3 months into house remodel and losing the will

[Hellodarknessyouoldprick]

Okay so on one hand, I am very grateful we get to do this. We didn’t buy a house until I was 40, I thought we would be in rented shitholes forever. I still pinch myself daily that not only did we manage to buy a house, we are able to make it how we want it.

4 years ago we bought a bit of a hole as it was all we could afford. We’ve done bits and bobs to it, including an 8 week project three years ago.

But this year, we were able to do the big jobs. Half the decrepit old extention rebuilt, closing off rooms, opening up others, kitchen, bathroom. It will be great when it’s done.

But they started at the end of August and it’s still ongoing. Not anything to do with the builders - they are fantastic, it’s just a big job and being an old house, some not so nice surprises have popped up along the way. While they didn’t add too much in the way of expense, they added time.

Today marks the 3 month point. They reckon another 3 weeks until everything is finished.

Anyone else just get so fatigued during a big job? I want my house back to normal. It’s the entirety of the downstairs, so everything we have is piled in the loft or in bedrooms and I just feel so claustrophobic!

Everything is always so dusty as well.

You will make it through this!! My husband does all our upgrades and we've been in this house for 7 years and at least one project upgrade has been going on through the entire time. Right now kitchen wall tile and the master bath wall are all in a state. Deep breaths and one step at a time!

This too shall pass.

Henry the hoover is your friend for builders dust.

Thank god we have a Henry!!

Our builders are fab though. They end each day with a proper clean up and hoover of everything.

Oh lord!

We have an upstairs bathroom to be done next year and then that’s it for us!

I keep looking back at old photos and looking at how far we’ve come since all the downstairs was back to brick, all the ceilings were down, the extension roof was off and everything was just filthy!

We’ve had a kitchen, fully working now since Monday, all appliances in which is a big step after 3 months of a make shift kitchen in an old lean to.

It just all seems like such a long way to the end! I think what makes it worse is that one room is totally unusable as that’s where all the builders tool are. Once they start to thin out a bit, it might feel better and we can start moving furniture back to its rightful place.

2 years in, and the carpet fitters are coming next week, for us. As someone said up-thread, this to will pass.

Keep going with Henry, and keep reminding yourself that it is all worth it...

Agree that it will pass...but I sympathise with where you're at @Hellodarknessyouoldprick!

We're another pair of idiots who DIY our renovation projects (one, admittedly huge, took almost ten years 🙄) and I'm starting to long for a house in need of no work that we can walk straight into and unpack.

Our current place hadn't been touched since 1965, apart from a lick of paint here and there. We took the kitchen out (plus a load-bearing wall between it and the adjoining utility) in Feb and began relocating the kitchen to a different part of the cottage.

Since then we've been without a proper kitchen tap (we've a temporary one set up in the old kitchen) and a boiler, as that was condemned. Nor do we have worktops or a working oven/hob. The dust is ridiculous and I thank god for Hetty!

Like you, I'm cheering myself on by looking at pics of where we were at this time last year. Hopefully by Christmas 2026 we'll be done and you too 🤞

We brought our forever home in January this year - a 3 bed bungalow built in the 1970s and had the same owner from new who never really did anything to the property! It still had the original kitchen and bathroom!

We decided that we wouldn’t move in until all the work was done as we didn’t really like the thought of living on a building site!

The works started in January and they were completed at the start of November and we’ve been living here now for nearly 4 weeks!

We completely gutted the property back to brick, demolished the conservatory/lean to that was on the verge of collapse anyway and created an extension off the lounge for a brand new kitchen / diner. We converted the old kitchen into an additional bedroom.

We added an en-suite to the master bedroom and created a loft room too which is currently storage / study - I was looking at the Rightmove the other day of the photos when the property was listed - I really don’t recognise it!

You might be finished by Christmas!
then after Christmas the decorating and all the other bits and pieces. Yes it’s grim. Yes it will be worth it

I really hope we are. I mean, the building work should be.

dh is doing all the decorating. The whole of the downstairs is fresh plaster, so he has a lot to do. It will not be decorated by Christmas!

So the builder reckons that it should all be done by next Friday. They are just doing bit of tiling now In the kitchen and tiling the hallway,
and building a couple of fitted units.

I am so ready for this to be over.

I mean, we will have SO MUCH painting to do. But I just want everything back to normal!

It really will pass and once its done you will feel the positives of the transformation. Its hard going but it will be worth it. Our first properties were wrecks which we renovated, mostly at night and weekends after work with paid trades for key areas. I did say my next move would be in a box after the year of living in a renovation site with two under threes, two full time jobs and an earlier than planned additional pregnancy! I look back and don’t know how we did it but I do know it was worth it in the end.

We had 9 months and 1 day.
Only one room in the house did not have a wall taken down.
No hot water for 6 weeks.
Lots went wrong.
Was it worth it - YES !

I think also winter makes it hard. When it’s nicer weather it’s easier to deal with and doors open and using outside etc.

Feel your pain OP. We decided to get a wall down between kitchen and diner and bifold doors put in. Builder estimated three weeks (which they've since admitted was ambitious) and it took five months (lots of unforeseen issues with being an old house), during which time I had a baby and my car was written off by a careless driver because it was parked in the street since I couldn't use the drive (skip, van etc)! I'm honestly surprised they won't be here for Christmas dinner. We had no kitchen or back garden for the entire summer and completely scunnered ourselves with air fryer dinners. It was all finished a few weeks ago and honestly, it's very quickly forgotten and all completely worth it. Unfortunately just need to wait until next summer to enjoy the doors. Wishing you lots of happiness when you eventually get through it.

I never want to see an air fryer again.

We’ve had a working oven and gas hob for a week now and I have the urge to kiss it when ever I use
it.

Hopefully, not long to go now until we having the dining area clear and a dining table back for the first time since August.

Oh definitely, if it was July now and I could sit out in the garden all day, it would be much more bearable.

Yeah, it was little problem after little problem that has dragged this out too. There was always something cropping up with rotten joists that needed replacing, or patches of damp they found, the electrician took longer than expected as there was dodgy wiring hidden behind everything that he needed to sort out to be able to sign it off, the plumber found some extensive dodgy 1970s DIY that needed work. The joys of an older house!

We also have a lovely new entrance to the garden which will have to wait for better weather now, although, it will make a lovely backdrop for the Christmas tree!

I’m not doing this again, that’s for sure! I’m pretty set on coming out of this house feet first anyway, after 15 years of renting and having to move around before this.

I splurged on floor tiles for the hall, so I am going to get my moneys worth of enjoyment!

Oh me! It's taken 7 months just to half sort out the garden and put a dining room and shower room in the garage. I was nearly in tears with it all. And I've still got the kitchen, bathroom and hall to go!

This time last year I was desperately trying to get the lounge half finished for Christmas.

When I remodelled my favourite house it took a whole year.

It all takes time and money. But once it's done you'll be thrilled!

You've just got to keep going, I've been there and it's horrible. The dust everywhere! I managed to make 1 room cosy upstairs and we used that. Maybe distract yourself with Pinterest for ideas for once it's done.

Also so much harder in the winter. I had a big building job three years ago and the lounge was open to the elements and it was freezing. Also it's really tiring having the builders in the house, like you're literally never alone !

My own house has been in varying degrees of this for the past 2 decades (also bought an old house! We have rarely had all rooms operational at the same time. Always one room stacked with stuff (and thus that room is also unusable). Jobs that take 3 times as long as they are supposed to take.

I think once you get to a certain point you just have to keep going as you can't go back nor leave things as they are. Plus point: you likely have new furnishings and colour schemes to look forward to! You will get there then it'll seem like a distant memory.

Yes! I mean, they are lovely. But we’ve had the 2 main builders in every day, plus the days when the electrician and the plumber and tiler are here.

They are really nice guys and we actually know them socially as it’s a small town, so it’s less awkward as they are friends, but I just want some alone time in the house now!

It’s been nice the last few weeks doing all the fun it’s like buying tiles and light fittings. And now, I constantly trying out paint samples.

We’ve got the upstairs bathroom, one bedroom which will probably need to be taken back to brick due to the old plaster and started on again (but we need to save for those next year, so will probably be 2027 when they are done) and then that’s it.