Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Feb 26, 2013 10:59 am I thought it was about time I started a thread of our own! Now that we have a lot going on with our renovation and have plenty to talk about A bit about us. We have been married for 13 years and have 4 kids. Trev is a butcher but missed his calling as a carpenter because he is very handy with building things. Sam is a full time mum/photographer who studied Architectural Drafting and worked for a few years before retiring from that and having kids. Previously we have built 2 new homes using small volume builders in SE Melbourne. First in 2001 and second in 2004. We found it extremely frustrating to be locked out of our second house and felt so cut off from it. The first one we built had an awesome supervisor who let us come and go as we pleased. A little over a year ago we sold up our second home to move to a small town where we decided to get a little old house and renovate it for something different. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is our first owner builder experience and it's fantastic to be so involved. We have a brilliant carpenter and hopefully the other tradesmen will be just as efficient and easy to work with *crosses fingers* Maybe it's blind optimism, or my fascination with building and experience in the industry, but I don't understand all of the negativity we have recieved from everyone about what we're doing. Everything from "just push it over/throw a match on it and build a new one" to "waste of money" has been said to us over the last year. I called my blog "Not My Nightmare" in honour of some one who said it "sounds like a bloody nightmare" when I told them our plans lol By the way most of the time it's Sam who is posting here but Trev will sometimes sneak on. He's not as chatty as me so you'll probably be able to work out who has posted. Link to my blog HERE have a look back to the first post if you like to see how far we have come along already. Leave comments if you like and we're happy to answer any questions you may have Cheers, Sam Edited to add that we are at frame stage and it's almost complete and ready for the colorbond roof to start. It's scheduled for this week if the rain holds off. I know we need rain and all but if it holds off for a week then we'll be most pleased! A blog about our renovation http://notmynightmare.blogspot.com.au/ Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 2Feb 28, 2013 12:16 pm Our frame has been inspected and passed by the building surveyor so I'm happy to say that is done and over with Now it's ready for the roof to go on! In other news, Trev discovered that the front door is actually 4 panelled on the inside, but had been covered over. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Cheers, Sam A blog about our renovation http://notmynightmare.blogspot.com.au/ Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 3Jun 05, 2013 2:10 pm We are making great progress on the house and the new verandah has been put on now. It has made a huge difference to the look of the house! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ A blog about our renovation http://notmynightmare.blogspot.com.au/ Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 4Jun 05, 2013 4:48 pm What an exciting project. Please do keep posting photos of progress. Old houses like this must have stories to tell. Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 6Jun 08, 2013 10:07 am Thanks for your comments It's good to look back at how far we have come when we get a little tired and over it. At the moment we are feeling like its so close but still so far. A blog about our renovation http://notmynightmare.blogspot.com.au/ Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 7Jun 09, 2013 10:32 am When we reno it's very exciting at the beginning, then you get a little slump in the middle. Then you see the light at the end of the tunnel and it gets all exciting again. Soldier on!!!! Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 8Jun 11, 2013 12:11 pm I am sure it will look fantastic when it's all done. Love your floorboards. Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 9Jun 15, 2013 9:30 pm Good Onya. Our 25 year old son has bought an old house, just about the cheapest that was around, and he is trying hard to do it up himself. He had to get the whole place re-wired and has just had a new roof put on by professionals but otherwise he has a go at it himself. It is such a huge learning curve for him. I can really appreciate what you are doing with your place. Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 10Jun 17, 2013 12:33 pm Quote: When we reno it's very exciting at the beginning, then you get a little slump in the middle. Then you see the light at the end of the tunnel and it gets all exciting again. It's getting very close to fitout now which is very exciting Quote: I am sure it will look fantastic when it's all done. Love your floorboards. Trev finished the floorboards yesterday! We had enough to do our bedroom and WIR also so most pleased about that We're going to hire the sander on the weekend so will have a couple of days playing around with that and hopefully getting the floors looking fan-tastic! Quote: Good Onya. Our 25 year old son has bought an old house, just about the cheapest that was around, and he is trying hard to do it up himself. He had to get the whole place re-wired and has just had a new roof put on by professionals but otherwise he has a go at it himself. It is such a huge learning curve for him. I can really appreciate what you are doing with your place. Good on him! I'm sure he will enjoy his house even more after doing so much of the work himself. Hope he is taking heaps of photos too Yesterday I went to Schots get a new lock for the front door and sort out the last of the lights we need. Also went to Ikea to collect the door handles and other things for the kichen that were out of stock, and to exchange a cracked kitchen cabinet frame. I've been assembling the kitchen cabinets ready to be installed once the floor has been sealed. I'm a pro at Ikea cabinets now after assembling 17 of them A blog about our renovation http://notmynightmare.blogspot.com.au/ Re: TrevandSam's Renovation thread! 11Jul 08, 2013 11:36 pm Good on you guys! My hubby and I are in the process of renovating our 1970's house. We too are doing an Ikea kitchen, should be delivered in 2 weeks! Hi, Apologies - I know there is plenty out there on this but struggling to put together the puzzle. We're planning our garage/external laundry to master bedroom and… 0 11117 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 5456 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 3476 |