Refurbing a 70's house

[cherrytrees123]

We are renting a 70's house that needs virtually everything done, thinking of buying it as at the end of our tether with house hunting which is going nowhere. I have never done anything like this before and wouldn't know where to start. OH is not practical, so I would have to drive the whole thing. We would need it all done by builders/painters and decorators etc.

Things I would like to do:
Instal a woodturner (no chimney)
Put in wood floors throughout (ugly, utilitarian carpet everywhere)
New bathroom (don't know how to fit a walk in shower in, no idea how to source the fittings or plan it etc)
New kitchen
Utility is very ugly and there is a lack of storage
Horrible metal ventilation grids in all the rooms (what do I do about these and why are they there?)
Do something to insulate the house as it's very cold in the winter
The guttering and downpipes are blocked I suspect as there is mould and mildew on some of the bedroom ceilings and the bathroom
The brickwork is really ugly so thinking of recladding but again no idea how to go about getting this done
Garden needs a load of trees felled, redesigned and sorted out
Drive needs to be paved, just dirt and a bit of gravel
Patio needs to be relaid
Complete redecoration throughout
Possible ensuite

I am reckoning on about £100,000 for most or all of this. Does this seem reasonable, and what do I need to do in what order? Do I need an architect? We need to think about what we would offer on the place as they are putting it on the market.

We have lived in our 1975 house for 16 years now. Two years ago we extended (2 storey side) and totally refurbished the house so it's almost like new.
A lot of the things you want are cosmetic. The most important thing is the integrity of the structure (so sorting out things like leaky gutters is essential), your electrics, which will more than likely need upgrading, and dealing with damp, if any, and getting up to date insulation, which could mean new windows, which you haven't mentioned, so perhaps they are okay.
What sort of heating have you got? When you say about the grills I wondered if it was warm air. Either way, you may need a new boiler as well.
If you really like the house, a lot of the works, and their cost, could be spread over several years, rather than going for the full hog straight away. Each little improvement would bring it's own pleasure. A good general builder would be able to give you some idea of cost.
Our upgrade cost around 135k, but that included the extension. I think 100k sounds a very reasonable budget.
The most expensive individual thing we had done was a new drive, but it is enormous. Some things are more expensive than you think!

P.S. A full structural survey (not a home buyers report) would be an invaluable bargaining tool if you decide to buy. They can make horrific reading though.
You don't need an architect if you know what you want built, you can use a plan drawer. Our extension was drawn for me to my design by a plan drawer, who produced professional drawings for planning and building control. This was a considerable saving over using an architect.

P.P.S. If I read your op properly I could have put this all in one post - anyway, we had a Woodburner fitted in a different place to the original fireplace, which was removed. My builder told me you can fit a Woodburner just about anywhere, but of course, if the flue has got to go up through bedrooms it is a lot of disruption, and the new 'chimney breast' will take up space upstairs as well, as the flue has to be boxed in. Easy to fit into an existing chimney though.

We are slowly refurbishing our 1950's house with 20 years of neglect added in! In the past three years, we have opened up and replaced the kitchen (open-plan downstairs), put in a new boiler, cooker and extractor fan, new windows upstairs, and laid high-quality laminate flooring across the downstairs. We have kids and pets - this made the most sense. The garden is large and the first year was spent ripping out ivy and mending fences. It's now being completely made over, step-by-step, starting with a veranda on the back for summer meals. DH has also replaced the guttering and painted the outside. I would say, we have spent the best part of 20k to date, but we can live with the electrics and DH is quite handy at DIY - he installed the kitchen and veranda on his own. We paid to have the laminate put down and for more technical or time-consuming jobs (the living room needs plastering!), we would get in a good professional. I would say, you need to consider 3 things:

1. Is the location right for you? there's no point in investing in the house if you need to move again within the next five years for jobs or schools. Given the amount of work required, it's likely to take that long for you to sort it out to your satisfaction, if you want to pay for it as you go along.

2)Is it structurally sound? You mention damp, which is a concern. Be really hard-nosed about this: if the survey comes back with major structural problems, it will be a money-pit.

3. If your DH is that useless at DIY, is there someone else you can trust to give you a second opinion when the teething troubles start with the workmen?

Looking over your list of jobs, the insulation and guttering are key things that have to be done. The cladding, patio, woodburner and redecoration are all optional and can be spread out. (I would personally go for an electric fire inside and a wood burner out as trying to retrofit a chimney is a major PITA). Getting a new bathroom put in is actually not that bad - you can literally buy them and B&Q or Wicks, along with an installation service. My advice is to shop around in the area and get referrals for recommended workmen whom you can genuinely trust. The en-suite will depending upon the layout of your house: would you need to actually build another room or create a partition?

regarding the garden, start by pruning back and then redesigning it, piece by piece. You patience will be repaid by seeing and using the best shrubs and flowers for that area and keeping the costs down.

Good luck!

Thanks. The heating is oil fired unfortunately. We would have to get a proper survey done before going ahead. The drawer idea sounds interesting, i hadn't heard of that!

The thing is , I don't love the house really, but we're exhausted looking for the house we love and are running out of options. Cant afford to rent any longer, and there are good and bad things about the location. I don't really want all this renovation work and stress, but it's looking like the best option at the moment.