Dentons BISF Dressing Room Project.
Member Submitted Post
In this latest feature we take a fly on the wall look at Denton’s BISF Dressing Room Project detailing the renovation and remodeling of his newly acquired BISF House interior.
Denton is a valued member and regular contributor to the BISF House community and has very kindly agreed to share his renovation experience with us in the hope that it will help other BISF owners who may be planning to undertake similar work.
Denton is turning the small box room of his house into a walk in dressing room and we follow his on going progress.
The posts below are in Denton’s own words with only minimal editing for continuity.
Dentons BISF Dressing Room Project.
Original Entry Date March 12th 2012
I’ve started to wreck my BISF house and it would seem my walls are completely different to others. The upstairs walls to the outside of the building are not plasterboard as I originally thought, instead they are a thick compressed straw material that looks like a real fire hazard. Unfortunately that means it doesn’t seem to have stud-work like other houses, which will mean more work & expense when re-boarding and insulating.
On a positive note, the previous owners had the upper level of the property covered in uPVC cladding which may well be insulated.
I have posted a selection of images above showing the inside of my house.
The box room at the front was going to be a spare bedroom, but the project has snowballed. I’m now going to scrap the spare bed and turn the room into a dressing room. It will make use of a wasted room, remove the comforter from my friends stop-overs and allow me to remove both wardrobes in the master bedroom (I planned to replace both wardrobes with a large and modern sliding unit, concealing a TV attached to the chimney breast). Attaching a television to anything attached to the party wall isn’t ideal due to noise.
Here’s a plan what I want to create:
Entry Date 14th March 2012
I got a bit more done on the house today. Just woodwork and decoration type things at the moment. Most of the little room is now papered in 2000 grade lining paper painted in magnolia & I’ve got some feature wall paper on order for the wall with the window (hopefully it will draw the eye from some of the defects on the walls).
I’ve never really worked with wood so this is a bit of a first for me. I managed to get the door test fitted to see how it works & apart from the bit of wood it’s attached to being as straight as a dog’s hind leg, it seems to work.
I still need to add a few support pieces to the partitions either side of the door opening to support the fascia. Hopefully that will be done tomorrow so the decorating can be finished.
I have added several more images including one of my loft area. Notice the welding rod poking up through the ceiling. I was trying to find something solid to screw into but unfortunately it would seem that the joists up there are thick but very far apart.
Entry Date 15th March 2012
Hi all, a few more pics from my little room. I’m planning to take a day of leave tomorrow so I can make some real progress.
I remembered to take a proper camera to the house, so snapped a couple of close ups of the wall material:
Entry Date 16th March 2012Got the door frame, skirting board and television fitted today. Hoping to have the woodwork, walls and floor completed by the end of Sunday. The suspended ceiling is on hold until I have all the parts.
Denton, your office looks fantastic!
When you stop to look at your earlier photographs during your strip out, to what you have created now, I think is brilliant.
You would never think it was in a house.
A massive pat on the back for you Sir.
Marc
Wow, Denton
It’s amazing how far the room has come along and it looks really cool. The flooring has made a massive difference and the downlights add a really nice touch. I don’t even think you notice the wallpaper and TV line at all unless you are looking for it.
I can understand fitting in work and the project, time is a massive factor and it’s been pretty much the same for me of late with long hours at work and too few hours to complete jobs in the home not to mention the website
I think you should give yourself a big pat on the back my friend, the room looks very cool and contemporary and I know I’ve said it before but I really do like the TV in the wall, it’s a real nice touch.
Well done!
Wow, Denton
It’s amazing how far the room has come along and it looks really cool. The flooring has made a massive difference and the downlights add a really nice touch. I don’t even think you notice the wallpaper and TV line at all unless you are looking for it.
I can understand fitting in work and the project, time is a massive factor and it’s been pretty much the same for me of late with long hours at work and too few hours to complete jobs in the home not to mention the website
I think you should give yourself a big pat on the back my friend, the room looks very cool and contemporary and I know I’ve said it before but I really do like the TV in the wall, it’s a real nice touch.
Well done!
Hi Marc,
Thank you for your comments and I’m glad you like how it’s coming along. I think it illustrates the size of BISF style houses as this room would still make a plausible 3rd bedroom, after having around 2sqm removed. When I get the main bedroom sorted, the bed etc will be replaced with the furnishing in the plan above.
You have spent your time wisely. I think this website is a gem, it certainly seems as though there are far more visitors these days compared to my first visits (around 7 months ago). I note the changes/refinements I see, such as the re-assortment of comments (so the newest appear on top) and social network additions, not to mention the improved stability. I think that you deserve a pat on the back Marc, from the BISFhouse community and myself :).
Anyway, more progress tonight – I fitted the ceiling in the wardrobe. It hides the second PDU in this room. The main ceiling currently hides 21m of cable due to individually powered and fused downlighters, all on untrimmed 3m heavy duty UK mains cables (over the top is an understatement, but it’s just parts lying around). The wardrobe PDU is powered from the fused spur already present in the room, which now sits within the wardrobe – so the TV can now be powered from within the wardrobe ceiling. Tomorrow I’ll install the wardrobe lighting and PIR switch.
This is inside the wardrobe, I intend to smarten it up somewhat.
Hi Marc,
Thank you for your comments and I’m glad you like how it’s coming along. I think it illustrates the size of BISF style houses as this room would still make a plausible 3rd bedroom, after having around 2sqm removed. When I get the main bedroom sorted, the bed etc will be replaced with the furnishing in the plan above.
You have spent your time wisely. I think this website is a gem, it certainly seems as though there are far more visitors these days compared to my first visits (around 7 months ago). I note the changes/refinements I see, such as the re-assortment of comments (so the newest appear on top) and social network additions, not to mention the improved stability. I think that you deserve a pat on the back Marc, from the BISFhouse community and myself :).
Anyway, more progress tonight – I fitted the ceiling in the wardrobe. It hides the second PDU in this room. The main ceiling currently hides 21m of cable due to individually powered and fused downlighters, all on untrimmed 3m heavy duty UK mains cables (over the top is an understatement, but it’s just parts lying around). The wardrobe PDU is powered from the fused spur already present in the room, which now sits within the wardrobe – so the TV can now be powered from within the wardrobe ceiling. Tomorrow I’ll install the wardrobe lighting and PIR switch.
This is inside the wardrobe, I intend to smarten it up somewhat.
Thanks for the reply Denton and you kind comments.
There is still so much to do on the site with lots more in the pipeline but I’m glad you noticed the changes as I hadn’t thought anyone had noticed. There are still a few things that need re sorting as some of our contributors make some excellent posts that can get lost in the comments. Similar to your project that deserved a post page of its own.
Time is by far the biggest factor as my other work keeps me very busy during the summer months but in the winter I can dedicate all of my time to the site.
You know, your room layout takes me back to when I was 16 and I was given the box room by my parents. I built exactly the same wall in my room to make it a dressing room but it was built from timber and hardboard lol. That was my first introduction into diy. Actually to make it appear a little more 80’s funk I remember coating the walls is abstract polystyrene tiles
and painting the room red and white with Athena posters on the wall.
I can ROFL about it now but boy did I think it was a funky match to my then Limahl hairstyle. It was amazingly botched and nothing like your excellent job.
In fact your project shows me how it should have been done lol
I really like the ceiling panels and you seem to be able to construct them so quickly. Are they they type that start as a rail fitted around the room edges and then aluminium cross members are applied?
I also think that lighting is underestimated and underused in this country as it can have a dramatic effect toward the look and feel of the room and what you have done works perfectly here.
Hi Marc,
A month would seem to have passed without any major progress on the house, unfortunately. Tonight I started on the rear upstairs room (which will be an office in due course). A couple of pictures below.
I’m glad the little room takes you back, unfortunately it will become a makeshift kitchen prior to being used as a dressing room. You’re correct about the ceiling, I find they make it extremely easy to run cables and can be installed very quickly, the sound absorption & attenuation properties can also be pleasing if you choose the correct tiles. The thick wooden joists in the loft of this property appear to be exactly 4ft apart, for reference.
A familiar sight, the original paint in this room was blue it would seem. The comms cupboard will be tidied up in due course.
Hi Denton, I must say your dressing room looks great now! I really like the built-in TV and the finish is fantastic.
What is that above the boiler in the boiler cupboard?
I haven’t decided yet what to do with our third bedroom, I use it as an office but I think it will have to wait as it isn’t a top priority. I still haven’t worked out how to get a matching door either to replace the concertina door because one that doesn’t match the other three doors on the landing would be worse than a concertina door to me.
*I don’t really know. Perhaps your deceptive take on my angle will work as intended :).
Hi Denton, you lost me there I’m afraid. What deceptive angle did you mean?
I also have a slightly unusual request. If in your redecoration you are getting rid of the glass lampshades next to your fireplace, please can I buy them? I would of course pay for the P&P. I have a 1950s/60s style ceiling light fitting that I put up in the landing that takes three glass shades just like them, but after I’d put it up I found that one had got broken in the move here so it looks quite sad with only two.
Hi Ed,
I am lost at that as well. Very strange, I’ll investigate further as I had guests.
Above the boiler – I have installed a network cabinet. It includes a 6 way PDU, 48 way patch panel, 24 port switch and a cable tidy brush bar. I’ve built a 1U server to slot into the top which records the house cameras and will, in due course, control all automated systems throughout the house (lighting, blinds, security etc). It’s all a bit makeshift at the moment though, the cables from the touchscreen on the door are an example.
I will be replacing all the doors in my house. Several doors in my house are sliding and I too cannot bear a mismatch, so we are in the same predicament. You are welcome to the door from my little room, if it is the correct size. I’ll swap it sooner than later if you want it.
The wall lamps also need to go, at some point. I can send them to you if you like? Gifting things I have removed is better than storing them, in my opinion, so you are welcome to any original fixtures you see throughout my house.
For a while I have been thinking that there should perhaps be a sales section on bisfhouse.com, I plan to remove BISF house sized windows and, in the distant future, a BISF house UPVC cladding fascia.
What part of the world are you in, Ed?
It seems strange to see a boiler cupboard there in the back bedroom, because we just have the bathroom wall.
Indeed. It is perhaps obvious that I cannot place a desk in the position in this photo :D
My office…
Hi Marc, I’ve had too many late nights at the office recently but have been ploughing on with this house as well. No luck with lining the wallpaper up with the TV, it wasn’t planned. If the paper was 1cm higher it would have been perfect, though (I cut a fair amount off the bottom).
Anyway, I’m shocked that I haven’t provided an update for so long. I completed the ceiling this evening and took a few pictures of the project. It’s furnished with spare room furniture as I now need to move in ASAP.
This is how it looks above the stairs now, completion of the wardrobe innards is next on the menu.
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I really like the design and paper choice you have used Denton. How is the project coming along and did you manage to line up the paper?
Marc
A few more pictures from this project, I'm not too sure about the wallpaper and kicking myself about how it lines up with the TV. I’m currently re-enforcing the ceiling area above the stairs and screwing floorboards down to reduce creaking.