What a pretty house. I have no idea of West yorkshire costs but I would recommend you go for another viewing with an experienced local builder or architect in tow (someone who's done plenty of big refurbs) so they can give an indication of what can and can't be done and what it would cost. (then add about 20% as there is always extra!)

Jonathan that's a fab layout! I love the downstairs idea...however the loft conversion has to be a definite. It has been my husbands only request to have his office in the loft. He works from home :)

You're right about the staircase, I'm not sure where the best place for it would be!

I have a video of the loft..here is the link! https://youtu.be/IVC4uFZpS14

tamp75, I am pretty sure that structurally it is sound. The roof will need some minor repair work but has been maintained well. The original sash windows have all been draught proofed and double glazed and look in good condition.

It has been re-wired within the last 10 years but we will find out more after the survey.

Ideally for the kitchen we would do a small extension on the other side of the house to where it is now and make the current kitchen the utility room.

Here are some pics from inside...

Oh and tamp75 there will be some things we can do ourselves but I should think more along the cosmetic/decorative areas. Our main problem is the children and not having anyone to look after them other than ourselves so we don't get much done! :)

Thanks Asifa :)

It's honestly just non negotiable, the loft conversion has to happen! :)

I also don't really think we need another living area downstairs, I'd be very happy with kitchen/diner without the living bit as there are 2 other reception rooms..

Thanks so much Heather, that's good to know. We did some building work on our old house in Surrey (single storey rear extension), so I have some idea but was hoping that prices would be a little cheaper than Surrey! :)

I have started to think maybe we could knock through that big front living room to create a big kitchen/diner/living area which would then mean we didn't have to extend out. Hmm so much to think about!

I will definitely keep this updated. Maybe I'l start a new thread to document it all.

Exciting!

Love that attic..................I think you have a sensible budget, don't get rid of the 6 year old boiler without talking to a plumber as that'll add another 2-3k to the need pile. Just stick to absolutely necessary.......add that up and then start with would like........add that up, see where you are and if you've got money to spare then splash that out on your type of finish.

Re the loft, a builder will do, but a structural engineer would be better.

You could be in for a big plastering bill if it's lime, you start knocking that and it falls off in chunks, requiring a full re-plaster, same with ceilings. This will come in to play if you chase the heating pipes in to the walls, which will look more aesthetically pleasing.

We did a 3 storey house of about the same age, took all the walls back to bare, moved walls, added an extension and a dormer on the 3rd floor, heating and water upstairs where there was none, 2 new bathrooms, a new kitchen etc, so very similar. The cost for that was £85,000 and we did all our own labour. So, these houses eat money for breakfast. . One thing i did pay for was the plastering which was £12k ( 5 years ago ). That came out of the £85k. The re-furb took 9 months, so if you add in 9 months of labour costs, say around £45k, the total bill would have been £130,000, so you'll see that your budget will actually still be tight.

Have you got any pics of the inside? It sounds very exciting.

Wow, that is lovely! You have some gorgeous original plasterwork and features in there, looking forward to your renovation thread!

What a fantastic house, so much potential! We're in the process of fully renovating our detached house in Leeds (we've done a loft conversion, rear extension and converted our basement all with a 4 and 1 year old in tow!) but we've also got a business helping people to plan and design their home renovations. We'd love to come and take a look and for you to talk us through your design brief. We offer free consultations so just let us know if you'd like us to come over for a chat, here's a link to our site and case studies Fresh Start Living

I too think that your budget is light and, at the risk of stating the obvious, you need to prioritise the works.

I have carried out a lot of residential build, fit out and refurbishment projects over the years and my advice would be the following:-

1. Start with the essentials - heating, electrics and plumbing. You can run pipework underneath the floorboards, or cut into the walls, and there are modern systems which reduce the risk of leaking dramatically.

2. The Kitchen is your next priority and if an extension is required then budget this into your cost. Don't forget to produce, or have produced for you, a detailed specification so that you can make sure that you have included everything including appliances, light fittings, etc.

3. The Bathrooms and Toilets have to be the next priority

4. The decoration of the house would be the next essential in my opinion, however this may be something that you can do yourself. Get your surveyor to carefully check the existing plaster and if you are lucky then you will only need minor works. Builders often tend to hack the plaster when breaking through new openings for doors, etc. or chasing for cables, pipework, etc. This is because they are being lazy and work on the basis that they can slap on an extra charge to replaster the room or wall. A multicutter can be used to carry out the chasing neatly and this will remove the need for major plastering.

5. Flooring has to be your next priority and the parquet flooring may well be old but is probably of a good quality. If it is to your taste then have it sanded down and re-finished with a modern lacquer that is hard wearing. Do not save money on lacquers as it is a false economy. You could also add colour if you wished or paint finishes with a final lacquer coat.

If you are carpeting then always use an underlay. This increases the life and look of the carpet, however do not use a cheap one and I suggest a commercial 6.5mm or 10mm from a manufacturer such as Duralay manufactured by Interfloor but available from multiple outlets such as Screwfix for example ( https://www.interfloor.com ). For the carpet, if you can afford it, always use a 80/20 (80% wool/20% nylon). You can find some good deals on these carpets but AVOID the traditional method of installation, i.e. with grippers around the perimeter of the room. The modern method is to directly stick the carpet to the underlay which then just lays on top of the sub-floor. The weight of the carpet and underlay holds it in place and the upside is that you can lift it easily if you ever need to access the underfloor should you have a leak or need to install additional cabling/pipework. You can find fitters who install this way but they may be commercial installers as this is the method used for hotels, etc.

You may also find a fitter that can get you a good trade price for an 80/20 carpet with a small margin for themselves on the basis that you pay directly to the supplier. Again have a look at commercial manufacturers as you may get a better deal from them than the big carpet retailers.

6. Curtains may well also be your next priority and this can eat into your budget far more than you may think for a property of this nature.

7. The Loft conversion is not an essential at this time however it would be sensible to have the preparation works carried out to start with. By this I mean extending the staircase into the loft and installing a door, but not fitting out the area until you have the budget to do so. If there is any budget left over then you can carry out some, or all, of the works but starting with the insulation to the roof frames and then plasterboarding. Make sure that your builder uses a water resistant plasterboard, which is green, and make sure that the first fix electrics and plumbing are carried out. By this I mean that the cabling and pipework is installed but not connected.

8. Make sure that when you budget you also allow for the garden and a healthy percentage for unforseen costs. This should be at least 10%.

9. Buy as many of the materials yourself. You could arrange with your builder that he opens an account at a local builders merchant for you and you can make direct payments. You may also find that place like B&Q have cheaper prices for the same materials so make sure that you double check this as there can be substantial differences. The labour costs might be a little higher if you supply most of the materials, however you have the peace of mind knowing that the materials have been paid for.

10. Be careful with the consultants that you employ especially as your budget is tight. Consider making planning applications yourself as the council departments concerned are generally very helpful in this process, including the building inspectors. You do not have a big enough budget to have your architect manage the project for example and don't forget that for an extension the building inspectors will be making sure that correct procedures are followed.

Consider using multiple specialists, i.e. one for your kitchen, one for the bathrooms, one for the loft conversion and one for your extension. When you factor in VAT on you budget you only have 100k to play with and there is a lot of work that you need to do.

You may find that your designers/architects can get deeper discounts for materials than you can and this can help offset their fees but make sure that you check all supply options.

11. Prepare detailed specifications, or have them prepared for you, to ensure that the buildings, electricians, plumbers, etc., cannot hit you with costs that they had "forgotten" to allow for. The problem these days is that they will give you a single price, which might be broken down a few times, but certainly nothing like you will find in the commercial world where every item is costed.

This specification should then be tied to a contract (consider JCT minor works which you can find online) . This specification, tied to the contract, will save you a world of pain as it dramatically reduces the additional charges. Do not pay your builder/tradesmen cash and if you have to then make sure that you get a detailed receipt or invoice.

12. Go onto ebay, or similar, to have a look for materials. Sometimes you will find that a commercial project has an excess of materials that are no longer needed and these can be bought for a fraction of their original price. I recently bought a load of marble and travertine from a hotel project which was then used for the bathrooms of a property I recently renovated and it cost me less than 15% of the original trade cost!

13. Make sure that you use quality materials and equipment/fittings. This is obvious but the temptation can be hard to resist and if this is your "life" property, then you do not want to have to redo works in the future.

14. Make sure that you programme your works carefully. Electricians and plumbers are notorious for paying no attention at all to finishes and often cause damage. You should make sure that their first fixes are installed at as early a stage as possible. Also make sure that you tell them, or put it in their contract, that any damage that they cause, including to equipment and other installations, is to be paid for by them

15. Negotiate the prices you receive wherever possible. You may not get a reduction in price but they may well throw in a freebie or two.

16. Keep all receipts and all designs/specification as well as warranties and building inspector reports/planning approvals as you may well need this when you come to sell the property in the future.

You have a lovely house there and I wish you the best of luck and hope that no unforeseen problems arise!

Just for costing ideas... we are in the N West and got the cheapest builder (no vat) and didn't have anything too expensive but in our small 30's semi bungalow, it cost us £20k just to re-roof the loft room (which is pre-existing and not an actual conversion!) and put an en-suite in and 2 velux windows. Also overboard all the old plaster walls and insulate. My parents did a big loft conversion on their bungalow (2 bedrooms, one small bathroom and hallway walk-in-wardrobes) and that cost just under £40k but that was cheap and they didn't pay VAT. I got a quote on a similar size house and loft conversion was £60k but it was a large one so it really depends on the size of your loft.

I would get a loft conversion expert in (rather than just a general builder) for a proper price on just the loft if that is a must. You might get it done cheaper then but at least you will have a true idea.

So far we have spent another £70k on just a single extension with new kitchen (£15k kitchen all in) and all the basic electrics, new plumbing in the house, plastering and new floor joists ) and we haven't even finished yet. Money does not go a long way and we have done quite a bit of the labour and decorating to save money as well. Scary. LOL.

Your house looks amazing and I agree with others that if you plan on staying there a long time, then get the most important things done first.

Older post...

lol... it was on the side of the site so I assumed that it was live... you live and learn! :-)

Well at least you kept your post short and sweet... :-)

Thats a big enough challenge, If you need any assistance with lighting you can always give us a email and i will work with you to assist you with the best prices :) Hope all goes well!

Tony

@ Sam Potter - You are most welcome and thank you!

And Tony’s jumping on the bandwagon...

:-)