All Topics / Help Needed! / ORDER OF RENOVATION

Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • Profile photo of DinahDinah
    Member
    @dinah
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 30

    Hi There

    There is so much great info in all the forums so, here goes…..
    I have a house which needs the following major-ish things doing (listed in no particular order)

    1. new tin roof and guttering
    2. exterior paint
    3. interior paint
    4. timber floor polishing
    5. recarpeting in 3 bedrooms
    6. bathroom gut & makeover
    7. kitchen makeover
    8. new light fittings
    9. extra power points
    10. window replacement x 2
    11. extra ceiling fans fitted

    I’m planning to start work on it 14 Jan and have decided to do the roof second last and the outside painting last.

    For the interior I plan to do the biggest messiest stuff first (bathroom & kitchen) and finally the timber floors and carpeting before the interior painting (painting being the last of the interior work.)

    To me it seems logical but am I missing something that I should be thinking of so that things run really welly?

    As this is my first foray into a major reno in one hit, I am keen to get it together as smoothly as possible and will welcome any input from you all!

    Cheers
    Dinah

    Profile photo of fernfurnfernfurn
    Member
    @fernfurn
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 139

    This is the order for reno
    1 new wiring, inc for any big changes, like electric oven, new hws kitchen & bathroom gpos & ceiling fans etc, lights etc
    2 any new plumbing req. (changing position of kitchen sink, new bigger pipes req for hws etc.
    3 new window
    4 new kitchen & bathroom makeover. I assume you have already chosen tiles & have them waiting for tiler, laminates for benches and cupboards already chosen and ordered)
    5 patch & paint inside
    6 timber floor polishing (leave some windows open for airflow else polish can ‘bloom’ up new paint on walls
    7 new carpet
    8 new roof & guttering
    9 paint exterior

    Fern

    Profile photo of DinahDinah
    Member
    @dinah
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 30

    Thanks Fern

    I was wondering when to do electrical, plumbing etc and makes sense to do first,eh!

    Thanks also for the tip on the floor polish.

    Cheers
    Dinah

    Profile photo of BAZZA EDBAZZA ED
    Participant
    @bazza-ed
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 2

    Hi major reno,
    I have just finished a reno of 150k and found keeping the floor clean is a real problem. I think floorsafter walls may be better.
    As some contractors were used and they made this suggestion I found it more than helpful

    Hope this helps,
    BAZZA.

    Profile photo of js2js2
    Member
    @js2
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 758

    Danah

    Maybe this calculator might be handy for you, in the situation your in and what your about to do. It calculates a ‘Reno Scenario’ from a numbers piont of view.

    I would try to estimate how much each section of work is going to cost and write this up in a detailed plan and feasability study of the numbers first.

    It’s brand new, fresh and hot of the press. ‘Reno Scenario Calculator’

    .

    **********
    Interested in Joint Venture Reno Projects

    Profile photo of DinahDinah
    Member
    @dinah
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 30

    Thanks to everyone for the valuable input I’m receiving to my query!!

    Cheers
    Dinah

    Profile photo of AmandaBSAmandaBS
    Participant
    @amandabs
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 549

    We like to start with an empty shell, order a skip and demolish everything unwanted up front. Its easier to imagine the finished product without any clutter. I agree with Fern but we prefer to leave the final floor polish and new carpet until last. No need to outlay funds until you’re ready to sell/tenant. With your Electrician and Plumber they will usually need to come back a second time, once to “rough in” and then when all is finished to “fit off”. Do your budget and then add a 10% amount for unforseens.
    Also don’t forget to take progress photo’s, as its great to look back and see what and how you’ve created !!

    Amanda
    “It is better to be inconspicuously wealthy, then to be ostentatiously poor…”

    Profile photo of WylieWylie
    Member
    @wylie
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 346

    We have just done the same type of job in Brisbane. We pulled everything out prior to painting and floor polishing. Plumbing and electrics were roughed in and I painted the whole interior while hubby did the building work. Our sons helped at times, but sometimes it was better to leave them at home to save having to organise them and sort out the inevitable fights.

    After I had finished painting, we had the floor sanded. This was good because I hate using dropsheets and having the walls and ceilings painted before the sander came in meant I only had to touch up the skirting boards where the sander had bumped them.

    We put in the new bath and tiling ourselves (had plenty of practice – looks great). I painted the new bathroom skirting boards on saw horses and only have to touch them up where they have been nailed in. I find this much easier that painting two or three coats in situ.

    The old verandah had been turned into a sleepout and third bedroom. These floors presented a problem as they are hardwood with gaps. We ended up using $20 sq m (plus $5 sq m underlay) timber look floating floor. Quite cheap, looks great and has a 10 year guarantee, although we will probably reinstate the verandah before that time. After the floating floor was finished (today) the skirting boards (pre-painted) went on. Just need to touch them up tomorrow.

    I find on doing these types of renovations, that the floor sanders are often the tradesmen who you have to work around. They are booked up so long in advance that it means a bit of juggling to fit things around them. It also means you get a week off when they are inside (whew!!).

    Good luck. I am (right now anyway) COMPLETELY SICK OF RENOVATING. Each time we take on a job I say “next time, I will pay a painter”, but each time I end up doing it because painters cost more than I do. However, “next time, I will pay a painter”. Yeah RIGHT!!

    I don’t know if you are doing the work yourself, but the other tip I would offer is that if you are working with your husband like I have been, ask him if he is completely finished his building work before you paint. Every time I finish painting something, hubby decides the walls need a bit more gapping, or that needs changing. I very nearly gapped him!!

    Best of luck, Wylie.

    Profile photo of DinahDinah
    Member
    @dinah
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 30

    Thanks Wylie and Amanda for some more great info. Greatly appreciated!

    Cheers
    Dinah

    Profile photo of camdercamder
    Participant
    @camder
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 170

    I believe that the most important “last job” would have to be the carpet .
    This means the last person to walk on the brand new carpet is you on the way out the door and you then know it is in top condition for the new tenants.
    Cheers Len

    Profile photo of Don NicolussiDon Nicolussi
    Participant
    @don
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 1,086

    Hi Dinah,

    Roof first -wouldn’t want rain to spoil all that painting and nice new fittings.

    Then do the facade of the home to completion ie tart up the front fences driveways doors and windows. Make the place look inviting to tenants and buyers.

    Order all the kitchen and bathroom pieces and have them ready to go. Don’t store them on site – theft – damage by clumsy tradies etc.

    paint inside then the rest of the outside.

    Then do kitchen and bathroom but never at the same time especially if you will be living there.

    Cheers

    Don


    D&L Property Projects NZ Ltd
    Sourcing Investments that fit.
    [email protected]
    Email to receive current deals &
    New Zealand Information Sheet
    http://www.nzproperty.org

    Don Nicolussi | Mortgage Broker - Home Loan Warehouse
    http://homeloanwarehouse.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    "I think of finance as a technology, a way of getting things done." Robert Shiller

    Profile photo of PurpleKissPurpleKiss
    Participant
    @purplekiss
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 580

    Hi there,

    We’ve done a couple of reno’s and tend to work from the top down ie: roof first, this works particualy well if you are spraying iron roofs as any overspray onto gutters etc is then covered when you paint the gutters next.

    Replace windows before you paint walls either inside or out otherwsie you’ll definistely have to touch up bits that get scrapped or whatever.

    Same goes for the bathroom and kitchen, have them done over before you paint otherwise things do get knocked and chipped and you’ll have to touch up.

    We also painted the outside (before inside), that way if you have a rainy day then you go inside to work wheras if you’ve done all the inside and then have a rainy day you can’t do anything as it’s too wet outside.

    While you’re working on the outside that’s when we had contractors doing things we needed inside such as the electical or plumbing or stumping or whatever so once we’d finished outside, they were finsihed inside and in we went to do our thing without being in the way of each other.

    Floors are a definite last, but make sure you have the carpets ordered 4 weeks prior and if you have someone else doing sanding and polishing then book them as well for when you think you will be finished to ensure they will be ready to do their thing when you’ve finished yours. Floors defintiley get dirty and/or scratched so do leave them till very last if possible, also makes painting and sanding easier, getting sanding dust or paint drops out of carpet isn’t fun and the odd one will happen even with drop sheets.

    If your doing it on your own then you can work out what you need to do before you do other things, if you’re doing it with someone else then make sure that what you’re each doing is helping the other as well so you don’t have down time ie: I’d always let hubby know what room I was planning on painting next so he could do whatever he needed to do in that room before I got there or if it didn’t suit for me to be doing a particular room because something wouldn’t be finished in time he could say and then we’d work out where I should be next to give him time to finish off the room etc.

    Oh, the rubbish. A big bin is helpful and demolishing a lot in one hit means you fill the bin and it’s gone. There’s still always other bits and pieces though that become rubbish as you go, so we kept the trailer there and piled it in and when it was full would do a quick trip to the tip.

    Oh, I don’t know what others think, but tiling is one job that we found very very time comsuming for us to do ourselves and just wasn’t worth doing oursleves. I would just pay someone to do that one in the future as the holding costs while we tiled probably would have paid a tiler.

    Well, good luck and let us know how you go.

    Regards
    PK

    Profile photo of DinahDinah
    Member
    @dinah
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 30

    Len, Don and PK – thanks heaps for your input!

    Profile photo of Don NicolussiDon Nicolussi
    Participant
    @don
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 1,086

    Oh, try not to throw anything out till the end – recycle as much as you can re timber and bricks etc etc. But do stack it neatly and out of the way so the job is not a bomb site.

    Don


    D&L Property Projects NZ Ltd
    Sourcing Investments that fit.
    [email protected]
    Email to receive current deals &
    New Zealand Information Sheet
    http://www.nzproperty.org

    Don Nicolussi | Mortgage Broker - Home Loan Warehouse
    http://homeloanwarehouse.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    "I think of finance as a technology, a way of getting things done." Robert Shiller

    Profile photo of DazzlingDazzling
    Member
    @dazzling
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 1,150

    Fantastic tips there from people who have obviously done it all before and know exactly what they are talking about.

    A great read guys.

    Profile photo of danandangdanandang
    Member
    @danandang
    Join Date: 2006
    Post Count: 11

    Best leave the polished floors until the very last. After painting and carpet. Don’t walk on them for 3 days. Add 30 % to your budget. Try and keep site tidy.

Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.