Restoration & Refurbishment

New kitchen, toilet and floors - so much to do and so much advice!

Anonymous user 28/02/2024 - 3.02 PM

We are buying a house that needs a fair amount of -mostly- cosmetic work, but a lot of it! I have been through a lot of the advice here to help us get started with planning and budgeting but I still have so many questions that before I start posting jobs I'd really appreciate a little bit of guidance... We have a budget if £12k for phase 1 and a lot to do with it, namely the whole of the downstairs, which hasn't been decorated in 35 years. It means new kitchen, a new toilet, new floors throughout and ideally new double glazing. Here are my biggest challenges: 1) I've heard good things here about kitchens from Howdens, but also Wren and Benchmarx elsewhere. It would be great to understand pros and cons before starting to really get into it with quotes and plans, as we have a toddler so we need to keep time spent in visits to stores to a minimum. As professionals, which one would you recommend for value for money and total cost? As I will be hiring someone here for fitting, I am thinking of likely cost including fitting. I hear Ikea is a no go. I have my heart set on the new worktops that can be moulded so a kind of in between laminate and the mega expensive granite, keen to know if any of these would be a problem/not compatible. 2) downstairs toilet... No one seems to talk about quality or good stores here as much as in kitchens, but I am keen to know as I have seen some nice designs around but for example, I saw a nice basin with a cabinet in Homebase but porcelain was covered in scratches in the display unit so that put me off. What should we look out for when choosing and what are the best value for money places to check out. Is there a trade place like Howdens but for bathrooms? Also, what would we need to look out for if we wanted to move the location of the toilet unit? 3) floors... We were looking to have QuickStep put in as we have it in our place now and it's very durable. Someone told us to consider vinyl as it's similar price and just as good in looks if not better and installing could be simpler, is that true? I'm talking hard vinyl (I think one is called Project), not the soft cheaper styles. Are there any downsides or good reasons to go either way? We were thinking of having one put throughout the whole of the downstairs unless there is a reason not to? Thank you to anyone that can provide advice, while we wait for our completion date any guidance will help us plan the budget and make the right decisions, as we are looking to stay in our new home for a good 10 years... Please do also let us know what type of professionals we should be engaging, considering we are almost starting over again cosmetically downstairs... Apologies if my explanations are a bit basic!