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Help me plan for moving into a “fixer upper”!

16 replies

Gerbi1 · 09/06/2020 23:35

It looks like we are moving from our lovely house In to a fixer upper with loads of potential but we are going to have to move in and make ourselves feel at home there until we draw up plans, submit planning blah blah blah - ages basically.

So I need your creative suggestions for cheap simple ideas for things like
-replacing the 70 year old pink carpet in the bathroom,

  • there’s no shower just a bath, do those tap adapters still exist?
  • large rugs or carpet covers/ replacements for playroom, bedrooms (ours, one small and one large boys rooms), entryway and stairs

We literally don’t know which walls or rooms are staying so we don’t want to do anything like fit carpets or showers but I need ideas for when we move in as I’m feeling a bit nervous and overwhelmed by the whole thing

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2020canfuckoff · 10/06/2020 07:30

Yes there are mixer taps fot an overhead shower.
You can get big rugs or carpet tiles.
Uou can leave the stairs bare until you decide.
Absolutely rip the bathroom carpet. If it was me id get a new cheap bathroom suite while i remodel.

VenusClapTrap · 10/06/2020 09:31

We moved into a doer upper and it took us 6 years to get round to starting the renovation, what with small children and changing economic circs etc. It will probably take almost as long to complete everything. So I think you are right to try to make things comfortable in the interim. It’s amazing how time passes while you’re thinking about things, and how long permissions, finding builders etc take. But this is good, as your ideas change as you get used to the house.

I would rip out all carpets if they are stinky, and the bathroom one regardless. Buy a pile of cheap bath mats or an offcut of Lino to protect the floor from water if it’s just floorboards underneath. We bought the cheapest electric shower we could find and installed it above the bath. Totally worth it.

We left carpets in situ where they were ok (in the main rooms) and this was a great way to protect the floors underneath (beautiful original floorboards) from builder damage. As the kids were little, it was also quite nice not to care if they spilt stuff on them!

Where the bedroom carpets had to come out, we bought Ikea’s largest, cheapest rugs, which are good value.

The kitchen had to come out immediately as it was revolting and unsanitary. We bought a basic Ikea temporary sink unit, and a drawers unit on wheels, and one of those teeny plug in double hot plate things to cook on, to create a basic temporary kitchen. Mostly we cooked on the barbecue outside though!

Good luck. It does feel overwhelming and it can feel like you’ll be stuck in a building site forever, but you’ll get there. Once you can see progress, no matter how small, it helps enormously.

Protegemo1 · 10/06/2020 09:40

For smaller rooms - independent carpet shops sometimes have offcuts/ end of rolls really cheap (cheaper than a rug) - you can fit yourself if only short-term. Our small hallway was £5, medium bedroom £60! I’ve also seen advice to make one room your sanctuary- often your bedroom or could be a family room. Somewhere that you can relax & escape the building site!

Notwatchingtvtoday · 10/06/2020 11:20

Have you got a photo, to help advise?
Have you set aside a budget for immediate renovations, we looked at one recently and we estimated it needed £10k to actually make it habitable.

RestorationInsanity · 10/06/2020 17:38

Definitely rip up the bathroom carpet but don't get lulled into too many "cheap temporary fixes" as that can easily eat into your final budget. Work out what you cannot live with (either genuine functionality issues or for safety reasons, to you or to the rest of the building) and then learn to look past horrid wallpaper, stained carpet, manky curtains etc.

A good clean and air of the house can improve a lot of things, like odours, dust etc.

I know it sounds awful to have to live with stuff that you don't like and that is really only fit for the skip, but so many people waste a lot of time and money doing "little bits".

Slightlydustcovered · 10/06/2020 21:52

Ah we did the same 1 year ago. We are mid way through the extension now. Still using one of these
www.wilko.com/en-uk/croydex-secura-safe-white-shower-spray-set/p/0293767
It's the straps that stop it popping off the taps. Best £16 I spent at the start. We have just slowly plodded on, sorted heating and some decoration, new front door some of the garden etc. But everything we did fitted with the new plans so we wouldn't need to do it again. Just airing the place and putting up proper curtains helped. once the build ends we can start fixing stuff in Ernest. We still have all the old carpets, the awful broken kitchen, the broken bath, manky toilet ( but clean with new toilet seat). We did staple gun a bit of lino down in the bathroom though as the floor was grim but it was a £5 gumtree offcut. It's been a slog and we have realistically still got months and months to go. Some days I have cursed this house but we would never have been able to afford the place when done and will be worth all the effort. Good luck.

didireallysaythat · 10/06/2020 22:07

You can get a shower mixer tap for £50 from Screwfix

Gerbi1 · 11/06/2020 12:12

Thanks for the recommendations I’ll look into the shower options and offcuts, although I’m not sure carpet shops are going to be open anytime soon.
What do you have to do to fit bathroom Lino?

Which big rugs would you recommend?

What about entry doormat/rugs?

Any ideas for big posters or horrible wall coverings for boys rooms? (5/8/10) we have a map already

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slewts · 11/06/2020 18:23

We’ve got the large and small stoense rugs from Ikea which we’ve ended up cutting to fit the floor in our bedroom until we fit our en suite. We’ve also bought a roll of vinyl floor covering for £30 from B&Ms for our landing until all the bathroom works are done. It’s a vast improvement on the hideous carpets that were there before, though the rug thing might not be to everyone’s taste!

Help me plan for moving into a “fixer upper”!
Help me plan for moving into a “fixer upper”!
onlinelinda · 17/06/2020 08:19

One recommendation I would have from doing this myself a few times is to buy an enormous bucket of white or pale neutral paint and paint the rooms you use most, for now.

Handsnotwands · 17/06/2020 08:37

We used one of those for years

Help me plan for moving into a “fixer upper”!
Gerbi1 · 17/06/2020 13:58

Do you need to replace the bath tap with that one @Handsnotwands?

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Handsnotwands · 17/06/2020 17:45

No. You tighten it using a screw and it grips tightly. It has a little switch to change between water coming out of the tap or out of the shower. We must have had ours on for 5 or 6 years as a “temporary” measure

Gerbi1 · 28/06/2020 14:15

This looks like just what I need

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Gingernaut · 28/06/2020 14:20

If there's a single mixer tap on the bath, you might need a hairdressers' single hose adaptor, rather than the 'standard' two hose adaptor you find in most shops.

It might be possible to buy a shower mixer tap array, if you're feeling a little more adventurous.

www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/vpsearch.aspx?searchText=shower%20mixer

Gerbi1 · 28/06/2020 14:24

It’s got two separate bath taps... I just need temporary fixes I think as the house will be redone (eventually)

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