indicative cost of renovation - DIY vs builder

[johnhenstock83]

hi all,

 

I just need a little bit of advice on a home renovation. 3 bed terrace, pretty typical house. bathroom is new, so we're only talking hallway (downstairs/upstairs) and the 3 bedrooms.

 

what I need is a renovation to bring the house to a nice standard. it's very energy efficient, there are no leaks or structural issues and it's in pretty good shape, but the walls (hardwall/plaster), the windows, the ceiling and the floor haven't had an update in decades.

 

my plan is to remove the current plaster back to brick, replaster, replace ceiling (plasterboard), rewire in the process, replace a few floor boards if needed and install triple glazing. I'm not interested in finishes (skirting, painting, flooring). what would I be looking at cost wise if I don't want to have anything to do with the works?

 

also, would it make a difference if I did some of the work myself? I can remove everything from the rooms (plaster, carpet, skirting boards), but not keen on doing so if the price is more or less the same.

 

just looking for an indication, I'm in the south east.

 

thanks,

John

[joe90]

Why would you want to remove the plaster, if the surface is rough this can be skimmed to give a nice finish, likewise the ceilings if they are not cracked and even if they are you can overboard and skim and save lots of mess. Re wire to bring up to standard is a good idea and will need floorboards etc moving. Yes doing stuff yourself will save you money but things like plastering and electrics are best left to professionals.

[johnhenstock83]

morning, good questions.

 

the reason I want to remove the plaster is because it's quite old and whilst it's still relatively ok (there are some hair cracks here and there), it doesn't look good. it's not at risk at falling down, but it's definitely not straight/level, it's almost as if it was done by a blind chap. second, it's extremely thick! now I know I won't be winning any significant space by replastering, but I won't lose another few mm by skimming on top. however, the main reason remains that it's decades old, at some point it will start blowing/cracking. besides, I don't like cheap jobs, so if I am to replace the ceiling/windows anyway, I might just as well do it properly, this is my home. modern finish, everything fresh/brand new, all done in one go, that's my thinking. the ceiling has got some of those typical plasterboard cracks (straight lines, worse in winter, barely visible in summer), so once again, that tells me the previous owner didn't do a proper job, after all the house was up for sale, so it was a quick job to make it look nice.

 

as for the DIY element, I wasn't planning on doing the job myself, I don't do electrics / plastering / ceilings etc.

 

I was simply looking to understand if it's realistic to expect a significant price reduction by me removing the plaster, flooring, skirting etc.

 

Say for example this job is priced at £20k with me not touching anything, could I save £2-3k by doing all the prep work, saving the builder a few days of manual labour? if the consensus is likely not, there's no point me getting my hands dirty :).

 

thanks

[Mike]

11 hours ago, johnhenstock83 said:

could I save £2-3k by doing all the prep work, saving the builder a few days of manual labour?

It's certainly possible, but demolition isn't much of a laugh to do and it will probably take you double the time.

 

11 hours ago, johnhenstock83 said:

I might just as well do it properly, this is my home. modern finish, everything fresh/brand new, all done in one go, that's my thinking.

If more people thought that way, life (and buildings) would be much better :)

 

[johnhenstock83]

perfect, thanks. so now that we clarified that, can someone help me with a price indication for the works I mentioned?