Here’s an ambitious an extensive project undertaken by AVForums Member Iain42 over the last couple of years, or so
Having benefitted from so much knowledge that has been shared here, Iain has issued a thank-you to all that have helped and thought he would share pictures of the revamped lounge. Iain has also included some pictures of the kitchen / dining room, as the lounge change has impacted that.
Iain moved into the house nearly two years ago, October 2015 and knew before moving that they had taken on a "project". New windows, central heating, and electrics were required, and other improvements were desired.
Let’s start with some pictures from when they first viewed the house. Note below the front window, and in the kitchen, the dwarf radiators. They were quite effective, but industrially ugly, and prevented items going against the wall in about 50% of each room.
Lounge from the front:
And looking the other way:
Kitchen:
For them, the lounge going "round the corner" didn't work, and the kitchen was too small.
They also didn't like the painted brickwork on display. All along they saw the potential to turn this into "their home" though
Work started in Autumn 2016.
A new boiler (they were informed previous boiler had ceased production in 1980's, and spares were hard to come by...) and hot water system went in the garage, the dwarf radiators were ripped out, and more conventional radiators installed
Foundations for extension were dug out just before Christmas:
And then early in the year, the extension began to take shape:
Meanwhile the old chimney construction in the living room had to come down (one of their friends said they had a pizza oven in their living room - harsh but fair)
Which left this in the roof...
Due to living in a conservation area, the chimney exterior had to be restored. This was built on steels within the loft.
Meanwhile external construction.
and internal destruction, continued.
Then things began to progress.
Mrs Iain42 insisted that they had a log burner in the lounge, so they looked around, visited showrooms, and eventually settled on a Stovax Studio fire with surround. This was the lowest height fire they could find, as the only place the TV could go was above it. They discussed with the supplier, and he assured them that there would not be too much heat escaping upwards, there is some kind of plate above the fire, and insulation too. Here's the fire in place.
And the construction continuing.
At this point Iain accepted that his Kef R600 centre speaker just would not work, so traded it in for a Kef Ci3160. He’d already bought four Ci200RR's for Atmos duties.
Here are things in place for testing, before decorating. The fire could be on, and you could touch the wall between it and the Ci3160, it was cool to touch.
Meanwhile the kitchen was progressing nicely. Underfloor heating was installed, windows going in, almost ready for floor tiling.
This is the tiles going down
The Kitchen arrived and was placed temporarily in the lounge.
Install progressing, scribing for granite worktop
Here is where the kitchen becomes relevant to the lounge AV set up. The tall cupboard on the right of the pair is going to be where all the gear is located. That wall backs onto the lounge, and is just a few feet from the television.
Amps, receiver, Sky Q, Blu-ray, and network in place. Rako light controllers being installed.
And now tidied:
Here’s a picture of how the lovely kitchen is now:
And, wait for it, this is the (nearly completed) lounge- gorgeous!
Iain says the lounge just needs the finishing touches - curtains and blinds and pictures, and maybe a little more furniture but we think you’d all agree that what has been achieved, so far, is stunning!.
Here’s the AV Kit List:
Samsung UE65HU8500
OPPO UDP-103
SKY Q
Logitech Harmony Elite.
Naim Nait XS 2 with Teddy Pardoe PS
Denon X-7200WA
Nakamichi AVP-1
2 x Kef R700; 1 x Kef Ci3160; 2 x Kef R800d; 4 x Kef Ci200RR; BK XXLS400 with Antimode 8033 S11.
Rega RP-3 with Inspire hi-fi upgrade.
Rako lighting control
Iain moved into the house nearly two years ago, October 2015 and knew before moving that they had taken on a "project". New windows, central heating, and electrics were required, and other improvements were desired.
Let’s start with some pictures from when they first viewed the house. Note below the front window, and in the kitchen, the dwarf radiators. They were quite effective, but industrially ugly, and prevented items going against the wall in about 50% of each room.
Lounge from the front:
And looking the other way:
Kitchen:
For them, the lounge going "round the corner" didn't work, and the kitchen was too small.
They also didn't like the painted brickwork on display. All along they saw the potential to turn this into "their home" though
Work started in Autumn 2016.
A new boiler (they were informed previous boiler had ceased production in 1980's, and spares were hard to come by...) and hot water system went in the garage, the dwarf radiators were ripped out, and more conventional radiators installed
Foundations for extension were dug out just before Christmas:
And then early in the year, the extension began to take shape:
Meanwhile the old chimney construction in the living room had to come down (one of their friends said they had a pizza oven in their living room - harsh but fair)
Which left this in the roof...
Due to living in a conservation area, the chimney exterior had to be restored. This was built on steels within the loft.
Meanwhile external construction.
and internal destruction, continued.
Then things began to progress.
Mrs Iain42 insisted that they had a log burner in the lounge, so they looked around, visited showrooms, and eventually settled on a Stovax Studio fire with surround. This was the lowest height fire they could find, as the only place the TV could go was above it. They discussed with the supplier, and he assured them that there would not be too much heat escaping upwards, there is some kind of plate above the fire, and insulation too. Here's the fire in place.
And the construction continuing.
At this point Iain accepted that his Kef R600 centre speaker just would not work, so traded it in for a Kef Ci3160. He’d already bought four Ci200RR's for Atmos duties.
Here are things in place for testing, before decorating. The fire could be on, and you could touch the wall between it and the Ci3160, it was cool to touch.
Meanwhile the kitchen was progressing nicely. Underfloor heating was installed, windows going in, almost ready for floor tiling.
This is the tiles going down
The Kitchen arrived and was placed temporarily in the lounge.
Install progressing, scribing for granite worktop
Here is where the kitchen becomes relevant to the lounge AV set up. The tall cupboard on the right of the pair is going to be where all the gear is located. That wall backs onto the lounge, and is just a few feet from the television.
Amps, receiver, Sky Q, Blu-ray, and network in place. Rako light controllers being installed.
And now tidied:
Here’s a picture of how the lovely kitchen is now:
And, wait for it, this is the (nearly completed) lounge- gorgeous!
Iain says the lounge just needs the finishing touches - curtains and blinds and pictures, and maybe a little more furniture but we think you’d all agree that what has been achieved, so far, is stunning!.
Here’s the AV Kit List:
Samsung UE65HU8500
OPPO UDP-103
SKY Q
Logitech Harmony Elite.
Naim Nait XS 2 with Teddy Pardoe PS
Denon X-7200WA
Nakamichi AVP-1
2 x Kef R700; 1 x Kef Ci3160; 2 x Kef R800d; 4 x Kef Ci200RR; BK XXLS400 with Antimode 8033 S11.
Rega RP-3 with Inspire hi-fi upgrade.
Rako lighting control
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