DIY SOS!!!
So we thought... wouldn't it be lovely to decorate so when he gets back there is nothing for him to worry about, poor dad we love him so much 
BUT THE HOUSE HAS OTHER IDEAS 
There is Artex EVERYWHERE- HOW do we get rid of it?? The lady before us had 6 cats and the carpets all STINK- she must have not cleaned up at all after them. The carpets are so stained. When we viewed the house, she had lots of scent burners going 
Here are some pics, you really cannot imagine the awful stench, or see the grease and dirt all over the place!! This is the front of the house, it is set below road level, but this kinda shows the size. 
Here is the very smelly front room, we really hate the dark wood and stone cladding, because the house is set low, it is very dark all the time! 
This is the dining room, the fake 'tudor' black beams just make it look even darker inside, the carpet does not help either! 
The kitchen, I had to disenfect everything, the walls are still thick with grease but we can't get it done yet as there is this awful fake 'wood' paneling. i think if we take it off we will need to re-plaster and can't afford that yet. 
Our bedroom, there are 3 in total. We have an en-suite though hooray. We pulled down a fitted wardrobe and there was a huge hole in the wall into dad's room, all the plaster was falling down! When we took it to the tip, my car stank of cats pee after, I think the smell has got into everything 
This is the bath in our en-suite, there is a shower also (not working because it's not sealed and has gotten all mouldy. I'm not posting a pic of that in case you are eating 
This pic gives you an idea of the main bathroom, there is just a shower, loo and sink. Again shower is not useable, its not even fixed to the wall. 
Lastly, this is the overgrown garden! Taken from our bedroom window, it looks smaller than it is because you can't see the wood for the trees. 
We spent Monday chopping down a huge overgrown tree out the front so we could both park our cars off the road. I took 5 car loads of rubbish away! Yesterday we started to repair the wall in the bedroom, what a nightmare! Took the stinky carpets up- both nearly sick- and put them aside to take to the dump today. Then we will finish repairing the wall and start the huge job of sanding everything. We have 7 days until dad gets back... and only 11 days until we get rufus!!! I AM MARIANNE II  |
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Hi, in my experience nothing gets rid of cat odour, I think the carpet has to come up, then disinfect the floor. tell you what is fab, Zoflora you can get it from Sainsburys, Asda or Tesco, its really strong stuff, but smells lovely. I use it to clean the bathrooms and clean the kitchen floor - it really will do the trick, it gets rid of nasty odours permanently. i know house buying is expensive, but in the meantime, get some cheap rugs from Ikea or something for flooring ? As for the Artex, you can buy something like Polyfilla, but its designed to cover Artex in one go - you can get it from Homebase or B & Q - good luck  I'm sure Marianne has even better advice than this - I'm just thinking what products you can by here in the UK. |
| CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cat pee is tough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In my experience NOTHING gets rid of the smell. You will need to pull up the carpets and discard them. Generally the cat urine has permeated the pad underneath the carpet and it is impossible to get that out so pad and carpet will have to go. If there is wood under the carpet the smell will most likely have gotten to that as well. If the floor is hardwood you can sand and refinish. If it is just a sub floor it will need to be painted with something called "Kilz", don't know if it is available in the UK. You may have to paint the walls in addition to scrubbing and any draws left will have to be washed. Why people let cats get so out of hand is beyond me, they can destroy a house!!! You have alot of work ahead of you but it will be well worth it!!! |
| First of all, congradulations on your first house!!!!!!!! You have a lot of work ahead of you, but you can do it, and will love it when done. You have been given a lot of great advise so far. I agree about pulling up ALL of the carpeting and pads through out the house. You can paint over paneling and put in all light colors. Just wash it really well and then put a base coat on and then the color you want. Keep us updated with your progress.
We once bought an old farm house and 5 acres and when we went to move in the son of the previous owner had knocked down the walls between two of the bedrooms and left a huge pile of plaster. We did a huge redo on that house. Anyway, best of luck to you! |
Best of luck on your redo, light colours over all that panelling will work wonders  |
| Congrats on getting your new house!
You have got quite a job ahead of you. But, it sounds like you are on the right track.  All the carpets & padding do have to come up. You'll never get rid of the smell in them.  Paneling can be painted over until you can afford to replace it. For your kitchen, Dawn dishwashing detergent, if you can buy it there, is great for cutting grease.
Too bad you can't get on one of those home improvement shows and have some professionals come in to design & help renovate! Perhaps Marianne will come over & visit you this week. |
| Your new house looks great!!! Yes, it needs work, but this way you can have it the way YOU want.
Too bad about the cats - I agree with needing to rip up the carpet, pads and get rid of it all. Painting the floors is a cheap fix until you have the time and money to do them the way you really want. The darker rooms would really brighten up with paint. I would just paint over them to get by until you can do a big rip out and redo the walls. From watching Changing Rooms I actually know what Artex is!!! (Don't have that here). It sounds like your pressing needs are to work on the plumbing and get the showers working.
But it is really a nice looking place and sounds 100% better than your old apt and neighborhood. |
| You have to get rid of the carpet. Carpet is one giant blanket of filth and bacteria-- and so much worse when it isn't your own bacteria, but someone else's. If the cat pee is on the floorboards, you may want to paint them just to kill the stink! |
| Congratulations on the new house!! It's really cute! I love the front room.
I totally agree about the carpet! You should rip all of it out and start over. Not only will it get rid of the smell, but you can really brighten up and change the rooms. Busy patterns can make a small space seem smaller. You could also paint the ceilings, including those wooden beams, to brighten up the room. If the beams are only decorative, you may be able to take them down completely (although, you should get help from a professional!) Changing your house probably won't be an overnight project, but it will be sun fun and rewarding to see how it comes together over time. Maybe concentrate first on the rooms that most people will see when they come over (kitchen, sitting room) and do the back bedrooms last. Good luck with it all! It will be hard work but also will be totally worth it!! |
| Congrats on the house! It looks like it will be adorable with a little work! |
Congrats on your new house! 
The carpets do need to go. As a former cat owner... I know what they are capable of. I had put down new carpeting in the cats' bedroom (Our spare bedroom) before I tried to sell my old house because the carpeting in there was UGLY. With the perspective buyers coming though their room it upset the cats and they started to spray. I tried cleaning it with every cleaner product you can imagine....with no luck.
I had to remove the new carpeting  and I put down a new sub floor and vinyl flooring. Smell removed.... house finally sold.
Wishing you lots of luck! |
| HUGE, GIANT, ENORMOUS, BIG CONGRATULATIONS!
She did say: Hint of Mischief wrote: Took the stinky carpets up- both nearly sick- and put them aside to take to the dump today. Hint of Mischief wrote: I AM MARIANNE II
YOU GIRLS ROCK!!! |
I had the same problem with cat pee tried everything, up came the carpet 4 years ago, AND I still can not make up my mind what to do, so we still have the orginal lino. This week thinking ceramic bathroom(done) hallway kitchen, dining, ceramic, real hardwood in living room and carpet in bedrooms maybe.  |
ej wrote: I had the same problem with cat pee tried everything, up came the carpet 4 years ago, AND I still can not make up my mind what to do, so we still have the orginal lino. Did getting rid of the carpet get rid of all the smell? |
| Hi Cassie & Greg!
Your house looks lovely, it's "only" a bit makeover, as everyone said get rid of all carpets, maybe have stained wooden floors or a light carpet like cream and get rid of all the wallpaper and paint in in soft colours. I do love the beams and I'm sure they come out quite nice after wall and floor are done! Kitchen .. ok, eventually you need a new one, you can get very cheap but nice kitchens at IKEA, they are really good quality but until then just clean up and paint and the garden looks great and is waiting for the Sheepie to play in!
I just can imagine how lovely your house will look like when it's finished, I would be pleased to have a house like that, it will be all yours and in your taste!! Good luck, hope you make it in the 7 days!! Your dad will be very surprised but happy!!
Is there a house warming party???!! We bring all our sheepies!! |
Ellie's Mum wrote: Is there a house warming party???!! We bring all our sheepies!!
Do it before too much cleanup and then you don't have to worry about a big mess |
| Hi Cassie and gregg
Congratulations on yr new house!!! Its hard to start with but you will get there!! I had the same thing here the lady had cats and it did smell of cat pee! ( oophs sorry) I have nothing against cats. But i had an old english sheepie and i did want her to come in here and think!! mmmm. this don't smell like my house!! ha ha So i riped the landing carpet up that was the worsed. the rest of the house had laminated floors so i was luckly. You will get there !!! |
Woo-Hoo! Congratulations!    
Wowie, you've got a lot of work to do! I agree with everyone else...some light color paint on those paneled walls will work wonders, and floor paint and rugs are a good quick fix for the floors.
I empathize, we are in the midst of remodeling hell ourselves right now...tearing open walls to replace old, degraded spray-foam insulation with fiberglass batting
Ok....I have to ask...what the heck is "Artex"? |
| Degraded spray foam insulation? Was it professionally done or did someone use a can of GreatStuff? |
Ron wrote: Degraded spray foam insulation?
Was it professionally done or did someone use a can of GreatStuff?Our house is a 1970s cedar "kit" home. The original owner built it himself. Spray foam insulation was all the rage then |
| Congrats on the new house Cassie!!!! |
| Congratulations Cassie and Good Luck with the refurb! I think you might need it! My daughter had artex on all of the WALLS in her hallway in her last house (what is wrong with some people!! - BTW Ravenmoonart Artex is a kind of textured paint/plaster that leaves the walls/ceilings with a textured pattern on- you could probably do some nice art with it but NOT all over your house!) She had a builder in who advised her to get it skimmed over with plaster as the only other alternative was the stuff Kayla recommended or to sand it all off but imagine the dust that would create! You have enough to do I think. It will all be worth it! |
| Not the urea formaldehyde stuff? |
Ron wrote: Not the urea formaldehyde stuff?
Beats me.... All I know is, that when we opened a wall last year while installing a new gas fireplace, all that we found inside the wall was POWDER ....we vacuumed it out and replaced it with batting, and now we are going through and doing the same thing to all of our exterior walls. Yes, in case your wondering, we always wear masks!  |
| Congrat's on becoming a homeowner!
Agree on carpet. Paint is the inexpensive cure for dark rooms. Kilz is great on greasy kitchen walls that won't clean. It's also great for getting rid of the smell from nicotine build up. Plus, paint goes over a base of Kilz smoothly. |
Congrats on the house. I agree get rid of the carpet.  If the floor under is even some what sealed, I would strat by wiping it with a 50/50 white vinager and water. There was a study done by Good Housekeeping that found that vinager and bleach have the same germ kill effect. The vinager will also dissolve the urine crystals, and it is cheap. It works on lots of things without bleaching. If the floors under the carpet are not hardwood or and in my sisters house there were so many holes in them that they could not be refinished, try paint. I know so of you are rolling your eyes , but a short time line and money restrictions can make you be crative. With cheap rugs and a smile it is an affordable answer. |
| Congratulations, just wonderful, yep agree with all the others, rip up the carpet I don't think there is anything that can remove that smell.
Look forward to seeing the progress too, it is such a cute place and with a bit of TLC and getting rid of the odour and lightening it up a bit inside it is going to be wonderful home.
Boy the backyard is like a jungle, when you finish clearing the over growth what a wonderful area for you all too. So exciting and the adventure begins. |
| Aaaaaaaaawwww THANK YOU for all the lovely replies!! We have been working there 12-hour days, only just beginning to see some progress hooray!
A quick update- we took all the carpets, underlay and boards to the tip, it made my car stinky and the dust was incredible unfortunately the house was extended before, so the floorboards are mixed up with concrete, we would love wood floors but it's not possible. Dad said he would get new carpets/lino when he gets back anyway so fingers crossed for that.
We have finally finished sanding the woodwork!! It took us 2 days, poor greg stayed all day today sanding everything while I was at work hehe that was good timing for me.
Our fake wall is still attatched lol but it has bowed a bit in places oops. All the holes in the walls are filled in, but the artex remover has not arrived yet. Tomorrow we just have to vacuum all the dust, have a clean up then we can start the FUN part- painting!!
The smell is much better, it really smelled when we were sanding, so hopefully that should have cleared it a bit. Tomorrow I will use that Zoflora on the floors. |
| I'm so glad you are finally getting there, just remember Rome wasn't built in a day The Zoflora really works, its very strong and sooo much better than cats wee - yuk ! Good luck |
| Congratulations on your new house!!
I bet you are excited! I would be especially with all the work you can really make it your own!! I agree with everyone rip everything out and replace as much as you can! And clean what you can't get rid of with white vinegar or lemon juice especially anything greasy! Bicarbonate of soda also absorbs any nasty odours too! Keep us updated with pictures! I can't wait to see the changes!! |
| Very sleepy update... we cleared up after sanding, I spent hours cleaning the woodwork with sugarsoap ready to paint, AND disenfected the floors- NO MORE SMELLY CATS PEE HOORAY!! The artex remover arrived. We painted it on as instructed- but found we needed another couple of coats because it's SO thick, that would mean another 3 or so cans and we just cant afford that. So... we have scraped off the top layer, it's slightly less spiky now, so we will have to wash off all the goo tomorrow and just paint the bloomin' stuff. Never mind, I'm sure once it's matt instead of gloss orange it should be better
We have put the undercoat on the cladding and Greg's Mum & bro came to help today in the garden and with some painting. Starting to see a difference now, it's beginning to feel like a home
I chose a pale blue for the dining room and we agreed on pale yellow for the front room |
| Gloss ORANGE???? Yikes |
| Don't forget to take pics during the renovation. |
| Hi!!!
Congrats on your very first home - how exciting!!! I'm so thrilled for you and if I was closer I would be there in heartbeat to help you!! You can do it and what you've accomplished so far is something to be proud of!! I wanna be YOU!! Just saw your post a mere few seconds ago so apologies for the delay in responding. Glad you ripped up the old carpet as that's about all you can do. Here's some more tips on getting rid of cat urine smells. http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-cat-urine.htm I'm so amazed at all the new paint products on the market that nowadays you can pretty well paint over anything. Your dark wood paneling can just be painted white or a lighter color for immediate effect and eventually when time and $ permits you can replace it. I agree too with the advice: choose the priorities and start with those first , second is the estetics. You can live with an avocado colored toilet for a while as long as it works but if the plumbing or electrical stuff is bad than that needs to be done first. Sometimes a coat of paint does wonders! Check out Craigs List for Free stuff in your area!!! http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/gb People do renos all the time and you can pick up some wood flooring, carpets, doors, ect for a mere pittance or sometimes free! I just love your garden and your house is charming. I know it's a lot of hard work but eventually you'll feel so much pride and joy over the reno's you'll eventually do. Again, I'm so happy for you, congrats!! Yes please take before and after photos of all your renos!!! Marianne |
| Our kitchen was bad too - gloss aqua paint with red carpet . Who puts carpet in a kitchen, let alone RED?? And the aqua paint was on the ceiling too, not just the walls. It was nasty!!!
It sounds like you are making good progress - take pictures! |
| I have seen people move in to houses that needed tlc, but Dawn's augua and red kitchen was a cry for help. I bet the house was glad for the rescue. |
| It sounds like you are making great progress....I love the color pallets you have chosen. Get some rest, tomorrow will soon be here. Good luck! |
| Congratulations on your new house. I can't wait to see after pictures |
| Thank you for the lovely replies, you guys are keeping me going!
But WHAT A NIGHTMARE!! The Artex remover has half melted the artex, so after scraping off what we could we washed it down with sugar soap and gave it a rinse. Thinking all was well I started to paint over it, about 10 mins later the paint had cracked all over, and the cracks got bigger until it had melted about 1/3 of the paint off
A closer inspection revealed the artex is still sticky and squashy, I don't think any amount of washing will help as it is right INSIDE it now. Today we will try to wash the wall (it has to be the hall, stairs and landing wall which is really high and hard to reach ) then rinse it well and try again. If that doesn't work, will have to wait for dad to get back and hire someone to plaster over it.
The painting is coming on nicely, the black beams are difficult but we are getting there, will finish the celings today and hopefully move on to some colour. I took the curtains home to wash- ugh they really smell! We were there until 2AM last night, lots of coffee today methinks
3 DAYS LEFT UNTIL DAD GETS BACK, WE GET RUFUS 1 WEEK TODAY |
| sounds like your doing great |
| Wow!!!You have been busy and although there has been some setbacks you've accomplished a lot!
YOU GO GIRL!!!! I'm so happy for you!!! Marianne |
| Congrats on the new house. Just keep looking ahead to the finished project! Nothing says home like something you have worked hard for, and put you heart, soul and "elbow grease" into! |
| I've been reading about artex in several other locations as well and thought it must be something quite horrible. So I looked it up started chuckling. http://www.artexing.co.uk/artexpatternrange.htm
My last house had the swirl pattern on the bedroom ceilings. Artex is a texture coat and depending on who puts it up and what pattern used, it can be nice or really horrible.....Granted bright orange ceiling and wall does ring of the 60s and 70s.....BLECH! http://www.artexing.co.uk/benfs.htm Sounds like when Dad gets back from Greece he'll be slathering the walls with a new coat of plaster. I wonder how artex ranks with popcorn ceilings?? |
| Congrats on the new house!!! Sounds like you're making great progress!
Some one else recommended Kilz before. It's a US brand of primer. I'd definitely recommend priming the walls before you paint them - it covers both stains and smells, plus makes the paint cover much better. Keep posting pictures so we can see all the improvements |
| Thank you everyone!
I just woke up- and heard dad snoring in his room next door he's back a day earlier than we thought! YIKES!
We have nearly finished all the emulsion, one more coat to do in our room, finished dad's room, spare bedroom, front room & dining room plus all the celings and beams. Just the woodwork to do now, skirting boards, door frames, window frames and banisters
The garden is looking a bit better, cut the grass and cut a few overgrown bushes back, treated the weeds between the paving with boiling vinegar and salt, someone said that kills the weeds lol I will take pics in the next few days, probably after we have moved our stuff in. Still got a few trips to the tip and clearing up to do. Oh, and I need to sand our old dining table and chairs and two chests of drawers to paint but that can wait until last. ONLY 5 DAYS UNTIL WE GET RUFUS!!!  |
| you must be exhausted !!!! I hope you're treating yourselves to a nice glass of something at the end of the day ?
Don't worry about sanding your table, I'm sure Rufus will do a good job on the table legs, oh no thats teeth marks lol Can't wait to see pics of your house and lovely little Rufus sooooooo exciting !!!! |
| Oh my goodness it has been a crazy 2 weeks!! I posted in getting a puppy too.
Dad decided to move all our things in a week early, I was still painting when he started bringing in boxes... "but dad, I havent packed yet...." Dad had randomly thrown everything into boxes so I spent 5 days just trying to find things
I usually label everything and have it all really organised. Not this time. He also disconnected the net and we have only just had our phone line fixed here... "But we get Rufus on Sunday and we have NO INTERNET!!!!!!"
So the last 10 days we have had Rufus!! And have SOMEHOW managed to cope without the forum. Thank goodness I had read up so much before we got him. The washing machine has broken and all my clothes are covered in dog wee, poo, slobber and mud
BUT I LOVE MY PUPPY 
Oh yea, the DIY... whats DIY again??? Getting the carpet fitted on Monday. Yes Rufus you have a few days to stop peeing indoors We are having lino in his room (the dining room) so hopefully cleaning up will be a little easier! Pics of the house (and Rufus) coming next week!!
Cassie |
Hint of Mischief wrote: Oh yea, the DIY... whats DIY again???
Cassie LOL You've been living the DIY nightmare, girl! It's the abbreviation for Do It Yourself! |
| Just one suggestion, hold off on the salt to the soil. Salt destroys the soil, fine if you want to keep the weeds down, but if other plants have their roots in the area, they will show salt injury. Since salt accumulates, don't keep applying it. I have no problem with the boiling vinegar (other than the smell, ) Actually the type vinegar used for weed control is not available to us mortals, it's a much stronger concentration.
Looking forward to see the finished......well improved...project and of course more puppy stories!! |
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