renovating a house, so expensive

macafee2 · 10th May 2016, 07:28

my daughter bought a house end of last year. She has decided to have the central heating boiler replaced and relocated. The house also needs a rewire. Due to the type of floor coverings upstairs the ceilings downstairs have been pulled down. Daughters boyfriend and I have down the pulling down of ceilings and the channelling of the walls for the rewire but I am shocked by how much the quotes are for.

rewire, £3k, replace boiler 2 quotes of just over 3k, one just over 2k and one just under 3k. The boiler quotes include fitting a mixer shower.

This is money she just does not have and I know that when starting out it is hard and as I sit here typing this post feel I could step in and lend her the money to cover the renovation.

She hopes later in the year to rent the property out, this is a change as the house was not bought with the intention of renting. New boyfriend seems very keen on her. If property is rented out then in time all the money will be recouped I'm so out of touch with how much things seem to cost when you pay other people to do the work.

well worth having a mate that's a sparks or plumber that will do things for beer money.

If she was not renting and I had more time a lot of the rewire and plumbing I could do. as certificates are required and sparks wont certificate work done by me she ha to pay them to do it. I can see her spending 10k doing it up. Peanuts to what I have spent on this house but it still feels an awful lot for the work being done.

macafee2

ratchet · 10th May 2016, 09:18

There may be grants available for the boiler and renovation work. Your local council might pay for the renovations to be done if she agrees to rent it to them for a set time............. but she would have no say on who the tenants are

Policies obviously vary between councils, but it must be worth the price of a phone call to find out.

DragonFly · 10th May 2016, 09:27

Probably the same for plumbers...

See if you can find an electrician that will allow you to do "1st fix", this is where the majority of the labour (and therefore the bill) comes in.

By completing the 1st fix yourself, you're not making any connections (and therefore not breaking any 'part P' regs), you may have to pay them a fee to come out and guide you or to inspect your work, but that'll be a lot cheaper than having an electrician & a mate, coming in to do it all.

A mate of mine did this and knocked about £1,800 off the bill!

macafee2 · 10th May 2016, 11:45

the sparks have all said no to me running cables. the channeling wwe have done will save quite a bit.
i think my daughter has asked about grants but she is in full time work and earning "to much".
I will suggest again if there is any help if she were to rent it to council. thanks for the tip

macafee2

MSS · 10th May 2016, 17:18

If you (yours) are going to let the property out, my advice would be not to take any chances and get all the cabling etc. done by a properly qualified firm who will provide safety certificates when the work is completed. Also include wired smoke/CO2 alarms.

We renovated my later father's house 2 years ago in preparation for letting it out. For a 3-bed 1930s property, it cost £4.5k for a boiler replacement/relocation with full system powerflush etc. and the rewiring just over £5k. The work was done by British Gas and Southern Electric respectively. Not cheap but you really do get peace of mind with quality work and meaningful warranties.

macafee2 · 10th May 2016, 17:28

mss, she is having qualified people do the work. I have had a qulified plumber work in my house. Had to have him back for a poor job. As you say, not taking any chances when it comes to renting out.

The quotes do as you suggest include interconnected smoke alarms and co2 alarm.

it's still a lot of money for her. some of the bopiler people wont provide a breakdown of costs and as they are so expensive and with theior replies they wont be getting the work.

macafee2

10th May 2016, 07:28	#1
macafee2 This is my second home Rover 75 Saloon & Tourer Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 15,009 Thanks: 1,630 Thanked 3,032 Times in 2,181 Posts	renovating a house, so expensive my daughter bought a house end of last year. She has decided to have the central heating boiler replaced and relocated. The house also needs a rewire. Due to the type of floor coverings upstairs the ceilings downstairs have been pulled down. Daughters boyfriend and I have down the pulling down of ceilings and the channelling of the walls for the rewire but I am shocked by how much the quotes are for. rewire, £3k, replace boiler 2 quotes of just over 3k, one just over 2k and one just under 3k. The boiler quotes include fitting a mixer shower. This is money she just does not have and I know that when starting out it is hard and as I sit here typing this post feel I could step in and lend her the money to cover the renovation. She hopes later in the year to rent the property out, this is a change as the house was not bought with the intention of renting. New boyfriend seems very keen on her. If property is rented out then in time all the money will be recouped I'm so out of touch with how much things seem to cost when you pay other people to do the work. well worth having a mate that's a sparks or plumber that will do things for beer money. If she was not renting and I had more time a lot of the rewire and plumbing I could do. as certificates are required and sparks wont certificate work done by me she ha to pay them to do it. I can see her spending 10k doing it up. Peanuts to what I have spent on this house but it still feels an awful lot for the work being done. macafee2

10th May 2016, 17:18	#5
MSS This is my second home Rover 75CDT, Jaguar XF-S 3.0V6, Astra Techline Estate and Corsa 1.2 SXI Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7,141 Thanks: 283 Thanked 624 Times in 440 Posts	If you (yours) are going to let the property out, my advice would be not to take any chances and get all the cabling etc. done by a properly qualified firm who will provide safety certificates when the work is completed. Also include wired smoke/CO2 alarms. We renovated my later father's house 2 years ago in preparation for letting it out. For a 3-bed 1930s property, it cost £4.5k for a boiler replacement/relocation with full system powerflush etc. and the rewiring just over £5k. The work was done by British Gas and Southern Electric respectively. Not cheap but you really do get peace of mind with quality work and meaningful warranties. Last edited by MSS; 10th May 2016 at 17:22..

10th May 2016, 09:18	#2
ratchet Posted a thing or two ZT-T + CTDI Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Gone walkabout Posts: 1,185 Thanks: 179 Thanked 361 Times in 289 Posts	There may be grants available for the boiler and renovation work. Your local council might pay for the renovations to be done if she agrees to rent it to them for a set time............. but she would have no say on who the tenants are Policies obviously vary between councils, but it must be worth the price of a phone call to find out.

10th May 2016, 09:27	#3
DragonFly Loves to post Non 75 Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Bristol Posts: 471 Thanks: 56 Thanked 189 Times in 93 Posts	Probably the same for plumbers... See if you can find an electrician that will allow you to do "1st fix", this is where the majority of the labour (and therefore the bill) comes in. By completing the 1st fix yourself, you're not making any connections (and therefore not breaking any 'part P' regs), you may have to pay them a fee to come out and guide you or to inspect your work, but that'll be a lot cheaper than having an electrician & a mate, coming in to do it all. A mate of mine did this and knocked about £1,800 off the bill!

10th May 2016, 11:45	#4
macafee2 This is my second home Rover 75 Saloon & Tourer Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 15,009 Thanks: 1,630 Thanked 3,032 Times in 2,181 Posts	the sparks have all said no to me running cables. the channeling wwe have done will save quite a bit. i think my daughter has asked about grants but she is in full time work and earning "to much". I will suggest again if there is any help if she were to rent it to council. thanks for the tip macafee2

10th May 2016, 17:28	#6
macafee2 This is my second home Rover 75 Saloon & Tourer Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 15,009 Thanks: 1,630 Thanked 3,032 Times in 2,181 Posts	mss, she is having qualified people do the work. I have had a qulified plumber work in my house. Had to have him back for a poor job. As you say, not taking any chances when it comes to renting out. The quotes do as you suggest include interconnected smoke alarms and co2 alarm. it's still a lot of money for her. some of the bopiler people wont provide a breakdown of costs and as they are so expensive and with theior replies they wont be getting the work. macafee2