So out of my depth… Budget nowhere near enough

[Downdumps]

I’ve name changed for this as my friends don’t know my dire financial straits.

I bought a doer upper (because we had to move and it was all I could afford). I knew I would have a very fixed budget for it, but as I’m starting to get quotes in I’m realising that it doesn’t even touch the sides.

Everything is twice what I expected (I’m not stupid and have renovated houses before, but not for a while). Wtf am I going to do? At this rate my budget is going to run out and I won’t have done half the stuff this house needs. As an example, I’d budgeted around £2k to get the kitchen fitted - first quote is £4k.

Earning more isn’t really an option and the stress of the renovation is already taking its toll. I’ve already borrowed £10k from family. I’m not talking expensive kitchens and marble flooring either, just getting the basics done.

How do people renovate on a budget in this day and age? I’m not skilled so doing things myself isn’t really an option.

I am starting to get really worried I’ve bought a wreck that I’ll never be able to do up. Any advice?

I’m amazed at the number of posts suggesting I learn how to plaster, do electrics or fit a kitchen myself.

I am a working single parent with three children. Just running a functioning house takes all my time and mental and physical energy.

And painting is the last thing on my mind!

Thank you to the more realistic posters though - I will get in touch with my local college and also try a few more handymen who might be cheaper.

The kitchen fitter said it would take ‘1 and a half to 2 weeks’. I’ve called him out on that - in that case he would be charging £400-£500 a day to fit pre-built units. Bastard.

You see what I’m up against!

£400 a day in labour doesn’t sound that crazy unfortunately; my DP is a tradesman and his company charge him out at £60 an hour. It’s not just time, it’s experience, training and a lot of expensive tools for the job.

I feel for you OP. Our house needed a fair bit of work when we moved in, including a few nasty surprises, and if DP hadn’t been able to do a lot of it while instructing me, it would have been a lot more expensive. As it is we’ve run out of money and the less urgent stuff like windows is going to have to wait.

People who suggest you wire in new lights and do basic plumbing yourself, “learn” to plaster have little concept of how skilled and potentially dangerous some of that work is.

Can you get essential work like new kitchen and bathroom done, and the windows if you have to, and then the kids have to live with something that doesn’t look good for a while? It took my parents ten years to get round to replastering. I lived with terrible brown wallpaper holding the wall up until then!

I'd try asking on next door or do a Facebook search or ask neighbours if they recommend anybody.
How bad are the teen rooms? Could you put up rightmove pics so we get an idea? The summer is round the corner so windows can possibly wait - you might be able to get financing on these. You could definitely give each teen a budget and get them to scour Facebook marketplace for any furniture they need. Plastering I know makes a huge difference to the finish but that might have to wait, if you can just get walls painted matt white and put carpets down, we're talking £100s rather than £1000s then. I totally get its not the order I'd want to do stuff either but like you say its about making the kids happier.
Just remember you've done a great thing for your kids and your own future, just take it one day at a time and you will get there. It will not be like this forever.

Thanks @katienana

I’m worried that by botching things now (sticky-backed plastic as a work surface was mentioned up-thread??!) I will be storing up trouble later on when it will cost even more to fix it. I am already worried about my future financially.

I can’t get finance on anything unfortunately due to low self-employed income. I’ve found some absolute bargains already though - this I am good at

It’s just the labour costs.

Just a comment about the sticky back plastic. I've used it on kitchen work top and large desk. It wears really well. Even in high use areas that I spray with bleach, under kettle etc. 18 months on it's just starting to look a bit faded. It's not a forever fix but it works. The vinyl on my desk has suffered a bit on the front edge where my office chair arms slam into it. Surface needs to be extra clean before applying and make sure you start straight and work hard at the air bubbles. I got mine from DC fix.
Sorry I can't suggest anything that will solve the cost/skill/time conundrum .

30 an hour for 8 hrs is 240 a day

May skilled tradesmen will expect twice that , and if they can get the work why wouldn't they?

What hourly rate were you expecting?

I did this with my first home because it's all I could afford, focus on the essentials, I had a bath and shower fitted but lived with bare brick for ages before I couldn't afford plastering and tiling 🤷🏻‍♀️ meant I could get clean etc and go to work.

Same with kitchen, freestanding cooker, free standing fridge and camp table for preparing food. Think about what's absolutely essential to stay alive and work up from there. Took me 3 years to get it awesome.

I also did a home diy course for £200 at local building college to learn basic bits for myself m

What about Ikea's Varde freestanding kitchen? Can't get it new any more but always lots on Ebay. I think it looks great and you can buy as you see it/can afford it.

www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1311&_nkw=varde+kitchen+units&_sacat=57231

Do you have any friends who are teachers? If so, ask them what their old students are now doing. Many teachers keep rough tabs on ex-pupils and may have networks where they can call in favours for 'Miss's friend'. It isn't necessarily any better than any other way of getting trades in but it might allow you to ask for some help in a way where friends can do something practical for you.

Our kitchen fitter charged by the hour. Big kitchen - your quote sounds high. I think you need to ask round for someone you can trust. Our kitchen fitter does all sorts of handyman jobs too - and likes reusing old stuff. That doesn't help you but it does show people like that are out there.

I'd say make one room habitable and nice.

We had a bit similar in our last house, OP, although ours sounds a lot more liveable. After 10 years, we were lucky that the price of the house had gone up, so we were able to get a small remortgage to finish the work, as we had to move for work.

What is the bathroom like? Worse for wear and dated, or unusable? If the former, I would leave for the moment as it will use up a lot of your budget. We had a PortaPotti for longer than I'd care to remember, because although it was a bit grim (

I would have suggested learning some skills and giving it a go - i'm firmly of the opinion that anyone can do a job to the same level as a medium-tradesmen, just by watching tutorials, taking their time & actually caring about doing a quality job.

But it honestly sounds like, with being a single working parent & 3 children, that you have bitten off more than you can chew OP. Assuming you wouldn't be happy just living in the house as-is, I'd look at your options for selling/moving.

Sorry, we already had appliances for our current kitchen, otherwise 300 pounds would obviously not have been enough.

Problem you might be having with tradesmen is that if they don't want the job they will overpriced themselves so either you won't book them or they will get the job and make a decent amount. Material prices are high and tradesmen are in a high demand so can be picky over jobs. Also where you are based might have an impact on how much they are charging. Have you had other quotes for the kitchen? How big is the kitchen and the amount of work? Is it just fit new kitchen or completely rip out back to brick, new electrics, plumbing, plastering...? £400 a day seems high unless that is for 2 people to do it then £200 a day?

Downdumps

I wouldn’t have the skills or time to fit a kitchen well though. I’m also getting to the point where my mental health is suffering tbh. I’m on my own and have three kids. I just feel so overwhelmed.

Selling is out of the question.

It’s like tradesmen see me and think, ‘oh slap another £2k on the quote.’

If I wait another couple of years, won’t everything be more expensive again? I don’t earn enough to save so wouldn’t really be in a better position financially.

Kitchen quote doesn’t include the units.“

Is the kitchen falling to bits or are the base units sound?

Much much cheaper just have new doors and worktops fitted. Straightforward job, look for a handyman on Trusted Traders rather than a “kitchen fitter” - that will automatically add another 2K.

Ask on fb for local handy person. There are loads locally to me and they usually charge per hour and are reasonable.

I'm not sure why you only budgeted £2k for a fitted kitchen tbh. We re did our small kitchen 8 years ago with ikea and it was £6k then!!

Prices since brexshit have soared as you've sadly seen.

If I were you I'd look on ebay for the ikea varde free standing kitchen units (I was tempted by these tbh) and get a local handy person to collect/fit it.

I agree with pp that you need a list of essential jobs then "nice to have" things.

If the house is that bad, you may need to shut up rooms til you can do them.

Sorry its all so crap for you x

Your handyman isn't very handy of all he will do is paint 🤔

It's the plastering that'll cost imo

Most handy people can't do that but plumbing and other jobs should be ok

Also are the prices quotes or estimates? Other half always says jobs will take longer for worse case scenarios so people can budget.
Your comment with fitting prebuilt units.. In older houses nothing is straight/floors aren't level so it can take longer to fit and level units than what it would do in a new house. You are paying for their tools, insurance, skills.

@Downdumps

I wish they just needed painting! They need replastering, new windows, heating, shelving/storage, there are dodgy electrics.

I do have a handyman but he’s said he’ll only do painting for me.

Heating and dodgy electrics need sorting of course

Others don't sound urgent? Plastering is cosmetic etc.

If the value of the house goes up, you could extract money in the future from a remortgage.

Oh you have my sympathies. I've been doing bits in mine as and when I can. It's bloody hard as a single parent. The last thing you want to do after a full day of work, putting laundry in and making tea is start decorating. I remember sitting sobbing on the floor of one bedroom because after 4 coats, it still wasn't covering the weird paint the previous owner used. I begged my dad (2 hours away) to come help finish it .

How bad are the electrics in the bedrooms? If it does need a full rewire then it might be better starting with that as it might make a fair bit of mess

My DM had this sort of issue (along with when she met my stepdad) in 1970s. He knew how to do certain jobs but certain ones he couldn't do - e.g. plastering, electrics etc.

You can easily wallpaper, paint etc yourself. Even plastering isn't that hard if you watch tutorials.

Anything else you either wait or use suggestions here if you haven't got/don't have the money to improve.

Agreed freestanding kitchen units would be good idea. Look online to see ideas of how similar single parents in your position have decorated their houses - won't be all fitted kitchens and taste may be a bit avant garde but people do do this - projects. Get your teens involved.

If you have £10k and dodgy electrics and plumbing, then that needs to be addressed as a priority and will probably eat most if not all of your budget. Get it done sooner rather than later before everyone has unpacked everything and it's going to be a headache to move/clean up.

The kitchen can wait unless it's unsafe. If it's not safe then get those things addressed first. We lived with a hideous black and white peeling kitchen with a sloping floor and a tap held up with duct tape, so I do understand that it's depressing but if you save up for a year or so you'll be in a better position to do something cosmetic.

Just wanted to suggest looking for secondhand upvc windows. Google that and there are a number of companies selling them. Everything from wrong size ordered etc., small windows from £35.00 on uuwd.co.uk/

If the electricity really is "dodgy", then that must be your first priority. Unsafe electricity could cause a fire. Rewiring makes a heck of a mess, so it needs to be done before everything else anyway.