Help me spend my 25k on Home improvements.

magnolia65

We have never down this before and I would very much appreciate any advice and tips on do's and don't of HI (Home improvements)

We are looking into adding all this....

New windows (16 including bay/patio and amount depends on getting conservatory so that could be less)
Back door/front door/door into garage (Don't like UPVC front doors though)
Conservatory (6m by 3m lean to)
Kitchen and utility room
Cloakroom (downstairs loo
Main bathroom
Ensuite
Drive relaid
Rear garden patio if we afford to go for the conservatory out of this amount of money.

stepbar

I wouldn't go for a conservatory - they can actually reduce the value of your house. In the summer they're too hot, in the winter, too cold. In the rain you can't hear diddly squat. At night they creak. In the morning they leak.

The only alternative is a proper 'sunroom', ie a permanent walled/roofed solid structure. Much more expensive, but spend £x on a sunroom, and it will easily add 2 x £x to your house.

J_ROBBO

you dont say how old your house is.Do you need a new boiler,cavity wall insulation and is your loft fully lagged.I would look at all these things first and then spend the rest on all the new trimmings.That way you will save tons in savings on all your bills.

tomsolomon

I agree with stepbar. Idealy if you have that sort of money to spend on Home Improvements you wanna be creating more living space, with either an extension over the garage or a loft conversion. Unless of cause your glazing is in desperate need of replacing.
An extension or loft conversion will give you loads more room in your home and add greatly to the value of your property, also somewhere to hide from the kids.
Things like glazing, kitchens, bathrooms, decorating, insulation can all be done for £5000 or loads less if you do them yourself. If you have a large amount of cash and are looking for bang for bucks, you cant go far wrong by adding another room to your home....

HugoSP

A lot depends on what you can do yourself.

By all means ask the likes of Anglian or Everest to quote if you want a good laugh. However the keenest prices will be from local tradesmen with good reputations.

With the exception of UPVC windows and conservatories etc I would look for sole traders or small outfits with low staff turnover, who come recommended from people that know a good job from a bad one. The little old lady 2 doors up may not be as savvy as the couple at the end of the road who ask tradesmen loads of questions. Large Building companies with high staff turnover often have "staff issues" meaning some cowboy's talked himself into a job and the customers are suffering as a result. Often they will have contractors working for them, who may be good or terrible.

When it comes to kitchens and bathrooms, the likes of B and Q will quote for fitting, but all they do is sub it out to a contractor. The contractor basically gets what he would charge you, the extra that you pay for B and Q organising it lines their pockets.

I often fit bathrooms for people that they have bought from B and Q and the like. I charge less than B and Q would, and I involve the client as much as possible, even down to how they want the tiles lined up with the bath taps.

As far as your doors are concerned, go to a reputable joiner. Don't be tempted into going for a DIY chain door - you need something from a quality manufacturer like Jeldwen, available from most builders merchants. They cost quite a bit more than the DIY chains but they don't give problems. Go for hardwood, not softwood, even if it is free!

The driveway, I assume you're talking asphalt, is a specialist contractor's job. Recommendations are key here. It seems so easy to get it wrong. Avoid cash in hand operators, especially here. you need to know that they'll come and redo it if there are problems, so a written guarantee is essential here.

Get written quotes, detailing exactly what is to be done, down to the areas to be tiled. This protect both parties. For example, when I quote to fit a bathroom I stipulate that minor alterations to plumbing to accept the new suite (assuming it's going in the same place as the old) is included. However if I find that I have to carry out replacement or major repair to plumbing to complete the job then this will form the basis for an additional estimate. For example, on removing one basin from a house I found that it had been very badly plumbed into an old and damaged soil pipe and that waste water was soaking the concrete floor. I had to dig/break the concrete out from around the damaged pipe, repair the pipe, reinstate the damp proofing and make good the voids around the new pipework. This added an extra day to my time and the customer was happyto pay the extra for it.

As far as windows and conservatories are concerned, look for FENSA registered companies. There are a few that operate that are not FENSA registered but they have to liaise with the BCOs at your local council, and guantees may not be so good. Having said that friends of ours used a non FENSA registered company and they did a very good job!

To keep cost down think and research carfully the trades you actually need. For example, you DON'T need a plumber to fit a bathroom. Get a bathrom fitter or good allrounder to do this. You can get him to do the tiling, or he may sub to a professional tiler, or you can get a tiler in after he has finished. Plumbers can come in a twice the cost of a fitter/handyman, which is why I get loads of work in this area .

vansboy

Hugo knows what he's on about!!

Here's my thoughts on the things you listed...

New windows (16 including bay/patio and amount depends on getting conservatory so that could be less)
Sounds like you have a nice house with some 'character', can the windows be reconditioned. or are they REALLY knackered? It'd look much nicer with original features!

Back door/front door/door into garage (Don't like UPVC front doors though)
Check www.premdor.co.uk loads options there - timber windows, too!

Conservatory (6m by 3m lean to)
Conservatories - not always a good idea, as mentioned.

Kitchen and utility room
New kitchen, great, but don't reduce it's size too much to make a seperate utility area!

Cloakroom (downstairs loo
Good idea.

Main bathroom
Ensuite
As long as you don't loose too much space, again!

Drive relaid
Best & cheapest way, if it's reasonably firm, is a lorry load if 20mm gravel. Just rake it over to level it & do this as & when you need to. £80 well spent. & better than block paving, to allow the rainwater to go where it should!

Rear garden patio if we afford to go for the conservatory out of this amount of money.
Don't spend a fortune on expensive blocks/slabs, as this is another personal thing. You can make it look good for not as much as you might think!


VB

tomsolomon

Hold on a minute vansboy. If block paving is layed correctly with aco channels, any surface water should be safely diverted away without any problems. You get what you pay for.
Only trouble is, after a few years you have to weed the bloody thing.

amandada

tomsolomon wrote: »

Hold on a minute vansboy. If block paving is layed correctly with aco channels, any surface water should be safely diverted away without any problems. You get what you pay for.
Only trouble is, after a few years you have to weed the bloody thing.

pathclear

magnolia65

Thank you very much for all the replies.

Made me realise I didn't give enough info about the house in the first post I made

The house is a 4 bed detached and was built in 1985 with a georgian theme. It already has a cloakroom and utility so we aren't adding them just replacing all of what is there.

The windows have the cross bars in them and as we are the last in the close to get new windows we will have to follow suit and put the bars in too so it won't look odd next to the rest. They are also soft wood windows and are rotting to bits....OH has been painting and repairing for the last few years to try to keep them looking less embarrassing. Enough is enough though and they are no longer savable.

We have considered extension rather than conservatory but from what I can gather it will be more expensive and the hassle with all the planning etc is putting us off. I also like conservatory as we enjoy being in the garden. the area we are placing it is north/north east facing so by 2pm the sun is off it. Rain doesn't really bother us as we had one in the old house and quite enjoyed sitting out there on a rainy day and hearing it pitter patter ...maybe we're strange in that to some

HugoSP...Thank you, I honestly didn't realise about the fitting of the bathrooms and automatically thought it would be a plumber I would be going for...shows how naive we are to this Your post is extremely helpful.

JROBBO...Thanks, You just reminded me about the boiler...it is as old as the house and I really don't think we will get another 20 years out of it...It's on the list now

As for the drive and patio my best friend works for Marshalls...hoping she will be able to help us out on that one.

Looking for as much discounts as I can get.

Any other ideas will be much appreciated.

Canucklehead

Good afternoon: I don't have recommendations about how you spend your cash just a bit of advice.

Be confident that the tradespersons you engage are competent and legally entitled to complete and self-certify the relevant works in your home
eg. CORGI engineer to install central heating/gas hobs/gas fires ...find one at www.trustcorgi.com
Plumber with qualifications you can check , eg. www.iphe.org.uk , and is familar with water byelaws and Part P Building Regulations (Electrical Safety- Special Locations i.e kitchens and bathroom)
Electrician with professional registration/qualifications

For any works in your home, always go with personal recommendations from sources you trust..even better check out the tradesperson's work if possible.For anyone considering building renovations/refurbishment
I recommend a visit to the Virtual House Guide at the Planning Portal website...a fantastic resource! http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/hhg/houseguide.html

Good luck with your project.

HTH

Canucklehead