Where do I start renovating my house?

Question

We have just bought a house for me, husband and 3 kids. Whilst it is liveable in, it needs replastering, decorating, carpeting and a new kitchen and bathroom. It also needs the ceilings artexing and the lighting/electrics rewiring. Question is where do we start? Do we do one room at a time from start to finish? Or do we do each job in all the rooms at the same time? Which room do I do first? I say the lounge because it is where the kids spend most of their time. Husband thinks kitchen but it is useable as it is. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

Get the electrics right first, but, you must create a plan of where you want to get to...so you can get extra sockets/lights wherever. As to which room, to enable you to live while you work, just make the lounge &kitchen usable, nothing more. Then, start upstairs and work down. That way you can separate your 'work area' from your 'living area'

Answer 2

I have done 14 houses up with a wife and 4 kids. in my spare time, most we bought a large caravan and placed next to the house and worked from there,one house we moved upstairs
temp kitchen and one bedroom 1 living area, then moved down ro renovate the bedrooms and bathroom, that was the easyest way, no mess for for mum and the kids. do not start all over the place do one room at a time from start to finish. paint when starting the next room that in our case my wife and kids did, then you see you are making progress never move into an unfinished room as it will never get done(finished)
always kitchen first this takes the bulk of your money then you can skimp a bit on other things,if need be, then you front room so you can use as the bedroom later so it is dry by the time you start upstairs, you must know what are the first things to do or you would not take such a big job on but if you want a list. ask another.question and I wil answer them tommorrow.
Retired now happy days, all the best with your project,

Answer 3

Start with things behind the walls first. The electric and the plumbing. That would probably mean the kitchen and baths first. do lay out your plans of what you want to do and then stick to the plan, changing the plans can get real costly. Surveys have said that you get the biggest return on redoing the kitchen. Someone mentioned getting a trailer and living in it until you get the remodeling done. That may not be a bad idea. Especially with the kitchen, because everyone uses that space and it is centrally located most of the time and in the traffic pattern for the house. Good luck.

Answer 4

I'd leave the kitchen till (near) last. It's going to take one of the biggest chunks of money, and if you already have a useable kitchen, get other places 'nice' first.

Bathroom and electrics and plumbing will all entail having floors up (and filth). get all that out of the way in one fell swoop.

In a rewire, the kitchens has its own circuit(s) separate from the remainder of the house (bar the lighting). You can get away with not touching it until the rest of the house is sorted.
Also plan NOW if you want to change the way /side that doors open into rooms. It will affect lightswitch positions etc.

At this time, think about telephone/tv/ethernet connections and chase those into walls... This stuff is brilliant and you can just drop the wires up/down between floors with nothing showing along skirtings etc. http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MTOV25.html.
Use it with standard backboxes and a cover of your choice.

Answer 5

Start with the wiring, if you have to run wires or replace wires chances are you will be putting holes in the walls and ceiling. The do the plastering because you don't want the plaster dust on any new kitchen or bath fixtures or rugs. The I would do the kitchen and baths for the same reason as above. And lastly do the rugs and decorating after all the dirty work is done.

Answer 6

For sure get a survey and plan to do all major disruptive work first, I'd even go further and say, unless there's a lot of plastering that needs to dry off, then redecorate too. If the roof and guttering are ok you could probably get a rewire, new windows and the bathroom and kitchen done for under £20K. It makes a lot of sense to improve insulation in the roof and walls, and it would be a great time to fit solar panels. Fuel will get dearer and dearer so these things will save a lot of money in the long-term. You might need to replace the boiler too ! Why do half the job and then be disrupted again later ?

Answer 7

i`d do the downstairs first - living room dining room hallway and stairs, and do each room one by one, start to finish (total 100% finish!!!) Leave the kitchen till last!
Then I`d do the kids rooms, they should be fairly easy, again, start to total finish, then your room then the bathroom. This way, the plumber can do the bathroom and kitchen at the same time, and the bathroom wont take too long to finish off so you wont have 2 rooms a mess at once.
I couldnt stand being all in a mess, Id need it room by room so i have some nice rooms!!!!

Answer 8

If you can stand the mess, I'd do all the building work first, plastering, wiring etc. Leave the decorating until all the messy stuff is done. Don't artex the ceilings, it's horrible stuff and a nightmare to remove if you don't like it!

Answer 9

You should do one room at a time from start to finish. I would start with a room that will bring the biggest return on your money, the kitchen- plus its the room that everyone spends time in, its the heart of the house.

Answer 10

Where do you live?... I can start in a week... and have it all done for you without hassle... lol... actually, I do it for a living and would love to help out but....

You need a plan first... really sit with da hubby and figure out where you want to be and then go backward and figure each room/area. It takes a bit of planning but it can sure save you thousands of bucks to get it laid out first. If you don't know, don't call someone to quote or they'll take your money needlessly... take it easy and make a plan. Bust the project down to little ones and have each one quoted. Go easy, go slow and be smart because of it.

Good Luck!