Few things are more satisfying than a home renovation that goes 100% to plan. It’s just a shame that things never work out that way!
Face it - whether large or small, your renovation is guaranteed to come up against setbacks. Sometimes, these can be extreme but, more often than not, they’re niggly problems that seem like mountains in the harsh light of a bigger project.
Of course, every project is different, and we can’t hold your hand through the precise setbacks in your home. What we can do is look at a few common niggles, and consider what you can do to work through them.
Marks on your walls
Marks on your walls, whether from grease, damp, or just the previous owner’s kids, can all stand in your way. After all, it’s no good renovating and redecorating if someone else’s greasy stain will show through your hard work!
Luckily, a little online research should be enough to solve such issues. The internet certainly holds the answer for how to get sharpie off wall paint, or how to seal damp patches so that they don’t show through. And, armed with this knowledge, you can quite literally wipe those worries away with a damp cloth. Or, a magic eraser…
Layers of lining paper
Whether you have to rewire or cut into your plasterwork for some other reason, you may also face the surprise of lining paper. This is especially common in older houses, where textured walls were all the rage.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with lining paper, apart from the fact you cut through it when you cut through plaster, leaving you with strange smooth patches and uneven edges. You could always remove the lot, of course, but that’s a load of work and there’s no telling what you’ll find underneath.
Again, though, lining paper woes aren’t as extreme as they can seem. Reducing channeling can help but, even if your tracks run the length of your walls, filler can often cover uneven edges enough for a lick of paint to cover the issue altogether.
Messy floorboards
Decent floorboards are at the heart of many a renovation dream, but they’re incredibly rare. Most times, floorboards are bumpy, bitty, and messy. This is obviously stressful, and it can seem like you have to replace flooring altogether or invest in professional renovation.
In some cases, that’s certainly true, but many homeowners find there are more subtle changes to try first. For example, patched floorboards often appear around the edges of a room, meaning that well-placed furniture could save you a fortune in work and worry. Equally, sanding down varnish, etc. could be all it takes to turn your terrible floorboards into the finished product you’re after.
Some setbacks are, obviously, a lot more extreme than these, but small niggles can feel like the straw that broke the camel’s back when you’re in the thick of a project. Save yourself the stress by keeping these simple solutions in mind, and leave more room to worry about the big stuff!
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