A single working mother renovated this townhouse in Dudelange between October 2019 and September 2020. Photo provided by the homeowner

A single working mother renovated this townhouse in Dudelange between October 2019 and September 2020. Photo provided by the homeowner

This summer Delano is asking readers to share “My home renovation”, a home improvement project that could inspire others. In today’s instalment: A single working mother (who did not wish for her name to be published) shares how she completely gutted and rebuilt a townhouse in Dudelange on a tight budget.

Project overview

Name: Anonymous.

Occupation: Single mother with three children, employed in the financial industry.

Location: Dudelange.

When did you start your renovation project and how long did it take? Compromis [preliminary sale agreement] signed end of July [2019], acte de vente [bill of sale] mid-October, started the renovation directly on 15 October, moved in end of April (first covid lockdown in between), finalising renovations (the outside) end of September 2020.

Why did you start this project and what did you want to accomplish with the renovation? I was renting a flat and, end of 2018, my owner decided to sell it, giving me fortunately a one year notice period. The price of the flat was not affordable for me.

As a single mother with a low budget, I tried different options: 


Read also


Briefly describe the work that you undertook: I only kept the walls! Renovation done: a fully new electrical installation; a new heating system that was totally inexistent; a new bathroom installation; a new roof with insulation (including removal of existing Eternit tiles); new windows, including installation of Velux windows and the creation of a balcony door; new repartition of rooms by breaking and building new walls; renovation of all walls and ceilings; new plaster and paint; partial new slab and new floors everywhere; renovation of the exterior façade with insulation; renovation of the courtyard with new drainage and waterproofing; changes of pipes and sewage; and installation of a new kitchen.

Budget? €100,000 for the full total with no architect and myself as ‘project manager’. The house is about 140 square metres.

Now that work has been completed, what are you most pleased about? Dealing with the six month deadlines accorded by the credit deferral to renovate everything before moving in (first lockdown included in this period, that allowed an extended two month credit deferral). Performing all renovation, and more than expected before living in the house (no need to live in the dust) that fit my low budget. 

I was able to identify the companies that are definitely robbers with the prices requested.

I identified the weak points of the house and orientated the renovation to correct them as per priority point before the design of the house itself (lack of luminosity, lack of insulation, humidity in the annex).

Looking back at the project, what would you do differently now? First maybe to knock down the house and rebuild it instead of renovating, if I had time and budget. I would have loved to use more green products for the renovation, but the criteria imposed by the government and the increase of the estimates when asking to apply these criteria by companies was not affordable for a low budget. Companies increase the estimates to get the public incentives themselves.


Read also


What is your advice for homeowners starting to plan their own renovation project? Ask more questions and ask for more recommendations on pages like the Facebook group. I regret not finding a list on the [website] naming and shaming companies to avoid, or to be able to amend it.

Try to find a “checklist” for all types of work based on local regulations; what has to be done and what can definitely not be done. For example: I had to redo the roof of my annex because the French roofer laid tiles and according the roof slope, this was forbidden in Luxembourg regulation and I had to replace it with zinc [in order] to be covered by insurance.