1/. Wood Flooring: Pros: Looks great and adds warmth to a room, good insulation, eco-friendly if sustainably sourced, and easier to install/repair. Feels softer and more comfortable to walk on. Cons: Prone to termite damage (a big issue in Bulgaria), can warp or crack in damp areas, needs regular maintenance like sanding or refinishing, and can be expensive. Vs Concrete Flooring: Pros: Super durable, low maintenance, and resistant to termites or pests. Great for moisture-prone areas like basements. Customizable in finishes and generally cheaper to install. Cons: Can be cold and hard to walk on, prone to cracking over time, lacks the insulation wood offers, and might not look as cozy as wood. In Bulgaria, concrete might be a better long-term choice due to moisture and pest issues, but wood still works great if you keep it well-maintained! Once you have researched the cost of the materials for each option, be sure to share the quoted price per m² / ft². 2/. BTW, in an earlier video, you mentioned showing cards alongside your passports at the airport, leading to the passports not being stamped. Were those UK’s CitizenCards? Curious to know : ) 3/. When you say that you are going to do waterscaping, you are thinking of having none of the rainwater pooling above the ground surface - because, although it can look very good, there’s a good chance it may attract mosquitoes looking for places to lay their eggs. Fortunately, it’s entirely possible to design waterscaping without any exposed water. You can achieve this by using subsurface irrigation systems that deliver water directly to the plant roots, keeping the surface dry. Incorporating layers of gravel or sand under the soil helps water infiltrate quickly, preventing pooling. Dry creek beds or bioswales are also great options, as they channel rainwater into underground reservoirs or drains while staying dry on the surface most of the time. Rain gardens can work too if you use soil that drains very quickly, ensuring that any water is absorbed before mosquitoes have a chance to find it. Another idea is to harvest rainwater underground through tanks or cisterns. These systems collect water through grates or filters, so there’s no exposed water while still allowing you to reuse it for irrigation. Adding mulch over the soil also helps by retaining water in the ground and eliminating evaporation that could lead to surface moisture. Selecting plants with deep root systems will further assist with absorption. With thoughtful design and regular maintenance to keep everything draining smoothly, you can enjoy waterscaping without worrying about mosquito problems. It’s a great way to combine beauty and practicality! No doubt, there are some great tutorials here on RUclips that will show you everything that you need to know in order for your waterscaping project to be a success : )
Hi, wow where to start! Thank you so much for all your thoughts/advice, which has given us some good pointers and food for thought. 1. We're now also looking at lighter materials to fill the void such as expanded clay or something like limecrete if available in Bulgaria. 2. I'm not sure where you're from, but the UK doesn't have citizen cards as the 'people' reject that idea, but we think it's a good idea as Bulgaria does it for everyone including foreigners, and they come in handy for when doing anything official, anyway, the cards we meant were our Bulgarian permanent residency cards, which we got when we previously lived in Bulgaria between 2006-2018, and had to renew this year as they had expired. 3. We love the idea of rainscaping and ponds etc, but you are right about mosquitoes, and I (Nikki) hate mozzies as I get a severe allergic reaction sometimes when bitten by something, not sure if mozzies or biting flies, or something else. But anyhow, you are right, we do want to avoid that situation so will definitely take all you've suggested into account for sure. We will do videos of our progress, just wish we were already there to start. Thanks again, you have been most helpful.
Hi there. Watching you video with great interest. Been living here for 5 years and on our second renovation. Totally agree with putting in the bubble insulation around the house. Look at your roof fall for rain water and see where that lands. You have space to put in some channel drainage to divert the water into you garden away from the the house. With your flooring inside, I would recommend removing all of the floor joist and flooring, also aprox 1 metre of of the plaster as this could possibly be damp. The base structure of old coals etc does act as a good insulator. But best bet would be a membrane and concrete. If you try to save any old joists or latts this could just introduce damp elsewhere. I wish you both luck in your venture to out lovely country.
Hello there, thank you for following us, and well done on living in Bulgaria, and wishing us luck! Thanks for your feedback and advice, good stuff! We agree that the plaster has to go specifically in that room and also on one of the walls in the downstairs kitchen (both on the north wall). We didn't realise that the loose material is also old coals but that would make sense.
@NewBulgarians So frustrating, but there's a buyer out there for every house....ours was odd so we had to wait for the right person. I'm sure yours will sell in no time!
Hi both, our original floors were soil covered with hardboard and then rugs. When it was renovated the soil was dug out to get a level across all the rooms, render if any was chipped off the walls at the bottom, channels for drains, water pipes and central heating pipes was also cut out, dpm on the bottom and up the walls a bit, and then a concrete floor was laid with rebar mesh in it as well. We opted for laminate throughout and it looks fab.
The rotten floor boards may be an indication of long term damp in the past. Maybe now dry rot? If so, one needs to remove all the rotten wood beyond a meter plus into the good wood area, as dry rot can spread..and the area may need treating including the walls, to kill the spores. Or these may spread to other areas where there is wood. Personally I would concrete the floors. Dig down.aybe put down some hard core. Sand, Damp barrier of thick plastic, insulation and reinforced concrete. But that is me.. 😊 If your house is above ground level, I think you could just dig down on the outside and put gravel and slope away from the house. Make sure gutters and downpipes direct the rain away from the house. If the house is below ground that waffle looks an ideal solution since one has to work if the wooden floors are rotten due to damp...
Thanks again Mike, hoping it is not the dreaded dry rot but definitely something we need to be certain of. We believe the floorboards are like this because they were covered with a layer of screed and then a thin foam moisture barrier/insulation and then laminate, and we assume the property has no DPC . Although the room has damp/mould on the walls, everything is very dry. We will remove the render and treat the area, and we're definitely leaning towards concrete. Thanks for your advice.
Regarding the floor renovation, replacing the soil with concrete is inadvisable due to its weight. One cubic meter of concrete weighs approximately 2.5 metric tons, which will exceed the structural capacity of the house. Instead, I recommend using lightweight alternatives like expanded clay or perlite. These materials fill the floor space, are extremely light, and don't generate dust like the soil. After filling, install a gypsum fiberboard subfloor on top for a stable base. Also any rotten joists will need to be replaced.
Oh dear, this decision has just become more complicated. Never heard of this method (though we're not builders so not surprised), but will look into it, can I ask does your advice come from experience please?
@@NewBulgarians I'm not a professional builder either, but I've got some experience with this kind of project. The crew that renovated my previous house used this specific method that I suggested. Just keep in mind, there are multiple ways to approach this. I'm was mainly concerned about the idea of using concrete to fill the entire space previously occupied by soil. We're looking at around 15-20 cubic meters of concrete per floor, which seems like a lot. My main hesitations are: will the house structure support that weight, and won't this create serious moisture issues? It could end up being pretty expensive and complicated. Have I understood your plan correctly, or am I misinterpreting something?
Hi again, thanks for getting back to me. We were looking to take out all the wooden beams and loose soil, to leave compacted soil below (we assume) then put down a damp proof membrane, and either replace the beams or fill with concrete. This will be on the ground floor only, the other floors are wooden and we're happy with them as they are.
@@NewBulgarians I would still strongly suggest researching about the dry floors (keramzit (expanded clay), perlite, etc). It is easier, cheaper, lighter and provides better insulation. You would still need to address the moisture problems though. However you decide to handle it I'm sure it will make a great video! :)
@@razorSH we are doing as much research as possible from the UK, but we don't know what materials are available in Bulgaria, apart from concrete and wood of course. Hah, yes possibly will be a video, but not for some time yet. Thanks 🙂
New Windows look great. What a difference! We doesn't agreed sanding and repairing our old wooden windows. Then decided, after a cold winter, too replace them with new dg windows. What a difference they made. Warmer, no draughts, and a lot more light into the house. Well done..
Thanks Mike! We would have liked to keep the old windows but they were too bad and inevitably we would have had to get UPVC in a short time because of the cold extremes, they do make a huge difference.
Hello Ruth, thank you :) We also follow and enjoy watching OLBA, I think the video I saw when Adam replaced a wooden floor was for an upper floor, whereas ours is a ground floor so little bit different, having said that I will try and find it as it may have some tips.
@@NewBulgarians Adam tackled the entrance passageway by doing it in sections. He set the level on both sides first, letting them harden, and then infilled the middle. This works well for small areas, but for larger rooms like yours, using pegs or stakes to mark out the level is a great alternative. A laser level device can be used to indicate the correct height on each peg, ensuring accuracy across all of your floors. There are some excellent RUclips tutorials that demonstrate this step-by-step, so I’m sure you’ve got this! Have fun, and good luck with the project!
Hopefully this will all have happened for a reason..door closes, window opens and all that so fingers crossed for you that you'll be back out here soon! ❤
I’m sorry to hear that the sale had fallen through. However, you are wonderful people and I’m sure things will work out well in the end. I’ve watched all your videos now, you are a lovely and very brave couple and I completely agree that people should try to change things in life in search for happiness, even if it’s taking them out of the comfort zone. We also bought a house in a village in Bulgaria and now are counting the days. My husband is British and really looking forward to this “simpler life” as you described it. Are you planning on using an international removal company when the time comes? It would be great if you can recommend one. We haven’t started packing our four bedroom house yet. We might also find it overwhelming. Good luck, good people. 😊
Thank you for your kind words Nadya. We are very much looking forward to when the day comes for us to be living the good (simple) live again, so can just imagine how your husband must be feeling. We try to see the positives of whatever is happening at that moment, even if it doesn't feel like there are any, and also remember negative situations won't last forever. We will be using a removal company, we will definitely recommend if we have a positive experience, which we obviously hope it will be. As for the packing, we are limited by weight of goods, so we are having to be realistic about what we can take. We decided to take things that would be expensive to replace in Bulgaria, and also only things that add value to our lives. Everything else we can either live without, or replace when we are there. Good luck with your move, hope all goes well for you. Thanks again.
Oh you two, thank you that is so lovely of you, we look forward to it! I bet you can't wait for February! We're hoping that will be our time too at the latest! Take care :)
Hola from Spain. We new to your channel & was bit confused as to what order I was watching videos. Think I'm with you now 😂 . We know how frustrating it can be just wanting to get there. We bought our place in Spain 2 years before we actually moved & it was like being in limbo. My husband was backwards & forwards, & I spent my time packing & making plans. How long ago did you first move to Bulgaria & why did you move back ? .Hope things soon work out for you, frustrating as it is you'll get there. Get all your ideas in your head, although all mine changed once we were there. Good luck, thinking of you. Hugs ❤️
Hi again Patricia and thank you for your comment - limbo is not a great place to be, but you can't do anything about it. I know when I started watching other YT'ers, I set the videos to oldest, and watched them in order to get to the present day, which was a real help. Ours start from our previous life there, why we moved back to the UK, and then our decision to move back, and now we just continue telling what's happening as it happens. So from episode 1 we moved there in 2006, we returned to the UK in 2018, and you can see the reason why we returned in this video no 10. ruclips.net/video/QSe5yYIufqw/видео.html
@NewBulgarians Hi again you two .I've just watched episode 10 and the reasons you moved back to Uk. Eighteen years ago we were 56.. John retired at 52, too early to do nothing, so needing a change / project and our son already living in Spain, we decided to take the risk. We had 7 Grandchildren then, and another born one week after we landed in Spain in 2006.Our eldest Grandchild was 15 and if shed have said ' don't go' we wouldn't !!! But she just put on a brave face , and the rest is history. We got Residencia straight away, as we had to to buy the land. Brexit really didn't affect us apart from a new Residence I D .... and joining health system which we hadn't done as we kept our Doctor in UK who was quite happy to see us on any visits. First few years I was backwards & forwards every few months, but as the kids grew, started leading their own lives I found i wanted to go back less. Our son and his family live here in Spain, our daughter and family in the UK. We are now Great Grandparents, so they are all getting in with their lives while we enjoy our lives here. We have built from scratch, then renovated an old property in the last two years, so just do what you want to do now, don't wait, it will all work out as long as your happy and able. We still work hard every day, have over 2 acres of land, 5O Olive trees, and various fruit trees, but wake every morning happy & grateful. Good luck, looking forward to new house & renovations. Don't get too carried away, keep things simple, and make time for garden, birds & nature. You'll be outside more than inside. Hugs ... Patricia ♥️ ♥️
Thanks again Patricia. You are so right about living life for yourself and others around you will get on with theirs. We just wish the governments had been talking more and giving an idea of what they were going to do, but they weren't, as you are probably able to tell from what you've seen, we deeply regret leaving BG in 2018, even our kids were surprised that we did as they knew how happy we were and were settled by that point. C'est la vie! Very glad you are enjoying every minute of your chosen life, and thanks about the tips about keeping it simple, as yes we will spend more time outside than in for sure.
We renovated a property in Germany, and the whole of the ground floor needed complete new flooring, we went with concrete. After the preparation which took the longest, the ready mixed concrete went down fairly quickly, and you never have to think about it again. Personally I would ask builders for quotes to actually lay the floor, that's what we did. As for the waffle, we also used that, brilliant stuff. Good Luck with everything.
Thanks for your comment. :) I (Nikki) want to have concrete, but also get that Darren can work with wood, but I think from the comments it will have to be concrete on the ground floor. Hopefully we can find some builders to help us out.
Hi. I would rip all the wood out and the soil Visqueen damp proof membrane, then concrete We bought in 2012 Lived permanently for 2&1/2 years But now do a 50/50 split with the uk I’ve been contemplating a French drain at the side of our house , never heard of rainscaping until you mentioned it, now watching RUclips videos
Hi, thanks for the feed back, never heard of Visqueen until now so have googled it ;) You have the best of both worlds I guess being between the UK and BG.
@ visqueen is the U.K. brand name. After reading more comments I noticed that you have cinders between the wooden beams… our front room had cinders & sand with beams with HARDBOARD on top…needless to say it hadn’t lasted long. We got rid of all of the wood, and we got stuck in and concreted the floor ourselves. Best wishes. Paul & sue.
Hi again Paul & Sue, thanks for getting back to us again. The wood and cinders/soil whatever it is will all be coming up and hopefully we will be down to compacted earth. What we do after that we're still unsure. Did you put down a damp proof membrane/rebar before concreting?
Sorry i have no advice for the floor or the 'waffle' (but would like a link for that 🙏). Ive been following you since restarted your bulgarian adventure and started looking for a house again. We too are hoping to start our own bulgarian adventure very soon. We moved from the uk to france 9 years ago, living very rural and learning how to be self sufficient etc, now we want to put all we have learned into practice in a place with 4 seasons instead of one long wet one....... 😂 though rainscaping sounds like a fun idea 😉🤣
Thank you so much for following and commenting, we do really appreciate it. We nearly bought a holiday home in France in 2004, but decided on the ferry back that we didn't want to, then we discovered Bulgaria on a Place in the sun that year and the journey began. Yes we love the 4 seasons in Bulgaria, it's wonderful, and we know only too well the long wet season here in Wales, it's very depressing. Rainscaping could be great, if we get enough of it obviously, but not too much.
Forgot to add about the waffle - we don't know where it was from and it was back in 2007 when we had builders install it. I guess it would be at most builders merchants, hopefully someone can say where.
@angelay1925 I found the waffle stuff - it's called Fondaline and is on an online store called Toplivo. toplivo.bg/produkti/Stroitelni-materiali/Hidroizolacionni-materiali/Drenajna-membrana-za-osnovi/Drenajna-membrana-FONDALINE--400-g--1h20-m--cherna
That weed is poisonous apparently 😄 If you do the ''waffle'' then you '' must'' do a french drain at the same time, the trench is there and you are going to backfill it anyway so some gravel and perforated pipe is the only extra expense. Bulgaria houses do not have any DPC ( Damp Proof Course), Please don't do wooden joist floors on the ground floor 😊
I knew it would be! I did wash it off, and we didn't get rid of it as we forgot, but it has to go for sure! We didn't do the waffle before, builders did and I'm not sure whether they put in French drains or not, but we didn't have any issues. From your advice you gave, I (Nikki) am more in favour of concrete for the ground floor, it's an ongoing debate, but I think I will win! ;) Thank you!
@@NewBulgarians To put timber floors in you will need to dig out to a depth of at least 200mm to accomodate the beams needed for that span, Then you have to find some way of supporting them on the ends ( concrete)?. There needs to be ventilation under them to prevent rotting ( air bricks through the stone wall)? Darren is going to hate me 😀
I'm for concrete because I feel safer. My parents have found a snake spending the winter under our floor. Not that they it had done something to us, but.....
Thanks for your comment Nadya, I read it out to Darren and he said, wood it is then! He got excited about a snake living in the house!! So it is definitely going to be concrete!
My advice? Take a bath with regard to the property in the UK. Drop your price significantly and I am sure that you will find some buyers. The sooner you leave the UK and move permanently to Bulgaria, the better!
It's a sort of an apology for confusing new viewers. It an acknowledgement that you've inadvertently done or said something (minor) that was misconstrued. Hope that helps (I've not explained it very well, my bad 🤦🏻♀️) see what I did there 😂😂
Thanks for your comment Anne. How Angelay has explained it is how I think of 'our bad', but in this instance the reason for me saying it in the video at 2:15 mins in, is because we announced we had buyers/and packed our stuff, before we signed any agreement with the seller, so it was our bad (our fault) for jumping the gun. However, we did feel surprised/sorry that we had managed to confused some viewers, but then realised it was probably because they hadn't seen previous videos/were new to the channel so we wanted to clarify that point.
1/. Wood Flooring:
Pros: Looks great and adds warmth to a room, good insulation, eco-friendly if sustainably sourced, and easier to install/repair. Feels softer and more comfortable to walk on.
Cons: Prone to termite damage (a big issue in Bulgaria), can warp or crack in damp areas, needs regular maintenance like sanding or refinishing, and can be expensive.
Vs
Concrete Flooring:
Pros: Super durable, low maintenance, and resistant to termites or pests. Great for moisture-prone areas like basements. Customizable in finishes and generally cheaper to install.
Cons: Can be cold and hard to walk on, prone to cracking over time, lacks the insulation wood offers, and might not look as cozy as wood.
In Bulgaria, concrete might be a better long-term choice due to moisture and pest issues, but wood still works great if you keep it well-maintained!
Once you have researched the cost of the materials for each option, be sure to share the quoted price per m² / ft².
2/. BTW, in an earlier video, you mentioned showing cards alongside your passports at the airport, leading to the passports not being stamped. Were those UK’s CitizenCards? Curious to know : )
3/. When you say that you are going to do waterscaping, you are thinking of having none of the rainwater pooling above the ground surface - because, although it can look very good, there’s a good chance it may attract mosquitoes looking for places to lay their eggs. Fortunately, it’s entirely possible to design waterscaping without any exposed water.
You can achieve this by using subsurface irrigation systems that deliver water directly to the plant roots, keeping the surface dry. Incorporating layers of gravel or sand under the soil helps water infiltrate quickly, preventing pooling. Dry creek beds or bioswales are also great options, as they channel rainwater into underground reservoirs or drains while staying dry on the surface most of the time. Rain gardens can work too if you use soil that drains very quickly, ensuring that any water is absorbed before mosquitoes have a chance to find it.
Another idea is to harvest rainwater underground through tanks or cisterns. These systems collect water through grates or filters, so there’s no exposed water while still allowing you to reuse it for irrigation. Adding mulch over the soil also helps by retaining water in the ground and eliminating evaporation that could lead to surface moisture. Selecting plants with deep root systems will further assist with absorption.
With thoughtful design and regular maintenance to keep everything draining smoothly, you can enjoy waterscaping without worrying about mosquito problems. It’s a great way to combine beauty and practicality! No doubt, there are some great tutorials here on RUclips that will show you everything that you need to know in order for your waterscaping project to be a success : )
Hi, wow where to start! Thank you so much for all your thoughts/advice, which has given us some good pointers and food for thought.
1. We're now also looking at lighter materials to fill the void such as expanded clay or something like limecrete if available in Bulgaria.
2. I'm not sure where you're from, but the UK doesn't have citizen cards as the 'people' reject that idea, but we think it's a good idea as Bulgaria does it for everyone including foreigners, and they come in handy for when doing anything official, anyway, the cards we meant were our Bulgarian permanent residency cards, which we got when we previously lived in Bulgaria between 2006-2018, and had to renew this year as they had expired.
3. We love the idea of rainscaping and ponds etc, but you are right about mosquitoes, and I (Nikki) hate mozzies as I get a severe allergic reaction sometimes when bitten by something, not sure if mozzies or biting flies, or something else. But anyhow, you are right, we do want to avoid that situation so will definitely take all you've suggested into account for sure.
We will do videos of our progress, just wish we were already there to start.
Thanks again, you have been most helpful.
Hi there. Watching you video with great interest. Been living here for 5 years and on our second renovation. Totally agree with putting in the bubble insulation around the house. Look at your roof fall for rain water and see where that lands. You have space to put in some channel drainage to divert the water into you garden away from the the house. With your flooring inside, I would recommend removing all of the floor joist and flooring, also aprox 1 metre of of the plaster as this could possibly be damp. The base structure of old coals etc does act as a good insulator. But best bet would be a membrane and concrete. If you try to save any old joists or latts this could just introduce damp elsewhere. I wish you both luck in your venture to out lovely country.
Hello there, thank you for following us, and well done on living in Bulgaria, and wishing us luck!
Thanks for your feedback and advice, good stuff! We agree that the plaster has to go specifically in that room and also on one of the walls in the downstairs kitchen (both on the north wall).
We didn't realise that the loose material is also old coals but that would make sense.
It will happen for you at the right time!
We sold to move to France and they pulled out so know the feeling.
We now move in 9 days,very excited!
Are you moving to France, not Bulgaria Pete? Good luck with the move, and hope everything turns out well for you and you enjoy the rest of your lives.
Im sorry about your house sale falling through. The same happened to us and we had to wait another six months for another buyer, but it WILL happen.
Thanks Nikki - hope it won't take that long, but nothing we can do about it.
@NewBulgarians So frustrating, but there's a buyer out there for every house....ours was odd so we had to wait for the right person. I'm sure yours will sell in no time!
@@Bulgaria_Bucharest Thank you 🙂
Hi both, our original floors were soil covered with hardboard and then rugs. When it was renovated the soil was dug out to get a level across all the rooms, render if any was chipped off the walls at the bottom, channels for drains, water pipes and central heating pipes was also cut out, dpm on the bottom and up the walls a bit, and then a concrete floor was laid with rebar mesh in it as well. We opted for laminate throughout and it looks fab.
Hi Steve, appreciate your comments, that sounds like a good plan.
The rotten floor boards may be an indication of long term damp in the past. Maybe now dry rot? If so, one needs to remove all the rotten wood beyond a meter plus into the good wood area, as dry rot can spread..and the area may need treating including the walls, to kill the spores. Or these may spread to other areas where there is wood.
Personally I would concrete the floors. Dig down.aybe put down some hard core. Sand, Damp barrier of thick plastic, insulation and reinforced concrete. But that is me.. 😊
If your house is above ground level, I think you could just dig down on the outside and put gravel and slope away from the house. Make sure gutters and downpipes direct the rain away from the house. If the house is below ground that waffle looks an ideal solution since one has to work if the wooden floors are rotten due to damp...
Thanks again Mike, hoping it is not the dreaded dry rot but definitely something we need to be certain of. We believe the floorboards are like this because they were covered with a layer of screed and then a thin foam moisture barrier/insulation and then laminate, and we assume the property has no DPC . Although the room has damp/mould on the walls, everything is very dry. We will remove the render and treat the area, and we're definitely leaning towards concrete. Thanks for your advice.
Regarding the floor renovation, replacing the soil with concrete is inadvisable due to its weight. One cubic meter of concrete weighs approximately 2.5 metric tons, which will exceed the structural capacity of the house.
Instead, I recommend using lightweight alternatives like expanded clay or perlite. These materials fill the floor space, are extremely light, and don't generate dust like the soil. After filling, install a gypsum fiberboard subfloor on top for a stable base. Also any rotten joists will need to be replaced.
Oh dear, this decision has just become more complicated. Never heard of this method (though we're not builders so not surprised), but will look into it, can I ask does your advice come from experience please?
@@NewBulgarians I'm not a professional builder either, but I've got some experience with this kind of project. The crew that renovated my previous house used this specific method that I suggested. Just keep in mind, there are multiple ways to approach this.
I'm was mainly concerned about the idea of using concrete to fill the entire space previously occupied by soil. We're looking at around 15-20 cubic meters of concrete per floor, which seems like a lot. My main hesitations are: will the house structure support that weight, and won't this create serious moisture issues? It could end up being pretty expensive and complicated. Have I understood your plan correctly, or am I misinterpreting something?
Hi again, thanks for getting back to me. We were looking to take out all the wooden beams and loose soil, to leave compacted soil below (we assume) then put down a damp proof membrane, and either replace the beams or fill with concrete. This will be on the ground floor only, the other floors are wooden and we're happy with them as they are.
@@NewBulgarians I would still strongly suggest researching about the dry floors (keramzit (expanded clay), perlite, etc). It is easier, cheaper, lighter and provides better insulation. You would still need to address the moisture problems though. However you decide to handle it I'm sure it will make a great video! :)
@@razorSH we are doing as much research as possible from the UK, but we don't know what materials are available in Bulgaria, apart from concrete and wood of course. Hah, yes possibly will be a video, but not for some time yet. Thanks 🙂
New Windows look great. What a difference! We doesn't agreed sanding and repairing our old wooden windows. Then decided, after a cold winter, too replace them with new dg windows. What a difference they made. Warmer, no draughts, and a lot more light into the house. Well done..
Thanks Mike! We would have liked to keep the old windows but they were too bad and inevitably we would have had to get UPVC in a short time because of the cold extremes, they do make a huge difference.
We are watching our little bulgarin adventure from the beginning, and he replaced a floor, worth a look to see how they did it!!!
Hello Ruth, thank you :) We also follow and enjoy watching OLBA, I think the video I saw when Adam replaced a wooden floor was for an upper floor, whereas ours is a ground floor so little bit different, having said that I will try and find it as it may have some tips.
@@NewBulgarians Adam tackled the entrance passageway by doing it in sections. He set the level on both sides first, letting them harden, and then infilled the middle. This works well for small areas, but for larger rooms like yours, using pegs or stakes to mark out the level is a great alternative. A laser level device can be used to indicate the correct height on each peg, ensuring accuracy across all of your floors.
There are some excellent RUclips tutorials that demonstrate this step-by-step, so I’m sure you’ve got this! Have fun, and good luck with the project!
Oh yes he did do that floor too, thanks for reminding me and for the pointers.
Hopefully this will all have happened for a reason..door closes, window opens and all that so fingers crossed for you that you'll be back out here soon! ❤
Yes, we keep telling ourselves that lol hard to see the reason yet but we're sure it will become clear eventually. Thank you :)
I’m sorry to hear that the sale had fallen through.
However, you are wonderful people and I’m sure things will work out well in the end.
I’ve watched all your videos now, you are a lovely and very brave couple and I completely agree that people should try to change things in life in search for happiness, even if it’s taking them out of the comfort zone.
We also bought a house in a village in Bulgaria and now are counting the days. My husband is British and really looking forward to this “simpler life” as you described it. Are you planning on using an international removal company when the time comes? It would be great if you can recommend one. We haven’t started packing our four bedroom house yet. We might also find it overwhelming.
Good luck, good people. 😊
Thank you for your kind words Nadya. We are very much looking forward to when the day comes for us to be living the good (simple) live again, so can just imagine how your husband must be feeling.
We try to see the positives of whatever is happening at that moment, even if it doesn't feel like there are any, and also remember negative situations won't last forever.
We will be using a removal company, we will definitely recommend if we have a positive experience, which we obviously hope it will be.
As for the packing, we are limited by weight of goods, so we are having to be realistic about what we can take. We decided to take things that would be expensive to replace in Bulgaria, and also only things that add value to our lives. Everything else we can either live without, or replace when we are there.
Good luck with your move, hope all goes well for you. Thanks again.
When new year is over and we get back in February , you are welcome to come to our house in Bulgaria for a holiday(anytime)
Oh you two, thank you that is so lovely of you, we look forward to it! I bet you can't wait for February! We're hoping that will be our time too at the latest! Take care :)
We are heading to Barmouth for a few days, I see you are from Wales. Anywhere near?
@@andrewzi You will be 3 hours from us, we're in West Wales not far from Carmarthen. 🙂
Hola from Spain. We new to your channel & was bit confused as to what order I was watching videos. Think I'm with you now 😂 . We know how frustrating it can be just wanting to get there. We bought our place in Spain 2 years before we actually moved & it was like being in limbo. My husband was backwards & forwards, & I spent my time packing & making plans. How long ago did you first move to Bulgaria & why did you move back ? .Hope things soon work out for you, frustrating as it is you'll get there. Get all your ideas in your head, although all mine changed once we were there. Good luck, thinking of you. Hugs ❤️
Hi again Patricia and thank you for your comment - limbo is not a great place to be, but you can't do anything about it.
I know when I started watching other YT'ers, I set the videos to oldest, and watched them in order to get to the present day, which was a real help. Ours start from our previous life there, why we moved back to the UK, and then our decision to move back, and now we just continue telling what's happening as it happens. So from episode 1 we moved there in 2006, we returned to the UK in 2018, and you can see the reason why we returned in this video no 10. ruclips.net/video/QSe5yYIufqw/видео.html
@NewBulgarians Hi again you two .I've just watched episode 10 and the reasons you moved back to Uk. Eighteen years ago we were 56.. John retired at 52, too early to do nothing, so needing a change / project and our son already living in Spain, we decided to take the risk. We had 7 Grandchildren then, and another born one week after we landed in Spain in 2006.Our eldest Grandchild was 15 and if shed have said ' don't go' we wouldn't !!! But she just put on a brave face , and the rest is history. We got Residencia straight away, as we had to to buy the land. Brexit really didn't affect us apart from a new Residence I D .... and joining health system which we hadn't done as we kept our Doctor in UK who was quite happy to see us on any visits. First few years I was backwards & forwards every few months, but as the kids grew, started leading their own lives I found i wanted to go back less. Our son and his family live here in Spain, our daughter and family in the UK. We are now Great Grandparents, so they are all getting in with their lives while we enjoy our lives here. We have built from scratch, then renovated an old property in the last two years, so just do what you want to do now, don't wait, it will all work out as long as your happy and able. We still work hard every day, have over 2 acres of land, 5O Olive trees, and various fruit trees, but wake every morning happy & grateful. Good luck, looking forward to new house & renovations. Don't get too carried away, keep things simple, and make time for garden, birds & nature. You'll be outside more than inside. Hugs ... Patricia ♥️ ♥️
Thanks again Patricia. You are so right about living life for yourself and others around you will get on with theirs. We just wish the governments had been talking more and giving an idea of what they were going to do, but they weren't, as you are probably able to tell from what you've seen, we deeply regret leaving BG in 2018, even our kids were surprised that we did as they knew how happy we were and were settled by that point. C'est la vie!
Very glad you are enjoying every minute of your chosen life, and thanks about the tips about keeping it simple, as yes we will spend more time outside than in for sure.
We renovated a property in Germany, and the whole of the ground floor needed complete new flooring, we went with concrete. After the preparation which took the longest, the ready mixed concrete went down fairly quickly, and you never have to think about it again. Personally I would ask builders for quotes to actually lay the floor, that's what we did. As for the waffle, we also used that, brilliant stuff. Good Luck with everything.
Thanks for your comment. :)
I (Nikki) want to have concrete, but also get that Darren can work with wood, but I think from the comments it will have to be concrete on the ground floor. Hopefully we can find some builders to help us out.
@@NewBulgarians Where are you? The people I am working with are laying my new concrete floor this week.
We're near Chirpan, Stara Zagora region. Hope yours goes well, and would be good to have contacts if it does and they're close by.
Hi.
I would rip all the wood out and the soil
Visqueen damp proof membrane, then concrete
We bought in 2012
Lived permanently for 2&1/2 years
But now do a 50/50 split with the uk
I’ve been contemplating a French drain at the side of our house , never heard of rainscaping until you mentioned it, now watching RUclips videos
Hi, thanks for the feed back, never heard of Visqueen until now so have googled it ;)
You have the best of both worlds I guess being between the UK and BG.
@ visqueen is the U.K. brand name. After reading more comments I noticed that you have cinders between the wooden beams… our front room had cinders & sand with beams with HARDBOARD on top…needless to say it hadn’t lasted long.
We got rid of all of the wood, and we got stuck in and concreted the floor ourselves. Best wishes. Paul & sue.
Hi again Paul & Sue, thanks for getting back to us again. The wood and cinders/soil whatever it is will all be coming up and hopefully we will be down to compacted earth. What we do after that we're still unsure. Did you put down a damp proof membrane/rebar before concreting?
@ we didn’t put any membrane down before concreting and we’ve had no problems
@@stanevolodge thank you :)
Sorry i have no advice for the floor or the 'waffle' (but would like a link for that 🙏). Ive been following you since restarted your bulgarian adventure and started looking for a house again. We too are hoping to start our own bulgarian adventure very soon. We moved from the uk to france 9 years ago, living very rural and learning how to be self sufficient etc, now we want to put all we have learned into practice in a place with 4 seasons instead of one long wet one....... 😂 though rainscaping sounds like a fun idea 😉🤣
Thank you so much for following and commenting, we do really appreciate it.
We nearly bought a holiday home in France in 2004, but decided on the ferry back that we didn't want to, then we discovered Bulgaria on a Place in the sun that year and the journey began.
Yes we love the 4 seasons in Bulgaria, it's wonderful, and we know only too well the long wet season here in Wales, it's very depressing.
Rainscaping could be great, if we get enough of it obviously, but not too much.
Forgot to add about the waffle - we don't know where it was from and it was back in 2007 when we had builders install it. I guess it would be at most builders merchants, hopefully someone can say where.
@angelay1925
I found the waffle stuff - it's called Fondaline and is on an online store called Toplivo.
toplivo.bg/produkti/Stroitelni-materiali/Hidroizolacionni-materiali/Drenajna-membrana-za-osnovi/Drenajna-membrana-FONDALINE--400-g--1h20-m--cherna
That weed is poisonous apparently 😄 If you do the ''waffle'' then you '' must'' do a french drain at the same time, the trench is there and you are going to backfill it anyway so some gravel and perforated pipe is the only extra expense. Bulgaria houses do not have any DPC ( Damp Proof Course), Please don't do wooden joist floors on the ground floor 😊
I knew it would be! I did wash it off, and we didn't get rid of it as we forgot, but it has to go for sure!
We didn't do the waffle before, builders did and I'm not sure whether they put in French drains or not, but we didn't have any issues.
From your advice you gave, I (Nikki) am more in favour of concrete for the ground floor, it's an ongoing debate, but I think I will win! ;)
Thank you!
@@NewBulgarians To put timber floors in you will need to dig out to a depth of at least 200mm to accomodate the beams needed for that span, Then you have to find some way of supporting them on the ends ( concrete)?. There needs to be ventilation under them to prevent rotting ( air bricks through the stone wall)? Darren is going to hate me 😀
Haha, as I said, still an ongoing discussion, thanks so much for the additional info though, it won't be more complex with wood by the sounds of it.
I'm for concrete because I feel safer. My parents have found a snake spending the winter under our floor. Not that they it had done something to us, but.....
Thanks for your comment Nadya, I read it out to Darren and he said, wood it is then! He got excited about a snake living in the house!! So it is definitely going to be concrete!
My advice? Take a bath with regard to the property in the UK. Drop your price significantly and I am sure that you will find some buyers. The sooner you leave the UK and move permanently to Bulgaria, the better!
Haha, we agree it can't come soon enough! We have viewers so fingers crossed. :)
You said near the start of the video ‘iits our bad’ what does this mean?
It's a sort of an apology for confusing new viewers. It an acknowledgement that you've inadvertently done or said something (minor) that was misconstrued. Hope that helps (I've not explained it very well, my bad 🤦🏻♀️) see what I did there 😂😂
Thanks for your comment Anne. How Angelay has explained it is how I think of 'our bad', but in this instance the reason for me saying it in the video at 2:15 mins in, is because we announced we had buyers/and packed our stuff, before we signed any agreement with the seller, so it was our bad (our fault) for jumping the gun.
However, we did feel surprised/sorry that we had managed to confused some viewers, but then realised it was probably because they hadn't seen previous videos/were new to the channel so we wanted to clarify that point.
Thank you, your explanation makes sense to me! :)
where in wales are you living ?
@@jeanettebarns1024 We're in West Wales not far from Carmarthen.
In fact, we had 3 rainy days. It s true, but today was shiny.
Glad you have had some rain, not too much though :)
Bulgarias gain and Wales loss
Thank you Karen 😄