WATCHING hundreds of hours of YouTube videos has helped one couple increase the price of their home by a whopping £142,000.
In a similar way to new Channel 4 show Flipping Fast — where teams compete to make the most profit from property in 12 months — Rebecca Ridley and David Mcdonald did their entire home upgrade in just over two years.
The pair, who saved a fortune on labour costs by doing the work themselves, built an extension, fitted flooring and up-cycled furniture with the skills they learned from online videos.
The savvy savers bought a dingy 1950s three-bedroom semi in Sunderland for £140,000 two years ago and transformed it into a modern home worth £282,000 — leaving them with a tidy £111,000 profit after costs.
Lab technician Rebecca, 25, says: “When we viewed the property there were red carpets, retro tiles and the carpet in the bathroom stunk.
“But we walked through and started envisioning what we would do. I have a lot to thank DIY YouTube videos for as they taught us everything we know. Anyone can do it as long as you have a little bit of patience.
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“We did all our DIY around full-time jobs and most of our work was done on evenings and weekends. You do sacrifice going out and having a social life for a little while but it’s worth it.”
Window fitter David, 30, says: “We also used Instagram reels, which were amazing. You can learn how to do anything online.
“It’s brought us really close and the renovation has given us great memories.
“We’re now selling our £140,000 home and it’s valued at £282,000. We are over the moon.”
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The couple used a canny trick for bagging the most profit. Rebecca says: “We looked for a good postcode, then we decided to buy the worst house on the best street.
Here is a breakdown of what they did, and the money they saved.
DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM — SPENT £1,000, SAVED £800
THE couple would have spent £1,800 on renovating their bathroom and utility room if they hired professionals, but instead they spent just £1,000 over four months.
Rebecca says: “The bathroom we wallpapered ourselves.
“David also put in the toilet waste pipe, so we just had to pay a plumber to put the toilet and sink in.
“We made the space seem larger by painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls.
“The utility counter top was a leftover kitchen worktop we built ourselves, which we reused.
“Tiling and grouting may seem daunting, but it’s actually easy. It’s a messy but satisfying job.”
PORCH — SPENT £2,000, SAVED £5,000
NEXT up was the porch, which would have cost £7,000 with the help of professionals. But Rebecca and David saved £5,000.
Rebecca says: “David fitted the windows and front door and altered the height of the roof with the help of his brother.
“We also tiled the floor. The paint on the walls was colour matched to our tiles from Wickes.
“The only people we had to pay were the renderer and the electrician as we couldn’t do those jobs ourselves.”
The couple sourced the tiles from Facebook marketplace, costing half the RRP.
GUEST ROOM — SPENT £600, SAVED £1,000
THE guest bedroom, which took two months to renovate, would have cost £1,600 with professional help, but they managed to do it for £600.
Rebecca says: “We built our own wardrobes.
“To cut costs we adapted doors from an old Ikea wardrobe we already had into sliding doors, learnt from YouTube.”
“We also got B&Q to colour match two Farrow & Ball shades, a pricey designer paint company, and this saved £100 alone.”
DRESSING ROOM — SPENT £275, SAVED £100
THEY also managed to save £100 when doing up their dressing room.
Rebecca says: “We made a foliage wall on the cheap using panels from Ikea and faux flowers from The Range.
“We jazzed up Ikea drawers using sticky-back vinyl for the pulls and offcuts of wallpaper for the tops.
“Feature walls can be impressive, and they are very easy to do. I created the arch behind the dressing table using a tape measure, a pencil, a piece of string and a nail.”
EXTENSION — SPENT £10,000, SAVED £10,500
EXTENDING the side of the home cost £10,000, but would have been £20,500 if they got professionals in. It took eight months to complete.
Rebecca says: “David, his brother and mates, built the extension and fitted the windows.
“David did the plasterboarding and built the floor up. We laid the herringbone floor laminate tiles ourselves, saving over £2,000 for a joiner. We watched ten hours of YouTube videos on how to do it and it worked so well.”
BEDROOM — SPENT £700, SAVED £500
Rebecca and David spent £700 renovating their bedroom in one month after being quoted £1,200 for the job.
They used fitted wardrobes from Ikea and painted them themselves.
KITCHEN — SPENT £6,000, SAVED £9,000
NEXT up was the kitchen, which took three months. Rebecca and David spent £6,000 after being quoted £15,000 for materials and labour.
Rebecca says: “We shopped around for our kitchen as we were originally quoted over £9,000.
“But we got an almost identical design for just over £3,000 from B&Q.
“We fitted the kitchen with the help of David’s friend and more YouTube vids.”
EXTERIOR — SPENT £7,000, SAVED £4,000
THE house’s exterior needed a fair amount of work, with the couple spending three months and £7,000 on updates.
Rebecca says: “We dug up the old front garden and paving, and as a simple way to bring the house into 2022, David and his friend laid new blocks.
“Then we fitted a new front door, windows, guttering, roof tiles and lead in the roof.”
GARDEN — SPENT £2,500, SAVED £6,500
THE garden also needed a makeover. Rebecca says: “We dug out four gigantic tree stumps, and over 60 tonnes of soil ourselves — a job a tree surgeon would charge £3,000 for.
“We wheelbarrowed it to the front of the house and got a grab wagon, which is a truck with a crane attached to it, to collect it. It worked out cheaper than hiring a £60 skip.
“David built planters using sleepers picked up from a builder’s merchant. We laid paving slabs and built a garden bar using spare materials.”
LIVING ROOM — SPENT £1,000, SAVED £1,000
SPENDING two months freshening up the living room cost the couple £1,000 — half what professionals quoted.
Rebecca says: “We removed the old-fashioned stone surround from the fireplace and added a modern electric fire.
“David built the new surround himself and tiled the inside of the fireplace.”
FLIPPING TIPS
SCARLETTE and Stuart Douglas from TV’s Flipping Fast give their top tips…
FORGET WHITE WALLS: Be bold, use colours as long as they’re not garish.
VISIT YOUR LOCAL DUMP: You’ll be surprised what people get rid of that you can upcycle.
BUY BLOW UP BEDS: You don’t need a bed frame and mattress when styling the bedrooms — buy a cheap blow up bed, put it on wooden crates and dress it as if it were a real bed.
PIZZA PAINT PARTY: Get your mates round with some paint and get some pizza in, have a laugh and it doesn’t even feel like work.
MATES RATES: Lots of us know plumber, carpenters or electricians. You can’t get anything for free, but they might help you if you cook them dinner and give them a few drinks.
- George Clarke’s Flipping Fast is on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight.
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