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S1 EP 17 | At Home With Betty; DIY, Renovating & Styling
35 Plays14 days ago
Betty has been renovating her family home for 3 years and has gained over 170,000 followers on Instagram alone. We discuss what it's like undertaking a lot of the work yourself, living in a renovation alongside family life and share some of Betty's fabulous high-end looks without the price tag!
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Transcript
Introduction to DIY Guys Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY Guys, the podcast where home renovations, power tools and mild panic go hand in hand. I'm Nick Morris. And I'm Dan Dower. Each week we'll be chatting with some property pros, some DIY diehards, hopefully help you with some tips and tricks along the way.
Featuring Betty's DIY Skills
00:00:17
Speaker
Welcome back to the DIY Guys podcast. How are you doing, mate? Very well, thank you. Looking forward to this week's episode. Yeah, so am I. It's someone like ah me and you have both followed for quite a while and um her interiors are just amazing, aren't they? It's one of my sort of favorite people, someone that just goes all in. They've DIY skills, yeah money hacks, and then doing some like fun and funny things as well. Yeah, it's definitely someone you can like you get everything from, right? like Sometimes we've got people who've got like nice aesthetic and other people have got really good DIY. Other people have hacks. She does... a bit of everything, isn't she? And we've spoken to so many people all say the same thing as well. They just don't have like the bottomless pit of money. So they just can't with creative ways to either save money yeah by doing it themselves or save money in other ways, like little hacks and tricks.
Betty's Renovation Journey Begins
00:01:02
Speaker
And so I like speaking to people like that. Definitely.
00:01:05
Speaker
And to be honest, she's built a zipline, which I am. The big kid in me is like, right, need to find out about this zipline. Yeah, I've got a tree in my garden. Surely I could do that. There you go. Yeah. Maybe you could do like one for under 200 quid or something.
00:01:19
Speaker
Although, do remember our friend had a treehouse growing up and I fell down there and like went to hospital. So maybe I'm so clumsy a zip line is not a good idea. Probably not a good idea. Not a good idea. Or you can get your revenge on him by inviting him over and pushing him more Exactly. But yeah, she's got a great account name as well. So her name's Betty and her account is called At Home With Betty. Yeah.
00:01:39
Speaker
I mean. Ron Seal jobby. Exactly. To the point. I mean, I think I've changed my Instagram name a few times, but it was just too confusing. i was like I should have just done that. Yeah, exactly. That's just the best name ever. So yeah, I'm looking forward to chatting to her and we'll see how it goes now.
00:01:53
Speaker
Hi, everyone. We have Betty here from the very clever named At Home With Betty. Very convenient for us. How are you? I'm great, thank you. We've been following your page for a while now. And could you tell the guys at home a little bit about what you've been up to? Yeah, so we bought the house December 2022. So nearly three years ago now.
00:02:12
Speaker
um we i kind of created alongside... my account alongside the move so I sort of i think i did my first post the day before we moved or something um I'd always admired home accounts and I found a lot of inspiration from those pages um previously so I just thought I'll start my own and you know see how it goes and it'll be nice to have a documentation of our renovation that kind of thing um yeah I didn't really realize actually it's quite a lot of commitment to keep my own with posting regularly and reply to comments and all that kind of stuff and engaging. But it did very quickly become a bit of an addiction. And yeah, love it. You found this taken over your life a bit then. Yeah, but it's also my creative outlet. So it's nice to have that for me that I've kind of built from nothing. and
00:03:04
Speaker
Quite proud of it in a way. so do you have like a creative background naturally or do you get that in your job or is this why you've started your page?
House Hunting and Renovation Potential
00:03:13
Speaker
Yeah, and well I mean, at school many, many years ago, I did do and design at schools, and I've always had like a passion for creative kind of things, but actually for work, I've just got a computer job, and I don't really get to express that creative side of myself, so I think that's doing DIY and then creating videos and kind of that sort thing is where I've just let all of my creativity free, I suppose.
00:03:39
Speaker
That's amazing. That's a good place to, something to have a good outlet for is perfect. Yeah. So the house you have posted on, was it something, I look at that house and I'm like, I love that sort of house with just like the big, like bold carpets and you've got to do every room. But I imagine a lot of people would be totally petrified by it. How did you guys feel when you sort of walked around?
00:04:04
Speaker
We loved it. We just didn't really want this house. So we, had been looking for a few months. In fact, we always kind of just keep tabs on what's new on the market anyway, even when we're not looking to move. um And initially, we did have our own different house, which was completely different to this one. It was, I think, I mean, if I had to guess, I'd say about 600 years old. It had on the low ceilings, beams, like it was an old farmhouse.
00:04:29
Speaker
And it didn't quite work out because we weren't in a position to offer because our house wasn't even on the market. um And it was at a time about three years ago, if you remember when Every time a house came on the market, it just got snapped off and you'd get 20 offers in the same house.
00:04:43
Speaker
and And then by chance, we were sort of willing, we were we were ready to pull our house off the market because we did a bit of a house on. And then this house just came up and was down the road that we loved because it's just like, a it was quite close to us anyway, where we were before.
00:05:00
Speaker
but everyone kind of knows about this road and it's just a really nice road because it's local to everything but you also get kind of semi-rural feelings we're surrounded by fields and the layout and everything it just you could see the potential straight away so it had the damp kind of the space just to turn into a really nice family home so yeah we we even though was the bright red carpets and i don't think it's been updated for 30 years we just instantly knew that this was the house that we wanted to turn into our family home
00:05:31
Speaker
I said it's quite exciting right if you've got that sort of vi obviously you've got such a great creative vision and you just kind of look at something and go oh just straight away this is this is me down to a tee right?
00:05:42
Speaker
Yeah definitely I think when you know you're going to renovate as well you can see where something potentially can you can add quite a lot of value to it and I think we've got that feeling from this house as well so.
00:05:54
Speaker
Nice and where do you get your inspiration from then? um I obviously look a lot on social media so I do see other houses and I think wow that's incredible like I i love that um and take lot inspiration from other pages but I do also just you know looking in shops and online and and yeah don't know all sorts of places really other houses looking on right move watching TV programmes, just everywhere. Yeah. Was there a room that you thought, oh, I want to tackle all this first? Because it could be a bit overwhelming on a house like yours where you literally, I imagine you had to do every room, right?
Challenges and Successes in Renovation
00:06:34
Speaker
Yeah, every single room. um Actually, the first kind of project that we didn't expect to have to do that did sort of take over was the boiler. so we the day we moved in, it was minus seven degrees and the water wasn't working. And so, you know, we need to expect to move in and have that happy, we've just moved feeling like we were absolutely freezing to the point that you can see your breath in the house.
00:07:00
Speaker
And so the boiler then, I think it took about five weeks because it was just before Christmas. So nobody's really willing to come and fit a boiler and replace all the radiators around Christmas time. And everybody's booked up because everybody's boilers seem to go to pot when it's freezing cold. yeah and So that was the first big project in that It really did feel like it kind of took over for a bit.
00:07:21
Speaker
That literally sounds like every brand designs episode at beginning where you just move in and something massive comes up that you don't want to shell out for and you're freezing. Oh yeah, that was it as well. Like we didn't actually budget for that because we thought the boiler would get us through a couple of years. So that was a big expense. I think it was about 6,000 pounds in the end.
00:07:41
Speaker
So we replaced all the radiators as well. Yeah. and So that was the first big project. And then we tackled the kitchen. And after initially saying that we would work on one room at a time, because we've got four children between us as well, so we didn't want to interrupt everybody's lives, you know, by having just a a building site.
00:08:01
Speaker
and We ended up inadvertently doing everything at the same time because we put an RSA in so open up Kitchen Diner, which then affected those two rooms.
00:08:13
Speaker
And then also above, I can't think of the exact reason, but the it also meant that we had holes in the ceiling upstairs. We thought, oh, well, that's already you know got holes in it. We might as well just renovate that room at the same time. so we ended up doing the ensuite, the kitchen, the dining room, garage conversion.
00:08:32
Speaker
And I think that was it all at the same time, but it felt like a lot. It was a lot, yeah. So not much then.
00:08:41
Speaker
So how did you find that living in ah in a renovation? And it sounds like you did all the rooms at once. So how did you even survive at that point? It was stressful, I'm not going to lie. Like, you do forget as well. I think now we see a new house in the market and we think, oh, maybe we'll do it again. And then I think about it bit more deeply and I remember that stress of just chaos and dust everywhere and just absolute carnage. I mean, we had our entire contents of the kitchen in the living room at one point.
00:09:10
Speaker
um And we had like one singular piece of work surface that we were just working off and everything else was everywhere in the kitchen. So yeah, I mean, it was a lot. And even the floor was uneven, it uneven so we we had to be careful where we troughed on the floor, like just silly things like that that you think, oh, that's manageable. But actually when we were in it, it's really, is hard.
00:09:33
Speaker
Yeah, especially when you bring kids into it, it's just a whole new level of sort of danger, isn't it? I remember at my house, always worrying, haven't got one little girl, but she would just be here running around and having a good time and you're just like, watch that hole. oh watch this Watch this, there's a bit of glass there it's just complete chaos. Yeah, 100%.
00:09:50
Speaker
hundred ofen So did you um have a big DIY background going into this or was it something where you sort sounds like you had some guys come in to maybe do like structural work and that then you thought, or we need to start cracking on with the DIY to keep costs down.
00:10:05
Speaker
Yeah. So our big thing was really just doing with as much of a budget as possible. I think a lot of people go into renovations with the same mindset if they don't have that kind of huge indispensable budget. Yeah.
00:10:18
Speaker
and No way, that's the wrong word. Disposable budget. But things like electrics, plumbing and structural stuff, we yeah we obviously didn't touch that. So that was the main expenses that we had to kind of shell out for. um So, but no, my husband renovated a house before this one and it was just as we kind of met. So I didn't really have a lot to do with that.
00:10:44
Speaker
Although did watch and kind finish it. um So he had a lot more experience than I did. And I i basically have just been panelling walls and decorating prior to this house. So yeah, not a huge amount of DIY experience on my part.
00:11:00
Speaker
I was always that child though that would redecorate their bedroom every six months and like, wow, stuff like that. So always been interested in it. And this house is the real sort of first time I've done any kind of DIY.
00:11:17
Speaker
Interesting. So did you kind of let your husband lead, I suppose, as he had done it before? Yeah, so he taught himself how to plaster. and he He ripped our fireplace out because had an old gas fireplace when moved in.
00:11:32
Speaker
And um we got the gas kind of cut off by a professional and then he drilled out with the brickwork and installed a log burner. It flew in place, luckily. So it was kind of it was set up when it was built for a log burner. So that made it slightly easier I'm not going to say that was an easy job because I know it's difficult um but he yeah was very much led by him and then I've been kind of more involved in the later stages of the decorative side of things and the idea is like I had a hand in you know the kitchen design and that kind of thing but um I didn't actually get involved in the fitting of the kitchen my husband did fit most of it himself another cost-saving kind of thing that we we did um
00:12:16
Speaker
and Yeah, still learning I think, and there's still more to be done, so watch this space. Yeah, I mean that's it, with DIY it's kind of always evolving and you've got to start somewhere, right? And I think you can sort of naturally get more confident and there's so many sort of avenues where you can gain confidence these days. Did you go on sort of like YouTube or anywhere for advice on how to do things?
00:12:40
Speaker
Yeah, with particular projects I did. I think you have to really, you can't, i mean it's it's all well and good. throwing yourself into something but i think there comes a point where you have to kind of look up okay how do I do this next step and and there's only so much you can kind of guess so um for example with I panelled my stairs and my hallway last year and that was something that I'd put off for quite a long time that i knew I wanted to do but it's those angles going up the stairs i was just like whoa like how do how do you even do that um and so
00:13:13
Speaker
I just threw myself into it. There came a point where was like, right, I've only got two other projects on the go, so I as well start a third one, which always seems to be the case. And I just started it, and I think that's a good bit of advice for anybody else that's kind of considering DIY, is just do it. Like, the more you think about it, the more you put it off.
00:13:33
Speaker
and But um once I started it, I actually kind of found it quite enjoyable because then you do start to see it come together and you think, oh, wow I'm actually doing this. I'm achieving something.
00:13:44
Speaker
And so yeah, YouTube, the kind of how to measure the angles and once picked it up, once you know, you know. So, yeah, I think that's been a good resource for us.
00:13:56
Speaker
i said and I feel like when you're in the flow of certain jobs, you know it seems quite daunting at the start, but then when you get in the flow, it actually moves quite quickly and it's quite easy to get stuff done at speed. You have a passion for it as well and you're looking forward to seeing the result. I think that's a huge driver and motivation.
00:14:16
Speaker
Yeah. Did you go wrong at all on the panelling? No, did. happened No, i definitely... remember cutting angles and thinking, oh, that's completely wrong. Now I've got to go back and and in some cases buy a whole new length of wood because I've got it wrong in the wrong place. And it yeah, i don't think there's a single project I've done that's been completely smooth sailing.
00:14:41
Speaker
and You always get bits and pieces. I mean, I'm i'm building a media wall the moment and and I'd probably, i'd I'd say I've done it for one day, one whole day and I've already made mistakes. So um just it's just a learning curve, just going through and kind of learning from those mistakes and and hopefully not repeating them.
00:15:01
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. that's just one of those things like we're actually doing a media wall too, believe it or not, at the moment. And we've had it even just putting masking tape on the wall to like sketch out where it's going to be. It's taken us probably six weeks just to the side on roughly the scale and then actually do it. So these things just take time. But it must be quite satisfying knowing at the end you've saved money and done something that's like always going to be there.
00:15:24
Speaker
I hope so. with change like What have I got myself into? and Is this going to look any good or will it look absolutely rubbish? So we'll feel that way at the end of it, but we'll see.
00:15:38
Speaker
So which one is your favourite of all the sort of DIY you tackled? Because I see you've done quite a few projects, like you've done like, is it the outside garden room and is that your favourite transformation?
00:15:50
Speaker
um The Conservatory was quite satisfying one because it was just a huge dumping ground before. I mean, it was basically like our loft because we just chucked everything in there when we moved. We do have a loft as well, but it was just easier. So it was just a huge eyesore. It was dusty. It was horrible. So to get that to a state where we could use it as part of the house was really satisfying. um Although with the laboratories, as everybody, a lots of people know, they are absolutely freezing in the winter and boiling time that we've not tackled. So I'd say it was not a bodge, but it's not a long-term solution. I think it's quite old and ideally we need to knock it down and get it built properly, but that's just a big expense that we don't have a budget for at the moment. So yeah. But favourite project-wise, i you know, I do love the stair panelling that I did. I think it's really nice to have that as an entrance. When you walk in the house and you're greeted and, you know, it looks nice, it's it's quite rewarding. And, yeah, proud of that.
00:16:53
Speaker
It's funny, isn't it? Because we did panelling in our house as well and it it was all just, like, one colour and then you, like, stick a load of wood on the wall and then paint and you're like, wow, this is, like, completely transformed it and you're just like, it's pretty crazy, isn't it?
Growing a DIY Community
00:17:06
Speaker
Yeah, difference, yeah.
00:17:07
Speaker
like an the question fee i didn't Sorry. so Sorry, can say it can actually be quite cheap as well, can't it? Because like the little panning strips are actually quite reasonable. So if you do make loads of cock-ups, it's not too bad. Yeah, you can make it quite cheap, especially if you have thinner mouldings, because they do vary in price quite a bit. So, yeah, I think it's um it can be a budget and task as well.
00:17:30
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. My personal favourite project of yours was the zip line. So, come on, have you been on it? You've got confess. and That's a huge hit with the kids. so Anyone who comes around, they love the zip line. So, yeah, that was one of those things that i I just kind of, my husband mentioned it and I thought, yeah, I'll believe that when it happens. And then it's actually really good.
00:17:53
Speaker
actually really good yeah That's like the dream thing anyone will in the house. I'd like a lot of flume to go from the first floor down to the ground floor and then a zipline. I'll be happy the rest of my life.
00:18:04
Speaker
Yeah, or one of those washing chutes that goes all the way from the top. Oh, yeah. Yeah, now if we do look at Rightmove, we always look at the tree situation make sure we could put another zipline in. So I think we didn't have that in the next half.
00:18:19
Speaker
I didn't see that checkbox on right move, but maybe they've reached out. Yeah. So regarding your like, sorry, regarding your social media side of it, when did you start to see that really grow? Cause you've got such a big following. It seems like such a good community.
00:18:35
Speaker
Is it something that gradually happened? Oh, do know what? still can't believe that that's my account. I'm like a massive impossible. Weird. um i for about year,
00:18:47
Speaker
i was I was getting less than a thousand views of my videos and and I got to the point where I was like, why am I even bothering? um But then that kind of addiction side of it came back in and I and actually did really enjoy it. So I just carried on. And then panelled my son's room with the black panelling. I don't know if you would will have seen, but that just kind of went crazy.
00:19:09
Speaker
and Absolutely mad how many views that video got. And I... gained about 50,000 followers just from that one video so no without that I'd probably still be you know I wouldn't have anywhere near as many followers as I do so yeah that's kind of how it started to grow and then from there kind of just got more of the bug and just posted more and then kind of tapped into what did well and what didn't do well and panelling is something that a lot of people do seem to be very interested in so i kind of
00:19:41
Speaker
do try and feature that when I can without seeming like a broken record. But yeah, the paneling is everywhere. It like Dan said, though, it always looks good. like We even got one you can sort of buy off the shelf from like B&Q and whatever just for like behind our bed. And it went on in a couple of hours, just gluing. just It actually just transforms a room.
00:20:03
Speaker
oh it really does. And that's what I used as well. It's the £18 paneling kit. And I think people see £18 and think, oh, that's so cheap. um And I did disclose in my caption that had to use two packs. But even so, it's still really good value, I think. And it does just completely transform any space.
00:20:20
Speaker
so And i can't see it going out of fashion anytime soon, despite what a lot of people do say on the internet. Because you've got it in 400-year-old houses, haven't you, in Tewa? Yeah, exactly. do i So hopefully you'll be around for a while.
00:20:33
Speaker
The thing is, if you're happy with the way it looks, it kind of doesn't really matter it goes in and out of fashion. Because that's pretty timeless, isn't it? yeah I think that's a good a good point is that if you decorate for yourself then it doesn't matter if it's in fashion or not yeah definitely how do you find the negative side of social media do you get a lot of negative posts and bits and pieces like that i get the odd comment um from trolls and whatnot and more so on tiktok than instagram I don't use tiktok as much um
00:21:07
Speaker
I don't know what it is about TikTok, but people just seem to go wild. They just don't care what they Yeah, I don't think we're too old for TikTok. You what? i think I might be as well. I just feel like I should probably try and tap into it, but actually my passion is Instagram, so I'm from sticking with that more so. But um I still do get a few comments. and And actually at first, I think my first ever bad comment was that I'd ripped all of the soul out of TikTok.
00:21:34
Speaker
our hallway by making it neutral and ripping up the red hole carpet. it all right miss a I saw that comment and I thought, I felt really hurt. I was like, how can someone say that about my house? like and And now I genuinely just laugh when someone says something negative. it they're not they I don't know these people. all life I'm never going to meet these people. And they do it to everyone. So I don't take it personally.
00:21:58
Speaker
it's but If you're putting yourself out there, I think you just have to expect it. Yeah, really random, though, because we've interviewed, I think you might be the 10th or 11th person we've spoken with. And it seems to be for some reason that women get sort harder, just deal with it. When had anything from the guys we've spoken to about, just don't know why that is. so random. I think with DIY as well, there is still that stigma of, oh, it's a man's thing to do.
00:22:22
Speaker
I did get really a lot of troll comments on a post I did where I'd... It was a really silly little video where I'd just put some trim around the bottom of my banister because there was a gap where we'd fit in the flooring. Oh, yeah, I saw that. Some people just... It really felt like they could just be mean.
00:22:41
Speaker
all Yeah, and some of them were quite funny, but I do wonder if it's because I'm a woman and and I did get one of the angles wrong and looking back, that was a bit embarrassing.
Inspiration and Advice for DIY Enthusiasts
00:22:50
Speaker
But, um yeah, yeah.
00:22:52
Speaker
Yeah, a wrote not very nice things on that video. Really odd, really odd of people. I just can't get it. i mean, it's also not your house, so who cares? It's bizarre.
00:23:03
Speaker
Also, you're a DIYer, you're just making an effort to make your house look nicer. Why should people take that in a negative way? Exactly. And hopefully it's better. Strange people but I've noticed on your page as well you what i really like about it i like when people are really transparent no so not only about just talking about things you've sort of mucked up but like prices where you've bought things and and showing people like your was it your UPVC doors you painted to look like crittle is that something that sort of transformed you thought as you've got on you've grown in confidence you thought I can actually help other people out here
00:23:38
Speaker
Yeah, and you know, it's really nice when people, I get messages sometimes and people say, oh, thank you so much, you've really inspired me. And that really makes me feel like I've done something good, you know, um because they are so easy, these little jobs. and And that had ah actually a real impact on our living room. And again, I'd say it's not a long-term solution.
00:23:57
Speaker
But just updating those doors really modernised the whole space. And it was so cheap to do. I think I shared that it was like 38 pounds. for the paint and the the trim, which was just some peel and stick stuff that I got off Amazon.
00:24:14
Speaker
And yeah, it it went it did really well, actually. A lot of people liked that video, which was great. um i think I think those sorts of ones are really good because there's there's a lot of accounts out there where someone will just have and like an endless pop and they could just rip it out and put in fancy windows, but not everyone can do that. So I think that sort of advice is really useful, I think, to people.
00:24:36
Speaker
I hope so yeah definitely and where you explain it all and it actually I know it probably isn't but it makes it sound quite simple so it does then motivate other people encourage them to have a go themselves yeah it actually was simple though that I mean I don't try i don't want to ever tell people that something's easy if it's not but that was just so easy I mean it took me an afternoon and I'm going to be honest I've never done the other side of the doors and there is the strip where they're they're not like normal opening patio doors they're the sliders so you have that strip where it kind of overlaps and we've had the intention of taking the doors off to paint it for a year now and just never done it so it's not perfect but it's a huge improvement and as someone commented recently that if they thought it was rubbish I replied that it saved the doors from landfill for a bit longer which I think is important you know just to not
00:25:33
Speaker
chuck everything in a skip and when it can be made to look good for a bit longer. Yeah, exactly. And also going forward with your sort of transparency, I noticed you've said a lot of things that you've actually regretted as well. And this is when you've actually spent money on on good things like, was it the black fittings you said that just total, just what you would never do again? I think that's really helpful for people.
00:25:55
Speaker
It's um such a big investment when you think we did it across two bathrooms. So our main bathroom and our en suite, And it was in fashion, wasn't it? I mean, it still is. Oh, yeah.
00:26:08
Speaker
And it looks great when it's new, but I don't know if it's because we've got we're in a hard water area. But we do have a water softener. I've never used um chemicals or bleach or anything on the black.
00:26:19
Speaker
But in our main bathroom especially, it's just it just flakes off and and reveals the silver underneath. And it looks awful. And to think that was only really just over two years ago that we replaced those.
00:26:31
Speaker
I mean, they really just don't stand the test of time. So I 100% would advise anyone not to bother. um I was told that that if you do invest a bit more and get PVD coated fittings, I think they are made to last, but i haven't looked into the price difference. So I imagine it is quite a bit more.
00:26:50
Speaker
Well, that's where it's hard, right? Because it's a bathroom. If you want to change something like that, then you have to rip quite a lot of stuff out to replace all these bits. It's not easy to replace. And then you've got the cost of the plumber if you're not um ah you able to do yourself. So yeah, it is quite a costly mistake. And it's something that i wish I'd researched a bit more before we got those.
00:27:13
Speaker
But then it's hard to research. You kind of look out for reviews and stuff like that and you're like, well, how much do I trust these reviews? Like you say, it's taken a couple of years for something to go wrong. So even if someone had had the same problem as you, it'd probably been a lot later in time than you when you're looking for the reviews.
00:27:34
Speaker
And you know what else? We did everything kind of so quickly. You do get decision fat fatigue. I mean, you probably get it as well with your renovations. You just have to choose so many things. Yeah. We were like, yeah, that looks good. Let's just go with it without actually having the time to really research.
00:27:49
Speaker
but Yeah, the details in just one room can be crazy, especially something like a bathroom or a kitchen. There's probably 40 decisions to be made in such a small room and like five or six different either tradesmen or DIY things you need to do. can just be so overwhelming.
00:28:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, when you think the amount of decisions you do have to make, I guess a few of them are bound to be wrong or things that you look back on and wish you'd done them slightly differently. So I guess if you look at it like that in a positive light, we've not done too badly.
00:28:20
Speaker
Yeah, exactly exactly. So would you have any advice for the guys listening at home about, you know, if they want to start a renovation, how to actually deal with it, especially in your case, you said you have a family as well and it must have just been chaos for quite a long time. What's sort of the best method of dealing with it?
00:28:38
Speaker
Just don't do what we you did and do it all at once. and then walk play Because it is carnage. and Some people might fine with that. It's just I personally, yeah, I struggled, but um what else oh I'd say if you're on a budget I mean nobody wants to spend more than they have to on anything right so look into it people trades people get reviews and get three quotes for absolutely everything um and just don't go with the cheapest quote because we made that mistake we went with um I won't name any names but we
00:29:14
Speaker
we worked with a builder and he was the cheapest by far all like brilliant like we just wanted it done on a budget and done quickly but we need now to relay our whole patio because it's wonky the slats on it properly i mean years ago now we've had that um and you step on it and like half the patio time will flip up just every so often as you walk through the garden and you could just see like even when it was finished straight away It wasn't level at all. It was a complete slope towards the end. So that was a complete podge job.
00:29:46
Speaker
And we'll spend double now fixing it. So if we'd have just you know done a bit more research and found somebody else that had good reviews and and was a bit more money, that would have made much more sense for us. But at the time, we just thought, oh, this is great. It's cheap.
00:30:00
Speaker
Let's just go for it. But yeah, it's not always the best way. So scary though, isn't it? Because unless you get a recommendation from someone in the local area or a friend, it's really difficult just to go off a blank canvas and actually just trust who's actually going to be good because you just expect everyone to try and do it right and try and do a good job.
00:30:19
Speaker
So I don't want scare people at home, but it's it seems like there's sort of more so bad than good, sadly. I do look on Trustpilot as well. I mean, I don't know if everybody's on there, but it's always, yeah, any... heat As many platforms as you can look on for reviews, just do that.
00:30:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good tip. I suppose. And also, I spoke to few people before and they said, like, have a look down the road. If someone else is having some work done and you can see that the tradesmen are good, you can always poke your head in and ask what they think and if they would recommend using them as well. Yeah, that's a really good tip.
00:30:56
Speaker
Yeah, because I think sometimes it can all look good when it's finished as well and then you live in it for a bit and it starts to go wrong. But we' we' Dan and I, we've said it on a few other episodes. um We're always amazed that so people just almost get away with it. It seems one of the only industries where you just move on to the next job after having done a bad job and then there's just sort of no consequences. It's bizarre.
00:31:17
Speaker
know. you kind of don't want to, I mean, these people know where you
Current Projects and Future Plans
00:31:22
Speaker
live. So you don't want to like put a bad review out there and then, you know, I don't know for me personally, i just I would never want to expose somebody publicly even if I didn't have a great experience. like If I was talking to someone face to face, I'd say, oh you know, be wary of this company, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable putting a bad review out there and then potentially, ah don't know, I don't know what the consequences would be. i just It just isn't something that sits well with me.
00:31:51
Speaker
No, definitely not. So um you've got the media wall. Have you got anything else in the pipeline coming up? I am currently panelling the upstairs hallway because that's just the part that I left when I did the downstairs. So I did to the top of the stairs and and then stopped. And it's already kind of coming together and it looks really nice, but I've run out of materials for that one. So that's the part.
00:32:14
Speaker
Classic. We need to do the bathroom. So we put some slack panelling on the walls and it it was a dodgy batch. um and it's all got water damage so i need to rip that off and tire in there so that's another project for the new year i don't think much of what happening this side of christmas now apart from hopefully media wall um okay yeah that time of year it shuts down a bit yeah yeah because it just creeps out doesn't it i mean it's only what five weeks until Christmas, six weeks. god du Don't panic me, I haven't sorted anything.
00:32:51
Speaker
Well, amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We sort of always end on the same question, which is sort of what you say to the guys at home is sort of the best thing about DIY and renovating your own home. And then on the flip side, sort the worst part of it.
00:33:05
Speaker
And what, through your experience of doing your own house, what would you, what would you say to the guys? The best part is just seeing after. i mean, we all want to do that click and it just be done like you see online, but of actually going through it, putting the work in and coming out the other side and looking at it and going, wow, I did that. That is just the best feeling because you feel so much more accomplished than if you've watched, if somebody else has done it, you know.
00:33:31
Speaker
I'd say that's the best part and just having it exactly as you want. and We've designed every room and it's everything that we wanted it to be. and it's really, Yeah, we're so happy with it, just how it's all turned out.
00:33:44
Speaker
um The worst thing about renovating is actually living in the house when you're ready. That is probably the worst thing. Just, yeah.
00:33:56
Speaker
Yeah. It is worth it though in the end. don't want to be a Debbie Downer. think The thing is, everyone sort of says the same thing, but it is doable because everyone gets through it. You've just got to just, you know, just get through it mentally and physically.
00:34:10
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. um So if anyone else else is going through that, just do hang in there because it does it does end eventually. The dust does finally leave. Oh, I Honestly, we cleaned our sofa about a year after we'd had our rsj put in, which was the main reason for the dust. And there was still dust in the sofa. It activates everything.
Episode Wrap-Up and Listener Engagement
00:34:32
Speaker
Oh, it's so scary. It must just be in all of our lungs as well. Not to end in a really sour note. Yeah. But thank you so much for joining us. Could you please let everyone at home know where to find your Instagram and other social media channels?
00:34:47
Speaker
Yes. and So Instagram, my handle is at underscore home underscore with underscore Betty. And I think it's the same on TikTok, actually. And that's is the extent of my social media channels.
00:35:01
Speaker
Lovely. Nice and simple and nice name as well. Well, thanks for joining us and and good luck with the media wall and everything else you're up to. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and good luck with your media wall as well. Thanks. Thanks. See you. Speak to you soon.
00:35:17
Speaker
Thanks so much, Betty. well Another great episode in the books, mate. Yeah, love it. I love speaking to all these different people, DIYers as well. Just all those hacks and tips and stuff is just like amazing for the for listeners. Yeah, and she's got one of those accounts as well where you're just like, well, I'm just jealous of it because mine just doesn't look like that. The feed is just nice, isn't Everything looks nice. You just want to click on it. Home just looks immaculate. Yeah. Yeah, and so many tips. lay and just like ah ah know, obviously, there's affiliate money and yeah stuff, but it's just useful showing people like the Amazon places to go and get what she's actually done and bought and tried and tested as well. Yeah, I think that's so helpful because a lot of people do look on Instagram or YouTube for advice and also for like if they're looking for like a light or or I need this device or whatever and to have a handy link. I know
00:36:04
Speaker
people get paid for it but it is super helpful that you can just click through it and just grab something right oh definitely i find it so annoying when it admittedly it's like interior designers and i guess they can't show all their like secrets to a degree yeah some people i've messaged me oh where did where's that light from whatever yeah they just don't reply or like and you're just like oh i know it's like your job to make you a You can do like a Google search, can't you? Yeah. Like take a photo the image and the image, but it doesn't always work. So I just like transparency. And I like that she also said about like mistakes she's made. Yeah. Like the black fittings, which I've also heard about black fittings going a bit wrong with like limescale and stuff. So I like just people that are transparent like that. Yeah, it's great, isn't it? Because like that honesty is good because you look at this stuff, you're like, wow, black looks amazing. like It's so in at the moment. But like in the reality, after a few months, it doesn't look as great, does it? Or it's a bit like useless, really. Yeah, hard to clean, those sorts of things. I think brushed brass can do a similar thing.
00:37:03
Speaker
so I've got it in my downstairs loo and parts of it are already starting to, I don't think rust is the right word. It just doesn't stay as like clean forever. Yeah. Yeah. So it's one of those things I like people that are transparent because, again, that helps you, doesn't it? Yeah. It certainly puts me... I don't think I would ever put in black now, or even if it sort of came back in fashion. No. I'm bit scared of it now.
00:37:20
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's always that battle, right, making somebody look amazing, but you want longevity as well, right? You don't want to redo your bathroom every, like, six months because stuff's, like, going out of fashion or it's, like, going horrible, right? Yeah, yeah. And obviously she wouldn't be an influencer without doing panelling as well. Of course. It's always nice see people do panelling. Yeah, always good see a bit panelling. And the zipline. And the zipline as always great. I mean, I want a zipline. Yeah, yeah. I think we need to get that done. Zipline into a paddling pool. Oh, yes. Or maybe a swimming pool. If I'm dreaming, I'll go swimming pool. Pretty low bar. I'll go Lydia's paddling pool as a backup. Off the flat roof. Oh, God. You shouldn't have got rid of the pool. Oh, yeah. That was a death trap.
00:38:02
Speaker
ah ah But yeah, that was nice to speak to her. And then we've got another bungalow episode next week. Yeah. Hopefully you guys aren't getting bored of my bungalow. No, definitely not. I feel like I was quite down a few weeks ago about the budget and everything. So I'm feeling more upbeat about everything. And I've got some cool stuff that to share, like um had some plumber quotes and things like that in. I was talking about had a bit of a plumber issue where my plumber couldn't do anymore. So I'm going to the depths of it.
00:38:27
Speaker
next week as well again so and hopefully we' get we're nearly at watertight level as well yeah so that'll be quite exciting that means we can start getting in that extension and doing all the fun stuff that's it put it back together right yeah can't wait yeah it well thank you for you all listening um as a always feel free to drop us an email we've got quite a few in the queue haven't we so we'll probably do an episode in the near future where we just bang out some questions right but yeah if you've got questions you want us to answer it then please reach out to us at ah hello at the DIY Guys podcast or drop us a DM and we'll try and get back to you. And if we don't know the answer, we'll probably just ask one of our guests. definitehanly Definitely. Nice one, mate. Well, I'll see you next week. Yeah, catch you next week.