Have a house you can't afford to renovate?

[Fishtankerous]

Anyone else?

My house needs so much doing to it that I am feeling completely overwhelmed.

We bought it as a fixer upper a few years ago, but you know how it goes - savings got decimated by issues that were worse than originally thought. Yeah yeah, naive first time buyers we were.

Currently the pressing issue is a rotten leaking old conservatory that likely won't survive another winter, annoyingly a toilet is attached to it which is actually part of the house so just demolishing it isn't straightforward and we've already got a quote for 9k to get rid of it, that's not even replacing it.

We don't even have 9k so fuck knows what we'll do. We could borrow against mortgage or get a loan but we're scraping by as it is, especially with the recent rise in energy costs etc and the general cost of living going up but our wages remaining stagnant.

(Ironically the state of the conservatory isn't helping us to save on energy bills because its causing the rest of the house to lose a LOT of heat - because it doesn't have external entry doors as the damn thing predates building regs!)

That's not to mention all the other issues in the house that we're ignoring because we're having to work on order of importance (i.e. If somethings gonna collapse soon that's gonna have to come first!)

Sorry to have a moan, I know things could be a lot worse especially with what's going on in the world. It's important to have some perspective I realise.

But after another quote for works for 10-15k today I'm just more and more annoyed, and needing some stories from others in a similar position!

What needs doing in your home that you can't do yet?

In a similar position

Can’t decide if this thread is making me feel better or worse. Ours is 1998 new build and it is mostly cosmetic bits that need doing (that we know about) as it was a private rental for 10 years before we bought it. I thought we had enough to recarpet, new bathroom and new kitchen but the tenants did a DIY level on the garden and the retaining wall needs fixing before it collapses into next door and all our fences blew down in storm Eunice. We have been quoted £4.5k to fix it all so that’s bye bye bathroom. We decided to replace all the internal doors as they were just awful which cost about £1.5k. Everything is so so expensive and I’m really scared of ripping out the downstairs loo next month in case we find something unexpected like you guys have 😬

@Grinling

My main tip, if you and your OH are even vaguely handy, is to do as much of it yourself as possible. You can learn SO MUCH from the internet and YouTube, and the satisfaction of having done it yourself, (together with the fact it cost a fraction of the price) more than makes up for any imperfections in the finished job.

Unfortunately, I'm in the unenviable position of having bought a fixer-upper where, the more we dig, the more we discover of the 'imperfections' of the previous owners' DIY...

Oh my gosh this is us. Neither myself or DH have any previous DIY experience but after we moved into our home (aka the museum of 1980s decor) we realised with the sky-high cost of tradespeople at the moment we had no choice but to learn how to do most of it ourselves. We've uncovered lights and sockets that aren't earthed amidst a load of other dodgy electrics that were done by the vendor's son-in-law. We tried to steam the (hideous) wallpaper off the hallway and the fuse blew for the whole house and wouldn't turn on again despite doing everything we and Google could think of. We had to call an emergency electrician in the end and it transpired that one of the fifty million picture nails that the previous vendor had bashed into the wall with gay abandon had gone through the live wire cable. Rather than fix this they just wallpapered right over it(!)

Oh, and our boiler died within a week of moving in and we've had to take out a loan as all the original 80s aluminium windows were fine in summer... But showed their true colours in the winter. Black mould and condensation everywhere. When I peeled the (also hideous) bedroom wallpaper back in each room there's huge gaps between the window frame and the plaster. 🤦🏻‍♀️

My solution is to drink wine and keep telling myself it will all be worth it in approximately 25 years time when we've made a dent in it all. Before we moved in we'd planned an extension. Quotes came in double what the architect said they should, so that's also shelved 😅 I'm sure yours will be worth it in the end OP, we have to hope don't we!

@TiddleTaddleTat

We are keeping the wallpaper on the ceilings because I dread to think what is underneath!

@Fedupbuyer @TiddleTaddleTat

I promise there is nothing good hiding under that ceiling paper!! One (and a half) woodchip wallpaper ceilings left, and now I have to learn how to plaster ceilings...

Oh, and whilst we're on ceilings, I feel many people on this thread might find this useful:
Zinsser 5-in-1 ceiling paint

It covers up so much - stains, cracks, you name it!

Hell yeah OP. Lived here years and never had much spare money. Currently need to replace around 8 windows currently sealed with tape for winter, get a new roof as we keep bodging a fix when we spring a leak and rewire. That's without other things which would be nice. No idea how people fund this stuff.

Few tips that might be worth sharing
Zinsser anything is the bomb
Screwfix are great and have a fab returns policy
B&Q not so great for anything except for emergencies
Little greene worth the cost
Lining paper 1400 is cheap as chips and worth doing if you can afford to reskim a room for a few years
Get a rewire done asap if you can because it is so so disruptive
Insulating loft massively worthwhile
Get a good dust mask
Plastering repair (bonding) not so tricky but skimming is very hard to do well
Get good tools

My people!

We've just bought a doer upper. Already found a few horrors, biting the bullet and rewiring next week, very good mates rates on that so thankful for that. Only stripped one room and the plaster came off with the paper.. plenty more to come it needs a new kitchen + bathroom. It will take us 15 years I reckon.

My logic now is that if it works and I don’t actually detest it, I leave it alone! In your situation would it be possible to fit exterior doors to the house (then at least the heating bill issue might improve), and the loo and demolish most of the conservatory yourself? You might be able to use the flooring as a patio? Also some people will come and remove conservatories for free if you sell it on eBay etc.

Thanks for the advice,
All the light switches and plug sockets are sticking out of the walls,can they be put in the walls?solid walls.

I need new windows ( could actually feel a draft in the storms) and a new kitchen. Both cost a fortune but won’t improve the house as it’s just replacement.
I’d like to get an extension or something with the money , and act feel like I’m benefiting.

Yes - our 30’s semi is an absolute money pit and we just don’t have the vast savings required to do anything at speed. Last owner added an extension and thought he could do the wiring himself - we’ve discovered some horrific clueless circuits as we’ve tackled sections. Currently one of the bedrooms is a complete shell, all the flooring needs replacing, the shower is leaking badly and the kitchen is a 70’s horror. We are trying to tackle things ourselves while trying to live in it with two teens and a toddler it’s beyond depressing!

Can I join too?
We're done so much buy it's never ending, and we have to stop and save between every major thing (We're lucky enough that we can save at least)
The floors are awful, and I do feel embarrassed having people over with our hideous bare stairs. The kitchen also needs stripping back and replumbing but it'll cost a fortune as it's a big kitchen/diner. We're focusing on what we can do ourselves for now, painting the living room.

Re the conservatory, I would definitely look at getting a proper door installed to stem he heat loss. Also look for people who specialise in demolition and will take stuff away in a truck. Skips add so much to the price.

Me too. Been here 4 years. Grossly underestimated budget required.
Jobs done so far:
Knock living room and hall into 1
Install log burner
Replaster new room, stairs and landing, paint
New carpets for those
Rip out fitted furniture to all 4 walls of our bedroom, replaster, paint, carpet
New carpet in dc room
New front door
New back gate
New boiler (not planned- 3k)
Paint wooden bannisters
Replaced things as we go along like ancient filthy oven. Fridges, freezers replaced when bust. Annoying cos won't go in new kitchen when finally done.

Jobs needed:
New kitchen including knocking whole room back to bricks first
New bathroom
Rewire 2 attic bedrooms and attic landing, then replaster and decorate that floor
Water proof the cellars to put in desperately needed 2nd toilet. And utility and snug room as a luxury (this is total pipe dream)
Dip and restore original interior doors, replace horrible not original interior doors.

My income has reduced since we lived here and everything has become more expensive!

My bucket list is:
Convert smallest bedroom to ensuite and dressing room for master
Redo bathroom inc knocking wall down
Redesign kitchen
Rip out fake brick cladding and fake painted beams in living room, fit log burner
New doors and windows
New boiler and radiators
Strip back all walls and replaster
New internal doors
Board study and add floor (it's back to brick)
Move front door
Redesign garden, add a raised decking area (north facing)
Remove asbestos garage

Fuck 🤣

@Fedupbuyer

Thanks for the advice, All the light switches and plug sockets are sticking out of the walls,can they be put in the walls?solid walls.

@Fedupbuyer

Yes, they can (did one this weekend in fact). Switch all your electrics off at the fuse box (very very very important). Once you are confident the socket isn't live, you can unscrew it, move the wires to one side and chase out a bigger hole in the wall (sockets that sit flush with the wall have a metal box behind them, so you need a hole in the wall big enough for that). We used an angle grinder and an electric multi tool, but you could do it with a hammer and chisel if need be. Then rewire new socket in, and tuck the metal box into the new hole in the wall. You might need some filler to touch up any rough edges in your new hole that stick out beyond the new socket. Screw on the front plate, switch electrics back on - should be good to go.

Wouldn't hurt to get a current testing screwdriver so you're confident the socket isn't live - once you've unscrewed the socket, touch the end of the screwdriver to a live wire - it has little bulb in it that will light up if the wire is still live (but has a really high resistance/insulation, so won't pass the charge on to you).
www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-electrical-mains-tester-screwdriver-100-250v-ac-slotted-3-5mm-x-130mm/8606x

@Fedupbuyer I am not an electrician by the way, so definitely watch some YouTube videos by qualified electricians before giving it a go.

e.g.

Our house isnt falling down as such, it's an old Victorian house, and previous owners renovated it in late 1980s and early 1990s. With a young family and DH working long hours we never get chance to redecorate and can never afford to get the professionals in. I'd love a new bathroom, but we just keep with the existing. We are happy in our home, the kids love it here, but I'd love the spare cash to make it our own. I've accepted the position, want to avoid debt, and know we are lucky to be on property ladder.

we just brought a bungalow. the property hadnt been lived in for 5+ years. we had to really push ourselves financially to buy it as we needed a property with land and within good school catchment for the kids. we had a 10k budget but that included all the moving costs to.
we thought we would do a basic refurb until we have lived in it for a year.
flooring was nearly £4k! moving was £1.8k, we needed to put a stud wall up and get it plastered £1k, the wc was leaking so we needed to change the toilet and some of the pipes £1k. decided to sort the fireplace out which once finished would have cost us around £3k (gas stove) the roof needs re doing which is going to set us back about £16k!! (god knows where that money is coming from)
the outbuildings need the roof sorting too! we still need to fence all the land, rotovate it all and re seed! im slowly trying to sort the decorating out myself. the main bathroom needs replacing as the shower is rotten and doesn't work properly and the kitchen is from the 70/80's.
we have no more money left to sort anything out but we are hoping to just do things as and when we can. i don't know how people afford to buy a house then spend another 100k doing it up! a lottery win would be great right now lol

I know a few families in this exact situation. Seems to be a fair well-populated club!

I might start a thread in property- the skint renovation club!

Just realised this is in property ignore me I'm tired 🤣

Yeah here

It's not that bad, late 80s, but it is a bit neglected and very ugly.

When we moved in we had the bedrooms rewired and replasterd, put laminate on the first floor and had isolation put in under the floor.

Currently we are slowly doing the garden, it's almost empty now. It hadn't been maintained for ten years. We are doing the garden because it's a very cheap thing to do and we don't have much money.

New glazing is coming and after that's been installed all the wooden window frames and cladding will be professionally painted and we will no longer be the ugliest house on the street.

I can't wait for a new kitchen and a new bathroom, to get rid of the brown tile flooring downstairs but to do downstairs will be 25k at least