Dad transforms two-bed house by himself in a year – and it’s now worth £175k MORE

A DAD has transformed his entire family home in just a year and made £175,000 in profit after nearly doubling its value.

Alex Dodman, 35, lives with partner Sarah, 35, and their daughter Allie, four and son Eddie, one, in Saffron Walden, Essex.

The couple bought their two-bedroom home in July 2017 for £250,000 and Alex immediately began transforming it into a sleek and stylish four-bedroom property.

They have spent £100k on the total transformation- which seems like a fair amount – but the home is now worth £525k – giving Alex and Sarah a profit of £175k.

The handyman dad said: “Originally our home had two bedrooms but we extended and converted it so that it now has four bedrooms.

“We started renovating it straight away as it was a complete wreck.

“We had to live in a rented flat for four months until we could get the property to a liveable condition as we completely gutted it and ripped everything out, including the plumbing and electrics.“

Alex then built a double extension and began knocking down the walls upstairs while this was being built.

He said: “Then we got all of the other main things done such as laying new plumbing all around the house and getting the electrics fitted, while there was no plaster or ceiling plaster on, so that it was easier to get all these done.

“Once all the new plumbing and electrics were done and the extension shell was built, we got all the rooms plastered so that we could start decorating them.

“The first room I got finished was the main bedroom upstairs and as this had an en suite bathroom, we were able to move out of our rented flat and basically just live in that bedroom and cook with a microwave in there.“

The family lived in the finished bedroom for two and a half weeks while Alex took time off work to fit the downstairs kitchen – which was the biggest part of their home transformation.

The large, open plan kitchen would cost the couple a fortune to renovate and so, to save on money, the thrifty dad took matters into his own hands saving £3,500 in the process.

Alex had purchased a brand new kitchen, to be fitted into the home's extension, and had hoped the company would quote him a "decent price" to have it fitted.

He said: “It was a case of slowly working around the other rooms in the house getting them decorated and carpeted so we could eventually live in all the rooms.

"After spending quite a lot on the kitchen itself I thought the company might give me a decent price on fitting it but that was the best quote they could give me.

"So I first had to get the room painted and then insulate it and lay flooring.

"I had an electrician come in and get all the wiring in place for where I wanted things to go.

"Then a plumber came in to get the gas pipe in the middle of the room for where I was going to fit the hob and also get the water pipes laid to where I was going to have the sink and dishwasher.

"Once this was done and I had laid the floor, I was ready to fit the kitchen.

“But the only other thing I had to go on was a 3D drawing that came with what it was supposed to look like once it was fitted so I had a general idea of where everything had to go.”

Incredibly, Alex managed to put the kitchen together in just two and a half weeks.

He said: "I just took my time putting everything together and slotting it all into place.

"But the hardest part was having to cut the Minerva worktops as I had absolutely zero experience in cutting exact holes neatly for the countersunk sinks and also a hole that the hob could slot into.

"I tried to get a quote for a worktop specialist to cut these three holes but the best price they could give me was £600.

“It took me more than an hour to cut out each hole myself but as I did it really slowly and took my time it was worth the effort to save the money.”

Alex's favourite part of the kitchen is its open-plan style, which is big enough for a table and sofa – and has become the main room of the house.

As for the rest of his home, the dad managed to complete it in just one year, spending a total of £100k – and even found the time to build a gym at the bottom of his garden.

Thanks to Alex's epic transformation, the family's home has since been valued at £525k.

But the couple won't be stopping there and still have plans to add extra bits to the house, including a swimming pool.

Alex added: "Without a doubt, my favourite part of the house is the kitchen which opens up into the patio and the pizza oven.

“Although it might soon be the top of the garden once I've finished building the swimming pool.”

Meanwhile, a single mum-of-two with NO DIY experience transforms her drab pad into a plush family home for just £4k.

And this couple who purchased run-down 1930s house turn it into dream home with eBay bargains.

Plus this woman was quoted £1k to replace her "outdated" floor did it herself by painting tiles which were "ready for the bin" for £100.

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