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Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Original poster

Renovation project lessons learned

47 replies

movingtokent · 04/12/2014 18:12

We are just about to start on a major renovation project - new heating, electrics, insulation, remodelling of inside, extension to front and back, new garage in a hill and new access to property. Please could all you wonderfully wise and far more experienced people give me your top tips on what worked best for you and what to avoid or point me in the direction of a lessons learned thread. I have searched and read the bathroom, kitchens ones but cannot find one about actual building work etc. thanks

OP posts:

FuckYouChristmasAndThatClaus · 04/12/2014 18:15

I haven't done a full on project, but make sure you think long and hard about plug sockets and light switches. Put in more than you think you'll need and imagine every possible thing you may want to plug in and where it will be.

Make sure all switches are where you would naturally assume they will be. You'd be amazed how many people don't and how irritating it is to live with.

Sorry that's probably not what you're looking for, but it felt good to get it out :)

Original poster

movingtokent · 04/12/2014 18:19

That is exactly what I am looking for. It is things like this I think I might miss in amongst what seem like the huge decisions on wall, windows etc. I have a bit if time now before everything goes crazy so can sit down with the plan and try and work it out and then I will now add in extra just in case.

Yesterday I was planning where the Christmas tree would go in the finished house! Thanks very much. If you think of anything else let me know.

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SASASI · 04/12/2014 18:29

I'll be following this as doing similar next year.
Have been told to put in more plugs & sockets than what we need too.
And to use people who are not VAT registered so we don't pay VAT on the labour ie Small businesses.

MuddhaOfSuburbia · 04/12/2014 18:35

Don't skimp on plumbing fittings- ie taps and showers etc

Get naice ones-Ikea and shed ones are imo a biiiig false economy

MuddhaOfSuburbia · 04/12/2014 18:36

Are you moving out while it's going on? Or moving round the house?

Original poster

movingtokent · 04/12/2014 18:42

Thanks Muddha - We would love to move out but rents are so high around here I think we will end up moving around the house and staying with family while really bad. Thinking of putting most of our furniture in storage
Any recommendations for plumbing fittings?

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PetraArkanian · 04/12/2014 18:42

Put wired ethernet cable into everywhere...when you want to run new high def internet tvs you won't want to do it from wifi!

At least one ethernet socket in each room is a good start!

Original poster

movingtokent · 04/12/2014 18:45

Sasasi - we did this on our last house as it was just two builders working for themselves and then paid all the invoices ourselves for supplies. It was a huge job keeping track of all the invoices etc but I think it did give us a little bit more control over what was ordered. I have my own plumber and electrician and have sourced the new heating system and windows myself as well. Builder helping me with the wonderful world of insulation as currently the house has very little if any in some of the rooms

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MuddhaOfSuburbia · 04/12/2014 18:52

moving we couldn't move out either and had to decamp to a Travelodge for a few nights in desperation-think was when we had no bathroom

It was BRILLiant

Oh and grohe/hamsgrohe taps are things of great beauty if you can find the £££s

Oldieandgoldie · 04/12/2014 18:59

Put all cables into buried trunking...makes it much easier to repair/re-wire in the future.

And take lots and lots of photos!

SpaghettiMeatballs · 04/12/2014 19:04

If you want a silly one from me invest in a decent 'decorating Hoover' such as a Henry.

I ruined my newish Dyson with continually sweeping up dust.

Value your own time. We did our first renovation ourselves with no help whatsoever. Second time around we've had some trades in and it's not been as expensive as we feared so worth getting quotes in.

InsertUsernameHere · 04/12/2014 19:18

Sort out insurance - it's harder than you think. Make sure there is room for you windows to open and have a blind bitter experience items being in stock on website bears no relationship to whether the item is in stock or not. Plan plan and plan some more

AnnOnymity · 04/12/2014 19:22

Everything takes much, much longer than you expect it to. Whatever length of time you allocate to a room/task double it.

cruisepool · 04/12/2014 19:28

Get everything in writing, even if just email. Saves disagreements with builders. A few times ours claimed not to have been told about things, but I could show him the emails and then it was down to him to rectify things.

Get your architect to project manage it if you can. What it cost us in fees I reckon we saved in the builder being kept on a relatively tight lead. And it made things less stressful.

Original poster

movingtokent · 04/12/2014 19:35

Thanks everyone. We would love to get the architect to project manage but the fees are just too much. He charges a percentage of the build cost to project manage and will not budge on this. We have negotiated a flat fee to do up to builders drawings. this is going to be my job for the next year.

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MagicMonday · 04/12/2014 19:48

Have a detailed written specification agreed and keep spare copies to distribute to builders.

The snagging at the end can take months.

Spindelina · 04/12/2014 19:50

I second the suggestion to buy a Henry. Hide your other vacuum cleaner.

Don't get too stressed when things take longer than they should. It doesn't actually matter, really. If you can just inwardly shrug your shoulders (whilst giving whoever caused the delay a bollocking) then you will achieve zen.

MuddhaOfSuburbia · 04/12/2014 19:54

YEEEESSSSSS to Henry Hoover!!

why can't I think of anything useful like that?

I can do a bit of Stating the Bleedin Obvious, tho: never ever ever pay anyone a day rate, however nice they are

RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog · 04/12/2014 20:04

Ensure any window company you use are FENSA registered. We've just finished a three year project restoring a non-listed period house and mistakenly believed our very expensive hardwood reproduction sash windows were covered by our building regs so opted to use a very well-respected (but non-FENSA) local co to build and install......costly mistake as whilst the windows look fab, now we are selling we have had to pay for specialist indemnity insurance due to no cert/BR! With the benefit of hindsight I wish we'd chosen cheapo placcy windows same as everyone else in our village......

Expect everything to cost more and take far longer than planned.

Definitely buy a Henry (or Hetty!)

Keep a stash of wine/favourite guilty pleasure for days when you've been without hot water/heat for six months......and not to bathe in, lol!

Install a hard-wired smoke alarm.

Buy the best fixtures/fittings you can afford - agree re: Hansgrohe, we love our Axor showers!!

Don't leave garden landscaping till last - assuming this needs tackling too - if you address this early on in the process, not only will you have somewhere peaceful to escape to when indoors resembles a filthy building site (not in Winter, obviously!), but it will give the planting a chance to establish so when everything else is done the garden will look mature.....

FuckYouChristmasAndThatClaus · 04/12/2014 20:05

Oh yes to Henry. He was one of our first purchases when work was done: he's a godsend.

Original poster

movingtokent · 04/12/2014 20:06

That will be my PIL who could not understand why the plumber was there for 3 days to fix a simple problem in the shower.
Def looking at fixed priced contract with a detailed spec. I keep writing down random things like an outside tap for the garden, lights for the drive
Any other little things that you had to add in?

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Spindelina · 04/12/2014 20:57

A budget for going to stay in a (clean, tidy, quiet, dust-free) hotel room with a working shower every so often. Even if it's just down the road.

Madcats · 04/12/2014 21:18

We were novices/lambs to the slaughter. First time round we didn't move in (and they hacked away at carpets and floorboards they assumed we'd replace...but we had to keep them for years). The second time around we stayed put whilst an extension was ripped off and replaced (escaping for the big stuff).

Here are some random thoughts from extensive work 20 and 7 years ago.

Assuming you have neighbours, tell them what you are planning..find out if they work from home...buy them wine. We delayed ripping off and replacing and extension to fit around a scriptwriters big deadline.
Sort out the workers' loos/kettle facilities. Come to an agreement about radios/smoking/possibly swearing if you have kids old enough to be influenced and/or close neighbours. I made my builders wait until 8am before they could start working
Put an immersion heater in the hotwater tank so you can happily survive without a boiler.
Splurge and move out during any big demolition if you can. If you time it right holiday cottages are cheap (and have proper bathrooms etc). Equally a couple of days away from dust is a real joy (we are lucky to live in a touristy town so Laterooms etc became my friend as did close friends who were happy to let us live when they holidayed)
If you have young kids, buy some stairgates that are suitable for corridors and INSIST that builders don't leave power tools on the wrong side of your "family zone"
Photograph EVERYTHING all the time and leave access hatches for plumbing and know where the electric wires go. Get more power points than you could possibly need. Photos are useful for snaggings too.
If your builder is subcontracting plumbing and electrics, make sure that you are confident that they are being paid. Electricians don't like signing off other peoples' work so it is expensive to fall out/ fail to pay an electrician.
Power points power points
Underfloor heating is fab. I wish that we'd left easy scope to extend it into the old house.
Don't let the builders treat the garden as a junkyard (especially when it comes to pouring away surplus chemicals and paint)
Be nice to the building control man.

Most importantly, keep a good sense of humour. That said, ranting at my builder when he was a tiny bit cross and falling behind was enormously helpful.

staverton · 04/12/2014 21:35

Consider having a bonus for finishing on time and def a penalty for being late
Don't believe everything the builder says
Don't pay up front / make sure you have enough held back at end
(Can you tell we were screwed over?!)

RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog · 04/12/2014 21:43

10) Don't let the builders treat the garden as a junk yard or a loo for that matter.....we have amost half an acre of very nicely landscaped garden, but that didn't stop some of the builders working on our extension from using it as a public lavatory! Fortunately we soon sacked them and their replacements were able to utilise the facilities of their boss who lived a few doors away.....

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