Move out for building work - or stay?

[BongoHunter]

We're currently debating what to do with our living situation while we get our house done up.

Pretty much everything needs doing - its habitable, just very out of date.

Original plan was to tackle jobs one at a time, and stay living in the property while the jobs take place, spreading out the disruption (and costs!), but the amount of extra cost going this way is going to be pretty high, and we both WFH at the moment (even post Covid it's unlikely we will go back to office more than 2 days a week). I'm also worried that certain jobs could end up needing attention a couple of times - for example we need a full rewire (it's largely original, with some surface mounted additions), major works to bathrooms and kitchen will need further electrical work - so makes sense to do all at once...

House is an ex council 3 bed semi built in late 50's of brick construction and is structurally sound. It has never had any work done to it other than the addition of a small UPVC conservatory, and double glazing.

So now we're thinking about going with the big bang approach and moving out to rented, we have a budget of about 100K and are looking to do:
- Ground floor rear extension full width (2 - 3 metres deep), will remove conservatory.
- New kitchen at back of house, open plan to lounge/dining
- Existing kitchen to become utility room + downstairs bathroom
- New upstairs main bathroom

Other bits:
- Rewire
- New internal and external doors, and frames
- New flooring for all of downstairs, plus stairs, landing and main bathroom.
- Strip and plaster everything but the 3 bedrooms
- Boilers new - but the pipes and radiators need attention, not sure of the scope of this yet.


So what would you do / have you done in this situation? (other than increase the budget?! )

Our budget is tight for our scope, moving out for 6 months is going to cost us about 1500 pcm + deposit and all the other costs that come with moving house (and paying 2 sets of bills in some cases) - alternatively we can stay in and just try and live upstairs and be "camping" for as long as it takes in the bedrooms, I'd probably go to office to avoid the disruption - but my other half wouldn't have that option. This frees up about 10% of our budget but we may well end up spending more on trades as they will have to return multiple times as we need to spread out the works...

 

[sad099]

Sounds like a lot of work
We did something similar a while back - no extension but we gutted the whole place include rewiring , plastering , new doors & windows, new boiler, flooring, bathrooms, kitchen etc.
We also tried to stay during the work initially to save costs but ended up moving out due to the amount of disruption, dust , fumes etc.

Bear in mind if you are doing boiler / replacing pipes work you wont have heating or water .
Personally I'd move out, appreciate it costs more, but the work should get completed quicker and in addition you wont suffer from accidental damage or items getting ruined due to paint , dust etc.

Also the noise and general work will cause stress too and even when the workmen go home you wont get rest as you'll be living in mess and end up tidying up all the time.

Only other advice I can give is have a % allowance at the end - say 10-15% extra for emergency, as you will end up overspending , even with the best will in the world.
To save cost for rental, could you put items into storage and rent a "smaller" property for a short term or potentially stay with friends / family ?

 

[Royal Fleet]

We stayed put through a kitchen rebuild and replacement of the downstairs cloakroom. This also involved quite a bit of re-wiring etc.

Whilst it was not a particularly pleasant experience I am glad we didn't move out. For all of the disruption we had we would have just had a different kind had we moved out. The builder was accommodating and ensured we always had running water and the oven (they moved this twice during the work). We borrowed a portable induction hob and bought some builders lights for lighting.

 

[Maundie]

Not sure you can WFH if they are going to replace the wiring, are you going to hook up to a generator or something while the power is off?

I know someone who lived in a caravan on the drive for the 3 months it took them to renovate their house but that was with the neighbours allowing them to plug into their house (with a charge of course) but I wouldn't fancy ******** in a bucket and everything else that comes with a small caravan for 3 months (they did spend a lot of the time eating out and sat in the pub watching the tv).

 

[psd99]

It depends on your circumstances

If you're living on your own man up and live there

But it sounds like your Mrs is with you and possibly kids? if so it's a no brainer but to move out
the amount of dust, noise, disruption is beyond belief and I'm not even talking about your Mrs lol

Plus the work will get done far quicker so a 6 month time away if you can afford to would be the better option.

 

[~cw]

Just one bathroom is enough to make anyone want to move out. I would consider bubbling early with relatives this year... Upshot: they'll be so hacked off with you they won't want to see you next Christmas

 

[placeholder]

Did this last year, with a 2 year old and wife pregnant. Stayed in the house for the start of the refurb when it was possible to do so (chimney removal, stripping wallpaper, internal wall coming down) but then moved in with the in laws for about 4 months. They live close by so meant I could be part of the refurb after work and just go back to theirs last thing at night.

1- Its incredibly stressful
2-Move out if you can, its easier for the guys to do what they need to do if you aren't still trying to live there as well as being better for you
3-Keep it in perspective, it will be hellish at the time but you will look back and realise its just a small period out of your life.

We opened up our kitchen into a kitchen diner. Full insulation, rewiring, new heating new bathrooms, new kitchen, complete new carpets, painting and redecorating. Much like you its was a structurally sound old house desperately in need of modernising. We have a lot of friends in the trade and did everything for about half your budget but there was no extension.

Im working from home and when I come down the stairs in the morning and our brand new heating system has kicked in and its toasty warm I can look back on it and think "it wasn't that bad!"

Good luck.

 

[R.C.Anderson]

If you're getting people in to do the work, you're best off being elsewhere. Things such as re-wiring/re-plumbing are far easier, quicker & cheaper to do the whole lot at once (without having to work around people/stuff) than it is to do 1 room at a time.

If you're doing most of it yourself, then there's probably not a lot of point moving out imo.

I'm doing a load of work to my house, and have been doing it room by room over the last ~3 years. Similar to yours, it was liveable, but very dated (last updated in the 70s is my guess), but no central heating (some storage heaters) etc. I'm doing pretty much everything myself. I've had someone to install the boiler (as it's gas)(but I did the rest of the central heating/plumbing), someone for the new electrics where legally required & someone to do some structural work that needs BC signoff, but ripping old plaster out & replastering, decorating etc I'm all doing myself.

 

[JBuk]

Move out until the major works are done , it will be dusty, dirty, noisy, you’ll be forever moving things around and cleaning them + you’ll end up getting in the way of the tradesmen - it will all lead to huge amounts of stress for everybody

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Another one for move out here.

If your going as far as you’ve set out, I’d also think about getting the ground floor ripped out and getting underfloor heating installed throughout the ground floor and extension.

 

[thebandit]

Having done this twice, once just me and my wife on smaller project and then again, with my wife, two young children, 2 cats and a dog during a major renovation (bought a doctors surgery from the NHS, removed internal/ external walls, added kitchen diner extension, rewired, replumbed, removed all flooring, renovated all sash windows, loft extension, added three bathrooms, the list goes on) I would say the following,

For staying in the house,
-Saves on rent (may be a slight false economy see "for renting" below)
-You are there to monitor/ project manage the trades.
-You are there to make decisions as they come up. This is a big one, the number of things that will come up and if left to their own devices, the trades will usually choose the cheapest, quickest, bodgiest option and you only find out next time you visit which may be to late to correct. If you are there are there it means you get consulted or at worst get to see what's being done before its too late.
-Large projects generally take longer than planned, you may need to rent longer than anticipated

For renting,
-The DUST !! trust me, it gets everywhere.
-Comfort, oddly, the kids probably coped best living in the house during the reno, then me and then last my wife (she hated every second)
-Speed and cost, trades will not be able to work effectively and this takes longer/ costs more. For example, rewiring, if you are there, you will need some electricity on, replumbing, if you are there you will need running water, especially after the guys leave for the evening. Having these constraints on the trades means they spend half the time trying to keep you comfortable, if you aren't there, there can just crack on, leave at night without hooking temporary solutions up so you can live.
-Your relationship, trust me, doing any major works will test you relationship, how much will depend on the type of people you and your partner are.


Its hard to know how well you have budgeted until the end, but it nearly always costs more than you thought, there will be things you hadn't accounted for (I budgeted 185k, spent 265k!, did change a few things along the way but just didn't consider a lot of things I would now). I have friends locally where they moved out at first, then moved back in to save on on rent as the cost went up and friends that stayed until they could bear it no longer and then rented.

I obviously did live through the first renovation just my wife and I in the house and elected to do it again on our new house. Having been through it a second time I would not make the same decision again but it does depend somewhat on the amount of work you are doing.
I would say rent the cheapest place you can to keep the cost to a minimum. I would also suggest visiting site every day and make sure your builder is fully informed on every detail to prevent problems down the line.
As others have said, its no fun, but you will soon forget and enjoy you new surroundings.

 

[iv-tecman]

Currently renovating an old 1950s ex council house .

Staying in the property saves on costs to move if you have to rent, but if you can go stay with relatives whilst the bigger jobs are completed then I would if you do not like dust and mess. Upon saying this.

Anything you must leave in the house if you are having the entire house rebuilt then it will be covered in a thick layer of dust - if you have anywhere such as a water safe garage and will not be damaged by cold damp conditions then please do store away as the dust from this will be horrendous

We are currently living and working from home whilst we are renovating - we are completing a vast majority of the work ourselves - we are moving from room to room, however the landing has caused massive disruption and caused the most mess so far, we have been living with no carpets in most of the house since we started - the plumbing and wiring work has been very disruptive as ripping up floor boards and chisel out walls (solid brick) has caused a huge amount of dust and damage - and not one bit of our furniture has escaped the wrath of the dust - we have been using plastic sheeting and coverings - but this only does so much, the floors and walls are just as dusty

It hasn't taken much toll on our relationship, mostly as we both understand we cant rebuild and extend an ex council 1950s house without making mess, to compound the issues, the door frames in our property are steel fabricated supporting frames, dated and ugly and has made a huge mess removing , we left the chimney downstairs to make it a feature of the living room, however the loft saw the collapse of the top of the stack, and we did this beginning of the year and it was horrendously cold as half the roof needed to be replaced , and we also only had half a working central heating system.

But if you do reside in the property while all the work is being completed, we have found once we get rooms completed we have huge satisfaction - the feeling of seeing a room completed after months of seeing nothing but floorboards or bare brick is pretty cool. Feb 2020 we had no hallway, living area , half a kitchen or heating or suitable wiring and metal door frames and old council style plain doors with what looked like 60 years of white paint build up, now we at least have a study, new doors, new windows, new door frames, rewired and replumbed the house and the upstairs is progressing, all while living in the property . The front garden is always full of rubbish, but we are getting by.

So it is possible, but be prepared for a lot of dust, cold rooms, and just generally living in a building site if you do stay put - but as with any large scale project once its done it'll all be worth it .

 

[BongoHunter]

Thanks for the input everyone - moving out and doing all work in one go appears to be a sane choice (and your replies have done wonders for convincing the other half we should move out for the duration).

Currently on track to start between Feb and April we think.

Spoke to First Direct today - weren't planning on taking anything extra on the mortgage front, but looks like a good choice on paper to get the loft converted to a new master bedroom with bathroom at the same time as everything else. We don't really need the space at the moment - but adds about 20% to the value of the house - so might borrow an extra 40K on the mortgage to add to savings we are going to use.

Odd to think that mortgage payments will probably go down despite borrowing more due to change in LTV.

Mad world

 

[sad099]

Glad you got it sorted, good luck with the works !
Some pics when you finish or before and after would be interesting to see too

 

[BongoHunter]

Glad you got it sorted, good luck with the works !
Some pics when you finish or before and after would be interesting to see too

Thanks

Project thread will be provided!

 

[Abyss]

I'd concur with moving out. It's a false economy to try and live in a house where you are doing that much work to it. It'll cost you just as much in delays / temporary works to keep the place habitable as you'd save in rent, it also avoids the contractor needing temporary welfare, toilets etc. Prelims is a killer on any construction project, it's money for nothing, so the quicker you can get the works done with the least blockages the better.

It sounds like a good idea to do the loft conversion at the same time as it'll be even more cost effective and maximise the value of the property.

Personally I'd:

- Move everything you don't need in your temporary accomodation out of the house - I've put the contents of a 3 bed detached house in storage for 6 months and it cost £810 to remove it, £67.50 per week to store it and £810 to put it back in the house. For the sake of £3k this will speed up the renovation as it'll enable more materials to be stored on site and works to progress quicker. It also reduces the risk of any damage.

- Move out but consider all options. When we moved house did a long term deal for 6 months with a hotel chain in town at £1,100 / month for a room that included a small kitchen area. Considering this was all in so no council tax / bills / free breakfast / free wifi / weekly cleaning it was by far the cheapest option.

- Plan everything. Any time that a builer needs a decision, or needs to consult the client will cost you time and money,

 

[Worthy]

Thanks

Project thread will be provided!

Oh, I can't wait for those project pics

 

[thebandit]

If a loft conversion is on the cards then definitely get it done at the same time as everything else. It will make the loft works easier / cheaper than doing separately after everything else in done. Without meaning to sound crass, money is so cheap right now, you can five year fix at sub 1.4% (LTV depending) so getting all the dirty jobs done in one with a small additional borrowing is the sensible approach (imo).

 

[toshj]

We moved out for ours - total renovation across the board. In theory we could have just about stayed on living in one room, but it would have been a nightmare. When you throw in a toddler and a pandemic the decision to move out became much easier. Our problem was finding anywhere cheap for a short term let. Ended up paying more than I'd have liked, but asked for all bills to be thrown in to make it easier. Would have liked to have done the loft conversion at the same time, but we'd have needed planning permission, and that would have set us back a fair bit.

If you can afford to, move out.