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Well the reality is, sometimes, neighbours just don’t get along. With several individuals living in close proximity, it’s little surprise they tend to get on one another’s nerves from time to time. However, there’s a difference between having a tiff and being able to transform your house the way you want without having to obtain your neighbour’s approval.

The short and simple answer to this question is, not necessarily. However, you must first educate yourself by thinking about your extension and how it affects the houses around you. We’d strongly recommend you talk proposals through with your neighbour so as to avoid possible conflicts later. There are a number of reasons why your neighbour can protest to your new home extension plans. Let’s take a look!

• In the event whereby your new extension is blocking their view or providing an unwanted shade on their property. Here, they have a legitimate reason to protest as no one would want their once sunny garden suddenly covered or plummet into shade.
• In the event where it leads to a loss of privacy. For instance, if your new extension possesses a window which overlooks the neighbour’s property in any way. This is likely to be taken as an invasion of privacy and that has a little to no chance of being a welcomed idea.
• If it’s a major project and going to take a lot of weeks before completion. The noise generated, especially when your neighbours are enjoying your summer holidays or weekends, can make their gardens not as relaxing as it used to be.

If you’re thinking about refurbishing your house or property but don’t know how to go about it, then you’ve come to the right place. In truth, not every home refurbishment works goes in exactly the same order, however it’ll do you some good to abide by a specific plan in order to avoid both unnecessary works as well as expenses. For instance, how would it feel if you have already closed walls and paint only to realize that there’s a need to include a new plumbing stack that has to go behind the wall? Not good, right? Well, this guide is designed to help you avoid such frustrating situations. Let’s have a look!

✓ Establish a plan. This involves carrying out a good assessment of what you’d like to refurbish and set the priorities like deciding where to start and making sure you have both the time and budget to complete the project.

✓ Set a budget. Establish a final amount that’ll be the threshold to your spending. It’s always good to add an additional 10% to 15% to cover unexpected costs.

✓ Hire a contractor. Carry out a research, reach out to many contractors, compare their prices, work quality as well as integrity before hiring.

✓ Talk to your insurance company. Find out if you have the amount of coverage that suits your needs from your insurance company before and after your project.

✓ Secure permits and order materials. Make sure you check with the latest regulations before commencement. Once done, you can start ordering the required materials.

✓ Start demolition. This is optional as it only applies if space is being added.

✓ Work behind the walls. This include doing all the works necessary behind the walls like plumbing, electrical, heating etc.

✓ Paint and install flooring

✓ Fit in the cabinetry

✓ Add finishing touches. This includes the last details and decorations.

Are you looking to create some more space in your home with your garage being almost dispensable? If yes, then considering a garage conversion project may be the way to go. Unlike many other extension options, garage conversion does not take up an additional space as it only changes the current structure of the garage. As a result, the cost of completing a garage conversion project can be relatively attractive when compared to other space creating alternatives. So exactly how much would a garage conversion project cost? Well, there’s no precise answer for this as several influencing factors come to play. However, in this guide we’ll give you a rough idea of the average costs that you’re likely going to encounter. Some of the factors that can influence your budget dramatically includes the following:

• The size of the conversion. The larger the size of the garage per square feet, the more cost you’ll have to expend.

• The type of your property - listed buildings are usually more expensive.

• Your location in the UK. If you stay in London where there’s a higher demand, you’ll most likely pay more.

• You’re likely to pay more if a specialist knowledge is required.

• The amount of glazing to be installed

• Quality of the materials to be incorporated.

• Quality of the professional to carry out the installation service.

On average, when it comes to garage conversion projects, you’re likely to pay the following depending on the per square metre given:

• A single garage of about 15 square metre will cost within the range of £6,000 to £15,000.

• A double garage of about 30 square metre will cost within the range of £12,000 to £30,000.

Before the commencement of any project, it’s always best to get an estimation of the cost. However, determining the cost of an external solid wall insulation is not the easiest of tasks as it relies on varying components such as the insulation materials to be used, labour cost and installation as well as the type of decorative finish to be incorporated. And depending on your choice of insulation material, some may need some adhesives while others may require some fixings which also contributes to the differences in price. As a result, the determination of the material cost alone can be tricky and even more so when various materials cover varying areas.

With that in mind, the cost of external solid wall insulation generally ranges between £80 to £100 per square metre2. As a result, a small flat can cost from £6000 to £9000 whereas a large detached house can have a price ranging between £21000 to £23000. To earn back your investment in terms of energy bill savings can take a couple of years, but it’s surely worth the try as there are several other benefits associated with installing an external solid wall insulation system. What’s more? Another huge factor that can influence the cost of your system is also the amount of work that’s required, how easy it is to be accessed by the installers and lots more

If you’re looking to cut down on the cost of your external solid wall insulation, then the best time for an installation might just be when you’re having another decorating or building project done such as fitting a new roof, window painting, installation of solar PV panels and more. This way, you’ll be able to spread the cost and have a greater value for each penny expended.

How Much Does It Cost To Have A Loft Boarded?

More often than not, several homeowners fail to realize there’s so much value sitting right under their roof - the loft. When a loft is boarded, there are so many juicy benefits that can be derived. It can be used as a storage room, spare bathroom, home office and several more functions. Therefore, if you really wish to maximize the space under your home’s roof, you’d have to considering boarding it. So how much would it cost to have your loft boarded? Here, you’ll discover the cost of boarding your lofts so you that you can set a budget and start to plan.

The cost of boarding a loft is actually affordable for several individuals, simply because you’re allowed to floor as much or as little as you require. And while you’re up there flooring and fitting the loft boards, you can as well decide to upgrade the insulation of the loft too. This way, you be able to prevent heat from escaping through the roof of the house which helps improve energy efficiency and ultimately, save you some money on heating bills.

If you’d prefer to make it a DIY project, the cost of 18mm chipboard is about £8 to £10 per sheet sized 2400m x 600m. Meanwhile the insulation boards should range between £18 to £22 for a sheet.

For a professional service, you’ll be provided with a quote for both the materials and labour. The amount will be based on the number of boarding required as well as the method selected. For an average storage space needs, flooring size of about 15m2 is suitable. The price for this quantity would be between the range of £50 to £700 for the counter barren method or above £1000 for a more sophisticated method.

Pitting, also referred to as spalling is the event whereby “pits” or small holes start showing on the surface of your concrete driveway which makes it appear both worn and uneven. Concrete driveway pitting is a common but highly frustrating problem for most homeowners. You’ll see some concrete driveways that’ll only start to pit after a couple of years, but this is not true for all concrete driveways as others will start to show signs only after a couple of months. So how do you tackle this issue? Well, it’s relatively simple to tackle, however if you’re not confident or lack the necessary skills, we’d recommend you get in touch with a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’ll take you through the concrete driveway pitting repair process.

✓ Prepare the pits by cleaning the area, clearing out all debris and more. The small pits can be cleaned with a stiff brush while a sturdy broom will do a good job for larger pits.

✓ Make use of a hose to spray the concrete pits and flush out all remaining bits of waste.

✓ If you’re tackling series of small pits, simply use a caulking gun filled with pre-mixed epoxy and specially formulated for concrete to fill the pits. Clear off the excess eproxy ensuring that its level with the concrete surface. Once done, simply leave for at least 24 hours before the application of a concrete sealant to prevent the wear and tear of the new concrete.

✓ Chisel out a little concrete and clean with a pressure washer. Once done, apply a concrete resurfacing compound mixture into the holes and use a trowel to level off.

✓ Ensure that the repaired concrete driveway is protected from rain and foot traffic for at least 6 hours (or 24 hours for vehicles).

How Much Plasterboard Do I Need?

Although many people especially contractors have a tough time estimating the number of drywall or plasterboard needed to complete a project, it’s a rather simple task if all factors are taken into consideration. If you’re able to follow the same procedures taken by professionals to count dry wall sheets, you’ll be in the right direction. Let’s have a look at the procedures to follow!

lTake Square Footage Measurement

• Measure the square footage of the area where the plasterboard will be fitted.

• Multiply the height by the width of each wall or ceiling area.

• Add all quantities to obtain a total square-foot amount.

lCalculate Drywall Sheets

• To calculate the number of drywall or plasterboard sheet is very simple once you’ve gotten the total square footage.

• To get started, simply divide the total square footage of area by 32 (that’s if you are using a 4 by 8 sheets) or you can also make use of 48 to make the division (only if you’re making use of the 4 by 12 sheets).

• The answer you get after the division will give you the full number of plasterboard sheets that’s required to complete the project.

We’d recommend you include an extra 10 to 15 percent of whatever you calculate to take care of the possible odd cuts and wastages. This implies that if your total area is 1600 square feet while incorporating 4 by 8 sheets, simply divide 1600 by 32 which equals 50 sheets, now take 10% of 50 which equals 5, then add back the 5 extra to the 50 sheets earlier calculated to get 55 sheets. If you wish to estimate the cost, simply multiply the number of sheets gotten by the price per sheet. Do not forget to include delivery charges and local taxes.