1930s 3-bed modernisation costs

[Yazoop]

Hello there,

A bit of advice from you lovely people. Considering the likely costs for modernising a relatively modest-sized (980 sq ft), 3-bed 30s terrace. We are in outer London. It is a probate property that had been lived in by an elderly person. Has had general maintenance, electrics appear to have been updated in the 1990s, relatively new double glazing. Survey says generally wind and watertight, no huge issues but some smaller wear and tear regarding roof tiles and a couple of instances where repointing is needed. Has central heating which appears to be fine. We still need electric and drain survey to know exactly what the case is. We also need to get damp looked at more closely - some signs of damp found in the downstairs reception room and survey suggests that the damp proof course may have started to fail, so will likely need to have a new one.

Some wear and tear on the plastering in places but will likely not need wholesale replaster, but will need to strip off the lovely artex ceilings! Will need a totally new bathroom, totally stripped and painted throughout, probably new flooring throughout (not sure what the floorboards are like underneath the carpet), and some fitted in wardrobes.

We would like to get rid of the galley kitchen and do a single story back extension (not huge - within permitted development) to have kitchen diner.

We’ve got up to £100k to spend (if we have to!). We are considering whether to try and do the work all at once (factoring in the time it takes to get a good builder, get a design for extension etc), or focus on getting things in a nice liveable condition (ie any essential repairs, new bathroom, bedrooms, skimming and lick of paint throughout) and then do the extension once we’ve had time to bed in. However we will be TTC so will be bearing in mind that having a baby could throw a spanner in the works!

Any idea of the overall budget we would be looking at? And any recommendations on doing it in one phase versus two?

In terms of finish, ideally we’d like to have a mix of prioritising some higher end items (e.g. a lovely big Belfast sink, some brass finishes in the kitchen, some bespoke fitted storage) with the more budget-friendly. Our taste is more on the eclectic side so the ultra-high end minimalist stuff isn’t really us anyway.

Thanks all!

From building /organisation point of view one shot would be better..as you can sort damp replaster etc all at once... probably a cost benefit overall.
It would also be faster as well
If you spend effort on purchasing your fixtures and fittings you can definitely save money..
Also better from a mess/practical living point of view
We got builder in but bought all fixtures fittings tiles flooring etc which was time consuming and also odd issue eg tap for hand basin bit bigger than I like!

£100k may cover it but would depend on anything coming up as they go make sure you have at least 10% contingency

Thanks @averythinline! Yep, I can see clear benefits from trying to do everything at once. I think we’ll definitely try and source the fixtures etc ourselves, in some ways that seems like the fun part (although I’m sure the reality sill be quite different!) and where we can have most control on the spend.

Don’t chip of artex plaster the ceiling.

I am always afraid of what you could disturb. Eg asbestos.

Get someone to skim the ceilings instead

@Oliversmumsarmy ooh that’s a good point. Hadn’t thought of that!

I think your budget is plenty as they house sounds a bit dated but in good condition: decent windows, electrics, plumbing etc. Just some minor roof repairs and damp proofing + decoration to do.

If you shop around and especially if you do a bit of work yourself (stripping walls or painting etc) then I’d expect to have perhaps 20k of the budget leftover to go towards a future loft conversion.

It depends on the finish you want and if major stuff needs doing. For example bays are prone to failing. The walls may be thin so you may want sound proofing.

We did this in 2015. 3 bed Edwardian in south east London. New plumbing, electrics, plastering, new bathroom, carpets etc was around £30k. Kitchen extension was another £30k for the build, then kitchen and flooring on top.

I was 5 months pregnant when work started and it was finished with just a few weeks to go before due date (not much time for snagging unfortunately, but I just wanted the builders gone by that point!) We had everything done at once and had to move out for 3 months, would have been impossible to live there, but then we did have children already which makes things harder. But every room being 'done' at once, no working toilet, bathroom and kitchen for a long time and huge amounts of dust and builders walking in and out (do you have side access? This would make a difference, we were mid terrace).

@SheWouldNever

That’s so cheap! You did really well to get the electrics, plumbing and a re-plaster on that budget.

@JoJoSM2 yes it did seem quite a good price. I think they quoted that part a bit cheaper as they knew it was part of a bigger job and wanted us to hire them for the extension too. Wouldn't work with that builder again though, build quality is fine but many minor attention to detail mistakes along the way.

We spent about 50k gutting and rewiring, new central heating, cavity wall and loft insulation, some repointing, new doors and windows, 2.5 bathrooms, kitchen, knocking down a supporting wall, new flooring and decorated throughout. Also landscaped the garden and got a garden office. We did a ton of DIY though, just brought professionals in to do the serious stuff and did most of the demolition, flooring, decoration, tiling and basic carpentry ourselves. Even some plastering at one mad moment, although I regret that now and thankfully my love of art means the offending walls are well covered with pictures We did all the landscaping too and the finished effect is definitely more cottage garden than coiffed and manicured, but that was what I wanted really. I think if we'd paid people to do everything we might well have doubled the spend.

Budget fine but be careful you don't end up spending more than the house will be worth .
Every street has a max price irrespective how nice the house

I am stunned by some of the prices here. Are any of you around London/Herts?

Thanks for the responses!

@JoJoSM2 that’s reassuring. If possible we’d like to also get the loft converted in the next few years, so every little helps!

@SheWouldNever wow, impressive to keep in a good budget and manage all that with kids and while pregnant! We’re mid-terrace too, but have an exit at the back of our garden that goes out to a shared access path onto the street, so I’m hoping that will help.

@TremoloGreen sounds like you managed to keep things reasonable by pitching in. We’d be willing to give some things a go but we’re definitely no DIY experts! So I’m guessing it’ll be a learning curve...

@rwalker it is a good point. I think if we went over 100k we would be around the upper end for similar “done” houses in our immediate area. It is a longer term place for us, so not overly worried, but it is a factor in us not wanting to go too mad on overall spend.

@user1471538283 yep, bays can be a bit of a pain even if they are nice! Not majorly concerned about noise, walls seem pretty sturdy - we’ve visited at a few points in the day, could see the tv and people pottering around next door but couldn’t hear anything. The layouts are also opposites (eg the hallways next to the joined walls) which probably helps. But you never really know until you’re in!

@NewHouseNewMe I'm in Herts.

Op, there was a time that I had never done DIY either. Then I had to help my sister fix up a total dump of a house on a shoestring after she left an abusive relationship. We had motivation and youtube to guide us - its a powerful combo!

Also recommend investing in tools that will make or break a job, e.g. a proper electric mitre saw for flooring and skirting. You can often buy them very reasonably on ebay or gumtree.

Have you checked the plumbing? Lead was used for pipework up until the 60's .