How would you prioritise work?

ccskitten

Hi All

I have finally exchanged on my house (after 8 months) and am moving on Friday. I've been packed up for a few weeks and now I feel like I'm in limbo! Therefore, I'm thinking about renovations and essential works to occupy my mind!


I should have around £20-25k to spend from the sale of my house. The following things need doing: -

• Electrics (total rewire or at least fuse box suggested by surveyor)
• Boiler and Radiators (LPG gas, back boiler behind the fire place. Heating is a mixture of radiators and storage heaters. At least two radiators need moving or replacing)
• Moving the kitchen to the study (see plan below)
• Upgrading bathroom
• Log burner (least of my priorities but one for the future)

The house was built in the 50's and has been kept in a very good state of repair. The electrics have been added to over time and the surveyor suggested rewire or fuse box. Otherwise he didn't really make any suggestions for essential works. He confirmed it is possible to move the kitchen to the Study.



What would you suggest I focus my money on? I have no idea how far it will stretch until I get quotes but I am realistic and know I won't be able to do it all straight away. It will be a labor of love over the next few years. I plan to live here for at least the next 20 years!

dominoman

I think I'd move the Kitchen to the Living Room, and knock the divider to the Dining room down. That way it opens up onto the back garden (new bifold doors maybe) and you'd have a fantastic open plan space for eating and relaxing.

First thing I would do is get rid of the storage heaters and replace them with normal radiators. If you're doing all that work in the new kitchen anyway then I'd use plumbed in underfloor heating for that part instead of radiators.

eclipse2015

Congratulations! We have just moved into a house that needed a lot of work so have had the same questions as you.
Your biggest expense will definitely be the kitchen move, everything else shouldn't be too eye watering! I think you could do all of the above with £20k.

Everyone recommended to us to get the electrician in first, as apparently they make the most mess We are having a new fuse box, rewiring and loads of plugs and lights switches moved and added and our electrican quote was £1,800 which we were pleased with

We have also found a great plumber from Checkatrade who is fitting us a Baxi boiler and changing 5 radiators and doing a pressure wash for £2,600, we did a lot of research into Valiant and Worcester Bosch who everyone recommended to us (and would have cost us £400 more), and couldn't really see how much difference it would make, it still comes with a 10 year guarantee and we currently have a Baxi which we've never had a problem with.

Bathroom appliances are really cheap, it's just the tiles and fitting that are expensive.

You can get a good log burner for £600/700, AGA do a great one for £650

Good luck with everything! PS you should decide on the layout of the new Kitchen before getting the Electrician and the Plumber in, as they can make sure there are enough wires and pipes in the new room then. So maybe a kitchen planner would be your first bet!

ccskitten

dominoman wrote: »

I think I'd move the Kitchen to the Living Room, and knock the divider to the Dining room down. That way it opens up onto the back garden (new bifold doors maybe) and you'd have a fantastic open plan space for eating and relaxing.

First thing I would do is get rid of the storage heaters and replace them with normal radiators. If you're doing all that work in the new kitchen anyway then I'd use plumbed in underfloor heating for that part instead of radiators.

We love the living room where it is. It has beautiful views over the 1/4 acre garden. There isn't that much of a view out the front so I would prefer the kitchen there. Also the water and drainage run down the front of the house. Love the idea of underfloor heating. I'll get quotes for that.

eclipse2015 wrote: »

Congratulations! We have just moved into a house that needed a lot of work so have had the same questions as you.
Your biggest expense will definitely be the kitchen move, everything else shouldn't be too eye watering! I think you could do all of the above with £20k.

Everyone recommended to us to get the electrician in first, as apparently they make the most mess We are having a new fuse box, rewiring and loads of plugs and lights switches moved and added and our electrican quote was £1,800 which we were pleased with

We have also found a great plumber from Checkatrade who is fitting us a Baxi boiler and changing 5 radiators and doing a pressure wash for £2,600, we did a lot of research into Valiant and Worcester Bosch who everyone recommended to us (and would have cost us £400 more), and couldn't really see how much difference it would make, it still comes with a 10 year guarantee and we currently have a Baxi which we've never had a problem with.

Bathroom appliances are really cheap, it's just the tiles and fitting that are expensive.

You can get a good log burner for £600/700, AGA do a great one for £650

Good luck with everything! PS you should decide on the layout of the new Kitchen before getting the Electrician and the Plumber in, as they can make sure there are enough wires and pipes in the new room then. So maybe a kitchen planner would be your first bet!

Thank you. How big is your house? I've been advised that it could cost up to £10k to rewire and £2k to replace the fusebox! Obviously that is based on assumptions as I haven't had anyone actually come and have a look yet.


We are going to live with it all for a few months before making any decisions. The most frequent advice we have had is to not rush into anything so I will have chance to get lots of quotes and really work out what is best.


I'm so excited

moneyistooshorttomention

Personally - I've spent more than that - darn it:( - and the house isn't finished yet. But my money is - for the time being - whilst I save up some more.

I made THE absolute top priorities to get the central heating and electrics sorted out. That way - the house would at least be safe and warm and have enough power points.

The bathroom was next priority - as so outdated/awful/unsafe and it doesn't exactly make you feel very clean after having tried to clean yourself in a grotty bathroom.

Then I saw what money was left and have basically worked through the house one room at a time and done each room totally. Unfortunately, my new kitchen has had to be put on the Waiting List (as I ran out of money at that point) - but it just about suffices whilst I wait to save up enough for it. I know the kitchen was outdated already at the time it was put there brand new by a previous owner - but its inadequate. I've just had to "cobble it together" a bit with a few cheap improvements for the time being to make it work.

eclipse2015

Thank you. How big is your house? I've been advised that it could cost up to £10k to rewire and £2k to replace the fusebox! Obviously that is based on assumptions as I haven't had anyone actually come and have a look yet.


We are going to live with it all for a few months before making any decisions. The most frequent advice we have had is to not rush into anything so I will have chance to get lots of quotes and really work out what is best.


I'm so excited

We are in a detached 3 bed, the quote doesn't include anything kitchen related though as we are getting a new kitchen at some point, so that will be extra. It does include adding more power and lighting outside though. We thought the electrician would come in a lot higher too, so you might be pleasantly surprised! The Electrician we are using was recommended to us from my Husband's friend who is a builder.

Yes I definitely recommend living there first for a bit, especially in relation to sockets and light switches. In our house all the doors open the wrong way round (old fashioned privacy reasons apparently), but it's only taken till now (3 weeks in) to annoy us, so we need to get all light switches moved to the other side of the door and swap all the doors around.

It is all very exciting!! Take your time definitely!

Le_Kirk

1. I wouldn't live in it as it is for too long, you will suddenly find time has flown by and 2 years down the line you are still living in it as it is !!
2. Five bedrooms and one bathroom, I think I would be looking at an en-suite or another bathroom. Depends on how many bedrooms will be occupied though!
3. Wiring
4. Replace storage radiators with wet radiators. Any possibility of having Natural Gas as opposed to LPG?

Ozzuk

If you are doing the electrics then you might want to also think about media/network services. Cat 5, power for cabinets, clever lighting etc.

Not sure how much you are into home automation/AV but now is the time!

I just moved house, my priority was cinema room, but I did also do the boiler in parallel.

ccskitten

We'd love an ensuite. Unfortunately all of the bedrooms will be occupied for at least the next 8 years. We are going to look at converting the downstairs loo into a wet room though.

I've never heard of natural gas. I'll look into it thank you.

Ozzuk - unfortunately, not being the technical kind I have no idea what you are referring to. We are a one tv household so I don't think it's surprising

Ectophile

ccskitten wrote: »

I've never heard of natural gas. I'll look into it thank you.

Natural gas is just ordinary mains gas. The stuff that comes in from a pipe under the road. If you don't already have it (and nobody in their right minds would use LPG if they had a mains gas supply), then you would need to see how much it would cost to lay in - if it's possible at all.

Davesnave

Everyone has different priorities, as you can see already!

However electrics and plumbing/heating/drainage come first because they are so disruptive.

In much of the country, a complete rewire will not be more than £6k on that size of house, but obviously, it depends on the complexity. I've done it for considerably less using an electrician's spare time between emergencies and commercial work, but that's not so convenient, unless you are doing real back to basics renovating.

A kitchen for a house of that size could blow the rest of your budget, and then some! I notice you're intending to move yours to the opposite end of the house from the utility. We've just gone to considerable lengths to bring these two rooms close together, but it's a personal thing, dependent on the way you organise domestic activities/storage.

A log burner is a trendy thing at the moment. If you can get mains gas, the alternatives are cleaner and easier by far. Yes, I've had both.

If there's no gas and you want a wood stove, don't buy a cheap Chinese import and remember that the flue may cost more than the fire itself. Finally, think about log storage/delivery. You won't use the fire much if your logs are always wet and you won't want to pay the price of kiln-dried. Mine are always 2 years seasoned and dry stored, because I tried the ones outlets sell in small quantities and decided they were definitely for unfit for purpose.