Improvements to your Charlesland Home

FirstIn

I know from reading this forum some of the guys have done great things to their homes. I thought having them added to one thread would be good. To inspire others to do the same.

I'll take a few photos later and add them here. If you could do the same that would be great. Thanks

sso

FirstIn wrote: »

I know from reading this forum some of the guys have done great things to their homes. I thought having them added to one thread would be good. To inspire others to do the same.

I'll take a few photos later and add them here. If you could do the same that would be great. Thanks

Great idea! We did an attic conversion. I'll put up photos.

sso

Here are the photos of our two-bed in Charleslan. The photos are from when it was nearly finished! We decided to keep both eves for storage so the room is a little smaller.

sso

And the last few

sso

Last two

wicklowdub

Very nice SSO, ballpark figure on the outlay if you dont mind me asking?

FirstIn

2 bed townhouse, bathroom. Use of what was wasted space left/under sink towards the door.

A small thing but when space is at a premium every bit helps.
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Charlie-Bravo

Nice idea FirstIn. What did you use for the counter top finish there?

FirstIn

astrofluff wrote: »

Nice idea FirstIn. What did you use for the counter top finish there?

We did this a while ago now but I think the wooden top came from ikea. I just oiled it well.

audreyp

We removed the island from the kitchen and put in a new kitchen (L-Shaped). We moved into Charlesland and the house we bought had previous owners so we never needed to buy appliances etc. Until now. We renovated the kitchen in September/October and it feels like a new house.

(We painted the kitchen after these pictures were taken)

Jimjay

audreyp wrote: »

We removed the island from the kitchen and put in a new kitchen (L-Shaped). We moved into Charlesland and the house we bought had previous owners so we never needed to buy appliances etc. Until now. We renovated the kitchen in September/October and it feels like a new house.

(We painted the kitchen after these pictures were taken)

Looks great. I am trying to work out where everything is relative to how it was before. Do you have a picture from further back so we can see how far in to the room you went with the kitchen? Thanks

audreyp

I'll take a picture tonight. Basically the door is on the left hand side (next to the giant fridge) and the units on the right hand side go almost the full length. There is 2 foot left to spare for a wine rack and cat tree! It feels much bigger. I'll take a pic this evening.

sso

wicklowdub wrote: »

Very nice SSO, ballpark figure on the outlay if you dont mind me asking?

We paid €4000 for stairs and windows (2 velux). We did the rest ourselves. Got very good xotherm insulation, counter battened the floor and laid a proper floor (not just attic board), build cupboards, stud wall, etc. paid a friend to plaster. Paid a Plummer to put a radiator in and an electrician to put in sockets and lights, got carpet fitted. That was another €4.5k.

Total was €8.5 but we did loads ourselves.

sso

audreyp wrote: »

I'll take a picture tonight. Basically the door is on the left hand side (next to the giant fridge) and the units on the right hand side go almost the full length. There is 2 foot left to spare for a wine rack and cat tree! It feels much bigger. I'll take a pic this evening.

This looks huge. Is your kitchen to the back of the house?

Maudi

audreyp wrote: »

I'll take a picture tonight. Basically the door is on the left hand side (next to the giant fridge) and the units on the right hand side go almost the full length. There is 2 foot left to spare for a wine rack and cat tree! It feels much bigger. I'll take a pic this evening.

Looks great..your cooker..and the hood above it..where does that vent to?

audreyp

Attached more pictures, the pictures are a bit dark. I don't have a great camera unfortunately! The vent that was there just basically extracted the steam and put it on the ceiling but the builder put a vent shaft over the presses and boxed it in and it now goes outside now. Which is working well.

The kitchen is at the back of the house, so the patio doors open to my garden. It looks much bigger after the change. Definitely recommend it. There can now be two people in the kitchen cooking at the same time without a murder

2011

Clever use of space.
Good idea to redo the extractor vent as these do not work effectively with the original method. Lighting looks much improved also.
Very well done.

Maudi

2011 wrote: »

Clever use of space.
Good idea to redo the extractor vent as these do not work effectively with the original method. Lighting looks much improved also.
Very well done.

The venting is a great idea as the current cooker hoods dont work as they vent to nowhere..im gona do the same using low profile venting to the outside

audreyp

We actually didn't know it was going nowhere until our builder brought it up! And when they took down the presses and extractor and see the colour of the wall and ceiling!! Not pretty..

Maudi

audreyp wrote: »

We actually didn't know it was going nowhere until our builder brought it up! And when they took down the presses and extractor and see the colour of the wall and ceiling!! Not pretty..

Its like the chimneys etc a lot of people dont realise they are false..did he run the ducting to the vent beside the patio door?

audreyp

No he ran it into the ceiling once the flat roof jutted out! (So not into the back bedroom )

2011

audreyp wrote: »

No he ran it into the ceiling once the flat roof jutted out! (So not into the back bedroom )

So all of the greasy steam, cooking smells etc. was simply vented into the ceiling void?

You gotta love these Celtic Tiger builders :rolleyes:

I had a similar situation in my own home (built by Durkan Residential).

JanneG

2011 wrote: »

So all of the greasy steam, cooking smells etc. was simply vented into the ceiling void?

You gotta love these Celtic Tiger builders :rolleyes:

I had a similar situation in my own home (built by Durkan Residential).

Think she means that the vent for the fan was brought up through the small back roof rather than going nowhere as it did before...

Maudi

2011 wrote: »

So all of the greasy steam, cooking smells etc. was simply vented into the ceiling void?

You gotta love these Celtic Tiger builders :rolleyes:

I had a similar situation in my own home (built by Durkan Residential).

It dosent even vent into the celing the 'stack'just ends st the celing..and the hood relys in s filter system to extract steam .smoke etc.

2011

JanneG wrote: »

Think she means that the vent for the fan was brought up through the small back roof rather than going nowhere as it did before...

You are correct, my bad.
I misread and thought audreyp was saying that it was previously vented to the ceiling void.
I understand that it is done correctly now.

I hope that all of those involved (builder, trades) get the recognition they deserve for such an excellent job.
This work must have done wonders for the overall value of this home.

audreyp

2011 wrote: »

You are correct, my bad.
I misread and thought audreyp was saying that it was previously vented to the ceiling void.
I understand that it is done correctly now.

I hope that all of those involved (builder, trades) get the recognition they deserve for such an excellent job.
This work must have done wonders for the overall value of this home.

Thanks all! The extractor previous just extractor steam into a lovely stain on the wall but now it works properly! Thrilled with the result. We renovated the bathroom 2 years ago also. Will post pictures when it's clean 😄

Hopefully next year we will tackle the attic and then we will be happy to stay here indefinitely. Really love the area so no need to move anymore!

FirstIn

Another location where space can be reclaimed in the 2 bed town houses is in the downstairs loo.

The cupboard beside the toilet is very shallow but this can be extended much further back, i.e dictated by the stair steps.

Has anyone done that?

Jimjay

FirstIn wrote: »

Another location where space can be reclaimed in the 2 bed town houses is in the downstairs loo.

The cupboard beside the toilet is very shallow but this can be extended much further back, i.e dictated by the stair steps.

Has anyone done that?

Yes done. We removed the whole cupboard though to make the room bigger and put new doors in to get under the stairs. Only crappy thing is the waste pipe from the loo goes into the ground in front of one of the double doors. The builder also said he did one and the gas pipe was running straight across the middle and had to be rerouted ours is tucked nicely along the back though so was ok there.

audreyp

Any pics? And any idea on cost?

Maudi

Ive done this too..theres s good amount of useful space in behind the press..

the Lamb Post

FirstIn wrote: »

Another location where space can be reclaimed in the 2 bed town houses is in the downstairs loo.

The cupboard beside the toilet is very shallow but this can be extended much further back, i.e dictated by the stair steps.

Has anyone done that?

I have now put the washing machine in there.

Just meant i didn't lose another storage spot in the kitchen when putting in the dishwasher as i just replaced it where the washing machine was.

Maudi

the Lamb Post wrote: »

I have now put the washing machine in there.

Just meant i didn't lose another storage spot in the kitchen when putting in the dishwasher as i just replaced it where the washing machine was.

That's a cracking idea.where does the waste water go?..into the toilet waste?

the Lamb Post

Maudi wrote: »

That's a cracking idea.where does the waste water go?..into the toilet waste?

Yep. I tapped the waste into the toilet waste, but made sure i got all the correct fittings i.e. washing machine trap, standpipe etc.

There was both hot and cold water feeds coming down from the hotpress/attic in the space so just tee'd off them for the supply, and took the power down from the socket in the back kitchen wall, all which were handily available.

Easy peasy

Maudi

Nice..so you took a spur of the "adjoining"socket in the kitchen? I intended to take on from the "opposite"wall in the sitt room..at the stairs..but yours will be handier.. (even for small items like charging car vac ) its a handy place for a socket..and you can out it up high away from kids.

Jimjay

Maudi wrote: »

Nice..so you took a spur of the "adjoining"socket in the kitchen? I intended to take on from the "opposite"wall in the sitt room..at the stairs..but yours will be handier.. (even for small items like charging car vac ) its a handy place for a socket..and you can out it up high away from kids.

We had a socket put in the new cubpoard under stairs (linked to one in kitchen) our builder said he could not put one directly in the room as its a bathroom and against regulations.

girl24

audreyp wrote: »

We removed the island from the kitchen and put in a new kitchen (L-Shaped). We moved into Charlesland and the house we bought had previous owners so we never needed to buy appliances etc. Until now. We renovated the kitchen in September/October and it feels like a new house.

(We painted the kitchen after these pictures were taken)

Audreyp this looks fantastic, do u mind me asking how much this cost? Thanks

Maudi

FirstIn wrote: »

I know from reading this forum some of the guys have done great things to their homes. I thought having them added to one thread would be good. To inspire others to do the same.

I'll take a few photos later and add them here. If you could do the same that would be great. Thanks

with spiriling fuel costs etc.and to improve the insulation I took down the inside wall in the sitting room of our two bed,,the insulation was pretty bad behind the wall holes .missing rockwool etc..also explains why the house got cold soon as the heat was turned off,,i redid the insulation and replaced the 10mil board with a 50mil insulated board and the difference in heat retention is amazing...replastered radiator back on painted ,,

audreyp

girl24 wrote: »

Audreyp this looks fantastic, do u mind me asking how much this cost? Thanks

Thank you! I sent you a PM with the breakdown of costs. Hope it helps!

Maudi

redsox_500 wrote: »

I put in a 4ft by 4ft skylight in the back of my house, I have the kitchen in the back. It makes the kitchen look bigger as I took out the flat ceiling. I upgraded the insulation , spot lights in the new vaulted ceiling & flat ceiling in main kitchen area, redone the extractor & brought it back out the pitched roof as I want to do the attic in the near future & the vent for the extractor is coming up in the master bedroom, by doing this I'm gaining approx 8" for the stairs to the attic.

I also opened up under the stairs & have storage for a washing machine or dryer, which I moved out to the shed & now use that space for Hoover etc.

On to other houses in the Charlesland area I have taking out the gas fires to open up the sitting room, you still have a box section approx 8" by 8" as the waste for the toilet in the main bathroom is hidden in the chimney breast

I'm am a builder so if anyone is looking for a quotation for such work please don't hesitate to contact me

Pm sent

irlontop

Hi All

Looking at getting some work done on kitchen in Charlesland

I found this forum when doing a search

I know it's three years old but does anyone have any recommendations on who to use for some work like new counters and moving washing machine etc?

Thanks

Maudi

irlontop wrote: »

Hi All

Looking at getting some work done on kitchen in Charlesland

I found this forum when doing a search

I know it's three years old but does anyone have any recommendations on who to use for some work like new counters and moving washing machine etc?

Thanks

Pm sent

Emma A

we redid our kitchen in two bed house ( to the front) love it cant get over the space - pics attached ( i think !)

Emma A

finished pics

alexnapier101

Emma A wrote: »

finished pics

Looks excellent!!!

sssssiiiiimon

That kitchen looks amazing. Just bought a 2 bed in CharlesLand. Can I ask who you had fit the kitchen. This is exactly how I would like to redo what's there.

recedite

The island is a good idea, eliminates that bottleneck.

Fiveplusone

Thinking about making a few changes later in the year. Has anyone taken out the firebreast in living room in 2 bed app (under duplex) was thinking it might be nice to put built in unit with tv incorporated.

recedite

I heard that Gas networks Ireland condemned the flueless gas fires in some parts of the estate and disconnected the gas from them. I don't know why they would do that in some parts and not others, as they are all the same fires AFAIK.
Anyway, assuming the gas was disconnected, all you have then is a bit of plasterboard fake chimney breast to pull out.
And voila, space for a flatscreen TV unit to your taste. Hopefully it would cover the hole left behind in the woodfloor/carpets.

alexnapier101

We asked the boiler service guy to disconnect our gas fire on the back of his advice.

Our plan this year is to remove the gas fire and then build in a wall mounted television.

2011

My sister removed the gas fire from her 3 bed. Unfortunately there was an extensive pipe junction for the rads behind so the fake chimney brest had to stay. Still no regrets about removing the gas fire. It didn’t really heat the room and it gave you a headache! Room looks great now, TV mounted on the chimney brest.