Not getting caught up

[littleFinch]

We've bought a house that needs updating, mainly decoration but it's not been done up since the 80s so it's not just a slap of paint. We are doing a rewire and at some point will need at least a new boiler and probably radiators - but you could move in today and it would be absolutely fine.

We've rented for years so are quite used to less than perfect houses and will be staggering the updates - but how do you stop yourself feeling that you have to get everything sorted at once? Or equally feeling like it's a big project when it's not really, it just needs stages of updates over a few years.

Maybe just stay away from renovation social media!

"- but how do you stop yourself feeling that you have to get everything sorted at once?"
Concentrate on enjoying the renovation process, and making discoveries about things you didn't know you needed in the house! Plus enjoy the home that you bought for the reasons you bought it?

The light at the back is lovely in the afternoon and it's very cosy, friendly feeling space even though it has high ceilings.

Yes to actually enjoying it!

It might not need a rull rewire. You may be able to get away with upgrading the consumer unit and fuse board and then you can rewire a room at a time if you want to as you work round the house. This means you could do most of the actual puting the wires in place and get an electrician to check them before connecting up, if you wanted to.

That is very bad advice unless people are very competent DIYers I have part P and 18th edition and I still get somebody to check my work before allowing my children to touch the sockets

Did you read what I posted. I was just talking about running the cables and then getting them checked by an electrician before they connect them up, which I think is just what you suggested?

@littleFinch honestly, don't worry.....once you are in you will get used to it all and things won't feel so urgent. When I bought my house 15 years ago, there were lots of 'urgent' things that took me years to do. We've just offered on a place that needs updating and I'm reminding myself of this so as not to feel overwhelmed. As a previous poster says, enjoy taking time to decorate YOUR home x

We purchased our forever home in January 2025 after spending 33 years in the last one.

A 3 bed bungalow that was a probate property - built in the 70s and still had some of the original features! It was a complete renovation and we decided to do it all in one go as we really didn’t want to live on a building site for years!

You see a lot of renovation stories on social media but to be fair, you only really see the before and after… not the in between! It’s been a tough few months but it’s good to finally see the ‘finished product’ come together - completely unrecognisable from what it was!

If you break it down in stages and renovate in phases it won’t be that bad. Just prioritise the work that is critical. If the boiler needs replacing then I’d make that one of your first jobs after a re-wire - safety is key here. You can always get the gas engineer back and replace the radiators at a later date!