Do's and Don'ts of Renovating

An excellent overview of the basic principles: knowing the market, setting targets and adding value where it counts. Looking forward to the next installment. Well done Jacque and Nick.

Dave

 

Thanks for the feedback, Dave
It's nice to know the articles do get read!
Actually very timely for me to read again, as I'm considering the purchase of a rundown dump at this very moment. Offer may not be good enough, but, after doing my sums, I'm prepared to walk away

 

You must be very brave.
Good Luck !!.

 

Not brave Tropo- just stupid!!!
But I can't resist a bargain..........

 

Hi Jacque, well if nothing else it proves that as the author of Do's and Don'ts of Renovating, you're BRAVE enough to tackle renovations in any market - rising or not so promising. Definately adds cred to your article, best of luck.

Dave

 

Hi Jacque

A good update with "Dos and Don'ts of Renovating", the second installment. Not just for renovating but in preparing any house for sale.

Dave

 

Thanks for the feedback, Dave
It's very much appreciated.

 

Great article!

Having done a few renos in the last few years - a few things I would add

- getting up at 5am and painting till 7am before work and from 6pm till 11pm after work for a month is no fun - consider how much your own time is worth - a painter completed the same amount in 5 days (once all the prep was done for him)

- donot try to sleep in a room you just painted, the fumes could kill you, and it hard finding accomodation at 2am

- as the you rightly suggest planning is key! We completed a reno on a 2br apartment including new kitchen, complete painting, making curtains, new lights, carpet etc etc in 10 days - but it took 2 months to plan those 10 days

- I think renos are like child birth ( not that I would know) but the memory of the pain is wiped away with the passing of time - so you sign up for the next one without thought.

Jane

Disclaimer: All thoughts and ramblings are for general conversation only and if you are going to undertake a renovation think twice, I mean seek professional advice specific to your situation

 

Interesting analogy Jane.

Might ask you to make that comparison again in a few years time. (not that i would know !)

Nick

 

OK Ok I can't resist
Having given birth three times now, I feel somewhat qualified to comment here!
Let me assure you, Jane, as I've done both, that renovating is FAR FAR easier! At least at the end of it all, you get to sleep a full 8hrs, you can actually arise in the morning and wash your hair (alone, without a baby capsule and wailing babe in the bathroom with you) and then proceed with your day relatively normally
Maybe I'm anal, but painting actually gives me a lot of joy.....
I think I may need counselling here

 

You are. You do.

But having said that, as someone with a desk job, there's a certain sense of satisfaction with getting your hands dirty on a reno...particularly removing the old kitchen etc...but painting is not my favourite thing.

N.

 

Painting well gives a sense of satisfaction that, in my opinion, can't be adequately explained. It's something else to sit back and observe a job well done (and by this I mean NO leaks under the masking tape onto the skirting boards!) and then have a glass of nice Chardonnay whilst admiring one's handiwork

 

Who would of thought that InvestEd would become a contraceptive - being a visual person the baby in the bathroom while showering has put me back another few years.

I hate looking at IP's and seeing paint drips from leaks under masking tape - regardless it poses the question when is one coat paint ( especially on ceilings) really one coat... 2 coats later in my experience

Jane

 

Know what you mean Jacque.......

When I landscaped 'the backyard from hell' sitting back on my newly contructed handiwork at the ned of the day with a cold beer was VERY satisfying.

Actually when I was doing this my daughter was about 4yo and totally by herself she started to go to the fridge at the end of the day and bring me down a cold beer. "Thought this may help you cool down dad.......".

One day it must have occurred to her I might like it in a cup or glass, so after she went to the fridge she started going through all the cupboards she could reach to apparently get me something I could drink my cold beer out of.

Well, there I was at the bottom of this embankment, just about ready to finish for the day and she appeared above me with a beautiful cold beer and.............and.........a gravy boat!!

Hey, it looked a bit like a cup and it had a handle on it so she thought I might enjoy drinking my beer out of this 'cup'.

Actually, when you've done a hard day of renovating or landscaping, a cold beer even tastes great out of a gravy boat.

 

Haha! What a visual that is.... Alan sipping VB out of a gravy boat
I love it!

Even better than my example of my dad serving me tea in a milk jug (he obviously didn't have his glasses on when searching for the cup). At least I got a decent cup

 

An excellent thrid part to the series (if there was going to be one) would be rough ideas of effort or costs involved in completing some of the common reno items, such as painting a house, enclosing a carport, ideas and costs for different ktichen and bathroom work. Landscaping costs, floorboards, etc.
Myself, I have no idea what any of this sort of stuff would take to do or cost so would find an article on it invaluable.
To date the only reno work I've had completed was painting and removing nails from walls and garden cleanups and landscaping.

 

Will keep it in mind, Jason, as it's a valid suggestion
The only trouble is that costs can really vary quite widely, depending on the property size, location (the type of kitchen you may install for one area may be vastly different for a different demographic) land fall and budget. So many variables!!
Perhaps case studies might be more interesting to provide you with an idea?