We've not handled a renovation of the planned scale before, so the obvious was to get an architect since we wanted to add another bathroom and another car port which requires council approval.
We got the architect on site and explained to him what we wanted. After a few days, an estimate of cost was sent to us and it was a whooping $300k! It's definitely way more than we budgeted for and if we were to spend 300k, we would rather rebuild.
So off I go to google and started looking for local trades person. Decided not to make any major structural changes to reduce the renovation cost - no new bathroom, no new ensuite, not converting existing garage into family area, no new dual garage, and my car will have to go under the sun! Got a few quotes, and most within our budget which is a good news.
I listed the kitchen cabinet+appliance in eBay for auction - it's all or nothing sale which means the winner will need to remove the kitchen appliance and cabinet at their cost. Auction ended at $3.50 which is not much but I saved at least $300 on removal labour. The buyer came and removed everything within days. Happy seller, happy buyer! Thanks to eBay!
Kitchen removed. Left a big hole on my wall but it's ok since it was going to be renovated anyway.
Meanwhile, I decided to spray the wall and ceiling. Bought a Wagner wall perfect spray from Bunnings. There's lots of prep work - wrapping up windows, door frame, a/c, fireplace and etc. After spending hours and hours and days wrapping up, I'm finally ready to spray. To my disappointment, it wasn't as easy as it looks (been watching youtube). I get spatter of paint on my ceiling. After finishing ceilings in 4 rooms, living, dining and 15l worth of paint, I brought the spray painter back to Bunnings to seek their opinion on the pain spatter. Upon checking, I was told there's a problem with the sprayer which causes it to spatter/pulsate. Arghhh!!!! I just wasted 15l paint. Had to buy another 15l ceiling paint! I decided to use roller for correction work instead. It was a lot of work and I started to doubt my DIY skills.
After getting a few quote, we decided to go with one contractor for kitchen work, bathroom and floor polishing. Here's a photo the progress
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| Bar table lowered and to be part of the countertop. Walkway widen to give the sense of space. Most of the carpet removed within days |
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| Bathroom gut out. Dividers removed and most wall plaster removed. Instead of having 2 bath we decided to make do with 1 and no tubs |
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| The bathroom has no windows as the owner added a new family room in the 80s which concealed the windows. Skylight and exhaust fan were added to compensate for the dark space. |
X and G are not happy to find out there will be no bath tub in the house. However, we plan to apply for council approval for a new bathroom and bedroom at the back of the house later. Will include a bathtub in the new bathroom if we go ahead with the plan.
Since the contractor has been doing a great job so far, we decided to let them do the roof, eaves and windows painting
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| Roof tiles cleaned |
While the kitchen and bathroom is being worked on, I started looking for electrician in serviceseeking.com.au. The best site I've discovered. Got at least 15 replies and hired one of the electrician. Work was done within days. Quality of work isn't perfect, but hey, at least he cames back for correctional work.
Out goes the old light and in comes LED lights.
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| Carpet rip off and painted the interior of the cabinet |
We decided to go with ikea kitchen for the cabinet and will probably go with granite/stone top. Since E likes cooking, she gets a 900mm freestanding cooktop, a matching rangehood, a huge sink and a well lighted kitchen. E should have enough space to cook whatever she wants... hopefully
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| Blanco freestanding stove and blanco canopy rangehood from Harvey during promotion for $2298 |
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| Countertop pendent light from Beacon lighting |
Bathroom tiling in progress. Since I am quite busy with work lately, I ordered most of the toilet fittings online - rain shower, glass screen, and taps. Will be installing dual sink vanity unit as there's only one bathroom in the house for now.
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| Tiles laid. Decided to go with conventional colour. |
We decided not to have the top cabinet on the side where the freestanding stove sits to maximise the sense of space. Initially we wanted glass splash back for the kitchen. However we can't get it in one piece as the wall is too tall, so we had to go with tiles instead. On the bright side, that just saves us at least $800!
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| Tiles installed |
We learned that the benchtop will take about 3 weeks to cut upon order confirmation. Learned my lesson to order early in future if I ever renovate again.
Since the tiler is here, and it isn't too much of an effort (it seems), we decided to replace the dated looking tiles in the laundry area as well.
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| Almost there. One more cabinet to be added on the right. |
Meanwhile on the exterior, very happy with the new roof tiles colour. Also note the sun shade was removed. Although practical, it makes the house look dated. Manage to sell them for $80 in eBay
After the carpet removal, we discovered there's a 2cm gap between the doors and the floor! Now that's 17 doors that needs replacement. This unexpected expense is starting to bite us. Off to Bunnings again!
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| Good thing Bunnings priced their doors reasonably |
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| Came across this solid meranti door in eBay. I think it will be suitable for the rear door. Pure luck... I won the auction for $12.15!! |
It's been about 3 weeks now and we are hoping it will all be done in another 2 weeks.
