Project: House
At this time of the year many of us are busy making New Year’s resolutions. After the indulgences of the holiday season, these often include promises to cleanse the body by eating wholesome food and consuming less alcohol, or to get fit by going to the gym every single day. (We’ll see how long that lasts!)
My own resolutions revolve around a number of projects, the most sizeable of which is “Project: House”.
Back in September we had made a very quick decision to buy our new house – we hadn’t even looked inside! We had a fair idea what condition it would be in based on its age and the fact that most of the rooms weren’t in use, so when we finally got the keys there were few surprises (although the bathroom did take my breath away!)
We knew it would to be a sizeable project. The walls are sound but everything else needs to be completely renovated. The roof is asbestos and urgently needs to be replaced. We would probably have replaced the roof anyway to improve the insulation and to add roof windows for additional light. The current plumbing and electrics are well below par. The heating pipes are all exposed and not very pleasing on the eye – these will all be moved under the floorboards. We were hoping to lift the floorboards and reuse them, but it turned out that they were rotten and would also need to be replaced.
Describing the current condition of the house and what we plan to do with it is quite difficult, so I’ve put together a short video to give you the gist. We hope to have all the planning done by the end of March (when the winter snow typically lifts) and complete enough work to move in by mid summer. I think you will see how “Project: House” will more than keep us busy for the coming months!
If anyone feels like taking a trip to Lithuania to help with renovations please give me a shout! Also, if anyone has any DIY tips I would really love to hear from you. Enjoy the video!
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Oh gosh June…you have your work cut out for you! All I can say is these things always take longer than expected. Are there no foundations in the house? Things must be done differently in Lithuania. Love the old rads! Exposed pipework can look funky…. steer clear of qualpex plumbing pipes- mice eat through it….I’m sure it’ll all look amazing when done. Happy New Year! Exciting times 🙂
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Thanks Mizz! Happy New Year to you, too!
Yeh, I’m sure it will all take much longer than expected, but a girl can dream! The house does have foundations but the insulation is pretty appalling (read “non-existent”). Fun times ahead!
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Hi June & Arunus
Happy New Year. Good luck with your ‘house’ project – it sounds very exciting. We are off to ‘uncle’ Paul’s surprise 60th this evening. Looking forward to following your progress over the next couple of months…Take care Anne x
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Thanks Anne. We’re looking forward to getting stuck in. You’ll have to come and visit when it’s all done. Talk soon, J. x
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I must say I was with Sarah (on the bulldozing) until I watched the whole video and imagined the previous occupants living in that house, doing it up, sharing meals and jokes and songs there and felt a pang about knocking it all down as if all that were meaningless now they have left…(LOVE the music by the way….you are the measure of my dreams…..) and then I watched it again and was with Sarah again….:o) Views are jaw-dropping.
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Thanks Audie. It’s tempting to knock it down and start again, but it’s part of a little enclave of matching houses and I quite like the symmetry, at least from the outside, so I really want to preserve the outside walls. A self-imposed preservation order, if you will!
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Oh it’s lovely!
We’ve been working on our cottage for 18 months –long weekends– and we are hoping to move in by summer. By then the kitchen, bedroom, living/dining room will be liveable. Still the Bathroom to go — but our shower and toilet is better than yours! 🙂
Brave of you to move the kitchen and bathroom plumbing around. A daring adventure! Best wishes.
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Gosh, I hope ours doesn’t take 18 months! I know these things always take longer than expected, though. Can’t wait to see the pics of your house – it looks fab from the outside!
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Juney baby,,,,,, bulldoze and rebuild from scratch xxxxxx but then I’m mad!!!!!! The Views are amazing June you will have many a happy smoking of pigs on that land xxxx Happy New Year to you and Arunas
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Cheers Sarah! I do sometimes consider that it’s a site we bought rather than a house. That said, the outside walls are structurally sound and it would cost a lot more to build from scratch. I might regret not having bulldozed it later, though!
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Oh ho ho…. I can see you’ll be bloody busy!!! Seems beautifully situated 🙂
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Yeh, the setting is beautiful and the weather is the kind I like – proper seasons. It’ll be a big challenge to be in by mid-summer, though!
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No kidding 😉 But with enough (wo)manpower, anything is possible. Good luck!
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