HOME RENOVATION

Common Renovation Mistakes and

How to Avoid Them

Exercise 1. a) Read and translate the texts.

b)Produce the main idea.

c)Reproduce the texts as a whole adding as many details as you can.

Renovating an old property can be a great way to get your dream home and climb the housing ladder, but it can also be a minefield for the unwary, warns Michael Holmes.

Taking on the Wrong Project

No matter how organised or experienced you are, renovating is a stressful and time-consuming process, so unless a project is guaranteed to give you either your dream home, or make you money, you are taking on the wrong property.

Whether you are thinking of renovating your own home, or are looking to buy a place to renovate, assess the property’s potential and have a clear idea of your goals: are you looking to create a long-term home, to climb the housing ladder, or just to get as much space as you can afford?

Unless you plan to live in the property for the foreseeable future, you should make sure that you will be able to resell it should you need to, and at least break even.

Buying Without a Survey

Don’t wait to discover damp, rot, subsidence or other major structural defects until it is too late. Find out as much about a property as possible before you buy, or before you start any work. A building survey will provide information on the type of construction and materials used, and will give details of any defects found, their remedy and an indication of the likely cost.

It is also worth commissioning a measured survey of the building, providing you with a detailed set of floorplans and elevations upon which to base your proposed design alterations.

Hiring Cowboy Builders

Renovation can turn into a nightmare if your builders or subcontractors fail to do a good job. Always be suspicious of an estimate or quote that is considerably cheaper than all the others, or someone who is available for work im-

mediately. Ask for references, and speak to their previous clients.

Make Sure Your Builder…

Is confident of undertaking the required work.

Understands the job and what is involved.

Has undertaken similar work before.

Will provide details of previous clients.

Seems to understand what you are trying to achieve.

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Ask Their Previous Clients…

What was the builder like to work with?

Was the work of a satisfactory standard?

Was the project completed on time?

Was the project completed on budget?

Were they neat, tidy and reasonably quiet?

Would they use them again?

Underestimating Costs

Renovation work always costs more than you expect. This is because some problems are not revealed until you start work and uncover them, but mostly because items are forgotten from the budget, or because you change your mind and alter the design or specification. Professional renovators always leave a contingency of between 10–20% to cover these costs and fully expect to have to spend it.

Before you can start to predict costs, you need to have a good idea of your proposed plans, your specification for fixtures and fittings, and have decided who is doing what. To estimate costs, look at other people’s projects and expect to spend a similar amount, taking into account how much work they did themselves, when the project was completed, and the variation in labour costs.

Alternatively, get a builder’s estimate. This is a builder’s best guess of what your renovation project is going to cost, based on what they can see and the information you have provided them with. This is not a quote and the builder cannot be held to it, but an experienced builder should be able to give a fairly accurate guess.

Finally, prepare your own budget by listing all tasks, the materials required, and who is going to do the work. You can then go out and get quotes for materials and estimates for each trade. Make sure you allow for skips, scaffold hire, plant hire, and tools.

Ignoring Rules & Regulations

There is no point in ignoring the requirements of the law, as it will eventually catch up with you, so do not undertake any work without first checking the following:

Do you need planning permission?

Do you need Building Regulations approval?

Do you need to notify neighbours?

Do you need to notify leaseholders or get permission from others?

If you fail to get planning permission, you can apply retrospectively, but if

this fails you may have to undo alterations or extensions. Altering a listed building without consent is a criminal offence.

If you fail to get Building Regulations approval, you will have to prove compliance. This may mean undoing completed work.

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Using the Wrong Materials

The use of modern impermeable materials, such as very hard cement mortar mixes, plastics and impermeable coatings, can create all sorts of problems in period houses constructed using traditional materials, leading to damp that can result in damage to the structure. In the case of earth-based construction systems, such as cob, clom, clunch, clay daub and dabbins, the effects of insensitive repairs such as chemical damp-proof courses can be disastrous.

Avoid replacing soft lime mortars with hard cement mixes when repointing.

Avoid hard cement renders on traditional solid-walled buildings – use a breathable, flexible lime-rich mix.

Do not use waterproof paint or sealant on a traditional solid-walled building.

Avoid hard cement backing for gypsum plaster on the inside of the external walls in solid-walled buildings.

Ensure materials are visually sympathetic. Avoid stone cladding, pebbledash, roughcast or PVCu on a period building.

(From: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk)

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions.

1.Has your house / flat been renovated?

2.Why do people renovate their house?

3.How much money can you save if you renovate yourself?

4.Have you ever painted a room?

5.Have you ever put in a new floor in a house?

6.Have you ever worked with wallpaper?

7.Have you ever torn down a wall?

8.Have you ever chose new colors for your flat or house?

9.Do you watch home reconstruction programs? Why or why not?

10.How do people pay for fixing up their house?

11.Have you ever taken out a home improvement loan?

12.What is a house mortgage?

13.What is a home improvement mortgage?

Exercise 3. Practice translating the text in pairs: One student should close one column and interpret the text (from Russian into English or from English into Russian). The other student checks the correctness of interpreting.

Three Men In A Boat

(Extract from the story by Jerome K. Jerome)

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few umbrellas, and then there was a melon by itself in a bag, because it was too bulky to go in anywhere, and a couple of pounds of grapes in another bag, and a Japanese paper umbrella;

5)There was the Gladstone and the small hand-bag, and the two hampers, and a large roll of rugs, and some four or five overcoats and macintoshes, and a few umbrellas, and then there was a melon by itself in a bag, because it was too bulky to go in anywhere, and a couple of pounds of grapes in another bag, and a Japanese paper umbrella, and a frying pan, which, being too long to pack, we had wrapped round with brown paper.

III.

1)The quaint back streets of Kingston, where they came down to the water’s edge, looked quite picturesque in the flashing sunlight;

2)The glinting river with its drifting barges, the wooded towpath;

3)The trim-kept villas on the other side, Harris, in a red and orange blazer, grunting away at the sculls;

4)The distant glimpses of the grey old palace of the Tudors, all made a sunny picture, so bright but calm, so full of life, and yet so peaceful, that, early in the day though it was, I felt myself being dreamily lulled off into a musing fit.

(From: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/j/jerome/jerome_k/three/)

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TEXTS FOR ADDITIONAL READING

AND TRANSLATION

TEXT 1

Three Men In A Boat

(Extract from the story by Jerome K. Jerome)

It was a glorious morning, late spring or early summer, as you care to take it, when the dainty sheen of grass and leaf is blushing to a deeper green; and the year seems like a fair young maid, trembling with strange, wakening pulses on the brink of womanhood.

The quaint back streets of Kingston, where they came down to the water’s edge, looked quite picturesque in the flashing sunlight, the glinting river with its drifting barges, the wooded towpath, the trim-kept villas on the other side, Harris, in a red and orange blazer, grunting away at the sculls, the distant glimpses of the grey old palace of the Tudors, all made a sunny picture, so bright but calm, so full of life, and yet so peaceful, that, early in the day though it was, I felt myself being dreamily lulled off into a musing fit.

I mused on Kingston, or “Kyningestun”, as it was once called in the days when Saxon “kinges” were crowned there. Great Caesar crossed the river there, and the Roman legions camped upon its sloping uplands. Caesar, like, in later years, Elizabeth, seems to have stopped everywhere: only he was more respectable than good Queen Bess; he didn’t put up at the public-houses.

She was nuts on public-houses, was England’s Virgin Queen. There’s scarcely a pub. of any attractions within ten miles of London that she does not seem to have looked in at, or stopped at, or slept at, some time or other. I wonder now, supposing Harris, say, turned over a new leaf, and became a great and good man, and got to be Prime Minister, and died, if they would put up signs over the public-houses that he had patronised: “Harris had a glass of bitter in this house”; “Harris had two of Scotch cold here in the summer of ’88”; “Harris was chucked from here in December, 1886.”

No, there would be too many of them! It would be the houses that he had never entered that would become famous. “Only house in South London that Harris never had a drink in!” The people would flock to it to see what could have been the matter with it.

How poor weak-minded King Edwy must have hated Kyningestun! The coronation feast had been too much for him. Maybe boar’s head stuffed with sugar-plums did not agree with him (it wouldn’t with me, I know), and he had had enough of sack and mead; so he slipped from the noisy revel to steal a quiet moonlight hour with his beloved Elgiva.

Perhaps, from the casement, standing hand-in-hand, they were watching the calm moonlight on the river, while from the distant halls the boisterous revelry floated in broken bursts of faint-heard din and tumult.

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Then brutal Odo and St. Dunstan force their rude way into the quiet room, and hurl coarse insults at the sweet-faced Queen, and drag poor Edwy back to the loud clamour of the drunken brawl.

Years later, to the crash of battle-music, Saxon kings and Saxon revelry were buried side by side, and Kingston’s greatness passed away for a time, to rise once more when Hampton Court became the palace of the Tudors and the Stuarts, and the royal barges strained at their moorings on the river’s bank, and bright-cloaked gallants swaggered down the water-steps to cry: “What Ferry, ho! Gadzooks, gramercy.”

Many of the old houses, round about, speak very plainly of those days when Kingston was a royal borough, and nobles and courtiers lived there, near their King, and the long road to the palace gates was gay all day with clanking steel and prancing palfreys, and rustling silks and velvets, and fair faces. The large and spacious houses, with their oriel, latticed windows, their huge fireplaces, and their gabled roofs, breathe of the days of hose and doublet, of pearlembroidered stomachers, and complicated oaths. They were upraised in the days “when men knew how to build.” The hard red bricks have only grown more firmly set with time, and their oak stairs do not creak and grunt when you try to go down them quietly.

Speaking of oak staircases reminds me that there is a magnificent carved oak staircase in one of the houses in Kingston. It is a shop now, in the marketplace, but it was evidently once the mansion of some great personage. A friend of mine, who lives at Kingston, went in there to buy a hat one day, and, in a thoughtless moment, put his hand in his pocket and paid for it then and there.

The shopman (he knows my friend) was naturally a little staggered at first; but, quickly recovering himself, and feeling that something ought to be done to encourage this sort of thing, asked our hero if he would like to see some fine old carved oak. My friend said he would, and the shopman, thereupon, took him through the shop, and up the staircase of the house. The balusters were a superb piece of workmanship, and the wall all the way up was oak-panelled, with carving that would have done credit to a palace.

From the stairs, they went into the drawing-room, which was a large, bright room, decorated with a somewhat startling though cheerful paper of a blue ground. There was nothing, however, remarkable about the apartment, and my friend wondered why he had been brought there. The proprietor went up to the paper, and tapped it. It gave forth a wooden sound.

“Oak,” he explained. “All carved oak, right up to the ceiling, just the same as you saw on the staircase.”

“But, great Caesar! man,” expostulated my friend; “you don’t mean to say you have covered over carved oak with blue wall-paper?”

“Yes,” was the reply: “it was expensive work. Had to match-board it all over first, of course. But the room looks cheerful now. It was awful gloomy before.”

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I can’t say I altogether blame the man (which is doubtless a great relief to his mind). From his point of view, which would be that of the average householder, desiring to take life as lightly as possible, and not that of the old- curiosity-shop maniac, there is reason on his side. Carved oak is very pleasant to look at, and to have a little of, but it is no doubt somewhat depressing to live in, for those whose fancy does not lie that way. It would be like living in a church.

(From: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/j/jerome/jerome_k/three/)

TEXT 2

The House On Mango Street

(Extract from the book by Sandra Cisneros)

The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don't have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs, or be careful not to make too much noise, and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling with a broom. But even so, it’s not the house we’d thought we’d get.

We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick. The water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn’t fix them because the house was too old. We had to leave fast. We were using the washroom next door and carrying water over in empty milk gallons. That’s why Mama and Papa looked for a house, and that's why we moved into the house on Mango Street, far away, on the other side of town.

They always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn’t have to move each year. And our house would have running water and pipes that worked. And inside it would have real stairs, not hallway stairs, but stairs inside like the houses on TV. And we’d have a basement and at least three washrooms so when we took a bath we wouldn’t have to tell everybody. Our house would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence. This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed.

But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all. It’s small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you’d think they were holding their breath. Bricks are crumbling in places, and the front door is so swollen you have to push hard to get in. There is no front yard, only four little elms the city planted by the curb. Out back is a small garage for the car we don’t own yet and a small yard that looks smaller between the two buildings on either side. There are stairs in our house, but they’re ordinary hallway stairs, and the house has only one washroom. Everybody has to share a bedroom – Mama and Papa, Carlos and Kiki, me and Nenny.

Once when we were living on Loomis, a nun from my school passed by and saw me playing out front.

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The laundromat downstairs had been boarded up because it had been robbed two days before and the owner had painted on the wood YES WE'RE OPEN so as not to lose business.

Where do you live? she asked.

There, I said pointing up to the third floor.

You live there? There. I had to look to where she pointed – the third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa had nailed on the windows so we wouldn’t fall out. You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there. I nodded.

I knew then I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to. But this isn't it. The house on Mango Street isn’t it. For the time being, Mama says. Temporary, says Papa. But I know how those things go.

(From: http://esl-bits.net/ESL.English.Learning.Audiobooks/Mango_Street/)

TEXT 3

Top 10 Unusual Homes Around The World

When describing the dream home, we each have in mind our own ideas and designs. We are all unique and different and this is why each person envisions a space differently. Some people like to keep things simple and classical while others prefer a more adventurous solution. This has sometimes resulted in the creation of some very unusual and intriguing homes. Here are just a few examples:

The World’s Skinniest House

We’re going to start with the world’s slimmest home. Known as the Keret House, this space is used as artist’s residence. The artist lives here a few days a week and, given the size and structure of this space, it can’t really be considered a full-time residence. The architect that designed the space has been working at this project for three years and finds it very interesting. He was inspired by the work of Israeli writer Etgar Keret, who writes extremely short stories.

The Keret House is in fact a very narrow space in between two buildings. It connects the buildings but, at the same time, it’s also independent from them. Since the size of the space represents a problem and an obstacle, making it feel airy and spacious is nearly impossible. Still, several solutions were found. For example, the transparent roof lets in lots of natural light and prevents the space from feeling cluttered and claustrophobic.

Moreover, the house also has an open stairway and an entire wall of windows. In order to not interfere with the structure of the neighborhood, the house was built about ten feet above the ground. It’s 30 feet tall and it’s unofficially known as the world’s slimmest house. There are also several other structures that could easily fall into the same category.

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Apartment With A Basketball Court

We now go from small to large. If the Keret House impressed with its narrowness, this space impresses with its spaciousness. It’s a very large and very spacious residence and, even though the photos might show it as a quite normal space, you have to imagine that everything you see is on a much larger scale to be able to fully understand the proportions.

This space was actually a warehouse at some point. It then got converted into a private residence. It’s located in Soma, near San Francisco, California and has an intriguing design. The exterior doesn’t seem that strange. It’s actually quite simple and classical. It’s the interior that impresses the most. It all begins as soon as you reach the entrance door. As it opens, it reveals a very large and open space where nature feels like an organic part of the design.

The living room is the central space. Here all the furniture is organized along the walls, leaving the center open and free. The décor is very interesting. It’s a complex combination of diverse elements and yet the atmosphere is very pleasant and everything feels cohesive. The overall décor is modern and simple.

Skate House

Next on our list are two intriguing homes based on a similar concept. Every person has their passions and crazy ideas that they would love to explore. For the owners of these homes, the passion is skateboarding so they wanted these spaces to reflect that. The first home is the PAS House. It was designed as a continuous skateable space. It goes from one end to the other and it’s similar to a ribbon. The PAS House was designed by Gil Lebon Delapointe and architect Francois Perrin.

Situated high on a cliff in Malibu, the house also provides privacy and given the owner the liberty of enjoying it to its full potential. Moreover, the house also offers stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. The internal structure is very simple. The house includes a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom and a skateboard practice area.

The central portion of the house is a large loop that measures 10 feet in diameter. It was designed as a practice and entertainment area and it can even become a second living room if furniture is added. It’s a simple and nice combination of spaces where everyone feels comfortable but where the owner also can combine two things: the passion for skateboarding and the coziness of a home.

Skate Villa

The second house that we were talking about is the Skate Villa. The name is indeed very suggestive. In the case of this project, the plan and strategy were a little different. Instead of restricting the practice area to a loop or a delimitated space, the whole house is skateable.

The concept is very interesting. The house has all the comfort and everything that an unusual home has but, in addition, everything was modified and custom-made to also be skateable. Concrete mounds were added at the base of

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the walls and straight lines became curved. Ramps were also created throughout the house, including one on the fireplace. All these custom changes were designed by professional skater Philipp Schuster.

He wanted this place to really feel like home and to reflect his personality and passion for skating. He purchased the house from an elderly couple a while ago and decided to renovate it and transform it. However, some of the original features were preserved in order to maintain the original charm of this place. They include elements such as the dark wood features, the hunting trohpies and the traditional furniture.

Epu House

The next project on our list is also a unique house. It can’t actually be

called a residence because of the dimensions but it has lots of unique features. This is Epu. It’s a house that was built on a 7′×14′ utility trailer. It has all the el-

ements that a regular home has and the only difference is the design and layout. Epu has a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom.

The living room or the main room features a built-in desk and it’s a bright space with large windows on all sides. The living room even has a fireplace, not the element you would expect to see in such a small space. The kitchen is also small. It has a sink, a 2 burner stove top, a refrigerator and lots of storage space on the shelves. Under the sink there’s also a water heater. Given the size of this room, there’s not enough space for a dishwasher but the space adjacent to the living room that serves as a closet can accommodate it.

The bedroom is large enough to accommodate a queen-sized bed. The shelving can be used to store clothes and there’s not much space for other furniture pieces. The bathroom is tiny and only has a shower. The water is heated using the dispositive under the kitchen sink and doesn’t leave much freedom as it runs out in about 5 minutes.

Amazing Tree House

A house is a house no matter the size or design. But some designs are just too unusual to go unnoticed. Some seem too strange to be true. For example, take a look at this house. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, this house can be seen in Portland, Oregon and it’s a celebration of the natural environment that surrounds it.

The house was designed by architect Robert Harvey Oshatz. The client had few but challenging requests. First of all, he wanted the house to seamlessly integrate into the landscape and to sit in harmony with nature and the environment. The second request was to make the house a physical representation of music. This was a challenging detail that dictated the entire design. The architect took advantage of the structure of the site.

The lot had a very steep slope and it’s there that the house was built. This way the main floor is at the level of the tree canopy. It’s almost like sitting in a tree house. To make it integrate into the landscape even better, the architect used

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features such as walls of grass and organic shapes throughout. The walls, the ceilings and the floors are all made of natural wood. Other materials used include natural stone. It took the architect several years to complete this project but the results are stunning.

Train Car Home

Personally I love riding trains very much. I particularly enjoy long trips and the way the train gently moves and makes me sleepy. In those moments I wish I could make the train my home. Of course, it’s just an impulse thought. But for some people, the inspiration goes to a whole different level. For example, in Portland there is a train that was converted into a home.

Personally I love riding trains very much. I particularly enjoy long trips and the way the train gently moves and makes me sleepy. In those moments I wish I could make the train my home. Of course, it’s just an impulse thought. But for some people, the inspiration goes to a whole different level. For example, in Portland there is a train that was converted into a home.

It’s a very strange type of home but it’s a cozy space nevertheless. The 807 square foot space was completely transformed and redesigned. It was converted into a home, with living spaces, sleeping areas, bathroom and kitchen. The interior is modern and, despite the strange shape of the spaces and the challenging dimensions, the interior doesn’t feel cluttered or tiny. It’s actually quite airy and bright.

Among the modern featured included in the design, we can mention the full electric kitchen and the incinerator toilet. The design is interesting and the transformation is spectacular. There’s also another interesting detail about this so called home. Since technically it’s not a real estate, there are no property taxes. The train home is currently listed at $225,000.

Conch Shell House

Remember those tiny crabs that borrow shells and make them their home? Have you ever imagined yourself living in a seashell? Probably not, since it’s a crazy idea. Well, some people don’t agree with that. Just take a look at this home. It’s a house with a design inspired by a spiral shell. The shape and design are unusual and very suggestive. But that’s not the only connection this house has with nature.

The house was built using a combination of natural and inorganic materials that include local seashells and regional coral. All the walls are curved and there are no corners. To make things even more interesting, the house is located on a beach of a southern island and this allows the similarities with the actual spiral shell become even more apparent.

This unusual home was built for an artist named Octavio Ocampo. This is probably the only detail about this house that isn’t surprising. The artist wanted this placed to be a combination of elements, at the limit between art and functional design. Some elements, such as the spiked roof, are purely decorative.

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Others, such as the second-story deck, also have a functional part. The overall design is very fluid and gracious and the only detail that disrupts this continuity is represented by the windows and doors.

Curved Spiral Shell House Design

Although the house we’ve just presented you is unique, it’s not the only one that has a design inspired by seashells. There are other homes that were also based on the same concept. One of them is this beautiful house that was designed by Senosiain Arquitectos and, in case you didn’t notice, it was patterned after a shell.

The same elements can also be found inside as they are used throughout the house. The interior is decorated with plats and organic patterns. The stone paths and all the other details almost make it feel like the outside. The house is decorated with modern features and it’s very cozy. Not only that it has an original design and a look that makes it impossible to miss or to mistake for another, but it’s also a fully-functional home and an amazing space.

An Underground Eco Home

All homes are divided into different spaces. They each serve different functions and usually have independent designs but they also all follow an overall continuous design as they are part of the same space and structure. But what if they weren’t? Then the house might look like this:

This unusual structure was designed and built by Make Architects. There are several interesting aspects related to this house. First of all, this is an underground home. Then there’s also the design and the layout. The rooms of this house were organized around a central kitchen and they each resemble a petal. Together they form a flower shape.

Moreover, the house also impresses on other levels as well. Not only that it’s stunning from an architectural point of view, but it’s also a low-maintenance and eco-friendly home. It was built using locally-sourced materials and traditional building methods. It was almost entirely built into the hillside and it seamlessly disappears into the landscape. When seen from above, it resembles a flower with rooms instead of petals. Moreover, the house also has a glowing floral impression on the landscape when lit at night, which makes the comparison even more interesting.

(From: http://www.homedit.com/top-10-unusual-homes-around-the-world/)

TEXT 4

4Eco-Friendly Home Improvements

1.Landscaping and hardscaping

Homeowners put a lot of work into making the insides of their homes green, but the outsides are just as important. By incorporating more hardscaping features, such as patio stones, onto your property and by planting native plants

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(rather than sod or seed), you can significantly reduce the maintenance and water needed to care for your lawn. Strategically placed trees and shrubs will also provide your property with more shade, which can reduce the amount of energy needed to cool your home.

2. Lighting

Replacing traditional light bulbs with energy-efficient ones is a nobrainer. LED bulbs are the best choice as they last the longest, save the most energy and don’t get hot. They’re more costly but have a lifespan of 25,000 hours, so you may never have to replace them. Go a step further by installing dimmer switches – it’s an easy job and you can save a lot of money by keeping your lights at 80 percent of full power.

3. Appliances

Your outdated appliances may still work, but they could be costing you. An efficient new fridge can save you up to $200 a year on your energy bills, meaning you will recoup the purchase price in only a few years. Energy Starcompliant dishwashers use not only 50 to 75 percent less energy than older models but also less water – as little as 11 litres per full cycle. And don’t forget the laundry room: Front-loading washers can cost just $20 a year to operate, especially if you run loads with cold water.

4. Windows

Replacing the old windows in your home with eco-friendly versions can have a big payout. Double and triple-pane windows insulate much better than single-pane styles, in turn reducing your energy bills. They can also come with glazing – a low-emissivity, completely transparent coating that reduces harmful UV rays. But remember: If you’re installing new windows and want to get the full benefit of their eco-efficiency, spend the money on brick-to-brick replacement rather than retrofitting, because while the windows themselves are efficient, the window frames are likely not.

(From: http://www.styleathome.com/decorating/eco-friendly-decorating/ article/4-eco-friendly-home-improvements)

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