To ask how much work you do to your house?

[Merryoldgoat]

We’ve been in our house for 7 years and it was utterly vile when we moved in.

We’ve had to redecorate but by bit but it therefore feels like nothing is ever finished.

In the last 2/3 years we’ve had:

New porch
New front door
New bathroom and cloakroom
Refreshed kitchen (tiling and painting)
New hallway and kitchen floor
Redecorated both kids bedrooms

The living room now looks tired, the stair carpet needs replacing, hallway needs repainting. The porch already needs a fresh coat of paint. The front render is dirty as hell and our driveway looks like a junkyard.

There’s more but it feels like it never ends.

Is this just how it is?

This is just how it is. Our house is 1930s and we have a never ending list of improvements, but then something goes wrong and we spend the money on that instead! (Recently the fence and a number of large roof tiles)

Over the last 14 years we've had a new bathroom, boiler, kitchen, painted everywhere, new front fence, and so far new flooring in one room. But loads left to do!

Same here. Vile, been here 6 years. It was a wreck and hadn’t been touched since the 80’s.

New kitchen
New bathroom
New windows and doors.
New carpets/flooring
Overgrown garden sorted
Spare room decorated
Our room walls have been painted.

Still need to sort out utility room
There are big bits in the living room that need filling, we gave it a quick whitewash to make it presentable-ish then concentrated on other areas, so that needs decorating.
Skirting & architrave needs painting in our room, living room & DS room.
Cracked, poured concrete patio needs sorting.
Sunken driveway needs doing.
DS room, that he let us put lining paper up in but hasn’t let us paint or paper, needs doing.

It’s never ending. I don’t understand how people move in then, 3 weeks later, they have a show house!

Forgot -new roof!

Isn't that the point of buying a doer-upper? Unless you have tons of money of course, it's going to take a long time to get it all done.

It's why I didn't buy one. Don't want the hassle, but many people like it. I can see the appeal but I would only do it if I could afford to have it mostly done by other people and it was done quickly. Can't live in mess for long without going mad.

Only jobs we would like to do is put wooden flooring in the living room and maybe freshen up the kitchen, but it doesn't actually need it so that's a long term aim.

ours is constant work. We brought it 20 years ago in a derelict state and although we've done most of the major/structural work there's still an ever lengthening list of upkeep jobs. It's over 150 years old & if we stop I'm sure it will return to derelict within a few years. Good job we love the place.

Four children, three adults working from home & pets don't help at all though.

We've been in ours 4 years. We have had
New kitchen
New bathrooms
New flooring throughout
Painted everything, some areas twice.
Converted the loft
Took down a couple of walls and changed the layout of downstairs.

I'm much more content to leave things be but DH is always looking for things he can improve / paint / change in some way.
He's going on about replacing the fence in the garden now, which is actually fine.

@Leftbutcameback

This is just how it is. Our house is 1930s and we have a never ending list of improvements, but then something goes wrong and we spend the money on that instead! (Recently the fence and a number of large roof tiles)

Bollocks - you just reminded me our roof needs some tiles replaced.

Everything.
But it was built 1950s and never been touched since. So needed all new electrics, heating, plumbing, Floors, walls moved, plastering, stairs fixed, decorating, garden jungle managed..
I’m hoping the majority is now done. The next 6 months are for finalising bits not quite done, and then a break

Been here 7 years . 1960’s bathroom and kitchen still need doing up etc. really dated and falling apart but have put on new roof,all new electrics and insulation. All the doors are sticking and so much else to do it feels overwhelming and wonder whether to pay for it all now, or put money on mortgage.I mean it’s liveable and love the lounge and bedrooms.

@AllOfUsAreDead

Yes, I know - and I’m largely grateful it was so bad as we couldn’t have afforded it otherwise. I think it’s that ‘newly’ done stuff is needing doing again before I can even get stuff on the first list sorted!

I think I’m really feeling it as well as we’ve had to empty the kitchen and hallway into the kitchen for the new flooring and I feel suffocated.

Maybe I’ll go piss about in the garden a bit

Yes that’s how it is, you have to stay on top of it

Most houses are like the Forth Bridge I think. My old house was as you describe, current one not as bad but still always a long list of jobs. I’ve noticed with lockdown and 2-3 people in the house all the time WFH has also caused more wear and tear. And then there’s the garden which I live but is basically a fight against nature you won’t win.

It’s taken me years to relax into it and recognise it’ll never be ‘done’, meaning I can sit there one day and never think of a single thing that needs doing!

*love

I’ve come to believe it’s a near ending cycle. Ours is a 1930s house and in four years we have done our room including the electrics, babies room, WC and bathroom full rip out and redone, complete office refurb including installation plaster board/carpets/electrics/plumbing, pointing on back of house, garden cut right back and lots of roof work. It wasn’t even a doer upper .. xx

Bought out house last year. It is 1920’s
We have two bathrooms done. We have painted every room.
We have converted the triple garage into living accommodation
We have had external lights fitted
We have had new fence
Have had the garden done .
Has moss removed from roof

My house is big and over 500 years old.... Pity me!

I do lots of little DIY bits myself and then one or two bigger projects that I get professionals in for every year. This year it's insulation and hard landscaping in the garden. Next year will probably be flooring. My mother says you have a lifetime to get your home sorted so I try to take the approach of doing a bit at a time and being happy with the improvements I've made.

[quote Merryoldgoat]@AllOfUsAreDead

Yes, I know - and I’m largely grateful it was so bad as we couldn’t have afforded it otherwise. I think it’s that ‘newly’ done stuff is needing doing again before I can even get stuff on the first list sorted![/quote]
Does it 'need' done though or are you being picky? After only 2/3 years how can the porch and hallway both need repainting again? My house hasn't been repainted since the last owner and I don't know when she did it, but that's at least 3 years ago. Only painted the living room to redecorate but it didn't actually need it.

I'd focus on things that do need done, like your roof for example. A leaking roof is way worse than a bad paint job. Hire a skip and remove all the crap from the driveway and anywhere else, declutter. Get the render sorted. Can insurance cover the cost of the roof maybe?

Do the big important jobs first. Old carpet and walls needing a bit of paint aren't massive problems. Carpet only becomes a problem if it's coming up and becoming a trip hazard.

It's what comes with the territory of owning a house unfortunately. We've tried to do one thing a year, finances permitting. Been here 15 years and at the start of the pandemic we'd scraped together enough money to replace the knackered boiler. I literally sobbed with relief; it had been unbelievably unreliable and broke down so often that I knew the British Gas men by their first names. (The only slightly galling part was that it was a "hidden" cost - I mean, who wants to be shown the front of a shiny new boiler when they visit your house).

This year we've replaced the fence, much to the relief of all our neighbours I'm sure. Our bathroom with upside down tiles and cracked toilet is next on our list, but at least it's clean and functional.

This is how it is for us too, which is why I’m surprised on here when renters say you’re just paying someone’s mortgage ans seem to think the properties they rent have no maintenance costs. Most properties need on going maintenance, I think the sum is an average of 1percent lf the value annually, which obviously might not be spent annually but done every decade, but for many houses that’s what it averages out at.

@AllOfUsAreDead

My children are a factor - they are like wrecking balls.

I’m really not picky tbh - some of it is ‘would be nice’ but the stair carpet is ripped on some treads and over 29 years old I reckon.

I’m just a bit tired of it all I suppose. But it’s a nice house ultimately and when the kids are older hopefully I’ll have a bit more energy.

[quote Merryoldgoat]@AllOfUsAreDead

My children are a factor - they are like wrecking balls.

I’m really not picky tbh - some of it is ‘would be nice’ but the stair carpet is ripped on some treads and over 29 years old I reckon.

I’m just a bit tired of it all I suppose. But it’s a nice house ultimately and when the kids are older hopefully I’ll have a bit more energy.[/quote]
Ah yes, well they get older eventually and less like wrecking balls. Hopefully..

It is tiring but its just sadly what needs done. One thing at a time though, that's all you can do. Listing it all out makes it worse sometimes and more daunting.

I've been in this house for nearly twenty years and the only thing that hasn't changed is the downstairs loo and sink (champagne!) but it has been decorated a few times and had new flooring.

We've done the following in the last 20 years:

• Porch added on
• Ensuite and main bathroom both replaced twice (first time fairly cheaply and the second time how we really want it).
• New kitchen (which involved knocking down part walls/repositioning and replacing radiators)
• Extension/knock through into the garage
• Conservatory and then replaced that with a garden room
• Extended the two smallest bedrooms out over the garage
• Loft conversion
• Complete garden re-landscape
• New drive (twice)
• Rooms redecorated on average every ten years at a guess

No plans to redecorate anything at the moment (apart from touch up maintenance) and very pleased the extension days are behind us.