"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

So after lurking on other people's diaries for the last few years it's time to start my own.

I'd almost paid off my mortgage 4 years ago when I decided to move to somewhere a lot bigger and a lot more expensive. It was also a project. So for the last few years there have been no overpayments as everything has gone into savings for the next bit of work on the house.

I remortgaged in August, reducing my payments by £200/month.

I'm now preparing for the final (I hope!) phase of the renovation work, so while avoiding getting up and ready for work this morning I thought I'd check the overpayment calculator. If I increase my payments to what they were previously this will knock over 8 years off my mortgage.

I'm not ready to start overpaying yet. I need to finish the essential work and build up some savings, but I hope that early next year I'll be in a position to start reducing my liabilities.

So I thought I'd start a diary now, while I'm motivated, to record my progress in getting to the point of overpaying...

Betterthanever

knocking off 8 years will be a fantastic achievement. I look forward to following your journey!

smallholdingsister

Hi Greenbee! Woman who never makes a mistake never makes anything!

greenbee

So thinking about progress so far. In 4 years I have (not all personally, mostly by paying other people):

• Ripped out the stinky carpets and disgusting kitchen.
• Taken down and logged 5 huge trees
• Build the world's biggest log store...
• Installed a new boiler (previous one was leaking oil and condemned) in the garage, new hot water tank (in cupboard on landing, freeing up airing cupboard in bathroom), new radiators downstairs and new bunded oil tank.
• New consumer unit, and additional sockets in the office
• Replaced 17 windows with new hardwood windows
• Knocked through from dining room to kitchen
• Put side door in garage
• Redone downstairs loo (with new loo & basin)
• Redone the lead on the roof
• Bird-proofed (mostly) the roof
• Put a cowl on the unused boiler chimney and an aspirator on the one I do use as it doesn't draw well
• Removed all the disgusting insulation and dead mice and mouse poo from the attic and insulated it properly
• Ripped out the 'champagne' coloured bathroom (no shower) and put in a lovely new bathroom
• Replaced rotting garage doors
• Painted all external woodwork
• Replaced (and in some cases moved) radiators in all bedrooms, added sockets, insulated floors, put floorboards back down/replaced where damaged, filled HUGE amounts of holes/cracks in walls and redecorated including sanding and painting floors
• Changed doorhandles on upstairs doors for doorknobs
• Redone ensuite and added shower over bath (when I moved in there was NO shower)
• Moved & replaced staircase and enlarged landing
• Garage electrics
• Put up trellis around sewage treatment system and built lots of pergolas/arches to break up garden. Dug new beds and started planting
• Cat5 cabling as I'm fed up with flaky wifi when working

So quite a lot really. I try not to think about how much it has cost...

greenbee

Builders have been back over the last week or so doing snagging - filling the hole in the airing cupboard floor, refixing curtain poles & window catches, filling holes, repainting garage doors (apprentice failed to deal with the knotting properly when they went in) and have also removed the unwanted TV aerial from the chimney.

I need to chase up a quote for sorting out the chimney and installing the woodstove, and extract a cost for the flooring and a start date for the next phase from the builders.

This round is to do downstairs - chase in all the wires hanging from the ceilings, so all the filling (holes in ceilings from taking up/putting down floorboards), screed the floors as they're not level, decorate, put down flooring. Hopefully they'll get at least half the house down before Christmas. It would be nice to have the kitchen & utility done as far as we can too - so that when I finally get a kitchen it can be installed quickly. But we'll see how it goes!

greenbee

I now have someone booked to come and look at the chimney and quote for sorting it out and installing a stove.

I've been very busy at work, so haven't made much progress on anything else, including chasing the builders for a date.

Slinky

And your attraction to this property in the first place was.............. :-)

greenbee

The potential, clearly

Slinky

Sounds like it would have been easier starting from scratch!

smallholdingsister

You wouldn't have the character if you started from scratch.

greenbee

I swear I replied to this yesterday, but lots of IT things went wrong so I guess the post went into the ether!

Next house will either be a brand new eco build or a major eco-renovation. I want solar PV & thermal, airsource heat, rainwater harvesting, grey water recycling, passive house standards, smart home technology - and importantly to know that there are minimal running costs.

Today I've moved all the delicate antique bits of glass from the corner cabinet in the dining room to various shelves in my bathroom and bedroom. There's still a lot of china and glass to pack up in the dining room, but that's the bulk of the stuff I'd worry about.

6 shot glasses are in the pile for the CS along with 5 non-matching bowls and 6 random plates.

As it's not very nice outside (or at least, not nice enough for me to feel like going outside and doing the deadheading I really do need to do...) I'm going to attempt to get more stuff moved upstairs, so that it's only the things that need packing away that will have to be done at the last minute. I don't yet have a start date, so I'm reluctant to put too much away when it'll mean living in empty rooms for longer than necessary. I find them depressing.