Renovating an older house can be done on the cheap

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 Golden oldies key to success




Renovating an older house can be done on the cheap


The housing market is tough right now for first time buyers but anyone who can buy should be looking for ways to maximise their investment.


This is about getting value for money from your purchase and one way is to look at older properties. I’m not talking about Victorian properties – any house over 20 years old is an older property in my book.


As long as they are structurally sound, it doesn’t matter if work needs to be done, so long as that is reflected in the price. Money spent on renovation is really just an investment in your property.


KITCHEN


The big spend on any home is the kitchen. As a first-time buyer, you may not have the money for something expensive. You can get a good quality kitchen from IKEA for a couple of thousand pounds. Or why not look for a second-hand kitchen on auction sites such as eBay?


But if you have to make do and mend, the best option when it comes to revitalising a kitchen is to opt for melamine paint.


Remove all the doors and give them a couple of coats of melamine paint in the colour of your choice – the results will be quite surprising. While you are waiting for the paint to dry, nip out and get yourself a new set of handles.


Worktops are also cheap to replace and, for under £100, you can transform the kitchen. Keep the sink – clean it up and pop it back into the new worktop. So, for under £200, you can make your kitchen seem like new.


BATHROOM


A new suite is cheap but it will be even cheaper to rake out grout from existing tiles, then clean or paint them and re-grout.


If you want to keep the existing suite, then clean it thoroughly. If you have a shower, remove the head and leave it in diluted bleach to kill off any bacteria. If you replace the silicon seals around the bath, sink and shower, use ice white silicon.


Revitalising the bathroom is a job that can be done for pennies.


LIVING ROOM/BEDROOM


Deal with the walls first. Strip off any wallpaper and don’t mess about with fancy steam strippers – all you need is a large brush, a bucket of water and a good scraper. Soak the wall and leave the water to soak in.


Once the paper starts to blister, get stuck into it with a scraper. Any marks or damage can be fixed with filler and a filling knife. Once sanded and painted, you are sorted.


Floors can be sanded and, if that is not possible, the main expense will be carpets. If you’re clever, you will get away with laying a rug and painting the border.

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