Complete refurbishment what is your must have?

[lovelyupnorth]

Just about to buy a 3 bed semi that requires total modernisation.

We will be moving walls etc. If you had a blank piece of paper what would your must haves be. In features or just rooms.

House is about 1100sq ft. And we have a good budget to do what we want

I’m glad we put spotlights in front of the wardrobe

An upstairs utility room; I’m sick of going up and down the stairs with washing

Learning from our mistake definitely replace the boiler. Ours is now on its last legs and is underpowered for the house. Wish we'd allocated funds to that at the same time as rewiring seeing as all the floorboards were up anyway.

@Kerberos we’ve just done exactly this and your post makes me glad we did even though I’d have much rather spent that money on plastering and decorating :(
The boiler worked perfectly but was 20 years old and wouldn’t have coped with the extension we are planning.

We did this 4 years ago - gutted a detached and started from the shell. Things I am glad I did:

• re-wired the whole house
• new boiler and plumbing
• underfloor heating
• separate living rooms for DC to hang out and for me (quiet, no TV, for bookgroup)
• separate utility room
• large kitchen/diner with 'wow' factor (plus perfectly designed for me who loves cooking and baking)
• large glass extension with bifold doors, patio tiled the same as kitchen so it is (sorry for the cliche) indoor/outdoor living. Might seem dated now but still works for us. The light is brilliant.
• master bedroom ensuite and dressing room/walk-in wardrobe

squee: I wouldn’t have an under counter fridge either. Eye level all the way for an easy life!

Not from this reno but from my previous one, electric floor mats for under floor heating in a bathroom are lovely and toasty but very expensive to run.

If you are going for tiled floors then water under floor heating is great.

Definitely downstairs toilet

similar type house OP
Storage, storage and more storage.
Kitchen counter top area
Piles of plug outlets
Any bathroom fittings, make sure taps and plugholes are stainless steel.
Don't even consider horizontal blinds.
Check the shower power and water pressure before you let the tradesman go away
Don't use white/paler tiles on a bathroom floor
Downstairs toilet
Consider what you are doing under the stairs, can be a wasted space.

Big things are- if you replanted the walls then all external walls do in 1 inch thermaline. It’s not going to make your house passive by any stretch, but it will get rid of cold walls, which makes a huge difference. Make sure the builder fills all gaps in the thermaline with expanding thermal foam to ensure that there are no cold spots on your walls.

Ensure that your underfloor is properly insulated and all gaps are closed up. You are ideally looking for a house that doesn’t exchange air easily through the floor or chimney- this will reduce your heating significantly and make the house more comfortable. It does however mean you have to be religious about airing the house out once/day to prevent damp, but opening the windows for 10 minutes will still be better than having cold wind in your house mid-winter.

Air con in your south facing rooms. The last two summers have been made far more bearable with A/C in the south facing rooms (the north facing are ok as they are).

On your shared wall have the builder put acoustic rock wool on the party wall with a double layer of acoustic gyprock. You lose around 2 inches of space (so consider if this is an issue) but it will help to dreaden sound transfer between properties.

In the loft (if you aren’t doing an extension) PIR in all the loft joists and rockwool in the ceiling joists.

Upgrade your water supply pipe to 25 or 32mm. While you are refurbishing redo your plumbing. It’s not a huge cost if the walls are already stripped and it makes a big difference to your water pressure. Ensure all pipes outside your thermal envelope are lagged (principally the pipes under the house). If the boiler is old change it for a new system boiler (we got our baxi boiler & cylinder for £1,500).

After that it’s conveniences- if the walls are stripped might as well re-wire, and if you re-wire get your sockets done, raised off the skirting, put USB sockets in, redo your fire alarms so they’re all wired in (comply with the new regs and also means you never have to change fire alarm batteries anymore).

I’m sure I’ll think of more, but they’re the biggies.

@lovelyupnorth I will be replacing some parts of my new house, including the bathroom. EA advised me to think about possible future buyers - eg my house is in catchment area for very good primary school so as its a 4 bed family house, having a bath in the bathroom is a must!
It currently has a shower ,bidet (which I would have given my eye teeth for ten years ago when subjected to horrendously heavy periods but now wouldn't bother with!) toilet and basin.

If you're doing bathrooms try and get the heated towel rails linked to the hot water and not the central heating! So much more useful in months when the heating isn't used.

Just coming to the end (ish) of a full 1930s renovation.

We thought we had a lovely big budget too. It didn’t go anywhere near what we thought we’d be able to do and we totally underestimated how much the garden would cost (and that’s with us doing much of the work).

Little things like moving the electric board made a big difference (cost us about £350). A car charge will need it’s own isolation switch so if you don’t install it, make sure there is room to put one.

I would have liked a storage area. We got rid of the garage to make our kitchen diner and I miss the storage. Sheds are expensive!

Oh and I would invest in solar panels.

Built in wardrobes

Under stair/hallway storage for coats and shoes

Decent radiators (currently replacing the single panels that previous owners had).

Wish we still had a 'pet friendly' burglar alarm too.

Downstairs cloakroom/loo especially if you have children.
Storage, storage, storage!
Ulity room, can be combined with loo
Don't make downstairs totally open plan. Combine kitchen and dining room, extend to back if need be/budget allows but keep the front room. Great for when the dc get older and want to be with friends, no need to go up to bedrooms adn it is quiet space for adults to escape the din of the open plan kitchen/diner.

Big kitchen, lots of built in kitchen lighting and a gas hob with a large hob for stir fry's.

Concealed storage for coats/shoes/boots near the entrance, kitchen/diner with decent sized table and a larder and utility room (ideally upstairs or near the stairs) with room for sorting and drying laundry.
BAthroom with separate shower and downstairs loo.

Thanks for these. Lots of things we’re going to include.

Agee with the poster about the bath.

Also about changed some of the things we might have done for cheaper thinking of return on investment.

Lots to think about.

Another vote for getting doors hung perfectly and choosing well designed handles (that also feel good in the hand) for the style of your house.

Argh door handles. Bain of my life. Can't turn round handles if hands wet or creamy or a bit weak. The push down handles catch my clothes and body ripping former and hurting latter...any good solutions?

@hiddenmnetter sorry to jump on this post but was wondering about the soundproofing. We are end terrace so just one joined on neighbour thankfully. The two rooms we have noise issues in both have a large alcove as part of the wall as there’s a substantial (one foot or so deep) chimney breast still in place. Would it be worth doing what you’ve mentioned just in the alcoves? We’ve just rewired and are about to have a false wall put in in the living room for a tv anyway and we could afford to lose a couple of inches in the bedroom too. Would be interested in your thoughts. Thanks!

Roof, insulation, windows and doors, rewire, new boiler and efficient plumbing. Don’t overspend so much that you take the property out of the price range of similar properties nearby otherwise you may struggle to get your money back. The property is 1100 sq ft so try to make the most of streamlined storage so that it looks spacious. If possible put in fold back doors between living room/kitchen diner so you have the option to open up the space if entertaining. Master en suite and a second family bathroom - also a separate cloakroom if there is room downstairs. Streamlined kitchen but don’t go mad on price of units and worktops. Good quality A** rated appliances and LED lights everywhere. Underfloor heating if possible with well insulated floors.

Yep if your builder puts 2 inch studs on the wall and fills it with acoustic rock wool or PIR, then covers it with acoustic gyprock it will help with the transfer of sound. It also makes the whole rewiring much easier cause nothing needs chasing.

@hiddenmnetter thanks! Sick of hearing next doors TV and them coughing in bed. Dread to think what they hear from our side

We put in a stud and soundproofing but it didn't really make much difference.