How much to gut this house?

[Sackars]

Dh and I making the move out of London. We are ready to start a family after 7 years of marriage. We are currently living in a one bed flat that we have outgrown.

i am very up for a serious reno. Dh less so.

I am very boring but just really enjoy the warm and cosy look of Neptune, Cotswolds Company et al.

We’ve viewed a house we like but it needs work. It’s actually been maintained well but I’m looking for
that elevated look. So i would really take it right down to the bones

How much do you reckon it would cost to renovate this house? I’m taking medium to high spec.

Dh reckons £250k which no is nowhere near doable. I know it’s a bit of how long is a piece of string type question. I’m hoping for hardwood floors etc but we could be strategic. Buy during and potentially stagger work.

ive attached the look I’d hope to achieve (I know im boring)

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87208194#/?channel=RES_BUY

You would need to calculate

How many rooms ?
What work you can do yourself ?
Timescales
Where you live while work is ongoing ?

Cost of workmen per day or per job
Do they live locally or are you paying for their accommodation
eg
Electrician
Plumber
Plasterer
Carpenter
Painter
General labourer
Specialists
Materials
Things going wrong
Escalating costs

Honestly, depends what you mean by gutting.
We bought a 5 bedroom farmhouse that was in complete disrepair. Gutted it completely - new electrics, new heating system, new roofs, added en suites, new kitchen, new everything you could possibly think of.
My partner is a tradie so has good connections and it cost us £200k with doing a lot of the work ourselves.
This was for a very basic level of finish - think cheapest tiles, a second hand kitchen, lino on the floors.
For the look you want (also the look I would like eventually) you'd be talking way more.
The house is much more liveable than ours but I'd imagine you'd still need to overhaul loads more than you expect because once you start making changes things will always be worse than you expect.

ETA

I will also say that house is beautiful and more than liveable so you can definitely just do things in stages to make it more affordable.

I just gutted a small 3 bed property and that cost about £180k but I didn’t scrimp on materials. We did none of it ourselves. Can you get a builder in to cost it out? Looks like you need a new kitchen and bathrooms for a start but if the electrics, plumbing, windows and roof are ok it might not be too bad. It could easily cost £200k+ though if you want a quality finish.

It depends if you need to do new heating system, all new plumbing, new electrics, new windows, full replaster. If so I’d imagine more like £350k BUT if you can do some yourselves then you can make savings

Would young children and a high end finish be compatible I wonder.

It comes to how much you can do yourself, how much of a hunt are
you prepared to put in to source materials etc Whether you will spend 40k on a kitchen, or 14k but I’d say 250k

Pick a very large number and double it.

Why on earth would you want to gut it anyway?

Look for a house that meets your style and taste and saves you a couple of hundred grand.

What an absolutely beautiful house. Do you need to do anything other than replace the kitchen and bathrooms? You could bring that in for well under £100k, I can’t see anything else that’s crying out to be done. I’m very envious.

I agree. House has great bones. New kitchen and bathrooms. Flooring. You don’t have to go top of range to get a top of range look. Obviously impossible to say from photos if electrics need redoing or anything structural, which would add to the costs of course.

It’s not to my style and taste in its identity state. I think it has the potential to become what I’m hoping for.

Like I said im really after that Neptune look.

It looks in live in condition so doesn’t necessarily need ‘gutting’. Find out if electrics need replacing as this will create damage to walls etc so needs to be done first.

I agree that it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string question’. I’d be happy to live there and do each room / area as I could afford to but this doesn’t seem to be what you want. I think over £150K and agree that whatever your initial thoughts are to double it. Cost of work is sky high currently, materials are expensive etc

You'll soon realise how expensive the neptune look is. The kitchen in your inspo image is likely bespoke carpentry - think £80k+++
If you're happy to go more budget you can definitely find things that fit that vibe though.

I won’t be able to buy from Neptune but I mean I am attempting to emulate that look using off the shelf products from mid range places

The house is lovely but I agree, I would have to gut it completely too. Only because once you start modernising some of the house (kitchen, bathroom etc) the rest will look very dated in comparison.

I would agree with your DH and say minimum £200k sadly.

Then honestly I'd say you could probably do what you want to do for £150k all in on kitchens, bathrooms, flooring etc you'd have to just be really thrifty.
DIY kitchens is really good and has a planner so you could get a good idea of the kind of budget needed.

Also think practically - real hard wood floors, marble, zellige tiles - all really really impractical with a busy household. Either difficult to keep clean or really hard to keep looking nice.

Yes we have used DiY kitchens in the past and been very happy

That house has money pit written all over it.
i would agree anywhere from 100 to 200k depending on what you actually want doing.
Also having been on a never ending renovation journey myself I also recommend keep hunting around and find a house to your taste and ready to move into. It’s a lot less stress.

I don't know what you regard as taking it back to the bones, do you mean literally stripping out everything, re-plastering, re-plumbing, new electrics, new heating system, that would probably be every bit of £250k. If you mean re-decoration throughout, new kitchen and bathrooms, etc then £75k - £100k or more depending on finishes etc. It really is a how long is a piece of string question.

I’d strip the carpets and pray for original floor boards, try to patch repair those. Repaint. Put a new kitchen in. Do bathrooms and other work later. Are either of you vaguely handy?

The plumbing and the electrics are fine. I probably would want new plastering, new doors/woodwork, remove the cherry wood stain from the beams, new radiators etc.

Unless that property has some hidden secrets then there’s absolutely no need to go back to brick to achieve an aesthetic. It looks in perfect condition.

I would say your husband isn't too far off the mark. It's maybe even conservative for what you have in mind.

We are 18 months into renovating a property half the size of the one you have you eye on. We're 50k in and all that's been done is wooden floors, one bathroom, the fittings for the shower room, new doors, a stair carpet and a full repaint. We've also done 90% of the labour ourselves as some of the quotes we've had are, quite frankly, hilarious.

As someone else said, the house, as lovely as it is, screams money pit and if you're planning a baby in the middle of a full reno....pfft. Good luck. lol

When you start renovating it opens up a can of worms, it’s easy to say plumbing and electrics are fine but will they be fine for your plans? Will the boiler be able to cope with a waterfall shower for example? Or any additional bathrooms you may want to put in. I think you will whip through £250k easily. I work in the industry, the quotes I send out compared to pre covid are honestly eye watering.

Shame, after the house sale we would have at most £50-£60k to play around with.

I just utterly love period homes!

But maybe I should just give into Dh and opt for that new build

You could get a new kitchen and bathroom and maybe some flooring for that amount. Not a high end finish though.