My latest interstate renovation (in QLD), before & after pics, with all my tradesmen contacts

The "before" photos were from the original ad so they make the place look much better than it was. It actually needed a lot of work. I'm very pleased with the outcome. This is my second major interstate renovation now (I've done 2 major, 3 minor), so I have built up a nice list of contacts which I thought I would also share. The total project took about 3 weeks.

Renovations included:

• Completely rebuilding the front stair case (it was rotten, wobbly, a real safety hazard)
• New carpet in bedrooms
• New oven / stove
• Extensive renovations to the rear veranda (also lots of rot and generally unsafe)
• Fully painted (complete interior, front stair case, rear veranda, parts of the exterior)
• Fixed / replaced rusted sheets on roof
• Cleared out the entire front and back yards, chopped down all the trees and plants

Key contacts:

• Sam the Handyman - he's a semi-retired builder, he basically did everything except for the electrical and plumbing work. He rebuilt the stair case, did all the painting, even mowed the lawn. He's not the cheapest, but in terms of value for money he can't be beat. His workmanship was exceptional. He's the sort of guy you can trust to do a job without having to micromanage - which is what you want when you're in another state. Number is 0421 903 336.

• Dennis Arthur Electrical - really nice guy, fair pricing, flexible, always there on the day he says he will be (which you'll learn to appreciate when you're flying from interstate and can't afford constant postponements). I have used him several times now. Number is 0418 371 749.

• The Carpet Man, Mike Prazak - solid quote with all inclusive pricing, fast work, will hire again. I found this contact on the old SS forum. Number is 0411 665 724.

• Plumbing - lost the number, but the guy was really good. Let me know if anyone needs a contact here and I can dig it up.

• John Milinkovic (Roofer) - he was very good, honest, but very busy so ended up delaying many times. Hard man to get a hold of, but I would still use him. I also found his contact on the old SS forum. Number is 0414 629 798.

• Appliances Online (appliancesonline.com.au) - I buy all my white goods from there now, they're the best!

Summary of costs:

• Main tradie, Sam the Handyman (painting, stairs, mowing etc) - $4,000.00
• Carpet - $850.00
• Cupboards (Ikea) - $199.00
• Oven - $723.00
• Electrical - $1,397.00
• Roof repair (minor rust) - $368.50
• Rubbish removal - $650.00
• Plumbing (checkup, misc small fixes) - $535.50
• Misc supplies and expenses (paint, flights, car rental etc) - $5,733.45

Overall cost of renovation - roughly $14.5k on top of the original $355k purchase price.​

Before & After photos:

Before:



Before (left - front stair case, right - rear veranda):


After (notice that sweet new stair case, rebuilt from ground up!):


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After:


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After:


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After:


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After:


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After:


Final After Pic:

 

Looks great! Such an improvement for such little outlay. Also I think it's a great idea to include the contact details for these good tradies. Thanks for the post.

 

Good on you for sharing and all those contacts too
Nice job on making it look clean, fresh and more appealing too.

 

Good stuff!
What suburb is it in? Or what area do those guys work in?

 

What area please?

 

Suburb is Runcorn, which is about 15-20 mins south of the CBD. But I assume they'll service most parts of Brisbane.

 

Good to know, thanks again for the info.

 

Good job Jaybean and great that you provided a list of your contacts.

 

Awesome post, thanks for sharing!

 

Great resource, thanks so much

 

Excellent, Jaybean !!.

I noticed you are staying in Melbourne and your project is in QLD, how did you manage this? did you do it remotely and hired project manager to coordinate or you did it full time?

 

Sam acted as my pseudo coordinator and actually recommended a lot of the tradies above as he's worked with them before. Because he was always on site he was able to meet them there and direct them.

I then flew up every weekend to inspect and make small alterations to the plan (e.g. "Now that I think about it, how about we replace this and do that").

What is critical is finding tradies you can trust and don't have to micromanage. I like being able to say to the plumber or sparky "just do a walk around and fix whatever you think needs to be fixed, let me know if any single piece of work is going to cost more than a few hundreds", with the confidence that they will not be dodgy and throw things into the bill and find anyway to charge you. That trust is critical. And you don't want to be a micromanager anyway, it'll keep you up at night. Just too much stress. I found this to be the best way to do it. If you're naturally a micromanager and a real cheapskate, interstate renovations will probably just be too overwhelming. Make sure you find people you can trust and have the right personality for it and you'll be fine.

For example, I was able to say to the carpet guy - "just give me something cheap, good for rentals". Done. Then I'd say to Sam - "Paint colour? You decide - get something you think works." Done. "You think that needs to be done? Sure, go for it". They are the pros, so let them do their thing. It's about knowing when to take guidance and let them do their thing and when you need to step in and make the decisions. If you can find that balance it's a piece of cake.

 

Good work, not many people are able to step back and let someone do what they need to do without micromanaging or fussing over little details.

 

Great work!!!

 

that carpet looks very nice for the price, would you have exact specs for it by any chance jaybean?

 

Not sure, I just asked for something reasonably cheap and hard wearing for rentals. He said he knew exactly the right type for me...see if you can read his handwriting!



I think it says "Campton Aged Deftwood", or is it "Crampton"...and "Driftwood"...not sure, you could give him a call

 

Thanks, need new carpets in two weeks time, will give him a call

 

Yeah it can be hard if there's no trust. But if there is, many of us are not in a position to know better than the pros, so why stress yourself out and simultaneously **** them off by second guessing everything. Also at the end of the day it's just an IP - I think it's ok to obsess over your PPOR but it's not worth it for an IP.

 

i think personally I would have changed those dated kitchen handles to a more modern finish

 

I will def need to have a chat with you.
I am about to undertake similar works in a couple of months for one of mine in same area. I'm in melb also.
I even noticed they pressure sprayed the concrete, looks heaps better, those little 1%'s make all the difference!!!
Kudos!!

One question, what is the exterior of your place made out of? Is it asbestos sheets?