What order to do work on house?

[Overtheseas]

The house I’m hoping to buy will need lots doing to it. Every room decorated. But I will have to do it up a bit at a time.

I’ve been advised to do one room at a time, but it this a cost effective method? Say I want to paint all the woodwork, or get several new carpets fitted, is it cheaper to get people in to do all at once, than bringing people out multiple times to do rooms each at a time?

A lot depends or whether you're doing the work yourself or getting someone in to do it. If the same jobs need to be done in multiple rooms then doing them at the same time is probably more cost effective. It's up to you how you do it. It also depends on what you can afford, I had a friend who used to do her whole house at once but did it cheaply, then the whole house would need doing again pretty soon after, whereas one room at a time to a higher standard lasts longer.

ours when we bought it needed every room except the bathroom doing so we went for our bedroom first so we had a nice room to escape to carpets and decorated, then the hall and stairs, then the kitchen which though just about useable was from the 1980s and showing it and not the way we wanted the kitchen this took quite a while as two lockdowns got in the way then left the lounge till last as that was the least offensive and could live with it

I'd do carpets very last thing so work crap from other areas doesn't get trodden into new carpets in finished areas.

Work on the basis of outside in, so first job needs to be making sure it's watertight - roof, windows, doors, then do any structural changes, then any electric or plumbing changes (as these may need to get to floorboards or chase into walls/ceiling), then any plastering, then decorate, and then carpets!

There's obviously loads in between but that's just off the top of my head.

Dancing queen is absolutely right, you go from the outside in, from structural to decorative.

If you're getting new flooring and installing a kitchen, flooring goes before kitchen, as the kitchen needs to sit on top of the flooring.

Carpets absolutely last - or at least hallway/common area carpets. Builders can lay down protection but the protected never escapes unscathed.

How much of the work are you doing yourself? If you are booking a decorator, then systematically work through the rooms yourself preparing them for decorating, then book the decorator for a week to come in and blast through all the rooms.

If you are decorating, then tackle a room at a time as and when you can.

Agree re carpets last. For sure!

Thanks all! ‘Outside - in’ is a good tip. Also very frustrating because there is some (hopefully) non-urgent structural stuff to be done that will take a while to save for and sort out, and in the meantime a disgusting carpet!! I may have to take up the carpet and sand floorboards until structural stuff can get done. Thanks!

Any technical stuff to do first like plumbing, drainage, damp, plastering or rewiring do first.
Then do one of 2 things.

1. Move out get the place blitzed and moved back in.
2. Move stuff between rooms and decorate as you go.

With each room start st the top, starting with the ipstairs. Then do downstairs leaving the hall, stairs and landing to last .