Yay or nay? Edwardian doer upper

[ImaBuilder]

so torn and looking for your advice please

We need to move out of the penthouse flat we’ve been shedding out rent money for years and years and are looking to move into our Edwardian doer upper. It’s nowhere near town but it’d be the most sensible option.

This house doesn’t have any major structural faults I’m told but would need a complete cosmetic update (currently 70s to 90s decor throughout). Carpets / curtains / lights need to go, walls need a neutral colour, that sort of thing.

Also a remodel probably…downstairs layout is bonkers with loo and shower cubicles leading to a ‘conservatory’. New kitchen in order too…

Now that I think of it, the bathroom and loo upstairs need a refit. An en-suite fitted upstairs if I had my way!

We’ve been renting our whole lives so have no idea where to start.

But we can’t complete all that before we move in. We’ve 7 weeks notice to move out of our flat and if it were up to the landlord they’d have us out today.

Honestly, we’re not even sure we want to live in this house but in town we’d spend a packet on rent.

Schools and work are accessible from here if you were wondering and I could make time to manage a refurb (I think!)

If it is mostly just decor then move in and do it a room at a time. Painting and decorating is an easy DIY skill to pick up. Move in before you remodel too because you might end up wanting to do something different than you expect.

Although it sounds like maybe you arent sure about the house? Are there other options in terms of somewhere to move?

Do you have children? How old are they? The reason I ask is because we moved to a similar house when my kids were babies. We were skint so had to do it up a room at a time and it was pretty awful. Took away quite a lot of time with them as the house needed starting/finishing. Love the house now and just about to do a loft conversion. Often scan right move and imagine starting another reno now my kids are teens. Would be much easier now!

If you can afford it, get a good building team to come in and get it up to some kind decent living standard. Even if its just basic. If not, spend the next few weeks doing what you can before you move in to make it nice.

What is your budget? Houses like this can be a money pit and if you are a novice DIYer it can be a daunting but not impossible task. You do learn a lot as you progress through the house. As pp have said, move in and do nothing for a year apart from perhaps a quick paint job. The seasons and the light changes the look of the house. Do the same with your garden - leave it and see what plants and shrubs etc appear before you make any decisions. Good luck!

You have to want to live in it to do this and not just because you want to stop paying rent. It is hard to tell with a renovation like that what is going to happen when you do things like strip wallpaper if there is any, the plaster could all be blown and it may fall off.

Renovating is very expensive at the moment and what you save on rent could easily go plus much besides as costs spiral .

We are nearly at the end of an Edwardian renovation. It was structurally sound and had been kept in good condition though very dated. Only unexpected thing was £900 as drains were collapsing and the plaster fell off in the en-suite, we already knew about a bit of damp in the bay and a bit of woodworm.

If you are looking at it look at the roof, does it look like it has been replaced at some point? Look at windows, soffits and fascias, do these need replacing? What does the gutter look like and the down pipes? Look at the consumer unit, it it fairly modern? Will you need to replace the heating and /or radiators? Any sign of damp? What’s the water pressure like ?Be aware drains may need work and there maybe woodworm that will need some attention. Also ask to see utility bills to get an idea of current running costs.

Also it is often sensible to live somewhere for a bit before making any major alterations. Do you have people available who you know do good work and won’t take the piss as that can be another issue.

We have a 4 bed Edwardian semi that needed everything doing to it.. think previous HMO/badly converted into 2 flats at one point/semi derelict in parts.

My kids were 8 and 6 at the time and it was tricky.

We did/are still doing the majority of the work ourselves, although did have builders in initially to fix leaky roof/rewiring/gas leak etc.

It was worth it for me as we love this house and it was the only way we could have what we want, in the location we want. We're still renovating now, but lots has been done.. we just have to keep saving up to do stuff so it takes a while.

If it's just decor/a tart up and the house is what you want, you can do a lot of it yourself if you are willing.

If not, it can be an expensive business, and of course finding problems as you delve into an old property is par for the course, so just be mindful that there may be hudden horrors waiting to be discovered!

Do you already own the Edwardian fixer upper?? Not clear if you're int he process of buying or already own it?
It really depends how much there is to do. A property that age will likely need a re-wire and/or new central heating as well as new kitchen /bathrooms??

If it does need re-wire and new heating I'd focus on those and try to get them done before you move in. Partly due to the disruption/dust but also you are likely to get cheaper quotes if the contractor hasn't got to work around your furniture.

New kitchen/bathroom could be done after you move in but if budget and time allows - again would be good to get done before you move in if budget allows.

If its just decorating you can do that room by room after you've moved in.

Sounds like a great project to me - good luck :)

You’re right, we’re not sure about the house but it won’t cost us living there. The alternative is spending £1300 a week on rent. Long term we want to buy something else in a better for us location.

Yes, I’m happy to do the painting and decorating myself, I want to start like NOW.

this is what needs done

• order & fill skip
• rip out carpets in hallways and on stairs
• strip & paint banisters, doorframes, horizontal panel strip that runs at hip height along the room (if anyone know what this is called I’d be grateful to know!)
• paint all rooms
• get tier on tier shutters for reception 1 and bedroom 1
• get stair / hallway runner
• remove textured 3D wallpaper that reaches up to the horizontal strip panel
• paint kitchen unit doors white (they’re currently woody oak and in a rustic 80s style 😭)

do you think these are sensible tasks to DIY? I’m very handy. Might need someone to strip or sand varnish off though

@whatwouldtheydo

Our kids are teens so it’s okay from that angle.

good point and am so happy for you that you created a home you love! I wish we had a home our kids grew up in. But we have to leave that (our current flat). It’s sad.

Happy to do some work myself, but how can I find a good building team?

A doer-upper will gain value once done so sounds good to me.

Don’t attempt to do all at once, and do one room at a time. Maybe kids bedroom and lounge as that’s where you’ll be spending most time.

hip panel strip - dido rail. Very 80s.

Are you willing to devote the next two years of your life to this project? Yes it can be done faster if you live elsewhere, have plenty spare cash and know what you are doing. Which I don’t think is you.

Honestly, don't be sad about that. It sounds like they had a lovely home up to now. Doesn't matter if it's rented/bought/flat/house. I grew up in a 2 bed council flat with my two siblings. Made no odds to me in the long run. My kids have been lucky up to now to have a nice house with a small garden but the early years were really hard (recession/almost losing the house/having to move in with family for part of the reno etc).

Ask around locally for good builders. Local Facebook groups are very handy for this. View their previous jobs and get FULL quotes upfront so you aren't stung with too many hidden costs down the line. Create pinterest boards of styles/decor you love. Be as prepared as you can as decisions for lighting/fixtures/fittings will come around quickly.

All this said, I think I could only do a reno now if I was either living away from it until completion or had enough money to get it done all at once so the pain only lasted a few months!

@BeeCucumber that’s a good question. Budget depends really. If we decide this is our forever home I’d be happy to hire an interior designer or whatever and spend as much as we can on the house for a full gutting and refurb.

if we just stay for a few months to a year until we buy then the budget should be as low a possible of course.

really like your suggestion of observing the light and seasons!

@Seaitoverthere that’s true, we don’t really want to live there. The area we used to be in is 10/10 for our taste and the area where this house is in pretty suburban and not on the tube network. We don’t love that

But times of the essence there’s nothing great to rent out there right now (in terms of value for money). Besides, we have to move out in 7 weeks tops.

yes costs could spiral we can’t know that. Good ideas what to look out for. Can easily ask for running costs as MIL currently lives in the house. She also claims house is fine and up to date with repairs. But her standards in terms of radiators, water pressure etc are definitely on the lower side.

basically to make it really nice the way we like will need a complete refurb for sure

@pinklemonsparkle so glad you got the home you wanted! Do you have any specific recommendations for Edwardian renovations focused blogs, books, etc?

@CowGirl19 yes we own the house.

It probably needs all the work you describe (kitchen bathroom remodel rewire etc) but we can only commit to that once we’ve decided that we want to live there!

haha love the idea that a contractor will have to charge more because they’re working around our furniture 😅

I’m interested to know why the fact you currently live in a “penthouse” is relevant to your question!

Is this Edwardian house actually yours, or is MIL offering to let you do it up in anticipation of your DH inheriting it?

@redtrain123 thanks for the explanation: dido rail. Yes that’s what it is! Urgh

will do room by room good idea!

Cross posted. Why did you buy it?

Why not just sell it as a fixer-upper and buy a smaller house in a better location that needs less work?

@sockpuppet I’m very handy and a hard worker and can learn DIY. But yeah. Two years sounds about right. And that’s when my oldest goes to uni. What a mess!

Don't get a skip. That will save you £200. You can take stuff to the dump if you have access to a car?

Please learn from my mistakes and just do a room at a time. Otherwise everything everywhere will be covered in dust all the time and it will drive you crazy. Start furthest away from the front door, i.e. bedrooms. They are a quick win. If there are two of you, you can easily do a bedroom in a couple of weeks in evenings if it just needs a bit of prep and some painting. Then have a rest and plan the next one for a couple of weeks. Each room you finish will give you a huge boost.

Edwardian houses are good houses, well built etc. All of the things you mention wanting to do sound plausible. It could be really nice. The only thing that doesn't sound ok is the location which you don't want to be in? Also, will you own this house or will you just be living in it? If you don't own it then obviously you won't want to spend thousands on it or there won't be as much benefit.

The rails are called dado rails!

Dado not dido! (Or dildo..)

OK - so I think I'm with you so in that case - until you decide if you're actually going to live in this place long term I would do the absolute minimum you can get away with.

The reason for that - is if you spend ££££'s on new carpets decorating etc etc - then decide to sell but without doing the more mundane new electrics/heating/bathroom kitchen etc..... then the money you've spent will have been wasted because if you do then sell up - you'd still be selling a "fixer upper" and as soon as potential buyers do a survey they'll realise all that work still needs to be done and try to haggle you down in price etc etc (or worse walk on buy and not buy your house at all)

Hope that makes sense - sorry not trying to be a damp sponge but something you may want to think about.

It doesn't sound like you're too keen on this move (and honestly - if you're wanting to do all this work DIY you really really need to love what you're doing its utterly exhausting renovating a house) - so I'm wondering if you'd be better off selling this Edwardian house as a project and then using the money to buy yourself something you really do like - particularly with the fact you have a child off to uni soon - in 12-18 months time your needs may look entirely different to how they look now. Good Luck

If I understand this correctly, your choices are

a) rent another flat for £1300 a WEEK or more or
b) live in MILs house for free and do it up and become owners

?

I would do B, it’s a no brainer. Sympathetically restored period homes are very rewarding. What I don’t understand is why there is no

c) live in MILs house and do it up until you find a more suitable house to buy

As it’s sounding like you have to stay there forever OR rent? It’s confusing.

You may find once you scratch under the surface that expensive things need doing: roof, plumbing, electrics, windows. Don’t agree to move into this house without getting a level 3 survey done, and preferably find a really experienced homeowner to go round and look at those expensive things for you to assess if they might need doing.

Your old house UK - Repair and Conservation on Facebook is full of extremely knowledgeable people re: old houses.

And it’s dado rail :)

I mention ‘penthouse’ to contrast it with the slightly crusty 70s style house we own 🤷‍♀️ for us going from one to the other is one of the main issues here but yeah, I guess mentioning a penthouse causes offence?

also yes, we did inherit the house as you were wondering how we came by it