Two siblings jointly purchased a house at an auction and managed to save £8,000 on renovations by doing it themselves with the help of ChatGPT.
Heather Roberts, aged 25, along with Anya Hughes, who is 21, embarked on a significant challenge following the purchase of their first flat in May 2024 for £140,000.
The interior had to be entirely removed, and to cut costs, the woman decided to teach herself do-it-yourself techniques—using resources like YouTube tutorials, TikTok clips, and even ChatGPT.
The siblings have been sporting pink overalls with the aim of encouraging other women to explore DIY projects.
Heather, who works as both a barista and an HR administrator in Bournemouth, Dorset, mentioned: "Due to necessity, we opted to take matters into our own hands."
I served as the president of the feminist society during my time at university, and Anya is equally dedicated as the leading advocate for women's rights at her institution, where she also founded and manages the campus's feminist group.
Ever since we understood what the term 'strong feminists' entailed.
“We simply dove right into it.”
“We started documenting it all on TikTok to show two young girls with nails and hair that we don’t have to give up our femininity to fit into this space.
“I’m not very sporty or strong but we just wanted to show if we can do it, anyone can.
“There are options if you can’t get on property ladder.”
The sisters first encountered the property in May 2024 and bought it for £140,000 since “it didn’t get much attention at the auction.”
Heather mentioned, "We didn't anticipate this occurring."
We simply decided to add a fresh coat of paint to the walls and install new carpeting.
We're pretty easygoing folks and didn't mind the condition at all.
We began tackling the project, but soon everything started crumbling.
It was quite an enormous undertaking.
Prior to receiving the keys to their apartment in August 2024, Heather arranged for contractors to provide estimates of the costs involved.
She stated: "On the first day, the builders gave us a quote for removing the fireplace that included an electric fire."
They mentioned it would cost £200 to remove.
We simply approached it with the mindset of a sledgehammer and figured, we can get this done.
Anya moved it away from the wall, and it dropped to the floor.
In just forty-eight hours, we removed everything.
Apart from hiring outside contractors for tasks like plumbing, rewiring, installing the kitchen, and building the extension, the girls handled everything else on their own.
Heather mentioned, "There’s an extensive list of unfinished items we need to complete."
I sense that over the past few weeks, everything has started to fall into place.
The sense of accomplishment has emerged for me over the past few weeks.
There were several significant hurdles, as our porch had entirely collapsed.
My friend's sibling was meant to assist, but they were swamped with their own tasks, leaving me to fend for myself and feel completely overwhelmed.
He installed the beams, and afterwards, I constructed the frames.
I applied the glaze to all the windows myself following a brief instruction session with our builder, and I handled the timber work single-handedly.
“I have just completed the tiling in the bathroom.”
People often inquire what I did over the weekend, and I respond with 'I laid tiles in my bathroom.'
“I’m proud to say that.
“The response from girls online has been amazing.
“We’ve had a lot of comments from girls saying ,‘You’ve inspired me to pick up something’ or ‘love to see this’”.
Heather dedicated 30 hours each week, commuting to her apartment both before and after work, all while managing three different jobs.
Sister Anya has assisted with duties during her university studies and examinations, spending about 10 hours per week alongside her sister.
She stated, "It took three weeks to paint the apartment—I have no idea how much hiring a professional painter would have set me back."
We'd require a carpenter for the baseboards, and once more, I'm unsure about the cost involved.
In total, the sisters believe they have saved approximately £8,000 by undertaking such a significant portion of the renovations themselves.
Sifting through online tips and tricks, they've discovered that social media platforms can be quite useful for acquiring knowledge on repairing various items within their apartment.
Heather mentioned, "We discovered many things on TikTok, yet there's an abundance available."
Jack the Tiler creates excellent video content.
Additionally, we would occasionally search for YouTube videos.
I even entered 'how do I treat wood' into ChatGPT.
Although we didn’t do that for the porch, I requested it to generate a shopping list from B&Q with everything I would need to purchase for it.
If I couldn't inquire of an individual, I would pose my question to ChatGPT.
“My mum is a chiropractor, and my dad is a fine art valuer, so we don’t have a builder in the family or the dad that comes over and does it with us.
My mom and grandmother are true cornerstones in our family and they have extensive knowledge of do-it-yourself projects.
The pair working on do-it-yourself projects have received assistance from individuals commenting online.
Heather said: “Because we’ve been publicly sharing journey a lot of tradespeople saying, ‘maybe next time try this’.
“We’re really grateful for support from brands.
“It’s made the difference”.
The girls have managed to get most of their paint provided at no cost by Brewers Paint and Decorators, and they also received discounted tiles from Tile Warehouse.
“Heather mentioned that their most successful partnership so far has been with Brandon Hire Station.”
“We received a saw sander, a concrete breaker, rotovator and we’re about to get a stump grinder.
It has truly been beneficial since they readily provide us with anything we require.
Ryobi has also provided the girls with different tools to assist them with their final punch list.
A month away from reaching the finishing line, elder sister Heather aims to turn house flipping into her "primary occupation" and intends to put the apartment up for sale shortly.
They share content on TikTok and Instagram using the handle @builtinpink.