Renovation through lockdown

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Anyone else trying to renovate through the lockdown ?

Would be great to hear from others and have a thread of experiences.

We are mainly renovating our 1930s semi on a DIY basis but there are some jobs we need trades and pros for - kitchen fitting, carpet, painting exterior of hardwood windows and bathroom refit for starters.

We have got a decorator coming to quote for the windows on Monday. Think this should be doable from outside ? They need maintenance before the winter.

Also got a remote kitchen planning appointment with IKEA for next Saturday. Have also enquired with a local kitchen showroom but I think they may be totally shut. Need to get it booked in, the kitchen is a state!

Money is a worry but the house is half renovated so we will try and access low/no interest credit if needed to get it done.

Anyone else on a similar path?

Not a whole house but DH has managed rototally refit our bathroom. During lockdown.
This was taking out the bath, installing a large shower cubicle. Moving water and waste pipes and putting in a new sink unit on a different wall. He also panelled the walls rather than tiled, and painted the window wall. Took of the old skirting boards and architrave and replaced. Only thing he hasnt done is put on a new door. That is only because we could not get on delivered.
We managed to order it all online. And were lucky enough to have a screwfix in town, that he could click and collect the few things extra we needed.

We moved into a renovation house a few days before lockdown. It’s been difficult but have so far managed to have wall ties put in, half the house rewired, the en-suite completely replumbed and the roof is being fixed tomorrow. Trades can maintain a distance from us and as they’re all self employed they are glad to be working as government help is a way off. We’ve massively struggled with materials though. Both bathrooms were due to be delivered on week 1 but are now coming on week 8, we’ve had to live with disgusting toilets and a mouldy shower between 6 up til now. We also haven’t been able to get any plasterboard or plaster fill etc, and the stuff we have got we’ve paid through the nose for at Wickes.

Selco is opening back up next week thank god. It really wasn’t ideal time to move into something that needed gutting but I’m just glad we got in and have managed at least a little progress!

@shosha that's impressive! Has your DH done anything like that before. I keep hearing about these 'handy' people and so wish my DH was one of them! He's ok if he feels confident doing something and can see the urgency but would be wary of anything involving plumbing, for example. Over the year we've been DIYing we've definitely identified each other's strengths - DH is pretty good at laying flooring, silicone sealant, and removing and replacing radiators. He also did a cracking job of insulating a bay window. My domain is very much in the planning, negotiation and prioritising as well as any of the decoration - much better eye for detail 

@AGreatUsername my goodness that must be tough. It sounds like you've approached the challenge with gusto - you certainly won't forget all this hard won work I'm sure!! We have been lucky not to have had any urgent work half finished during lockdown - the house is safe, warm (ish!) and dry, having been rewired and had a new boiler last year. We are however starting to look at the essential maintenance jobs , including replacing a leaky window, and wondering when these can get done. I've contacted a few tradespeople who we had booked in at various times and none have said they are coming into the home at present - I'm kind of grateful really as I wouldn't want people in and around the house if avoidable.

Hm. Not such great progress today.

The decorator cancelled coming to quote for exterior window painting. No one seems to want the job! We've only had one quote for this (months ago) and it was £1250 which seemed pretty nuts for a few windows and a porch. They also told us they couldn't paint the windows white . We've since heard some not great things about these guys so won't be proceeding.

I know many people paint / varnish their hardwood windows themselves from up a ladder, but how likely are we to fall of the ladder doing this ?!

Also spoke to a local kitchen outfit today. Their lead times are 'weeks, not months' at the minute which is pretty great. However the kitchen is a thoroughfare in our house - how safe they can be, I don't know?!

I'm also mindful that in this context we will see these sorts of businesses unfortunately going bust, so may be more risk than usual in getting stung with something half finished.

Can't see solutions yet...

Hiya,

I'm in a similar boat in that I was mid-way through reno works and had to halt everything, mainly because the kitchen I had on order was scheduled to arrive the day after the lockdown kicked in. Hence Howdens had to cancel all orders and closed all stores, so my kitchen never arrived.
You should be able to still have an ikea planning session, I've had two whilst in lockdown (mainly because I'm now considering redesigning the kitchen) though I will say, I had one in store too, and it's so much better to do in person.
As I understand it, some showrooms are open. Who were you planning on getting your kitchen from?

@TiddleTaddleTat nope. He and DS put the kitchen in together after building work done. But DS is a qualified Electrician and has put kitchen into 4 houses he owned. This was the first time flying solo. He had done a lovely job of it too.

Hi @Smallgoon
We are going to do the iKEA planning appointment next week. Then I might have a go at planning with DIY kitchens as well as the local kitchen supplier that I spoke to today.
We only have a tiny kitchen and having played with possible layouts extensively before we moved in and when we had it rewired, there really isn't much that can be changed. It's a very simple run of cupboards about 2.5m long and a sink in front of a window. A sort of u shape/l shape kitchen.
The vast majority of the work is going to be in removing all the old crap and botched DIY and making good the space.
I think the local outfit with their tradespeople will probably be the best option as I've heard lots of good things.

@TiddleTaddleTat ok, sounds good! One thing to note is that depending on how soon you're looking to get the kitchen sorted, DIY kitchens will take 5 weeks for delivery (I'm looking into them as a option too!).

@Smallgoon thank you - good to know.
I may be living in cloud cuckoo land though - having just had a discussion with DH about logistics of having a kitchen renovation at the minute I'm feeling rather daunted about the actual doing of it!
We need to walk through the tiny 1930s kitchen to get into the garden, living room and dining room. I can't see how we can logistically get this done during lockdown when we are home all day. In honesty I think it would be a bit of a nightmare.

@TiddleTaddleTat Although aren't they reviewing the lockdown requirements on Sunday? Given they're starting to ease measures in countries like Italy/Spain etc, I'm of the opinion that they'll do the same here too. My reno works have been halted for 6 weeks now. My guessing is next week I'll be visiting kitchen showrooms!

Hmm, restrictions might be lifted but the virus will still be about... I'm cautious about it really. We need to get it done as the kitchen is ancient, unhygienic, ugly and half finished - but it's also safe and useable for the short term. Agh, I'm torn .

I mean, visiting a showroom (if indeed they open) will probably be no different from going food shopping currently. So long as you keep your distance, you should probably be ok. And I imagine the showrooms will be less busier than supermarkets are. Unless you're brave enough to go ahead and order your units off the back of a skype based planning session from Ikea or DIY kitchens (who I don't think have a showroom in London), which is doable. For me personally, I really need to physically visit a showroom and get an understanding of what I like and don't like. I'm a FTB and this is all new to me, so I don't feel I can make a decision without the extensive research. I've even enlisted the help of Karen of One Plan (who comes highly recommended on here) but I'll still need to spend some time visiting and assessing kitchens before being able to make a final decision.

Yes, seeing them in person is so important. What I haven't said is that I've been thinking about the kitchen since we bought the house a year ago, and probably some time before that, so I've looked round both the independent supplier's showroom and Ikea's several times already. We have a good idea of what we want (which is pretty basic and entry level, really) it's to tide us over for 5-10 years until we hope to extend and remodel the downstairs space .

@Smallgoon are you still hoping to have a howdens' kitchen? We had one in the last place we rented, newly put in before we moved it. It was excellent and really solid. May be worth a look for us too, actually

Ah ok. Have you had the space measured at all? Guessing you have as you will need the measurements for the planning session. I think once you get some mock ups of how your kitchen could look (which is really exciting!), if you've already done the research you need, you should be good to go. Will you be fitting the kitchen yourself, or hiring help?

@Smallgoon it's really in the state at the moment with botched DIY so even if we built the cupboards and fitted them we don't have the tools to cut worktop or tile around lots of electrical sockets, so will be getting help in.
We've done a lot of DIY already in the house but the kitchen is one area we want done by trades, largely due to the amount of time it's likely to take it we do it ourselves and wanting to have it out of use for as little time as possible

what kind of a budget do you have? Bear in mind that it can cost £1-2k to have it fitted.

Budget is still a question, we will have about £4000 we can put towards it in mid-June, then anything further we'd have to buy on 0% interest credit.
How about you @Smallgoon ?

@TiddleTaddleTat Ok, well at least a lot of the bathroom companies do offer the 0% interest credit so that could help you.

My budget is probably in the £10k range despite me being in a small flat, though I'm in London which is always more costly. I'd need to have it fitted, and I've needed to have my boiler moved (which for the cost of doing that, I was better off replacing the actual boiler so that was an expense I wasn't expecting) and I've need plumbing/waste moved as well as rewiring.

I think Ikea could be a good bet for you. What kind of style were you going for?

IKEA do 0% interest too on kitchens.
We're just going to put in a basic slab kitchen with laminate worktop. Maybe some colourful tiles. Flooring not sure yet.
The size is about 6sq m, it's tiny!

So we had an Ikea kitchen planning appointment and the guy came up with a really neat solution to the small space and all its nooks and crannies.
He ended up making some good suggestions like

• a 2 ring induction rather than the 4 ring gas range we currently have,
• resiting the kitchen and microwave to be integrated into a cupboard and higher up
• going for a much smaller sink as there was a lot of wasted space with this

We haven't looked into appliance reviews yet (it would be an Ikea mattradition oven, integrated microwave and 2 ring induction being added to existing appliances).
Also went for whatever doors we fancied, weren't the cheapest.
Total cost £1900 inc VAT. He has also talked us into thinking we can install it ourselves (DH is keen) I'm less sure.

We also have loads of work to do first with removal of old kitchen, making good plaster and a little bit of new wiring, capping off gas.

But flummoxed about how/when to do this. I find kitchen Reno very stressful but I know it'll be worth it!

Pics

Does this look like a good solution to the tiny space? Ideas gratefully received.
We would rather knock down wall, extend out but this is going to be £££££s more than we have or are willing to borrow atm.

Could you resite a few cupboards into another room? Keep the sink and am in until the very end but set up a good prep/fridge/microwave area elsewhere in the house? I found this made it more acceptable to not have a kitchen for six weeks.

@PETRONELLAS that's a good idea. The kitchen is currently a thoroughfare to get from upstairs into the living, dining, and conservatory. We could actually clear one of the sofas and stick a kitchen cabinet or the camp table in there with a kettle microwave and maybe even a small electric hob.

We have a detached garage which already contains a lot of our food and drink so storage is less of a problem fortunately.

Then there's the bbq. I guess this is going to be much easier in summer!

Actually it's seeming more doable now...