House Renovations- How to Get Started
It has now been 7 months since we moved to our beautiful but tired out Victorian terrace and some of the house renovations seem like a world away. Taking on the ‘doer upper’ needs plenty of research and prioritising. Here is how we got started with our house renovations.
Plan
Getting a good quality survey and some expert advice was really reassuring for us as pretty clueless non trades people. We found having a builder (or two!) to the house during the sale process really helpful, to assess the work and also give us a timeline for the works. This allowed us to get a really good idea of costings and avoid making unnecessary and expensive errors in the order of works. Having advice from a well qualified and trusted electrician, gas engineer and builder is worth its weigh in gold!
Prioritise
You can’t do everything at once and if you are not using a project manager you will need to prioritise the most important work first. Common sense says that the messy work needs to come first. You house crucially needs to be made safe, weatherproof and structurally sound. For us this meant getting a rewire, new boiler and central heating system, and addressing the rotten timber windows. When the ‘behind the scenes’ work is done, you can then start to make the house look fabulous!
Windows and doors
We decided to arrange the installing of new windows and doors first and foremost to make sure that the house was safe and secure. This also made a huge difference to the warmth of the rooms. It made a good start towards the rooms looking a while lot better too. We went for double glazed UPVC windows for their longevity and warmth. There are some beautiful sash designs to choose from.
Booking work
We ensured that we got a few quotes for each element of work so that we could compare them. We then booked the works in well in advance. This meant that we had the time to wait for the professional we really wanted to do the job. This worked well for us and ensured that we felt safe in the hands of the people working in our home. You will be spending quite a lot of time with these people while they are with you if you are living in your renovation so make sure you get the right ones.
Take your time
Having talked about booking well in advance, it is important to take your time and not rush into getting things done quickly just to get it over with. It was important for us to have some breaks in having work completed so that we could have some peace and a break from the disruption and mess! We then felt refreshed and ready to get going again.
Take loads of photos
It is really easy to forget what the house looked like and just how much hard work has gone into your improvements. To keep all of those memories, take lots and lots of photos and short films. This is great way to remember the before and enjoy the after! Perhaps make a photobook of the original rooms and the finished product? This is a lovely way to compare and celebrate all of your achievements.