Full DIY House Renovation...

[Adam182]

Hi everyone, I've been documenting with photos a full house DIY renovation I started last June (First time buyers).

I have no previous renovation experience but will try my hand at anything
and have pretty bad/good OCD when it comes to doing something correct and proper to the best of my knowledge/research.

I am a Character Animator through the week so its mostly just weekends I have been able to get to the house.

Decided I might aswell start a thread on here to make use of the photos and it might even help someone out at some point if anyone decides to take their own DIY project on.

I will start with the Day One photos and then add to the thread when I find the time...

Thanks

Hallway -

Living Room -

Kitchen -

Dining Room-

​

Toilet -

Bathroom -

Back Bedroom -

Side Bedroom -

Front Bedroom -

Landing -

Loft -

 

[dishman]

Last June? so it is already done and you are going to slowly tease us?

You could have opened it as a museum!!

 

[Adam182]

Last June? so it is already done and you are going to slowly tease us?

You could have opened it as a museum!!

Yep last June, it's far from finished everything takes forever when taking the DIY approach and only having weekends (but saves a fortune otherwise we couldn't afford it), I'll catch up with photos over the weekend.

You are right about opening it as a museum, I've missed a trick there haven't I.

Just incase anyone was wondering, due to the law and potential safety hazards, I will not be taking on the Electrics/Gas/Plumbing on my own I will be assisted by a professional. I will only be doing the prep work.

 

[dishman]

I love the loft access ladder.

Also, I am waiting to see if all the spindles are intact behind those stair panels.....hopefully in good condition too and should look a treat, unless your renovation includes stripping the stair existing bannisters etc.

I have something similar to go at soon, but mine includes a full house of moonscape artex!

 

[Tigercubrider]

I am guessing that it was a probate sale?

I suspect that the panels in the stairs will be ply from new, and not skinning spindles, although you could just remove the ply and add spindles, or replace the lot.

Some of your walls look a bit bent!

 

[EdTurtle]

So, in a year how much have you got done?! I'm doing similar, and its taken four years so far! But, i have only done it over the winter months, as been in garden over the summer.

 

[Adam182]

I love the loft access ladder.

Also, I am waiting to see if all the spindles are intact behind those stair panels.....hopefully in good condition too and should look a treat, unless your renovation includes stripping the stair existing bannisters etc.

I have something similar to go at soon, but mine includes a full house of moonscape artex!

That ladder was quite the challenge to clamber up, It almost felt asif you were coming back on yourself. We wern't so lucky on the spindles.

I am guessing that it was a probate sale?

I suspect that the panels in the stairs will be ply from new, and not skinning spindles, although you could just remove the ply and add spindles, or replace the lot.

Some of your walls look a bit bent!

The previous owner moved into a home, thus it went up for sale.

You were right about the stairs, no fancy spindles unfortunately.

I promise the walls are not as bent as the camera lens suggests*



*One actually is

So, in a year how much have you got done?! I'm doing similar, and its taken four years so far! But, I have only done it over the winter months, as been in garden over the summer.

So far (8 months in as of now) I have just this weekend got first fix electrics finished and the three bedrooms ready to plaster skim, I've also got the loft to a stage that I'm happy to finish at a later date once the rest of the house interior is finished. Downstairs is still a bombsite.


Heres some updated photos taken mid July.

Most notable work is -

All furnishings removed
A good amount of lat and plaster removed throughout downstairs (dust levels were biblical)
Toilet/Floor removed and raised up to meet the bathroom creating a single room.
Dividing brick wall between Kitchen and Diner removed.

​

Hallway - ​

​

Living Room -

​

Kitchen -

​

Dining Room -

​

​

Toilet -

​

Bathroom -

Toilet Floor viewed from Kitchen Before - ​

​

After -

 

[KRB78]

wow..what a difference!...good work so far.

 

[EdTurtle]

Thats a lot of work!

 

[gidrae]

I am in awe! Good job so far!

My wife and I have been doing something similar with an equally dated looking dormer bungalow for the last year.
However, we have got professionals to do a lot of the work (which included removing walls, chimney, bricking back door, and front door and opening new front door) as we don't have a lot of time even on weekends.
I really should get around to starting my own thread.

 

[Adam182]

wow..what a difference!...good work so far.

Thanks

Thats a lot of work!

Yeah, the original plan wasn't to take it this far but it always seemed to come down to ''well I've come this far so....''

I am in awe! Good job so far!

My wife and I have been doing something similar with an equally dated looking dormer bungalow for the last year.
However, we have got professionals to do a lot of the work (which included removing walls, chimney, bricking back door, and front door and opening new front door) as we don't have a lot of time even on weekends.
I really should get around to starting my own thread.

It would be great to see your progress in a thread, we never considered getting professionals in simply because it wasn't financially viable. I felt confident that I could do a decent job of everything planned myself with all the information available online hense why we went ahead with it.

I'm super curious as to how much I've saved so far doing the work myself, saving has become quite and obsession now though and I spend alot of time finding the best prices on everything big or small.


Heres an update bringing us upto mid September.

Most notable work is -

All lat/plaster removed throughout (still chewing the dust to this day)
Loft floor removed and replaced with 18mm chipboard T&G
Loft hatch removed and replaced with Keylite hatch/ladders
Internal doorframes installed
Bathroom window blocked up (after raising toilet floor the window cam to waist height, would have been quite the feature!)
2 kitchen windows blocked up (extra wall space to suit kitchen layout idea)
Kitchen/Dining room fireplace removed, lintel installed and framed to fit range cooker/extraction hood.
Lead water mains replaced with MDPE from meter (Hand bashing the trench was FUN, will double up as gas supply trench aswell and save a few hundred as opposed to northern Gas doing the works)
Gas box fitted (No previous supply)

Hallway -

​

Living Room -

​

Kitchen/Dining Room -

Bathroom -

Back Bedroom -

Front Bedroom -

Landing -

Loft -

This was the moment I realised I really had gone all in on the project (maybe too far), being able to see the very top of the roof from the bottom floor of the house -

Gas box/Water mains work -

 

[dishman]

This is more than a refurb..........

For such an old house I am surprised that more of the internal walls are not solid brick. There seems to be a lot of timber stud walls....

Is that mains water supply an upgrade from the original lead?

 

[domdee]

Friggin hell fire!

You've gone balls out on this! Great work!
Must be nice to work on a property that you aren't actually living in and take it all back to brick like you have!

Looking forward to seeing it progress

 

[Adam182]

This is more than a refurb..........

For such an old house I am surprised that more of the internal walls are not solid brick. There seems to be a lot of timber stud walls....

Is that mains water supply an upgrade from the original lead?

Heh my original intention got carried away.

All downstairs internal walls are solid brick, there is just one central upstairs solid brick wall, all the rest are stud, the house was built in 1920.

I wouldn't know how to tell if the lead was original or not (if that is what you mean), I presume so from the way it ran into the house nothing seemed to be altered, the meter was installed in recent years at the top of the drive but from there it just connected into the lead, I've completely removed all the lead from where it enters the house, the run from the meter to the house is still in the ground but just disconnected.

 

[Adam182]

Friggin hell fire!

You've gone balls out on this! Great work!
Must be nice to work on a property that you aren't actually living in and take it all back to brick like you have!

Looking forward to seeing it progress

Thanks! no going back now haha.

I could earn some extra man points by saying I sleep in a sleeping bag in the back corner but that wouldn't be true. You are completely right it simply wouldn't be possible otherwise, many people have said this, I'm going to hold off as long as possible before moving in because I know it will make it alot harder and likely never get finished. Currently living at my parents close by which is ideal.