Big house renovation experiences

[sdra]

Hello
Thinking of buying a house which needs a lot of work. It's structurally sound and has electrics, water etc but needs a lot of tlc as well as some internal configuration including knocking some walls down, converting garage and moving staircase. No extension build needed. Also needs new kitchen, bathrooms and windows. It's got planning and in dream location. Could be completely beautiful and I have visions of adding solar panels and water filtration system and making it well insulated etc etc so it's greener too.
Never done anything like this before. Not even put in a new bathroom. Is this crazy?! I think we could just about not live there while it's done depending on how long it would take (6 months??) Does this seem realistic? Or should we try and get a caravan and live there while done. Or would you advise to steer well clear?!

Since we moved in 2019 we have done:

New kitchen
3 new bathrooms and a downstairs lavatory
Replaced downstairs floorboards
Plastering and painting throughout
New fire and fireplace
Dug up the overgrown garden and put in a garden room/gym
New windows throughout starting next week (probably should have done this earlier, but didn’t)

We lived in it throughout and it’s been fine if disruptive from time to time. My old recommendation would be to keep a good stash of packing boxes to hand and be prepared for lots of cleaning.

How are you getting on, we are just at planning stage of something similar. Are costs of materials still sky high?

How is everything going now that you've started? I'm the same. Take months over tiny decisions!

Get quotes for everything you can think of. Add it all up. Double it. (I am not joking.😐)
If you can afford that, then you're probably okay, but be prepared to live in a tip for a good few years.
The more you can do yourself, the more likely you are to end up within budget.
Get things done in the right order. Electrics almost always needs doing first, and is much easier and cheaper done when the house is empty; make sure you have the rewire done with lots of points and lots of of elbow room for changes in the future or any planned work. We had things done like cabling and fused spurs for underfloor heating and immersion heaters etc. where we might eventually want them, and for a separate cooker and hob if we decide to go that route when we replace the cooker.
Planning is essential, and expect every job to uncover badly done work by previous owners that means you need to do something else you hadn't bargained for (that's part of why the doubling of the estimates) and which will hold up that and other jobs.

What we are doing wont be anywhere near as much (fixing roof, moving a wall, building a wall, re-plastering, re-decorating, new flooring, new kitchen & new bathroom) a referb more than renovation for us and we won't be living there while its done.

We could probably live their during the roofing, redecorating and maybe even kitchen and bathroom (theres 2 bathrooms) but we couldn't live there through the moving the wall and plastering part (plus it will be much quicker and easier to do with the house empty).

Ann old thread. Since it has been reopened I'd suggest anyone considering major renovation also consider demolition and rebuild. You dont pay VAT on new builds.