Refurbishment - Is one month enough?

bluedrop

Hi all,
Here is the plan: Does it sound feasible?

We are likely to complete on 30-May. We are renting at the moment. So the idea is to complete the refurbishment on empty property and move on on 28 June. Thiis is for a 100sqm 1930s house.

25-May
Post jobs on websites like ratedpeople.com

31-May -2013 - 01-June
Get tradesmen in to quote

31-May-2013
Get a structural Engineer in for the calculations

01-June-2013
Get quotes and decide

02-June-2013
Get quotes and decide

03- June-2013 - 05 June 2013
Get builders in – put in RSJ, remove walls (Load bearing wall between the living rooms, non load bearing wall between the kitchen/dining)

03-June-2013
Electric work begins

03-June-2013
Bathroom and kitchen ripped

03-June-2013 – 10 June
Re-wiring

10-June to 22 june
Put in new bathroom, New kitchen, Remove wall papper, skim and paint. (all jobs happening in parallel)

22- June to 27 June
Flooring (removing existing carpets, put in new solid wood flooring)

mummyroysof3

Properly if they used enough workers. Remember to include enough drying time before painting plaster and between glossing then laying capers though.

ben9090

Its possible
IF the builders can drop everything and carry out the works on the days you require. If they let you down it will throw every other following trade back.
Are you wanting one builder to do all works or indivudual trades, (plumber, electrician, tiler, painter, plaster, joiner etc)

LE3

Good luck finding a reputable company that can quote you on 1st June, and start work on 3rd June!

I would be 100% wary of anyone who can offer that sort of timescale!

penguingirl

When are you exchanging? Would you vendors allow you to have builders in for quotes in the gap between exchange and completion? It might help buy you a bit more time to get the jobs planned. Why aren't you getting recommendations for trades now? Even if you just have them booked in for post-exchange, and suss out whether they are available in June!

But no I would say it doesn't sound feasible, especially since you don't have pre-existing relationships with trades (i.e. know if they are quick, reliable, willing to put in every hour for you). Can you find a holiday let or something short-term to rent in June? When I was younger my family lived in our caravan for 11 weeks as it was summer and we were waiting to complete on a house following a Scotland-to-England move so there is always a way if you are determined!

Gloomendoom

bluedrop wrote: »

Hi all,
Here is the plan: Does it sound feasible?

Get builders in – put in RSJ, remove walls (Load bearing wall between the living rooms, non load bearing wall between the kitchen/dining)

You will need building regs approval for that so you need to factor in a visit to your local council building control dept.

LEJC

personally I would give yourselves a little longer...

We started a total refurb in june last year...our builder said he would be clear of the property by the end of july...he finally finished in November.

What we thought would be complete and good to go is still ongoing aslthough we will be handing over to letting agent by the end of this June!

On paper these things always look possible and a trades person will tell you what you want to hear re timescales in order to secure a job...but the reality is that even the most straightforward things can over run...

Our electricians said a 2 week job...but they had to fit round other things like the kitchen going in,the bathroom being constructed,the window people the plasterer etc etc

The other thing we found is that generally the more people in the house all trying to do their thing,the more they got in eachothers way...

and then you have the weather to possibly contend with...some of our work was outside and it was near on impossible to find 2 dry days last year let alone a week!

You seem to suggest your having a rewire...so you will probably need to factor in time for replastering/skimming....so potentially removing the wallpaper and assessing what the quality of the walls are like underneath probably needs to be one of your first jobs....

I would also allow a week between people quoting and you receiving the detailed quote to consider...if possible you should be approaching trades people now to check their availability for the time you want them.

Actually thinking about it...the other way its achievable is if you actually have the funds to pay for it all upfront...or indeed you perhaps use a property maintainace company,either way both potentially quite expensive ways of doing it...our budget was £40k and I would have loved to employ more trades to have done things...but it would have spiralled the budget...as it is we have kept to budget but its been at the expense of time.

Best of luck with your plans...but as someone whos been there I cant help think you should allow a little more time.

bluedrop

Would it be a better idea to continue renting for another month and hope to complete the work in 2 months time?

LEJC

It all depends on a lot of factors really...can you afford to rent and pay the bills on the house too?
Whats happening with your furniture?
How many are involved in the move from rented to owning...children?

Personally if finance will allow I would aim to stay in rented until the main body of the work is done...you have electrics,kitchen,bathroom,plastering...once that is done you've got the dirty work out of the way and it may be easier to work whilst living there.

Its no fun living in a house under renovation or if you have children...its also easier for people to fit things in an empty house so for that reason I wouldnt move in until the bulk is done

The other thing to consider is have you actually ordered your kitchen and bathroom yet?
Again its not always a simple process of choosing it one day and getting it delivered and fitted a week later...its not so difficult where bathrooms are concerned but in my experience they aren't called fitted kitchens for nothing...they do need planning out in order to get the correct layout..if I remember rightly our kitchen was 6 weeks from planning it till delivery and a further week to fit...and that was from Howdens

cant stress enough how much budget will have an effect on how fast things progress...basically the more money you put into it the quicker things will happen...out of interest do you want to disclose your budget for the work?

I have a rough idea of how much it might cost and with the imposing of a tight timescale that figure will probably increase

27col

I would have thought that you do not have the slightest chance of sticking to your proposed schedule. You don't seriously expect to get a considered quote the day after the builder has been to look at the job do you? As for the chance of the builder starting work a day or two later, no hope unless he has no current work. Which would not be a good sign as to his popularity.
You are living in cloud cuckoo land if you expect your flow chart time scales to work with any degree of accuracy.
Also, you have made absolutely no reference to getting B Regs approval.

bluedrop

Some more details:
Renting one extra month while managing bills at the property is not a problem budget wise.

We both work full time and we have a child. We dont plan to live at the property until the work is done

My plan is to clearly state in the job advert on ratedpeople etc that I am only looking for people who can start immediately.