Beginning in the Bedroom

With the bathroom finished (& glorious) it's time to start looking at the bedrooms.

Decor-wise the spare room is just going to be white, white, white. Paul's a bit concerned that it might be a bit, well, white but we're not 100% certain what purpose this room will have so we'll just keep it simple.

The back bedroom is to be the main bedroom and more thought has gone into it. Both rooms will have the same carpeting fitted once the skirtings are on.

Let's just have a reminder of what stage they're in...
The 2 external walls have had their inner asbestos removed, 4" insulated studding added with plasterboard & skimming. The finished plaster has had a paint-wash applied to seal it. The wall-lights are in.

The French doors (in a bedroom? my luxury!) are in but the floor gap needs attention.

The 2 internal walls are still a thin stud wall with hardboard facing. This is neither sound-proof nor aesthetically pleasing

First things first, those hardboard walls have got to go and we spend some time living in a Japanese way for a time...

Time to get Simon the builder back to replace them with a decent size of studs, plasterboard, etc.

As usual, I've forgotten to take a photo of this stage. It's understandable really, as it doesn't look that different - bare plaster instead of nasty hardboard walls and no holes. There are no doors but hopefully that won't be for long...

Asbestos Removal

It's mid-Jun 2014

Safeline Environmental arrive to take out the asbestos first thing in the morning so it's been an early start to get over to The Fleepit in time.

I've set up garden chairs, a table, & tea-making facilities in the garage. They have a good look round to check what the plan is and wave me off. I leave them to it.

That afternoon I get a phone call. There are actually 2 layers of asbestos sheets, one either side of the original panels. The internal one can be removed easily but the outer one, between the timber frame and the brick outer layer, can't be removed without dismantling the whole house. We agree that they go ahead with removing the internal layer and that we'll assess the situation once that's done.

2 days later, we arrive at The Fleepit as Safeline are clearing up. It's a hot day and they've been cloistered in sealed rooms to contain the asbestos so they're ready to sign off. The bungalow has been thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed and we get the certificate to say so.

Finally we can see how the bungalow has been constructed.

In the photo above, you can see the panels that have been slotted into a timber frame. Each panel is 2 layers of asbestos concrete sheet fixed to a wood border, enclosing a mixture of straw and cement. 

Close up of internal cement/straw
with a lens cap for scale

When they were originally constructed, the panels would have been manufactured off-site and assembled really quickly. A brilliant solution to the housing needs of the time. Not only was asbestos weather-proof, it was fire-proof too. Not banned in the UK until 1999, it was hailed as a wonder material when first discovered.

As agreed, the lounge ceiling has been removed and we can see the spider's web of wiring as well as the lack of a proper support beam across the extension gap!

Now we know what's there, we need to consider options. Removing the outer layer of asbestos sheet is not possible without demolishing the house and we've not got the budget for a total rebuild. Time to get Simon the builder round.

Hiring a Portaloo

It's June 2014

It's my first time as a hirer of a portaloo!

There are several portaloo hire companies out there and most of them are set up for commercial use, either at festivals or for builders. You can get ones without a wash basin, just a cleanser dispenser but the asbestos removers need the water. Thankfully they don't want a full shower which would have been a reasonable request. I'm hoping to only need it for a couple of weeks but most hire companies have a minimum fee or time.

Working out the overall costs, most were similar but the lady on the phone at Space Mobiles was the most understanding and helpful so they got the business. The deliver, service & pick-up on Tuesdays in our area - you have to pay extra to get a different day which makes sense.

It turned up on the back of a truck with just one guy and I start thinking that I really don't want to be helping haul a loo around but it soon becomes apparent that it's really light! If you look in the photo, there are wooden runners on the bottom to protect it and make it easier to manoeuvre around a building site. The flush/basin water tank is filled from a reservoir on the truck after it's in situ and then it's good to go. Space Mobiles return each week to "service" it and I just ring when it's no longer needed.

There's no lock on the outside! I'm thinking anyone could use it! And then I remember, it's a portaloo. Who would want to go in it unless they were desperate and then I'd rather they used it and not the garden! There is, of course, a lock on the inside.

Daylight comes through the overhead white plastic and I realise that night-time use would be interesting but hopefully, not necessary.



Nick the plumber comes and removes the WC, basin & bath, the radiators on the asbestos walls plus the ones in the bathroom as they need relocating anyway. The supply pipes are capped off.

This photo shows the lovely plasticised tile-effect wallpaper. It's not what I'd use, but you can still buy stuff like this!






The WC is gone, leaving the waste pipe in the floor. Most modern connections are through a wall so the floor waste will limit our options when we get a new WC but it's still possible. Neither the builder nor the plumber really want to move the waste pipe. This is one of those times that we miss P's dad. He'd have turned up at 8am the next Saturday (while we were still in bed) and sorted it out.

The boiler is disconnected. The heating won't be an issue as it's June. The kettle will have to provide any hot water, mainly needed for washing up mugs.



I have to use the portaloo before I leave.

I am strangely shy about any of the neighbours seeing me go in which is ridiculous! Everyone uses a loo and I wouldn't have one there if there was one inside. Clearly I will be using it. Still, I make sure no-one is around before I go in and use the facillities. It is not a pleasant experience but better than I anticipated.

Everything is ready for the asbestos removers the next week.

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Asbestos Removal Decision

It's May 2014

I manage to get 2 asbestos removal companies to visit and do a quote from the full survey from Terence Martin.

Now I know that the guys doing the assessments are rarely the people who will actually do the job but I do expect them to be able to discuss what they will provide, my responsibilities, a rough starting date and how long it will take. One contractor could and the other couldn't. Any guesses which one we picked, even though the quote was slightly higher and the delay slightly longer?

We have decided to remove the internal wall between the WC and bathroom and also to move the wall between the WC and the spare room, actually removing it for now.  This is all good news to the asbestos removal team as it will make the removal easier.

Although it would be appropriate to leave the lounge ceiling asbestos in situ, removing the walls will no doubt damage it and the additional cost of removing it is not significant.

What I have to do:

• remove all soft furnishings as these would trap any fibres;
• remove all wall fittings on the affected walls - this includes radiators, fitted wardrobes, part of the fitted kitchen, WC, basin and bath;
• provide WC and hand-washing facilities outside the affected area, ie a portaloo;
• vacate the property.

They expect it to take about a 1.5 days and can start the next month. The cost will be, including VAT, £3,300.

This amount is much less than we'd budgeted for. The budget of £10k includes the building costs of making the resulting work good, plastering, etc but we'd expected the actual removal to be roughly twice that. This is very good.

It's also evidence that getting work done on a house before selling it is usually about half of the reduction of value if you don't do it. The Fleepit purchase price was probably £10k-£15k less than it would have been without the asbestos.

The costs involved make it absurd to try to do it ourselves. I'm still confident that we could have done it but the Fleepit is supposed to be a relaxing place for OH and a total DIY approach would make that difficult for an extended time. We'd budgeted for more so we'll go pro.

We book the removal firm Safeline Environmental. This is the start of really knocking the Fleepit around!