Renovating a 1930's semi

[PantsandBoots]

Hi everyone,

Would be grateful for your thoughts on what jobs need doing when renovating a solid 1930's semi.
Overall, it is in good condition but hasnt really been updated for the last 20 years.

My list:
Damp proof course
Partial rewire
Clear gutters
Insulate loft and board up
Refurb kitchen and bathroom
Decorate
New flooring throughout

Anything else?

Thanks

We changed our water pipe in a 30s semi for a bigger one.
The company used a moling machine to dig a tunnel under our concrete drive and path. They made 2 small holes and the machine tunnels to join them. Much less damage than digging everything up. They then stuck the blue pipe through.

@littlemissmagic - where did you find this company? And how much did they charge?

Thanks

Think it was about £1k 6 years ago
I can't remember how we found them. Try googling moling pipe replacement and hopefully you will come up with a few local to you

Thank you

Sounds like people are spending your money on things that don't have any sound reason to. If there's no damp issues then leave the damp course alone, ditto the wiring (but get it checked if you feel the need). Is there a reason to assume the water pipe is faulty and needs replacing? PigletJohn does give a superb bit of info should you need to make the replacement though :)
I had a house from 1936 and it was fault free throughout 13 years of ownership (only recently moved from it).
Do the bits that you have cause to suspect or have evidence of needing remediation, leve the rest alone and update the cosmetic decor, kitchen, bathroom etc

@Loofah01 - good bit of advice there as the list was getting longer and longer

Will get a tradesman to check and review what really needs doing. However, it's a good opportunity to do all these works before moving in.

We bought a 1930s semi for renovation last year.

So far we have:

• completely re-wired
• replastered
• replaced the plumbing system
• replaced the boiler and water tank
• put in a new kitchen
• replaced one (of two) bathroom
• redecorated the majority of rooms
• dealt with a number of damp problems by getting the gutters cleared and repaired, fixing an internal leak, lowering the external hard standing by the house, replacing gutter which had fallen off of the conservatory, chucking some caustic soda down the drains

Things left to do:

• The loft was (badly) converted some years ago so will require redoing (that's on the 5 year plan!) - will review roof at the same time as we'll have scaffold up (ditto decorating the house)
• second bathroom
• windows - replacing the old crap blown double glazing with nice timberlook glazing in a 1930s style (likely to be spendy)
• garden
• drive replacement
• lower hallway
• replace all the internal doors for 1930s ones
• replace the front door
• remove the upvc porch

I'm sure there are other things. We've broken it down into chunks, some of which we're doing quickly and others we're waiting on. Our priority was to make the house safe and livable, the rest can be chipped away at over time. A lot of it will be dependent on the state the house is in - this one hadn't been maintained for about 20 years so there was a lot of deterioration that basic maintenance early on would have resolved.

I've just thought about something. Is it brick or rendered? Our house is rendered and there's a crack in it that will require attention before too long. So that will involve chipping it off, rerendering and possibly painting the whole of the exterior (its been a good few years since it was last done).

We have done a big Reno to a detached 1930s house. We:
Rewired,
Replumbed,
Reconfigured - blocked up and demolished some chimneys and knocked through some smaller rooms,
Dry lined to improve energy efficiency
Replastered
Levelled floor
Repaired roof and rebuilt dormers
New floors
Painted
New doors
New bathrooms
New windows
New kitchen

I should add that our house was in a bad state of repair (not really habitable) so we decided to take it back to the studs and do a big job at once rather than a more gradual series of jobs which might be possible in a house in better condition

And also landscaping which was a massive cost

@SWS17 - did you need a party wall agreement for knocking out the chimneys?

I checked with the previous owners and they said that partial rewiring was done 20 years ago along with installation of double glazing....just wondering if I reaaaaallly need to do these two jobs....

Out of interest, how do you know if the water supply pipe needs replacing? We’ve been told ours possibly does but I’d like to get a second opinion and curious as to what the “signs” are.

Our house is detached so I’m afraid I can’t shed any light on the party wall agreement issue

@MyCatReallyIsAGit

Look at it.

If it is lead, yes

If it is iron and 50 years old, yes

if it is copper and 15mm OD, yes.

If it is oak and 1800 years old, yes,

If you have solid walls, do the internal insulation on your outside walls. It feels bad to make rooms a few inches smaller but you will be glad when the heating bills come in.

I think, but you need to check, you will need a party wall agreement to remove a chimney stack if it is one the adjoining (shared) wall. Pretty much anything into that wall beyond replastering needs an agreement. We removed a chimney in our 30s terrace and it formed part of the agreement. It was very very worth it though, the rooms seemed soooooo much bigger after, and it makes the space much more flexible in use.

I'd consider adding soundproofing - our house had very little so we could here all the dialogue on the neighbours' TV!

I was also thinking of soundproofing the adjoining wall but havent really found any good solutions....

@PigletJohn - lol thanks!

@PantsandBoots

"partial rewiring "

is a technical term meaning "bodge"

@PigletJohn - you are costing me more money

Can anyone recommend good soundproofing solutions to drown out 2 teenagers?

A completely sound roof is the absolute priority.

All the work following is underneath (stating the obvious, I know) and if the roof leaks, any improvements and decorations etc. will be damaged.

Complete rewiring, not partial, is also a must. Our house was built in 1935.

We are soundproofing in two ways: special dense plasterboard to the party wall (and yes you do need a party wall agreement to take down a chimney breast if it's on that wall) and insulating the suspended floor, which acts as a sound box amplifying noise.

I knocked down a chimney breast on the wall shared with next door. Never asked or told them and never got a party wall agreement or asked the council. Builder reckoned it could be knocked down in the kitchen without the chimney falling down, that was 20 years ago and the chimney seems ok!

We have a lead pipe coming from the main to the internal stop tap. Water company did a lead test for free and lead levels were “ok” so we left it. Water main is in the middle of a busy road so would have been a massive job digging up a carriageway to replace the service pipe.

We had some chimneys made smaller as they were about 12ft high and the builder recommended taking the stacks to a smaller height.

Had a new boiler. New patio door. Lots of plastering. New bathroom, new kitchen.

Oh a new roof. Well had the slates removed, sheeting put down under the slates and the original slates put back on with new nails.

I’m sure we should have got a party wall agreement for the chimney, just never crossed my mind.