Period property full house renovation - who wants to place a bet?

[Labraradabrador]

meeting with builders this week to discuss budgets, and I promise to update once we get the quotes. Trying to mentally prepare myself- what would you expect this to cost:

Grade 2 listed 6 bed detached stone house in the SouthWest, approx. 4,000 sqft. We have received planning permission, and have had full structural review by an engineer that confirms everything in good shape (as much as possible to tell). We have not yet had electrics fully tested - we think they were updated early 90s, but not sure and this is a bit of an unknown.

on the list:

• full decorative refurb of whole house (remove carpets and refinish underlying wood floors, remove wallpaper, paint, new doorknobs, light fixtures, etc.)
• new cast iron radiators in most rooms - this might get reduced depending on budget
• add wall lighting to two rooms (so presumably also replastering)
• Full refit of kitchen and 3 bathrooms - aiming for higher level of finish without going bonkers on brand name fittings
• some minor internal changes - combining a couple of small rooms and removing a staircase, moving location of one bathroom.
• open up 2 fireplaces and install log burners
• some windows could use a light refurb - debating whether to get fancy secondary glazing that will fit the existing frames, but depends on budgets.

so how much will this hurt? Obviously we had discussed budgets before we bought, but in the 2 years since everything has gone bonkers. I’m also not sure how much I trust the architect’s budget sense anyways.

would also warmly welcome any recommendations on suppliers if anyone has refurbed a period property recently.

excited but terrified to hear responses…

I think more towards £400k. Good luck OP!

I think they’ll quote you around 300k, and it’ll end up costing a good chunk more money (I generally budget around a third) and take a lot longer. You’ve got some expensive stuff going on. A beautiful kitchen could be 150k alone, with non-luxury appliances. You have to keep things in proportion to the money you spent on buying the property and the local market, both aesthetically and in terms of how much you’ll spend.

@Labraradabrador big old masonry built houses are fab for hot summers, that thermal mass comes in handy.
We have a big old Victorian house which did very well last summer in all but one room (was right in the sun - I want to get it wooden shutters when we can afford it). Last summer on the heat wave days DS invited his friends to come and hang out at ours because it was too hot to be anywhere else. Winter is harder but getting better each time we have cash to make improvements.
My modern studio which is heavily insulated and designed with deep overhangs etc to avoid over heating was also fab but also has been amazing over winter.

We renovated a 5 bed semi, but added an extension too. Quoted just pre pandemic and finished at £200k. We had to get all the plumbing redone as it was small bore pipe. Put a megaflo in too and replaced all radiators with new.

new woodburner install was 4.5k including lining chimney. We didn’t have the windows done, conservation area and quoted £30k so will do that some time in the future.

i think if no groundworkS you’ll manage it for under £200k.

Hi Op, we did a similar refurb to you in 2016/17/18, in a large period property 3700sqf in the South East. The only difference is we didn’t have to do the kitchen as had been newly installed by the previous owners.

But every other room in the house was gutted, walls re plastered, roof was reinsulated with Cellotex boards then re boarded over, new radiators everywhere (went for column rads in traditional style, didn’t bother going down the reclaimed cast iron route), refitted three bathrooms (mid-high end fittings). We also had a carpenter in making bespoke fitted wardrobes, kitted out a pantry, made panelling, coving, skirtings etc. New oak flooring in one of the ground floor rooms, new carpets upstairs/landings etc. Plus brand new unvented cyclinder (and everything that comes with that) plus new copper pipes to all bathrooms. That all came to just under £100k. However, realise this was before Covid….. I’d guess now maybe £150-200k in today’s money?

The things we did ourselves were; taking off wallpaper, and all painting. I also bought all the bathroom sanitary-ware/fittings direct from suppliers, managed to get some good deals.

re; the fireplaces - what period is your property? Would the house suit open fireplaces and opposed to wood burners? Just checking if that’s an option?

Even if electrics were early 90's they'll need some work or you'll be blowing the fuses (speaking from experience). Budget £300k and then you may be pleased to come in a bit under. You could save by doing some of the work yourselves, especially decorating.

We spent £180k on a kitchen refurb and small extension on a period listed building that's 6500 sq ft.

It was several thousand to decorate one large high ceiling room (walls, ceiling and woodwork) and same again for hallway.

Bathrooms circa £10k each

Everything is often slow and complicated in a listed buildings eg we've had rotten structural beams, collapsed lathe and plaster ceilings, undiscovered wells, undiscovered 300yr old door ways, very dodgy electrics, wonky floors etc etc. And you can't just pop to B&Q for fittings etc, it all has to be ordered in from specialists.

I'd be surprise if you get any change from £250k depending on quality of fixtures and fittings you want.

Wow @TuxedoJunction that sounds amazing! Taking notes…

Did similar 5/6 years ago. Not listed. £340,000.

@TuxedoJunction there is a debate around fireplaces. We were advised to open them up for ventilation/ breathability considerations. An open fire would absolutely suit the property, but I would be nervous about using it as such with kids and dogs around. It may be something we compromise on in the short term

We are just about to start an extension, and our new kitchen which we havent skimped on appliances, but certainly not gone mad at all on will be £40k not including the floor/heating/lighting from Wren.

The whole actual extension would have been around £80k in 2019, it will be £130k not including the kitchen, just to show how prices have increased.

@SaltyGod that all sounds ‘exciting’. I am both extremely curious and terrified of what we might uncover once things get going.

I must be out of touch. Came on to say £200k and sounds like I have massively under estimated! Homes under the hammer make it look so easy.

Personally I prefer an Open fireplace to a log burner, I love the drama/focal point it provides in a room. But it’s personal choice.
We don’t have pets, but have never had any issues with our DC or other visiting DC re; the open fire. We have a fire guard to place up to it if needed. But obviously you need to be vigilant with young children around it. It really only gets lit in the Autumn/winter too.

Bet it's closer to £500k. You've missed the window for c£200k by about two years.

I live in a bog standard Victorian terraced house and redid the bathrooms, new (mid range) kitchen and redecorated and it cost close to £100k. No structural work at all, but I did get custom wardrobes in two bedrooms and crittal style doors across the back. I wanted to change out the front five windows for sash but that would be another £10k. The builder was quoting for next doors loft conversion (one bed with en suite) and he said minimum £75k for that and more likely £100k. He's always busy and never advertises.
I reckon, as PP have said, they will quote around £200-250k but will end up costing north of £300. VAT will really hurt - make sure that's in the quote!

It will cost more than my next house deposit.

We are in the midst of a "deep retrofit" of a five bed Victorian detached in SE. Not listed. We basically went back to brick. It's been around the 500k mark 😱😱😱. That's all in - kitchen, bathroom, light switches. We have insulated absolutely everything and are going for the best energy performance we can. We needed a new roof in part etc. It's been brutal 🍷

According to my crystal ball, your quotes will come in at £260k and the overspend due to undetected fuckery will be between 20 and 25%. Good luck!

I'd say £250k

I’m an architect and engineer. Would also echo a PP to say I wouldn’t quote for materials as it’s wild at the moment. I think your final figure would be circa £500k in total with materials and labour.

Hi OP, I run a renovation company with my husband. Based on what you’ve described,
kitchens and bathroom ware included, you’ll be looking at £450k + VAT.

Please set aside a contingency fund. You will definitely need it.

If you project manage this then you can significantly reduce costs. Unless you are ridiculously time poor or totally unable to visit the project I would not use a builder to do this. I would project manage everything myself - started with zero knowledge so anyone can do it

I've refurbished 3 period houses in Kent between 2,000sq ft and 3,000 sq ft whilst holding down a senior role. You can spent as much on them as you want and easily go out of control.

Your decorative refurb will cost thousands just for skips. I would get labourers into remove the carpet and strip the paper - this may reveal multiple issues with the plaster and then you need to decide on lining paper or degrees of replacement eg replace the lathe and plaster with modern insulation (I would personally but costly) or skim over cracks. Labourers can sand floors for you and revarnish. Paint can be sprayed on for a better finish and speed and can be done very cheaply in an empty house. A builder might be nervous about what they find under the paper and price to reflect that risk. If you are going to replace plaster then consider if you want to have a rewire at the same time - total rewire on 2000 sq ft house was 10k so you could be 20k.

Cast iron rads and door handles. Shropshire iron Mongerey has handles that are cheap and good quality. Rads are tricky if you want the old cast iron ones you can be lucky on eBay but I would consider compromising on this in rooms which are not for entertaining people. Move your radiator pipework before you do your floor.

Removing a staircase - no idea but could be big. Knocking walls down depends on the size of the wall and structural engineer - small wall can be a grand.

Bathrooms - 5k to fit plus fittings. Kitchen depends on size and finish. Fitting should be £250 a day for a multi skill tradesman, some will charge you by number of units - a £100 each but definitely can be a lot lower. You can plan a kitchen easily yourself, you can get a plumber to move the pipes around, electrician to put the points in and run a cable to a future island. You can buy bespoke wood units on line if that's your desire and granite online. You will save 50%+ on a kitchen project managing it. However you may have tradesman asking you to order additional units and sundries - discuss this with them in advance.

Log burners depend on chimney pipe length and quality of burner. Assuming you are 3 storeys and pricey burner then 5-6k each but depends on what needs doing to the surround too.

If you have got a builder to do it all for you and manage it all and wrap it up in a little bow then you can add 50% straight away.

Whatever they say the cost will be prepared to spend more. Period houses have all kinds of hidden issues.

I’m guessing 400k. I know someone who got a similar quote but in Scotland and was quoted closer to 400k.

Between £400-500K including 15% for expert fees (project surveyor etc). you will want new electrics, so make sure you budget for that and the full replaster.
Perhaps more depending on where in the south west you are.