The 4 bed 2 acres house from Life on Mars

Husband and I about to complete on a beautiful but rundown stuck int he 70s house. Fantastic 2 acre garden. Very private. If we were millionaires we would knock it downand start again. But we are not. Views on our Phasing much appreciated. Problems in a list:windows have ungalvanised lintels which need replacing
every window has secondary double glazing units
roof tiles and felt need replacing within 2-5 years
oil fired boiler looks old - but maybe OK
oil tanks look old - but maybe OK
Central heating is part radiator part skirting board type venting - hideous
Existing bathroom is too small
- solution proposed is remove cylinder and put it in the attic - maybe changeit for a Megaflo
existing showerroom is smelly andunventilated - solution is replace with small wetroom and install a window
chimmney needs relining
septic tank - probably OK if emptied and "re-started"
single storey flat roofed garage - askingto be made into a two storey extension to provide utility, office, kitchen extension downstairs and super master bedroom and bathroom upstairs.

Phase 1: August/Sept 2011Move in and get boiler and huge AGA working. Put cylinder in loft and provide better bath in existing bathroom. Create wetroom from shower room. Replace skirting vents with radiators. Remove secondary double glazing. Spend Winter months planning, getting planning permission etc

Phase 2. March/April 2012 Two storey extension as described above.
Phase 3. March 2013Large conservatory/orangerie added to front of house overlooking huge garden to create large living/kitchen space.
Phase 4. 2014 replace lintels and roof tiles and felt.

After a 6 month search we bought a rural & very similar 1968 3 bed renovation property back in 2004; untouched since built & sounds much the same as yours although it didn’t need a new roof; I’m surprised yours does. Although it was all refurbished & finished internally by 2009, we still have work to do. Only this year have we got around to redesigning/re-laying the large patio area, I still have an attached garage to re-build (on the opposite side of the property to the other one) although the new footings are in, get the disaster of a large drive & parking area re-laid & sort out the ½ acre garden; large gardens are a lot of work unless you have a gardener; we don’t but I’m sorely tempted.

First bit of advice is in the first year do only the essentials don’t make any major changes; I spent this time planning, drawing & getting PP for all the changes to which we had several objections despite having only one close neighbour. It’s easy to get carried away with all sorts of grand ideas but as you live in & use the property, you calm down a bit & your requirements change; what you initially though was a good idea may change or get ditched completely. This advice was given to me by friends who have also completed similar renovations & I’m now glad I took it. Having got PP a year earlier, the main things to go were a large extension bedroom with its own en-suite over an existing attached garage. It was to be the master but we already had one nearly as big at the other end of the house; in the end I just nicked a bit of the bedroom next door to this to create a small en-suite. A single story utility room extension off the kitchen with flat roof/veranda with French door access from the master bedroom. A detached double garage/workshop; we already had two garages! Reasons were a mixture of common sense prevailing, budget/build cost, considerable increase our council tax banding/fuel bills & the realisation we didn’t really need them! There are only two of us rattling around in what is quiet a large 3 bed / house; it already has 3 reception rooms, a separate utility room & office & we sometimes loose one another during the day; the only time it really all gets used is when the kids/grandkids come to stay.

I did practically all the work myself apart from an initial 3 months when I had a small team of builders in to replace the windows, gutters/soffits etc, external timber cladding, building a porch & a large conservatory.

Things you don’t seem to have considered;
• A new consumer unit & re-wire. If it hasn’t already had one it almost certainly will need it once you add a new kitchen, extra lights/sockets & a cons; mine was condemned by the electrical contractor at this point who would not connect the new circuits.
• Re-plastering; mine was totally shot in all rooms with grotty Artex ceilings; this cost is significant.
• Insulation upgrade to current standards; if your undertaking extensive renovation works, this can actually be forced on you by LABC under certain circumstances.
• It will probably cost you 50% - 100% more than you first thought!
• You will be living on/in a building site for several years.


Enjoy your project.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Yours does sound remarkably similar. I dont think we will need to replaster and I am told the electrics are OK but that was the surveyor not the builder. Although we need to replace the fuse board.
Thanks for the good advice - no doubt we have plans beyond our means at the moment!

We bought our “money pit” back in 2004 &, after lurking for around a year or so, I signed up to DIYnot in 2005. I was never DIY but needed specific advice on a number of issues & was never disappointed; I’m not quiet sure how or when it happened but I’m now a daily contributor. There are some very knowledgeable & experienced trade contributors on this forum & you won’t go wrong with the advice given so if you need it, just post the specific trade forum