2023 reno support thread

[succulentlove]

Hi, just wondering if there are a few of us who are renovating in 2023 / expecting to start this year? Maybe a thread to chat would be nice?

We are maybe 50% of the way there- not extending but doing work on pretty much every surface of the house, adding in lots of glazing, moving the kitchen, removing chimneys etc.. A bit worried if we are spending too much given we are not adding square footage, just making better use of what is already there.

Hope to hear from others on their Reno journeys!

Well done @Littlemissweepy sounds like you have had a lot on your plate

Thanks! Am sure most of us feel the same way, totally splattered with it all. Wooden floors are being sanded and stained at the moment and so between that and varnishing and the curing of it all I will be staying away until next week. Joiners and decorators and plumbers and electricians still have a lot to do, but they are talking a good game that they will all be finished by 18th September and so I am getting ready to give notice on our rental flat. I won’t miss paying rent and mortgage and ££££s per month in Reno bills. Landscaping is dragging, so garden still looks like a battlefield.

We're on the last leg here. All the tiles have been removed from the old kitchen. Electrics will be sorted this week and hopefully plasterer will replaster the whole room next week

New sofa for new kitchen/diner arrives on 8th

I think we are on course for everything finished sometime in October. I have bought the lightfittings/lamps for new room but also need to source a large rug as well as we are retaining the existing quarry tiles on the new living room

Welcome @Littlemissweepy 🙂 We are moving the same week as you. Had two guys round for removal quotes. Am not bothering to wait for the second quote as didn’t like him.

We also need floor sanding at some point. I’m thinking of taking some raised beds around today and start constructing them. Rubbish removal guy coming to quote as stuff piling up again. My current neighbour is coming around later, think I might suggest a curry. It’s lovely that there is a room that is nice to sit in now.

Over £800 difference in removal quotes, we’re only going around the corner!

The insulation for the extension roof finally arrived about a week ago, which felt like a big step, but still no windows / doors... I don't have a firm completion date, which is stressful as my house sale is still progressing. Not living there, I don't really know what's happening from day to day (other than texts from the neighbours moaning about various things).

I'm hoping that once the windows finally arrive and the roof is completed there will be some kind of tipping point beyond which everything moves faster.

Chose curtains for the bedroom last week, which was a nice distraction.

Next challenge is sorting out TV and broadband. I don't want to leave Sky as I just renewed my contract, but the installation of the dish and cabling is going to be a complex exercise, and Sky weren't all that helpful. I want the wiring concealed, meaning that it has to go in soon, but they will only come out when I move in, to connect a dish and they aren't willing to allow extra cabling or put it behind skirting. Builders have said they can put the cabling in, but I'm inclined to look for a specialist firm so I can be sure everything is in the right place.

Really hoping for some decent progress soon. Feeling quite disheartened and wishing I hadn't done this.

@ClematisBlue49 that does sound really frustrating. We spoke to openreach directly in the end as weren't getting anywhere with the providers. They needed a road closure but thankfully we used the same one as national grid. I think that if the skirting boards go in afterwards they can chase things in. We asked the electrician to take the box that comes into the house across rooms and they were able to after a few chats. I wanted a more concealed outside line which was brown but got black in the end as I was away at the time but that is ok. All the lines are over land here as rural. Is there a house move team at sky? BT had one which was good in terms of telling me how to speak to openreach. It will end soon and the windows will go in over a matter of days. It is really tough but sounds like you are doing really well

Thank you @CountryCob , I hope you're right.

Sky has a Home Move team, but they don't seem to be geared up to support complex installations. I've heard that they are very restrictive in how they do things, and specialist aerial / satellite firms are better, if more expensive. When I finally got to speak to someone, they did check that fibre broadband is available, so it should be straightforward for Open Reach to connect the line. (I'm not in a rural area.) I will contact them directly as you suggest.

Done so far in my 3 bed 1930 terrace bought 10 days ago:

DIY:

• removed all carpets (and assorted nails, staples & wood that was holding that mess together...) including the stairs
• Removed all curtain poles and curtains
• Cleared out garden and shed
• Removed unwanted shelves from walls
• Dismantled wardrobes that had been fixed on the walls
• Moved all utilities/council tax to my name
• Got a man with a van to pick up all the carpets and the random furniture that the owners had left...

Trades:

• Asbestos survey of Artex ceilings done (thankfully negative)
• Electrics rewire for the house started today and due to last for up to 3 days.

Next week Heating and plumbing (removing and old gas fire, removing a dish washer that again the elderly couple that owned the house left in situ and servicing ancient boiler/discuss possible replacement...)

Then still to be done:

• hard wood floor sanding/varnishing
• some tiling

-painting the whole house -boarding/plastering one wall...

It never ends, does it...:)

And this is a small house!

Today has been a good day in the main, photos of the floors all stained and varnished have been sent to me and I love it! Also some of the radiators, and electrical face plates have started to be put on and happy with these too. House is suddenly looking much less building site, especially since lots of crap was cleared out to clear floors. Light is emerging from end of long tunnel.

I had a sleepless night though worrying about our awol landscapers and that we had been scammed and they had run off with our money. Been assured it will be full throttle from Monday (but I have heard that before).

@clematis I often felt like I should never have started, that horrible feeling of it’s too late to go back. Good luck with sorting broadband, TV etc sounds like a painful “computer says no” situation.

@Littlemissweepy , I completely get the sleepless nights and thinking you've been scammed... I've gone down some similar rabbit holes myself, and it's a horrible feeling. I think it must be quite a normal reaction when there are delays, or tradespeople seem to disappear for days. I suppose the reality is that once the client is at the point of no return, there is less incentive to keep to timescales (or even provide timescales).

I spend a lot of time calculating how much I could get if I sell the place at auction as an unfinished project, or how much extra if would cost me (in time and money) if the builders abandoned me. Oddly enough, putting it all into a spreadsheet makes me feel a bit better and more in control.

Wow @Greenwitchhorse you've done so much, well done 👏. Not messing around and getting straight on it. Are you living in it too?

@Instahome2

No, I moved into a rental after I sold my previous property last year.

So after giving notice to my landlord I have a month left to do everything in the new house :) which is helping a lot as well (much easier to do the work without the furniture in the way...).

@Instahome2 , just wondering what sort of rental you went into in terms of length of lease. Shortest I can see available is 6 months. Or did you use AirBnB or similar?

Thanks and good luck getting everything done on schedule.

...Sorry, that should have been addressed to @Greenwitchhorse

Every tradesperson we've had in has said that it would be usual to rent whilst we've had everything going on. We'd been homeless for 5 months before moving in so couldn't face moving out again.

@ClematisBlue49

So I took on a year's tenancy but with a 6 month break close (meaning notice can be given after 6 months) in the contract.

I moved to a new town so renting for a while also gave me the opportunity to work out whether I really wanted to stay permanently in the area.

It took me a while to find the right house to buy anyway and then the purchase took 5 months from offer to completion so it all worked out OK.

Thanks @Greenwitchhorse , glad it worked out for you. That's interesting about the longer lease with a break clause. That might be a good idea for me too, in case things drag out even longer.

This is what we did too - well in Scotland where I am leases just roll month to month and need 28 days notice, don’t need to tie in for a year/ two years etc. I have just given notice today, need to give at least 28 days.

That is interesting @Littlemissweepy we have an initial protected period and then they roll also. Having a longer protected period means that the risk of being asked to leave earlier than you hoped is removed but contains the extra commitment. The break reduces that for a tenant as long as it is easy to operate, it would only create one window in which to break though usually. @Instahome2 I know what you mean about it being easier to stay when moving around so much. On the house front we are hoping for radiators towards the end of next week and I am hoping to paint behind where they are going in for the rooms where that hasn't happened before that. At the moment we have the radiator pipework poking out of the new plasterwork. In the rear extension work continues in order to be ready for the roof timber/ joiner/ crane date which is very set. Looks like the weather is with us. Large pile of builders mess starting again in the garden so going to try to nip that in the bud a bit again. Onwards and upwards

How is everyone doing? I am at that stage where everyone has always says it come together super fast, except we are still going at snails pace. Builders clean booked for 18th September, and every room seems a millions miles away yet.

eg in en-suite (which is one of the most progressed rooms)

mirror needs fitted
2 mirrored shelves need fitted
shaver sockets need installed
bath plug needs changed
silicon needs done around bath, shower, sinks
handles need put into on all cupboards and drawers
lights need fitted - 1 pendant and 3x wall
skirting section needs fixing
light switch needs fitted
underfloor heating controller needs fitted
radiator needs installed
towel rail needs installed
blinds on windows

a list like that for every room, and that’s one where the decorating has been finished (most haven’t). Removals booked for 25th. I have no chance of moving into a finished house do I?? :(

Oh no @Littlemissweepy, fingers crossed it all comes together ASAP for you.

We hosted a family party this weekend and it was really nice to show some finished rooms. This year we were only embarrassed about the other 50% of the house rather than all of it like last year 😉.

I've finally been able to go out and pick up some cute decor bits over the last week or so, this is the bit I actually enjoy. Spent a fortune on candles, vases and plants.

The new front door is going in next week then we can finish the flooring and woodwork for the hallway. I'm looking forward to answering the front door and not being embarrassed about the wrecked flooring and unfinished walls.

Sympathy @Littlemissweepy , I feel similar and moving day after you. I always knew we would have the kitchen left to do at that point but had hoped upstairs would be finished. Had waste removal guy last week only to find there is still more upstairs which is annoying as needs to be empty for carpet next week.

I’m over at the new house on an airbed waiting for a delivery from 7am on . Appreciating the fact the road is nice and quiet and I can hear the birds.

Was hoping to be moving in around now, but things are slowing down rather than speeding up. No rooms are finished, and I can't get any sort of timeline from the builders due to delays with the last of the windows, and they don't return my calls. Am planning on looking for temporary accommodation when my house sale completes, as I can't face living on a building site.

I need to work out some way to pressure the builders into turning things around faster. (I'm using a single firm rather than separate trades, but I'm beginning to think that was a mistake.)