Full property refurbishment- what order?

carolinosourus

Hi all,

I recently bought my first property (to live in) and I'm fortunate that I can stay elsewhere and should have enough of a budget to get everything done before I move in. This is the first time I've had to plan anything like this before and was wondering on the order that I should plan to get things done in.

ETA: It's a ground floor, leasehold flat dating from 1930s but has been modernised. 2 bedrooms, separate kitchen.

1. Bathroom refit (inlc new suite, tiling and flooring-lino, new extractor fan and lighting)
2. Kitchen refit (inl new units, tiling, flooring, painting, appliances install etc)
3. New internal doors
4. New carpet to bedrooms
5. New flooring in lounge
6. Painting/decorating throughout
7. Fitted wardrobes in bedroom (will be using Pax from Ikea and getting joiner in to make them look like built in)

I'm aware that this isn't going to be as straightforward as I'd like but I'd appreciate some input re what I should get done in what order to prevent issues arising further down the line.

Many thanks in advance!

TELLIT01

Depending on the age of the property you may want to get the electrics checked out and consider rewiring if necessary. That is definitely a job you don't want to have to try once you are living there.

carolinosourus

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Depending on the age of the property you may want to get the electrics checked out and consider rewiring if necessary. That is definitely a job you don't want to have to try once you are living there.

Thanks, that's helpful. I've already booked in a boiler service and an electrical check- I'm hoping not to have to rewire but yes getting that out of the way first if necessary would be the plan!

keith969

Also you might want to check the roof condition, check the windows, check for any damp.

dunroving

I'd second the idea of checking the electrics first, because rewiring can lead to extensive plaster damage, depending on whether you want new sockets, etc.

Similarly, if you plan to redecorate, including stripping wallpaper, I'd do the stripping early also, in case the plaster underneath is in bad condition. Sometimes, the wallpaper is the only thing holding the plaster on! Better to do plastering before you have lovely carpets installed.

Also, do upstairs big jobs before downstairs big jobs. I got most of my last house replastered in phases, because (a) I couldn't afford to do it in one go, and (b) I was working 60-80 hrs/week, and had a dog, so needed to keep at least some of the rooms available to live in (and store furniture) while the plastering was going on.

I stupidly decided to get the lounge and hallway done first (because I was more concerned about getting the living space sorted). However, when the upstairs was done a year later, this involved lots of traipsing up and down the stairs, across the hallway, with buckets of water, plaster, etc. It would have been better to do the areas furthest from the front door first (a bit analogous to painting a floor from the furthest spot first, and working towards the door).

carolinosourus

keith969 wrote: »

Also you might want to check the roof condition, check the windows, check for any damp.

Thanks, it's a groundfloor leasehold flat which had a new damp course put in just before I bought it. The windows will need replacing soon but will be done as the whole building and there's a maintainence programme ongoing at the moment which includes a bit of work on the roof.

carolinosourus

dunroving wrote: »

I'd second the idea of checking the electrics first, because rewiring can lead to extensive plaster damage, depending on whether you want new sockets, etc.

Similarly, if you plan to redecorate, including stripping wallpaper, I'd do the stripping early also, in case the plaster underneath is in bad condition. Sometimes, the wallpaper is the only thing holding the plaster on! Better to do plastering before you have lovely carpets installed.

Also, do upstairs big jobs before downstairs big jobs. I got most of my last house replastered in phases, because (a) I couldn't afford to do it in one go, and (b) I was working 60-80 hrs/week, and had a dog, so needed to keep at least some of the rooms available to live in (and store furniture) while the plastering was going on.

I stupidly decided to get the lounge and hallway done first (because I was more concerned about getting the living space sorted). However, when the upstairs was done a year later, this involved lots of traipsing up and down the stairs, across the hallway, with buckets of water, plaster, etc. It would have been better to do the areas furthest from the front door first (a bit analogous to painting a floor from the furthest spot first, and working towards the door).

All really good points, thank you! Looks like flooring and carpets are the last thing to do.

Fire_Fox

Being a leasehold flat could affect your schedule of works. You may need consent of the freeholder or their agent and/ or to deal with Building Control for ventilation ductwork, plumbing pipework, new doors, new cabling coming into your flat (landline/ internet).

Sounds like the building has a decent freeholder/ managing agent. :cool:

Could the internal doors be dipped in chemicals to strip back rather than replaced?

TELLIT01

Replacing the windows will cause damage to the plaster and decoration around the window no matter how careful the workmen are. If you can put off decorating until the windows have been replaced you can avoid doing the job twice.

ANDY597

Great advice so far.

Your not going to make a cake without breaking eggs so don't be scared to rip out the kitchen and bathroom and leave two blanks canvasses.

As others have advised looking at the electics and windows will save you time effort and money doing it now.

So in order
Wiring, windows and pluming
Plaster work
Kitchen and bathroom
Painting,. Doors and wardrobes (painting and doors can be done together depending on paint finishes around skirting finishes etc?

Ergo if your having painted skirting they go on first so you can paint them. Or if your having natural wood you'd maybe want to paint first so when the nice wood went it wasn't getting paint on it.

Floor coverings
Furniture

noah1234

I was in the same situation 2 years ago and I got really good answers

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5666558/house-refurbishment-in-stages-job-prioritising-help-needed