cost to bring a rundown house up to scratch

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mir2001

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Hi
I am looking to buy my first house. I am particularly interested in a house that is about 15 years old but that has become very run down as it was rented for the last 8 years. I like the idea of buying a house in this condition as I want to be able to put my own stamp on the place. However in order to put in an offer I would need to estimate the cost of renovation work and I have no idea how to do this. I dont have any friends connected with the building trade either. I would be really grateful if anyone has any idea, at all, about how to estimate these costs. I would at least need a new kitchen (16"x11) and bathroom (6"x6"). I would also need to replace all the windows (its a 3 bed semi) and I need to strip all the wallpaper and paint the plasterboard. All the carpets are skip material by now and I would be looking to replace them with laminate floors.
All advice highly appreciated, thanks
 
Hi,
Myself and my gf found ourselves in the same situation as you. Sep 06 we got the keys to our house. The house had been rented the last since 1999 with 7 lads being the last to live in it.
B&QBathroom suite: 400
Plumber to install suite: 500
Tiler to tile bathroom: 650
Carpet for stairs: 300
Carpet for 2 bedrooms: 600
Plastering bedroom, kitchen, hall, stairs, landing: 2200
New central heating: 6500
New porch door: 1600
8 New internal Doors: 1600
4 skips: 1000
2 rooms wallpapered: 750
Its taking its time getting there but I wish id taken photos at the start as the transformation has been amazing even now. We've still some bits to do, like flooring for the kitchen and a new fireplace. Best of luck with your renovations
 
Depends on the level of refurbishment, the condition of the house and how much you can do as DIY.

I refurbished my current home. One tip I'd give is that it will always cost more than you think as during the refurb you'll inevidently find things that need to be done that werent obvious beforehand. I spend approx. 40-50k on similar items to yours - new kitchen, new windows, decorating all rooms, replacing all carpets/floorings, replacing fireplaces and various other maintenance jobs on house etc. Got a contractor to do it all, so this price was for labour as well as materials (I'm not the best at DIY).

I have a friend who had to do a total refurb on a 1950s semi, including rewiring, central heating, windows, kitchen extension, floors, roofs, bathrooms - essentially stripped the house back to shell and core and it cost c.120k. Got the house v. cheap because of state of repair, so was worthwhile doing.
 
Just got bathroom and plumbing done.
€8k for bathtub, toilet, sink (and all the trimmings), tiles (walls and floor), towel rail, ceiling replastered, 3 downlighters, electric shower, hot water tank, immersion, cold water tank and the fix of a stack leak.

Supplied and fitted.
Not cheap for a 1.69 x 1.83 metre bathroom.
Materials are of good quality, but not top-of-the-range.
Fitting was very good, but not 100% perfect, I'd give it 90%.

If you buy cheap, it looks cheap.
If you buy expensive and the fitting is poor, it looks cheap.

Are you DIYing it? Or getting someone in? Don't go for the cheapest, go for the best personal recommendation.

Also, speaking for myself, you may need to live in the house for 6 months before you know what you want.
For example, when I bought my house I was looking forward to having regular relaxing baths.
Two years later, hardly five baths. This may now changes as Ive an acrylic bathtub. Having a bath in a steel tub just doesn't works. Too cold, cools the water, bath over in 5 mins.
 
Thanks iandublin2 and csirl for the input - all your figures and info help me build up a sense of the money involved.

thanks Gautama, on the diy front I havent decided - havent really done anything much in that area since I left home to rent many many years ago. however I am buying a house on my own so it may become a financial necessity. I figure I could strip the nasty wallpaper and paint the rooms myself (gradually). My housemate reckons I could even stretch to putting down one of those cheap wooden floors too though I'm not so sure about that one. However when it comes to the kitchen and bathroom and tiles I would defintely be thinking of hiring someone.

Do any of you have any preferences for places to get kitchens - seems to be a lot in the phone book- also was thinking of MFI in the north - anyone got any opinions on them? I like the high gloss kitchens in their catelogue.

If anyone else has any general experience to share I'd be delighted to hear it, thanks again.
 
Before you start any of the external walls, check if they are insullated (If the house is 15 years old there is a good chance that they are) It might be a good idea to get them dry lined before you start anything. Will be expensive but well worth it in th elong run, especially before you start any other renovating
 
thanks I'll ask about the insulation at the second viewing. When you say expensive, does that approximate to 10,000 or ?
 
mir2001 said:
Do any of you have any preferences for places to get kitchens - seems to be a lot in the phone book- also was thinking of MFI in the north - anyone got any opinions on them? I like the high gloss kitchens in their catelogue.

If anyone else has any general experience to share I'd be delighted to hear it, thanks again.
Click to expand...

I'm planning on getting a new kitchen. Spent a long night researching it on this website. The conclusion was the same as with word-of-mount:
In-House: http://www.in-house.ie/

I've no association or affiliation, but this is where I'm going myself.
I've been to a couple of their showrooms, I like what I see.
 
Thanks Rebelette, think you can see why I need advice though as 10,000 is a fair bit out from 1,300 !

Interesting about inhouse as I came across them myself (by accident) online and thought they looked like nice designs so its interesting to hear they have a good reputation too, thanks for that
 
mir2001 said:
thanks I'll ask about the insulation at the second viewing. When you say expensive, does that approximate to 10,000 or ?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't think 10,000. Depends on size etc. Alot will depend on labour costs of hacking down old plaster(if appropriate), putting up slabs and re-plastering. I don't think materials would break the bank.
 
Hi, thanks for all the advice. That house fell through, owner wanted price that was too high when you added in doing up costs. However I have an offer on a different house that may need some plastering. iandublin2 - you mentioned plastering, did you hire someone and if so can you pm me the name and details, thanks
 
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