New Property New Renovations

I had a big smile once the first room had a full coat. Its so different.
Once I paint the skirting and window frame you couldnt tell how bad it was a month ago

 

Yeah, those green trims really stand out against the fresh paintwork!

 

So the three bedrooms have been painted.

1/3 done for the electrical work. Found a lot of dodgy work, two lights in the kitchen and the bathroom fan were wired with an extension cord. Looks like DIY work.

An electrician installed rcd's and smoke alarms about 2-3 months ago, they should never have left this stuff connected.

This weekend I will be painting the ceiling in the lounge & kitchen. I might also do the lounge room walls.

 

Wow at that electrical work!!

Painting looks great and really freshens up the place.

When does the kitchen go in? I'm dying to see that

 

Kitchen electrical should be done by next weekend I think.
New line for the oven and three power points need connecting.

 

2/3 of the electrical has been done.
Electrical left to do is the kitchen light, check out room light, install dedicated oven circuit and two kitchen power points.
Installed some new gyprock in the hallway and lounge room today.

 

Most of the painting is complete. Just hallway and laundry/toilet walls.

Lounge room looks great compared to what it started at.

Needed to use stain blocker in the main bedroom ceiling and some parts of the lounge room and kitchen.

I might get rid of the arch between the lounge and dining and it make it look old now. Only a few hours work.

 

Great job - just read the whole thread and it looks like it is coming together well.
With all your hard work I would take that arch out and square it up.
Zinsser stain blocker is an excellent product if you have any really troublesome stains (if you are not using it already).

 

That's the product I am using, I need to get a bit more as the hallway has some stains that won't go away.
I've started some work on the kitchen, the electrical should be finished by this weekend.

 

Zinnser is a great product - I used some on a ceiling where the owner had smoked in the same chair for 40 years - it was the only product I found that covered the nicotine stain!

 

So I started the kitchen on the weekend. It went in very quick.
I need a couple of support beams where the gyprock isnt up yet to mount the top cupboards.

 

So I've been lazy with the updates and now speeding up with the renos. I relaxed a lot as I thought why both trying to lease it out mid december. I can clean it up more.

I've offically owned the property for 15 days now.

The big ugly boat is now gone and I didnt realise their was a tire swing above it which I've spent some time playing on.

Things I've changed my mind on.

I'm getting the floors professionally sanded and polished. This is $2100 including repairs and replacing some mdf board hiding under the lino. Just over 60sqm.

Getting a split system installed in the loungeroom tomorrow. $1400 3.5kw includes install. The evap was pretty much destroyed internally.

Removed the arch way between the lounge and kitchen. Makes a big difference.

Got a very nice front and back door off gumtree cheap.

These things should help when I go to get it valued.

Leaving the giant bird cage out the back as its in good condition.

The kitchen, front yard are pretty much done.
I have not touched the bathroom yet but it will only take 3 days to complete.

The backyard is not that bad as I've started clearing the jungle. Should take 3-4 days to make it rentable.

Total cost will be $10k now that im doing the floors and aircon. I'm happy with that.

 

I was just wondering this morning how you were going with these reno's! Kitchen looks great! And great price for the reno, well done!

 

Looking good.

That kitchen was a really good fit with just that extra bit next the cupboard. Good find.

I agree losing that archway makes a big difference - well done.

 

I'm very happy with the kitchen for the price.
Totally is about $2000
$1500 for kitchen and appliances
$100 for tiles and grout - could of got these for like $40 off gumtree but was lazy.
$70 for gyprock behind the cupboards
$300 for electrical and plumbing - mates rates
$100-200? going to buy a second hand dishwasher off gumtree.

 

Front and back door installed today. Not bad for $75 & $100 off gumtree.

Damaged flooring got replaced today and the guy has started punching the nails down.

I did some gardening out the front and fixed some old fence. I need to get my hands on some old fence panels.

Tuesday I'm going to spend the whole day with a family member removing all the vegetation from the backyard.

 

this is looking fantastic mate, and for the cost you've outlayed so far too! impressed.

As a new home owner and someone who wants to replace some doors - it seems more difficult than it looks (eg: pull the old off the hinge, chuck the new one on) due to having to align the handle mechanism etc, with the doorframe. Is there any trick you can share?

 

I learnt most of my skills off youtube. It is a great source of knowledge.
Watch different people do the same thing as their is always a few tricks, do's and do not's.

The hardest part of replacing a door is having to shave the top and sides if it isn't a perfect fit.
Also cutting out the door where the hinges sit.
Installing the handle is actually the easy bit once you know what to do.
Most new door handles come with a paper outline you can stick to the door so you know exactly where to drill.

You can get hole drill set for under $20 at bunnings.
I might replace most of the doors in the house as they are cheap, just time consuming.

 

If your lucky with the door swapping it wont need any shaving, just cut for height and hang.
I found when swapping over doors you can just use the original as the template. Lay them together and cut for height and mark out where the old hinges were.leave original hinges on the door frame and reuse

 

That's a good idea laying them together and marking them.
Just need to remember hollow doors only allow you to shave a few centimetres off each side.
The annoying thing with these doors is that the frames are 860W & 760W which are not standard you can buy from bunnings or masters. A few door shops didn't even have them. I drove to Kwinana beach and bibra lake to pick them up.

The bedroom and hallway doors are standard size and straight so should be easy to install.