ballpark cost for repairs. Based on pre purchase report.

Hi,

I know that the type of question I'm about to ask can be a bit frustrating (it's the same in my industry...) but I'm hoping someone can give me an indication if I'm over, under or about right in my rough cost estimates for some repairs on a place in Vic we're intending to buy.

Building particulars:
---
medium size 3 bedroom
Year Built approx. 1960
Footings - Timber stumps
Flooring - Strip timber
Wall Framing - Timber frame
External Walling - Weatherboard, Sheet cladding
Internal Walling - Plastered
Windows - Timber framed
Roof Framing - Conventional timber framing
Roof Cladding - Corrugated iron, Concrete roof tiles
---

We had the pre-purchase inspection done, and it came back with lots of minor (livable) issues, like: minor cracking, slightly off level in places, door frames slightly off square etc. No worries there.

The report also showed 1 'major' issue in the roof that 'must be repaired':
"Rafter to ridge connections separated, due to movement over time in the foundations."

There were also some other issues with the roof... bowed rafters, corroded valleys and capping that requires repointing in some places.

With these defects in mind, we still think it's probably a good buy, but want to make sure we're not being unrealistic about the cost of repairs and some renovation we want to do immediately.

So, here's my guess costing (I've tried to lean to the generous side)

Repairs
---------
Roof repairs, structural and external + new guttering and downpipes.
$15,000

Leveling (not re-blocking, or underpinning)
$4,000


Renovations
---------
2 x knock-out internal wall (non load, or minor load bearing)
$4,000

New solid timber floor (60 sq. m) for open plan living area created by removing walls above
$12,000

Remove existing door & small window and replace with french doors to rear verandah.
$4,000


I figure that if we're going to dick about making repairs in the roof, we may as well do all the major structural stuff at the same time, using the same engineer and contractors.

I know it's hard to give good estimates on such vague specifications, but am I somewhere in the ballpark for this type of repair and renovation?

Cheers, -RW


Read the full thread at RenovateForum.com...