home improvements

[pumpkinzz]

Hi, i,m new here , but have been lurking for a while.
we have just remortgaged our house and have borrowed an extra £17000
to do some home improvements.
we were thinking of putting up a conservatory, and knocking our small kitchen into our dining room, so that would mean putting in a new kitchen.
there are also lots of other thing we want to buy for the house, but we are not sure the money will stretch to cover everthing we want to do .
the question is where do i start , ive never had this much money to spend before and i dont want to waste it , but i dont know what to do first.
my kitchen diner would lead out to the conservatory, but which should we tackle first.what is the best way to tackle spending this money , i would like it to go as far as possible, but ,i really dont know how to start ,to make sure i spend this money wisely , any suggestions,, thanks juli.

 

[noseall]

Build the connie first, up to a stage where electrics are in, it is plastered out and the bare floor screed is down. Then put a table in here and use this a a temporary kitchen whilst the work is being carried out in the main kitchen.

Unless you plan to do a lot yourselves, then £17,000 will certainly be used up on the connie and kitchen - all dependant upon size and quality spec' of course.

 

[^woody^]

Consider this a single project (of three parts) and divide the money up into costs for the three parts .... and stick to it as much as possible.

If you treat these in isolation, your will over-spend. Itemise, plan and budget and spend as little as possible at the start - the money will soon go.

You may have to compromise, so don't kit out the conservatory in gold and marble, and then find you can only afford plywood units for the kitchen.

Think about your power points and lighting and services generally, and the design of the kitchen, and don't spend too much on expensive fittings now, when you can fit cheaper ones now, get the job finished to a reasonable standard and then replace things later.

Don't forget contingencies, for unknowns

Negotiate suppliers down. It may mean buying a lot of items early and storing them. Alternatively, watch for the sales and quiet winter period to get work done cheaper.

It does not matter which way round you do the work, but I'd suggest getting the messy jobs done early on