Newcastle Craft Beer Week – The builders blog

A welcome rest

Written by Jeff on May 13, 2016

After taking some time to put the finishing touches on several of the rooms, I’ve decided it’s time for a break. So next week, I’ll be downing tools, and jetting off to the Alps to do some skiing.

A nice change of pace will do me good, and I’ll be ready to begin work on the home gym, and the exterior of the apartment. Which can almost certainly do with some improvement. There appears to be flaky paint patches all over as well as some overgrown plants that will certainly need dealing with.

As always, keep track of my progress here. Speak soon, Jeff.

Bathroom renovation almost completed

Written by Jeff on February 24, 2016

We have been working intensively over the past year, as well as planning well in advance to overhaul and renovate our old bathroom design. To achieve this, several things needed to happen. The first, was the more obvious, replacing the old shower. This in itself took quite a lot of time as quite a lot has changed in the industry with a huge variety of spray patterns readily available at the click of a button.

Then there was the even more difficult task of picking a new toilet and replacing the old one. Not only was there a massive amount of styles and flush types to choose from, but also an overwhelming amount of designs that took forever to sift through to find one that met our tastes.

In the end we settled on a beautifully crafted, two piece loo from TOTO. It looked great and had an elegant cotton white finish that would no doubt compliment the bath, sink, and shower areas. Not to mention how well it will work with the sunlight.

The stand out features weren’t immediately obvious to us, but once we conducted a fair amount of research into the matter, we began to see that they aren’t all built the same. There are specific flush styles that may suit a specific households environment for example. Or even the fact, some are slightly taller to make them easier for people with disabilities to sit down upon.

So using this new found knowledge, as well as utilizing information gathered by expert bloggers that rate toilets online, such as toiletbrains.com, we found a unit that was worthy. Within the spec list, we found a gravity flush system, using 1.6 GPF, and perhaps even more importantly, the fact it had a round front which lowered the overall footprint, which was ideal as we don’t have a lot of free space in the bathroom.

So with two areas covered, we are not left with simpler decoration tasks like putting up the last of the tiles on the wall, putting down some beautiful oak floorboards we found online, and painting the ceiling. The theme is almost decided upon, excluding a few minute details that we will be re-visiting later on.

Overall, we are well on our way to finishing up with a room that is bright, inviting, and just pleasant to be in. And let me tell you, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a room in the household that the same can be said of it. Keep an eye on the blog for updates coming soon.

New look bathroom and shower

Written by Jeff on February 15, 2016

When we first moved into our apartment in California, we new that it would require a bit of building work to get it into top condition. The rooms were not particularly well decorated, colors were off, and there was a lot that we felt needed working on. In fact the only one that could pass as a decent room was the lounge. So after far too much time thinking about it, we have finally took the plunge.

After spending the better part of a month planning out how I’m going to renovate my bathroom and shower area, I think we’ve finally got a rough idea of how we want things to look. The general consensus between me and my wife is that we want a bright color theme throughout and lots of natural light coming in. This will require an extension of the window area, but it’s all possible, albeit a bit expensive.

bathroom-project The walls and ceiling for the most part are relatively small tasks. We’re going to go for a very light blue on the walls, and a textured white on the ceiling. The idea is to get a lampshade that compliments the theme and works well with the light in the night time.

The flooring will need to be resurfaced because there are certain weak points in it that are bringing the value of the apartment down as a whole. The idea is to get something easy to clean for this purpose, like tiles. Which will certainly work well in what can sometimes be a damp environment.

A shower enclosure is something we’ve been looking into for a long time. We want something custom, preferably offering glass doors with plenty of space to move around in. In addition to this, we’ll be looking at getting a good shower head with numerous functions built in. By functions, we mean a decent range of spray settings that are highly adjustable. A product with higher water coverage wouldn’t go a miss either, and from what we’ve seen from looking at reviews online, rainfall shower heads seem to meet our requirements, so that is something we will be looking into further.

Then there is the issue of an ancient bath tub that needs replacing. We’re trying to avoid the old design styles that tend to be rectangular, and are aiming to get something with nicely rounded edges, to give the bathroom a nice, modern feel.

Overall, the plans are in motion for this room, and seeing that it’s long overdue as it is, it will be a welcome relief once it’s all nearing completion. Pictures of the finished product will be coming soon.

If you enjoyed reading this, why not check out the rest of my home improvement journey here.

Lounge furniture and chair upgrade

Written by Jeff on December 12, 2015

Whilst the the design of the lounge is actually rather satisfying compared with other rooms of the home, such as the bathroom, it still has areas that it’s lacking in quality. One of those areas pointed out to me by a close family friend was the lack of comfortable seating available.

Now usually, that opinion wouldn’t bother me, and we’d sort it out once we get the rest of the apartment finished. But I thought about it, and seeing as we often have friends round quite often, what sort of host would I be if we didn’t make this one of our priorities?

There have been a few ideas thrown around in recent weeks about the sort of furniture we’re going to buy to make the room feel more homely. The first being a three man couch, which will be the centerpiece, the main part of the room, and will be put right in front of the TV. It will need to be black leather, to fit into the look and feel of the rest of the room.

The second is a one man armchair that will be put into a corner of the room. This will need to have some built in adjustments like the ability to recline and come with a hidden footrest to save space.

Perhaps the best idea we talked about was getting a massaging chair. Now, after researching various products and brand names online such as Osaki, Panasonic, and Human touch, I’ve been getting an understanding of what they can do at a variety of price points. However, the process of filtering out the bad products from the top massage chairs is a long one, but The Massage Throne website makes the whole process feel a bit easier with helpful reviews and a detailed buyers guide.

Getting such a chair would be the crowning piece of the room, and accommodate all our needs when it comes to taking time to relax and take afternoon naps. Then there is the added bonus of them having the ability to relieve neck and back pain, and reduce stress levels.

Other furniture items that need to be upgraded include two bookcases either side of a television stand, and a coffee table put right in front of the leather couch. Underneath all of this will be a varnished oak flooring topped by a rug that we recently purchased.

I just have a good feeling about this room, I know it’s going to look fantastic.

Follow more of my journey here.

A warm welcome to all readers

Written by Jeff on March 3, 2015

Hello to all my new readers. Welcome back the old. This blog has taken a new direction recently, with primary focus falling on my activities in home improvement. Secondly, I will be documenting my healthy lifestyle journey as I go along showing what’s worked for me, and what hasn’t.

In the near future, you will find all kinds of information regarding the renovation of my bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and home gym. I will be updating this website and use it as a progress log.

Enjoy!