We are getting the builders in!

We recently had the builders round to give us a quotation for doing some work on our house. I am extremely excited about this as our house is starting to look very tired and dated.

We have lived here since 1999 and apart from a bit of decorating nothing much has really been done to it. We have a half finished bathroom and kitchen, plus most of the contents of our attic is shared between the three bedrooms as we have rats in the attic that we just cannot get rid of! Its now all getting too much for me and making me feel down. I even hate having anyone come round to visit as everything just seems grubby, even when its clean!

So why haven’t we just got it done before now?

Well, by July 2000 I was pregnant with twins and since then our money has always disappeared on something more important than the house. If it wasn’t something for the kids like shoes, clothes, school trips etc. It was the gearbox needing replacing on the car, or the combi boiler packing in and costing us all the money we had just put aside to do our garden (which is basically the side of a steep mountain and is now covered in a forest of Japanese Knotweed!)

But this time it really is happening! Come hell or high water this house will look pretty and every room will be finished all at the same time!

Before we can get an estimate of the full costs, the window man had to come and measure up, he came today! He kept asking me things like what type of windows we wanted, what pattern of glass in the bathroom, what front door we’d like. I think I was so sure it wasn’t going to happen I haven’t even thought about it, I didn’t have a clue what to say other than ‘Cheap but pretty?’ What a very girly thing to do, and I’m the least girly person in the world!

But he gave us a few options and we are going to have all white frames on the back of the house and light oak on the outside at the front, with white inside as that is cheaper than having full wood. Lee really wanted the wood colour. I will finally be getting a front door that doesn’t have cracks from the kids slamming it, plus I’ll have a knocker that I can hang a wreath on at Christmas! It’s the little things… 🙂

The biggest deal though, is that we won’t feel like we are sitting in a wind tunnel. Through the winter it can be so miserable just from the draughts that are getting in, I’m sure it will save us a fortune on heating costs too.

But it’s not only the windows and doors that are getting done! We are also getting a new roof, so we don’t have to keep putting my mixing bowls up in the attic when it rains. We are also getting stairs put in off the landing to go up into the attic which will completely done out and made into a room for the kids. It won’t be classed as a bedroom, but the flooring will be sturdy enough for daily use and there will be Velux windows too.

we also have a smaller attic, that is only about 4 feet high above the extension that will be done up as a storage space. Yay! I finally get my upstairs back!

We are hoping we will also have enough money left to clear the Japanese Knotweed from the garden and terrace it. We don’t need them to actually do the garden, but they can get the mini digger to level some of it off and pull all the knotweed into one place so we can burn it. Seriously this stuff is so thick you can barely cut it and it stands over 7 feet tall! You can’t use a strimmer on it as any tiny bits that fly off will just make new plants, within weeks. I think this is how the garden got into such a state in the first place!

The view from my living room window, there are steps there somewhere!

I will keep you all up to date on the work when it gets started, please keep your fingers crossed it will be quick! I’ll take lots of before and after photo’s too! I’m hoping once the house is looking better, I will feel more positive and we can get cracking again on the kitchen and bathroom.

Is there anything you would love to have done on your house? Or maybe you have just had work done? I’d love to hear from you.