federation home

hi i am a newbie here so please be gentle with me :rolleyes:
we have just bought a federation home in perth - there is quite a lot we want/need to do to it but we are unsure of which order to do it in so maybe you guys can help - i will list them down for you

1. replace kitchen - TOTALLY - might be able to salvage taps/sink
2. replace bathroom & re tile - again taps could be saved
3. we have a problem with damp in the laundy - the drain hole (in the floor) has perished & will need replacement (concrete floor- no tiles)
4.The roof has "lifted" in some places - (its a tin one ) & has been painted & looking very crappy so that will need to be repainted or re roofed
5. the wall of the laundry is damp - so plaster needs hacking back - sealing & replastering (builder thinks leak in floor is not helping) poss only single skin wall as it is an add on - so we may have to stud the wall & plasterboard it
6. painting all the rooms - floors & walls
7. we wanna strip down the doors - think they are oregon (sp) & would look nice "bare"
8. the ceilings are 12.5ft high - there is no air con so we would like to put some in

i think thats about it!!

on the plus side it has beautiful polished floors & coved ceilings - so its not all bad!!

the trouble is its quite a big list :eek: & we dont quite know where to start - we dont want to do start in the wrong place & end up having to do it again - but dont wanna waste our money on all the little jobs & have none left for the big ones

any help??

pootle26

also if anyone can point me in the direction as to paint colours for that time that would be fantastic - we wanna try & keep in in the same style

Hi and welcome to the forum

Looks like you have a great project ahead of you - though well before end you will probably not be thinking that !
Best of luck with it and I am sure you will be able to get lots of info here and from archives that will help you ..
Everyone likes to see pics here and this case is no exception .. makes it easier for people to follow your progress and assist you.

Good luck
Albert

Sounds like you have a lot of work in front of you.
If it were me I would start with the roof, and sort out the damp problems, if those areas aren't fixed first, it may do more damage and cost you more in the long run, then I would do the kitchen, spend a lot of time in the kitchen and everyone sees the kitchen, so show it off, then onto the bathroom...well that's my opinion, good luck with it all, I am still rennovating our place, 8 years...might get it finished in about 10.

thanks for the replies -
i have been busy searching through the archives of this site - what fantastic information you guys have!!:D

i have included some piccies for you all

pootle26

Having seen the pics think you should consider bringing item 6 on your list to the top .. ie paint walls first to get rid of that pink :D :p

Seriously - looks like a great house
Albert

do the big jobs first, like the roof, laundry and kitchen.
If the bathroom is functional and in a livable condition (ie, can you put up with it) then save that for later and get all the problems and big jobs out of the way

Painting can be done at any time and stripping back doors would be low on my list since you could nock over a door one at a time over a year (depending on how many doors there are)

I think you should look at the major problems first, ie the roof and laundry since they are two of the worst problems your facing, the water in the laundry could be an indication of a potentally larger problem and could be compounded by a leaking roof.

well I had no idea you had pink walls, so perhaps that should be moved above all others!

go white, will open up the space and keep it airy for now untill later when you can paint it better colours!

"well I had no idea you had pink walls, so perhaps that should be moved above all others!"

my thoughts exactly!


i agree with you guys re the laundry & roof - bathroom needs a new shower screen urgently as it is cracked & i have kids in the house - but the rest of it we could live with ;)

talking to the builder he seems to think that the roof will only be a minor job $$ wise so i think the first thing i will do is get him to re do that & the laundry

we were thinking of getting a flat pack ikea kitchen & whacking that in over a weekend or 2 so that will keep the cost down

good idea re painting everything white & then starting each room at a time

have only just moved to oz so a bit confused re paint - can anyone suggest where to get decent paint from for doing the walls & ceiling ?
dont wanna spend out on an expensive one when a diy store super special one will do & vice versa

many thanks
pootle26

we did a big reno on our place, essentially we gutted the joint and restarted the whole lot.

the order we did it was as follows :

tear out all carpets (within 2 weeks - geez they stank!)
smallest bedroom first :
tear out skirting,
fill floor holes with expanding foam to seal the room (lotsa dust was coming up from the sub floor)
fill all holes in walls - repair cracks etc...
remove curtins and blinds
sand floor,
polish floor,
hide floor,
paint roof and walls,
install new skirts,
paint skirts
move in and sleep. (so esentially we had a "clean room")

at the same time we stripped the kitchen
tiled floor
and had a new one put in in 2 weeks or so
new skirts and sealing and paint ing all all that stuff too...

now we had somewhere to eat

next we did the main bedroom ensuite bathroom, essentially a gut and replace - needed new rendering and kangaing the floors (big job) and a mains pressure water system (the joint had GRAVITY FEED - about 12KPI for 40 yrs!!!!! bugger!)

Now we could be clean

next was the master bedroom and the walk in robe - see notes above on small bedroom

next was a mini project to build a new bed so we could use a queen instead of a double

ah... sleeping and clean bliss!

next was the main bathroom - ditto to the above ensuite.

excellent - a new man loo and reading room. love stewing in me own smells reading AWR.

lounge, hallway and last 2 bedrooms in quick succession as per above. excellent new house on the inside.

started the externals including render walls & paint, flagstones and the ever (still) expanding plant collection in the garden. last of all was to paint the tiles.

water tanks, built ins are in progress now as "nice to haves"

things we learnt :

double/triple the time and add %50 to the cost that you estimated when you bought the joint unless you want to live in built to budget home that looks like it was built to budget that looks ordinary.

contract the plumber, sparkie, tiler and any other treadie you cant do the work of yourself for the life of the reno - you'll get a discount. do the slave labour yourself to keep thier hours down. If you dont know good tradies get one good one and ask his advice for the other tradies - the good ones know who each other are...

get a tradie you TRUST and give him the keys - you now can be out working and know some bastard tradie aint sniffing your wifes undies.

when you do the kitchen and bathrooms buy everyting at once from the same joint - you'll get a discount and your house will match - there aint that much diffrence in price at the end of the day so choose after not too much farking about in shops and buyt eh best you can afford - beleive me a nice loo is better than a crappy one. (Sorry no pun intended)

get the best fittings you can afford - we have ceramic washer taps throughout - cant go wrong.

replace all the outside taps complete.


dont be afread ti haggle with ANYONE, we told all the tradies, contractors suppliers etc (IN our very nice smiley voices of course) : "We are excellent customers, we'll let you do your thing and feed you coffee etc but if you mess us round we will make your life hell, if you do exceptional work we'll pay you a bonus" . All our contractors came in on time, on budget and the quality is loverly - ask some of the boys that have seen my house - they'll tell you.

Last of all - COMANDEER the GARAGE -----> NOW! or you'll never get to put your man business in there.! :D

go to bunnings and purchase a middle of the range paint.
don't go with there on special 10 doller jobs they have really low gripping ability and will peel unless you prep the wall extreamly well (ie, sand back, primer and paint) and really bad coverage also I would recommend a flat paint not semi gloss or satin since when you come to paint your choosen colours the flat paint will be a better base giving better grip.

www.bunnings.com.au

Just rered your post - didnt answer the question - Hijack!

ok heres the order I woudl do it in :

3. replace kitchen - TOTALLY - might be able to salvage taps/sink = get new ones
4. replace bathroom & re tile - again taps could be saved - no get new ones
5. we have a problem with damp in the laundy - the drain hole (in the floor) has perished & will need replacement (concrete floor- no tiles)
1.The roof has "lifted" in some places - (its a tin one ) & has been painted & looking very crappy so that will need to be repainted or re roofed
5. the wall of the laundry is damp - so plaster needs hacking back - sealing & replastering (builder thinks leak in floor is not helping) poss only single skin wall as it is an add on - so we may have to stud the wall & plasterboard it
6. painting all the rooms - floors & walls & ceilings
7. we wanna strip down the doors - think they are oregon (sp) & would look nice "bare" lotsa work get new ones
8. the ceilings are 12.5ft high - there is no air con so we would like to put some in
2. make a clean room to sleep in with a celing fan and a working window ( beleive me you'll want one!!)

one more reply - Pootle, just had to say - fantastic username, reminds me of one of frank zappa's fav words "Pooched"

Looks like a great place.

I've renovated an Carlton (Vic) brick terrace and I am now in a suburban weatherboard.


Advice I would offer you is to take your time and make sure that you get the house you want, especially if money is an issue.

I would always plan to live in a place for at least 6 months before I did anything too substantial. You could easily commit to something really expensive that you would come to regret later.

It is amazing what can be achieved with a little elbow grease to make a horrible kitchen or bathroom habitable.

A good clean and/or regrout can make a bathroom really livable. Just painting old cupboards or replacing a rancid stove can really brighten up a kitchen.

Painting is something youn can do quick and cheap but fix up later without too much pain.

Of course you should always address any structural or damp problem as soon as possible. Its just doing more damage while you wait.

I would think carefully about the roof A well made tin roof can last for decades after it starts to look shabby. It can be very expensive to replace and may cost you if you want to change the roof line in a future reno.

If you have a wife like mine (and she drives most of my decision making) you may want to consider putting in an air con (like a split system heat/cool in one room). It can make a big difference to your comfort level while you make up your mind.

Good luck. You should do really well if you listen to the people on this forum. Ive been lurking for ages and almost every thing I've wanted to know, Ive found here.


Pete

thanks for the advice

i am pretty sure that the roof is ok - just all the paint is coming of so it looks worse than it is :(

will keep lurking & see what other info i can get :D


pootle26

Pootle,

Most rooves are painted prior to sale so that prospective buyers cant see that the roof is stuffed.Go up manhole and prey that you cant see daylight!!!
What we did:
New roof (zincalume) entire house no good if roof stuffed.
Stripped wallpaper, repainted walls and cielings and polished floors in 2 front bedrooms and lounge.
Gutted and replaced kitchen, painted and polished floors.
Ripped off back part of house and replaced with, big family room, new laundry, main bedroom,ensuite, bathroom and office.
We started in Oct last year and still have about 3 months to go.......it has cost a motza but not as much as if we had a builder do it all.
We traded completion time for a $$$ saving, better fixtures and fittings etc but we dont have kids either.(YET)
It has been bearable but only just and i reckon we are both nearing our threshold...........i will NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER renovate again.
Zeds hit the mark pretty well and you could do worse than follow his advice......not bad for a monkey.....thats what you get when you pay peanuts.
cheers
Steve

g'day pootle
mate we are doing the same thing down in the fremantle area
as the other turtles say do your roof first,you just do not want it letting you down when it's pouring rain for weeks on end
also sort any damp or structual problems first then you will have a good base to start with
as to paint,buy good quality stuff and prep really well
the rest ,,,, i'm sure your better half will let you know what order to do them in
good luck
pm me if i can be of more help