Home Reno - Questions + Floorplan Changes?

KHLM · Oct 28, 2022 3:51 pm

Hi Everyone,

We are ready to start a home reno but finding it quite tough..

I've read a lot of materials online and glad I stumbled across this forum!

Some questions we want to get thoughts on, especially things we should consider:

How do you know whether another level can be built on top of the existing one? Someone told us given the house was built in the 50-60s, we can assume we can. Not sure if it's relevant but the house is a weatherboard one in Ryde.
At this stage, we don't have the budget to do a full house reno (ideally adding a second level and moving all bedrooms upstairs if we can). So we settled on just doing a smaller scale reno for now. The tough decision is whether to do the bare minimum or spend a bit more so we can enjoy the home more (though seems like a waste if we are planning a bigger reno in the future). What do people consider when trying to make this decision?
Our top priority is the Kitchen -> Laundry, and if possible an ensuite. If we're doing more than just a cosmetic refresh, we hope to have an open bright kitchen with ample storage, open plan living with a good flow to the outdoor area if possible. The 2 options are what we came up with and hoping to get some feedback or suggestions. Or please share if you see another design that could work for us!
Design A - is it worth the cost (not sure if possible/how expensive this is) to move the external wall just for a little more space?
Design B - quite a big layout change to try fit an ensuite in. Not sure if it's realistic or whether the design / dimensions make sense, eg is that dining space is too narrow/awkward?
Can anyone give rough estimations on how much these designs will cost?

Thanks for reading and any advice appreciated!
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oklouise · Nov 02, 2022 8:06 pm

KHLM

Hi Everyone,

We are ready to start a home reno but finding it quite tough..

I've read a lot of materials online and glad I stumbled across this forum!

Some questions we want to get thoughts on, especially things we should consider:

How do you know whether another level can be built on top of the existing one? Someone told us given the house was built in the 50-60s, we can assume we can. Not sure if it's relevant but the house is a weatherboard one in Ryde.
At this stage, we don't have the budget to do a full house reno (ideally adding a second level and moving all bedrooms upstairs if we can). So we settled on just doing a smaller scale reno for now. The tough decision is whether to do the bare minimum or spend a bit more so we can enjoy the home more (though seems like a waste if we are planning a bigger reno in the future). What do people consider when trying to make this decision?
Our top priority is the Kitchen -> Laundry, and if possible an ensuite. If we're doing more than just a cosmetic refresh, we hope to have an open bright kitchen with ample storage, open plan living with a good flow to the outdoor area if possible. The 2 options are what we came up with and hoping to get some feedback or suggestions. Or please share if you see another design that could work for us!
Design A - is it worth the cost (not sure if possible/how expensive this is) to move the external wall just for a little more space?
Design B - quite a big layout change to try fit an ensuite in. Not sure if it's realistic or whether the design / dimensions make sense, eg is that dining space is too narrow/awkward?
Can anyone give rough estimations on how much these designs will cost?

Thanks for reading and any advice appreciated!
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best options depends on more information and realistic quotes but can you share plans for the whole original house and a site plan showing rough distance from house to all four boundaries and any other buildings and what are the walls floor and roof built out of, does the block have a slope and or views, please describe your local climate and a Google earth view of the roof will help

KHLM · Nov 07, 2022 6:36 pm

oklouise thanks. I don't exactly have all the details you asked for, but I've attached the floor plan and site plan (I dont have something more accurate). The house is weatherboard, with floorboards in living/kitchen areas, tiled in bathrooms/laundry and carpet in bedrooms. The block is fairly flat and approx. 15km North West of Sydney CBD.
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oklouise · Nov 07, 2022 10:05 pm

KHLM

@oklouise thanks. I don't exactly have all the details you asked for, but I've attached the floor plan and site plan (I dont have something more accurate). The house is weatherboard, with floorboards in living/kitchen areas, tiled in bathrooms/laundry and carpet in bedrooms. The block is fairly flat and approx. 15km North West of Sydney CBD.

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any proposal is further complicated by the angled boundaries and lack of specific information so i would first obtain ideas for future floorplans and quotes from companies that do upstairs additions as well as knock down and rebuild so that you have professional advice with on site confirmation of dimensions and local restrictions to compare with the cost and benefit of a shorty term option...(long term i think a KDR may be the most cost effective and result in a much more comfortable home that uses the whole block more effectively) ...renovating can be more expensive than building new and making more than a single door in the original external kitchen and laundry walls that are probably load bearing is not an option as there's not enough space to add a worthwhile extension as it would be too close to the boundary and/or too narrow to be a useful sized space....my suggestion would use the old kitchen for a pantry, laundry and wiw, add a new kitchen and upgrade the old bathrooms...if you check on line flat pac kitchen suppliers eg IKEA or Kaboodle you can work out how the new kitchen and dining area could fit within the room Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

KHLM · Nov 08, 2022 12:10 am

Was hoping to see if there are ideas from people here I could take into consideration/reference to. Will reach out to the professionals, thanks!

oklouise · Nov 08, 2022 6:23 am

KHLM

Was hoping to see if there are ideas from people here I could take into consideration/reference to. Will reach out to the professionals, thanks!

I don't know how we can offer more information without more accurate details...for adding my suggested modest new kitchen and walls for a walk in pantry, new laundry and wiw and upgrading the old bathroom/laundry i would expect to spend at least $80,000 without any major structural changes