Extending a house on stumps

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by Megan Coward, 5th Jan, 2021.

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  1. Megan Coward

    Megan Coward New Member

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    Hi All,

    We are currently looking at options for renovations and a long term plan for a post war cottage that is on short stumps. First off we just want to make the house liveable which means removing the asbestos and a few rotten floor joists in the bathroom (we are going to gut the bathroom and start again).

    The majority of the asbestos is in the laundry on the ground floor, the slab for the laundry has pot holes and cracks in it and the frame I don't think would be up to standard for resheeting once all the asbestos walls are removed. Our options at the moment are look at building on the ground and then ripping it down later for the extension or laying the foundations for our future extension and bringing the laundry up to the level of the rest of the house.

    To bring the laundry up to the same level of the house we are going to need to alter the roof, but was curious to know if anyone else has done a small reno like adding one room on and what the costs were and if there were any issues with planning. We have just under $55k to work with an I'm not sure that this is going to even be in the ball park of achieving what we need to do.

    Open to any suggestions or advice! Thank you in advance.
     
  2. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    What is stopping you from removing the slab when restumping and just adding in bearers and joists ?
    You said the roof height might be too low, why ?
    Is it currently under a skillion extension that steps down from the house to slab level )
    Pics/drawings makes life so much easier.
    A tent can be livable, people often waste money making something their idea of livable only to demo those works to extend properly a few years later, effectively wasting all that money !
    Livingin a "make do" house for a while (even years) to save and reach that end goal sooner can be well worth the inconvenience.
    Work out where and what you would like the build to to be, then work your way back.....

    Yes it's easier said than done when you probably need to re stump and raise the place initially
     
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  3. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Maybe if you post a picture of the back section of the property,and is this block level ..
    A simple way is just come off the back section ,box gutter off the existing back section and skillion roof up from the box gutter then frame the section in..imho..
     
  4. Megan Coward

    Megan Coward New Member

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    Hi Stoffo, Thankyou. Livable probably isn't the right word, we have a young child and currently, and a place to live while we renovate, so for us fixing the rotten floor and getting rid of any asbestos (we've had it tested and we have all three grades) is our main priority. Which means dealing with the laundry and bathroom.

    We're working our way back from our future plans which includes raising and building. We aren't flush with cash so are looking at a five yearish plan with every step we take along the way hopefully meaning we don't have to demo anything to extend or raise.

    I've attached some photos of the roof. We had one builder recommend raising and putting a small separate roof on which would sit underneath the current roof level, which when I look at it, would mean that the laundry ceiling height would be lower than the rest of the house and when we did go to put the extension in we would have to redo the roof anyway and potentially fix the laundry walls. Ideally, I'd like to alter the roof to be an open-end gable so the extension can go back seamlessly without too much fuss in the future.
     

    Attached Files:

  5. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    In the third photo,as we have one property in that age range even with the metal work around the windows..
    What we did was,demo the back section as going by the height of the HWS Gas ECT ,and brace off the back door and span straight out,.
    With the roof as you will have the fall,box gutter then up .
    That was 10 years ago and materials were above 35k ..imho good luck ,plus a good orange tree .
     
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  6. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    TBH, I'd leave everything and wait while I saved up enough to do everything properly.

    Growing up I spent a year living in a hallway, I'd fold out my army style bed each night and pack it up each morning, the toilet was 25 meters down the back yard, and the both had a little gas water heater mounted to the side (by the time the bath was half full it was near cold) was stoked when we got an old caravan for my brother and I to share, took my parents 3 years to save before the renovation started !

    So sure there's asbestos, and everyone seem's to panick about it, but if you aren't disturbing it by smashing it up or putting holes in walls clad with it it isn't a problem that needs to be rushed.

    So when you do it all, do it all once and do it right ;)
     
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  7. Brendon

    Brendon Well-Known Member

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    If you’re planning on lifting the house in the future be careful that the current subfloor where you’re making changes is level, otherwise it’s a nightmare when it’s lifted as it can cause cracking and problems with tiles etc.

    In terms of the laundry. Could you just do a DIY job on it?
    Get someone to remove the asbestos, either pour a fresh little slab/patch the old/ or even sheet over it.
    Reclassify the walls with whatever you can get your hands on that’s cheap, potentially plywood etc. and pick up a second hand laundry that will get you out of trouble, but still be decent, until you renovate properly.

    I personally would just leave it until you’re really clear on what your finished house will look like but for a couple of grand you might be able to have something workable in the meantime.
     
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  8. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I'm with the other suggesting do nothing (or minimum required). There's nothing wrong with using that laundry for five years. I'd sister in some new joists to the old ones underneath the bathroom to get you through til you do the whole job.

    This style is common all over Australia, laundry down a few stairs. I would not spend anything on something that will be ripped out in five years.
     
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  9. Angel

    Angel Well-Known Member

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    I cant see any problem with this laundry. Leave it alone until you are ready to do the extension. As the others have said, any asbestos is harmless if left alone.
     
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  10. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    Asbestos in good condition (and ideally, painted to seal it) is harmless if left alone.
     
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