Walking the house with a notebook
Where the channel starts: every room, every crack and every question, written down before any work.
14 minBrowse by topic
Latest videos
A new video every Sunday. The first three are where to start, and the rest follow the house, from plumbing and electrics to plaster and paint.
- Watch
WatchDamp, lead and asbestos: the checks first
What I look for and test before I scrape or lift anything, and when I stop and call someone in. Follows video 21.
16 min
WatchStrip-out day: what goes in the skip
Taking a room back to bare walls and floor, and the order I take things out in. Needs video 22.
18 min
WatchPlanning the pipes with my plumber
Where the pipes run, which boards come up and what I ask before the walls close. The pipework is done by a registered plumber. Follows video 23.
15 min- Watch
Marking sockets and lights for the electrician
Pencil marks for every socket, switch and light, room by room, before anyone picks up a drill. Follows video 23.
11 min 
WatchRadiators, and what to do with the fireplace
Where the radiators go, how I plan around the old chimney, and what my plumber does that I do not. Follows video 24.
12 min- Watch
Cable routes: what I leave for the electrician
How I keep the boards up and the routes clear so the electrician can work. The wiring itself is a job for a registered electrician. Follows video 25.
13 min 
WatchMixing plaster and skimming a wall
Mixing a bucket, loading the trowel and laying two thin coats. Needs the checks and the strip-out first.
17 min
WatchStripping the stair rail while the plaster dries
A side job for the days when the walls are drying and nothing else can be done. No plaster is touched.
11 min
WatchPainting the walls, ceiling first
Sage green on fresh plaster: the order I paint a room in, and how long I leave it between coats. Needs video 28.
12 min
WatchWhy the kitchen goes in last
Why a narrow kitchen is the last job, and what I did while I waited for the worktop. Follows videos 28 and 30.
16 min
Newsletter
Order of Works
A short letter every Sunday from the house: what I did this week, what comes next and what I wish I had done sooner.
“The one email I open the day it lands.”