Short version:
First time buyer renovating a Victorian conversion in South London.
So far: slugs, floor sanding, ceiling collapses, fireplaces, mysterious damp, constant dust, mice, flatpack furniture, budgeting, appliance hunts, rotten window frames, B&Q, frantic googling, a tap obsession, more flipping B&Q.
Best tip: take your estimated completion time and add another 150%. Minimum.
Follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/fixingitup
Long version:
Firsttimebuyer.wordpress.com had already gone, but that basically sums me up. A first time buyer, blindly (blithely?) feeling my way into this brave new world of property, responsibility, building’s insurance, new kitchens, giant gaping holes in ceilings and pain.
It’s been the steepest of learning curves and, indeed, it continues to be. Whilst I write this first post, utilising the lovely BT line which cost me about £120 I wasn’t expecting to have to pay (lesson no. 52), I’m still living in about 40% flat, 60% building site. From here, sat on the bed, I can see right through to the living room due to the the missing bedroom door, and a missing internal window. If I lean all the way over I can wave at passersby through the front window. Hello passersby! This is what I look like on a lazy Sunday! Lucky them.
I have half a kitchen. On one side the tiles are nearly finished, the beautiful wooden worktop is oiled and ready to go, the oven functions, the fridge is full. On the other side, the nasty old worktop remains, the rest of the kitchen cabinets are stacked to the ceiling, the sink is flimsy stainless (ha!) steel and daily covered with mysterious slug trails. Lesson no. 41 – if at all possible, do the kitchen first, *before* you move in.
So, I’m still not sure if I’m fixing it up, or f***king it up. But either way, I’ve learnt an awful lot over the last few months. For me, I feel it’s important to be as informed as possible to be able to make any important decisions (which fridge, etc) or before starting a major task (sanding the floors, for example), and with the whole internet at my disposal that’s a LOT of information I’ve been gathering over the course of this project.
I’ve also had a excellent and friendly builder who’s been on hand to help, make suggestions I wouldn’t even have thought of and fix problems I hadn’t even noticed. I’ll be sharing everything I’ve learnt from this process, and am also hoping to develop and share a couple of tools I think will be handy.
I’m not an expert and this is only personal anecdote so please comment if you have personal experiences to add, or are a professional who’d like to correct any glaring errors.
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