We bought turn of century house 4 years ago for a great price, mainly due to it's awful state - completely neglected, empty or rented out and last decoration in 1950's at a guess. We bought from a property developer who went bust, but had put in new double glazing (shame to lose original features but warmer..) and new carpets landing and bedrooms. Good points on 3/4 acre plot on outskirts great village with excellent facilities, no immediate neighbours and open fields surrounding. 5 mile drive to my job and like the area. Plan was to build large extension, move into that then renovate old bit.
However... although dh construction background and job, and he has renovated houses before, we have got nowhere Dh severe depression and didn't work for 2 years. Consequent lack of funds although I have stable, well-paid job. Dh worked hard at recovery and got back to work, doing really well in stressful job again. We had first child, dd now 1, and expecting ds in September! Dh meanwhile developed arthritis which was extremely disabling so no chance of building or renovating anything. He is much improved now but future as to how he will be uncertain. I had pnd after dd but now recovered.
DD has beautiful clean, light and airy bedroom, which she will need to share with ds when he goes into cot. Paintwork and door old but liveable. Thank goodness one room ok!
Our bedroom again large but has old embossed wallpaper with several layers underneath. Developing mould on paper and damp patch one corner from roof which needs repair. I went nuts last week and started stripping off wallpaper either side chimney breast, so that can move large wardrobes from dd's room to ours. Now looks disaster as half of plaster came away too. Dh livid as have made hash of it; although he could fix it and re-plaster has not.
Bathroom and kitchen appalling, dirty, mouldy, cramped and need total stripping out. Complicated as kitchen will be part of new utility room and bathroom will be new bedroom so dh maintaining not worth doing anything major. Have new bath plumbed in (3 weeks before delivered dd!), no shower, new loo and cloakroom basin. No plaster on walls and bare floorboards (one missing) with old rotten rubber tiles.
Kitchen can all go including mouldy old lino. Look like salvageable quarry tiles underneath. Just 2 floor cupboards and crappy old sink, so no storage. Problem is house relatively small and trying desperately to declutter, but no room to move stuff to deep-clean or temporarily decorate.
ok, so 27 weeks pg, hugely hormonal and trying to nest, on top of 4 years of frustration and still living in crappy conditions. Dh and I solid despite difficult few years . What do I do now? Dh does not seem to realise that dd will be walking soon and we need to make house at least safer and cleaner for her and has no sense of urgency - as well as physically limited in what he can do.
I vote for continuing to work on stripping bedroom alcoves, so can move in wardrobes, so can make room in dc's bedroom for cot and cotbed. Also plasterboard bathrooom and some kind of hygienic flooring, thinking of when will be toilet training dd. Given up on shower for now... Definitly strip whole kitchen, need new fridge and can manage with free-standing units, camping stove, microwave and new sink. Safety gates dc room doorway and stairs.
What would you prioritize? Not sure how much I can persuade dh to do in the next 10 weeks; I am now on mat leave for a year (paid), he has been SAH dad for last 8 months and doing fantastic job with dd. Can afford just for him to stay off work for this time if it means whole project gets done - otherwise he can go back to work asap.Just need to get some sense of order now as very little chance once ds arrives, esp if I have pnd again. I know sounds like we are complete slatterns but have been dealing with life events instead