what room should I renovate first?

Question

I have taken back a rented flat, which has been left in quite a state.
several jobs need doing, and not sure where to start!

kitchen generally very dirty, also several floor tiles broken/missing. wallpaper torn off.

hallway wallpaper stripped, ghastly paint job. also several tiles broken (after damaged carpet taken up).

main living room just a mess, carpet has food etc trodden in.

bathroom- bath needs resurfacing, and tile surround regrouting.

many thanks for all the ideas- impossible to pick 'best' one, so give yourself all a gold star each!

i will be living here for a while now- was renting out while travelling abroad..

raggedey carpets have gone, and kitchen looking a bit brighter already. wil probably need a few replacement tiles to nake surfaceeven, before putting some lino down all around.

Answer 1

I am a clean freak so I would say everything but I know you can't do everything at once. So I would start with your kitchen that is were you eat food. That should be your cleanest place then your bathroom.

Answer 2

Are you living there or is this rental investment? If it is rental and no one is there, the most efficient course of action is to do any demolition, pulling up flooring that is to replaced, fixing mechanicals, patching plaster or drywall, until you get it to finished walls like new construction. Then tile or hardwood, cabinets, trim, mechanicals trim out, paint, carpet. The point is to get back to the point where it was during new construction and proceed like it was new construction, so you can concentrate on one thing at a time for the whole flat.

However, if you are living there, you can only work on a few rooms at a time. I'd clean it up as best as possible, then begin with the kitchen then the bath. Those are the two spaces that are going to take the longest and be the biggest inconvenience to do without. But you proceed in the same manner, by getting it back to new construction condition and the working as if it is new construction.

dustytymes is right. You need a budget. Don't get into this without knowing what you are going to spend. Or you'll find you sunk a bunch of money into a flat and it wasn't worth that much.

Answer 3

It sounds like you are going to have to fix almost everything. Since, you will have to work on the whole place. I would pick one spot and then go on from there. Clean up the areas that are going to create the most mess first. The areas that are going to require that you take things down and apart should be done first. Painting and wallpapering should be the last things you do, since you don't want dust going on the fresh paint or dents made by moving things around. Start also on the projects you can afford now. Budget for the ones you need later. If you are going to be living in the place. You might want to focus on the areas you are going to be using the most: kitchen, living room, and bathroom. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Depends on what your goal is.
Kitchen and bathrooms bring the most value to a property. By are the most expensive to renovate.

If money or budget is not an issue and you plan on living there, I say do what ever makes the place liveable for you.

Then a good starting point is do the floors and paint walls. Not only is this cheap and easy it will make the place look nicer quicker.

Then I would do the kitchen followed by the bathroom.

Answer 5

Clean first. You'll make better decisions about what to do. If you plan on renting it out again, you may still want to invest in replacing carpet. Put in a new counter top to make it look fresh.

Replacing the tub could be cost effective and give the updated look. Floor tile can be fixed and the grout will make it look good even if there are some tiles with a slightly different color. You want to make it look well maintained.

Where to start ? Gut it, build it, rent it...

Answer 6

Get rid of the mingy carpet in the lounge first.

Then clean the kitchen and replace wallpaper and floor tiles.

Now sort out the bathroom.

Now return to the lounge and paint the walls, and generally sort it out and relpace the carpet or maybe sand down floor boards if you are lucky enough to have them.

Lastly, do the hall. Do this last, else you will have to traipse everything through it when it is done and risk damaging new paint etc.

I love decorating - can I help? If you can get me out of work I will!

Answer 7

You would have to assess your NEED, BUDGET, and STRATEGY.

I have a tendancy of finding THE MOST NEEDED from ONE Side of the flat, then work my way across to the other. (I like going from BACK to FRONT myself.)

This way, you can strategically move furniture from one side to the other without having to make additional trips.

Check to see if you have a wooden floor under the carpet. If yes, a nice rug will be a quick fix (provided the wood looks good.)

If you are going to use your kitchen, I would put that at or near the top or bottom of the list (depending on how you are moving the furniture.) Remember, you DO need to eat, so make sure it's not out of commission for too long.

Answer 8

Well you should first remove everything that you do not want or needs repair. It is bast to start with the structual parts first, repair the floor and walls. Do the kitchen and bathroom. Save all painting and wall paper for last so you can do it all at one time.

Answer 9

I would start with the most expensive jobs first, so probably the kitchen then the bathroom because these are the places that need doing properly.

Answer 10

Start by removing anything that is trash.
Then remove everything that is broken.
Then begin fixing anything that will deteriorate if left longer.
Then begin at the top part of the house and work your way down. That way you don't have to worry about paint falling down and ruining your new floor.