Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jul 05, 2012 5:19 pm Hi all, Hoping someone can help... My husband I have just bought our first home which is in need of some cosmetic work to be done before we move in. I'm seeking advice as to the best order in which to do things, from a practical point of view but also that is time efficient as we don't want to be paying rent and a mortgage for any longer than we have to. Here is the work that in needs doing before we move in, in the order that I think it needs to be done Pull up old carpet and old skirting boards Move door (to allow for BIR to be installed) Sand and polish floorboards Paint the whole house Add new skirting boards New carpet Initially we were thinking paint before we have the floorboards polished so that we wouldn't need to worry about paint getting on them, but the skirting boards will be replaced so we don't need to cut in to the floor. And it's now unlikely that my husband will be able to take time off work the week following settlement, so we may as well use that time to have the floor sander guy come in and do his thing as we won't be able to walk on the floor for a few days anyhow. Another thing, it does make sense to move the door first right? Otherwise, we'll be left with a patch on the floor were the boards aren't sanded or carpeted??? The house is 1970's style, approx 14 squares, so not that big at all. Time wise... we should be able to rip up the carpet, pull off skirting boards and have the door moved in one day right? How long would you expect it to take 2 adults to fully paint a house? Reattaching the new skirting board and laying the carpet could be done in a day, maybe two??? Overall, we were thinking of allowing ourselves 2 weeks to get this all done, but now that finance has been approved, reality has hit and I'm beginning to think we're being too ambitious. Hubby is still optimistic about it, but thought I'd ask for advice from other experienced renovators. Thanks! Re: First Time Renovators 2Jul 05, 2012 8:02 pm Hi mellee welcome to H1 and congratulations on the new house. I would first of all remove the old carpets and skirting boards and moving the door before anything else. We renovated our old house which was a similar size and age and believe me once you start it can be one drama after another. Do not try and treat it like "The Block" and try and do it in a couple of weeks because it is worth spending the time to do it right the first time. Anyway second would be putting on new skirting boards and then painting. Then After that floorboards and carpets. One thing we found with painting is Bunnings have a cheap undercoat that they sell for about $20 for a 4lt tin and it is actually made by walpamuer and it is twice as good as any ceiling white that you will pay a fortune for and it paints excellent with no drips or splatter and stays white not like the name brand ceiling whites. Good Luck A bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don't need it... Re: First Time Renovators 3Jul 06, 2012 9:35 am Thanks for the tip on the paint Buttercup - we will definietly check that out. Your order is originally what we had in mind, but then thought that when we have the floors sanded, it would scuff the paint on the skirting board. Would that happen? No, we definitely won't be treating this house like "The Block", but are you trying to tell me that we are indeed being to ambitious trying to get all that work done in two weeks? Re: First Time Renovators 4Jul 06, 2012 1:15 pm i think painting the whole house with 2 people...one doing walls, the other ceilings min 2 days. (you get tired, you need food etc) carpet is dependant on the carpet shop. I had allowed 2 days..it took 4, cos they fart around. come and go...cut the wrong bit 'at the shop' etc so it is really up to those layers! good luck Re: First Time Renovators 5Jul 14, 2012 1:07 am Thanks for your help all. Everything is now all booked and we are allowing ourselves 3 weeks max to renovate/repair, move and clean up our rental. All the tradies have told us how long they will take and we've added a contingency as well. Here's how we are proceeding: 1. Builder to move door, 1 day 2. Paint, remove flooring and skirting boards. 4 days 3. Sand and polish floorboards, 4 days 4. Attach new skirting boards, 1 day 5. New carpet, .5 day 6. New doors, 1 day Move, clean etc. I live in a smallish country town and all of my tradies have been recommended to me by friends/family which I'm pretty happy about and they all seem to be nice blokes and willing to have a chat and offer advice (one of the pros of being a woman!) Settlement is still 5.5 weeks away, so we've still got heaps of time to shop around and keep our eyes open for specials. We're off to the Home and Building show this weekend to see if there is anything of interest - went to a baby expo a few years and found that the majority of items were overpriced, but we're hoping at the very least to get some good ideas out of the home expo. Re: First Time Renovators 6Jul 14, 2012 1:04 pm does the outside need doing? ask if you can tackle that before settlement one less job once you are paying the mortgage Re: First Time Renovators 7Jul 14, 2012 1:25 pm The outside does need updating from it's 1975 glory, but we'd prefer not to spend every cent that we've got and that can wait. The garden is neat enough, basic maintenance required. We will need to replace the guttering before too long and we'd like to render and replace the windows (small windows with timber panels at the bottom), and put in full windows. My father-in-law is a plasterer/renderer so he's offered to render the outside in return for a case of beer The owner is living in the house at the moment, and she seems to very... cautious, so access pre-settlement is unlikely. Also, I used to be a conveyancer so am aware of the legal risks of doing work prior to settlement and am very reluctant to do so. Cheers for the input though kiwi. Re: First Time Renovators 8Jul 14, 2012 5:48 pm Sounds good. Tip. Paint the skirtings before you put them on then you only need to touch up the nail holes (after puttying up holes). Much easier than painting carefully so as not to get paint on the walls and floors. Also this saves scratching by the carpet layer as if you have painted them earlier they will have set firm. If you need to paint the doors you can do that outside while waiting for the floor sanding/polishing. Or do it now after you've checked the measurements.. Re: First Time Renovators 9Jul 14, 2012 6:52 pm fair enough. leave her there alone. if it looks ok, no point busting a gut before settlement. not like you need to rent it from day one of settlement etc Re: First Time Renovators 10Jul 14, 2012 8:04 pm Travelbug - we are very like minded. We are going to put the skirting boards on work horses and paint them whilst the floor sander is doing his thing - we reckon that sounds a whole lot easier than painting them whilst on the walls. Yep kiwi - not busting ourselves at all, however given this is our first reno, I'm sure we will feel exhausted by the end of it. On the upside, we've got a 3 week overlap in which to do the work, and our rent is paid in advance and the mortgage will be paid in arrears, so it's not as though we'll have to pay both of them out of the same pay packet. Were struck with: Colorbond Ironstone Grey roof and cream windows. What color should we render and paint the garage door to tone down the cream windows? Farm House, will… 0 40554 Can anyone give me any onfo on New Homes WA? Good or bad, hopefully good just need to know if my choice was good or not? Thanks ❤️ 0 9701 Sadly no movement on site since soak wells went in. 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