To Reno or Not to Reno - A Guide for a Novice

It's so instagrammable to buy a property with a clunky floorplan, dated fittings and well, a heck of a lot of work. Not only is it exciting to add your own to a home, but it's a great way to get a property you probably wouldn't be able to afford if it was the modern, open plan, finished project.

But what does it take to buy, work at and finish a complete renovation project? Is it as easy as it all looks? Where do you even start? What should you know and consider when looking to renovate a property yourself?

Our writer Harry recently completed just that. A complete overhaul of his Bungalow, including a complete re-jig of the flow of the property, a bigger family bathroom and all 3 bedrooms being stripped and renovated!

It was a long journey of learning and growing to create a truly stunning home. He tells us all he's learnt and shares his advice to fellow, novice renovators taking on the task too.

Almost a year ago today we completed our purchase and moved into our new home, Robin Hill.

We were complete novices to the world of property and renovations. We were barely capable at the time of hanging a picture so we knew this was not going to be easy. Needless to say, we took the jump with our dream in hand and embarked on what can only be described as a massive learning curve!!!!

Over the past year there have been so many things to juggle, pay for, research and do what we quite honestly hadn't comprehended.

We had many moments throughout the renovation (like the time our builders broke our ONLY working toilet - and we learnt the self flush method of pouring a bucket of water down after doing your business) where we honestly questioned, is all this really worth it?

Roll forward 12 months and I'm comfortably nestled on my armchair with actual carpet under my toes - yes you can really miss simple things like carpet!

I have a true sense of pride at everything we've managed to achieve, all the whilst tackling the usual peaks and troughs of renovating a property. And yet despite going into the project blind and clueless to the true extent of taking on such a project, we've grown and created the most perfect home.

There's no denying, we really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. If we had, I truly believe we would have carefully planned a lot more than we had.

So, I'm sharing my wisdom. I've put together what , if I were to do it all again, I would want to know, consider and plan for as a novice renovator.

1 PRIORITISE

Depending on the size of your renovation and/or your budget it may mean you will not be able to complete everything you want to straight away, you have to learn to be realistic. We have plans to further extend Robin Hill but our budget prohibits us from doing so currently. We had to work out at the beginning what was more important – plumbing/electrics and a shower that we do not have to jump around in to get wet or an extension with Instagramable panoramic views.

2 BUDGET

For us, this felt like it became a targetthat you would score points for exceeding, rather than a tight budget for a huge renovation. We can’t stress enough how important to set your budget from the beginning as it will be eaten away extremely quickly. Make sure you track all expenditures & keep copies of all your quotes so you can keep an eye on the outgoings. This will help you if you run into any issues with tradesmen that suddenly find extra work to do, always find out what these ‘extras’ will cost you so that there are no surprises at the end.

3 PLAN

We are sure that like us you will have lots of grand plans before you move into the property, what wall you would like knocked and that free standing bath you had seen in that Magazine (just me?) but try to live in it first if you can, before you make these big decisions as you can find your ideas change based on how you would like to live or what is actually possible.

4 PROFESSIONALS

Once you have decided what you want your dream home tolook like, be sure to consult with professionals to get an idea ofwhat and who you need to tell before you even start the build.We had a fabulous architect work with us, whose help waspriceless. They ensured we had structural engineers, planningpermission in place and a lot of other expensive people turningup with tape measures. Whilst this feels expensive it can actuallysave you time & money in the long run!

5 TRADESMAN

If you are working with builders/plumbers etc. through yourrenovation, it is so important to do your research on them. Themajority of our tradesman were based on recommendations, notalways the cheapest quote but we were able to get an idea onthe standard of their work by viewing their previous projects andget a feel of their work ethic by speaking to their previousemployers.

6 QUESTION

Don’t be afraid to ask! Whendealing withtradesman/designers/architects etc,do not be scared to ask questions &challenge if you do not like an idea ora resolution they come up with. Thiswas a big challenge for us as it’s hardto challenge what you do notunderstand. We decided to try &educate ourselves by spending timeresearching to increase ourunderstanding with any issue thatcropped up meaning we are nowexperts on floor levelers and othertotally useless topics I hope to neverdiscus again!

7MESS

We spent countless hours and nights cleaning after being at work trying to keep the house habitable, what a waste of time & effort! No matter how good and clean you or your tradesman are brick dust travels and gets everywhere so the best advice we can share is to ensure you protect all your belongings properly and plan into your budget that you may have to stay somewhere hopefully, you can do what we did which was stay with our very understanding family!

8TAKE PICTURES

Take pictures daily of work, this can help ensure you keep your tradesman on their toes especially if any disputes arise you have evidence. This is also a great tool for your own sanity as there will be moments of looking at an empty shell or broken toilet not knowing when his will end, having pictures to look back on and reflect how far you have come can really help to refocus you

9 BUMPS IN THE ROAD

Work on older buildings can yield alot of unseen events, so do not expect itall to be smooth sailing like we saidbefore be realistic! You may have tocompromise on designs or ideas thatyou have to fit the building andpracticalities.

10 SHOP AROUND

It sounds obvious but shoppingaround for fixtures and fittings canreally help to save on your budget. Wewere cheeky & asked our builder if theyhave trade accounts at the big storesto help save the pennies, it reallyworked as these extras rarely comewith the cost of parts in the price.

Renovating is stressful for eventhe most organised and experiencedrenovators. There willunfortunately be unexpected issuesalong the way, but try and sit backand enjoy the journey.

After all the stress, hard work andmoney that went into transformingour property, we are so unbelievablyhappy that we made the plunge andcreated a true home.

Follow our journey and see snaps into our home, follow me on Instagram.