Can’t afford to decorate/maintain our house

[Polkadotskirts]

We are fortunate enough to own our own home, but unfortunately we cannot afford to decorate or maintain it to any sort of standard.
I keep thinking maybe we should go back to renting, at least then the landlord would maintain the property and keep it in a liveable condition.
We’ve got problems with:

Insulation
Plaster on the outer walls coming off and big indents starting to appear due to it being an old house (Victorian)
Mould and damp in every room
The actual decor of the house is terrible, carpets falling to bits, wallpaper coming off, painted walls with marks on and chips in the paintwork
A big damp stain on the ceiling of the kitchen where the bath leaked through at one time.
The back yard (we don’t have a proper garden) is overgrown, filthy and the paving slabs are all uneven (unsafe for our toddler to play out there).
The back of the house is unsightly with any previous paint on the brick peeling off and looking hideous.
The kitchen units all need replacing
Doors don’t shut properly so that further exacerbates the issue with keeping heat in rooms.
That’s not to mention all the skirting boards and doors need re-painting.

Looking back I don’t know why we bought the house in the first place, but some of these things like damp didn’t show up right away.

We literally can’t afford to do any of the repairs that are needed as we’re living hand to mouth every month.

Shall we just cut our losses and sell as a do me up job? Then start renting again instead?

@burritofan

I thought most Victorian houses had proper damp proofing and they got fucked up by people stuffing up air bricks, closing up fireplaces, rendering, paving too high outside, and generally messing around. Then snake oil salesmen claim it can be rectified with chemical injections instead of unclogging the air bricks, putting in a gravel french drain, and letting the place breathe.

This, right here.

The alarm bell for me in your OP was the plaster on the exterior walls. I would get a specialist in old buildings - not a damp proof salesperson- to check if the external plaster is blocking ventilation/trapping moisture and thereby causing the damp.

Glad to read your update, OP. There are lots of us in the same boat, and helpful threads with people asking questions on the property / diy board . So much advice and knowledge on here. We are a few years in to a renovation and yes it's hard but so satisfying when you tick some tasks off the list and get to enjoy living in an improved home.

Much of this can be sorted at minimal expense. The garden and the mould you can address immediately.
Other bits one-by-one.

After years of renting my brother has just bought his first house. Lots of similar problems as yours op.

Last few weekends we've all been round helping clean and decorate, and it's transformed!

Sugar soap, sponges, cloths, a few chemical-type sprays for the mould etc to get it clean. Hired a wallpaper stripper for the weekend and one stripped, one cleaned and one sanded, room by room, took one weekend for the whole house. Paint brushes, rollers, cheap industrial-size tins of emulsion and gloss paint to spruce things up. Carpets need to be saved up for but will be done by off-cuts when able. Both gardens have been strimmed/weedkiller'd/swept and its made a huge difference. He's just made enquires about free insulation as he has minimal loft stuff, might be able to get it done with a grant.

You can't eat an elephant in one sitting, but lots of little chunks will get it done.

My brother is still staying at the rental whilst all this is happening, so has the benefit of not living in the mess and no furniture, which is a huge advantage. Meanwhile I've been in my place 8 years and not touched my bedroom!

I'd address damp first. This might mean unblocking things. And anything else marked out in your survey as being urgent.

Hire or buy a steam stripper for the wallpaper. And hire a skip if you possibly can. Then get rid of all manky wallpaper and carpets.
You'll see what you have to work with then and can do a proper anti mould clean and basic paint.

I feel your pain OP, sadly, a lot if new repairs or “improvements” to period houses end up being the main culprits of humidity problems around the house and they are massively expensive to sort.

I have been very tempted to sell but resisted because I love the area I live in and can, with a lot if sacrifices, spend the money in repairs but they are constant and never cheap.

The other thing is that you have no peace of mind, as there is always something to sort, correct or replace around.

I would probably sell and get something easier to manage financially. I think I am going in that direction soon. In the meantime there is a Facebook group with advice I have found invaluable, you can find it if you search “your old house - repair and conservation”

For mould, avoid bleach based products in your period house, it will make it worse on old wallpaper, plain undiluted distilled white vinegar in a sprayer is your best friend.

Check passive ventilation around the house, if the grills are still covered that is part of the problem. But I suspect that falling plaster on the outside of the house may be the real culprit not letting your period house breath.

@Polkadotskirts

Sorry I haven’t replied yet.

I’ve just read through all the comments. Lots of interesting points for me to think through.

I’m 32 and our son is 3. So we’re at the stage where he’s drawing on the walls etc which doesn’t help.
We had a structural survey done and no issues were found.
We paid two years ago to have new guttering put in, but the house is Victorian. Built in 1900, five or take a couple of years. I do like the character of it and the fact it has history.
The other reason I like it here is that it’s in a low crime area and we have hills at the back and front of the house, sheep and cows at the back and we often see deer out the front. We are close to a nature reserve (5 mins walk away) and lots of nice walks.
I just worry it’ll end up being a money pit. But I’m definitely going to take it step by step and see what we can improve each year, what our budget will allow that is.

Well done. Owning your own home by 32 is quite an achievement these days. It will get easier, just make a plan and settle in for the long haul.

Rather than sell and rent could you sell and buy smaller but easier to maintain or possibly shared ownership.

You could do a lot by putting some graft in.
Renting won't necessarily solve your problems. You'll need to keep the garden neat etc.

We've been living in a 'do upper' for about 5 years, and it's still only about 75% done. Keep at it, and you'll get there. Can you look to see if there's any grants available for insulation? It will depend on circumstances, but there often is. Once the house is a bit warmer, that might help with the damp aswell. Good ventilation also helps, so check your vents / air bricks are clear and open windows when you can.

You can join local 'pass it on' groups on Facebook or check freecycle for decorating supplies people are finished with. It might take a while to find what you need, but there's a surprising abouts of stuff going for free is your able to collect.

Before you do anything you need to deal with the damp. People often assume it's about ventilation and it often is. But check first that it isn't penetrating damp. Check all the gutters on a rainy day and see that the water is not leaking at any points and that it is correctly flowing across the gutter and down pipes. If there's a bit that's even slightly spitting it can cause penetrating damp issues. Also check that the external walls have been repointed to a decent standard, you may need to look online if you don't know what needs repointing. If you don't do these things first the internal damp problems can't be solved. There's plenty of advice about damp and Victorian properties on the internet.

secure.manchester.gov.uk/info/500343/advice_for_problems_in_your_home/5644/dampness_and_leaks

This is useful

We were like that for 16 years in our house - and we're still not finished - but we are getting there - pretty much only new flooring on ground floor and new widows to go.

Scrub and clean. Save up to deal with the expensive issues and DIY the rest until you can do better. Rip out the carpets and paint the floor - I did the bedroom floors with a cheap hand sander - it was enough to make a good surface to paint and much nicer than the manky threadbare carpet we had before - then a freecycle rug until we got a cheap one somewhere. We had thick lining paper on the dodgy hall walls that was painted until we could get the walls re-plastered. Sprayed kitchen doors a mix of colours and painted blackboard paint in the middle, where there were missing cupbaord doors we put a curtain over until we could fit a new kitchen. Used cheap IKEA and free cycle stuff to fill the house with rugs and throws and furniture to keep it bright and cheerful. looking back at photos from when the kids were little you can see it was tatty - but it was better than it would have been if we had left it and stopped us despairing it would never happen. We're getting there, in fact we are nearly there - but we bought the cheap Victorian terrace as it was all we could afford and we could afford to get the work done straight away

It sounds like the damp may be caused by water getting into the gaps in the render? If the render can't breathe, it won't dry out and any water that gets trapped behind it will cause damp inside the house. The render may also be causing the damp, you need to get some advice from someone with experience with older houses and their damp and ventilation issues. Also check your ventilation. In the short term, I would get a dehumidifier to help dry out the house. Be careful with damp proof courses, often they don't get to the root cause of the damp. Insulation wise, you may need wool or hemp instead of fibreglass in the loft as they allow the house to breathe and don't block the moisture escaping. Karcher window vacs are meant to be good for removing condensation from windows and showers.

Don't go back to renting, it is much less secure and you have no guarantee that the landlords will keep their houses in a good state of repair. There are some great tips on this thread for updating your house on a budget, good luck!