Renovating/Modernising a house – prioritising work

fannyanna

We’re in the process of buying a 3 bedroom house that was last decorated a good 30 years ago. The house itself is in good condition and whilst it does feel like stepping into a time warp the house is easily liveable (it’s just not to our taste).

I’m starting to create a project plan to capture the tasks that need completing and an estimate of the costs involved. There’s too much to do all in one go and also we don’t have the funds available to change everything all at once (well not to the specification that we would like) so we’ll be changing things steadily and will therefore need to live with things how they are for a while. The bit that I’m struggling with the most is prioritising the work.

Do we concentrate on getting the basics out of the way (re-plastering artex ceilings, stripping wallpaper and painting walls a neutral colour, new flooring etc) for the whole house and then tackle bigger jobs room by room or do we just pick a room and do everything to complete it and then move on to another?

alleycat`

I'd, personally, look at whatever is going to be a messy job for the entire house first.

Anything like an electrical re-wire or central heating system work is not what you want to be doing after you've re-plastered and re-done the "pretty" bits at the end.

Then I'd personally look at bathrooms and kitchens.

I'm not an expert but that would seem a logical approach to not having to re-do stuff.

Debt_Free_Chick

Agree - most disruptive & messiest job(s) first. I'd also consider starting at the top of the house and working down.

Melaniep101

We were in the same situation in August. After getting the electrics sorted, we tackled one room at a time so it didn't feel like living on a building site. Our living room was one of the first rooms we renovated and it gave us somewhere nice to retreat to amid all the mess!

googler

Definitely work from the top down, and leave the landing and hall to last so you're not traipsing all the muck over a newly-done area.

Jaynne

As said definitely anything like heating, plumbing, plastering or electrics first as you will probably have to decorate parts after these.

What we did having moved in August was establish that we didn't have anything major to do and started by painting everything off white, getting new carpets upstairs and sanded the floors downstairs. That got us in a state where we didn't feel like we hated the house and could spend the time to do up each room as we like - since the walls are all off white when we want to add colour the hard work is already done.

mandragora_2

Messy/brick dust/whole house jobs first, then, get one room nice (even if not perfectly finished) so you have a refuge.

Our first 'finished' room was the kitchen, because it was so dire it was unlivable with - first 'real' room after that was the dining room, as it has a lovely floor and an open fire, which both cheered me up, is 'out of the way' of the rest of the house so didn't get crud trodden through it, and, once we'd put a settee in there and a tv, we could almost pretend it was a real room, and we were living a normal life - even if only for an hour at the end of the day.

Oh, and 26 years later, I'm sitting here typing this spattered with paint, having set to with the roller and painting the ceiling in the spare bedroom after a full day's work - so it never really finishes, it's just that the materials you use get nicer (and pricier!) and the time between jobs gets longer!

ListysDad

Without doubt ALL infrastructure work first.

What is more important, in my view, is to draw out how you want the whole house. Think about sockets, think about future pipework, future bathing requirements, is there anything you want doing in the loft etc etc. Then work with your tradespeople and ask their advice. They will often think of things you haven't.

fluffpot

Get the electrics tested and plumbing checked first. If these go wrong later then all your hard work decorating will have been for nothing

robatwork

Don't forget to install cat5/6 if you're ripping walls out. Even if you never use it your future house buyers will love you for it...

jozbo

robatwork wrote: »

Don't forget to install cat5/6 if you're ripping walls out. Even if you never use it your future house buyers will love you for it...

could you elaborate on this?...we're ripping walls out!