Renovating a house on a budget

Gmarie_2

Dear forum

I would really appreciate some advice.

I am having to move back in a house where my ex partner has been living for the past 5 years. The house is a complete state everything is dirty and unmaintained.

The doors need replacing they barely lock
The bathroom needs ripping out as does the kitchen
The heating needs fixing - there are holes in the ceiling from a burst water pipe.

All in all i figure i need to rip it all out and start again. It is only a small 1 bedroom house.

I have a very small budget and i really do not know where to start - how to source the cheapest furniture and appliances, what to prioritise - how to project manage this.

Any thoughts, plans links to good website etc would be highly appreciated.

Thanks you

onomatopoeia99

Based on the last few years working on my home, which has turned out to be far more of a project than I anticipated when I moved in ...

If your budget is limited (as is mine), don't replace things that can be fixed and/or renovated. "Dirty and unmaintained" doesn't necessarily mean "unusable".

For example, it may be possible to adjust the hinges on the doors so they do close and lock easily, rather than getting a carpenter to install complete new doors.

A burst pipe can possibly be replaced with a couple of pushfit fittings and a length of copper pipe if you don't have experience with soldering or don't want to pay a plumber.

If you are living in it then don't rip everything out at once, tackle one job / room at a time to completion before moving on to the next or you will end up living in a shell with so much to do it becomes even more daunting. Aside from the very small bathroom, my home is largely unchanged from when it was built in 1951, I realised right at the start I could only complete it by doing one room at a time. So far I've done two rooms and am working on the third (kitchen, the most work and biggest cost).

Identify what jobs you can do yourself, what jobs you might be able to do yourself if you researched and what jobs you definitely can't do yourself (for most people this will be anything involving gas, mains wiring and possibly plastering, since plastering is a black art akin to witchcraft, a bit like making a cake rise in the oven). Do as much yourself as you can, because unless you are self-employed with an infinite amount of work so your free time is better spent working to make money, your time is generally free when working out the cost of the project.

Consider second hand. I spent months checking ebay for kitchens that were ex-display or being taken out of houses by people that were having a refit. I found one I liked, was in almost new condition as it had only been installed three years previously in a second home (new owners of the house were extending) and that was almost an exact match for the space in my home. It cost me less than 15% of the price originally paid to Leekes for units and appliances. Obviously I've spent more since, but the initial saving has made a massive difference to the overall cost. My dining table and chairs were second hand (from family rather than ebay in this case)

Identify the most urgent jobs (heating would seem to be one from your description, especially as winter is coming) and tackle those first. If you need to sort plumbing then replastering, don't do the latter until you are confident the plumbing is properly fixed as there's no point rushing and then having to plaster a second time after the plumbing leaks again. Particularly since you've had a burst pipe, don't scrimp on pipe insulation.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm just a chap with a house that needs a lot of work (it has somewhat taken over my life if I'm honest), rather than a builder or other trade though!

Ruski

Nice reply onom... Very thoughtful and helpful, just what this forum needs.


Russ

TidyMax

Well, 'i am in the trade' and i have just purchased my first house with my girlfriend.

Much like the gentleman who has replied first the house needs WAYYYY more work doing than i first anticipated ( i am an electrician, most certainly not a builder/joiner/decorator/plumber!).

However overwhelmed you feel at first, at the end of the day, its just a house, worst comes to worst you can take it back to the floor boards and bare walls. Its not a huge deal.

To start off, providing everything is safe. Make sure your bedroom is clean, you have a water supply and a working toilet/shower. As for making the house look good. Start at the furthest room and work your way out of the house. Anything you need to do will have many a decent video on youtube. In the past fortnight i have stripped woodchip off walls, stripped lead paint, plastered and patched walls, skimmed holes and removed and stripped old skirting boards ready to be glossed and put back on.

Make lists and tackle one small job at a time, the house soon comes together. It is very easy to get over whelmed

Good luck!

the_matrix

I'm sure you have skill/trade you can exchange for some labour that will help you get the job done quickly.

For example you can drive and have a car. Your mates son/daughter are learning to drive. You teach for FREE in using your car and they work for FREE in your house.

Win-win