A mum had the roof of her house ripped off in a 'now or never' bid for more space in her Liverpool home.
Emma Haxton has been documenting the ups and downs of buying a doer upper on Instagram. She grew up in a period home in Scotland and is a self-confessed sucker for period features.
When her family bought the South Liverpool property in the spring of 2005, she knew it was "heart over head", but had to have it. She has since redecorated, put in a new kitchen and bathroom and also built a downstairs loo.
READ MORE: Panelled period home overlooking famous golf course on market for £1.9m
However, one major project was extending; Emma didn't have much space to play with, but didn't want to move, so decided to go up instead of out: "It was a 'now or never' situation.
"What started out as a dormer loft conversion, grew arms and legs and before we knew it we had no walls or ceilings upstairs and you could see right to the roof. We also decided to extend the kitchen with a side return and the only rooms that weren’t really touched were the two reception rooms downstairs."
The end product is stunning, with glass banisters and a balcony; the two "favourite" features of the house for its owner.
Emma has also restored what she can in the property, but the finishing product may not have been if vandals were successful. She said: "We had fireplaces downstairs and cornicing, but fireplaces in the bedrooms had long been removed.
"We also had the original stained glass surrounds on the vestibule door, but many moons before us, the house was broken into and they stole the vestibule door and tried to take the lounge fireplace, but it must have been too heavy and it was found in the middle of the floor."
Emma is charting her reno journey on Instagram at @project_no.37
The family has since installed a new vestibule door and stained glass windows in a bid to mirror the property's former glory.
The house is deceptively large and Emma has worked hard to make the most of her space. As well as extending, she's created a tranquil area in the side extension which leads out into a compact outdoor space.
Emma said: "I didn’t realise that you could get such large terraced houses when I moved to Liverpool.
"The only thing we would have wanted is a slightly bigger outdoor area, but ours is south facing and a really useable space, which I potter around in a lot. The seating area and pergola will be starting this summer."
Emma has one piece of advice to those looking into a doer upper - pick a good builder.
She said: "We did the full renovation in lockdown, which had pros and cons. Our builders were great and even though I think it caused him quite a lot of stress and frustration when materials were unavailable or rocketing in price, this was never really passed on to us and we mainly managed to complete without too many delays or complications.
"A good builder, who you trust is key. And we had that with ours.
"There is still stuff to do in the house, but to know we have done the bulk of it is a brilliant feeling."
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