What Are The Most Common Renovation Mistakes?

Renovating a period property is an immense but extremely satisfying task. The reward is of course a beautiful property which is renovated to your specifications, which you can either enjoy living in or sell on for a profit. 

Period homes often occupy prime locations with elegantly proportioned rooms, good natural light, and many have plentiful outside space. They are usually built from good quality materials which have stood the test of time, even if some repairs and upgrading are in order to bring the property up to modern standards.

However, it is important to plan the restoration work carefully, to make sure that you retain the original character of the house, and don’t bite off more than you can chew. Here are some of the most common mistakes when renovating an older house.

Using incompatible materials

Older houses are constructed from natural materials such as oak timbers, natural stone, and lath & plaster walls, which are flexible and breathable. If you introduce rigid, non-permeable materials without professional advice, you risk structural damage and problems with damp. 

Furthermore, if the house is on the listed building register or is in a conservation area, you may be legally required to use only certain materials during the renovation process. 

You should always seek planning permission for any changes to a listed building, even if they seem to be essential repairs, because there may be specifications about materials, contractors, and so on. This applies to both the interior and exterior, and windows and doors. 

Rushing into decisions

When purchasing a property, we often don’t have as much opportunity as we would like to view it before signing the contracts or getting the keys for the first time. This may be because there was lots of competition in the market, and you had to put in an early bid to secure it, or just from time pressures, or an unhelpful vendor or estate agent.

Therefore, it can be tempting to draw up grand plans in the first flush of enthusiasm, without really getting to know the property and all of its idiosyncrasies. It is much better to live in the property for a few months first if possible, then you can really get a sense of which spaces you would like to extend, which features to preserve, and so on.

You may come to realise that old fixtures and fittings which you initially thought looked dated or shabby are actually a part of what gives the house character. 

Completely modernising the interior of a period property can create a jarring incoherence, so think carefully about what could be restored with some time and expertise, and what you genuinely can’t live with. 

Not having a contingency fund

One of the most common issues people have with a period property is underestimating the work involved. This is to some extent inevitable, as hidden problems will almost always arise at some point along the way. Therefore, you should add a margin of at least 20% onto your budget to cover this eventuality.