FTB - Flat renovation - Where to start?

Indigo_and_Violet

Hello,
After many years of squirrelling away the pennies and a looooooong sale process we finally exchanged on our first home - a 2 bed flat - last week. We complete on 8th March. The flat is structurally sound but cosmetically ugly (and pretty stinky) so we're working on the assumption we need to rip everything out and start from scratch. The problem is we have no idea where to start!
Neither of our parents own their homes and our friends that have bought are generally in new builds so haven't had to do much. My boyfriend is quite handy, I am a DIY disaster. We don't really know what order to do things in, what it's worth DIY-ing vs paying a trade, where is the best place to start - any of it. Any recommendations of books, blogs, forum threads (I tried to search and couldn't find much) would be gratefully received.
We are fortunate to have kept a bit of money back so we have a budget of about £35,000 (to include kitchen, bathroom and decorating) and we have a couple of weeks of overlap between completion and the end of our tenancy in a nearby flat. Especially given covid, we'd like to make the most of that time to do big jobs before we move in. I have time and I'm willing to learn, but I'm very much starting at novice level. 
Any recommendations gratefully received. 
I&V

SameOldRoundabout

It really depends what you mean by start from scratch! If I could, I’d do any jobs like rewiring, new plumbing or heating etc before move in. Have a solid plan of where you need sockets and lights if you’re doing that. Think about installing USB sockets and smart switches etc in the initial works, save you replacing later.

 My husband is very very handy indeed, I’m useless. He can do all the trade jobs, but If that weren’t the case I’d always employ electricians, plumbers and plasterers as outside trades, but decorating, carpet laying etc is easy after a YouTube. If you’re replacing your kitchen you may need to have a design prior to rewiring, or leave the kitchen for rewiring later when you do it. 

Once any rewiring etc is done in a room of your choice, do that one room while work continues elsewhere. You need somewhere you can relax and sleep at least. Get it plastered, painted and new carpet down. Then move room by room. I have started at the top and come down, so bedrooms and bathrooms first as the rest is liveable, but that’s personal choice. 

The one thing I have learned about renovating, is that it is MESSY. And slow. And harder and more expensive than you think. But hang on in there through the dust and dirt and misery, and it’ll be worth it in the end. 

joe90mitch

Hiya,

Me and my partner moved into our first home just before Christmas - so about 8 weeks ago. We've been decorating in all our spare time and doing a few obbjobs, both were novices before and we've had a lot of fun and learnt a lot. Hope some of the below is useful. Make sure to enjoy it and if it all starts to become a bit all-consuming then take a rest day here and there. We've found at times that with lockdown going on (and not doing usual things like seeing friends/family, going out for meals/pubs, etc) it could become a bit intense going a million miles an hour.

Are you able to start with some smaller jobs to get into the swing of things? E.g. painting some walls (including filling holes, re-doing caulk along skirting boards etc) just to get into the swing of things? Or is it really a case of diving straight into big jobs?

There's a Collins "Complete DIY Manual" that my dad bought me, it's an absolute beast but seems great. Nice to have something physical to flick through and spark your imagination.

Little House on the Corner is a good blog - a couple who have bought a couple of "do-er uppers" and done everything themselves: https://www.littlehouseonthecorner.com/

On youtube, the following 3 channels post really good videos with general hints and tips for all sorts of DIY:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7x7wk8yeN2ZEJCo6BgP2ag
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HX5CxoGOt2q1uT7uQxLOw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbZdXox6mKHdcT2QdVT-goQ

FaceHead

You've already said where to start 'rip everything out and start from scratch'. So get a skip and rip everything out. A phenomenal amount of rubbish will come out. Doing all the rip out yourself will save on trades. 

Then, as a generic order: Electrics & plumbing, windows, plastering, paint,  second fix electrics and plumbing, joinery, flooring. 

All the advice above is solid. The first thing to think through is where the electrics and plumbing are going. Make a week by week plan of when you're doing, and when you need what trades in so you can start booking, and then you have deadlines to keep you moving. 

Indigo_and_Violet

SameOldRoundabout said:

I’d do any jobs like rewiring, new plumbing or heating etc before move in.

Hypothetically, how would one know whether that sort of thing needed doing? Even writing that, I suddenly feel sick that we ought to know already. The survey reported no issues with the electrics/boiler or plumbing and neither did the seller when asked. It's also a bit complicated because we're leasehold and so some major works either fall to the freeholder or can't be done without the freeholders permission. 'Rewiring' seems to mean a variety of things from completely removing and replacing all wiring in a house to inserting a single extra plug socket so I'm not sure where it fits in.

joe90mitch said:

Are you able to start with some smaller jobs to get into the swing of things? E.g. painting some walls (including filling holes, re-doing caulk along skirting boards etc) just to get into the swing of things?

Caulking a skirting board! That's a new word and a new job to add to the to-do list. We are hopeful that we can get someone in to do the kitchen/bathroom while we do the more straightforward remove, repaint and replace in the bedrooms. Thanks for the links!

FaceHead said:

You've already said where to start 'rip everything out and start from scratch'. So get a skip and rip everything out. A phenomenal amount of rubbish will come out. Doing all the rip out yourself will save on trades. 

What sort of tools would we need to do a rip out? We've got basic claw hammers, but is it worth buying/renting something more substantial?

Doozergirl

Have you got a link to this flat?  It might give us an idea of what needs doing.  

What type of survey did you have?  Surveyors aren't qualified to comment on gas and electrical installations so there's a bog standard clause in surveys telling you to hire your own gas and electrical reports.  You might want to do those when you get the keys.  Do think about plug sockets and where you will want them because we have so much more gadgetry these days.    We've got a plug socket just behind and above the sofa to charge phones and laptops, even!  

Indigo_and_Violet

Indigo_and_Violet said:

SameOldRoundabout said:

I’d do any jobs like rewiring, new plumbing or heating etc before move in.

Hypothetically, how would one know whether that sort of thing needed doing? Even writing that, I suddenly feel sick that we ought to know already. The survey reported no issues with the electrics/boiler or plumbing and neither did the seller when asked. It's also a bit complicated because we're leasehold and so some major works either fall to the freeholder or can't be done without the freeholders permission. 'Rewiring' seems to mean a variety of things from completely removing and replacing all wiring in a house to inserting a single extra plug socket so I'm not sure where it fits in.

Good news - I've just double checked the electrical safety certificate. We have a couple of C3s, which seem to be 'you should think about fixing this but it's not urgent or dangerous'. So nothing major needed with the wiring, but how do we decide whether or not to do them?

theoretica

How old is the property?  An electrical safety check would let you know if anything needs changing.

What fuel will you want for the cooker and what is there already (and if electric do you want induction hobs, because that can need thicker wires and consumer unit taking it into account). Will you be adding or removing electric showers, kitchen or bathroom extractor fans, toothbrush/shaving sockets, lighted mirrors?  Some things, like the lighted mirrors, will probably wait until you get onto doing the rest of the bathroom, but if you are having other electrics done good to know they are in the plan and make sure they would be easy to add.

Indigo_and_Violet

I'm too new to post links but the Rightmove number is 95514944. Yes, London property prices are insane and we are incredibly lucky to be in this position.

Built 1960s ish. The photos look okay, but we know things like carpets will need replacing because of the smell. We have electrical and gas safety certificates and both say nothing dangerous. Electrical recommends updating the fuse box and fixing some colour coding but non-urgent. We had a home buyers report. There were some external issues with render cracks which we've asked the management company to look at. There is an extension at the back with a flat roof they couldn't view but seller reports no issues (although fair to say seller probably not on top of routine maintenance). 
So we think a rough work plan would be:

Professional stream:
1 - Kitchen. We want gas hobs. My boyfriend fortunately has opinions on kitchens so I'm leaving design choices to him. £12kish? Two weeks? Try and book to start week we move in (allow a few days to gut old kitchen). 
2 - Bathroom. This is probably in worse state than the kitchen (damp found, rubbish sealant) but we're less fussed about it. We need to decide whether we want to keep the bath or put in a nicer shower. Not fussed about things like lighted mirrors. £5kish? Two weeks? Not sure whether to do with kitchen or afterwards. Not sure how much we can remove without causing damage. 

Us stream:
1 - Remove carpets from both bedrooms. See what floor is like underneath.
2 - Fit dry lining insulation (google suggests manageable). Paint in neutral colours, fix skirting etc.
3 - Arrange replacement flooring, curtains etc. £4kish, excluding furniture? That leaves us with some slush for hidden surprises. 

Unknowns: Insulation. No-one seemed able to tell us whether our walls were insulated. Our council does grants for cavity wall and floor insulation regardless of property value. We've filled in an application form but they can't come to assess until we've got moved in. If the walls do need insulating then we'd need freeholders permission to proceed. One window identified as dodgy, may need replacing but that also needs to go through freeholder. Not sure whether to get someone to speculatively look at the roof or assume okay until bad things happen? Plumbing - doesn't really seem to be mentioned in any of the surveys/reports. 

Longer term: Consider opening up patio door end a bit more, install bifold doors. Fit shed as a proper garden room. Neither included in initial budget. 
Bit I am really looking forward to: building loads of raised beds and a proper herb garden! Indoors is his domain, outdoors is mine.

Thanks everyone for your input so far. Once we get an idea of each individual job that needs doing we can google how to do each step, it's more just making sure we don't miss out a step. 

SameOldRoundabout

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/95514944#/

This one? I don’t think this looks at all like something you need to rip apart and start again with! Looks like a fairly basic new bathroom, kitchen and decor job. The rads look a little old. You may want to replace them with some more efficient new ones with better controls, but probably don’t NEED to. If the electrics are sound you can just see about adding in any extra sockets that you may like and make good before decorating. 

Up your kitchen budget to £15k. Up your bathroom budget to £7k. That’s probably a decent cost estimate. When you do electrics bear in mind a lot of modern ovens should be hard wired in using larger cable, so again, make sure you make those decisions before having the electrics altered and everything made good. 

Overall though it certainly doesn’t look like a massive project, but a good first step to get your renovation appetite up! 

SameOldRoundabout

Ps your kitchen will not be ready within a few weeks of moving in. You can’t finalise a design or get a technical measure done until you’re in. Then you have to wait for the gutting, the first fix electrics and plumbing, lead time for cabs and worktops etc. I would do the bathroom first while the kitchen design is in progress. You can start the ball rolling straight away but I wouldn’t start gutting until you have a fit date for your new kitchen!