Advice re work on house

[FernwoodRydal]

I'm very clueless about this kind of thing and also anxious so I'd really appreciate some advice. Im looking to get various things done:
Get artex ceilings removed and replastered (need to be an asbestos company)
One room has built in wardrobe that would need dismantling first
Carpets replaced
One room has a porch thats no longer needed, so we want the door bricked up and replaced with a window, the floor in this section is also old concrete and tiles that need taking away and carpet putting down.

We'd need to move out for the artex removal, and my ideal would be to move out for the whole period.

I don't know where to begin with this. I've no idea whether it's better to do it all at once or one bit at a time, or what id need to arrange first.

Can anyone suggest how they'd approach it?

I’ll just ask, you know there’s asbestos in the artex do you?

Have you got enough spare cash to get everything done? Either way, if the house isn't liveable then surely it would be best to get it finished asap?

If your ceilings are high enough you can board over the artex instead of having it removed. I would have all the old carpets taken up, cupboard removed, the floor in the porch digging out and made good. All this could be done in a couple of days. Then remove / board over the artex and re plaster. Finally, redecorate and replace carpets.

If you can board the ceiling rather than chip the artex off. That's a huge and messy job.

It's hard living in a home with work being done so if you can move do!

I’d board over the ceilings as others have said. I’d also do as much of the work as possible myself - pulling down the redundant porch and wardrobe, removing old tiles, etc.

You might need permission to turn the door into a window if it faces the road.

Board the ceilings, even without asbestos, taking a ceiling down is an absolutely filthy job. No end of dust, muck etc comes down with it. We had it done once and never again. Asbestos is safe if it's boarded over.

I’d say it’s not worth moving out, I guess only if you’ve got somewhere to go for free (parents?) or a very very low price. If you’re going to pay to move out, you might as well get it all done in one go.

A wardrobe you can dismantle yourself, I’d try and smash up the old tiles etc myself. I guess it depends how “handy” you or your partner is.

These days people do seem to boarding and replastering their ceilings. I had an old asbestos shed/outbuilding in my first house like 30 years ago and we had to go through the council when getting it removed , I’m not sure if that was just my local authority or just what regulations were at the time, it might be different now.

similarly as someone else has already questioned, do you need permission to board up doors, add windows etc?

tbh if I were you I’d just get a building company in to do all of it, rather than separate tradesman. At least that way, all the bits will be done and coordinated by them rather than you trying to find a person for each job, the timescales etc for each job, sorting materials and payments for each job etc

We did similar (no artex but removed old suspended tile ceilings).

Wardrobe and carpets we DIYed.

Building a wall, replacing the ceiling and ripping out tiles where part of the reno work the workmen did. All in the building works by the builder (not including electrics or plastering) cost £12k but that included other stuff too like fitting a bathroom etc...

Depending on the type you can remove artex yourself, theres loads of DIY videos on removing popcorn type ceilings, you can basically just soak and scrape it off. Asbestos tests aren't that expensive in the grand scheme of home owning.

You could put carpet direct over tile to save time and money, 100 years down the line people might love you for it (just look at people getting excite over finding covered over Victorian tiles, Art Deco parquet wood, even Mid Century terrazzo now).

Agree with others about the artex - get them overboarded and skimmed. A lot easier and cheaper.