Renovate a doer-upper
Do-er uppers have never been so popular, but before you begin knocking down walls, what do you need to know? three homeowners give their advice
SPACE ODYSSEY
Jessica Mckenzie (@mckenzie_interiorscapes), a strategy and analytics manager for a game software development company, bought an unfinished five-bedroom 1970s detached house in Essex with her husband Mark. They live here with their son, Mason, Mark’s daughter, Miya, and Jessica’s mum.
Why this house? The existing two-storey side extension was unfinished so it was a great bargain, given its size.
What condition was it in? The extension included our master bedroom and ensuite, which weren’t insulated and had unplastered walls and there were no electrics. At the rear were three narrow galley rooms and an old conservatory with a wasp infestation. All the necessaries were in working order, though, so we lived in half of the house while we renovated.
What have you done to it? We did the entire house but the biggest transformation came when we created an enormous amount of space by knocking down the internal walls between the narrow rooms at the rear and also knocked down the conservatory and replaced it with a rear extension. Keeping the conservatory foundations saved us a huge amount of money. Upstairs, we finished the side extension work. We also turned the garage into a self-contained annexe for my mum.
How has it gone? I project managed the renovation and family helped us paint and lay the floor but we had a fantastic local builder who we found on Trustatrader. He came up with loads of cost-saving ideas, such us coating the steel frame of our enormous balcony (10m x 2m) in aluminium instead of having it all in the metal, saving us £4k without compromising on the style or quality. We had a few issues – inheriting planning permission meant hours of admin, and the 9m long beam across the entire back of the house took a week to fix as it was so heavy, leaving the back of the house exposed in -1°C. We now know that most of our problems related to the unusually large space we were creating.
Any low points? I would not live in a house during a build again. Even though we planned for it, going through it is a different story. But our previous experience – we renovated a four-bedroom cottage – helped us remember that the suffering is short-lived and our builders worked until midnight at times to get it done as fast as possible.
The high point? We finished one month before the first lockdown, which meant we could enjoy the space together as a family.
What interior look did you want? The rear extension was an even rectangle, so symmetry became my theme. I drew a line down the middle and mirrored my kitchen either side. Parquet flooring was my dream but, because of cost, we went for tiles. As soon as I saw the concrete-effect tiles, I decided to blend the colours of my kitchen cupboards rather than contrast them. Gold accents add depth. For colour, I added a blue sofa and yellow armchair. My furniture is new but bought mostly on ebay.
So, let’s talk money... We had a budget of £125k and we will come in at under £130k (we’re still finishing the bathrooms and hallway). The extension cost £90k including the kitchen, from Purple Pepperpot, which came in at just under £30k in total. ▶