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?

When we bought this house we knew it needed a little updating but after we moved in, it was clear that pretty much everything needed replacing. Lots of half-assed workmanship and poor materials. The internal doors are the flimsiest things I've ever touched.

We've been in 2 months and have replaced the boiler and heating and back door and we have a huge list and many ££££ in front of us.

It's a lovely house already but being brought into this century it'll be gorgeous.

It feels never-ending tbh :(

Been here 12 years. House built in 1985 but the previous owners were DIY enthusiasts ☹️😡 and they bodged every single job they did.

So far: New boiler, kitchen, bathroom, downstairs wc, windows, fascias, doors, conservatory roof...I reckon we've spent £40k.

It needs re wiring and the kitchen is looking really tired already :(

Add to the above ^ the usual decorating and new flooring/carpets which is probably another £5k.

I was hoping to just replace the kitchen cabinet doors but that'll still be approx: £1k. The floor will have to wait.

It'll be the roof after that!

1830s house.

-Hack down soggy gypsum plaster
-Repoint stone walls
-Rewire
-Replaster in breathable lime
-Remove gas fire, open out fireplace and install stove
-Minor roof repairs

I've only been here for two and a half years.

To do:
-Gut bathroom back to brick and rebuild from scratch including new boiler and underfloor heating
-Same again for the bedrooms
-Dig up downstairs floor, insulate and install UFH
-Replace kitchen
-Build shed
-Install solar panels
-Rebuild chimney stack
-Buy up next door and knock through

I might finish before I retire.

We didn’t buy a doer-upper but 6 years into living here we still have loads to do
new kitchen
new bathroom
kitchen/diner needs repainting
man den needs painting
new Lino in the bathroom
new stair carpet
all woodwork needs glossing

the list just keeps going on and on

I’m feeling really shitty about it tonight.

we need to do the following fairly urgently:

paint the new internal doors
replace upstairs and stair carpet
repaint landing, stairwell and entrance hall
paint kitchen skirting boards

theres loads more but that’s the pressing stuff.

we just don’t have the time. Urgh.

In 7 years new flooring everywhere, new kitchen, extension upstairs n conservatory... new doors.. lots of stuff

it really is never ending, but we are slowly getting through it. I can’t get through current jobs before mentally spending my future income on the next one. Almost everything we’ve done has been essential, when things have literally started falling apart.

been here 6 years and we have had
Partial rewire
new boiler and radiators
new floor throughout
internal doors and woodwork (had to redo half of it recently due to issues with it the first time round)
windows and doors
french doors (not essential at the time, but made sense/cheaper to fit them when we did before other work)
bathroom (fully gutted)
garden fence
back gate (that previously had an internal door in its place😂)

Still to do-
Kitchen - planned in next month
front garden/driveway
patio - liveable but in an awful state, so uneven that I’ve had to stick old planks of wood underneath the garden seating so I don’t topple over.
Stair bannister which currently isn’t secure enough for its purpose

This doesn’t include the random bits of diy and smaller jobs like painting, random missing chunks of brick, rotting shed doors etc

I still haven’t finished painting internal doors and trim fitted before Xmas. I hate doing it, it’s so mundane and frustrating but it’s garden season now so the gloss and brushes are away until winter!

Great Post!

We have painted one room since moving here.

To do in order of urgency:
Bathroom from scratch
Kitchen from scratch
Internal doors
Garden fence
Front door
Carpeting in hallway
Flooring in bedrooms
Driveway

This will cost around £35k and this is me looking at the cheaper end.

Edwardian house, it’s never ending.

Over the 12 years we’ve lived here we’ve:

changed the kitchen
changed the bathroom (twice)
new boiler
new radiators
new windows
new external doors
new internal doors
damp proofing
log burner
roof fixing
dropped curb & drive way
back garden

the only room that hasn’t been repainted at least twice is ours, because I can’t face it, so it was only done before we moved in.

the original garage is falling down, and the gardens need some attention this year. We had fences blow down in the last storms.

I think that's just how it is but it also depends on your standards etc. What's your definition of a living room 'looking tired' for example, or things needing repainting?

My parents repaint most of the house every few years, but it really doesn't need it. I think quite a few people do this.

Sometimes you can create work for yourself if you know what I mean?

We do things as and when they're necessary.

1908 house, last owners not done anything since 1980s. We’ve been in 2 years and every room has been done, new radiators, electrics, pipes, ceilings boarded over, new bathroom, extension. We got people in, just last of decorating to be done. Garden started from scratch.

then we intend to do nothing except garden for the next 20 years,

the next people can come in, roll their eyes and crack on in 20 years time.

the in laws redecorate a room every 2 years…and are always doing something to the house…

Yes it’s how it is. Never enough money.

we’ve had two new kitchens, new windows, two new front and back doors, two lots of internal doors, two lots of bathrooms, sun room, loft conversion, downstairs shower room, landscaped gardens.

taken us best part of 25 years.

this year we’ve had the whole house decorated from top to bottom, new carpets, new soft furnishings and the shower room retiled, all in three months. But the kids have gone now and the mortgage gone. It seemed so manageable and my god is it wonderful.

i potter round my uncluttered, Unscratched, clean, tidy, lovely house and think it was worth the wait.

Yeah we live in a 1940s house and have been in for 15 years. We have Damp proofed down stairs, put new windows and boiler in. Had a new kitchen, bathroom and downstairs Wc done. We have decorated every room. The bedrooms have been decorated three times. All the caroets have been changed, some twice. But it goes on. The outside needs major attention and the kitchen needs a repaint.we really could do with exterior doors replacing too

We moved in 5 years ago. decor is actually fine, not exactly what I’d choose but was clean and recently done/tidied up. So easy to live with.

We needed to do some of the structural bits first, thing likes minor roof/chimney repairs, pointing, kerb dropping/drive, tidied the garden up which meant clear big bushes and tree stumps and then new lawn, clearing the loft and insulation installed.

Inside we have
full bathroom refurb
painted the lounge and dining room.
minor decor bits like mirrors, pictures, nik naks etc.
awaiting our downstairs toilet refurb this year when our builder has availability.

we were doing a couple of jobs a year but with the cost of living and the price of materials etc going up we’ve decided to just do one this year and review next year. Lockdown money saved paid for the bathroom luckily. By the time we’ve finished some things will need doing again 😂🙈

oh we also replaced fencing and a new boiler. Actually when you write it down we’ve not done badly considering 2 of those years have been in a pandemic.

1930s house, the usual stuff like kitchen, bathroom, carpets ,windows, new central heating, plus asbestos tiles removed from inside outbuilding, concrete asbestos roof replaced on garage, we use the outbuilding a lot for storage and before the asbestos was removed I didn't like to go in there

Do you all save for renovations, take out loans, remortgage??

The amount we can comfortably save means it will take 7 years to build up £30k to £35k and this would leave us with no other savings for emergencies. I am probably underestimating some of the costs too. I have read labour costs have increased in the last year.

I joke our house is a money pit, but comes with the territory. When we moved in it was in a sound state but pretty unmodernised - still had a loo you could go into from the garden! And the previous owners had lived with elderly parents so they'd set up kitchens on both floors (which turned out to be a boon for when we rebuilt downstairs as we had a kitchen the whole time).

We've redecorated the hallway and all rooms except DSs now, knocked down two walls downstairs, moved the loo, added an en suite, replaced the bathroom (it was entirely 70s brown tiles! 😱). The roof needs an overhaul - we were going to put rooms in the loft and do that, but what with price increases since COVID happened I'm not sure we can afford that now, especially as I think the windows will all need replacing within 5 years.

Previously we remortgaged. Had a fairly OK LTV and so put it on the mortgage. Our earnings have increased so we paid out of savings, income and a small increase to mortgage. Still planned to have it paid off when we are 56.

We are in a position to do this as we are early 50s, DH's kids have left home, I had a small inheritance.

We just want to get it done rather than live with it for years. But, previously prioritised getting some rooms done so didn't always feel in a constant mess, painted and tarted up a bathroom and kitchen - used pictures and flowers to distract...

We have lived for 2 years in chaos in new house, but it is getting there now - basically threw money at the problem.

My husband loves a spreadsheet, so has everything down in a list - with quotes, actual paid, where the money is coming from - what we can cut down on - contingency and future plans. New windows coming in at £30K at the moment - both decided we can live with the draughts for the time being....

I think a lot of these things are wants rather than needs. I've not lived in ny current house long, but the house i spent most of my childhood in never had a new kitchen or bathroom or carpet. I lived there with my mum and brother for 15 years and things only replaced if it was really needed, e.g new boiler. The garage side door wouldn't shut properly, the carpet was worn out and stained in places, the oven handle was broken, it was all a bit dated but it was home.

Maybe look at your house the other way round. As a work in progress, with lots of potential to put your mark on it, and then admire the bits you have done?
I lived with a 1970s bathroom for nearly 40 years, and was really thrilled with the new one when I finally got it. I still get a kick every time I walk in, four years later!
Ditto the 1980s tiny kitchen, which I eventually knocked through into a spacious modern kitchen diner, and the integral garage I converted into a playroom, building a new garage alongside, or the fireplace and chimney I had built for the sitting room, or the attic flooring and shelving…
Sure, it takes ages of saving and planning, but it’s like a garden - you are always planning new projects and looking forward.
I think it would be a bit dull to live in a perfect house with no scope to dream or plan!

I have extremely low standards. My social home has bad woodwork and is far from modern. I grew up in a council flat then moved around a lot and now settled with a family. As long as the inside is nice I'm all good. My husband wants better and better. His mother redecorates and remodels all the time, but I just don't care enough. I just want my house to be comfy and homely, which it is, and those other issues don't bother me.

I'm abnormal I guess but at least I'm content.

When we were buying I specifically told DP that I had no intention of living a life as a slave to DIY and home renovation. I simply do not want that level of stress in my day-to-day life. Home is a place to relax in for me. And the place we bought is so sturdy and functional, it's amazing. The previous occupants had been into DIY but unlike a lot of amateurs they were actually good at it. The amount of clever storage space and sturdy shelving is unbelievable.

I have to say that I'm baffled by the obsession with home renovations, new kitchens, extensions and so on. I'm not talking about those that actually need doing because they're falling apart - but way more common among my acquaintances are people who seem to embark on massive home projects just for something to do. They didn't need the extension, their kitchen was fine as it was, the walls didn't need painting. Just all seems to me like people who can't sit still for a minute.

As I warned DP, the house will have to be in a literal state of disrepair before I prioritise home renovation over a quiet afternoon reading a book.