Has anyone just bought a big wreck of a house? Support thread?

[ProgrammableMagneticStorm]

We've just bought a 400 year old house and I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed.

Joining in! We completed last Thursday on our new house - early Edwardian. Used to be two workers' cottages that were knocked into one in the 70s and then extended.

Was so excited to get the keys but mood dampened a little to see exactly how much needs doing. Oh and they'd casually left an old cabinet hiding half a wall of damp that the surveyor missed, which was just brilliant.

We're fortunate that we have a month or so to do immediate remedial work (damp, electrics, plumbing etc) before we move in, which is handy as we have a toddler and a baby to contend with. Then we're having a new kitchen this year and in the next 3-5 years hopefully an extension upstairs. It's our first big project - not as big as some on here but I do fear le money pit. Exhilarating and terrifying in equal measures!

Ours is the same age, but listed, it was no where near a wreck but had not been touched in over thirty years by the previous owners,

We have had the floors sanded, beams sand blasted, new kitchen installed, decorated throughout, new lighting, up graded fuse box, new electrics in out building, some panes from leaded windows replaced, patio and path relaid, extensive landscaping done in garden, new and very expensive massive rugs down stairs.

Fitted wardrobes going in next month to our room, and will do the main bathroom this year.

We try to do one big thing a year, this year it’s two (fitted wardrobes are ££££) as they need doing.

Do it one step at a time, don’t rush at it, plus I’ve found you need to live in a property for awhile to understand what works for it, otherwise you make costly regrettable mistakes.

Good luck, it’s worth it, things like the attic can wait, do the things that need doing first, live in it, then make some decisions as you go along.

Sorry, also we had a second wood burner installed downstairs, it really is worth it if the house is freezing. We find it makes a huge difference in the winter, and we had the chimney repointed at the same time.

@ProgrammableMagneticStorm we got a sewage treatment unit in the end and honestly it’s fantastic.

We have beautiful but uneven wooden floors upstairs that I want to sand. So much dust though...

We bought a 200 year old cottage that had been rented for the previous decade or so.

We quickly found that most jobs hadn't been done because when you looked into it x needed a permit, or scaffolding, or another cost. In the end we had to fix the flashing, repoint the chimneys, fix the guttering, roof, install venting tiles, repaint the front and windows and install the log burner all in one go to save having to get the permit, scaffolding etc all over again.

New kitchen, 2 new bathrooms, flooring and insulation throughout and complete redecoration, build of garden room and then decided its time to move on.

This time we're going for a new one. (although with snagging, we may well have the same issues!)

Can I join? We moved in November, only a small cottage but has a building attached that we are converting, then two more outbuildings to convert so the overall footprint is large.

We thought it was built in 1900 but it was on an 1867 map and could be as old as the turn of the 19th century.

We've done nothing yet as waiting for the building work to be done. It's damp as anything so we will be opening up at least two fireplaces so the house can breathe. It was empty for three years so of course when we moved in all the wallpaper came off!

I think I will insta when we get going. At our last house we decorated everything before we moved in, so this has been really strange. Our stuff in someone else's house almost, definitely in our bedroom which is a red and yellow tribute to the 1990s.

I've been doing a lot in the garden. All the major chopping is done now so no chance of disturbing nesting birds. Next job is relaying the paths and spending the year finding out what plants are in already.

No real issues so far save for an unfortunate, albeit easily solved, shower/toilet crossover event.

We are just in the process of getting quotes to do a tiny room with a toilet and sink in it that sits on our half landing. It's more of a cupboard really.
3-4 k as we need to strip 9 million layers of paint, level the floor, and refurbish the original door.
It's proving to be a very expensive cupboard!!

@ProgrammableMagneticStorm we got a sewage treatment unit in the end and honestly it’s fantastic.

I bet you never imagined yourself saying this, ever. . What does that mean, that you're not connected to the mains, you 'process' it yourself?

3-4 k as we need to strip 9 million layers of paint, level the floor, and refurbish the original door.
It's proving to be a very expensive cupboard!!

Oh god. We have panelling to strip. You do know you can send the door off to be dipped/stripped which may be quite a bit cheaper?

Oh, this is a very good idea for a thread. Anyone want to share pictures?

Not an old house but we renovated my partners house recently. He has owned it for 16 years while single, and let's just say it was cluttered and needed lots of work.

It took us about 12-18 months of weekend and evening work, and in true Sarah Beeny style, I got pregnant while doing it. What we thought was maybe a 2-3 month decorate and put in new kitchen job turned into new guttering, concreting floors, new boiler and radiators, new kitchen and bathroom, utility, plaster, decorate and a whole load of snagging. But it's done now! Unfortunately it was as Brexit uncertainty hit, so it's sat on the market for 6 months, but we've just heard news of a potential offer 🤞🤞

I just posted a separate thread about the survey report we’ve had back today if anyone wants to take a look. I want to cry but I’m hoping I’m being overly dramatic.

We've just had a random plywood shower room removed over the last three days. I now have a huge utility room space (it would make a decent sized kitchen!). Unfortunately it didn't occur to me to think about where to put anything until the builder asked where the appliances we're going to go, so I'll have to figure all that out before tomorrow!

My people
We are in renovation hell, like others trying to manage full time jobs, children, life, keeping a marriage intact (!) among the constant work of a renovation. We don't have the money to pay many trades so are doing what we can ourselves and it takes ages to read up, get advice, learn a skill, get it done.
It is slow and frustrating and we are freezing cold at the moment with no carpets yet and many rooms bare old plaster, half decorated, a leaky window, etc etc.
I can't say I'm enjoying it if I'm honest. If I didn't work I might do, but everything together is too much.
What I would say though is that we love the location of the house and the space we have in the garden, and it's a freehold, and our mortgage is manageable, so overall I'm still happy we bought it.

Okay, so I’ve now spoken to the surveyor and had my mind eased a little. However, there was one really nasty surprise which was there is a wall bowing due to decayed mortar. It needs remedying. The surveyor has suggested chemical anchors (as it’s a solid wall ties are not applicable but this seems a similar thing). Has anyone had similar done and wouldn’t mind telling me the cost?

The other issues were mostly expected ones we’d accounted for. However it turns out both chimneys need reflashing and repointing, and where 2 roofs join needs reflashing too. This has doubled the cost. Unfortunately it looks like our entire “going in” budget will now be eaten up by making it sound with none of the inside work being even started.

Gah. It's scary isn't it. I suppose at least the money is there to do those works ? Internal stuff , decor etc really can wait. It's a pain but.. far better you know about defects now and can fix them.
Unfortunately the bulk of all our renovation spending has gone on invisible but essential parts of the house to make it safe, warm, secure etc

We’re about to. A giant Georgian terrace with a wonderful view. At least the view doesn’t require any work...

Speminalium Interested in your asbestos ceilings - are they Artex? Are you pulling them down completely? We have Artex ceilin in three rooms - confirmed as Artex - not sure how to deal x

AGreatUsername Assume you has structural survey after you purchased the house? We’re are needed to do that I think.

Ah yes I never thought I’d properly appreciate modern sewage as much as I do now. Essentially there’s a tank with a unit that churns (bleurgh) everything and filters it, the water that leaves is clean enough to be allowed to be pumped out into the system without further processing. It’s essentially the same as what happens at public treatment units, just on a small scale. We don’t pay for sewage on our water rates.

How do the doors look like after chemical stripping? All of our doors are non-standard but covered in layers and layers of paint. Ive looked into this but am worried the door will just fall apart!

The2ATeam our plasterer skimmed our artex ceilings

@The2Ateam, we’re mid purchase now so our survey has only just come back. I’ve written a big long email to send and basically ask for a chunk off the price for all the extra stuff. There’s quite a bit there, not all of it needs doing immediately but it’ll cost a fair bit. For example the lean to must come down as it’s leaking and causing damp, is fully rotten and has a dangerous lean into next doors alley. But to take it down means removing all the plumbing and electrical connections in there and feeding them back into the kitchen, and also buying new UPVC french doors as the current access via the dining room is through wooden internal doors. The sheds in the garden have collapsed roofs and have to go, but again there are power supplies in there and if the sheds go the 12 foot tall single-skin garden wall will need bracing etc etc

Am I an unreasonable bitch for asking for money off? I worry they’ll tell me to bugger off and that I can’t have the house or something.

AGreatUsername No you’re doing the right thing, it’s right to ask for money off the price in those circumstances. If they tell you to ‘bugger off’ it’ll be your choice to continue or not. You have nothing to lose IMO. I wish we had done the same but we rushed it and only had a homebuyers, which found nothing hoffric but now I’m worried the house is hiding horrors!!

TiddleTaddleTat I think we’re going to do the same to our ceilings, although it has also been reccomend to us to bond and board them, which involves sticking large plaster boards over the ceilings.

Us too! We are in a large 1920ish detached house that has been with the previous owner for 40 years. It seems to have been looked after well enough for the big stuff, but needs a complete overhaul. So far we have done: new radiators, new electrics, new water supply pipe, taken a whole van load of woodchip wallpaper to the tip, decorated a couple of rooms and sanded some floors, installed a couple of wood burners, and we are currently midway through knocking the wall out between kitchen and diner (and whole chimney stack above). We are pretty much out of money now so the bathrooms will have to wait. We are actually not out of money but DH has unbeknownst to me put half the renovation budget into a high interest savings account that we can’t touch. Which I’m annoyed about because if we can’t touch the money for 2 years we should have just taken a smaller mortgage!

Yes -we lived in the garden in a caravan for 18 months with 3 DC’s aged 4 and under. Moved in about a year ago.