House renovation checklist: Ultimate guide to transforming your home

Recently bought a fixer-upper? This house renovation checklist walks you through all the key steps. 

Home renovations can admittedly be pretty daunting. But, like anything, the process becomes much less scary when broken down into small, manageable chunks.

Here, we’ve gone through all the main steps to follow, with a free downloadable checklist included at the end to help you track your progress.

How to renovate a house

Here’s our ultimate house renovation checklist:

1) Plan your budget carefully

Before you make any renovation decisions, the first thing you need to confirm is the budget.

It’s super important to be realistic and set a budget that is completely within your means. It helps to have a slight buffer, so you know how much you could stretch to if necessary. This ensures that, if you need to make any unexpected repairs or purchases, you know how much you can afford beyond your main budget.

Once you’ve decided on your budget, you can then work out how much you can spend on each stage of the renovation, and start planning it all out.

Top tip: If you make a budgeting spreadsheet, check in each month to update the figures based on what you’ve already spent and what’s left to pay for. This will help you keep your finances on track throughout the renovation.

2) Check if you need planning permission

This is an important one. Check if you need planning permission before starting work on the house.

Even if you’re not planning to make any major changes, it’s still a good idea to check, just in case your area has extra planning restrictions.

Citizens Advice has loads of useful advice on this, so take some time to read through the guidance and make sure you’re up to speed.

3) Strip out old fixtures

Budget and planning permission all sorted? Now it’s time for the fun bit.

Whether stripping out kitchens or bathrooms, or knocking through walls, it goes without saying: safety first. Get all the necessary PPE, such as ventilation makes, safety goggle, gloves and steel-toe boots. If there’s a risk of anything falling down from above, wear a hard hat as well.

It’s a good idea to bring in professionals, especially to identify if there is any asbestos in the property, or any structural issues.

4) Complete structural and weatherproofing work

If structural work is needed for the house renovation, it should be a top priority in your checklist.

Alongside this, start weatherproofing the house. Think roofs, windows, doors… do any of them need work to keep the wind and rain out? Fix these ASAP.

For tasks like these, we suggest hiring an expert to ensure everything is completely safe and secure.

5) Sort out the electrics and plumbing

Again, unless you know what you’re doing, we’d advise getting experts in for this step.

Having reliable electrics and plumbing is crucial, both in terms of practical day-to-day use of the house, but also safety. A badly wired house poses fire risks, while dodgy plumbing can lead to leaks; neither of these risks are worth taking.

So, get the electrics and plumbing sorted to a high standard early on in the house renovation.

6) Make sure the house is insulated

When winter comes around, you’ll be grateful for taking the time at this point to insulate the house.

Even if the property already has insulation, there’s no harm in checking to see if it needs to be replaced. For example, if it’s damaged or mouldy, the renovation is the perfect time to replace it.

7) Complete plastering

Once you’ve scraped away any loose plaster and cleaned the wall, you’ll need to prime the walls for plastering.

Gradually mix the plaster with water, then stir it with a paddle mixer until it’s a smooth consistency.

You’ll first need to apply a thin base coat and, when it’s dry, add a second layer.

Then, with a clean, wet plastering trowel, smooth down the plaster.

It’s a good idea to leave the plaster to dry for around a week before moving onto the next step.

8) Install fittings

Next: installing fittings.

This is when you’ll start to see the renovation coming together. 

From skirting boards and doors to sinks and kitchen counters, the fittings will make a huge difference to the overall house. It will be a lot easier to imagine the finished look at this stage.

9) Decoration

While the fittings absolutely do help the house come together, the decoration takes it one step further.

Start with your chosen wall panelling, whether shaker style, wainscoting or even a geometric design. Our panelling kits are designed to make the process as straightforward as possible for you.

We have a handy panelling tutorial video to help you get started.

And, when the panelling is in place, it’s then time to add paint or wallpaper.

10) Second fix electrics and plumbing

When you’ve finished decorating, you can then focus your attention on the second fix electrics and plumbing.

This is where you connect things like plug sockets, light switches, lights and sinks.

These details transform the house into a home you can live in. Just one last step remaining!

12) Fix last remaining issues

When all the main house renovation tasks are complete, you can then create a snagging list. This is a list of any remaining issues to fix.

You could either create the list yourself, or hire a snagging inspector (especially if the renovation was a particularly major project).

The list should then be send to your contractor to highlight anything left outstanding on their end. 

And, for anything that falls under your responsibilities, make sure these are completed.

All done? Then congrats! Now all that’s left is to enjoy settling into your dream home.

Renovating a house checklist

To help you keep track of your progress, we’ve put together the key steps into a downloadable house renovation checklist.

Fill free to download it, print it off and keep track of your progress throughout the project. Best of luck with it! 

Looking for more DIY inspiration? See our list of the top wall panelling ideas.