Shower room renovation. 

The project started with a need to increase space in a very small shower room measuring only 800mm wide. The room had a stud wall which needed to be taken down to create more space and rebuilt, increasing the size to 1400mm wide. The rebuild was made using moisture resistant plasterboard and then the whole area was sealed using a Mapei waterproofing kit, to ensure there was no chance of leaks.

The existing shower was replaced by a Mira Digital Shower a 1200mm shower tray was installed and a glass partition/door. The wet area was then tiled from floor to ceiling with porcelain tiles, including 3 integrated shelving areas that were created when I assembled the stud walling.

In addition to the shower area the roof light also needed replacing from a home made polycarbonate installation to a purpose made glass roof light. This was on a flat roof part of the building and I installed the unit with the relevant flashing on the external and made good with plasterboard on the internals.

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Kitchen Install 

The kitchen needed to be renovated to create more space for family dining, but on a budget. Firstly the ceiling needed to be re-boarded as the Artex look was no longer wanted, plus the old light fittings needed to be replaced with spotlights.

Originally the plan was to remove the wall paper from the walls, make good and paint, however when the wall paper was removed a poor and uneven finish to the bricking up of a previous interior doorway was found. The structure was sound so to ensure the best finish plasterboard was fixed to the wall covering the area. In addition the old standard radiator was replaced with a more stylish vertical one appropriate to the room size.

The kitchen cabinets were in good condition so these were refinished using a specialist primer and paint. Some of the units were being relocated to make the most of the available space, however several were the wrong size so I disassembled them and cut the down the the correct sizes.

New doors and handles were ordered and installed as they were of an older style and several were damaged. In addition a cabinet was made to hide the combi boiler taking into account recommended safe space surrounding it and a door was fitted to the front. New worktops were ordered, cut and installed, including a cutout for the sink and a 90 deg jointed corner, to create the maximum amount of work space.

New sockets and switches were installed for the cooker and appliances in the kitchen, all wired within the existing ring main. The floor was retiled with large 600mm x 600mm porcelain tiles and around the worktop area was also finished with tiles. Finally the walls, ceiling and decorative wood trim were all painted in the chosen colours.

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Bathroom renovation. 

Although functional the bathroom looked old fashioned and tired and was in need of renovation. The bath itself was a high quality metal bath so this was kept and resurfaced with the help of a specialist company, who made it look brand new.

First step was to re-board the ceiling to cover the Artex and also add IP rated spot lights. The existing tiles although old were installed well so these were used as an even base and tiled over, this saves a lot of time and money on removal and making good the walls. New porcelain tiles were installed floor to ceiling around the whole bathroom with a separate tile adhesive and grout.

Bathroom cabinets were installed alongside a new toilet, new basin and new taps for both the bath and the basin. The countertop was solid laminate which was cut and finished, with the cutout being used to replace the window sill.  On installation it was found that the basin was too high for the children to use safely when surface mounted, so a cutout was created in the countertop so the basin could be recessed, making it lower.

Bathroom laminate flooring was installed alongside a new towel rail radiator and other finishing touches.

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Worktop replacement. 

Rather than replace a complete kitchen the customer wanted to refresh with new worktops, sink and tile re-grouting.

The original worktops and up stands were removed carefully as replacement tiles were in short supply. Removal was difficult as the kitchen worktop area was ‘u shaped’ and the tiles had been installed after the surfaces, the old worktops were cut in situ to aid removal.

The old grout was removed from all of the existing tiles, a time consuming job but worth the effort as re-grouting around the new worktops and up stands would look significantly different to the existing. In addition new grouting on the existing tiles would greatly enhance the finished look.

The new replacement worktops were cut to make allowance for the existing tiles, the tolerance for this was really small to ensure a tight fit but still allow clearance past the tiles.

The cutouts were made for the new sink and the existing hob, the worktops were then installed. Next the up stands were timed in height and cut to size to compliment the worktops. Once in place the tiles were re-grouted and then all joints sealed with silicon.

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Garden renovation. 

The garden at this brand new property was a blank canvas, however it had one really large issue, it sloped significantly away from the house making the space almost unusable.

My solution was to use raised decking to provide areas to make the most of the available space. A pond and flower beds needed to be incorporated for decorative effect, as a feature I created a bridge across the pond with external lighting.

The raised decking used structural timber to ensure it was going to be both safe and have longevity. The decking areas were surrounded by spindles and banisters for decoration and to make the crossing of the bridge safe for children.

The pond was created using a pond liner and the walls of the pond were made from reclaimed bricks. The whole area was then finished with the appropriate preservatives and log roll was used to created raised flower beds.

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External house painting and skylight replacement. 

The exterior of the house needed a refresh as it was looking weathered and tired, also work had been completed on the garden the the colour scheme needed to match the light and dark grey used elsewhere.

Firstly the pebble dash finish was painted using a specialist exterior paint, scaffolding was needed to safely reach all the required areas up to 6m in height.  The dormer was then painted, as this was covered in a wooded cladding a specialist wood coating was used in a dark grey for a contrast vs the light grey on the walls.

While the scaffolding was available exterior facia boards were replaced and the guttering was cleaned and/or replaced where needed. In addition a skylight was in need of replacement on the roof of the dormer, the scaffolding was required to get the skylight onto the roof due to its weight. The old polycarbonate homemade version of the skylight was removed and then replaced with a new custom size glass option. This was sealed using a self adhesive flashing which was also used elsewhere where the current flashing had deteriorated between the roof and the dormer.

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