Project Status Update

As it’s about 6 months ago that we last shared a project status update and we’re also over half way through the year (how did that happen so quickly), we thought it would be a good time to check in and share how our projects and improvements are getting along.

There have been some big changes – mainly in our cellar and fourth bedroom – but we still have quite a way to go!

Front Garden – 25% Complete (was 25%)

• Level out grass area
• Rebuild gate posts
• Replace garden path & add steps into house
• Come up with a general plan & add more planting
• Install lawn edging
• Tidy & mulch bed along wall

Porch – 10% Complete (was 10%)

• Strip, sand & paint window frames
• Repair & clean stained glass
• Paint front door
• Paint doorstep
• Install sealing strip around door
• Ultimately replace porch (if we wait much longer it may actually just fall off the front of the house! Seriously.)

Hallway – 40% Complete  (was 35%)

• Remove laminate flooring, sand & varnish original floorboards
• Source furniture
• Possibly replace lighting
• Paint everything
• Strip, sand & paint skirting boards
• Strip, sand & paint dado rails
• Remove Artex and skim walls

Living Room – 75% Complete  (was 70%)

• Repaint woodwork – for the most part it’s still looking great, but in some areas it’s a bit scuffed and (psst, don’t tell anyone) in some areas we never quite completely finished the painting
• Repaint room – it doesn’t necessarily need it, but we feel like it’s about time for a freshen up
• Source armchairs
• Possibly replace couch
• Add cushions, art & more personal touches
• Possibly add art

Kitchen & Dining Room – 20% Complete  (was 15%)

• Knock through wall between kitchen & dining room
• Install wood burning stove
• Update shelves
• Sand floors
• Sort heating
• Sort electrics
• Paint everything (although everything is painted, ultimately we’ll have all walls skimmed, so it will need doing again then)
• Strip wallpaper
• Skim walls
• Replace patio door
• Sand floor under shelves
• Replace everything
• Buy bar stools
• Add art & personal touches
• Insulate under floor

Staircase – 98% Complete (was 85%)

• Strip and sand staircase
• Paint and varnish staircase
• Install runner
• Possible repairs after installation of new staircase up to loft

Upstairs Hallway – 28% Completed  (was 20%)

• Remove flooring and sand & varnish floorboards
• Sort noisy heating pipes
• Strip, sand and paint skirting (for the most part it’s finished, we just need to complete the painting)
• Skim walls
• Replace window on landing

Master Bedroom – 80% Complete  (was 80%)

• Fill gap in ceiling
• Paint everything
• Find mirror for over fireplace
• Add art & personal touches
• Add rug
• Paint door – we decided to strip and wax the doors instead of painting them
• Strip, sand & paint door frame
• Paint picture rail
• Replace windows
• Add architrave and windowsill
• Skim wall around window

Guest Bedroom – 90% Complete  (was 75%)

• Strip & skim walls
• Strip ceiling (not sure about this now, as the wallpaper looks fine now that it’s been painted)
• Strip, sand & paint skirting
• Strip and sand door frame
• Paint Door – we decided to strip and wax the doors instead of painting them
• Find artwork & add personal touches
• Add lampshade
• Install fireplace
• Sort electrics
• Replace radiator
• Replace window
• Find bedside tables
• Paint everything
• Install picture rail – not quite completed yet
• Install & paint trim around window
• Remove laminate flooring and strip & varnish floorboards

Bedroom 4 – 80% Complete (was 5%)

• Strip wallpaper
• Sort electrics
• Install flooring
• Move and replace radiator
• Skim room
• Replace window
• Strip or replace skirting
• Repair floor
• Replace ceiling
• Move boiler
• Box in steel over window, skim and paint
• Add architrave
• Add rug, pictures, shelves, stuff in general

Office – 85% Complete  (was 85%)

• Fill cracks in wall
• Find desk lamp
• Buy desk chair
• Improve organisation and storage

Bathroom – 0% Complete  (was 0%)

• Renew silicone around bath (as temporary quick fix)
• Have door dipped to match other upstairs doors and restore
• Replace radiator with towel radiator
• Replace window
• Replace everything!
• Retile everywhere!

Loft – 0% Complete  (was 0%)

• Complete planning
• Choose everything
• Remove back chimney
• Sort calculations with structural engineer

Cellar – 60% Complete  (was 15%)

• Paint windows
• Replace stopcock
• Install new water mains connection
• Remove old floor
• Add new floor
• Damp proof walls
• Paint stairs
• Add radiator
• Remove more walls
• Insulate Ceiling
• Paint floor
• Add storage

Back Garden – 22% Completed  (was 10%)

• Work out general plan & implement garden design
• Start to sort out garden
• Move box bush
• Have new raised bed rendered
• Plant more plants
• Build decked area
• Rebuild garden wall
• Add fence or trellis – As you can see we’ve started the project! Yay! We’ll hopefully manage to attach the last panels this week. We can’t wait to get it completed and share the results!
• Replace garden gate
• Replace driveway
• Replace tarmac with grass (halfway there)

Garage – 80% Complete  (was 80%)

• Strip & paint garage door (we completely replaced the door)
• Paint all timber including the window
• Replace garage roof possibly install roof light
• Replace missing fascia boards and other timber
• Rebuild gable wall
• Replace locking mechanism
• Sort electrics
• Finish painting
• Finish replacing timber around the garage door opening – we really need to get a move on and finish adding the missing timber. It’s actually already prepared and lying in the garage, we “just” need to fit it! We’ve already started removing the ugly driveway. We think that replacing it will make a huge difference!
• Clean paint off the wall
• Add wall light
• Freshen up inside of garage

Exterior – 10% Complete (was 10%)

• Repoint house
• Paint gable wall
• Repair/renew timber
• Repair & repaint front gable
• Paint windowsills
• Replace cast iron gutters and downpipes

With most of our home improvement time being spent in the cellar and fourth bedroom the rest of the house hasn’t seen much progress. There is of course only so much we can physically do at any one time, so overall we’re really happy with the results we’re seeing. Comparing the fourth bedroom to what it looked like a few months ago is a great feeling (except for that pesky steel beam that still needs to be boxed in) and being able to use the cellar that, having had the new floor installed, isn’t as damp and miserable as it was before, is great for keeping the rest of the house tidy.

Next up on our list is to finish a lot of the projects we’ve started and then hopefully move on to replacing the garden path and our bathroom!

Do you also have an ongoing home improvement list? What boxes have you been able to tick so far this year? What project is at the top of your priority list? Is it something home improvement related or something completely different?