Renovating & Building an Extension

Two of my previous homes have needed massive renovation. One needed a big extension simultaneously. My husband & I lived in both whilst the work was going on, which wasn't easy. But at least we were there every day to oversee the work & answer questions. Both houses were detached, both were in rural locations. So we didn't have to be too concerned about the impact on neighbours. Neither project went smoothly, but we were able to divide the work between us & share the ups & downs. Just as well as we were both working during the first one.

My current house is a completely different situation. It is a semi in an urban street. So there are neighbours all around who must be impacted by the builders. There are the vehicles & workmen. There is the noise & dust. Obviously the work only goes on during prescribed hours, but even so I can understand that it is disturbing.

So far my lovely builders have had to remove all the lime plaster on the interior of the 3 outside walls in order to insulate them. There is no cavity. Many interior walls & ceilings were still lath & plaster, so they also have to be stripped out & replaced. Some floorboards were rotten. The whole of the ground floor needs to be stripped out & insulated, then some rooms need the level raising so it is the same throughout. The wiring & gas pipework was all visible on the walls, so all has to be replaced. The water comes through lead pipes, which need replacing. Interior walls have to come down & new ones need to be built. It's noisy, dusty, filthy work. But the builders remain cheerful despite it all. Most of my neighbours are understanding & tolerant & I'm really grateful.

 

I'm finding it all quite hard now. It feels like a full time job. It's a combination of fire fighting problems, constantly chasing for fittings etc, trying to second guess which choices need to be made & getting quotes, driving back & forth to the site. I never know what each day will bring.

I seem to be transferring money out more regularly than ever before - It's a one way river. This is not a good time to be doing this. The building trade is suffering from a combination of the aftermath of Brexit & Covid. Both have made prices spiral out of control because of increased costs & shortage of materials. Lead times have increased because of delivery problems. Scheduling the work has become more dependent on outside circumstances than ever before.

This house could be a dream fulfilled for me. It could be "future proofed" for how ever many more years I have. I'm lucky to be able to buy a house with so much potential & be able to keep the best of it whilst bringing it into the 21st century. 

It is taking it's toll though. It certainly isn't easy. Think "Grand Designs" on a smaller scale. I need to keep the "vision" in mind on the really difficult days. 

I do just hope that it will be worth it all.