£10k budget to do everything...help/advice please...

[LadyThompson]

Ok, have bored people about this before but financial circs slightly changed: bought a lovely old house which needed a lot doing on it both inside and out. The exterior work has ended up costing more than we thought - £15k - which leaves me £10k for (deep breath)

Kitchen including appliances (was thinking of buying a second hand one and getting DP and BIL to fit as builder has quoted £4481 for materials (cooker and dishwasher only) and £2k plus VAT to fit it, which we clearly can't afford)

Floor coverings (it's four bedroomed but we have an offcut of carpet for the baby's room) - I guess we might have to have bare boards for a while at this rate as the revolting original carpets have been ripped out...

Bathroom

Shower room (this can be done v cheaply as not fussed about fittings as it is just an extra)

Any spots of plastering that need doing (nothing drastic)

Lighting and electrical work (it doesn't need a rewire but we might need, say, an extra socket or two).

I realise this is probably completely unrealistic but does anyone have any practical suggestions or cheering thoughts? Would be so grateful.

Does the work all NEED doing? Can you live with the bathroom as it is, for example?

You probably can do it for this budget if you buy very, very cheap kitchen, bathroom, flooring etc but I think it is a false economy. Better to get things done well and have fittings you will want to live with for a while. I would get the electrical work and the plastering sorted, spend some money sanding and varnishing/staining the floors and buying paint to get it looking really lovely - depending on how much that costs, there should be money left for the bathroom so just try not to worry if the kitchen units and appliances are shabby as long as they are functioning.

However, you can get some amazing things on ebay if you don't mind second-hand goods (it doesn't bother me in the least). A friend got a whole solid oak fitted kitchen for £400. .

Look on ebay for used or even new kitchens/bathrooms. Apparently you can pick them up for peanuts.

Look at this for instance kitchen

X post!!!

As someone who has done up house from scratch I would say don't skimp on the essentials (Rewire,damp proofing,central heating).

Do you know any sparkies/joiners/builders who would need a guvvy (This time of year good to ask)

I wouldn't skimp too much on bathroom/kitchen,see these as priority rooms and if neccessay get therse done well and save up for the other rooms.

It took us 7 years to do it from scratch but it has been worth it,lol (That included,total rewire,dampproofing,partial central heating,all plastering and internal decoration,new kitchen and bathroom and loft conversion,oh and garden and external fencing)

I was just going to say pace yourself, Rome wasn't built in a day.

It's always worth waiting around for bargains, we got 25-35% off all our appliances by hunting around. We also got 15% off our Ikea kitchen and installed it ourselves, which was a huge pita but we saved that way. Same thing with our bathrom, you just have to be a bit patient and keep a good eye open for offers, 20% off days etc. Ebay good too.

Thanks for the tips.

There's barely any electrical work to do.

Can't live with kitchen or bathroom or shower room or carpets as they have all been ripped out.

Don't mind second hand stuff at all.

We've just bought a really nice Ikea kitchen, including solid oak worktops, huge kitchen island, double oven, hob and hood for just over £3000. It was on two years interest free credit too which has spread the cost.

Get onto gumtree.com and get stuff for free. It's amazing what people are throwing out/giving away. And supplement what you can't get for free with ikea. Their kitchens are great.
My dh used to be a builder (now a geology student) and this is his tried and true recipe for refinishing old floor boards...
Sand floor (carefully with good sander so you don't gouge it). Put 1st coat of sealer/stain (depending on final color you are trying to achieve) and one coat of varnish. Let dry. Then fill gap between boards with clear silicone using tubes with gun. (Keyline brand seems to work the best). The hard bit is getting one long continuous "worm" of silicone running the full length of the board, rather than lots of squirts. It's worth practicing with an extra tube so that when you do the floor it looks nice and smooth. Then when the silicone dries, take an old sock, and rub off the silicone that has gooped over the edge of the gap onto the floor boards. Sand floor lightly again and put 2nd coat of varnish on. Let dry. Sand floor again lightly and put third coat of varnish on.
He did all the floors in both our houses and they looked brilliant. Then get area rugs at ikea to go in the bedrooms.

you are really up at five in the morning talking bout flooring...hats off

No, I'm in Los Angeles, so it's-just-got-the-kids-in-bed-time and therefore a perfectly reasonable time to talk about flooring. Though I have been known to discuss plumbing at 5 in the morning.

Hiya Lady Thompson We were on the Dec 08 baby threads together. Lovely to bump into you even at this ungodly hour! Congratulations on the house, I'm trying to do my place up too on a budget of (it feels like) about 23p. Here are some thoughts ...

I recommend Freecycle for free stuff, especially if you're in a big city (are you in London? I've forgotten, sorry ). I have a really nice 3 seater sofa, freezer and table (from Cargo) from freecycle.

I have also seen several Victorian pine doors, bathroom fittings, ovens and many kitchen appliances advertised on my local one.

Ebay also def worth a look for kitchens, although I did get frustrated by losing out at the last minute several times. Think you need quite a bit of time to play the ebay or freecyle game.

I had a good look at kitchens recently. We went with Wickes in the end as IMO they do the best budget kitchen, with their take-away kitchens range.

The Wickes ones seem better quality than the IKEA ones. Also worth knowing that the IKEA kitchens don't leave any room for pipes behind their cabinets (European style) as opposed to Wickes which do (UK standard). I imagine with IKEA you'd need to fiddle about cutting in space for pipes - if you're paying someone else to do it, this is a hidden cost.

I found Wickes far and away the best for customer service too. We ordered the wrong bit (our fault) they exchanged it no worries, even without a receipt (lost it ) They also had staff who actually seemed to know what they were talking about.

One of the girls at Edmonton IKEA kitchen dept is one of the most rude, unhelpful, ignorant sales staff I have ever come across but I digress ...

Wood floorboards are fine! Look prettier IMO, and are more hygienic anyway.

For other floor coverings / carpets where necessary - you will save a lot of money if you can buy them direct and fit them yourselves. (The 'free' carpet / lino fitting is of course actually included in the price - they're not doing it for fun!).

Also I might be able to put you in contact with another builder if you want an alternative quote. I'm having some work done here in the new year. The builder I'm using is coming to me highly recommended, and I'll be able to see what his work's like myself pretty soon.

we've just done all the internal work for our new extension on ther same budget...all electrics, two carpets, downstairs loo, new kitchen, flooring for downstairs, etc...on the same budget.

buy things from the internet...underlay, gripper rods etc..cost pennies compared to the carpet shops.

buy appliences for your kitchen from discount type warehouses...our new fridge nad cooker are brand new, but one is last years model, and one is an australian model not a uk model, and they were about a third of the price of currys etc..

kitchens...go direct to the manufacturers if you can..wickes kitchens are made by www.benchmarxjoinery.co.uk/

ask if you can buy from your local howdens, or ask a tradesman friend if you can buy on their account....don't be afraid to ask them for their best price and go back to them with other cheaper quotes to see if they'll match.

do what you can yourselves...we just fitted our new kitchen and paid a guy to fit the worktops for cash....saved a fortune!

good luck...it'll be lovely when its all done!!!

It can be done, we did I think our house was smaller than yours by the sound of it but we needed a complete rewaire and central heating too. We also moved the bathroom upstairs, put in a new bathroom and kitchen, moved the kitchen door, put in patio windows, replaster/skim, carpeted and decorated throughout. The only thing we didn't have to do was the windows!

1. You need to find one good builder/plumber/sparkie and then they'll help you fid others that are also good. Recommendations from friends/family are best. When you start asking its amazing who you find out does what! Even setting your facebook status to I need a whatever works!

2. What can you get away with for now. By that I mean we painted the whole house in a cheap magnolia, we bought a cheap carpet that we put through the whole house. As when in the future we want to change can afford to change we can do one room at a time.

3. Do as much as you can yourselfs, even your DH labouring for the brickies etc will help get the job done quicker and cheaper. Put the kitchen cabinets together your self, have someone fit them for you.

4. Always ask for discounts when buying don't be afraid, but make sure you mean it when you ask. People know when you are a true haggler!

5. Kitchen's, lots of places will through in appliances but make sure you shop around a lot. I knew the details of 5 different shops kitchens that were basically the same and was able to use this when ordering.

6. offcuts of carpet are brillant, even if ust for one ot two rooms. I got the bathroom done for £15. Go to your local carpet place not the big guys. plus just the rooms done that you have too.

7. Start getting serious with what you want to buy now with a list, measurement etc cause the new year is coming and so are the sales

8. Try and enjoy it!

Not sure about the agelesslove post!

Anyway, the other place to pick stuff up on is freecycle. Kitchens can definatly be bought in the sales with significant savings. Don't get a B&Q one though, they don't last in my experience.

I suspect bathrooms are the same, get in the sales.

As for work by tradesmen, as someone else said, at this time of year they'll do work on the side at the weekends, just ask.

This is so helpful. Thank you so very much, I feel immensely cheered now and DP has a tendency to doom monger and you have all been so brilliant, lots of useful and practical tips.

SofiaAmes, I'm going to try that tip for the floorbpards - how clever!

Lovely to see you, Lowrib! Come back! Everyone is still going and we have had a few people coming back now the babies are one/people have gone back to work. I have recently been made redundant and you are right that I live in London in one way - I have a tiny flat in Maida Vale - but this house is in Oxfordshire where I spend most of my time. That probably makes me sound rolling in it, but um, I'm not I will have a look at Wickes. You see, the builder we have got is great, the most well regarded in the county. But we can't afford him for interior after £15k on exterior (new roof, chimney, windows, scaffolding, traffic control etc) and I do have the most brilliant handy BIL.

Thanks to everyone who suggested freecycle. I will check it out. Maybe we can get a kitchen in the sales although there seem to be second hand ones on Ebay for amazing prices. It's a cottage so I am aiming for a more eclectic, farmhousey look.

I am ok for furniture and rugs as I have a lot in storage (another long story with which I won't bore you).

Oooh, rebl, hadn't thought of asking builders to do spots of work at the weekends.

Lovebeingamummy - will investigate more offcuts. The bit we have is one of ours.

Daisy, I was amazed that Ikea kitchen was so cheap. Chimchar, off to check out your link...