RipPelby Cottage PROJECT

28th July 2022

..And we’re live on Rightmove! 😃😃😃😃

Key features

Fully Refurbished Period Cottage
Three Bedrooms
Two Bathrooms
Two Reception Rooms
Kitchen
Private Garden
Central Village Location
No Onward Chain

Property description

The current owner has significantly improved and updated the house, whilst retaining character, creating a beautiful home that would suit different types of buyer. 

Both reception rooms boast original feature, fireplaces with the living room also enjoying a fantastic bay window. Original, wood panelled internal doors give access to the dining room, which is bright, and has ample space for a table and chairs. The understairs cupboard has been cleverly adapted and contains a cold water feed and drainage for utilities. A further door leads through to the ground floor bathroom that is fitted with a modern white suite and has a tiled floor that continues into the kitchen. Fitted with white shaker style cupboards and wood effect work surfaces, integral appliances include a dishwasher, oven with gas hob and hood. An external door gives side access to the property. 

To the first floor there are three bedrooms and a newly installed shower room, fitted with a modern white suite. 

Mature hedging separates the cottage from the roadside with gravel landscaping and side gate access. The rear garden is mainly laid to lawn and is surrounded by a selection of both fencing and mature hedging. 

The property is situated on Ripley High Street, just moments from the village green and within walking distance of local shops, restaurants, many pubs and amenities.

Ripley is an historic and sought-after village in Surrey popular with all walks of life: families, young professionals and downsizers alike. 

The village is said to have the largest village green in England (approximately 65 acres) and benefits from a fantastic selection of award-winning café’s, shops, pubs and restaurants. Pinnocks Coffee House on the High Street has been awarded Best Coffee Shop in Surrey. For something more relaxed there is also a wide selection of local pubs to choose from. 

The area has excellent road and rail connections with the A3 and Junction 10 of the M25 orbital being within close proximity. Woking Station offers regular service to London Waterloo with trains about every 7 minutes and a journey time of around 22 minutes. Alternative services are provided from West Clandon with trains to London Waterloo arriving within one hour. 

27th July 2022

Sales brochure about to go live…. anyone wanna buy a house?

26th July 2022

And so more or less finished, apologies for the quality of pictures all done on my old iPhone with a fish eye attachment. The pro-photos have been done just waiting for them to come back.

You know the job has come to an end when the ‘executive’ Karen chair gets packed up. Not that I’ve much chance to sit down on this busy project.

A few finishing touches and art works to make it a little more homely and aspirational.

24th July 2022

A Hive smart thermostat fitted, could of saved a few quid fitting a cheaper one but not the way we roll.

Finally we have water upstairs! The bathroom fitter did a great job but he did drag his feet in doing it! 

There has been lots of cleaning this week, this fan window probably has dirt on it that is older than me! Not anymore though, of course!

A few homely touches going in and a little bit of design to show the cottage at it’s best and all done with a nod to the properties 1906 heritage and fashions of the time.

It is a bit of shame covering the old air brick vents with modern covers, but I’m sure the new ones being mouse proof will be a bonus for the new owners. It doesn’t have mice by the way, but country living and all that!

Getting some real curb appeal with the new hanging baskets, just hope things cool down a bit so they don’t get deep fried by the current heat wave.

23rd July 2022

There has been lots of window cleaning and lamp shade hanging today, still a few more to go though.

22nd July 2022

Covers on and protective film removed, makes the cooker/ hob and kitchen look amazing and, well, finished!

What every utility room needs a Dyson cordless!

A bit belt and braces but check and check again. All passed and correct, still!

We even clean the bits you won’t see!

21st July 2022

Sofits and facias getting a rub down and a couple of coats of paint.

Feature walls with paint and fancy wallpaper. The wall paper from Morris & Co, is exactly what the property would of had back in 1906 when the William Morris movement was huge!

18th July 2022

Bathroom progress over the weekend, nearly there. But getting it right sometimes takes a little longer than expected.

15th July 2022

Always know you’re nearing the end of a project when the smoke, heat and CO detectors go up; hopefully not jinxing it!

The doors, who’d thought trying to get 116 year old doors to work and fit properly would be a faff, but all sorted now. The doors and rim locks are the originals from 1906 (to my knowledge) the handles are new but what would have been there originally.

14th July 2022

The kitchen getting a coat of paint and now looking nice and bright. All done with specialist kitchen paint, of course!

12th July 2022

Carpets are down, good old great again, both an instyle colour but good for hiding stains (that a future owner might make!).

A mini time capsule; a jubilee newspaper and a little note telling Freda’s story. The house was built in 1906 and Freda’s parents moved in, 20 years or so later Freda was born in the house. She lived their her whole life raising her own family in the house too. The yellow roses around the gate were her favourite and favoured her twin tub over a washing machine. Then in her mid 90s and very recently she had a fall and was taken to hospital. Sadly she never came home.

Really pleased with the doors and door knobs. The rim locks and doors are original and restored, where the door knobs are new it is what they would have been in the original build. The broken Bakelite handles were just not restorable and to be honest as not original were not worth the cost or effort. The original brass knobs, I’m guessing but I think might of gone to the war time metal collections.

11th July 2022

The bathroom fitting plods on. My bathroom fitter is doing great a great job and really pleased but he is soo slow! I guess excellence takes its time!

10th July 2022

I think getting the hanging baskets (kerb appeal) was a bit premature just ahead of a heat wave, although we should be finished but what project ends when it is supposed to. Don’t ask me about the budget either!!

8th July 2022

Last bit of testing to make sure all the electrics are excellent as expected.

Made a rod for my back here, the fancy oven I put in with temperature probes and steam options. Its way better than what is at home and has gone on the want list for we renovate at home.

The two new door for the toilets, dying and waxing them to match the old restored doors.

7th July 2022

A little 20th century locksmithing, replacing the spring for the rim lock.

First doors going back on, mainly to get the door stops on and fitted correctly. The doors came back off shortly ofter so we don’t get paint on them.

A nearly there sign, getting the floors all screwed back down.

4th July 2022

Kitchen floor down and grouted.

30th June 2022

That might not look like much, but it is hot water running!

All the radiators attached and up and running.

Nearly there with the upstairs bathroom, and yes I’ve stood in there and pretended to shower. :)

Fireplaces and doors back from the restorers. Nice to put back the original and antique items from the original build in 1906.

Progress with the upstairs bathroom.

27th June 2022

I try to keep as much of the original and character of a property but sometimes you just need to modernise. A sympathetically done composite door to the front and a uPVC door to the rear.

The floor going down in the upstairs bathroom.

We’re not going to landscape the garden, we’ll let the new owner’s put their own stamp on it but we’ve tidied up cutting all the over grown hedges and trees right back and gravelled to the side, making both look much much better.

A big box of door handles arrived, trying to go back to the original brass ones that would of been fitted in 1906, but sadly replaced with Bakelite ones probably during the war years, can’t say they went to be spitfires but there was an airfield nearby!

The floor levelling compound has been laid and set on top of Wedi board, all set for the floor tiles, again we’re trying to reflect what would of been used or in fashion at the time of the original build.

24th June 2022

Wall tiles upstairs and down bathrooms.

Finally got the architrave around the doors, using my patented ‘Architraver’ homemade spacer block there too!

The kitchen extractor definitely working!

21st June 2022

Start of the tiling in the upstairs bathroom.

Kitchen almost done, and we now have running (cold) water.

Bath and shower trays in position, not much else but in position.

20th June 2022

Painting downstairs well underway.

Plumbing in the new shower room.

17th June 2022

Kitchen build.

15th June 2022

Downstairs plastering, done.

13th June 2022

First coat of paint upstairs.

Lots of big holes and vents for the bathroom fans and kitchen extractor.

Start of the painting upstairs.

9th June 2022

Great Progress with the kitchen, although trying to cram in modern essentials like the dishwasher has made it a tricky install.

A little before and after on the bathroom fan install. 

8th June 2022

All about the details, could of left the concrete floor, but the utility cupboard looks so much nicer with the Oak laminate, and a nice soft underlay to give a bit of bounce and comfort underfoot.

Shed and the old coal stores are gone, makes the outside space look so much bigger and nicer

7th June 2022

The kitchen has arrived!

3rd June 2022

The relocation of the radiators has been 1st fixed, all in copper of course! Moving the radiators mostly to under windows makes the space much more flexible in terms of furniture layout.

Proved more of a faff than expected, the new cabinet is slightly narrower than the old, but now looks so much nicer.

The cupboard has slowly been getting shallower and shallower, trying to minimise its impact on the living space while still hiding the meter and fuse box.

Got lucky with the fence, was on my to do list but the neighbours beat me to it!

Finally today, a little plastering update.

1st June 2022

Old boiler gone and a best quality Vaillent one installed. We went with a 30kW unit to give really good hot water flow especially as we’ve added a 2nd bathroom

Kitchen appliances have arrived, just need the kitchen now

The fuse box and electricity meter not the nicest things to look at so trying to hide them away with this cabinet.

Plastering making steady progress.

30th May 2022

Shower room nearly finished, well the plastering anyway!

Kitchen is 2nd fixed and all tested and correct.

29th May 2022

Now we have walls for the shower room, it looked a little dim, so added a third downlight.

Needed the power off for most of the morning, so came in on a Sunday to change the fuse box/ consumer unit. All in excess of the current to the latest regulations, BS7671 18th Edition Amendment 2, we use RCBOs on each circuit and a surge protection device to guard the whole installation. Regulations are a moving target but this will be good for a long long time. All the terminals to the correct torque too, with my Wiha torque driver.

Latest on the plastering, making solid progress; hopefully downstairs next week!

26th May 2022

Making some great progress with the plastering, the majority of upstairs now skimmed. The clean straight walls really transforming the look of this literally antique house.

A mould patch had built up behind the kitchen cupboards, so cleaned and scraped that off; whilst the new cupboard would of covered it, its just not the MPC way to leave something like that.

Ummed and arred about that corner and wether I should take those bricks out or not. Was worried it’d take to long and create too much mess but an hour later and four rubble bags of bricks really pleased I did as cleaned the lines of the room up and the plasterer is delighted as makes boarding and plastering the room so much easier!

25th May 2022

Always the fun part when we shop for the fixtures and fittings. As the house was build in 1906 in the middle of William Morris’ Arts and Craft movement we are going for a green/ emerald pallet that reflects the history of the house. I think the Victoria [OK the house is Edwardian!] Green tiles and the Morris & Co. Golden Lily Indigo Wallpaper will fill that brief amazingly putting a bit of history and style into the project.

24th May 2022

The middle bedrooms’s ‘nook’ starting to look like it has been that way since the house was built.

All the cables are 1st fixed, boarded over them in the main reception to save making a huge chase.

The new shower room all boarded up, I think we got the proportions done well, a decent sized bathroom while not compromising the bedroom space too much.

Moisture boards for the stud wall and all filled with Soundslab acoustic insulation, of course!

The middle bedroom as tale of two half, at the moment, on one side all skimmed and on the other all the cracks skrimmed to prevent them from returning and ready for the first coat of plaster.

23rd May 2022

The Nordlux light, matching the back door, now fitted on the front door. I’m a little sad as I’m never there at night so can’t see them in their full glory.

The first room, front bedroom, 2nd fixed with the sockets connected and the ceiling rose screwed in. A little trip, use the packets to put back over the sockets to keep the plaster’s and decorator’s mess off them.

20th May 2022

The upstairs shower room starting to take shape.

First bit of 2nd fixing on the sockets.

Middle bedroom ceiling now flat and crack free, skimmed is underselling what we did to make it like new again.

19th May 2022

The over-stair nook, finished and all packed with noice reducing aquatic insulation.

All the walls in the front bedroom skimmed over.

We now have a very trendy outside kitchen, kind of!

But we now don’t have a kitchen inside.

18th May 2022

Fireplaces boarded up and hardwall plastered over.

A tricky wall for the plaster, the bright blue skys and sun shining on the wall drying it out a bit too quick, but nothing my beyond the skill and experience of my plasterer.

First ‘in real life’ for the shower room, just trying to work out how big/ small we can make it without too much of a compromise to the bed room or shower room.

That is the lights pretty much 1st and 2nd fixed, done.

17th May 2022

Start of stripping out the kitchen, where is the coffee machine to go?!

A long way it seems for the plastering!

The 1st fix of the sockets well underway.

Just look at those silky smooth walls, first time since 1906!

16th May 2022

Harwall plastering the bigger and deeper holes around the house.

New posh Nordlux light over the back door.

Had to do a quick bit of plumbing the old tap had no handle and with the plasterer stating we had to get sorted.

The plasterer has arrived!

14th May 2022

Almost finished with the over-stair nook, boarded up ready for the plaster, and if I didn’t run out of OSB it’d have a floor too! All packed with Rockwool Soundslab to improve the acoustic and heat insulation.

Always get a bit paranoid before the plaster as embedding the cables makes it all a bit final and hard to find/ mend mistakes. But a quick test and all as it should be, of course!

The toilet has arrived, helps finalise the shower room layout and dimensions.

That’s the bulk of the downstairs listing rewire done.

11th May 2022

The lights rewire well underway.

The roof has been finished, really pleased. The old slates last forever, the nails that hold them in don’t. We stripped back the roof completely, put on a breathable and waterproof membrane, new battens and then replaced the slates with two copper nails to each slate. Where we ran out of slates at the back we used new slates. But really happy that we didn’t destroy the look or patina of the roof at the front and side or it would of stuck out like a saw thumb, blended in beautifully to the neighbouring houses.

10th May 2022

Hacking off the old looses plaster.

Start of the 1st fix of the upstair sockets.

9th May 2022

Upstairs light rewire mostly done.

6th May 2022

Doesn’t look much but that is the start of the rewire!

5th May 2022

Roof all finished, just the scaffolding to come down.

We’ve got to accept the property is a ‘cottage’ so space is limited and to make the most of the kitchen [well fit a dishwasher] we’re adding pluming and drainage to the under stair cupboard to make a little utility room for the washing machine. The plumbing was fairly straightforward, but the drainage involved a bit of ground work connecting to the drains.

Bit of stress testing the new section of floor, climbing up and standing on it! Passed my weight, but it is bolted and screwed to the walls so probably the strongest part of the house now! 

OK, maybe not the first room as it seems to be the store room; but had a big tidy and vacuum makes the place look so nice and we’ve not even really done much yet!

4th May 2022

Roof works moves around to the rear.

One of the often forgotten costs to a project, the rubbish removal

3rd May 2022

The roof at the front done. To maintain the character of the cottage we’ve recycled the slates so they blend in seamlessly. The slates themselves last forever, it’s the rusting nails that cause them to drop out. Full breathable membrane underneath so looks old but bang up to date for the building regulations.

It the first house I’ve been in that didn’t have an overstair cupboard, whilst the vaulted stairway looked dramatic, it wasn’t the best use of space. So we’ve added a b it of floor and knocked down a bit of wall and given the extra couple of meters squared of floor space to the middle bedroom. It was/ is a faff but I think worth it.

28th April 2022

Project starting to move apace now. We’ve got all the wall paper from the walls and ceilings. The chimney in the rear bedroom has gone to make way for an upstairs shower room. The roof is well on the way, even nearly finished. Fitted a Ring door bell not only for site security but to give the modern necessities for the new owner. 

27th April 2022

A dusty day, removed the back bedroom chimney.

To free up a little space in the kitchen we’re making the under-stair cupboard a little utility room. The cold water feed now in, next week the drain will be sorted.

The roof well underway and the chimney removed. All got a bit dusty with old soot, brick and rubble falling down; so ended up sealing with a bit of DPC.

26th April 2022

If only the wallpaper came off all the walls as easy as this one. This room took about 10mins!

The new breather membrane going down, new battens. To keep the character of the property we’re reusing as many tiles as we can. The slates last forever, its the rusted/ disintegrated nails that were the problem.

Its hard to see, but started clearing the shed and in the M&S bag which I thought was a bag of leaves turned out to be a Robin’s nest with a few eggs. Gave me and the Robin a fright, but think she settled back in once I put it back and quickly left the shed.

Bath and sink removed, pipes capped off.

22nd April 2022

The start of the roof works, all the doors taken down ready to be sent off to be dipped, the nasty tiled concrete fireplaces removed. The nice metal fireplaces from upstairs we’ll send off to be restored and then we’ll refit in the two reception rooms. First bout of stripping out, fair amount of rubbish ready to be collected. 

22nd April 2022

Scvaffolding up, first job is getting the fireplaces out of the walls, removing the old water cylinder cupboard and getting rid of all the carpets and flooring. A bit of a time capsule with the old newspapers under the old carpets.

19th April 2022

Plans for the kitchen, size and doorways restrict what we can do, but by moving the washing machine to the under stairs cupboard we can get a dishwasher into the kitchen. 

6th April 2022

One of the first jobs for me is to measure and sketch the layout and from there we can design all the layout, plumbing and electrics.

5th April 2022

Of course the first job on any project is to read the utility meters.

Always a bit of a time capsule when you start lifting the carpets, can’t believe the guys on the 1966 world cup stamp don’t play footie!

Well that is base camp set up, charger, coffee machine and a loo roll!

No damp issues which is always nice.

Two nice and two not-so-nice fireplaces. Think we’ll lose the 30s tiles fireplaces and take the nice metal ones from the bedrooms to make a feature in the reception rooms.

2nd April 2022

Yay, got the keys and despite a bit of pessimism on completing on time all done within the 4 weeks. A little bit of a false start though as straight into half term, so things won’t really start to happen for a couple of weeks.

2nd March 2022

Not my first choice but as a developer you buy with your head and not your heart. That said, picked up this delightful turn of the century cottage. Hopefully a quick turn around as only need a ‘bit’ of cosmetic work.

Well all on-line these days, miss the day out in a way, but certainly more convenient. Especially when there is big gaps between the lots you are interested in.