Long distance renovation

[purplerain321]

We are planning to fully renovate a Victorian terrace (it hasn't been updated since the 60s)... this includes rewiring, plumbing, new boiler, single storey extension out the back, loft conversion, redecorating, restoring tile and wooden floors, and new kitchen and bathrooms. We will be overseas for the majority and are also having a second baby in the autumn. The builder will project manage and we hope it will all be finished when we return in February (work should start in July).
Does anyone have experience of doing this kind of project long distance? I was excited about it but now it's dawning on me that a lot could go wrong here...
Thank you :)

We are about to start a renovation where we'll be living 3 hours away (although not abroad). So no actual experience yet but interested in your thread. We've been putting a huge amount of effort into finding the right builder, using personal recommendations and being sure that they are happy to project manage, and (having found them, I hope) we're about to have a meeting about how it's all going to work. I am keen to agree how communications will work and to receive photos etc of progress.

Will you be able to do any site visits at all?

You really should get a project manager. Even if the builder is really good there will be loads and loads of questions that you need to answer and a project manager can sort at least some of those out.

E.g. how many sockets do you want? Where do you want them? What lighting so you want and where?where we the light switches going? Which direction are tiles being laid in? what colour grout? Why type of skirting board... And loads of random decisions that you don't even know about yet like problems they find which need a solution.

It could cause lots of problems - how often will you visit the house? We've just completed a renovation of a house we weren't living in (renting about 30 mins walk away). It was project managed by the builder but there was quite a lot of decision making needed at various points. I only went on site about once a fortnight but DH was going several times a week at some points.

There's deciding on details like locations of sockets, then the inevitable problems that emerge. One they just sent us a video but a couple of times it was easier to go over and see it.

It's difficult deciding on colours and textures without being in the house's light levels. It was also good to check in in person with the neighbours periodically.

Check your insurance too - we had specific empty house/renovation insurance but that specified the house had to be checked weekly. Probably the builders could have done that but we preferred knowing we'd been.

We had to be there for the final part as there was walking round and checking for the snagging list. There will be stuff on that that's vital to you but not something someone else would have thought of.

The building company project managed it for us - in practice they'd order all we'd specified, take deliveries, check it was what was meant to be there, sort out any problems with orders, coordinate trades, skips, loo hire, sort out building control, find solutions to problems and actually do the work!

They were very good and communication was excellent - everything was in writing and all meetings on site were followed up with minutes but we still found there was still stuff we needed to be there for.

Even random things like where the washing line should go!

I live in a Georgian terrace and have done 2 renovations. The biggest thing that you should take account of is what have you done to warn the neighbours and work around their schedule? On the plus side it sounds as if you won't need to undo interesting 70's renovations.

With so many people working from home you are likely to annoy at least one neighbour. Make sure that the party wall arrangements and any deeds of easements are agreed before you do anything!

I really do think that you need a project manager. I think there are still delays in getting construction materials (windows etc), so it would be good to have somebody on the ground to schedule things and notice when a team goes AWOL.

Thank you everyone!
Good point about being there to test paints etc, @RidingMyBike I could order loads of samples and then decide on everything when I go back next.
Thanks @Madcats We haven't warned the neighbours, haven't met them in fact but that is something I could do when back and offer my contact details should there be any issues.
We do have a family member who will oversee and a building company project managing @Geneticsbunny, thanks I will add some of these to my list. Trying to anticipate delays for ordering too.
@ShandyQuaffer I think I can only be there once before I give birth then I won't be able to travel until the baby has a passport, so it's basically all remote. Good luck with yours!!

On another note, do you reckon the timescale of Aug-Dec is doable for a single storey extension, loft conversion, rewiring, plumbing, new kitchen, new bathroom, restoration of wood and tiled floors, replastering (artex everywhere in house) and redecoration?

Our very nice and very capable builder made a couple of quite big and annoying mistakes when we had some work done on a house which we weren’t living in. And we were only an hour away and on the phone to him… details get lost and instructions were actually misunderstood

The timing might be tight. We did a five month project (including two week stop at Christmas) which didn't include extending but was an extensive renovation. The building company should be able to give you an outline timeframe although things can change as they get going and make discoveries.

The timescale will drift and will do so more if you don't have a project manager.

The work is a single storey extension and then a full house refurb? Are you replastering, redecorating and reflooring the whole house too? I would say 6 -12 months for what you want.

I would make a list of things which definitely need to be finished before you move in and rooms that you can live without for 6 months.

Make sure all the destructive messy stuff is done first. You should definitely be able to have completed a full rewire, replumb and shell extension and internal plastering and first fix bathrooms and kitchen within 6 months. Then another couple of months for the final bathroom and kitchen maybe? It depends on how many people are onsite at the same time.

Also there will be things you forget to order that are needed urgently. A project manager would sort stuff like this out.
I would do it just so you don't get a phone call whilst in labour about what type of light switches you want!

We did this (lived 2 hours away) and it worked out ok...but they made some daft decisions in our absence. Don't assume your common sense is the same as theirs! I've learnt to live with the "mistakes" and we saved a lot of money living with the in laws whilst it was done

Thank you for all your replies, it's very helpful.
@Peterpiperpickedapeckof Oh gosh I hope the mistakes could be remedied or you're able to live with them as @neverwakeasleepingbaby has... We're renting now abroad and it works out well as rents are low and I have my job out here until I give birth in October. I guess if when we came back it wasn't done we could live with family (though I won't tell the builders that and insist it's a deadline 😄).
@RidingMyBike The Aug-Dec gives us some wiggle room as the plan is to move into the house in Feb and I would try to have most things ready as we'll have a newborn and a 2 year old!
Good shout on the list in case that time line goes to pot, thanks @Geneticsbunny I can just imagine shouting about light switches and skirting boards mid labour 😅Hopefully full-on nesting mode in late pregnancy will allow me to cover everything.

Something that might be worth a watch is Rita Konig's interior design course on the create academy website. It's £147 but has lots of useful information about planning a renovation and the pitfalls. May save you some money in the long term!

Thank you @neverwakeasleepingbaby 😊

it depends a bit on how much you care about the details. If you trust your builder to make decision and happy to live with that then it can be easy. For example I wanted a boiler boxed in and the door design the joiner initially suggested wouldn't work because of the position of a pipe that we thought could be moved but couldn't. So I told him to just make something that looked OK and didn't really care that it was different. And other similar example about moving a light fitting to accommodate a hatch, But if you want every detail exactly as you had it in your head it won't work.