If money were no object...

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

You really didn't need to, but I appreciate any additional publicity.

Wine storage in the bathroom, now a dungeon.... You are not the innocent young lady we all thought you were :rotfl:

dunroving

I'm really enjoying this thread. I took on a 1960s semi last summer with just 6 weeks to do it all up ready to move in. I did some wish list things like complete rewire - electric, satellite and Ethernet - but the rest was pretty much playing safe - plaster over the chasing, hang lining paper everywhere and paint neutral colours, plus new carpets upstairs as the current ones were minty. The idea was to do some more ambitious things next year, but then a big water leak in May has pushed the agenda a bit ...

What I'm currently planning to do within my budget:
New ground flooring everywhere - luxury vinyl
Remove some radiators and replace with slimline vertical rads to free up wall space.
Remove the unwieldy 60s gas living flame fire and marble surround, and replace with a slimline wall unit.
Replace kitchen, including full height fridge freezer. I had to chose between this and full height eye level oven unit, because of limited space. Mid-level kitchen, with all integral units (fridge freezer may still be freestanding, depending on budget).
Make entrance hallway a utility boot-room area, with built-in unit for boots, dog leads, raincoats, etc.
Hire a joiner to help with custom shelving solutions in the understairs cupboard, main bedroom and living room.

If money was no object, I would do/would have done the following:

Hire a consultant! I know what I like, and what I need, but get confuzzled by all the options. I really need someone who can figure out my lifestyle and tastes, and figure out how I can get that done. Such person would be expert in the various trades needed (an all-round builder-type-lifestyle-consultant)

Build a utility extension to house storage area, loft bed area for occasional use, workout area, drop-down TV, workbench/potting area, washer-dryer area.

Extend kitchen backwards by just a couple of metres, enough to make the kitchen/diner (which currently is barely big enough to be called a kitchen/diner) a really open living space with room to sit around, entertain, cook, etc.

Install a grey water system (someone else commented on this). It drives me nuts to think of the water waste just from running the tap until the water gets hot - why haven't we come up with a way to recirculate this into a holding tank, for use in the garden, or when cold water is needed next?

En suite in my bedroom (small thing, but huge for quality of life)

Wine rack so I don't have to dig in the plastic crate in the understairs cupboard!

Smart storage - learn tricks from boats, tiny house movement, etc. Vertical space is very wasted in most houses.

Convert all radiators to slimline vertical rads, and position in best location to free up wall space.

If I'd had the time last summer, I'd have got the whole house skimmed. Even with lining paper, flaws in the wall are visible.

Replace ugly PVC windows with feature windows - full-length, seating window, etc.

None of the above is really mind-blowingly expensive, just more than I can currently afford!

I think Number 1 piece of advice would be to pay someone to figure out what order to do things in. Part of this would be to start with all the infrastructure of services - installing new rewire, moving plumbing, etc. before the plastering and decoration.

snowcat75

dunroving wrote: »

I'm really enjoying this thread. I took on a 1960s semi last summer with just 6 weeks to do it all up ready to move in. I did some wish list things like complete rewire - electric, satellite and Ethernet - but the rest was pretty much playing safe - plaster over the chasing, hang lining paper everywhere and paint neutral colours, plus new carpets upstairs as the current ones were minty. The idea was to do some more ambitious things next year, but then a big water leak in May has pushed the agenda a bit ...

What I'm currently planning to do within my budget:
New ground flooring everywhere - luxury vinyl
Remove some radiators and replace with slimline vertical rads to free up wall space.
Remove the unwieldy 60s gas living flame fire and marble surround, and replace with a slimline wall unit.
Replace kitchen, including full height fridge freezer. I had to chose between this and full height eye level oven unit, because of limited space. Mid-level kitchen, with all integral units (fridge freezer may still be freestanding, depending on budget).
Make entrance hallway a utility boot-room area, with built-in unit for boots, dog leads, raincoats, etc.
Hire a joiner to help with custom shelving solutions in the understairs cupboard, main bedroom and living room.

If money was no object, I would do/would have done the following:

Hire a consultant! I know what I like, and what I need, but get confuzzled by all the options. I really need someone who can figure out my lifestyle and tastes, and figure out how I can get that done. Such person would be expert in the various trades needed (an all-round builder-type-lifestyle-consultant)

Build a utility extension to house storage area, loft bed area for occasional use, workout area, drop-down TV, workbench/potting area, washer-dryer area.

Extend kitchen backwards by just a couple of metres, enough to make the kitchen/diner (which currently is barely big enough to be called a kitchen/diner) a really open living space with room to sit around, entertain, cook, etc.

Install a grey water system (someone else commented on this). It drives me nuts to think of the water waste just from running the tap until the water gets hot - why haven't we come up with a way to recirculate this into a holding tank, for use in the garden, or when cold water is needed next?

En suite in my bedroom (small thing, but huge for quality of life)

Wine rack so I don't have to dig in the plastic crate in the understairs cupboard!

Smart storage - learn tricks from boats, tiny house movement, etc. Vertical space is very wasted in most houses.

Convert all radiators to slimline vertical rads, and position in best location to free up wall space.

If I'd had the time last summer, I'd have got the whole house skimmed. Even with lining paper, flaws in the wall are visible.

Replace ugly PVC windows with feature windows - full-length, seating window, etc.

None of the above is really mind-blowingly expensive, just more than I can currently afford!

I think Number 1 piece of advice would be to pay someone to figure out what order to do things in. Part of this would be to start with all the infrastructure of services - installing new rewire, moving plumbing, etc. before the plastering and decoration.

Grey waters is a bit more complex to use, however I do have a well and use all the roof water which runs via a separate circuit for everything but drinking, I do at some stage want to add a thermal store and heat from solar.

One thing iv learnt it is very possible to do most things on a shoestring if your good with your hands, there's virtually nothing that cant be converted or made to do the job you want..... Repurposing seams to be the fashionable buzz word iv been at it for decades, and finally iv become a trend setter:eek:

edgex

dunroving wrote: »

Install a grey water system (someone else commented on this). It drives me nuts to think of the water waste just from running the tap until the water gets hot - why haven't we come up with a way to recirculate this into a holding tank, for use in the garden, or when cold water is needed next?

Grey water re-use, like rainwater collection for domestic use, is rarely financially viable.
Water butts for garden water are worth doing.
If your doing a new build, or major refurb, collecting grey water from upstairs to use in a downstairs toilet could be worth doing, if there's somewhere to put a storage tank below the upstairs drains but above the downstairs toilet.
As soon as you start looking at pumps &/or treatment, it's simply not worth it.

coffeehound

Oh and one of them-there Japanese toilets that includes a botty washer-dryer.

BoxerfanUK

It's not strictly a money no object item, but my latest purchase was a FLIR One Pro thermal imaging camera (IOS) paid £250 brand new on ebay. It's absolutely brilliant if, like me, you have concealed central heating pipes running through studwork and dot and dab walls.

I recently removed a large double panel radiator and replaced with a double panel vertical rad to free up some wall space for our sofa but didn't know exactly where the plastic heating pipes in the wall were and was worried I might drill into one. No problem now with the FLIR Pro. Ok, £250 is a lot of money but cheap compared to putting a hole through a concealed heating pipe. Just plugs into the bottom of my phone and overlays a thermal image onto a photographic image, absolutely brill'.

DigForVictory

Re-roofing? Means scaffolding, and that means house insurance needs advising.If you can, get the insulation Right Up to current spec - may bite into ceiling space, but since you may as well have a full rewire as you go, shouldn't be a vital issue. (Absolutely right to move out while Works ongoing - electricity & water going on & off are difficult to live with.)

Same breath, full replumbing - you may not need new radiators or boiler but to minimise future nervous wear & tear & mess? Now.
Also, take advice on where to site radiators so you get the heat but still have wall space for decoration, screens etc Much of which is best achieved if you know how it's going to work or can afford to "say hang on - change of plan, can we do Y instead of X?" (I vote for planning harder myself.)

Where there are doors then there are possibly coats hats wellies & Mud. Plan for all of these & allow yourself at least one seat to help. [I'll not mention animals, keeping teenagers myself.]

Not just adequate sockets but frankly more than you would believe you could use. You can always have blanking plates with possibilities behind, and there is actually a case for three circuits in the kitchen - one for the cooker, two separate socket loops. This means an industrial circuit breaker box & whyever not? You can get triple the fuses for barely 25% extra cost, improved labelling & safety and space to expand & change should you need live in care with additional circuits.

How old are your white goods and how efficient are they? While buying cheap may save, it's definitely a short term saving. If money is seriously no object, look at the high end brands Miele, Siemens etc & dicker as if you are buying that grade of equipment, the dealer is in a position to negotiate a bit. John Lewis for the immediate 2 years peace of mind if you want.

Flooring is so personal I shall say only think about what you like & then take advice on how that works with crutches, dizzy spells, wheelchairs and everyday cleaning.

Do not rush into this. Plan like a military invasion, and have a wishlist of musts, nice to haves & can live without but part of the negotiation. I hate to say it but get advice on accessibility & future proofing - can your revitalised house cope if your knees go? Can it be similar enough, or obvious enough, to help you if you start to feel the marbles slipping a bit? There are good reasons for going smart and having voice/app machine controls, and then there is the security issue. (If you get a key safe built in now, people have time to get accustomed to it & even learn overlook it. Or go yet more unobtrusive.)

I see central vacuum cleaning is mooted - the Americans have this as standard on new builds whereas we seem to be going battery recharged & cordless, nationally. Which are you presently using & do you like it? How do you clean carpeting (as in shampoo)?

Wireless charging - intriguing but what if you need a pacemaker & will it have any effect? I'd rather plan out how the room will work & whack in the sockets to suit (as well as another 4 blanked but waiting In Case.)

Qooker taps are a possible wonderful if you are certain all visitors can figure how to avoid getting scalded. Including anyone partly sighted or gruesome young or yourself having a senior moment.

Can I recommend a Larder? A room given over to food storage, no window, on a North facing wall, lifted straight from the medieval logic but with better shelving, air circulation & and vermin proofing?

I love the dungeon. (Properly managed and rented out discreetly to the right market, that could solve paying for it all quite easily.) It might be the off road & unobtrusive carparking that's the clincher but high quality kit that cleans properly helps.

Greywater systems are coming more mainstream - see how you feel. Personally I reckon they have a place outside, but extra pipes inside are just trouble waiting to happen

All wet rooms/ bathrooms/ loos - 90% of the time the doors open inwards. If you have the space, think about having them open outwards as it makes getting in to help easier. [So I'm paranoid. I have living parents in their 80s & would consider almost everything if it made them happier & safer.]

Bathtubs - by all means have them - but get the handles fitted as you go & know where the hardpoints for hoists etc are. Having to be helped out of the bathtub by spouse & towrope isn't that funny even as a family joke.

You can't have too much storage - well, your next of kin might vehemently disagree. Be ruthlessly canny with what you have (consult boat designers for Maximum use of space) but once you have your home refurbished & equipped, operate a one-in-one-out policy and be strict on Christmas decorations etc.

All this fuss - do not overlook your garden shed. Are you allowed to run power to it, plumb it into the mains, include it in the house alarm? It doesn't matter here online if it's a playroom, a shed, a craft room, an oversized dolls house, a bike shed, an offsite dungeon, an external cellar for the vintages you really need to keep out of temptation, or a garden office - if you are having all this fuss, you may as well give the outbuildings an overhaul as well. Mops up the extraneous insulation, can be a useful place to try paint colours but bomb proof it with council & neighbours.

What, me, think about this? Sometimes!
Research is rarely as expensive as changing your mind.

scottishminnie

We completed a self build 23 years ago - we are now getting to a stage where it works for us . Partly due to the tin pot dictators in planning and partly down to being dictated to by our builder (we were young and naive) the house didn’t really fit what we needed.

Lots of people have covered the obvious - endless electrical sockets, security systems and cameras and whilst we’ve now installed pretty much everything we want now the “missing” things are-

Speakers in every room. I know you can have wireless speakers but I would love a central music system.

Air con - we have a second home in Florida and I get it would only be needed a handful of times a year here here but I love my air con.

Shower room near the utility room. - doesn’t matter how many en suites and bathrooms in a house it’s fab to have one near the back door where grubby, oily, stinky (hubby is a farmer and haulier so not always very clean or fragrant ) people can wash.

Don’t overlook the outside areas, we have multiple patios ( appreciate not everyone has the luxury of space) so you can follow the sun when entertaining and a fire pit with built in seating. Even on a cold night people will happily sit round (as long as it’s dry) and enjoy drinks and chat.

I’m sure there is much more I would like - in all honesty though these are the things I would actually use!

Oh, and floor the loft space - that way you can store endless amounts of junk up there!

Doozergirl

BoxerfanUK wrote: »

It's not strictly a money no object item, but my latest purchase was a FLIR One Pro thermal imaging camera (IOS) paid £250 brand new on ebay. It's absolutely brilliant if, like me, you have concealed central heating pipes running through studwork and dot and dab walls.

I recently removed a large double panel radiator and replaced with a double panel vertical rad to free up some wall space for our sofa but didn't know exactly where the plastic heating pipes in the wall were and was worried I might drill into one. No problem now with the FLIR Pro. Ok, £250 is a lot of money but cheap compared to putting a hole through a concealed heating pipe. Just plugs into the bottom of my phone and overlays a thermal image onto a photographic image, absolutely brill'.

We could borrow yours instead

ka7e

I second DigForVictory that"futureproofing" isn't all about the tech.

We're living longer and often downsizing as we get a bit older or children leave home. We've moved to a house that gives us roughly the same habitable space, though we've lost a basement and loft room that were basically only used for storage. We have lower ceilings and better insulation here, so hope fuel bills will be lower.


I require my new kitchen to have an eye-level oven and 50/50 fridge/freezer, pan drawers and pull-out storage to save my back and knees. I want non-slip and easily cleanable floors.

Doors to bathroom and downstairs wetroom will open outwards (I had an elderly relative who collapsed behind the door in a small bathroom and the delay in getting to her proved fatal). Downstairs loo and shower room - because urgency increases with age! And if we have to convert the lounge into a bedroom if mobility decreases, facilities are nearby. Bathroom upstairs is not big enough to accommodate a separate walk-in shower AND seating, so we are fitting a normal-sized bath with a small door in the side. OH will be able to walk into the bath and use it as a glorified shower without having to use a step and grab-rail and there will be room for a seat for him to use when drying and dressing. All measures to reduce the risk of falls.

A utility room with a deep pot sink - I miss my utility room so much - somewhere to wash dog's bowls and bedding, buckets and garden equipment and soak floorcloths. A deep sink will also double as a dog bath.

We will have a large kitchen-diner so my husband (who has dementia and can't remember if I'm in the house if I'm not visible) can see me when I'm preparing food or spuddling about in there - room for his comfy chair and TV, too.

Modern re-wiring means light switches are placed lower (accessible from a wheelchair if necessary) and plug sockets are higher. Small rooms need just as many plug sockets as larger ones so they can be used as an office or to accommodate visitors with their gadgets.

Level, accessible garden but I won't say "low-maintenance". I love seeing grass, trees and bees after years with a paved garden. Have a clover "lawn" instead of grass - mine has stayed lush and green without watering all summer, and the bees love the flowers. It doesn't need mowing as often as grass and is very forgiving if you have to dig out unwanted weeds. Shady spots to sit as well as suntraps. An outside power point for garden tools etc.