So confused. How long does a house renovation take?

[reno22]

After 6 months of conveyancing we finally completed on our new house. It's very dated but has a great footprint. Since completion we've drawn up architecture plans , selected and planned (with detailed drawings) the new kitchen, bathrooms and utility room. The electrics and plumbing plans should be through this week.

My question is now that planning permission is had (and providing a builder is available- using a design and build company and they have lots of contractors on their books so should help with timescales right?) how long would you expect the following to take:

1- knock down a load bearing wall to create a large kitchen diner. Install new kitchen

2- replace boiler with new boiler and hot water tank
3- reconfigure 2 internal walls and install new bathroom and space for staircase to a loft

4- Dormer and hip to gable loft extension ( master room with small bathroom)

We'd want to paint and decorate as well but could do bulk ourselves if necessary.

I'm getting so panicked- we offered on Feb, completed in august and still haven't started building works.

Thanks MN

A year if it’s empty and your not living in it?

Mine took about a year to completely gut and redo Inc ground floor extension. I was told 4 months but I suspect because we were living elsewhere they didn't see any urgency and would take on other work when it came up and tell me they were waiting on materials.

Get expected time lines then be a pain in the arse to them asking them to update you every couple of days on what has been done and any slippage in the time line.

And we lived adjacent and sourced our own materials. So whilst trades can be tricky to move along the material sourcing issue is real!

Empty should be quicker than lived in as they can do everything at once, ie. chase everything at once, rewire, plumb once etc.

Stop panicking and accept that it will take as long as it takes.

Be prepared to live in chaos for a while .
Even if you work out how long each job is likely to take, it'll still take longer.
The crux of the matter is lining up all the contractors in a logical sequence and hope that they'll turn up as and when, and complete the job in a timely manner.
Which is probably not going very unlikely to happen.

Keep your eye on the prize and don't sweat the multiples of small stuff it'll take to get there.

(From one who bought a money pit and lived to tell the tale...)

We did a similar sized project about a decade ago.

We completed in the September, two teams of people were pre arranged and in working by mid November, around 6 tradespeople in total.

Work paused over Christmas and I had a chance to decorate.

I moved in late February.

This was an unoccupied property so workmen could just get in quickly and it still took 6 of them 11 weeks plus snagging.

We replace a load bearing beam, demolished walls. Rebuilt parts, full rewire, full plumb, new boiler, new bathrooms, new kitchen, new floors, complete re- decoration.

Should read they were in mid September not November.

@thepurplewhisperer thanks for that. The property is unoccupied as we live elsewhere. Our plan is to have it unoccupied through all the works but Everytime a new CoL/energy/materials/life hike happens I think it's best to sell our current home asap and just bite the bullet and move into a building site. The only thing that stops me is DD is 6 months old .

You're timelines sound reasonable though as it would all be done before I finish mat leave.

I'm not sure why you are saying you are confused?

As others have said it will take quite a long time. Worrying about each day passing is just going to make you stressed

@DoodlePug we're not doing a ground floor extension (wanted to but the build costs are terrifying and thankfully the current footprint is good as is a 1930s semi).

The promise of 4 months extending to 1year is my biggest fear though luckily I'm on mat leave so bugging people is my no1 hobby add to that my in-laws live locally so once the build does start we can "check up" on them pretty much daily.

So stressful.

Where are you located? There are huge waiting lists for reputable design and build companies round here (London). I’ve been waiting 11 months from when my drawings were done and we won’t start for another 3-6. Once started we expect our similar project to take 5 months but I’m sure it will take longer

@FlowerArranger thank you. The design and build team incl a PM should/better help with planning contractors start times but noted.

Really hoping that we get trust worthy contractors that meet all agreed timelines but noted. I struggle to stay calm - we have a baby, we have 2 mortgages and I don't want to live in a building site, I return to work following Mat leave and don't want the stress of a build, child in nursery and getting back into the swing of things with work.

It's great to know you don't regret your build decisions. Keeping everything crossed we don't regret ours.

@LemonSwan we live close and my in-laws live even closer so in addition to the contractors having space to get everything done we will be able to see regularly the progress being made.

I'm a bit confused... have you got all the contractors lined up or not? Who's doing the bulk of the work (knocking down wall etc)?

I would say a year minimum, builders are backed up with work, materials are expensive, so allow a good contingency budget. If you intend to give builders a key and let them get on with it, my advice would be to keep checking on the progress, as they did have a tendency to fit in other jobs on the side, as I am learning to my cost!

X post.

line Up trades if you haven’t done already, just to give you an idea, we bought a property in June, earliest painter could decorate was Nov, so DH did it,. Kitchen & bathroom fitter couldn’t start until end of September., so frustrating all the delays.

I would guess a year too.
4 months seems unrealistic - loft conversion alone would take 3 months.

I’d be prepared to wait a year-but I’ve heard there’s massive waiting lists for tradespeople. Feb to august to complete seems not unusual. It won’t help to stress now-it’s only going to get worse (I say that having done a complete flat renovation and the next place will be a new build!)

Surely if you have a design & build company lined up then you’ll have a draft project plan & payment milestones- doesn’t that tell you how long it is expected to take?

This is a big job; in my experience as a serial renovator you will only survive if you accept that you will meet surprises along the way, and that it will take longer and cost more than you expect/any coatings you’ve been given. You will also get decision burnout. I would be astonished if it took as little as 4 months, and as PP have said, 4 months from when?

That said, it absolutely will be worth it in the long run. So take the long view, hunker down, don’t try to rush it, focus on what’s permanent/hard to fix, and enjoy.

Do your design-and-build company have a builder ready to start now? Most builders are booked solidly well into next year as demand is sky high. If you have someone starting now then I'd think you could get that done in around six months if they have a big enough team to do the jobs concurrently.

However I'd brace yourselves for up to a year. Maybe work out which parts need to be done before you can move in and which you could have done whilst living there. We did all on your list plus more, with small children and living in the house at the time. It's possible, if not enjoyable! The boiler/heating system being replaced isn't advisable during the winter though.

You sound stressed and considering that building works often go over time and are stressful whilst they're happening, you might want to lower your expectations that it'll be done before the end of your mat leave.

@reno22

what are you confused about?

if this is 'so stressful' at this stage, you really need to look at whether this is do-able for you.

what made you decide to take on a renovation project? Especially when you have a baby?

How far away are you living now? (10 minute drive, 1 hour drive)

could you consider staying at the in laws? Would they/could they have you stay?

Signed up for the work in July, contractor (also PMing) started in October. House was empty and we lived elsewhere until beginning of January, builders on-site every day including most Saturdays.

Completed October to beginning of January:

• knocked through wall between 2 back rooms
• reinstalled wall between front room and one back room
• built the shell of a 3mx3m extension
• replaced ceilings
• installed central heating and new boiler
• installed new bathroom
• created toilet out of downstairs cupboard
• rewired throughout
• replastered throughout
• floorboards sanded and waxed

January - completed extension i.e. electrical sockets, pipes, plastered, was then measured to finalise kitchen order.

March - kitchen delivered and installed, measured for kitchen tops.

April - kitchen tops delivered and installed.

Sometime between January and April house was painted, outdoor paths and turf for lawn laid.

So 9 months between signing contracts and finished work. We were able to live there (batch cooking at my Mum's and using freezer/microwave/kettle) from January because DD was in school through second lockdown and didn't want her in regular contact with DM. i.e. 6 months after signing. It wasn't very comfortable, but doable as the upstairs was finished so we had bedrooms and a bathroom.

What’s relevant is finding people to do the work, rather than fretting about how long it will take. Round where I live you can’t get trades for love nor money. Plus with any project you preferably want someone by personal recommendation.

Next door which is a 1920’s semi was renovated in lockdown by builders who flipped it. They didn’t do a loft conversion but replaced all wiring, plumbing and flooring, new windows and doors, demolished the garage, had a new drive, new kitchen and bathroom and boiler. Everything decorated to a high standard. It took them about 4 months. The woman attached was WFH and they were quite inconsiderate. Whoever you employ make sure they stick to the times that are allowed work. I remember they woke up the street on Good Friday by having scaffolding delivered and she said they started work a few times at 6am.

I'm confused because when we put our offer in I was told we'd be able to to the loft to 2nd fixes and the knock through incl kitchen in a few week if we weren't in the property.

We were also assured the loft could be done with PD and the knock through with no permission. Since then it's been delays upon delays. I'm stressed either way (double the outgoings will do that to you) but having a consistent view on timescales would reduce the confusion even if the stress remains. Does that make sense?