Anyone else renovating with baby on the way?

[Beaglegirl1]

Hi this is my first post so apologies if I'm not following the correct way of posting.
Anyone else in the middle of renovations with baby on the way? I'm starting to go slightly sick with worry.
We had offer accepted on a cottage back in May. To cut a long story short it was empty, we thought as we were already in storage it would be fairly quick transaction but nooo. Only got keys 3 weeks ago and baby due end of Nov.
So far we've had new central heating installed, removed an unsafe and unsightly 70's chimney breast, part rewire, new windows, 2 back bedrooms replastered and in process of ours getting done. We've done a fair bit but there's sooo much more.
I'm thinking that if we at least have our room plastered next week I can get carpets in and at least have upstairs ok.
Downstairs we hope to extend kitchen slightly but that will be next year!

Yes me 🙋🏻‍♀️ We had our offer accepted yesterday. I’m starting to feel scared and am now entering planning mode, researching like crazy so I don’t make silly mistakes under pressure. Spreadsheets are your friend

I would prioritise getting upstairs done, so you’ve somewhere cosy and warm to escape to with baby when you’re breastfeeding/ napping.

Be prepared to clean the carpet though after the renovations downstairs complete- the whole house is likely to get messy

Hi purpleflowers. Feel better I'm not alone at least. What kind of property are you buying and what type of work will you be carrying out?
Yes definatly research. We hit a couple of snags that we didn't realise. Damp on one wall which was not apparent at first. Then having to remove a chimney breast. Now the flashing on the porch roof has decided to leak!

My sister and her dh renovated a property that they moved into when she was 8 months pregnant with twins, they also had a 13 month old. House looks lovely, it was a shit hole!

Have you done renovations before purple flowers?

Phillipa ours can safely be described as a shithole!!
It's in a nice village and has a huge garden and allotment which I thought was great, now I'm thinking it's a little shithole in a nice village. Please God let it become a lovely little cottage

Hi beagle- also nice to know I’m not alone

We’re buying a doer upper 50s ex council semi. I actually live in the same house design on a different street (but completely done up!) but this is in a better plot, more potential. But I’m lucky cause I know the house inside out already iyswim

Mainly it’s redesign and updating work. Older lady lived in it so was adapted for her needs and not suitable for family. So even though lot of work nothing major or expensive (apart from new bathroom and kitchen!). The houses are built amazingly well which is why we want the same again, just the better plot and potential for hubby to have office and DC separate bedrooms

Ah it will be lovely and so worth it in the end. We’ve never done renovations ourselves (just usually diy, decorating) but as a kid my parents bought three shitholes and did them up - climbing the ladder

When you buy a house done up you compromise- it’s never your taste - this way we get exactly what we want

Purple that is so true. At least this way I'll get what I want in the end.
Yours sounds fantastic and good that you kind of know it already so you know what works well and not in your current one.
We moved out of a new build which was lovely but I hated it's lack of character. This one has character alright but just hope I settle in ok once it's done.
DH also would like office space. We're thinking of a nice summerhouse type thing in the garden

Phillipa I'd say ours is definatkey a shithole. I just hope it can become nice in the end

beagle if you want a summer house cum office then check out the ones available at Costco. We’re considering it. My family has one and they look beautiful- only £3k installed which is a bargain compared to what you’d pay elsewhere. You can heat and insulate them I think. They have proper windows and doors- they don’t look like a shed. Check out on their website

Thanks purple I'll certainly look. We have conservatory furniture from old house but no conservatory here so do you think they're big enough to house that too?

The ones I’ve seen are pretty big but they come in different sizes. Not sure what the 3k one is like- just saw it advertised in their latest leaflet at my mum’s house (she is a Costco devotee!)

Dont worry, it will be lovely. My sisters house is beautiful now but dad on his first visit did rip all the carpets up as that was were the smell was coming from! 😁😂

You'll be ok! Just take it day by day and you'll adapt. We bought a Victorian wreck in late 2014, I got pregnant the month after we moved in (after 2 years of trying) and we're still renovating it ourselves after 4 years! One toddler aged 3 and a baby aged 13 months. That long living in a building site - plus we demolished half the house last year and built a double storey extension (hiring in the trades and project managing the build ourselves). Still 2-3 years of work to go (my husband does the work evenings/weekends and annual leave whilst holding down a full time job)! Will be the forever house though.

Ah the memories, I had a just turned 3 year old and gave birth before the bathroom was finished. We bathed Ds2 in the kitchen sink

Then the bath went in (Dh and I were installing it) and there are photos of Ds1 in the bath, Ds2 in a baby bath that sits on top of the bath sides, and the last row of tiling to the bath missing as that is the last row you do.

I remember feeling overwhelmed and sick of mess and dust. But I also knew what it would look like in the end. You have to keep that in mind when it feels like it is too much.

There are photos of Ds1 helping to paint a newly plastered wall with a mist coat and I am 8 months pregnant. The sofas being shoved into the middle of the lounge so the plastering could take place. Ds1 saw it all as a big adventure. I tried not to lose my mind

Luckily for us no structural work but total gutting of house top to bottom, new bathrooms, kitchen, boiler, redecoration, new flooring. Totally worth it, then of course we moved here and did a kitchen extension, landscaped the back garden, garage conversion, new boiler, new windows, sofits, facias, gutters, flooring, etc etc.

This is our stay here till the children leave home house so there is only the en-suite left to gut out.

Aww thanks everyone. You've given me some hope that I'll be able to remain sane through this.
Today we levelled a floor upstairs and replaced a couple of crappy boards. So upstairs is ok to be painted once the plaster dries out. Bathroom is dated (80's) but functioning ok so will leave until next year.

Soon to be in a similar position hopefully! We've had an offer accepted on a house and just waiting for mortgage to be finalised. I'll be 7 months when we move in and we need to do a bit of work. Fortunately although we want to do a lot, we don't HAVE to and we are planning on painting carpets, insulation and hopefully bathroom and then the bigger renovations to follow when we have saved up and found some kind of normality with becoming parents!

Good luck with the renovations ahead Jenda. We really had to do some before getting in as one wall- thecwhole gable end plaster was completely shot when we removed old wall boards hiding years of neglect- a previous penetrating damp issue by the looks of it and then a hell of a lot of condensation under the boarding over the years had built up knackering the rest of the plaster. Also had nocetral heating so had to have that installed. Bedrooms needed a fair bit of plastering as again wallpaper hiding completely knackered walls. We are up to painting upstairs now so looking more normal thank goodness. The bathroom is 80's but functional so will tackle that another time.

We bought a renovation project and lived in it with 2 young dc while we did all the work ourselves. Had no kitchen for 18 months, that was fun! Almost finished the house after 4 years and several near breakdowns and saw another renovation project we liked. So we moved thinking it would be so much easier now the kids were older. Big house with lots of work started doing it and then I had the bright idea that it was a good time to have another baby . So project on hold and we live in a bit of messy chaos.
It's tidy and as clean as it can be but the old carpets, damaged walls, leaky chimney, half finished kitchen and lots of bare walls make it look like a shit tip. But I love it! After the last renovation project I can see that all the hard work and stress will be worth it in the end. You'll get there and I'm sure it'll be a lovely home. One thing I wish someone had told me before we started is to try and finish your bedroom completely. It makes such a difference knowing you have one place in the house to escape the dust and mess and stress. In the last house we left our room until last. In this house we did our bedroom first and made sure it was completely done so I always have somewhere to hide if the rest of the house gets too much for me. Made a massive difference to my stress levels and ability to cope with the chaos.

Like ChalkDoodler I have some lovely pictures of the dc in the house during various stages of work. I have videos of them when they were toddlers 'helping' make our house into a home. The best one is of my ds sanding down some woodwork with an electric sander wearing a paper face mask when he's about 3. So cute and now they are older they like looking at the pictures and seeing what the houses used to be like because they were too young to remember.

It's awful and fun in equal measures but well worth it to have a home just how you want it.