Updating you on the renovation - with a total redesign of our garden and costs spiralling out of control...!
0:00 Introduction
0:31 DIYTE Update
1:15 Garden Redesign
3:30 Ground Works
4:30 Can of Worms
9:25 Constructing the Walls
11:33 Project Costs & Budgeting
6:53 Proroll Max Plaster
13:34 Subscribe to Me!
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#garden #redesign #DIY
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A small something to say thanks, Charlie. Appreciate all your content, including these updates.
Charlie, thanks for the transparancy on cost as well as the stress it can sometimes bring with it. Doing a reno myself and it's quite incredible how quickly it adds up. Love your videos, keep it up
Personally, I find all the videos interesting even if they are not related to anything we are likely to undertake or be able to do at the current time. Even something like this is worth the time to watch and get ideas from. 👍
Would love another video on guttering and drainage! Currently battling with tidying up some questionable work that was done on our house long before we moved in. Great video as always Charlie!
As well as learning from your vids Charlie, what sets them apart is your honesty and transparency. Most othher videos dont show the warts and all and the human side. Good luck with the rest of the build 👍
Thanks so much. I'm going through a bit of a sticky patch with it all at the moment, with the build preventing me doing regular vids so I really appreciate comments like this. 👊
I love that you're always a few months before anything I'm thinking about and can just watch you do it first.
Thanks Charlie , greatly appreciated regardless of views or not , skills is a massive issue now , most workmen sadly these days are gone with the wind once they have your money and leave rough edges to say the least
Hi Charlie I've done a few rebuilds --I was living in a caravan for two yrs whilst i gutted and rebuilt --all came good in the end, so enjoyable. However the last redevelopment got away from me, exacerbated by awkward neighbours, shared driveway etc, funds ran out, loan from brother, some trades let me down, me having to check and recheck their work.. so that impact had me on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I had to sell or I'd gone under, thankfully I did sell, its 7yrs now. I set the specification very high, right from the get go.Your doing a great job but please ensure your looking after yourself, and your family. You want it right and perfect but that can come at a cost financially and emotionally. Go SAFE best GRAHAM.
Great video as always Charlie, you really do a great job of explaining clearly without going into too much detail, perfect balance! House looks lovely btw, especially when you are talking about the guttering.
Thanks mate, really appreciate that. It's always anxiety inducing find these vids so I'm glad you feel I got the balance right. 👊
Heck of a project! But so helpful to hear the good, the bad and the ugly without a hint of waffle. Regarding your channel overall, it has always been about the quality, not the quantity, of your posts, so do try & ease up on your anxiety of not posting to a relentless schedule. We’re here whatever ...
Really appreciate this insight Charlie. You properly highlight the pitfalls of any large project. Thanks!!
Can't thank you enough for that. Was a bit unsure about doing this update so I'm glad you think it was ok 👊
Many thanks for this video - we are contemplating same project with 1930s house and rear garden sloping down to the house so spot on - really appreciate all the tips
Thanks and good luck with your project.
Love your videos. I admire your openness regarding costs etc as it certainly gives us a heads-up on what we could be letting ourselves in for. Thank you!
Thanks so much for that. Really humbled you enjoy my vids and it's great to get a vote of confidence on this one as I was a bit anxious about doing it 👊
This is exactly the videos I’d like to see, as well as your others. Thanks for taking the time to record and post.
Charlie's we moved into a 1900 sandstone house last August, it has been extended but long story short all of the extension stuff has been very poorly done, we budgeted ( after seeing the issue) 10k to fix the 3 steel beams leading from extension to old house- it was a mess, it cost us 37k to remove and install the new beams- 16 now In total as the 3 beams were not up to standard and they had been complete opposite from what was on the council planning paperwork, due to the that work nesding done we rhen had to fork our over 30k for new kitchen. A simple viewing hole to see why the walls were so thick around the extension was bang on were the weight of the extension and old roof has lead to deep cracking. Lucky hole drilled at exact height lead us to a 67k spend we didn't even think we needed to do! Absolutely gutted.
Hi Charlie I always find your videos interesting, and it’s not very often that I don’t learn something . It’s inevitable that any project will throw up unforeseen problems , but one of your many skills is to find a way to resolve them . Best wishes and kind regards as always. 😀👍👍👍
I'm embarking on raising the bottom of my garden and paying to get dirt delivered while I'm watching you paying someone to get dirt removed :) By the next video I'm expecting more project creep, a retractable roof for your garden, a car turntable and a Koi Carp pond. Great videos as always Charlie, much appreciated.
Love it 🤣 Yes we're in the wrong game. These grab hire companies charge to take it away and then sell it on. Double winning. Shame you couldn't have taken some of mine 😉
Yes to the gutter video, I'd like to see that.
Yes, please, a video on the guttering! Have cast iron gutters myself. Thanks for all the tips!
Thanks Patrick. You're welcome. 👊
Thank you so much always enjoy your videos: hope the project finishes soon and you can relax
Thanks for the update! So good to have the nitty gritty as well as the polished content.
Yes please! Charlie, thanks for doing such a wonderful job. Especially for braking down these complicated and somtimes overwhelming issues with house maintenance and building!
Really love your videos, always feel like I'm doing the same DIY project as you when you post! Also love how transparent you were with the costs in this video.
Enjoyed the update, really interesting stuff, good luck and I hope the anxiety settles soon the more it takes shape
thumbs up just for the black labby 👍🐶
DIY Dog is very upset at what's happened to her domain.
Cast iron guttering video would be very interesting
Hugely helpful of you to create videos like this. We’re in the process of planning a “small” (6m2) extension to our kitchen and the only quote offered so far is massive! I think the underfloor heating option is the killer. Great to have a counterpoint as a reference for us. Thanks.
Good update. Enjoyed it. I'm invested in your progress so will continue to watch
Great progress Charlie! Hope you're doing well.
Good job Charlie! There is still a lot left but I am sure the result will be outstanding like all the other projects you have finished. Good luck😊
Good stuff Charlie, interesting as always. The state of the foundations is the most worrisome. Your outlook will be brighter once all those deficiencies are behind you.
Hi Charlie, It's always interesting (& a learning experience) to watch how someone else goes about doing some work, and your videos cover the pitfalls and eventual great results that are achieved at the end of it. Don't be afraid to post about guttering etc. - we're all along for the ride and would find it/anything an education (especially if you cover off the challenges (?) to find/research suppliers for various bits and bobs)... Cheers, Rich.
we recently had an extension done and had a few quid left over in the budget for contingencies we did run around 20% over that as well as there are so many unaccounted for costs that you don't factor in, all the permits and plans for example were the thick end of £4k, we spent over £1,500 on extra electrical fittings and a new consumer unit, then things like tiles and all the little things such as radiators and valves and waste traps etc all add up to eye watering amounts we were VERY lucky to have the actual cash money because we would have run out after the shell had been finished had we stuck to our original budget numbers
Good luck mate love your videos 👍
Thanks mate 👊
I for one am very interested in this type of video from you. It doesn't matter what the subject is I always learn something.
Great update Charlie. It's really interesting to see how your project is coming along.
Cheers mate. 👊
Great vid
Thanks 👊
Great stuff mate, could you perhaps do a Timelapse of the works
Excellent. Looks very similar to mine
Good grief Charlie, what a big job this is turning into. It’ll be wonderful at the end I’m sure. The wall in the old bricks looks fab. 🤞everything else goes ok.
Guttering video would be good, yes please! We have similar blocked cast iron soak always to sort out
Thanks Annie. I'll try and fit this in. 👍
You should have made a full guttering/drainage channel video! I recently had to install a channel drain at the back of my house and there wasn't nearly enough intricate guides
good luck! looking great
Hi Charlie 😊 wow you've got some work on your hands now, and I'm hoping no more jars of worms has to be opened on this job, but as always I know that now you've got this far you'll go the extra mile to get things right, one comment I can make is watch out for some of those concrete blocks crumbling whith frost over later years, I built some garden steps from them about 10 yrs ago and I'm going to have to replace the top steps as the blocks are crumbling, the rest are ok, maybe Friday night blocks who knows,lol. Anyway your builders should know what their doing, thanks for another great video mate, stay safe, best wishe's to you and your's, Stuart UK.
I love your videos and wish I'd found them before! As someone who's done a heap of DIY on top of big renovation work (the latest a 95% complete loft conversion(!) with plans for a similar garden project to yours), it's great to see a warts and all (with a lot of clever work rounds and honest timeline and budgets. I'm a little sick of Tik-Tok/Fb/YT Shorts with voluptuous women clicking their fingers and a project is done (not because of the women or voluptuousness of course).
Thanks so much - I really appreciate that and the loft conversation sounds highly impressive 👌 Yes I know what you mean. The finger clickers are more valued commercially than us YTers but I won't be changing the way I do things 😉
A bit less than a decade ago I hired a painter to paint the trim on the windows on the upper floor of my house as I don't do well on ladders. Despite me telling him not to do it, he painted a base coat of oil before applying the acrylic paint I had supplied. I painted the ground floor window trims with just the acrylic paint. After three years the paint on the upper window trims were starting to show cracks, something that didn't happen until the fifth year on the ground floor window trims. The only preparation was to scrape away any loose paint. (Thankfully I don't have to worry about painting the window and door trims anymore because as the house is almost 30 years old it was time to replace the windows and doors. I got ones with vinyl trim that I won't have to worry about for a long time.)
Great to see this update Charlie. We had a budget spreadhseet at the start of our build but have had to add many more rows to it than it had at the start. We are also project managing so very aware it is our risk if we forget anything. Overall my cost estimates have been about right but a couple of areas have come in 3X what I expected. We are on the fence of staying with gas or going ASHP, the cost to update our gas install to run UFH was so much that it balanced out the ASHP prices due to grants and VAT savings.
As always an informative and interesting video Charlie, it's tough when you get scope creep, but, as you have identified, sometimes it makes sense in the long run to bite the bullet and fix the problem at it's source before moving on ! Levels are such an important consideration, particularly in older properties and also particularly in the westward water counties of the UK ! Even in my Millennium era new build there are issues around levels between adjoining properties and I am in the process of ripping up my builder installed patio and re-laying it with incorporated eco-drains that exit into soak-aways under our (currently arid) lawn !
Thanks Andy, and great to hear from you. Scope creep is a good way of describing it! Really hope you sort the drainage issue - sounds like a good idea, that. 👊
Thanks Charlie, just what I needed, having an old house, just installed a Wiser smart heating system following your recommendation- keep the faith & keep up great work thanks
Well done mate. Hopefully you'll love Wiser. Mine hasn't missed a beat. Also check out my Wiser update video if you haven't already. 👊
Love your vids Charlie always so interesting .. love your house btw :)
Great update Charlie. I'm sure this will all work out and you'll look back and laugh one day with a beer in hand while sunning yourself on your nice new garden. One thing I'm confused on, did you say your rainwater run-off from the patio is going down the drains? I thought they had to be directed to a soakaway these days as per building regs.
No, they both go into the soakaway. When the new septic tank was put in, we had two channels installed on that side of the house - one into the septic tank for grey water and foul and the second for rainwater into a soakaway.
Yes, I'd be interested in knowing about cast iron downpipes.
We are in the middle of a garden redesign as well, unfortunately found out soak away isn't viable because we are lower than all our neighbours so now having to have a pump installed. We've had about 15/16 grab vans now for out garden, sometimes I wish we'd left it sloped. Hope yours goes well.
Well done
Thanks 👊
Do you fancy a second channel for more frequent vlog videos? Especially during this whole build period. I'd watch that!
I take my hat off to KZheadrs who have more than one channel..I think I should probably provide more regular updates on the Community tab, but thanks, I appreciate you saying you'd watch it!
@@CharlieDIYtesnap would definitely watch vlog style of this day by day 🤷🏼♂️ obviously youve got a lot on you’re plate, but I’m excited to see what videos youve got coming up as I’d like to see them all 👍👍
@@CharlieDIYte I'm a simple man. I see a new CharlieDIYte video, I watch it.
Can't thank you enough for that. The positivity and encouragement from people like you guys is a massive reason why I'm still doing this. 👊
I definitely need to up my frequency of posting. It's a shame KZhead are ditching Stories - although you can't say much in 15 seconds and you couldn't edit them but maybe I need to do more shorts. Trouble is they're not really intended as vlog type content. Are you on Facebook or Instagram? I'm going to try and post project updates on there more often.
Quality video as always 👌
Thanks so much 👊
Interesting project Charlie and totally understand that picking up a video camera during this project is the very last thing on the priority list. Best of luck with everything you will have to juggle during the project and look forward to any update videos you can manage to put together. PS: Just read the comments - surprised at the haters but their comments are amusing if nothing else.😉😀👍
Would love to see video on new gutter configuration
Starting lots of projects at the same time Charlie. Hope it works out for you.
Great video !!
Thanks Michael - really appreciate that 👊
Hi Charlie, a very honest update video (which I for one certainly appreciate, even if the dreaded algorithm doesn’t). I think you’re being unfairly hard on yourself though. In the current environment of rising costs, even fixed cash jobs are prone to mid-project negotiable, as builders can’t stand alone with the rising cost of materials (I know at least 2 builders that have gone out of business this way). Keep going, it’ll be worth in the end!
Thanks Darren. Really appreciate that. 👊 It's a good point and there are also the variations that get negotiated when unforeseen things come out of the woodwork - like that underpinning issue. I'm pretty happy with my builders. They're a bit unconventional - which worried me a bit at the start, but know their stuff. 👊
Great video Charlie, just about to start something like this my self, so very useful. If you're interested if the bricks are from a Manchester hospital, they might be from Booth Hall Children's which was an old red brick that was pulled down a number of years ago. I'm always interested in the history of materials.
That's a wonderful bit of info - huge thanks for that! 👊
Love ur channel...👍
For the raised walls, you could have poured in clean drainage gravel behind, membrane it to stop soil migrating into the gravel, then put 20mm pipe into the base of the gravel to allow water to pass through the wall into your new shallow patio drains
Depends. If it's a clay soil never use a membrane to stop migration of soil. It will clog up and contribute to further hydrostatic pressure. Filter fabric (non woven) should only be used in non-clay soils like sandy soils.
What would you use then?
Ugh I know that feeling…a loose thread that you can’t help but unravel once you’ve started. Most recent for me was sticking down some peeling wallpaper. Looked skewed so ended up peeling it all off. Only issue is it was the stairs hallway so now have about >15 foot high walls to scrape…with 4 month old in tow. One positive is it has revealed the original lime plaster walls that should never have been covered in the first place. Every cloud…
Feel your pain there. Classic can of worms that. One thing, do be careful stripping paint with a toddler in tow. Heard an awful story about a couple renovating a house with a toddler and the lead paint they were stripping off (the tell tale green stuff) brain damaging the baby. In your case it's just wall paper but thought I'd mention it as good to be aware of the danger.
That is truly is a terrible story and not something you necessarily would think about. Judging by some of the “graffiti” that was uncovered the wallpaper was put up in the mid nineties so shouldn’t have anything that nasty. Mum has already dictated the switch to clay paint…which I actually really like. Well…everything except the price difference. Appreciate the warning 👍🏻
Great vid and always good to see. And yes to a gutter video too!! It’s looking amazing and sadly you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. And what an omelette it’s going to be!!!
Thanks, really appreciate that. Yes I think I will do the guttering vid 👊
Great update vid. For any hard landscaping work I've always found McCormack's Paving Expert site to be, well, the absolute expert! Very well put together description and diagrams - and all free! Oh and yes to anything about working on the guttering - most run a mile when I mention it's cast.
Thanks, that's a great tip I'll take note of. I'll definitely do a vid on the guttering 👊
Blimey Charlie. In for a penny, in for a pound! And I thought your extension build in the house was ambitious. I do agree on your approach though; no point in doing all that work inside if there’s always going to be issues with the ground water outside. The garden plans look fantastic too. I’d love a vid on the rainwater system rationalisation too … but I am a building surveyor. Keep up the good work. It will all be worth it by Christmas 😃👍🏻
Thanks Paul. Yes I'll do a vid on that. I've been rather taking the good weather for granted. Wincing at the moment every time it rains, with all the guttering dismantled. Christmas is looking ambitious - let's see what happens with the planning...
👍👍👍.Thank you
Thanks for the update Charlie, really enjoy those vids. Really like the low profile eco drains, can you provide a link to the ones you purchased please as would like to look at them for one of my up and coming DIY projects, thanks 👍
Thanks mate. Yep I got them from here www.polychannel.co.uk/product/liteaqua-48-5mm-ductile-iron-diagonal-grating-b125-overlay-channel/
Good vid Charlie 😢best of luck
Thanks 👊
Hope you put plenty of drainage rock (preferably at least 3/4 inch angular stone) behind that retaining wall? Yours is one of my favourite channels and I would hate for the wall to fail due to hydrostatic pressure as a result of insufficient drainage.
Thanks mate. Yep there's plenty of rock down there from the excavations and 20mm gravel on top. Hope it will be sufficient...
Really enjoyed this...apart from the bit on cost's:/ Thank you !
Thanks 👊
Well done with the project management and trying to keep costs down. However when you price everything up add 5 grand on top due to rising prices and extra materials. I don't think there is a skill shortage just a shortage of good, honest builders. Plenty of cowboys and chancers out there.
I'd find a video on reconfiguering those old cast iron gutters very interesting Charlie! Greetings from Flanders!
Great to hear from you Marc. Yes I'll definitely do a video on that 👊
@@CharlieDIYte Yes I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted but I am in the middle of a van conversion and that takes up so much time..Keep up the good works Charlie!
I’m waiting for kevin mccloud from grand designs to turn up 😂 - epic upscale of a project
Did the guys mix all the concrete for the foundations on site, with just a mixer??! Or did you get the concrete delivered and pumped? Would love to see more on the groundwork, foundations and retaining walls construction, if possible. Very little available on doing that stuff for gardens, DIY.
Great video. Heard you say you were probably going to lay the paving which sounds physically tough. Wondered if you would do any of the face brickwork on the garden retaining wall, or does that feel mean to take away from the lads. Interesting what their suggestions would be on best bits to do yourself. It will I think look great when all done. Looks great at the moment too to me but those house foundations need sorting. Look forward to more like these, didn't realise when you did them.
Thanks John. Yes it's tricky, mainly because I'm still having to get the videos out which ironically means very little time to help them with this project. Plus they probably prefer to be left to it!!
Wow. This one is turning into a real mindf*ck eh Charlie? Keep your chin up, it'll come good 👍
Thanks buddy 👊
Great video thanks for doing and I would be interested in guttering video. Am doing up a listed 18 century house so boy do I know about renovation costs and budgets😂😢.
Thanks, and good luck with yours. It's quite the money pit isn't it, but satisfying. 👊
Another awesome video. Have you been watching Scott Browns videos by any chance.
Crikey, where did you find that garden designer from Charlie? You needed a Landscape Architect on the case really... (as one myself) any LA would be a world away from that crayon coloured plan, and bring a professional approach to your project. As usual loving your videos and thanks for all the information you include 👍👍👍
Cheers Benjamin. Yes it is a bit basic isn't it 🤣 - totally agree on the landscape architect. It's done the job though.
Get someone to edit your videos Charlie! You will save yourself so much time
Thanks for the update Charlie. Found this interesting. One bit I didn’t quite catch was how rainwater behind the retaining wall drains away. Would there be weep holes (if that’s the correct term?!) strategically located in the mortar of the concrete blocks and the reclaimed bricks such that water would drain onto the patio and then into the drain there? Or is the water diverted without getting through the block work in the retaining wall in some way? Keep your chin up on the cost front. The borrowing will no doubt be painful but the chances are you’ll be adding more in value to the property than what it costs. Plus you’ll have an amazing house and garden to live in :-)
Thanks for that, really appreciate the support 👊 Yes there will be weep holes. They're going to drill holes through both courses of brick when the wall has been constructed - 35mm pipe. There's a combination of broken bricks and 20mm gravel behind the weed matting to create a soak away of sorts. Totally agree. Tesco 5 year loan, and DIYfe will probably need to take one out as well but we'll finally have a garden we're proud of and can get friends around to, and as you say it will add value. 👊
Wondering if you thought about of underground water tank all that lovely free water for your garden .
That's a good point Stephen. Yes I'd love to keep the water but I think at this point I'm just trying to save money wherever possible
I have the same issue with high ground in my property i just bought. It was picked up on the survey too. Its causing damp on the internal wall as its bridging the dpc.
Is that a Polestar 2 parked up in the background @ 2:13 Charlie ? Kudos 😮
It is indeed. Although it's DIYfe's, not mine!
thats not cheap lol
Sound advice as always. Also pay cash if possible to save VAT.
Yep. Been paying rather a lot of that on this job between you and I 😉
Can't believe you pay just £250 for a full grab truck load of soil taken away (probably 10 to 12 tons)! It's nearly £600 in the south (Southampton/Portsmouth)!!
Great video Charlie good to get updates, out of interest did you add the garden designer to your costs so far? Do you mind sharing how much that cost on its own? Thanks
Thanks, I appreciate that. No, not added because I haven't paid her yet. It was £3k and was included as part of that remaining £10k - does sound like a lot but she's been great - dropping by regularly to give advice and as I said, having a blueprint we can all work to had been fantastic.
Where did you get the low profile channel drains from as I’ve been looking for something similar? Great video as always Charlie, really enjoy the content. (I’d be interested in a video about the drainage pipes too)
Thanks mate. Got them from here www.polychannel.co.uk/product/liteaqua-48-5mm-ductile-iron-diagonal-grating-b125-overlay-channel/ Yep will definitely do a vid on the gutters and down pipes
I'm in the middle of similar works on my garden, almost identical in fact. My question is why are you using cement with lime or lime with cement if you prefer ? Is it a colour thing ? Cement completely negates the breathable benefits of lime and having been on a great lime training course, lime doesn't need cement to bond but is usually branded as belt and braces by those who routinely just use cement. Keen to hear your thoughts and always enjoy the videos. Keep it up !
It's a good point about the lime. I think in this case it's just a colour thing. The salvage guy said to use lime as the bricks would need to breathe but Gaz who's done a lot of heritage work was a bit dismissive. I think he's putting it in to humour me a bit but it will slightly lighten the mix and increase plasticity and workability. I guess you have to ask yourself how important breathability is when the mortar is only between the bricks. Would be interested in what you learnt about this.
Anything building or taking away soil is aways going to cost more than you think. I had 11 truck loads doing a garden build. Was mega £20k project, but looked great and customer was over the moon.
Thanks Bill. I should probably have got you involved on this one 😉 As you say everything takes longer than you'd expect and with all this rain the last few days work has ground to a halt.
Hi Charlie great video (as always) Just wondering which manufacturer's Bifold doors you're going to go with & what material. If it's any help I have had a set of 3 1.2m (they were the only one's that we could find that went that wide) Shuco aluminium doors for 6 years now & they've been amazing I'm nothing to do with them just offering a recommendation Good Luck with the rest of the redesign
Hi mate. Thanks, really appreciate the recommendation - great to hear you're happy with yours. Getting ours from IDS Systems. The gap they're spanning is a similar to yours. Will be interesting to see what they're like - they weren't cheap (Andy Mac warned me about cutting costs as he's had bad experience with his being draughty and wishing he'd gone triple glazed).
I know the feeling been doing garden project myself. Been doing day rates until now, I feel like it works it cheaper but might be wrong? what’s advantage of fixed cost vs day rate?
P.S we got rid of loads of rocky clay mud basically, local farmer kindly took it, 12 tonnes for £250. Meanwhile I am on my 15th tonne of top oil into the back to bring the level up for turf
Hey Charlie, can you share details about the garden designer? Approx cost would also be great.
Where are you based? She was £3k. Not paid yet - which is why I didn't mention it but included in that final (hopefully) £10k.
Beware of blackspot on the Indian sandstone. I had to bin mine after trying to use various products that claim to get rid of it. All those products do is bleach the stone rather than rid it of blackspot. Investigate sealants for the stone slabs.
Do you have an idea how much value these updates add to the property? E.g. 50% of the improvement costs can be added to the property value.
Use 1:1 on the scale ruler, or just a normal ruler, then just add two zeros. 1cm = 1m.
What was I thinking - genuinely missed that 🤣🤦