STILL no progress on the purchase of my flat, got to sort some legal/mortgage stuff. Turns out ‘you’ll be in by Christmas’ really does jinx housing projects (thanks Mum!)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/courtneyrian/5750960959/in/photolist-9Lcbki-jnvo1b-7Mfehz-gBeqi9-7JcYQY-gBeofG-ddr4as-8diMyy-a8UD6E-pUE6dt-7QhsH7-bJBUv4-9KrfEv-7HBZHx-82Z71a-bvH7Td-9BTsTL-839K8i-9APFZ4-9QmLw2-82YZmF-7S53EF-9889MZ-839L4i-dGpnfi-aqAxX1-7RoSFE-nr6dbh-qm5r98-8gL9DB-apadd2-a5MJeW-82Z54r-8jKTv5-iyQdDP-833bFN-9NnB3F-dB1a6Z-a5hfua-omphtm-89CjFM-nNtbVR-7AbdxD-c5VHj5-7JA9MY-7LUo4m-7LUnn9/

In the meantime my hypothetical to do list is developing so I thought I’d share it here so you can see it (and so I don’t forget!)

Throughout the flat

  • Floors – there are some *very* interesting carpets in every room (including the kitchen and bathroom). They are almost so dated and ugly that they’re cool. Almost.
  • Ceilings – the entire flat has polystyrene ceiling tiles. You know, the sort that are mega flammable. Nice. There is a different design in each room too just for variety.
  • Walls – pretty much every wall has woodchip wallpaper which is apparently a nightmare to take off. Doesn’t the flat sound like a great place so far?!
  • Electrics – my Dad reckons the flat will need a new consumer unit (fuse board thing) and I have a suspicion that the wiring is generally pretty ancient too and might need replacing completely.
  • Light switches & sockets – these could do with being replaced and a few more electrical sockets would be handy
  • Heating – the boiler doesn’t work properly at the moment and it’ll be around £500 to get it working again or around £2,000 to replace the old back-boiler with a modern combi boiler. Sigh.

Kitchen

The kitchen is probably going to be the first big project I take on. Replacing the boiler would free up a big cupboard here and add a new boiler on the wall so it feels like doing those things together makes sense. The current layout is a bit weird so that’ll need a rethink.

  • Cabinets – the cabinets appear to be largely ok but are rather dated looking and a little shabby in places. I’ll have to work out how many of them can be refurbished and how many to replace.
  • Appliances – there is currently a built in fridge and freezer but the free standing oven/hob/grill looks quite old and scary so that’ll need to go.
  • Sink & worktop – the worktop is basically fine (which so far in the list is a massive relative compliment!) but the sink is pretty icky so that’ll be going.

Bathroom

  • The shower looks fine but the bath and fittings are rather shabby and oddly laid out.
  • The lighting situation needs some attention.

Toilet

  • Three words: Shell. Toilet. Seat.

Bedroom & office

  • Built-in cupboards – they’re crying out for some cool interiors.
  • Nothing too major other than some cosmetic touch-ups.

Lounge

  • Gas fireplace – this’ll be coming out but I’m not sure what to do here instead at the moment.
  • Mystery damp patch – this will need some investigating (pleeeeeeaaaaaaase let it be nothing dramatic!)

Sunroom

  • Damp – gotta shift that and repaint.

Hallway/lobby

  • Doors – the front doors could do with a lick of paint and the interior doors might benefit from a lick of paint too.

So that’s just one or two things to keep me busy then!

I’m sure the list will get longer once I start really poking around the new place but for now at least you can see some of the things I might be tackling. Progress will be as fast as my (limited) budget and (even more limited) attention span allow.

Jo

 

Photo by  Courtney Dirks

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