First-time house renovation

Spicey

Out of interest, how many of us with bungalows are doing a loft conversion? We have decided not to, as we were advised that proper bungalows keep their value better.

TomsMom

jamtart6 wrote: »

Have you all been keeping a record of how much you have spent on your renovation?

Yes and every time I've looked at it I cried .

We were given a rough estimate by the architect, the builder came and said it would actually cost about £10,000 more as the architect underestimated how much work would need doing. As the builders progressed they uncovered more and more poor/dangerous DIY that the previous owner did and gave us the choice whether to have it put right. Obviously we didn't want problems cropping up in a few years time so we had everything done that needed doing. We also added some extras we hadn't originally planned as work progressed, e.g. the French doors. Then there was the cost of employing a decorator which we hadn't planned for but OH became too ill to do it himself and there's no chance he will be able to do it in the future.

Some things we haven't skimped on, e.g. we bought Wickes sinks for the kitchen and utility but when it came to the time to install it in the kitchen we realised it was rather flimsy, flexed quite a lot and would probably dent quite easily if something was dropped in it. We took one back and have bought a Franke at almost three times the price and the difference is amazing. We did keep one Wickes sink for the utility though. We also bought good quality fittings for the bathroom/shower and the kitchen appliances were nice ones without going for the top of the range like Neff. On the whole we've done a lot of research to get the keenest prices for just about everything we've bought.

All in all I would say that our renovation costs including the fitting out of the bathroom/en suite shower room/kitchen have come in at three times the architect's original estimate, and we still have to pay for the carpets and some furniture :eek: .

jamtart6

oh no TomsMom, did not mean to make you cry!! The thing with all of it is, at least you know it is 100% safe and that you are 100% happy with it. And you couldn't account for your OH being poorly either (how is he doing by the way?)

I have decided that regardless of the cost (which does also bring tears to my eyes) I really want a belfast sink, granite work surfaces and a range oven...I figure that all of the hard work we have put in to the house each weekend we have saved about £3k labour costs..a lot of the furniture is coming in from recently deceased Grandad's house and revamped by me to save costs... so what we have saved there can go towards the horrendously priced "kitchen of my dreams". We are really lucky to be getting the whole extension done for under £5k , both earning decent money at the moment and don't waste money...so the money we have spent will have gone a long long way.

It is really really shocking to see how some things add up though!!!

TomsMom

jamtart6 wrote: »

oh no TomsMom, did not mean to make you cry!! The thing with all of it is, at least you know it is 100% safe and that you are 100% happy with it. And you couldn't account for your OH being poorly either (how is he doing by the way?)

Don't worry JT, 'twasn't you that made me cry, it was the spreadsheet :rotfl: .

OH not good at the moment. He came home from hospital today, just had his 2nd cycle of chemo and it's really knocked him about. He rang the hairdresser this afternoon and is having all his hair off tomorrow as it's coming out quite badly now. Must remind him to take his baseball cap with him, he's never worn one before. One more cycle of chemo then the stem cell transplant in a few weeks.

He went to bed at 7.30 and his plans for the next few days include knocking out some concrete that formed part of the hearth of an old fireplace in the dining area, also some in the hallway, then finishing off the levelling of the floors ready for the carpet and vinyl to be laid next weekend, sanding and waxing four doors, fixing back up the wall lights in the lounge and carrying on putting the hair felt round the ticking pipes on the landing and in the bedroom before he screws the floorboards back down. He says keeping busy will probably make him feel better . I'm not so sure he'll manage it all, if not I'll ask my son to help with the concrete/levelling before he goes away for a few days on Monday.

I have decided that regardless of the cost (which does also bring tears to my eyes) I really want a belfast sink, granite work surfaces and a range oven....

I think you have to go with what you want. If you settle for something you didn't really want then you'd never be really happy with it and would end up changing it at some stage. So go with what's right for you.

It is really really shocking to see how some things add up though!!!

Oh I know, I did tell OH at one stage not to tell me how much it was costing 'cos I'd probably start putting the brakes on and not having certain things done. But this is our last move and the only time that major works should need to be done, now it's all (nearly) finished the only thing that will be needed in the future will be redecoration at some stage.

Shimmyhill

No idea how much we have spent, 10 sec calculation and 7k so far - probably more !!

Lots more to spend, if only money grew on trees !!!!

jimbugalee

I apologise as have joined this discussion rather late but found it really useful.

My boyfriend and I have just bought our first house, a 1930's terrace and are renovating it as we speak. We are doing all of the work ourselves. We have just under 6 weeks to complete the initial work before we move in and then I guess time is on our side a bit more while we complete the rest of the house.

The big work includes new central heating system and wiring throughout (definitely my boyfriend's domain!), moving the bathroom upstairs and creating an office for me downstairs, decorating each room (woodchip everywhere!), new windows and front/back door, some garden work, fixing roof, installing new fireplace, new kitchen ..... phew!

Intitially we are looking to spend 10k on most of the above, excluding the office, kitchen and rear windows. Adding up so far I think we're looking around 7k.

It is stressful and we're only 2 weeks in! We also have our 9-5 jobs to contend with with practically no time off work (thankful for bank holidays). I am glad we haven't moved in ......yet!

The amount you can save by shopping around for everything is unbelievable! Also I am grateful to our friends who have been helping with some of the work.

The blog idea is excellent and I think I may start our own

Good luck to everyone renovating!! Great to see the progress

Gemma

TomsMom

:hello: Hello Gemma, are you going to join us? Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate with your renovation, full time jobs and a moving in date in the not too distant future!

We love to see pictures of how people's renovations are progressing (code for some of us are nosey ) so we'd love you to do a blog. Let us know when you've set one up and give us the link.

jimbugalee

Hi TomsMom. Yes, I'd love to join in the discussion ... time permitting. Just updating the blog as I'm a week behind. Somehow the pictures just don't convey the real thing!

This week the plans are ... confirm window installation (only thing we aren't doing ourselves), order boiler, take delivery for bathroom suite, think about ordering tiles & wet room screens, finish off plumbing upstairs erm .... another coat of paint on back door and water new plants

KT1985

We are getting carpets tomorrow!

hubby has been busy touching up all of the painting this weekend, and it looks fab. Will take some pics tomorrow after it has gone in. I am so excited!!!

TomsMom

KT1985 wrote: »

We are getting carpets tomorrow!

hubby has been busy touching up all of the painting this weekend, and it looks fab. Will take some pics tomorrow after it has gone in. I am so excited!!!

I'm feeling your excitement KT. We're having the underlay delivered tomorrow, the carpets for the two bedrooms and lounge delivered on Thursday and they will be fitted on Sunday. H/S/Landing carpet will be done a bit later when the fitter can get back. I'm so looking forward to it, not least because it will be so much cleaner (uncovered concrete floors make the house so dusty!) and cosier.

I'm starting to look and beds and wardrobes too :j .