Need to moan

[Cluelessandexhausted]

I’ll just start by saying I know we’re in a very fortunate position to be homeowners, many people are stuck in rented etc. I also don’t know what I’m actually asking for here apart from maybe some solidarity…

I am so fed up! Our house is so small it’s making me feel claustrophobic! But moving seems impossible with nothing on the market, ridiculous prices, risk of getting downvalued etc. Renovating sounds equally awful with costs spiralling and no builders available, plus having to move out with a baby and preschooler!

I know we need to be cautious anyway given the rise in cost of living but I guess the longer we wait the more expensive both options are going to get 😢

So come fellow mumsnetters and moan with me!

I'll happily moan about the situation you're keen to avoid - we moved into a fixer upper with a newborn (born 3 days after the move) and a preschooler. I can see in the long term it will be worth it, but in the short term honestly it's really stressful.

I now have a mildly irrational loathing of all tradespeople (apart from window fitters, we've had a good experience with them!) But I'm sick to the teeth of trying to get quotes for jobs, people not bothering to show up, or coming and then massively overpricing in the hope you won't go with them, then when you say OK well we'd like to go with you they suddenly can't do the job and cancel it(!) And I can say in the last year we've had electricians, plumbers and plasterers in and none have done a particularly decent job. We've always had issues with the work and needed it fixing afterwards (we're not fussy people but I mean things like leaks, lights not working reliably and a literal hole in the ceiling plus a leaning wall from the plasterer). I wish I could say I was exaggerating but I now just expect things to go wrong. We've tried to learn as much DIY as we can to avoid the tradespeople issue but there's limits to what we feel safe doing and it's hard trying to do it with 2 young children. All I'll say is it's a good thing we plan to stay here for a long time as there's no way I could do all this for a short term home.

Happy to moan along! I am stuck in a small rental that has very limited storage space, so I get you on the claustrophobic feeling. What helps me massively is keeping things as tidy as I can. Also, putting things away after you use them is such a good habit to get into, along with donating or selling items you do not need anymore. Obviously, these suggestions won't change the size of your house, but having a space laid out as efficiently as tidy as possible can be a huge help :)

Mummabums, I know how you feel. We always intended to do a lot ourselves, and have been luckier with tradesmen (mostly by getting a recommendation or two to a good one and then asking them for recommendations to others). We had some poor plaster repairs after the rewire, but now have found a really good plastering firm. And, though some jobs we waited months for for the last two years, this year, we've even had people ask to bring jobs forward! But even having said that, getting quotes is still like drawing teeth. One of them openly told us, when apologising for taking weeks on end to do a quote, that he loved working (and he really is good at what he does) but hated doing paperwork (like quotes). I do get that, but it can really foul your timings up.

Thanks for the solidarity @BlueMongoose. I just feel quite vulnerable as even people we've had recommendations for have then turned out to not be great and you're totally reliant on people saying that they're good. I'm sure there are some great trades folk out there but the pandemic definitely seems to have created a bit of a cowboy pool as people are so desperate to get trades in. When our window fitters did an amazing job I actually cried with relief 🤦🏻‍♀️

Do a major major declutter.

Then invest in the right storage.

It makes everything seem so much "lighter "

It's very difficult, isn't it? We're new here so knew nobody. A neighbour gave us a good recommendation for a groundworks firm, they have been brilliant. We picked electricans from the web, they were fine but the plasterers they used for patching were sloppy- we struggled to find anyone- one chap who quoted did not impress- so next time we used the same electricians we asked if they knew better plasterers for a proper replastering job and they suggested a firm which has been excellent and we'll use them again. We found a good roofer by noticing some good work on a similar roof to ours with his sign outside. Gradually you do build up a list of good people, especially by asking people who have done a good job themselves (and hope for more work from you😏). Good luck with your project. As people keep telling us do-er uppers- 'I'm sure it'll be great when it's done'.🙄