Builder starting small extension, will I regret it

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Just out of interest, if you can get tiles of the right colour, why not tile the whole area up to the wall cupboards? I've never really managed to get those edging strips looking right, and am guessing you'd have a job getting any red edging. Though black would probably look OK?
 
Wife doesnt want tiles higher than the sockets ****. Cant say I am that keen on cutting tiles around them either :wink:

I did mount them quite high so we could get two 4" tiles and an edge strip below them with a bit of spare room.
Seems that both red and black trims are available btw.
 
SS splashbacks are very popular but I don't think they look any nicer than
the one you have up , from a practical perspective they are a nightmare to keep clean as they will show every mark whenever you use the hob.
 
I think 8" of tiles would look wrong somehow: I'd either go up to the cabinets or not bother with them at all and fit matched upstands (I think is the name) instead. Splashback looks fine to me.
 
I must admit that I prefer the red rather than the splash back, but paint will wear very quickly behind the cooker. Have you thought about about a bit of toughed glass or something heat resistant thats clear. Not sure what material would be best.
 
Gas man came today and spent 30mins connecting the pipework I had already put in for the hob, thats £75 :cry:

Wife used the hob for a lunch party with her friends and now doesnt want a stainless splashback after cleaning all the marks off the stainless hob.

So its now down to leaving the black laminate I temp fitted or going for a glass one as Russell suggested.
I can get either clear glass and somehow seal the edges so the wall paint shows through it or go for a backed glass in red, I even had thoughts of maybe getting an upstand in the same colour instead of tiles.
Prices vary enormously, so it seems does the quality.

More thought needed :)
 
I would go for the glass. Make it backed then you can use glaziers adhesive to just stick it. You then have no screw holes. Don't use grip fill, it will destroy the backing.

Looking really good.

Mick
 
Anyone ever tried hand painting or spraying glass?

I went looking for tiles yesterday and the ones we liked were few and far between, so I thought looking at the prices for plain against coloured splashbacks and upstands I would maybe go for plain toughened glass and paint it myself or get my friend to spray it for me.
 
Oldman":22ob70uw said:
I have a builder starting work tomorrow on a small extension to the rear of my house, we have wanted the extension for years but with young kids we could never quite afford it.
Kids are teens now and since being made redundant a couple of yrs ago I have been semi retired.
Costs for just a bare shell single story ext with flat roof were quoted as 15-20k a couple of yrs ago but now with the lack of work prices have come right down so a 3x4mtr shell is now costed at £10500 inc moving drains and reroofing another extension beside this new one.

With the feeling that prices will only go up again should I leave it longer, I have agreed to have the job done.

If its such a good deal why do I have butterflies.

I had a patio laid a few yrs ago and had to finish the job myself and not pay the last payment.
Last yr I had new central heating complete with boiler and had water through ceilings and am still waiting for the plumber to come back and fix the system so my lounge gets warm. He got paid in full as it was summer when he finished.

So nothing to worry about really eh!

Oldman,

If he makes as bad a job as the 'Lone Ranger' who built the extension on my house, you might regret it! Hasten to add, the extension was already on the house when I purchased. :roll:

John
 
Oldman":2u78t2ze said:
Anyone ever tried hand painting or spraying glass?

I went looking for tiles yesterday and the ones we liked were few and far between, so I thought looking at the prices for plain against coloured splashbacks and upstands I would maybe go for plain toughened glass and paint it myself or get my friend to spray it for me.

Just had a thought. Find a photograph that you like, have it printed large enough, then get it laminated in plastic. Stick that behind your toughened glass. You could even photograph some wallpaper you happen to like.

John :?:
 
Benchwayze":3ag3d5vm said:
Oldman,

If he makes as bad a job as the 'Lone Ranger' who built the extension on my house, you might regret it! Hasten to add, the extension was already on the house when I purchased. :roll:

John

A few months too late to comment on the build :wink: Its all sorted bar the final finishing touches.
I do want to have the finish applied directly to the glass rather than sandwich something behind it so I dont get any steam/condensation in between and mainly to allow me ease of fitting using either mirror glue or silicone that doesnt affect the paint finish.
 
In my case

Plain bricks used for the footings (Now going rotten).
Mortar that was more sand than cement. Scrapes out with a fingernail.

Roof made from interior grade chipboard, discovered when I had to repair a leak.. Insulation only in between the first three rafters. (Presumably the day the Inspector called.) All corrected by myself of course.

None of this was noticed on the survey report I had done when I purchased.
So what use these new-fangled 'HIPS'? I wonder!

John :wink:
 
Oldman":lb2quhdo said:
Anyone ever tried hand painting or spraying glass?

I went looking for tiles yesterday and the ones we liked were few and far between, so I thought looking at the prices for plain against coloured splashbacks and upstands I would maybe go for plain toughened glass and paint it myself or get my friend to spray it for me.

I looked into it, but chickened out. The price for the spraying isn't as much as it seems, as the low-iron (non-green tinted) glass used is pricey of itself, then the cutting, cut-outs, toughening, bevelled and polished edges. Then there is the need to be scrupulously clean (no sanding down possible as the visible face is the first coat), and the risk was too much for me (could see myself getting through a few sets of the expensive glass before getting it all right).

I did find a supplier of the paint, which will be buried somewhere in my bookmarks.
 
I found a glass company close to me on Ebay with in house cnc cutting and the prices I have found from them for a plain splashback up to 1300mm x 750mm in 6mm toughened was £45 + delivery but Im close enough to collect.
Upstand prices were also good in up to 1mtr x 250mm in 6mm toughened was £18
This was not lo-iron glass so will have a tint, but I liked the pricing and will contact tehm on Monday to see how real they are :wink:

I will also nip down to the glass co in my street and see if I can beg a couple of offcuts and try hand glossing and spraying some.
Homebase btw seem to do a spray can of glass paint but if its just 2 pack acrylic I am sure my friend with a coachworks company can help me out.
 
Jake":180jzr0c said:
The car paint might peel. They use (or should use) special paint, which has a silane base (same technology as UV glass glues). Here's the supplier I found, the name came back to me. http://www.avko.co.uk/index.php?option= ... rate=Glass
.


Just joined and have read whole thread with interest.

Glad you're nearing the end of what looks like a marathon but the end result looks very good. bet that's worth a few brownie points.

I wouldn't have thought twice about the job which to me is a small one but I found it very interesting to read how even the smaller problems which a pro would take in his stride, become a major cause of concern to the layman.

Too far down the line or I would have put in my pennerth a number of times but just a thought about the splashback - Having a painted red one would seriously restrict any future colour you might want to use on the walls. Unless you're lucky enough that your other half doesn't nag for new decor every few years, (no -one is that lucky), or you will always paint red.

ps
I'm obviously a builder (sole trader, small business). Problem is that people get caught because for many reasons, we all want a Rolls for the price of a mini.
Many use the "free" services of builders (and other trades) to do most of the specification and research work for them rather than employ someone. That is a lot of unpaid work for say 3 or 4 builders for a typical job they may not get

All of my work is word of mouth - good for my customers - good for me and I won't take a job on if it doesn't feel right. From experience - it won't be!
You get what you pay for in most things and not just paying for labour but expertise, experience and knowledge as well. That surely is true of all but the most menial work is it not?
A solid, reputable company will always have higher overheads than cowboy firms to cover proper insurance, wages, training, equipment. They will always protect their reputation hard gained over years.

Any logical person can do the sums.

I would NEVER give a fixed price for a job which involves groundworks or drainage because there is no way you can easily determine what problems you'll find.
I give a price (fully specced and documented) but assuming no unforseen problems and keep my customers informed and involved at every step, but incidently, there is nothing worse than having a customer stand over you while you work. At best, the job is slowed significantly and at worst there are heath and safety issues which could affect the tradesmans' liability insurance. Word will get around the trade and people will either not quote or load it to include the lost time - doesn't mean they're cheating, just earning a living.


Remember also - despite old saying - the customer is NOT always right.
 
We had same problem as you, bought clear glass, fitted it to wall, so in your case would keep all the wall red - job done (took 10 minutes to fit)

Looks a treat too
 
Paul I take it you bought glass with pre drilled holes for mounting it?

One of the reasons for painting the glass was to allow for silicone type fixing and sealing the edges.

I did a little more fettling in the last few days, mounted her flip down tV bracket and attached her 16" tv/dvd Xmas present.

I also bought 3 16w Slimline Linkable Fluorescent Fittings from http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LLM16W.html and by using one of these PIR's http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TLPIR180.html tucked up under the wall cabinet I have lighting thats useful.

Normally under cabinet lights get used for the first few days then its too much bother to keep turning them on/off.
The good think of using a pir is that they only come on in the evening when needed if the pir senses someone on the way to the kitchen and once you leave they time out and turn off.
Good amount of light to do stuff by and unlike the main lighting which tends to stay on all evening, these save electricity. If you do want the main lighting on then the undercounter wont stay on as well due to the setting of the light sensor.

73peae.jpg
 
yup pre-drilled holes, think she ordered it from B&Q on-line

As for the silicone seal the only place you'll neeed it is at the bottom, and if you make the gap small enough and use clear silicone then it won't be noticable anyway

we didn't bother with any silicone as it the glass fits tight to the worktop so no problems
 
Well after lots of visits to tile shops and pricing of glass, both backed and clear for splashbacks, wife found some tiles she really liked and by this time I had really had enough of playing options and just wanted it sorted.

So we ordered the tiles and got the local tiler to fit them, not a job I enjoy and I really didnt want to delay the fitting at all in case she changed her mind. (cabinet trims not refitted yet)

kdooox.jpg


We were only going to have tiles 2 rows high on the widow wall but after ordering changed our minds to have bottom of cabinet height on both walls with mitered joints on the tiling around the window sill.
So he has finished the main part of the work and will be back to finish the window wall once the tiles arrive.

I found her sitting looking at the wall last eve, she wont say but I'm pretty sure she has changed her mind on the tiles or maybe its the light grey grout, either way she will have to learn to like what she picked now!

I did cover all the worktops with cloths before he started but I have just found a 25mm long scratch right in line of sight in one worktop, not telling the wife but I bet she sees it :oops:

Dont hold back, honest opinions on what it looks like?

Personally I quite like the result.
 
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