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Property/DIY

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Finally bought a house! - advice on DIY (single woman doing all the work)

36 replies

Greenwitchhorse · 05/08/2023 08:35

I finally managed to buy a small 3 bed house and I am now planning the work that is needed and I wonder what I can realistically do as a middle-aged woman on my own.

I bought a 1930 house. Decent condition but dated decor throughout.

How reasonable is it for me to:

  • paint all the walls myself. I will have to remove some ugly adhesive decorative wall paper strips were put on some of the walls as well first
  • remove the existing carpets to reveal the original floorboard then sand
  • dismantle an old wardrobe that the sellers left behind that I have no use for. I could try to sell it on Marketplace but I am not even sure it would go through the door if it is not dismantled first...

Would it be more reasonable to find a handyman or have some of you managed to do this alone and have tips you could share?

I don't have a lot of money to spare so I am trying to do as much as I can myself.

OP posts:
Almahart · 05/08/2023 08:37

Painting and dismantling the wardrobe are totally doable.

I don't know about carpet and sanding. Easy enough to take up the carpet I would think, but using a sander is pretty exhausting. If you can afford it I would pay someone to do it.

Geneticsbunny · 05/08/2023 08:40

You will be be to take the carpet up but I have sanded floors and it is a horrible job. Best to get a specialist in then they can fill any gaps and make it all look nice too.

StroppyTop · 05/08/2023 08:43

Ooh, how exciting! Congratulations on your new house!

So, as a fellow middle aged woman, it sounds completely livable and you can do things at your own pace.

Decorating is pretty simple - the best results come from preparing your surfaces well. The wallpaper might come off easily with warm water, a sponge and a scraper, but if it’s tough you’re best to invest in or borrow a wallpaper steamer. They’re not that expensive and will save you a ton of work.

Then clean down the walls with. Sugar soap solution, fill any holes with filler and sand back to a smooth finish when it’s dry. Then paint - ceiling first, then walls.

Wood work - clean and sand first then use an undercoat then liquid gloss - one or two coats.

Sanding floorboards - time consuming but simple enough. Painted floorboards can also look really nice. Make sure to fill any gaps that might be draughty in winter.

Wardrobe: Stick it on Fb/Gumtree, buyer to dismantle and collect and if it hasn’t sold in a week or two you can take it apart and take it to the tip, if you have a car. If you have lots of rubbish from
the house, you could always hire a small skip.

Tearsofgravy · 05/08/2023 08:45

The most important thing in my opinion when doing DIY alone is safety. Sometimes it's tempting to do something that's not 100% safe because it would be a big delay to wait for a second pair of hands to be present. Everything you have said sounds doable op but please think carefully about minimising risks when working alone. Good luck!

Franklet · 05/08/2023 08:46

Agree that dismantling the wardrobe and painting are pretty straightforward.

I sanded the floors in my first house and swore I would never do it again. It is filthy work and very hard work. A professional can do it much quicker and cleaner and will get a much better finish. Having said that, it is doable.

Good luck!

Backstreets · 05/08/2023 08:48

Put your money in the floors, do the rest yourself! Congratulations and have fun - hard work but so satisfying!

HappilyContentTheseDays · 05/08/2023 09:00

Yes, you can do this!

I learned to do lots of DIY years ago and yes, I was middle aged. I made masses of mistakes, but since I was divorced at the time, there was no one to yell at me when I did so. Honestly, it's so empowering when you manage to do all this sort of thing yourself!!
I'm in my sixties now and do all my decorating/building/climbing ladders etc.

I'm sure you're in a better place than I was when I started....I had to get comfortable with a hammer, teach myself to use an electric drill and eventually an electric saw....now I can dismantle, paint, wallpaper, put up shelving and make up flat pack furniture properly. If I can, you certainly can....

Removing wallpaper....how bad is yours? Some can be pulled off and the walls just washed down. Check if it's an old house with disintegrating plaster underneath, you might have a flood a dust and have to fill with plaster in places. If it's a serious covering, you may have to hire a steamer....can be hired from B&Q or similar shop, works like a heavy steam iron across the wall and then wet wallpaper peels away. Can make your arms ache and fill the room with wetness, might want to ask a friend to help but doable on your own.

Painting is lovely, very relaxing and therapeutic. People swear by using rollers but I find them a nuisance, roller paint often needs more than one coat, splatters everywhere and leaves a "stippled" surface, but each to their own. I use brushes, can be useful if you need a very thick, even coat of paint and you learn to "work" the brush properly to produce such a surface. Woodwork requires gloss or satinwood paint and is an art so you don't get 'lines' in the finish...but again, very doable. If you want to be a perfectionist with woodwork, several coats with sanding in-between is the way to go.

Carpets are easy to pull up, there's always a massive mess underneath, think about where/how you are going to dispose of the unwanted carpet.

If I'm honest, the only thing I would baulk at doing myself is floor sanding. It is a heavy, noisy and intensely messy job. Needs machine hire and serious face-masking, there will be dust absolutely everywhere. If you can afford it, I would bring in a professional just to do that bit if at all possible.

Dismantling a wardrobe? Easy. Get yourself a claw hammer, and a decent set of screw drivers. If you are a novice (not sure if you are, apologies if not) dismantling furniture/fittings is the best way to learn how to put others back together again, as you can understand how complicated joints and hinges work (fitted kitchen cupboards is one example of this).

Go for it, and congratulations on your purchase!

CountRenfield · 05/08/2023 09:03

As above, all doable if you give yourself time.There are so many YouTube videos of how to do things as well.

justme2022 · 05/08/2023 09:03

The only bit of that I wouldn't do myself is sand the floor. I've done it before and it's a grotty job. Takes ages, mess everywhere and it didn't look anywhere near as good as if a professional did it. Ripping up a carpet you don't like is very therapeutic, although that might just be me.

rumred · 05/08/2023 09:06

Floorboards that are in good nick can be washed rather than sanded. Still hard work but much better all round than sanding

RidingMyBike · 05/08/2023 09:15

It depends whether you have time and like doing DIY or not.

I tried doing this as a single woman with my first house and it turned out I hated DIY and struggled to find the time to do it with work etc. And I wasn't very good at it. Some things if it means buying a load of equipment you won't need for anything else it isn't even cheaper.

There were some things I couldn't do as too heavy on my own or wasn't safe on my own too.

So I used to chunk tasks together and get a handyman in for a half or full day block once or twice a year to get stuff done.

CellophaneFlower · 05/08/2023 09:19

Are the electrics ok? Worth checking before starting any work.

Not all floorboards will look good - some may well have been hacked about etc, so again, worth checking before hiring a sander etc.

The hardest bit about painting is ensuring the walls are prepped well. It's very time consuming, but essential otherwise even the best painter in the world isn't going to get a good finish.

Wardrobe will be easy enough.

It will be hard work but very rewarding to know you've done it yourself.

ohtobeme · 05/08/2023 09:22

Done all those myself

Give your self plenty of time - take 3 days if you think it might take 1

Read up about the prep needed - it's worth the cleaning and having the decent brushes etc

The sanding is hard work and the vibrations exhausting so little bits at a time

Physically lifting the hired sander up the stairs required a male mate

ohtobeme · 05/08/2023 09:24

Floorboards - I had to replace one bit - again finding a friend who can help can be fun - and I needed to fill gaps so I saved the sawdust and mixed it with PVA glue

Spectre8 · 05/08/2023 09:25

You can do all of it but the sanding if one id get a professional in for.

Pulling up carpet isn't hard its just held by those grippers. You will need to remove those too but easy to do.

Painting is easy just warch some youtube videos.

Dismantling the wardrobe...again easy to do with screwdrivers and a hammer

Best tool to buy is one of those drills that you can use as a screwdriver too. It will make putting flat pack furniture together easy and tightening any old screws easy too

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 05/08/2023 09:26

Stripping the walls fine, doable. But if you are painting them, it's probably worth paying for a plasterer to come skim them beforehand as bumpy painted walls are ugly, and plastered painted walls are a delight.

Isabelle70 · 05/08/2023 09:28

Congratulations on your house purchase 😀
I have done all those jobs as a single mum with a 140 year old house over the years.
I did sand my bedroom floor myself and never again! I would get a professional in to do it. However, I didn't like the floorboards, too bare and not very good for soundproofing. So a lovely carpet went down.

Rainsdropskeepfalling · 05/08/2023 09:31

Just a word of warning for steam wall paper stripping. If the house is middle aged and the plaster not great, if you leave the steamer over a patch of wall for too long you can cause the plaster to 'pop' (and you may need a plaster back to reskim). But otherwise I agree with everyone else - get someone in to do the floor. The professional sanders are so much better than the ones you rent and have better extract vacuums so you don't end up with dust everywhere

FlowersFlowersEverywhere · 05/08/2023 09:32

You could absolutely do all that yourself. YouTube is your friend. Also, join the Handy Women group on Facebook, everyone is very supportive and gives loads of advice as well as sharing their finished projects.

Shodan · 05/08/2023 09:38

Congratulations on your lovely new house! I agree with all the others- all of what you've mentioned is perfectly possible for you, but I would give the sanding over to a professional. Also agree with the PP who mentioned getting the walls skimmed if the underlying surface is poor.

I'm a pretty competent DIYer (just about to start tiling a bathroom in a new extension) and there are a few things that will need another person to help with ( or one strong male!) but for most things I've found there are workarounds.

Buy the best equipment you can afford- poor equipment can sometimes lead to a failure which isn't your fault, which isn't a good ego-boost.

BigBundleOfFluff · 05/08/2023 09:46

It's all doable but doing it by yourself takes a lot of time. Buy a decent screw driver - especially if you are going to be assembling furniture as well. Bosch do a great cordless one that is always on offer somewhere and packs away neat and tidily.
Years ago I sanded floors, doors and skirting boards. It's loud, messy and took ages. I'd never to that again.

caringcarer · 05/08/2023 09:48

StroppyTop · 05/08/2023 08:43

Ooh, how exciting! Congratulations on your new house!

So, as a fellow middle aged woman, it sounds completely livable and you can do things at your own pace.

Decorating is pretty simple - the best results come from preparing your surfaces well. The wallpaper might come off easily with warm water, a sponge and a scraper, but if it’s tough you’re best to invest in or borrow a wallpaper steamer. They’re not that expensive and will save you a ton of work.

Then clean down the walls with. Sugar soap solution, fill any holes with filler and sand back to a smooth finish when it’s dry. Then paint - ceiling first, then walls.

Wood work - clean and sand first then use an undercoat then liquid gloss - one or two coats.

Sanding floorboards - time consuming but simple enough. Painted floorboards can also look really nice. Make sure to fill any gaps that might be draughty in winter.

Wardrobe: Stick it on Fb/Gumtree, buyer to dismantle and collect and if it hasn’t sold in a week or two you can take it apart and take it to the tip, if you have a car. If you have lots of rubbish from
the house, you could always hire a small skip.

Good advice here. Also look at some YouTube to see how to prepare walls for painting.

Northernsouloldies · 05/08/2023 10:03

Tip for lifting carpet, cut in strips that you can roll up and lift and use a good quality Stanley knife. Score from one side of room to other and that way you can bin the underlay at the same time. Good luck in your new home.

Shodan · 05/08/2023 10:08

And further to @Northernsouloldies good advice- buy a box of replacement blades for your Stanley knife. A nice sharp blade makes everything easier.

loislovesstewie · 05/08/2023 10:10

Decorating fine, but you might need a steamer to get the paper off. In one house we lived in it was wallpaper on top of wallpaper on top of wallpaper so a real pain! You might find the plaster isn't up to much so that might need skimming. I wouldn't try to sand the floors myself, it needs an industrial sander to look good and it really is hard work. And look on YouTube for tutorials if you are at all concerned. Don't try anything electric ! Safety first!