We are motoring ahead with the property renovation – and are just about on schedule – despite me changing my mind about what we should do on Day 1 of the project (this always happens, I don’t know why I bother having a plan!)
When I first took this project on (which had an original timeline of 15 days) the plan was to leave much of the wallpaper in situ and paint it. However, the more I looked at the property and the offending wallpaper, the more I decided the wallpaper had to come off…
I knew when I started taking the wallpaper off I was taking a risk, as you never know what horrors lurk behind the wallpaper – and if you will end up having to re-skim the walls (in the worst case – maybe even hack off all the plaster, go back to brick and then board and skim). If that were to happen it would add perhaps a couple of grand to the budget and probably a 2 week delay…so I knew I was taking a chance.
I am so pleased to report the wallpaper has come off really well and the walls are fine underneath. No crumbling chunks of plaster and no signs of any hidden horrors!
I have now taken a deep sigh of relief and got on with filling and sanding the walls in preparation for painting.
Admittedly the preparation of the walls has added to the timing of the schedule – however, this kind of balances out time wise as if I had left the wallpaper in situ it probably would have required additional coats of paint and some repairs – so I think we’re OK for time. Anyhow, this way we will get a cleaner, more modern finish and I am pleased with that.
Sadly, I am still not doing well with the flooring budget.
Previously, I had visited a large carpet retailer for the flooring who had quoted me £2.2k. In a bid to beat this quote, I decided to contact one of those “home visit” companies who claim to have cheaper prices as they don’t have stores. Not the case. The quote has come in £150 dearer – and I don’t even like their flooring designs as much.
So – while I may have saved on the walls, looks like my floors are going to be over-budget – unless I start to radically re-think how I am going to do this..
Here’s a wrap up of day 3 of the property renovation:
Until next time…