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Couple transform rotting house with 'tiny' budget and its now worth £35,000 more

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A couple has added £35,000 to the value of their property after transforming the space into a modern family home.

Will Evans, 27, a content creator from Devon, UK, has given new life to his current home, with a revamp costing less than £3,500.

He and his partner, Britt, 26, purchased the three-bedroom, three-bath, detached property for £280,000 in May 2021 and could see the potential as soon as they stepped inside – particularly liking its size.

But, the home needed a serious revamp and modernisation in order to make the space their future forever family home.

Just four months later, they transformed the home on a tight budget and moved in February 2022 – now, the duo believe they've saved an estimated £10,000 by doing the work themselves.

"We could see the potential for a brilliant first home and future family home, but it was very outdated, so needed some re-decorating," he said.

"The house had a few faults, such as leaking bathrooms, but we were told that these had been fixed – upon moving in, we discovered this wasn't the case.

"We wanted a calm, rustic feel [throughout], such as lots of reclaimed wood and wooden features.

"To begin, we've just painted everything white to give us a blank canvas."

Quickly, they started tackling each room – but while Will hasn't renovated any property before, he has had experience converting multiple camper vans, so had the necessary skills to hand.

Firstly, they began ripping out all the old carpets and followed up with pulling up the original underlay, as well as staples in the floor.

Speaking about the process, he said: "We then replaced some of the chipboard that had been damaged by urine.

"The next stage was to clean everything to try and remove the smell, before moving on to decorating the whole house, which included the walls, ceilings, radiators and new skirting boards.

"In the lounge, we removed the electric fire and fireplace, and in the kitchen, we removed the lino, tiles and plywood.

"Next, we laid new wooden laminate floorboards and painted all the cupboards white."

Afterwards, they removed all the blinds on every window within the house and put up new curtains, as well as purchasing new furniture, including a sofa.

Similarly in the office, only minimal work was done, including painting the walls a dark green shade and adding new shelving.

While the work wasn't too intense, they've managed to transform the space to a "comfortable level" using basic skills and tools – and estimate these rooms have cost them £2,400 in total.

However, one room which needed a complete overhaul was their en-suite bathroom due to poor tiling, leakage and rotting floorboards.

For the space, they purchased a new shower from Victoria Plumbing, cabinets from B&Q, as well as flooring from King's Carpets.

Will said: "The shower tiles weren't tiled in properly and therefore, the shower water leaked down the back of the shower and onto the chipboard floor, which was rotted completely.

"When we moved in, we turned the shower on and the water went straight through the floor into the living room below.

"Luckily, we have a builder in the family who had lots of experience and skills to help us with some advice.

"We also used the internet to look for options that were cheaper, such as Pinterest and Instagram.

"Along with the help from my partner's dad, we pulled off all the plastic tiles and deconstructed the old shower frame, before removing the shower tray to see the damage underneath.

"We took out the toilet, radiator and sink to inspect the rest of the floor, which was black and decomposing.

"After removing all the floor and wall tiling using a hammer and chisel, we saw the shower was leaking from the U-bend part of the pipe, which needed replacing.

"We had a plasterer come in and do all the walls, with an electrician installing some LED spot lighting in the ceiling, as well as a new extractor fan.

"After sticking on new skirting boards, we painted the bathroom a light green colour and purchased a new sink wall cabinet, shower glass and frame, as well as shower boards.

"Finally, we installed the sink, toilet and shower back in, before putting the laminate flooring down.

After three months, the space was complete – but two out of the three bathrooms still need a revamp in order to finalise the overall transformation.

In total, they have spent an estimated £3,200 transforming the property and after starting work in October 2021 their gorgeous family home is nearly complete.

In a recent valuation, the couple claims they have added over £35,000 to the value of their property – with an estimated price of £315,000.

Now, they're happy with its current state – but still believe they have a long way to go, including building an extension and adding an open-plan kitchen/dining area.

Will added: "I've really enjoyed making videos to help others with their own renovations while sharing my own experiences.

"My advice is to do what you can yourself, as you can learn anything on YouTube if you're willing to put in any effort.

"It's not easy working multiple jobs and renovating a house, but if you do not afford some hard work, then it's easy enough to do."

COST BREAKDOWN:

Kitchen: £100
Living room, hallway, main bedroom, office, spare room (carpets, painting, etc...): £2,400
En-suite: £700
Total: £3,200

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