Hi Everyone,
I am very pleased to have found such a great forum. I have been reading obsessively for the past couple of weeks and am amazed at the wealth of information that is shared here.
My name is Caz, I'm a SAHM and am in the very earliest of stages of planning a general renovation of our 12yo volume builder home. We live in an awesome location - quiet court, fantastic neighbours, walk to shops, train station, schools and we love our house but it is in desperate need of updating.
Projects we are looking at include:
updating kind of stuff:
-kitchen reno (my no 1!),
-bathrooms - main, ensuite and powder room,
-rendering exterior (currently bagged finish),
-replacing windows with double glazed and french/bifolds in main living/meals area,
-repaint throughout
-recarpet
-make the home more 'ours' instead of an instantly recognisable "[insert builder's name] home"
include more sustainable options:
-hydronic heating
-better insulation options
-replace/use of less toxic materials
structural renovation ideas include:
-extend master bedroom
-possible 3rd storey extension (DH's dream, I think the council would need *ahem* 'extra special encouragement' to approve that, Tony Soprano-style! LOL)
So there we are at the "dream" stage. I am aiming to quantify some of these ideas to determine what we need to do to achieve them. It will be a long process and certainly some years off but that's how we do things around here - dream a big dream, slowly nut out the details and then work like the devil to make it happen.
It's been awesome to read people's questions, opinions already and I'm looking forward to reading the journeys that people have been on to build and renovate their homes. I've learned heaps already and looking forward to much more.
Caz.