Lizzie Williams, 37, and her husband Phil, 40, who works in finance, bought a four-bed semi-detached house in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in June 2014.
A couple spent £150,000 on the “ugliest house on the street” and managed to double its value with a DIY trick they learned from YouTube.
Lizzie Williams, 37, and her husband Phil, 40, bought a four-bedroom semi-detached house in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in June 2014. They said the house was the “ugliest” one on the street. 4 years – There were holes in the ceiling, plants were dying, and there was fungus growing in the downstairs toilet.
Lizzie and Phil renovated the property themselves over nine years, saving an estimated £200,000. They used his YouTube to learn how to do plumbing, do electrical work, build pools, and install kitchens. They also hired a contractor to build an addition to the back of the house and install a new roof.
Renovations were completed by September 2023, making it a dream family home. They spent a total of £150,000 of their savings and salaries transforming “the ugliest house on the street” and believe it has doubled in value. Lizzie, who works in the marketing department, said: “Phil is a detail-oriented person and absorbs information really well.We used a lot of online forums to help us. I was also looking at it,” he said.
“He relied on his friends and family to help us and ask for advice on how to handle the situation. It would be easy to do countless searches on the internet or ask friends. We put our heart and soul into our home. We did many renovations ourselves and made our home truly special.
“Renovating the main house took about six years as we did most of the work ourselves. We finished the garden and fully completed the renovation last year, nine years after we first bought the house. ” Phil and Lizzie bought the house in June 2014 and began renovating it six months later.
They lived in just two rooms while the rest of the house was repaired. Lizzie explained: “We had a front room set up as a bedroom, and then a back bedroom that we used as a living room. In all the other places we worked, we set up one room in those rooms. I lived there for a year. I spent a year in the back of the house while the addition was being built.”
The house had four bedrooms when they acquired it, but Phil and Lizzie enlarged it and converted the garage into four new rooms. Lizzie added: “It's not the same house we bought. We re-plumbed it and added a two-storey extension to the rear with our neighbors. We were able to move the house back into the garden and extend it. I We have renovated the garage by dividing it into four rooms and using it as a utility room, toilet, study and storage room.
“We also stepped back a little bit and the bottom of the house was just a cavity that was used as storage space. We reclaimed that space and now you can walk into our kitchen area. Lizzie and Phil spent a total of £150,000 on the property, had £40,000 in savings, borrowed money and used their salaries to fund the renovations.
Lizzie said: “The £40,000 we saved lasted us about two years, then we borrowed more money and used the rest to pay our salaries. That's another reason why it took so long.” It's been a lot of work, but we love it. ”
She said her favorite room in the house is the kitchen, and said she enjoys the home's “quirky” features, such as the “hangover bench” to sit on in the shower and the TV in the bathroom. Lizzie said: “We really like the kitchen, we love the high ceilings and our own space. You don't really get that in a 1950s house. The ceiling height in our kitchen is 3.5 meters. ” he said.
“It gives you a feeling of spaciousness and openness that you wouldn't get any other way. Of course the pool is cool, which is great for our son William (3) in the summer. We incorporated some fun features: “There's a TV in the family bathroom. There's a bench in the shower, which we affectionately call the hangover bench.”