It’s all too easy to talk about the things that go well; naturally really, because these are the things we are most proud of. But as they tell us in primary school, every time we do something daft like eat crayons (guilty) or tie ourselves to a human train of children, fixed together with hula hoops and skipping ropes, and scrape off the skin on on our thighs as we are dragged across the playground (what do you mean you didn’t do this?!): we learn from our mistakes. In this case, from our renovation mistakes. Here five renovation mistakes we made. Go ahead and avoid them and be all smug about it afterwards.
Our renovation mistakes
To be honest, renovation mistakes will be made every time there is a new project. I’m guilty of steamrolling ahead when I ought to take my time, and my other half is probably guilty of overthinking things. No one is perfect and we all have to find a balance. Ultimately, renovation mistakes will happen no matter how well you plan ahead, and I think it’s really important not to get too down about them. Generally a good dose of humour (or wine) will probably help.
Renovation Mistake #1: We totally underestimated how long it would take
Actual words I said to Oli after I viewed the house for the first time (whilst he stayed home in bed with a hangover): ‘It needs some work but I reckon we can transform it in six months’.
HA. HA. HA.
You’re having a laugh mate. It’s true what they say about beauty being skin deep: your house-to be might look alright on the surface, but when you strip the wallpaper back, the plaster will crumble, you will find areas of damp, or leaks, or unexplained electrical wires. In our case, we even found that part of a wall had been stuck together with duct tape. Some things will be picked up on the survey (I really hate to preach about what you MUST do, because I think everyone should find their own way, but you MUST get a survey before you sign on the dotted line). However, the survey only won’t reveal everything and there will inevitably be some surprises when you get to work.
Additional problems we ran in to weren’t the end of the world; everything has been resolvable. However there were things we had not considered: we hadn’t factored in that we would need to replaster the whole house, for example. We hadn’t thought about the additional costs involved for that work. Our assumptions about how long work would take were a fairytale.
All in all we vastly underestimated how long it would take to renovate this house, because three years on, we have only really scratched the surface.
How to avoid it…..
My only advice here would be that, unless you are actually on a deadline (e.g. you have bought a property with the sole intention of doing it up to sell it on), don’t set a deadline. Or if you do set one, be realistic. Think five years for a full on transformation, not five months. I also believe that by setting unattainable goals, you set yourself up for disappointment, and really, this should be fun.
Oh and by the way, that budget you had in mind? Add a zero.
Renovation Mistake #2: We didn’t pick tradespeople carefully enough
Now, with the exception of our plumbers (who were literally exceptional), most of the people we hired early on weren’t great. Firstly, you get what you pay for when it comes to this kind of thing. You will need to accept that if you want to do things on the cheap, you probably won’t get brilliant work.
This is the renovation mistake that has ultimately cost us the most time, money and misery.
I’ll give you an example.
As soon as we had completed on the sale, we ripped out the existing bathroom and replaced it. We felt pretty smug, having chosen everything in advance and knowing it all fit perfectly (and it does and the bathroom looks good). The plumber was recommended to me by someone at work, and credit where it’s due, the plumbing was fine. But it was cheap, and the finish isn’t the best. There is a gaping hole behind the loo where pipework wasn’t boxed in.
However, my real annoyance is with the tiler, who came recommended by (i.e. was a mate of) the plumber. The tiler charged £200 a day, which isn’t extortionate, but isn’t dirt cheap either and it took him three days to one wall (it does not take three days to tile one small wall). The tiler didn’t tile up to the ceiling. He asked me if I wanted him to tile all the way and I said I presumed so (remember I am brand new to home ownership at this stage and not even living in the house) and why wouldn’t I? He said that I should put coving in. Absolutely insisted it would look great. Ok I thought, sounds nice, let’s do that.
I assumed HE would do the coving. But no, he just left the bathroom unfinished. We had to spend yet another £100 getting someone else in to finish a single row of tiles. And to be honest the tiling job is pretty crap.
Moral of the story: chose your tradespeople carefully and you do not have to go with someone ‘recommended’ by one of the other people you have employed.
How to avoid it…..
I have a bucketful of stories like this and the thing is, like with most trades or professions, for every really great person out there, there are loads of naff ones. If you can get a recommendation from friends or family that’s great, but also look at CheckATrade and MyBuilder. CheckATrade have a verified review system and call you after your job completes to follow-up.
This then feeds in nicely to Renovation Mistake Number 3…..
Renovation Mistake #3: We didn’t check work well before paying the bill
Make sure the person you have instructed to do the job has done the job. This sounds obvious, but we were often so excited we didn’t check the finish properly. In fact this is one of those renovation mistakes we commit time and again. When the bedroom was replastered, it looked great but when I repainted recently, I discovered really sloppy edges under the windowsills.
Our plumber didn’t fit the bath panel.
The tiler didn’t bother tiling in the back section of the bath (he really was the worst of the worst).
Our carpenter forgot a shelf.
Check the job over carefully and you know what? Don’t be afraid to be fussy. It’s your house. You’re paying for a service. You deserve a job well done.
In the early days I was embarrassed to ask for certain things. I totally lacked confidence. I was brand new to this, I didn’t know if I was being unreasonable or not. I felt like a bit of an imposter. I mean, don’t totally take the mick or you’ll just alienate good tradespeople (the customer is not always right), but if something hasn’t been done properly or is left unfinished, then it is definitely not unreasonable to flag this up.
How to avoid it….
On that note, I think it is well worth researching what a certain tradesperson’s job actually invoices and if you want them to do something additional to the norm, agree this in advance and fix a price. For example, the boxing in issue in my bathroom. We assumed this would be done but it’s not really a plumber’s job. That said, he would have done it if we’d asked. It would have cost a bit more, but the finish is worth it. Discuss and confirm these details at the beginning of the job. It saves a lot of hassle down the line.
Renovation Mistake #4 – We didn’t plan as well as we could have
In hindsight, we should have spent more time thinking things through rather than immediately powering ahead. We were excited and wanted to get lots done, but some opportunities were missed because we went at things a bit quick. For example, I’d love a fireplace in the bedroom. Having replastered straight away though, so that’s no longer an option. If you are getting a room replastered, think about lighting and electricity points: do you need any put in? Better to do that before the fresh plaster goes on the wall!
We also put carpet down before redecorating and didn’t have time to paint in the bathroom before the suite was installed. Rookie renovation mistakes! Little things like that mean the job takes longer and often don’t look as good as the could have.
How to avoid it….
Really take time to plan. Yes, you might need to live with gross carpets for a while, but it’ll be worth it. Write down what you want from the space and get some ideas from Pinterest for how it’ll eventually look. From there, you can make a plan of what jobs you need to do. And from there you can work out the order in which to do those things. You’ll save yourself time in the long run and no doubt the end finish will be better too.
Renovation Mistake #5 – Being ‘Over-Inspired’
I’ve saved this till last and this renovation mistake is 100% on me. I began documenting our renovation both by way of this blog and also on Instagram. I was bombarded with ideas. Throw Pinterest into the mix and all of the sudden I’m wondering if I should paint my ceilings black!
There are so many mind-blowing ideas out there. People with totally left-field houses that look stunning and original and like nothing you’d imagined before.
But what I have learned is that whilst I might well admire something – absolutely love it in fact – in someone else’s house; it isn’t necessarily right for me.
How to avoid it….
Before you make a design decision, sleep on it. Once you have pinned all your inspriation to your Pinterest board, go back the next day and review it. You will delete half the pictures!
Decorate a room in the colours you love and that make you happy. You do not have to paint a room brown just because it is Dulux’s colour of the year. That said, if you are a fan of warm, truffley neutrals, check out Dulux’s colour of the year.
One thing I have learned is that you will never be at ease in a room that isn’t quite right. I recently repainted the bedroom a deep navy blue, after years of it being a creamy yellow. I hated the old colour. I can’t say why; I just did. I also painted over the fabulous Divine Savages wallpaper to the sheer horror of some of my followers, not because I don’t love the wallpaper – I really do – but because I just cannot do patterns. They stress me out.
You live in your house. Make sure you love it.
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