I bought this place relatively cheaply because the house, built in 1972-3 and lived in by the same couple til he died and she went into a nursing home age 90 odd, hadn't been updated or redecorated since the build. The carpets were damp and doggy, there were scratches on the internal doors, no heating, ageing kitchen, lemon yellow bathroom with a huge green water mark from the tap to plug, and 10 acres of march fenced but otherwise undivided and undeveloped land. Oh and the original static caravan they'd lived in during construction, in a rather dire state but with electric and water connections and drainage into the same septic tank as the house..
I've been here 9 years or thereabouts and now have oil heating but kept the open fire and back boiler to heat water so couldn't connect water to oil and the backup/summer supply is an old immersion heater I never use because of the cost.. I changed the bathroom to a quite nice one and separate shower, so that room is quite nice. All carpets were out first thing, all wallpapers from the 70s (!!) were redone in magnolia and new carpets put in, and sad to say the kitchen has never got to the top of the list, the doors are now cat scratched too, and the carpets have about had it again
The building isn't a work of architectural brilliance but has plenty space and I installed the thickest loft insulation and a jacket on the immersion amongst other bits and bobs. Outdoors there are now 4 paddocks, all kept sprayed, elec fence replacing barb on the 2 small paddock perimeters, new gates throughout, the dutch barn is where the caravan was (now scrapped tho that's a long story
) and the extension into the middle paddock was built but the roof since collapsed in snow
There was a small orchard which has been tidied up and now produces prolifically, plus it has 4 new veg beds and a couple more trees/bushes about and some lovely compost heaps about the place
2 new water troughs, and various other things outdoors but basically it will never be completed as I intended things like french doors out of the dining room, a conservatory from the living room and new kitchen, loft and/or side extension.. which I will never have money to do now
I want to move and let others continue the development as they see fit, but realistically will be moving to another project in order to afford somewhere with land as ever
Or stuck here meantime and just getting on with what I have and leaving what I don't have
I think if you want to complete a development project you have to do it before you move in - after that there are always other priorities
But it's great fun making plans and getting things changed for the better - the white bath even now is a pleasure to see when I can see the old yellow stained one in the paddock acting as spare water trough
Topic: Anyone else renovating a house too? (Read 7465 times)
