Browse Forums General Discussion 1 May 31, 2010 1:59 pm Okay, so my fiancee and I have been our house about 18 months now and have decided we'd like to make it more comfortable. It's a 90-odd year old weatherboard that hasn't really had much done to it over the years other than an ex-office kitchen installed and the toilet brought inside. We know what we want to do and have been mocking up designs in My Virtual Home but are not entirely sure of where we go to from here. To be honest we don't even know if we can afford the reno. We don't really want to get an architect involved - the extension we're proposing is really only a 4.5 x 8.7 box on the back of the house and moving the kitchen and bathroom into the existing structure. Do we go to a drafty to get proper plans drawn and then put it to tender to builders or should we be making contact with various builders straight off? Obviously, we could also get a quantity surveyor involved too but buggered if I know at what stage that would happen. We do know that we'll require a planning permit due to the heritage overlay and the fact that the block is <300sqm but I don't know whether we handle that, the draftsman does, or a builder would. Any advice would be appreciated - I'm sure I can dig up some plans for what we want to do as well. Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 2May 31, 2010 3:43 pm There are a multitude of paths (as you stated) you can take and it depends on your personal preference. You can get a planning consultant to deal with obtaining a planning permit or do it yourself. Yours won't be that easy if you have heritage overlay, or building on the boundary or impacting the private space of your neighbours. Also whatever you think it is going to cost right now - double it. Renovation Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38489 Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 3Jun 01, 2010 8:17 am When we did our renovation, we contacted a builder and he came around to look at our rough plans and go through what we wanted to do. He gave us a quote on the renovation/extension which included all the permit fees and the cost of plans/drawings required. Most builders have got a drafts-person that they always use and usually have a set price that they charge for plans etc. Maybe give a few local builders a call first and see if any of them include the whole lot & then take it from there. Good luck! Building the Canterbury 27E by NBG: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34051 Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 4Jun 01, 2010 2:58 pm Will a builder be able to give an accurate quote on a renovation just from the My Virtual Home designs that we've got? We'd like to get a few different builders to tender for the reno so don't want to be locked into a builder just because we've used their drafty. Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 5Jun 02, 2010 7:29 am Biff Costanza There are a multitude of paths (as you stated) you can take and it depends on your personal preference. You can get a planning consultant to deal with obtaining a planning permit or do it yourself. Yours won't be that easy if you have heritage overlay, or building on the boundary or impacting the private space of your neighbours. Also whatever you think it is going to cost right now - double it. we are just about to start our reno and can confirm what Biff says above - double expected costs good luck! ************* First time renovator VIC Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 6Jun 07, 2010 9:13 am We are looking into renovation our place as well. We wanted to knock out the back crappy extension and rebuild it plus go underneath. Our architect said to expect roughly $2500sm (average builder). What we originally wanted would of cost us over $400,000...we have revised our plans. I would recommend getting a builder out to give you a guide on what you want to do. Do you have any friends who could recommend someone? Where do u live? IMO the quicker you get a rough idea of costings the better placed you will be.
Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 7Jun 07, 2010 10:53 am I'll add, that if you can get away with not demolishing any existing structure then do so. We left the shell of our house in place to cut down on having to rebuild from scratch. Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 8Jun 07, 2010 12:03 pm For some one starting out to do a renovation , you have started the right way by drawing out a plan. maybe also collect some photos of things you like from magazines and websites etc. At this stage best to just do more research with both local builders, architects and draftsman - interview them and tell them what you want ask them lots of questions and then the choice may become clearer. Don't pick the one with the best sales job. just listen and refine from there. One thing for sure, the more you research and the more you clearly define what you gnat the better chance you have of getting it with big cost blowouts. I have done this for a number of people and everyone wins - you, the builder and designer. It just makes it easier to have a clear strategy and work with people who know what you want. Re: House Renovation - Where to start? 9Jun 07, 2010 7:58 pm Thanks for all the advice guys. We're certainly trying to minimise the amount of structural work to be done to the existing shell. Typical of the weatherboards here in Melbourne, the only thing we'll demolish is the lean-to on the back of the house and only one other internal wall. We know we're going to have costs for moving the bathroom and kitchen (that's what's being demolished). There is some work that will have to be done to the existing building such as replacing the floors and potentially the weatherboards (currently got plastic cladding - original boards are underneath in unknown condition) and roof (it doesn't leak but that's about it. We have a friend in Seddon just around the corner who is renovating and while his budget is significantly bigger than ours, we're hoping to use some of his contacts. We're thinking of going to a draftsman next; would you recommend talk to them or go straight to some builders? Hello Josh, This is Irving from PRIMA, we are a manufacturer of the staircase, railings, kitchen cabinets, windows, doors from China. If you have requirement to purchase… 0 5458 Coming back to your old stomping grounds, huh? Renovations on a budget can be quite the journey. It's like giving your house a new lease on life. The twist of not knowing… 1 3477 Assuming the structure of your cabinetry is good then I would DIY everything as follows: - replace your counter tops entirely, - replace all drawer runners with soft close… 1 4782 |