First House + Refurb - Terraced Cottage in Shropshire
Discussion
I recently purchased this house - my first - and got the keys at the end of September, so this thread will be a sort of renovation blog for anyone interested (and somewhat for myself to refer back to now and then). Skip past the following backstory if you're not interested 
~~~Lore~~~
So first time single buyer. I was living with my parents while saving up and kinda waiting for the right house / time to buy. Middle of 2023 they sold their house in the Walsall / Wolves area as they're both retired and wanted to move somewhere a bit more rural or less built up. As I know Shropshire quite well through work and friends etc they ended up buying a house in a market town here and moved in December '23.
As I wasn't at the point of buying myself just then, I moved up with them so I could continue my search from that area. So start of 2024 I started properly looking at properties and applying for mortgage in principal etc. I'd been previously looking at the whole county, but now we were settled in this town we all really like it, so I ended up setting a goal of finding something here. It's not the cheapest location in the overall area, especially for FTB - a few properties within budget included some maisonettes in what was previously - I believe - a large care home facility, another couple of apartments that needed some work but also had bonkers ground rents / service charges, and a newer 2 bed end terrace that was slightly over budget and next to a secondary school.
And then this little cottage. It'd been on the market since we moved, dropped by ~10% in the new year, and then just as I started seriously looking at it in May this year, it was taken off the market and relisted with another agent, but for the same price..
As it was the only property both in budget and that I actually liked, I arranged a viewing. Prior to this, I contacted the previous estate agent for some background info, they gave me some info on the seller and the house itself that proved useful. I viewed the house and was relatively happy with it, it clearly needed some TLC, but I didn't mind that as I'd be able to stay at my parents round the corner and work on it before properly moving in. Overall I liked it, it had character, a nice quiet location, potential for some fixing up and personalising.. the main downside being no parking, but that wasn't a deal breaker.
I'd sort of made my decision already, my thought process being that I'd be willing to make an offer unless anything substantial jumped out during the viewing, which it didn't. A friend who lives in the town then told me he knows the seller, and got me his number to discuss the house. We arranged a call and ended up talking for about 45 minutes, by the end of which he'd accepted my offer of about 5% off the current reduced price, which relative to the house, area, and local market - I was happy with. It was more like buying a car than a house, but the seller was a lad a bit younger than me who'd bought it as a rental / investment about 18 months prior, so we were both quite 'to the point' about it and just spoke and agreed on a price, deal done.
I then went through the offer and acceptance, got the mortgage applied and agreed etc, engaged a solicitor on the high street who sold my parent's house previously, so were somewhat familiar to us (and I prefer being able to just walk round the corner to the branch)… No real hiccups or issues during this process despite being my first time doing it all. 4 months later I had the keys.
~~~Lore~~~
Okay so, onto the house.
It's a 2-bed mid-terraced cottage in a row of three. We think it dates to around 1840, and some of the neighbouring cottages / houses are around the same age or older. It's on a quiet road about 5-10 minutes walk from the main high street which is really ideal.
As I said before, the property has no parking of its own, in fact not even on-street as there's no footpath / kerb in front. The neighbour to one side has a driveway, and the other side has parking to their rear, via a private lane that runs past their property, down to a few other old cottages tucked away. Fortunately, I have access rights to my garden from that lane (for bins etc) via their back garden, and both neighbours are really nice having now met them, which is always nice.
These are the photos from the estate agent listing of the house (might be a mix of the first and second listing as they took their own photos), I also found the old advert from when the seller bought the house, so there's some furnished photos too, and one of the old kitchen. Overall it looked a bit nicer when it was occupied, as by the time I bought it, it'd been empty for about 10 months and needing some freshening up.
Front - there are gated steps down from the road to the front path and front door, with a decent little garden.
Rear - there's a paved yard out the door, followed by a paved path with borders either side, and at the end opens up wider into a gravelled area. This wider area was actually purchased from the neighbour by a previous owner. There's an original brick out-house, and a wooden storage shed...
Living Room - to the front, includes the staircase, original beams, gas fire, and a free sofa (that I assume was too much effort to squeeze back through the door)...
Kitchen - glad this was done. Found out from the neighbour it was the seller's dad or uncle that fitted this, and it does look a bit DIY in places, but overall it's really decent. Plenty of storage, all built-in appliances - none of which had been used since fitting, so this has saved me a potential expense at least...
WC - this is off the kitchen by the back door. Bit tight for the knees but it's convenient to have another loo
Main Bedroom - this is a decent size and as there's no loft space, the ceiling is quite high so it feels airy (compared to the ground floor anyway).The built-in wardrobe houses the boiler and the little hatch door is the only real 'loft' storage, more on that later..
Second Bedroom - this is more of a box room so will be my home office..
Bathroom - this is off the second bedroom. It's nothing amazing but it's definitely liveable for a decent while..
And finally the thing we all love, a relatively accurate floorplan..
Plans, work so far and more details I'll write up next..
~~~Lore~~~
So first time single buyer. I was living with my parents while saving up and kinda waiting for the right house / time to buy. Middle of 2023 they sold their house in the Walsall / Wolves area as they're both retired and wanted to move somewhere a bit more rural or less built up. As I know Shropshire quite well through work and friends etc they ended up buying a house in a market town here and moved in December '23.
As I wasn't at the point of buying myself just then, I moved up with them so I could continue my search from that area. So start of 2024 I started properly looking at properties and applying for mortgage in principal etc. I'd been previously looking at the whole county, but now we were settled in this town we all really like it, so I ended up setting a goal of finding something here. It's not the cheapest location in the overall area, especially for FTB - a few properties within budget included some maisonettes in what was previously - I believe - a large care home facility, another couple of apartments that needed some work but also had bonkers ground rents / service charges, and a newer 2 bed end terrace that was slightly over budget and next to a secondary school.
And then this little cottage. It'd been on the market since we moved, dropped by ~10% in the new year, and then just as I started seriously looking at it in May this year, it was taken off the market and relisted with another agent, but for the same price..
As it was the only property both in budget and that I actually liked, I arranged a viewing. Prior to this, I contacted the previous estate agent for some background info, they gave me some info on the seller and the house itself that proved useful. I viewed the house and was relatively happy with it, it clearly needed some TLC, but I didn't mind that as I'd be able to stay at my parents round the corner and work on it before properly moving in. Overall I liked it, it had character, a nice quiet location, potential for some fixing up and personalising.. the main downside being no parking, but that wasn't a deal breaker.
I'd sort of made my decision already, my thought process being that I'd be willing to make an offer unless anything substantial jumped out during the viewing, which it didn't. A friend who lives in the town then told me he knows the seller, and got me his number to discuss the house. We arranged a call and ended up talking for about 45 minutes, by the end of which he'd accepted my offer of about 5% off the current reduced price, which relative to the house, area, and local market - I was happy with. It was more like buying a car than a house, but the seller was a lad a bit younger than me who'd bought it as a rental / investment about 18 months prior, so we were both quite 'to the point' about it and just spoke and agreed on a price, deal done.
I then went through the offer and acceptance, got the mortgage applied and agreed etc, engaged a solicitor on the high street who sold my parent's house previously, so were somewhat familiar to us (and I prefer being able to just walk round the corner to the branch)… No real hiccups or issues during this process despite being my first time doing it all. 4 months later I had the keys.
~~~Lore~~~
Okay so, onto the house.
It's a 2-bed mid-terraced cottage in a row of three. We think it dates to around 1840, and some of the neighbouring cottages / houses are around the same age or older. It's on a quiet road about 5-10 minutes walk from the main high street which is really ideal.
As I said before, the property has no parking of its own, in fact not even on-street as there's no footpath / kerb in front. The neighbour to one side has a driveway, and the other side has parking to their rear, via a private lane that runs past their property, down to a few other old cottages tucked away. Fortunately, I have access rights to my garden from that lane (for bins etc) via their back garden, and both neighbours are really nice having now met them, which is always nice.
These are the photos from the estate agent listing of the house (might be a mix of the first and second listing as they took their own photos), I also found the old advert from when the seller bought the house, so there's some furnished photos too, and one of the old kitchen. Overall it looked a bit nicer when it was occupied, as by the time I bought it, it'd been empty for about 10 months and needing some freshening up.
Front - there are gated steps down from the road to the front path and front door, with a decent little garden.
Rear - there's a paved yard out the door, followed by a paved path with borders either side, and at the end opens up wider into a gravelled area. This wider area was actually purchased from the neighbour by a previous owner. There's an original brick out-house, and a wooden storage shed...
Living Room - to the front, includes the staircase, original beams, gas fire, and a free sofa (that I assume was too much effort to squeeze back through the door)...
Kitchen - glad this was done. Found out from the neighbour it was the seller's dad or uncle that fitted this, and it does look a bit DIY in places, but overall it's really decent. Plenty of storage, all built-in appliances - none of which had been used since fitting, so this has saved me a potential expense at least...
WC - this is off the kitchen by the back door. Bit tight for the knees but it's convenient to have another loo
Main Bedroom - this is a decent size and as there's no loft space, the ceiling is quite high so it feels airy (compared to the ground floor anyway).The built-in wardrobe houses the boiler and the little hatch door is the only real 'loft' storage, more on that later..
Second Bedroom - this is more of a box room so will be my home office..
Bathroom - this is off the second bedroom. It's nothing amazing but it's definitely liveable for a decent while..
And finally the thing we all love, a relatively accurate floorplan..
Plans, work so far and more details I'll write up next..
Edited by smithyithy on Sunday 17th November 21:12
Thanks for the comments thus far 
I'll go over full plans in a separate post but essentially - New front door and front windows, additional wall sockets in bedrooms, built-in wardrobe(s) in bedroom, some minor plastering / tidy up work then paint the majority of the interior, new wood floor in living room, new carpet to stairs and bedrooms. We will DIY where possible but none of that is cheap were trades are involved and I'm obviously on a limited budget so it'll be a case of doing it piece by piece. Rather get everything done and dusted while it's empty then move in and live in it
Huzzah said:
Far far nicer than my 1st house, exciting stuff.
To my eye it doesn't need refurbishment, chimney breast, decor, flooring and you're good to go. What are you planning?
I've probably over-egged the term 'refurbishment' to be honest! It was probably move-in ready if I was desperate, but it needs a fair bit of touching up and I'd like to get it exactly how I envision it before moving in really, mainly because due to the compact size and lack of storage, doing any serious work once moved in will be much more hassle, and I plan to stay here for a decent length of time - it won't need to be a stepping stone to a more permanent 'family' home for example.To my eye it doesn't need refurbishment, chimney breast, decor, flooring and you're good to go. What are you planning?
I'll go over full plans in a separate post but essentially - New front door and front windows, additional wall sockets in bedrooms, built-in wardrobe(s) in bedroom, some minor plastering / tidy up work then paint the majority of the interior, new wood floor in living room, new carpet to stairs and bedrooms. We will DIY where possible but none of that is cheap were trades are involved and I'm obviously on a limited budget so it'll be a case of doing it piece by piece. Rather get everything done and dusted while it's empty then move in and live in it
malaccamax said:
Good luck with it. Rare to find a terrace cottage like this with the bathroom upstairs. Usually tacked onto the back of the kitchen
Indeed! That was a bonus for sure, although a downstairs one wouldn't have been a dealbreaker as I've seen some decent ones in other houses, but this isn't really as long as other (Victorian?) terraced so it would've been very small as would the kitchen.KAgantua said:
Chap, have you attached the right pictures? Whats with the purple/ yellow kitchen? Is that a utility room or something?
Yes, the lime and purple setup was the old kitchen, I just put that in to show what it was like before as that was fully replaced with the current kitchen around a year ago.Edited by smithyithy on Monday 18th November 12:11
Right so after getting the keys I had a proper thorough look round and started thinking about what I wanted to do. Obviously, budget isn't huge so trade work will have to be done in stages and it's a case of drawing a line between 'want' and 'need'.
It's lost a bit of character over the years as work has been done on a budget and not really in keeping with the house style (granted it's not a Grade 1 listed manor house but you know what I mean), but it's a nice little house and I like that it has a decent front area despite no parking..
So initial plans for this stage, i.e. before furnishing and moving in..
Doors / Windows
Currently old uPVC throughout, scruffy and leaky. Decided to do the front door and two front windows for now, the rears are smaller and can be done later, and the back door is solid wood and just needs a paint. I wanted cottage-style composite door and flush-casement windows in Agate Grey, basically the same as this..
Got a handful of quotes, massive variation despite all being based on the same products / spec. Went with a local chap, should be fitted in a week or two.
This is the current door, it's pretty old, the paint on the step needs rubbing down and redoing, and some of the plaster around the frame. Also going to strip and repaint the wooden porch, it has a little bit of rot on the corners but should be fixable. The lantern will be removed and wiring redirected to a wall-mounted light eventually.
Current living room window - no shoot bolts, loose external bead, not good..
'Leccy Work
Not much to do here (touch wood). The consumer unit is alright, not too old. The wiring's a bit of a mish mash, it runs out of the fuse box and then along the ceiling beams, splitting via little round junction boxes and then through the ceiling / floor to the first floor sockets. Everything works though.. Plan is to have 2 x more double sockets installed in each bedroom, as there aren't enough currently.
Flooring
The grey laminate in the living room wasn't very nice and hadn't been installed well, with uneven gaps around the edges, so it'll be replaced with engineered. I had a few quotes for this (again, huge variation even for ~16m2) based on us removing the old laminate and underlay and it being installed on the floor underneath. Tried out some engineered samples..
So I went about removing the laminate which came up easily, and the underlay which was just randomly cut sheets...
To my surprise then, below this was an older wood floor. I had hoped it was solid but it was some type of engineered, properly fitted under the skirting (which we weren't sure about doing with the new engineered, but this now makes it somewhat more possible, maybe..)
Unfortunately, an area near the front door had been water damaged over time and would need replacing..
I did then get an additional quote based on repairing and refinishing this wood, or at least seeing if it was worthwhile / viable, but the general advice was this wasn't particularly good or valuable wood anyway, and the work to bring it back wouldn't be far off replacing with new.
So, that came up too..
What an absolutely horrid job, although we now know there's old tiles underneath. If these were somewhere like the kitchen I'd probably clean up and keep them, but not the living room. The floor isn't flat, either, so will need screed before new wood goes down..
When the guy came to inspect / quote for refinishing, he gave a price for removing and replacing all the skirting to allow the new floor to be fitted properly. Ideal, as the skirting around the door was rather rotten where it'd taken in moisture, and it was making removing the floor a pain in the arse, so it came off. The plaster behind doesn't appear to be damp, I think it's just the MDF skirting that's gotten damp via the entrance and it's permeated along. Some plastering probably required along here but nothing major..
It's lost a bit of character over the years as work has been done on a budget and not really in keeping with the house style (granted it's not a Grade 1 listed manor house but you know what I mean), but it's a nice little house and I like that it has a decent front area despite no parking..
So initial plans for this stage, i.e. before furnishing and moving in..
Doors / Windows
Currently old uPVC throughout, scruffy and leaky. Decided to do the front door and two front windows for now, the rears are smaller and can be done later, and the back door is solid wood and just needs a paint. I wanted cottage-style composite door and flush-casement windows in Agate Grey, basically the same as this..
Got a handful of quotes, massive variation despite all being based on the same products / spec. Went with a local chap, should be fitted in a week or two.
This is the current door, it's pretty old, the paint on the step needs rubbing down and redoing, and some of the plaster around the frame. Also going to strip and repaint the wooden porch, it has a little bit of rot on the corners but should be fixable. The lantern will be removed and wiring redirected to a wall-mounted light eventually.
Current living room window - no shoot bolts, loose external bead, not good..
'Leccy Work
Not much to do here (touch wood). The consumer unit is alright, not too old. The wiring's a bit of a mish mash, it runs out of the fuse box and then along the ceiling beams, splitting via little round junction boxes and then through the ceiling / floor to the first floor sockets. Everything works though.. Plan is to have 2 x more double sockets installed in each bedroom, as there aren't enough currently.
Flooring
The grey laminate in the living room wasn't very nice and hadn't been installed well, with uneven gaps around the edges, so it'll be replaced with engineered. I had a few quotes for this (again, huge variation even for ~16m2) based on us removing the old laminate and underlay and it being installed on the floor underneath. Tried out some engineered samples..
So I went about removing the laminate which came up easily, and the underlay which was just randomly cut sheets...
To my surprise then, below this was an older wood floor. I had hoped it was solid but it was some type of engineered, properly fitted under the skirting (which we weren't sure about doing with the new engineered, but this now makes it somewhat more possible, maybe..)
Unfortunately, an area near the front door had been water damaged over time and would need replacing..
I did then get an additional quote based on repairing and refinishing this wood, or at least seeing if it was worthwhile / viable, but the general advice was this wasn't particularly good or valuable wood anyway, and the work to bring it back wouldn't be far off replacing with new.
So, that came up too..
What an absolutely horrid job, although we now know there's old tiles underneath. If these were somewhere like the kitchen I'd probably clean up and keep them, but not the living room. The floor isn't flat, either, so will need screed before new wood goes down..
When the guy came to inspect / quote for refinishing, he gave a price for removing and replacing all the skirting to allow the new floor to be fitted properly. Ideal, as the skirting around the door was rather rotten where it'd taken in moisture, and it was making removing the floor a pain in the arse, so it came off. The plaster behind doesn't appear to be damp, I think it's just the MDF skirting that's gotten damp via the entrance and it's permeated along. Some plastering probably required along here but nothing major..
Edited by smithyithy on Tuesday 19th November 12:10
^^ Thanks, and yes it's a good point, the living room doesn't get a load of light anyway, but I don't mind too much.
More Flooring
The existing carpet is old and worn, particularly the purpley red stuff, so this will all be replaced. I've been getting quotes for sisal (natural) carpet, despite some advice against it, I do really like it and don't have kids or anything to ruin it. Not cheap though due to the labour involved with fitting.. But that won't be until everything else is done, painted etc next year.
In the mean time I pulled up the old carpet.. The stairs are nice and solid, the main bedroom is too although there's definitely a slope to the room .. the floorboards in the small room and landing need a bit of fixing though as they're a bit wonky and creaky.
Bedroom Doors
The two bedroom doors are nice and old, we think oak, with old hinged and handles / levers, although they're caked in about 10 layers of paint and varnish. My dad decided to strip them back so they can be oiled, we'll then paint the levers back black so they actually work..
Also did the doorframe as that was clogged up with paint too...
]
Decorating Bits
Stripped the nasty wallpaper off the chimney breast..
Filled / tidied some bits in the main bedroom and gave it an undercoat of sorts..
I'll probably paint throughout. At the very least - living room, stairs / landing, both bedrooms. But the bathroom, kitchen, and rear 'lobby' / WC may as well be done too.
The Hatch
This is effectively the only attic space there is, it's just an area built over the stairs. The current hatch is too small to really get any decent sized boxes or storage tubs in there, so I need to look to have it widened possibly. The inside just needs fixing up a bit and painting, and I'll probably have some scrap carpet to replace this with.
Carpentry
Plan is to have a built-in wardrobe fitted in the bedroom. I toyed with having one either side, but the size and layout of room means a bed would make access awkward. So going with one to the left of the chimney breast, similar to the image. Engaged a local carpenter / joiner so the ball is rolling on that one..
I've also removed the wonky old slatted cupboard doors opposite, so these will be replaced with new ones same style as the wardrobe. That should provide a decent amount of storage..
The top of this is currently just loosely placed cabinet off-cuts, just needs securing down really so boxes can be stored on top..
Bits & Bobs
Took the fireplace surround off just for a look.. I would prefer a log burner, but I don't mind this gas fire, it's a bit old, just needs a clean up, but it works well and throws out some heat. The surround will be repainted..
Gardening will be a later job, although we did give the yards a quick clean and weed. I'll have to break out the jet wash on this..
I had a water meter fitted as I worked out it'll be the cheaper option, and it's free so why not...
More Flooring
The existing carpet is old and worn, particularly the purpley red stuff, so this will all be replaced. I've been getting quotes for sisal (natural) carpet, despite some advice against it, I do really like it and don't have kids or anything to ruin it. Not cheap though due to the labour involved with fitting.. But that won't be until everything else is done, painted etc next year.
In the mean time I pulled up the old carpet.. The stairs are nice and solid, the main bedroom is too although there's definitely a slope to the room
.. the floorboards in the small room and landing need a bit of fixing though as they're a bit wonky and creaky.Bedroom Doors
The two bedroom doors are nice and old, we think oak, with old hinged and handles / levers, although they're caked in about 10 layers of paint and varnish. My dad decided to strip them back so they can be oiled, we'll then paint the levers back black so they actually work..
Also did the doorframe as that was clogged up with paint too...
]Decorating Bits
Stripped the nasty wallpaper off the chimney breast..
Filled / tidied some bits in the main bedroom and gave it an undercoat of sorts..
I'll probably paint throughout. At the very least - living room, stairs / landing, both bedrooms. But the bathroom, kitchen, and rear 'lobby' / WC may as well be done too.
The Hatch
This is effectively the only attic space there is, it's just an area built over the stairs. The current hatch is too small to really get any decent sized boxes or storage tubs in there, so I need to look to have it widened possibly. The inside just needs fixing up a bit and painting, and I'll probably have some scrap carpet to replace this with.
Carpentry
Plan is to have a built-in wardrobe fitted in the bedroom. I toyed with having one either side, but the size and layout of room means a bed would make access awkward. So going with one to the left of the chimney breast, similar to the image. Engaged a local carpenter / joiner so the ball is rolling on that one..
I've also removed the wonky old slatted cupboard doors opposite, so these will be replaced with new ones same style as the wardrobe. That should provide a decent amount of storage..
The top of this is currently just loosely placed cabinet off-cuts, just needs securing down really so boxes can be stored on top..
Bits & Bobs
Took the fireplace surround off just for a look.. I would prefer a log burner, but I don't mind this gas fire, it's a bit old, just needs a clean up, but it works well and throws out some heat. The surround will be repainted..
Gardening will be a later job, although we did give the yards a quick clean and weed. I'll have to break out the jet wash on this..
I had a water meter fitted as I worked out it'll be the cheaper option, and it's free so why not...
smithyithy said:
Chumley.mouse said:
I’d just sit the outside bog all day. 
I'm not really sure what to do with it, it's got a load of roof tiles and old paint tins in there currently, it probably needs a new door too.. Definitely not a priority job As soon as I saw it I thought that it would make the ideal entrance to your underground bunker/man cave.
Definitely a priority job!
Looks like a nice place and a good project.
ETA: the outhouse needs a lift in it. Keep the existing fit out and it just drops down into your new subterranean lair…
Underground lairs? You've got bigger imaginations than my budget
In the mean time, windows being fitted this week...
Had some issues with them, fitters managed to break 2 of the panes, then replaced them with the wrong ones so we have some things to sort out still... The door should be fitted early next week.
The company owner has been sound about everything, I think it's partly a problem with subbing in budget fitters - it's false value when he's had to pay for 8 panes of glass for a job that only needs 4, but anyway....
Front should look a lot nicer when the job's done, then I'll get the bottom of the front wall repainted and look at improving the porch (probably not before Christmas now to be honest..)
In the mean time, windows being fitted this week...
Had some issues with them, fitters managed to break 2 of the panes, then replaced them with the wrong ones
so we have some things to sort out still... The door should be fitted early next week. The company owner has been sound about everything, I think it's partly a problem with subbing in budget fitters - it's false value when he's had to pay for 8 panes of glass for a job that only needs 4, but anyway....
Front should look a lot nicer when the job's done, then I'll get the bottom of the front wall repainted and look at improving the porch (probably not before Christmas now to be honest..)
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