House renovation, in what order?

gzoom

llizz88 said:

We are about to purchase and embark on the renovation of a wonderful property. We feel extremely lucky to be in this position  

We are intending on living in our MIL's caravan on the driveway of said property whilst we have things going on, so having some rooms 'done first' isn't really an issue. 

Having done small projects in the past we have never taken on anything this big before... and needless to say our excitement is mixed with anxiety too. 

Our question really, is for a house that needs a full Reno' what order is recommended to carry out tasks? 

It will need (that we know of):
Removal of one internal wall
Soffits, facias, guttering 
Windows and doors
Rewiring
Damp proofing
Plastering (not sure to what extent yet)
Internal doors

New bathroom 
New kitchen
New carpets/flooring
Paint etc
and we'd also like a log burner installing... 

Please help us to understand a sensible order to do these things in... I realise tradies can hold things up and getting every thing to align may not be possible but just for transparency I'm asking for advice in an 'ideal' world... 

That's a fair amount of work.

Is the plan you project manage the whole thing, so source each trades your selves etc? You could just find a local builder who will have a team of contractors for most those jobs, get the building done to essentially first fix and you than sort out decorating.

Our log burner install was something our builder couldn't do, so we had to source a HTAS approved installer. The install held up finishing the ensuite by about 4 weeks, and wasn't cheap, but the end result 100% worth it 

FreeBear

Albermarle said:

llizz88 said:

We actually need clarity on this, there is a brand spanking new boiler installed but we've been unable to clarify whether this has also had any alteration to the heating system... 

Why do you ask? 

Are we being naive? 

Sorry this reply is all over - I'm new to this forum

Albermarle said:

Are you not doing anything with the central heating/hot water. Is that all OK?

The question was in case the heating system/boiler/radiators/hot water systems were on their last legs, it would be a good time to replace them and fit this in to your timetable.

It wouldn't hurt to run through the calculations using a 50°C flow temperature rather than the traditional (and out of date) 70°C. With a shiny new boiler, you would be able to run it further in to condensing mode and gain a little more efficiency. Lower flow temperatures have the additional benefits of less corrosion & scale which improves long term reliability. And if you use a 40°C flow temperature (assuming the pipework is of a suitable size), you'd be in a much better position for the day when you need to replace the boiler with a heat pump.

When I replaced my boiler a couple of years ago, I took the opportunity to fit larger radiators all round. Much of the time, the flow temperature is around 40-50°C. Only on the coldest of days or when I need to get the temperature up quickly does the flow temp get turned up to 60°C.

Bigphil1474

OP, as others have said, messy stuff first, then go from that. Don't assume everything needs doing though. Our old house had wiring that was at least 50 years old when we sold it, but the consumer unit was new ish and the electrician was happy with it all. 

Just a note on the wood burner - we have one in our newer house that was in when we bought it and relatively new. Check with your local council what's allowed where you live. We'll use it (sometimes) because it's there, but they aren't great. They do give a room a warm cosy feel but they aren't particularly efficient, you need to buy quite expensive wood to burn on it (and store the wood), and not to mention cleaning it and getting your chimney swept (recommended once a year). If it wasn't already there, I don't think we would fit one. They also mess the central heating up. Put the thermostat in the same room and the rest of the house is freezing, put it elsewhere and the living room ends up like a sauna. We could turn the radiators down in that room, but even in winter we didn't have a fire every day, so faff faff faff. Just a lot of faff for a cosy flame now and then IMO.