It’s well over 6 months since we last shared a project status update, so checking in on our goals and house to-do list is well overdue.
Half a year seems like a long time, but in terms of home improvements it seems to flash by quicker than you can say “where’s my hammer”. With less obvious big jobs around the house to complete, it feels a bit like we’re slowing down and aren’t achieving as much, but in reality there’s still a lot to do.
Sanding hundreds of metres of skirting board, painting the cellar floor and digging up tonnes of soil for the driveway may not seem like the most exciting projects ever, but they are all a necessary and an important part of actually getting this house completely done.
But enough of me babbling on, here’s the update on roughly how far along we are in our home improvement efforts.
Front Garden – 25% Complete (was 25%)
- Level out grass area
Rebuild gate posts
- Replace garden path & add steps into house
- Come up with a general plan & add more planting
- Install lawn edging
Tidy & mulch bed along wall
Porch – 10% Complete (was 10%)
Strip, sand & paint window framesRepair & clean stained glassPaint front doorPaint doorstep- Install sealing strip around door
- Ultimately replace porch (if we wait much longer it may actually just fall off the front of the house! Seriously.)
Hallway – 45% Complete (was 40%)
Remove laminate flooring, sand & varnish original floorboards- Source more furniture
- Possibly replace lighting
- Paint everything
Strip, sand & paint skirting boardsStrip, sand & paint dado rails- Remove Artex and skim walls
Living Room – 90% Complete (was 75%)
- Repaint woodwork – for the most part it’s still looking great, but in some areas it’s a bit scuffed and (psst, don’t tell anyone) in some areas we never quite completely finished the painting
- Repaint room – it doesn’t necessarily need it, but we feel like it’s about time for a freshen up
Source armchairs & new sofa
Possibly replace couch- Add
cushions, art & more personal touches
Kitchen & Dining Room – 35% Complete (was 20%)
Knock through wall between kitchen & dining roomInstall wood burning stoveUpdate shelvesSand floorsSort heatingSort electricsPaint everything (although everything is painted, ultimately we’ll have all walls skimmed, so it will need doing again then)Strip wallpaper- Skim walls
Replace patio door- Sand floor under shelves
- Plaster everywhere
Buy bar stools- Add art & personal touches
Insulate under floor
Staircase – 98% Complete (was 98%)
Strip and sand staircasePaint and varnish staircaseInstall runner- Possible repairs after installation of new staircase up to loft
Upstairs Hallway – 35% Completed (was 28%)
Remove flooring and sand & varnish floorboardsSort noisy heating pipesStrip, sand and paint skirting- Skim walls
- Repaint everywhere after plastering
- Replace window on landing
Master Bedroom – 90% Complete (was 80%)
- Fill crack in ceiling
Paint everythingFind mirror for over fireplace- Add art & personal touches
- Add rug
Paint door – we decided to strip and wax the doors instead of painting themStrip, sand & paint door framePaint picture railReplace windowsAdd architrave and windowsillSkim wall around window
Guest Bedroom – 100% Complete (was 90%)
Strip & skim wallsStrip ceiling(now that we’ve painted the ceiling we actually love the wallpaper, so it’s staying!)Strip, sand & paint skirtingStrip and sand door framePaint Door– we decided to strip and wax the doors instead of painting themFind artwork & add personal touchesAdd lampshadeInstall fireplaceSort electricsReplace radiatorReplace windowFind bedside tablesPaint everythingInstall picture railInstall & paint architrave around windowRemove laminate flooring and strip & varnish floorboards
Bedroom 4 – 80% Complete (was 80%)
Strip wallpaperSort electricsInstall flooringMove and replace radiatorSkim roomReplace windowStrip or replace skirtingRepair floorReplace ceilingMove boiler- Box in steel over window, skim and paint
- Add architrave
- Add rug, pictures, shelves, stuff in general
Office – 95% Complete (was 85%)
- Fill cracks in wall
- Find desk lamp
- Buy desk chair
Improve organisation and storage(we added a corkboard wall which is great)
Bathroom – 0% Complete (was 0%)
Renew silicone around bath (as temporary quick fix)Have door dipped to match other upstairs doors and restore- Replace radiator with towel radiator
- Replace window
- Replace everything!
- Retile everywhere!
Loft – 0% Complete (was 0%)
- Complete planning
- Choose everything
Remove back chimneySort calculations with structural engineer
Cellar – 88% Complete (was 60%)
- Add more lighting
- Finish ceiling
- Tidy cables
- Add (even more) storage
- Paint windows
Replace stopcockInstall new water mains connectionRemove old floorAdd new floorDamp proof wallsPaint stairsAdd radiatorRemove more wallsInsulate CeilingPaint floorAdd storage
Back Garden – 40% Completed (was 22%)
- Work out general plan & implement garden design
- Start to sort out garden
- Have new raised bed rendered
- Plant more plants
- Build decked area
Rebuild garden wallAdd fence- Replace garden gate
- Replace driveway – we’ve started on the prep work and have already cleared two big skips of tarmac and rubble
Replace tarmac with grass(halfway there)Build logstore
Garage – 90% Complete (was 80%)
Strip & paint garage door(we completely replaced the door)Paint all timber including the windowReplace garage roof possibly install roof lightReplace missing fascia boards and other timberRebuild gable wallReplace locking mechanism- Sort electrics
Finish paintingFinish replacing timber around the garage door opening- Clean paint off the wall – started, but we need to apply another coat of paint stripper
Add wall light- Freshen up inside of garage
Exterior – 30% Complete (was 10%)
Repoint house- Paint gable wall
- Repair/renew timber
Repair & repaint front gable– it really was only a temporary solution, but really the whole gable could do with repairs and a refreshPaint windowsillsReplace cast iron gutters and downpipes
As you can see a lot of areas of the house haven’t changed at all. Now that some of the rooms are close to completion and are in a much more habitable state, our priorities have somewhat shifted more towards finishing a lot of projects we’ve started.
For the first time in 5 years we can however count one room completely finished! It may have been almost complete, but it’s still a great feeling to see 100% next to our guest bedroom! The other main areas that have seen big jumps are the cellar (where we recently painted the floor), the exterior of our house (we’ve finally had the back wall repointed) and our garden (where we built our slatted fence and have at least started on the driveway).
All in all I’d say that we’re slowly getting there. We have a huge amount planned for this year, so hopefully we’ll see a few more areas with 100% next to them by the time we share our next update!
Do you also have an ongoing home improvement list? Have you already been able to tick a project of your list for the year? What project is at the top of your priority list? Is it something home improvement related or something completely different?
viv says
Hi I am renovating my house and I have just painted my front door and I wondered if you can advise me what sealing strip you are going to use round the front door.
Christine says
I know that there are specialist strips available, but we haven’t used anything as we have a porch in front of the door.
Sorry we can’t be more help on this one!
Cx