gone around the back of the house and kicked in the kitchen burglar guards (because the window was already open so we could run extension cords for the builders). Luckily because we were still in the process of moving our stuff in, most stuff was in boxes and there wasn't anything of value besides two spare cell phones that were taken. (I also think he could only take what he could fit in his pockets because he had to walk out the front past the builders.)

THE BUILDING

Plastered wall with plaster band waiting to be primed.

The plaster primer we used was 'Modo Plaster Primer' from Builders Warehouse

Wall painted with plaster primer.

Painting complete. The paint we used was 'Fired Earth's Severe Weather' paint and the colour was 'Windchill'. We weren't entirely happy with the way it covered over the existing paint. It seemed to be perfect on the newly plastered and primed section of wall but it ended up looking a bit blotchy in some places on top of the older paint. We had never heard of the brand but bought it because it was on special at Builders Warehouse. It may have just been worth going the good old Dulux or Plason way and paying a little more, but we live and we learn.

Garage door is FINALLY in. We waited so long to get it because it had to be custom made because of the extra height. When it finally arrived and it was time to install it, we found out that it was too wide. So instead of taking it back and waiting for them to cut it down slightly, we had the builders just knock off a section of the column they had just built and painted. In the end it all turned out ok.

The pedestrian door is also finally in and sealed with Woodoc 35, an exterior polywax sealer, with a low-gloss finish with extra UV-protection and water repellence. We added an ebony stain to the Woodoc to give it the dark colour. It wasn't what we originally had in mind but as with the garage door, it turned out ok in the end.

As we are learning with all our renovations, you have to be willing to compromise on certain things and just go with it because it hardly ever works out exactly how you want or how you have pictured. After its all done you don't really even seem to notice those small things that bugged you when you were actually doing it.

After the door was finally in and secure and painted, we went on the hunt to find a post box. Because this was a bit of an after thought and we hadn't allowed for it to be built into the wall, we had to try and put it in the wooden door. Instead of an hour, this took close on 2-3 hours. And we had to be careful where we made the hole to make sure we weren't cutting through any of the support beams (Although the door we bought said it was a solid wooden door, it wasn't). We also put in a peep hole just above where the post box slit is. Pics to follow.

The last thing I am looking for now to complete the front wall is a house number that isn't brass, although I would love it to be. Unfortunately we have been told that brass numbers seem to get legs and disappear not long after you put them up.

Welcome to our blog

2012-01-09T08:49:00.001+02:00

This is just a place for us to record all our renovations/D.I.Y projects

as we attempt to make our new house a home.

It all started in August 2011, we began the hunt to find our first house. After only a few weeks of looking around we decided on a 3 bedroom duplex/freestanding house with a pool. We put in an offer and signed the sale agreement on the 19th September 2011. Our house was finally registered in the deeds office on Monday the 7th November 2011. We got the keys on the Thursday and started moving in our furniture that weekend. The place was very dirty and hadn't been looked after very well so there was A LOT of cleaning to do. The first place we started was in our bedroom. Here are a couple of pics with some before, during and after shots of our bedroom.

THE PAINTING

Panorama of our room with everything stripped out ready to be cleaned and painted.

The walls and cupboards were a 'not so lovely yellow/tobacco stained' colour.
Panorama of the room with all the walls painted with two coats of Dulux Luxurious Silk, Chalky Downs 3. Even the insides of the cupboards had to be thoroughly cleaned, vacuumed and repainted to get rid of the smell of old cigarette smoke.

THE STRIPES

After all the walls had been painted we attempted to paint the wall that would be behind our bed, with stripes. We used Dulux Luxurious Silk, Chalky Downs 5. It took two whole days to measure mask and paint the stripes. We were told we should rather paint the stripes in a darker colour, but we painted them in a colour that was 2 shades lighter and surprisingly it covered very well.

THE CORNICING

We also added cornicing to the room as there originally was none. It just finished it off nicely and gave it that extra bit of style. The cornicing we used was from Builders Warehouse. The product is from Gyproc, and is called RhinoArt. It is made of a high density extruded polystyrene. Before installing it we gave it a coat of paint, even though it was already white, just to be sure that the white would be the same as that of the newly painted ceiling.

It was relatively easy to install but as always, these things take longer the you expect. It took about a day to put up. The style of cornicing we used was called Angelico. We used Rhino Art Decor adhesive to put it up.

Each box comes with 6 x 2m stripes of cornice, so we used just under two boxes for the bedroom, including a couple of dud pieces because cutting the angles on the mitre box didn't always work exactly, even though we measured them more than once to be sure.

*TIP:* When cutting the cornicing it has to be at 45 degrees
in the mitre box (as it would be on the wall), not flat.

ALMOST DONE

Some pics with the new light fitting and ceiling rose in, a few more 'finished' pics to be uploaded soon once the cupboards have all been painted and had their handles put on.