Bungalow refurbishment

[theboytheboy]

We have just aquired a small bungalow is terrible condition.

It will need a full refurbishment.

Short term plan is a friend will live there while we work around him. He will move in with my parents a 100m away whilst anything very disruptive is being done.

Medium term we have the option of a holiday let or friend stays or a sibling moves in.

Long term its ideal as a retirement property for.my parents if/when the farm houseuse becomes to much.

With the above in mind what would people to future proof the property?

What do you wish you had done with the benefit of hindsight when refurbishing a property?

Obviously max out insulation where possible.

Any garden work to be done with a view to being low maintenance.

Any other advice on low maintenance materials to use eg not solid wood worktop?

Heating is currently oil......its only a very small place, is it worth looking at alternatives, addition of insulation and a log burner should make a good difference.

All advice welcome even if it's obvious

 

[nick...]

If the place is really bad knock it down and start again.otherwise roof off,re felt and insulate.insulate all the walls with insulation on outside and render or on inside which will make rooms smaller.pull up floors and relay with insulation preferably under a floating floor.complete re plumbing including treatment plant and all plastic foul and rainwater pipes to replace salt glazed pipes.and complete retwire and new heating system and put in a wood burner before the nazi’s ban them too.and obviously new double or triple glazed windows and doors aswell.and new gutters.hope you have deep pockets and good luck.
nick...

 

[Kidds]

Trying to do a full refurb while it is occupied is just a mistake. Doesn't work for you, your parents, the trades and very much not for the occupant. If you want to house this friend then get a static or something.
My advice would be to get a firm in that can do all of the required work and one that is big enough to have men on site rather than one guy taking forever. My brother has just renovated mine over the last year while we lived in a static, I have no complaints about that timeframe for myself but it is a long drawn out affair. It has kept him safe and employed during covid so worked out well in that respect.
Nothing wrong with oil, I just fitted it in mine. Insulated slab and wet underfloor is probably best but didn't dig up my floor to do it. Next door did and they are very happy.
Insulate all outside walls and roofspace, you can't insulate too much unless it seriously encroaches on inside space. All mine was done with studded walls and celotex.

Knock it down and start again must be given serious consideration, costs a lot but you wanted futureproof.

Before you even start you should be looking around to see lead times on any materials. It is not easy out there, you can't just ring up and expect delivery within the week. From the very beginning I set out to have materials on hand, shortages change throughout. One day it is celotex you can't get, next week it is plasterboard, then plaster etc etc. I even had plaster going out of date when the rest of the country couldn't get any for love nor money. I couldn't get plasterers! My windows and doors took over 6 months from date of ordering to arrival, prior to covid you would expect 6 days.

As for worktops etc, if you are not living in it yourself just get the basic without going too cheap.

 

[B R C]

As Nick says great opportunity to rip it apart. We have a bungalow at the front of farm, was a typical horrible 60’s square box with nasty concrete tiles etc extended it from 3 to 4 bed with 1 en suite shower room, extension was was hip to back in one side plus side extension and another hip to rear, new walls in nice brickwork, remaining original brickwork rendered and painted, tiles changed to slate. Looks great and and nice fit out inside = easy comfortable living. Lived there for two years. Unfortunately father passed away and moved to 300 year old farmhouse, sometimes I wish I was in the bungalow as it was so easy and comfortable to live in!. Cost a bit but worth every penny especially as now let out and the uplift in rental value easily paying back work done.
Before, 1971, and after.

 

[B R C]

Oh if it’s going to be a holiday let talk to agents to to see what the requirements are for spec and quality, cheap is not always good, people generally expect quality when they go oh holiday!

 

[DrWazzock]

I renovated the bungalow I lived in before moving to the farm. It was a square box 1960’s affair and also semi detached. I created a new bedroom and office in the previously unused roof space, maxing out on insulation in the process. I kept the concrete roof tiles as they fit well and seem to last forever and also fitted a velux window. I fitted a wood burning stove which provides the bulk of the heating and renewed the electric storage heaters for background heat.
By the time I’d finished it was an extremely cosy practical economical place to live in and in some ways I wish I still lived there, though not sure my my kneecaps will ever recover from boarding out the roof space. Took me 5 years on and off doing everything myself back in days when you didn’t need a certificate for everything.
I’d probably get a firm to do it again to meet regulations but it wouldn’t be cheap.

 

[Timbo]

We have just aquired a small bungalow is terrible condition.

It will need a full refurbishment.

Short term plan is a friend will live there while we work around him. He will move in with my parents a 100m away whilst anything very disruptive is being done.

You are f**king nuts to attempt this

 

[DrWazzock]

Funny how perceptions change. Back in the ‘70’s I always envied schoolmates who lived in new build estates in town with no damp, convenient layout and modern facilities. It was cutting edge back then and you’d really made it and so done fondness for that style still lingers on in me. They were a true original design - modern. Everything since has been a copy of what is considered twee.

 

[Kidds]

Knocking it down and starting again means it will be VAT free as a new build IIRC.
20% discount on materials and labour!!

 

[br jones]

Knocking it down and starting again means it will be VAT free as a new build IIRC.
20% discount on materials and labour!!

And 6 months in planning ,plus having to conform to all the new regs

 

[GeorgeK]

It's always said but worth repeating, work out an accurate budget then double it. Spend time thinking and planning, lots of costs on building sites stem from changes halfway through and things being done in the wrong order or not coordinated properly. Do it right first time it's a lot quicker and cheaper than making more changes a few years later.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Knocking it down and starting again means it will be VAT free as a new build IIRC.
20% discount on materials and labour!!

I bought a run down bungalow on the edge of farm 7 years ago.
Accountant advised that if it was bought in the name of the farm buisness I could spend up to 37.5k per tax year on doing it up and claim the vat back
Over 37.5k and vat payable on the lot.

As regards knocking down, it was built in the 50’s and is built like a brick outhouse compared to modern builds, we knocked the kitchen and dining room into one which also involved the removal of a chimney, a morning with the sledge Hamer at most we thought, poor builders apprentice had hard graft for a week with a Kango hammer it was that bloody tough.

 

[theboytheboy]

It's

If the place is really bad knock it down and start again.otherwise roof off,re felt and insulate.insulate all the walls with insulation on outside and render or on inside which will make rooms smaller.pull up floors and relay with insulation preferably under a floating floor.complete re plumbing including treatment plant and all plastic foul and rainwater pipes to replace salt glazed pipes.and complete retwire and new heating system and put in a wood burner before the nazi’s ban them too.and obviously new double or triple glazed windows and doors aswell.and new gutters.hope you have deep pockets and good luck.
nick...

Budget is not there to knock down and rebuild.

Have the rest you suggested on the list bar seage plant and that's not that old

 

[theboytheboy]

Oh if it’s going to be a holiday let talk to agents to to see what the requirements are for spec and quality, cheap is not always good, people generally expect quality when they go oh holiday!

My thoughts are trying to make it durable/hard wearing if it's going to be let out. Which probably means expensive

 

[theboytheboy]

You are f**king nuts to attempt this

He will be working in it and if we decide it's not working he can walk 50m up the road back to my parents.

 

[Salopian_Will]

I wouldn't go with oil but put in an Air Source Heat Pump. I have installed three in a previous life and providing someone who knows what they are doing puts it in, they are effective. Oil feels like yesterday's solution and if you want to let it out it will not help with minimum energy requirements which are going to get more robust in the near future.

 

[Timbo]

I wouldn't go with oil but put in an Air Source Heat Pump. I have installed three in a previous life and providing someone who knows what they are doing puts it in, they are effective. Oil feels like yesterday's solution and if you want to let it out it will not help with minimum energy requirements which are going to get more robust in the near future.

If he can get sufficient insulation and ideally dig floors for ufh he'd be well away with a heat pump.

 

[Salopian_Will]

If he can get sufficient insulation and ideally dig floors for ufh he'd be well away with a heat pump.

Agreed, although I have installed them in standard ex farm workers cottages (Victorian to 1940s) with conventional wet radiator systems and roof insulation only, and had no issues. It is just the space required inside for a buffer tank that can be problematic.

 

[GeorgeK]

My thoughts are trying to make it durable/hard wearing if it's going to be let out. Which probably means expensive

I can recommend Karndean or similar vinyl flooring tiles if you want cheap and durable. Don't let nightmares of nasty old-style vinyl bathroom floors put you off, the new stuff looks great with realistic textures and comes in every finish imaginable from oak to slate, warm under foot, impervious to water/stains and easy to fit. Do all the floors with vinyl tiles and for rooms that need carpet chuck a rug in the middle and if it gets manky it can be chucked away and replaced.
My bungalow had damp in the walls from breached cavities and a poor/failed failed DPC. If you don't mind the work a french drain along the external walls doesn't cost much and cured the damp for me, tanking the inside walls or chemical DPCs are sticking plasters rather than a cure for damp.
Final tip, seeing as you should probably replace the loft insulation anyway may as well clear it all out at the start and leave plumbers and electricians a clean space to work in, it'll be quicker for them and they'll do a better job if they're not rolling around in old fiberglass and mouse droppings.

 

[Timbo]

Agreed, although I have installed them in standard ex farm workers cottages (Victorian to 1940s) with conventional wet radiator systems and roof insulation only, and had no issues. It is just the space required inside for a buffer tank that can be problematic.

Itll work for sure, itll work in a barn, but without sufficient insulation itll cost more to run than oil. Electricity prices are going up, up & up. Oil isnt.