Sorry this is quite the ramble. We have sold our flat and moving into a slightly larger flat, ground and basement with a small but pretty garden.
We have moved for all the right reasons but the flat we have bought (while beautiful and I do love it) needs a real overhaul. We are planning to remove the (70s) kitchen and put a new one in to the second principal room upstairs (and out of a small room in the basement), knock a box room into the shower room to create a family bathroom and put in an en-suite in the (ridiculously huge) cupboard off the room we will have as a bedroom.
I'm really excited about the work BUT I have no idea where to start. I think I need an architect to draw up plans and apply for listed building consent but will they include plans for new pipe work, electrics etc or just structural stuff? The whole place has lead pipes and i want to have them replaced straight away but I don't know how long it would take or whether we should put the pluming for the new spaces in at the same time or whether we would need to wait in a house with lead pipes before permission came through. It needs all the wiring done too but before we move the rooms around is there any point?
We will have to live in the property while it is being done. I have two children 12 and 10 and the younger one has ASD. I think we will muddle along fine (I grew up in a big Georgian house with all manner of weird plumbing/electrics/ rodent based things which were normal for us but I would like to minimise the disruption for my kids.
Is this very unrealistic? I could make do with just the kitchen being done and leave the bathrooms for later but if the pipe work/ electrics need to be done should we have a monumental go at just getting it done?
Also I have put a figure of (plucked from the air) of about £100,000 to do it all including a kitchen for about £35,000. Is that realistic (we don't have this money yet)?
I think I'm just a bit overwhelmed with the move and need a slightly less busy family life. Any thoughts or suggestions very welcome.