House Renovation Diaries – Month 1

Wednesday 25th March 2020 is a date we won’t forget about. Two days after lockdown it was the day we finally got the keys to our very first house. It was a tough time and we did think it wouldn’t happen due to the Coronavirus. We did everything our power to make the situation safe and it happened. Just days before house moves were pretty much stopped. I’m a huge believer in being in the right place at the right time and this shows that. I’ve been documenting everything going on with the house over on my Instagram stories. But I wanted to do house renovation diaries here too.

We’d hoped to be further along with the project by now but the stuff below was done in the first two weeks. We lost the second two weeks as we’ve been self-isolating due to my dad getting the virus. Now I know we’re very lucky to even have this project to be working on and it didn’t feel safe to be travelling to the house. Even if the house was empty and we wouldn’t see anyone.

House renovation diaries month 1- The entrance way

I don’t have any photos of the entrance way as it’s a small space but we’ve got this area stripped of wallpaper, the dado rail off along with the radiator drained and out.

As it’s quite a small area we’re going to move where the radiator was as we can fit a small shoe rack in there then. We’re also going to coconut mat the whole flooring so it keeps all the dirt in this area.

The biggest changes in the kitchen/ diner

So some of the biggest changes during the two weeks happened to the Kitchen Diner. To begin with Luke and his dad ripped out all of the cabinets and uninstalled all of the appliances which had been left behind. Then in the dining room side, we had the radiators taken out, the dado rails were taken off and the wallpaper stripped.

Then came for the biggest change, we had the wall knocked down between the kitchen and dining room. Now we have a huge open space and I couldn’t be happier with how it looks. It might be hard to visualise in these house renovation diaries but the photo at the top shows the space the best. We’re still going to have the dining area nearer the front and the kitchen area nearer the back. But we’ll use the space a lot more having it opened out.

The other changes which have happened so far were Luke took out the tiled flooring in the kitchen (and through to my office). This also included taking out the underfloor heating as we’ve decided we’re not going to have any. We’re going for wooden and not tiled flooring which will be warmer anyway. But we’re also going to have some vertical radiators which will keep the area warmer.

Other changes in the future kitchen/diner

The final thing for month one of the house renovation diaries in this area is the door that got cut out to go into the garage. As we’re going to be creating a utility room (as well as Luke’s man cave) in the garage we needed a door.

This area is probably going to be one of the last to be done but the next step is to put the door frame into the new door. Remove the carpet in the dining room side so we can level out the flooring. And get the whole thing wired.

House renovation diaries- The living room

There wasn’t a huge amount of work which needed doing in this room but the wallpaper is stripped, the radiator is out and the dado rail is off. Then the biggest thing is down the end of the room. There used to be french doors which led into what will be my office. But we didn’t want the doors and wanted to be able to use the wall space either side. So the doors and windows were taken out and a wall has been created in its place.

The other side which is in my office needs insulation added and the other side of the wall built. But this was due to happen just as we started self-isolating so it will have to wait. We’re going to put a huge window at the top to keep the area light which will need to be done. Then it’s really just plastering, painting and getting new carpet in this space.

The stairs/ hallway

All of the general stuff has happened in this space including ripping off the dado rail, pulling the carpet up and getting some of the wallpaper off. During my time off in between jobs I had hoped to strip the rest of the wallpaper but this didn’t happen.

Luke and his dad fit a new larger loft hatch and ladder into our upstairs hallway ceiling. We needed a bigger one as we’re moving the water tank from the airing cupboard into the loft. And as you can see from the photo album the loft has now been boarded up with a space ready for the new megaflow. If that’s even the right word for it. Once this arrives we’re getting a friend to come around and plumb it all up. I’ve not actually been up to the loft during the first month but the space up there looks pretty big.

House renovation diaries – Master bedroom

Across all of the bedrooms, the same generic things were done including getting the carpet and skirting boards up. And all of the radiators were drained and removed which leaves them all as blank canvas’. The master bedroom has built-in wardrobes around the whole room and we’ve decided to keep them. We’re going to get them painted a light grey colour to match in with our aesthetics more. And I’m so excited to see how this will look.

In terms of the bedrooms, they don’t need much more doing to them before we can start decorating. Luke is planning on doing a week to re-wire all of upstairs when we can go back to the house. Then we can get the plasterer and decorator in to sort the space out. This will include the skirting boards and architrave. Then it’s just going to be carpets, new radiators and fixing in the new doors.

Our en-suite renovation

This is another room where a lot is happening but the stripping has all happened. The shower tray has now been taken out but I don’t have a newer photo of the space. Originally the space had a single shower and cupboard on the left. Then a sink and toilet along the back wall and for us it seemed like a poor use of space. We’re going to have a large double shower across the whole right sidewall. Then the toilet and sink on the left-hand side with a huge mirrored cabinet above.

Then we can have a tower radiator under the window and the space will feel much more often. But also having a double shower was a huge want for us and it’s so nice that we’re going to be able to have one. We’ve picked out all of the tiles and suite, it’s just going to be ordering it and getting it fitted.

House renovation diary month 1 – Main bathroom

So the main bathroom was something we’d not planned on doing anything with yet. We hadn’t budgeted for the main bathroom to be done and we were going to tackle it further down the line. And while we won’t be getting a new suite in yet we are going to gut it.

When the water tank came out and the pipes were sorted it gave us a big square that could be added onto our bathroom. Luke and his dad moved the door slightly which will allow us to get a wider bath. And the wall was refitted around it. Just adding that square in has made a huge difference to the bathroom and will allow us to get what we want inside when we buy our suite.

We’re going to rip everything out and have the room bare until we can afford to replace it. As we won’t then need to make mess/ drag out rubbish through our fresh new house.

The rest of the bedrooms

I already spoke above about the situation with the second and third bedrooms. Much like the master, they’re a blank canvas at the moment which is nice as very little else needs to be done to them. The second bedroom showed above also has a huge built-in cupboard at the side which goes over the stairs. So alongside the decoration, we’re going to get this refreshed as well with new shelves so we can use all of the storage that the house has.

And that’s about it for month one/ the first two weeks. I’m really happy with how far we’ve come but the mess and destruction has got to me a bit. I’m finding it hard to see the end in sight. And while I know why we’ve taken two weeks out and know it’s for the best I’m finding it tough losing that time.

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