They bought a neglected house they didn't want to enter and turned it into a gem
Ivan sold his village house to buy a small cottage in a garden cooperative near Minsk. The man did almost all the renovation himself in just a year and a half: he clad the building with Karelian spruce, overhauled the stove, re-planned the layout, and created a new home for his entire family, Onliner reports .
— Our dacha story began a year and a half ago. My wife and I are pensioners: she was formerly a medical worker, and I was a labor teacher with 17 years of experience. I am originally from a village in the Grodno region, and my wife is from Minsk; we have been together for over 40 years. We started our life in Minsk, where our daughter and son were born. In 1994, we bought a house in a village in my homeland and moved there. When the children grew up, we returned to the capital, and our parents stayed in the village. Over time, it became increasingly difficult to look after a large household and a huge plot of land.
In 2024, the question arose of selling the village house and buying a small plot closer to Minsk. We hoped to find a ready-made option so as not to invest effort in construction. We visited many places and one day came to the garden cooperative "Sosny-Sad" (Pine Garden) – there was a dacha for sale with all amenities and designer renovation. But it was too small: just one room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. However, the place itself captivated us: sufficiently wide streets, a forest all around, several sanatoriums nearby, and Minsk Sea just ten minutes away.
From the locals, we learned that another house on 4 ares was for sale on Sunny Street. We went to the plot and saw complete neglect. The elderly owner found it difficult to maintain the dwelling and was planning to move in with her son. I looked at this house and understood what gigantic expenses and work it would require, so I didn't even want to go inside. But the very next day, we returned. And at that moment, something clicked inside me: I realized this was "our" house. Suddenly, a sense of calm and confidence came over me, that I could handle all the renovations myself.
After the purchase, our entire family began demolishing old outbuildings and tidying up around the main structure. We removed ruined fences, uprooted old trees and bushes, and leveled the entire plot.
In parallel, we removed old furniture from the house, broke down partitions, took out all interior and entrance doors, windows, stripped wall and ceiling finishes, and dismantled the electrical wiring. A compact brick stove was intended for heating the dacha, but it was faulty, so we had to dismantle almost half of it to restore it later.
Dismantling and waste removal took several months. Many decisions were made on the fly – for example, sketches of future rooms were drawn with chalk directly on the floor. To save time, we immediately took measurements and ordered new window units and an entrance door.
Already in the winter of 2024, my relatives urged me to take a break until spring, but the process had completely engrossed me. Besides, things needed to be moved from the sold village house. And the weather was favorable – the winter was mild. First, I dug out and equipped a utility block for storing tools, brought water to the house, and installed internal sewage.
For the interior finishing, only natural materials were chosen: walls and ceilings were clad with pine lining, floorboards were laid in the rooms, and ceramic tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. During the winter-spring period, I independently built new partitions from scratch, installed windows and doors, re-laid and started the stove, assembled a bathroom with a shower cabin, completely wired new electricity, and insulated and clad the walls on the second floor.
With the arrival of spring, the whole family joined in the renovation. Tremendous help came from my 86-year-old mother-in-law – she helped us level the plot and clear debris. By summer, we had sown a lawn, planted a young orchard with apple, pear, cherry, plum trees, and berry bushes, planted thujas around the perimeter, and set up a small greenhouse. A part of the utility block was designated as a summer kitchen.
For the facade work, specialists were invited: the house was thoroughly insulated for year-round living and clad with ready-made Karelian spruce lining, and the roof was also re-covered. By autumn 2025, all the furniture was in the house, and we had moved in our main belongings.
By spring, we gradually eliminated minor imperfections and bought additional furniture. To complete everything, only a few things remained: a fence with a gate, plinth insulation, stairs to the second floor, and two porches. I set a goal to finish everything by the end of summer.
Out of the entire huge scope of work, external specialists were only involved for drilling the well, burying sewage rings, laying tiles, and finishing the facade and roof. I did all the connections, wiring, and interior renovation myself.
We spent a lot of effort, but the result brings satisfaction. For us, this project proved: the main thing is not to be afraid to take the first step and persistently strive towards the goal; then any difficulties are overshadowed by the joy of the finished result.
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