Hi all, I’m having a go at renovating a house to sell on for the first time. A 1940’s ex council 3 bed townhouse. It’s exciting and scary all at once! I don’t come from a building trade background and its going to be my only job (the scary bit)
Just a couple of questions to ask you all if I may,
Kitchen, we need to fit a new one, are the B&Q ones OK? I’m not a complete oaf but are they relatively straight forward to fit without paying someone?
Also there’s picture rails in the lounge and bedrooms leave them, yes or no?
I’m sure I’ll have lots more questions but thanks for now . . .

Spent a lot of time in those sorts of property – I’d say the picture rails depends on the rest of your decor. Can be a nice period feature if it still has decent original doors, but out of place in a modern, minimal design.

I’m keeping the original doors and the original fireplaces in two of the bedrooms.
Hopefully ‘character’ will appeal more than ‘minimal’

Mines a 1930’s semi with original doors etc, and I love my picture rail. Pictures everywhere! I’m in the process of putting it back in to one room.

The basic bits of installing a kitchen are easy as its flat pack furniture basically. The skill involved is making sure the little bits look good. Work tops properly mitred and jointed, architrave neat and gap free, filler panels well cut and flush. Those are the sorts of jobs which need special tools or ways of working or fixings which are quite specialist sometimes or from a skill leant over time.
It’s easy to make a cheapest kitchen look ace if fitted professionallly, but also easy to make an expensive kitchen look crap if fitted badly.
But if you plan to do this more than once this might be the time to start learning and buying the tools you need!

Buy kitchen units from Howdens or Magnet trade or some other supplier of trade kitchens with pre built carcasses. It’ll be cheaper, the units will be more robust and they’ll be easier to fit.

I’d definitely keep the picture rails if you are keeping other period features.Positives I find with them:
– Genuinely useful to hang picture from
– You can moved pictures around as you wish and don’t have to worry about filling in holes
– Painting the walls white above the rail feel like it increases the height of the room
– You can use different chains, ropes etc to hang picture lower off the hooks to add a bit of interest, it’s something people often comment on in my property

I’d suggest getting sets of hooks off ebay though as most DIY stores charge an absolute fortune for 1 set.

Good luck with the renovation.

The cook n Lewis b&q is ok just not at full retail

Get a trade card….

Removing the picture rails will take time, you’ll almost certainly cause damage that needs to be made good, and if you’re really unlucky someone will have skimmed up to the picture rail leaving two different “levels” in your wall

If you’re selling on you need to be in and out ASAP to minimise mortgage and insurance outgoings