Total redecoration - advice on where we should start

[nectarine]

I'd appreciate any advice on where we should start with working on our new house.  It is all decorated and visually in a nice condition, but needs new electrics and fusebox.  The  kitchen has been badly installed and needs to come out to expose hidden plugs and also be reinstalled with more plug points.  Alongside this is our wish to add rooms to a loft and run electrics and plumbing upstairs. It's a big house so there's a lot of walls and rooms.

To some of you who have taken on huge renovatoin projects it sounds a simple job but, to us, it's actually quite overwhelming to think about it, living in chaos for a while.  Do we start with the loft conversion, but that will mean new electric wiring and, if the wiring's being done then the kitchen will have to come out.  We'd planned to employ local tradesmen to do the work and they have given differing advice on where to start and who does what bit.  We would only do clearing up and a bit of painting and leave all the specialist and heavy stuff to the professionals.  Do you do plumbing works first, or electrics?

Can anyone give me tips and advice on where to start this project, who to employ (dept 47) and how to stay sane throughout this process?  All advice gratefully appreciated.

 

[tenniswitch]

1. Where to start:  wiring- the electricians won't need plumbing, but the plumbers will need electricity to the loft.

2. Since the downstairs rewiring and kitchen redo will both totally disrupt your life, try to schedule them as nearly simultaneously as possible.

3. To save your sanity: if at all possible, move to a nearby house, apartment or appendage while the rewiring and kitchen are being done.  Pack up as much of your stuff as possible and dust-sheet the rest.  All the drilling into the walls, etc., for the wiring is going to make a horrible mess, and you don't want to spend  your days and nights inhaling the dust.

 

[Anton Redman]

The French use essentially a star system of wiring where either each room or a small group of rooms go back to the distribution board. Plumbing normally follows a similar pattern with hot and cold manifolds and a feed to each bathroom from the main inlet. Waste mainly the big 100mm pipes tend to be the hardest thing to work round so plan the runs for that first.

 

Broadly I would do the loft first. All the rubbish from the loft will either need transporting through the house or chucking out the windows. If you have a good sized bedroom and en suite upstairs you can shut the door on the chaos and at least have some sort of holiday in the house. I hesitate to recommend washing up in the bathroom but it can be done.

 

I would also try and finish rooms. Houses with half a dozen rooms with jobs in various stages are very depressing to come back to.

[Geordie girl]

Can`t even say been there done that...........we are still halfway through. I would recommend a bedroom with ensuite to hide in while the rest of the house is coming down around you though ..........or a caravan would be better as the dust gets everywhere. There will be times when you want to run away but you`ve still got to come back to the mess sometime or other [:-))]

 

Good luck you`ll need it [:D]

[Pads]

My pennys worth of advice is to start at the top and work down, it helps a great deal with the mess, plus plastic sheets on the doors and keep the windows open helps to keep the mess to one room at a time. if you have old carpets on the floor that your chucking leave them down till you have finished then roll all the mess up in one go at the end.

Good luck and remenber to keep taking photos so at the end you can look back and feel good about what you have achieved [:)] and post them on geordies girls before and after thread [;-)]

[nectarine]

many thanks for helpful advice and encouragement.  Yes, it makes sense to start at the top and work down and your good advice about having a 'safe-room' to retreat to is invaluable!!  Re. taking photos, what a good idea ..... yes, it will keep us going through the dust and chaos and we shall be able to look back at what we have achieved, so thanks for that suggestion.

Cheers, all.  And happy new year to you all!!