My new home & project - tips and advice welcomed!

[cupid_stunt]

Brief background, I had been planning, before covid destroyed my income, to buy the place I am in as both a home and project, and after mother passed away that was still the plan, as I had a developers' offer on buying her place and the bungalow next-door, but they pulled out blaming market condition, despite no changes in that since they put the offer in. However I discovered one of the two passed away two days after they dropped out, so I suspect that was the real reason, they were both in the late 70's and it was just a 'hobby development' for them, and I assume the other one doesn't want to play on his own.

Also, having offered me this place again last year, the landlords seem to now have doubts about if they want to sell after all, and frankly after all I've had to cope with over the last 4 years, I can't be arsed pissing around and dealing with more stress, so instead I am moving into mother's old place, and do that up as a project, so any tips, advice, and feedback is welcomed.

It's a tiny bungalow, normally marketed as 2 beds and 1 reception room, although before clearing it recently, it was configured as 1 bed and 2 reception rooms, there's two main parts to my plan -

1 - Tidying up & make good what's there as it stands, striping wallpaper, filling holes and sanding them flat, ripping down polystyrene ceiling tiles from I guess the 60s or 70s. I'll need a plasterer to skim the ceilings, I'll make good the walls, then paint the lot.

2 - Possibly adding a flat roof extension at the back, to contain a new kitchen and dining area off from the living room. The current dining room & kitchen being turned into bedrooms, turning into a 3-bed and 2 reception rooms place, e.g.

Oh, and come spring, I urgency want to re-paint the outside, it used to look nice in white, I've no idea why mother had it painted this frankly disgusting green.



First job come the spring is re-paint it and cut back the vegetation in the front, allowing more light into the current bedroom on the left, the kitchen is to the right.

Now, there's a different developer looking at buying next-door and some of my back garden, to build two semi-detached bungalows at the back, so part of my drive and next-door's garage would become a communal drive serving all four properties. Beyond the end of my drive, the plot widens, so there would be room for a new drive/parking space leading to new build garage.

But, I am not counting on that happening, although the cash would be handy to extend the place, rather than taking a mortgage out on it. Most of my savings have gone on paying debts like care home & solicitor fees, that would have been paid from the sale of this place.

 

[cupid_stunt]

So, the first project will be to strip the wall paper in the hall, which will be fun as it's been painted over in shocking green, there's shedloads of holes to fill, as she had dozens of photo frames on the walls, on three levels!



The first room to the right is the kitchen, it's a standard Howsden job, big question mark over that, as it may be totally ripped out and converted into a bedroom, which may involve bricking up the door - a head ache for later!



Second door on the right is the bathroom, tiny, but it works, will need some attention at some point.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Now the three main rooms, I intend to live in two rooms, whilst I do up one room at a time, starting with what was the dining room - right at the end of the hall, after I've dealt with the actual hall.

All the crap in here at the moment is for a car-boot sale come the spring, be buggered doing one over the winter and standing around in the cold, this is two small van loads that I had moved over to my current place to store, then plans changed, so I had to move it all back again!



In here, I need to take down the polystyrene ceiling tiles & coving, unless I am very lucky it'll probably need the ceiling professionally skimmed, fill loads of holes in the walls, two of which had shedloads of picture frames on, paint the two green walls and the black one, which will no doubt take loads of coats.

Walls will just be white for now, so it's livable, as it will become the temp living room, when I move onto doing that room.

Longer terms, if the extension is added, those doors will need bricking up, and a new window put into the black wall.

 

[WouldBe]

I would leave the hall til last as moving building materials through the house could cause damage that you'll then have to repair / redo.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I think this looks fucking cool though!

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

I'd ask for advice on social media. Try a reputable site, if you can find one.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

But obvs selling a property you want to go as neutral and minimalist as possible. White walls etc..

 

[cupid_stunt]

First door to the left from the hall is the bedroom.

Now this was designed to be the living room, but you are left looking out on the road, whereas using the similiar size ex-bedroom at the back as the living room gives you a view of the garden, and access currently to the conservatory, which I hope will be replaced with an extension.



Those fitted wardrobes will have to go, as they are not just dated, but knackered, I'll probably just go with standalone wardrobes for myself, and leave the option open for whoever buys in the future if they want a fitted bedroom.

There's a blocked up fireplace behind the fitted shelves, it would be nice to have that taken out, to make the room square, but it's a shared chimney, so will depend on the cost -v- uptick in value if it would be worth doing.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Second to the left from the hall is the living room.





My dad's armchair is staying, it has a lot of sentimental value, I've kept the 2-seater leather sofa, as my own one is knackered and off to the tip, I have a cream reclining armchair* that's going into the right of the sofa. Likewise I've kept the TV & stand, as it's bigger than mine.

* No, not an electric one, I am not at that stage in life yet!

Work-wise, I need to take down the polystyrene ceiling tiles & coving, unless I am very lucky it'll probably need the ceiling professionally skimmed, fill some holes in the walls, and paint over the green walls

 

[cupid_stunt]

The conservatory used to be nice, but it's very old, has loads of leaks, and several of the double glazed units have blown, it could probably be rescued, but would be fairly costly, as I would want a solid roof on it and radiators put in, to make in useable all year round.



Hence the idea of replacing it with a flat room extension, which would extend out a further 3-4 feet, making enough room for a new open plan kitchen & dining room area, leading off from the living room, which would become part of the open plan style. Adding two extra rooms would massively increase the value of the property.

 

[StoneRoad]

Good Luck with all of that ...

Sounds / looks like an interesting project that will keep you out of mischief for some time.

That black you want to overpaint ?
I might be inclined to paper over it with thick lining paper - maybe then emulsion paint that, and then make it a feature with a large pattern design wallpaper.
Would depend on what it was painted with, and onto what ...
Some of the modern stain block paints are quite good.

 

[sheothebudworths]

My only thought was whether the living room would suffer from the additional loss of light (with the extension ending further out than the conservatory currently finishes and the loss of any light from the conservatory roof, too)?
Could you have some glass built into the flat roof at that end, if so?

 

[cupid_stunt]

The side & back gardens...



And, this is the reason I am hoping to sell some of the land, to pay for the extension, it's so bloody big, most people buying these 'retirement' bungalows don't want to maintain all that, and three different estate agents have told me selling off about half of it would not reduce the value of the property.

Those knackered sheds are mine, but could go in a sale to be part of the access road to two new small semi-detached bungalows built between the bottom of this place & next-door, still leaving enough space for a garage & parking space.

The plot is actually a lot bigger then it seems, as it's so overgrown down there!

 

[cupid_stunt]

As far as tarting up the three main rooms and hall, it's the bloody ceilings that are going to be the biggest pain in the arse!



Fucking artex ceilings in the hall & bedrooms, and even worst polystyrene ceiling tiles & coving in the dining & living rooms.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I would leave the hall til last as moving building materials through the house could cause damage that you'll then have to repair / redo.

There will be no building materials going through the place, the existing bungalow only needs basic decorating to tidy it up, if the extension goes ahead, building materials will go down the side path/drive to the back.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I think this looks fucking cool though!

View attachment 400668

What? You're a weirdo, go stand in the corner with farmerbarleymow!

I can't live with that, besides as you mention in your next post, it's needs to be neutral for selling on.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

What? You're a weirdo, go stand in the corner with farmerbarleymow!

I can't live with that, besides as you mention in your next post, it's needs to be neutral for selling on.

Or claim that it was once Keith Moon's house.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I'd ask for advice on social media. Try a reputable site, if you can find one.

I welcome tips and advice on here.

However, I have professionals lined-up for advice and any actual building works, a mate is an architect, and I know decent tradesmen locally.

 

[Boudicca]

As someone who bought a project house 10 months ago to 'give me something to do', my advice would be to sell it and buy something already done.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Good Luck with all of that ...

Sounds / looks like an interesting project that will keep you out of mischief for some time.

That black you want to overpaint ?
I might be inclined to paper over it with thick lining paper - maybe then emulsion paint that, and then make it a feature with a large pattern design wallpaper.
Would depend on what it was painted with, and onto what ...
Some of the modern stain block paints are quite good.

Thanks, but whilst this will be a home for the next 7 or so years, it's also a project to sell on, so I want to make it as neutral as possible, leaving the next owners a blank canvas to do as they wish.

Also, that room will only become a temp living room for me, the plan is to put a window in the black wall, so I don't want to paper it.

I am happy living with white walls, framing a few nice things hanging on them.

 

[what]

I,d suggest going and talking to all the local estate agents.
Tell them what you have and ask them what would they do to it to maximise sale price and speed of sale.
Get them to tell you what is likely to be the sort of people who will buy it and what will they be looking for , decoration style, size, spaces etc.
Im in London and here at the end of the day you pay for location and floor area. The rest just increases the speed of the sale. No idea what is important/makes you more money where you are but estate agents should tell you

 

[Puddy_Tat]

dunno really.

think the first rule of any project is that it will take longer and cost more than you expect...

if you only see this place as short term, my first thought is to wonder if you going to make money from making the changes or is it going to be simpler to just sell the place as it is, and put that plus the money you'd have spend on changes towards somewhere else? and not have the faff of living in a place that's a work in progress.

there's a difference of course if you are willing and able to do much of the work yourself rather than pay others to do it.

is there a possibility that the artex ceilings include asbestos? I understand some do.

and hmm at communal driveways - can be a pain in the tail if one resident decides to be a twat about it.

 

[Boudicca]

I,d suggest going and talking to all the local estate agents.
Tell them what you have and ask them what would they do to it to maximise sale price and speed of sale.
Get them to tell you what is likely to be the sort of people who will buy it and what will they be looking for , decoration style, size, spaces etc.
Im in London and here at the end of the day you pay for location and floor area. The rest just increases the speed of the sale. No idea what is important/makes you more money where you are but estate agents should tell you

Estate agents do have some knowledge, but they are really only interested in making money as soon as possible, so the answer is always going to be 'don't waste you time, let me sell it for you now'.

 

[Aladdin]

As far as tarting up the three main rooms and hall, it's the bloody ceilings that are going to be the biggest pain in the arse!

View attachment 400692View attachment 400693View attachment 400694

Fucking artex ceilings in the hall & bedrooms, and even worst polystyrene ceiling tiles & coving in the dining & living rooms.

Can you just plaster board over the artex?

Are you putting in any insulated plaster board on the walls?

Sorry ...I am up to my ears in this stuff from my dad..

 

[Aladdin]

and hmm at communal driveways - can be a pain in the tail if one resident decides to be a twat about it.

This...

Communal driveways are not ideal and can be a nightmare.

 

[cupid_stunt]

My only thought was whether the living room would suffer from the additional loss of light (with the extension ending further out than the conservatory currently finishes and the loss of any light from the conservatory roof, too)?
Could you have some glass built into the flat roof at that end, if so?

You are totally right, I am thinking a roof light for the living room, that's on my list to discuss with my architect mate, you can make them work from a pitched roof to a flat ceiling...



I am moving in next month, and he'll be coming around early in the new year to discuss options.

The loft space isn't high enough for a loft extension, so I've ruled that idea out early on.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I,d suggest going and talking to all the local estate agents.
Tell them what you have and ask them what would they do to it to maximise sale price and speed of sale.
Get them to tell you what is likely to be the sort of people who will buy it and what will they be looking for , decoration style, size, spaces etc.
Im in London and here at the end of the day you pay for location and floor area. The rest just increases the speed of the sale. No idea what is important/makes you more money where you are but estate agents should tell you

Cheers, I've done that with a couple of estate agents I know very well on a personnel level, and also been all over the property for sale sites looking at what has been done for similiar bungalows in the village, and how much they have ended-up on the market for/sold for.

 

[cupid_stunt]

dunno really.

think the first rule of any project is that it will take longer and cost more than you expect...

if you only see this place as short term, my first thought is to wonder if you going to make money from making the changes or is it going to be simpler to just sell the place as it is, and put that plus the money you'd have spend on changes towards somewhere else? and not have the faff of living in a place that's a work in progress.

there's a difference of course if you are willing and able to do much of the work yourself rather than pay others to do it.

is there a possibility that the artex ceilings include asbestos? I understand some do.

and hmm at communal driveways - can be a pain in the tail if one resident decides to be a twat about it.

As far as what's there already, it's fairly minor tarting-up that I can do myself*. The artex ceilings were done in the early 90s, years after the use of asbestos in artex had ceased, besides there's no intention of disturbing the artex by drilling into it and the likes, just getting it skimmed over.

* ETA - apart from skimming the ceilings.

If the extension goes ahead, I have a reliable trades to do it at a fairly cheap rate, because I'll be doing some of the basic labouring work.

If I sell some of the land, there will need to be a small communal part of the driveway, but I'll retaining ownership of the part that's currently my drive. but granting access to the two new properties, which my solicitor says gives me full protection for access to what will be my new drive/garage.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Can you just plaster board over the artex?

Are you putting in any insulated plaster board on the walls?

The artex ceilings are sound, just need skimming over to return to them to flat, plaster boarding would still need skimming over.

Of course, I have no idea of what, if any, evils are hidden by the polystyrene ceiling tiles in those two rooms, but those tiles need to go, and if they need plaster boarding afterwards so be it.

No need for insulated plaster board on the walls, it's got cavity wall insulation, I arranged that for mother years ago, and I also insulated the roof around the same time.

 

[cupid_stunt]

The loft space isn't high enough for a loft extension, so I've ruled that idea out early on.

Although it would make a great grow room, once all the trades are off site.