My council house is a dive – people recommend buying a pound shop to repair the floors

AFTER recently moving into a council estate, a woman noticed work was needed.

People suggested she take advantage of a purchase in Poundland to renew the floors.

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In one after on Mumsnet, the unnamed user explained the ‘terrible’ state of the house.

She revealed she had been offered a three-bedroom council house and accepted before viewing it.

‘I have to move [soon] and I just got a chance to check it out today and it is an absolute dive,” the poster said.

“It smells like a damp ashtray, the walls are cracked, cupboards and doors are broken off and there are cracks in the tile floor of the kitchen.”

The mother of three explained that she was responsible for the carpeting throughout the house.

“I have a five-year-old, a one-year-old and a four-month-old, I don’t have a lot of money left,” she said.

Despite her financial struggles, the Mumsnet user said she had to make the home safe for her children.

While the woman said she was “not very frugal or creative,” she revealed she was inspired by “a lot of beautiful social housing.”

Other Mumsnet users shared their top tips for ‘turning a mess into a beautiful home’.

“First, take some sugar soap and clean everything you see with it, then remove all the cigarette residue,” one reader advised.

A lick of paint will freshen up the rooms. Paint doesn’t have to be expensive.

“Flooring should be done as you go, you can get cheaper scraps if you go to the shops and put out feelers for carpet fitters.

“Look at pound shops and B&M, our B&M does the packs of floor tiles for a few pounds and sometimes they come into shops.

“You need a little extra glue, but they go in well.”

You can buy a pack of three Tiletastic Wood Adhesive Vinyl Floor Tiles for £3 from Poundland.

The commenter also suggested adding a new coat of paint to the walls to brighten up the space.

Another person agreed that vinyl floors would be a smart move for their home.

“I would look at thick vinyl flooring in the kitchen,” the Mumsnet user wrote.

“We bought old linoleum for the kitchen until we could afford some nice tiles,” said a third person.

“Our town hall was in a decent state when we got it, every room urgently needed to be painted or wallpapered.

“The walls were yellow from nicotine stains, it was disgusting, but now it’s beautiful.”

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