Council House Flooring

[Megan000]

Hi all…I’ve recently won a bid on a council house i bided on and am just waiting to go and view it and get the keys I’m just a bit stressed out about getting the flooring as I know it’ll be expensive and I can’t afford it right now should I move in before the floorings done or wait till it’s done? I’m a young single mum so don’t get loads of money and my mum said it’ll cost a couple thousand for flooring which will take me a few months to save up that means even if I get the keys I won’t be able to move in for a couple of months not to mention I’ll also need to save for furniture and paint etc…I was thinking to move in as soon as I get the keys but then won’t it be a hassle when I can afford the flooring and furniture has to be moved. There’s quite a few rooms that need flooring…living room, downstairs/upstairs hallway, stairs and 2 bedrooms (one single one double) so will cost quite a bit does anyone have a rough idea how much it’ll cost or could you tell me your experience if you’ve been in this situation.

Thank you. 😊

Buy some slippers. Floorboards are fine for a while.

You can work out the price - if you look at a carpet shop you will see that there is usually cheapish priced carpet for about £20 a square metre. Fitting and underlay usually is about the same, so that’s about £40. Check that though!

A few, yes.

If you buy or rent privately, then you usually get a chance to view before you move in. You may also get more of a clue what your actual moving date will be and be able to plan. Also, unless you are buying a total renovation, you normally have some sort of flooring and wall decoration when you move in. You may need to redecorate the whole place, but you can plan a bit and work on it bit by bit.

With council or housing association, you don't always get a choice where you move, or a chance to see it. Sometimes you aren't allowed to get the keys and move in a couple of weeks later, you need to be seen to be occupying the property straight away. When I move next month I'm moving 4 hours and hundreds of miles away to a block of flats I've never seen before, in a town I've never been to. Other than a 13 year old Google Streetview image of the outside of the block, I've no real idea what my flat will be like, or in what condition it's in. I have an appointment date to view it, if I accept, I move straight in. I'm lucky I have somewhere safe for my stuff to stay for 2 weeks to get settled and someone to meet the guy with the van to help them access what needs moving for me. I've waited 4 years for a secure tenancy, luckily I'm not too fussy where in the country it is.

Its a wonderful opportunity, and I'm not necessarily complaining, it taken years to get somewhere. But it is tricky to move into somewhere without any knowledge or what your actually getting or how your going to start to get it sorted. When my life was different in the past and I moved house it was a totally different experience.

Look at Reyooz.com for furniture. It's very cheap.

Do you get universal credit OP? If you do you can get a loan that will be taken out of your UC.

Just carpet one room and live in that one.

A friend got a bed from the local water company, they have a trust fund. www.sttf.org.uk

The same friend got carpet from a local company. He bought the carpet for the living room and the company carpeted the hall for free, he didn't have a choice in the hall carpet but it was a nice thing for the company to do.

I find local trades people often give better service.

I agree with posters about roll ends. Go to small independent carpet shops and see what they have in roll end pieces. They'll generally fit it for free if you buy it from them.

Absolutely this. Congratulations on your new home! V exciting for you and your little one 😀

I got carpetright in - maybe not the cheapest, but interest free over 4 years took the sting away and it needed doing. As a single mum without support, I couldn’t fanny about with off-cuts etc. it was a new-build with concrete and the dust was horrendous - the rug I’d used in the interim needed dumping, not hoovering.

Independent carpet shops often are cheaper and can have whole house offers. Floorboards may be suitable for sanding and staining with oil (I did my own) add rugs to be cosy. Get furniture on Freecycle, Facebook marketplace etc - let your family and friends know you need furniture, it's amazing how much spare stuff people have. Second hand stores are great too eg the Red Cross have furniture and appliance shops. Independent pine shops (tend to be on suburban high streets or more rural) are good for new beds or try ikea or argos

When my friend moved into a HA place with bare floors she bought a load of carpet squares from poundland and laid them herself in the bedrooms and lounge. Then she had them properly carpeted as and when she could afford it.

She didn't say a couple of months. She said a few. Maybe an optimistic overestimation but that's not the purpose of the thread.

OP only way of knowing is to shop around and get some quotes. It might not be as much as you'd think.

Hi OP I'm another voting carpet tiles. I did this in my house and I still have them in my conservatory and on my stairs. You can get them 2nd hand they cost about £1 a tile on eBay you only need about 20-30 per room (obvs depending on the size may need more). They need no underlay they are great. You just need a Stanley knife to cut them to size.
Then if you dislike them you can replace over time but at least the house will be livable.
Congrats on the house x

I'm about to move into a house that's had the flooring ripped up in most rooms, and what's left is hideous so will be replaced - it's not council but we have spent all we have on the house etc so we will be moving in with bare floor and carpet and paint a room at a time as we go. Perfectly liveable!

Of course you move in, I moved in to an empty house with 3 kids no flooring at all, I have laminate downstairs so not true you are not allowed it?! And carpet well I laid that myself, not perfect but better than nothing, got carpet off eBay (new) and laid all rooms upstairs myself, stairs I used carpet treads again did it myself.

Ffs does it matter.

Where I live there are adverts for flooring where you pay a small deposit they fit it and you pay £10 a week till it’s paid off. I always buy off eBay and I get a local fitter to fit it, they charge about £30 a room.

Well of course you just move in. Surely a total no brainer because who would want to be in temporary housing a day longer than needed?

Hi is anyone there I