Renovating a Kitchen & Bathroom - How much & Who?

I'm looking at renovating a small-medium bathroom and kitchen. I've had no experience with this sort of thing and before attempting to speak with stores/tradies I figured it would be beneficial to hear other peoples experiences/opinions on what/where/price etc.

How much should I be looking at to renovate a Kitchen and a Bathroom?

I was basically hoping to get the bathroom refitted and retiled for about $5,000 and get the kitchen refitted and retiled for about $7,000 - Would this be possible? I'd be looking at medium grade finishes.

Does simple refitting make things a lot cheaper?

Should I avoid places like Ikea and Harvey Norman?

Does anyone have any recommendations on particular places to buy things from? Particular tradies/companies to speak to?

 

Is this for your PPOR?
It can be done for less but depends on what you want and the shape of the kitchen.
Ikea have an online design tool where you pick what you want and you can see the price

 

No, this will be for an investment property.

By this you mean a bathroom can be done for less than $5000 and a kitchen for less than $7000?

As far as what I want - Basically just something good. I don't want something that's dirt cheap, that looks cheap and is going to fall apart in 5 years, but at the same time I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for marble benchtops and a mahogany toilet seat.

The kitchen and bathroom in question would be considered small to medium.

Is Ikea decent? Like is there stuff good quality?

Are the pre-made sort of cabinets/kitchens easy to fit?

 

Their kitchens IMO are quite good.
Go to the Ikea showroom and check them out.
They'll give you a quote on the spot.

If you have a sketch with the dimensions you can also get prices from kitchen manufacturers who list on ebay. (send them an email)

You can also buy kitchens from these guys.
DIY Kitchens, Kitchen Manufacturers - About Paradise Kitchens

As for the bathroom, you should be able to source the vanity and accesories from an ebay dealer and get some quotes from a plumber and tiler.

 

Thanks Bill.

Funny you mention Paradise Kitchens, my parents actually used them about 20 years ago to renovate the kitchen in our old house.

Have you ever used them personally? How did you find them?

I don't mind paying a slight premium, as long as I get someone that will do the job good and do the job right. The last thing I want is one of these dodgy blokes doing it and finding out I got crappy materials and/or the kitchen was put together horribly and starts falling apart in a couple years time.

20 years ago my parents said that Paradise Kitchens were a bit of a muck around, however in the end they did get exactly what they wanted at a good price and to this day the kitchen is still in good condition.

 

No I haven't used them, a friend of mine has and he got the impression that they make their money from modifications (when the kitchen you buy cheap at their auction doesn't fit in your kitchen)

Sure pay a premium if you want but I wouldn't.
I think if these guys were dodgy they wouldn't be in business for this long.

How much you spend really depends on where your IP is because the kitchen has to be appropriate for the property and the area.
Granite/stone benchtop for example could be good in some areas and not in others.

 

Well you're always going to need custom made bechtops. I guess I'll just have to go down there myself and take a look.

Well by 'premium' I mean I wouldn't mind paying like an extra few hundred bucks if it meant I was certain I was getting a good quality kitchen.

Valid point.

Umm, not quite sure what you mean by this?

I'd probably go for a granite/stone benchtop for two reasons:

1. They're a superior finish and look a bit nicer.
2. More importantly, they're much more durable than the cheaper laminate stuff.

I don't get how the location of my IP would make any difference at all?

 

What I mean to say is that I wouldn't put an expensive kitchen in a cheap house located in a cheap area because the tenants would probably not look after it.

If you did have such IP's (as I do) you could probably be lucky and find a good tenant but IMO good tenants are not easy to find.
There is usually an oversupply of average ones who would be just as happy with an average kitchen and an updated bathroom.

However, if your IP is in an area where a granite benchtop and marble bathroom are the norm then sure, go for it.
Anyway, your 2 reasons are valid and you could probably charge a bit more rent so go with what you think is best.

 

Very valid points Bill, I completely agree with you.

I certainly won't be installing Smeg appliances because like you said; poor/average tenants probably wouldn't look after them very well.

Also the properties certainly aren't in any fancy areas or all that valuable so I wouldn't really get a premium in rental return.

However that being said, I think with certain things like solid stone or granite benchtops paying the premium can be very worth the money because even with poor/average tenants the benchtops shouldn't get damaged at all and stand the test of time. Whereas if you go with a cheaper alternative, yeah sure you may get the same rent and they may not care all that much, but they could also damage the benchtop meaning you'd have to replace again sooner and be up for more costs.

I guess at the end of the day my best bet is to just look around a bit and see the price differences and find a nice medium.

I'll definitely be checking out Paradise Kitchens for some pricing, would you recommend anywhere else?

 

If you can't do the install yourself I'd use Fresh Designs: Dave 0414 900 028
He makes & installs complete poly sprayed Kitchens for around $2K
You should be able to upgrade to stone worktop.
He's busy so book him early

 

Well I probably could install myself, but I'd probably prefer to have the professionals do it to make sure it was done right.

Is the expensive part getting the kitchen itself or having it installed? Or does it depend on whether you have a custom made kitchen and how big it is?

The kitchen in questions is quite small, I'd imagine that with all the parts it could easily be installed in a day, but with that being said I'm not sure if pre-made cabinets would all fit properly, so there may need to be some custom cut panels there.

Btw - I sent you a quick private message, hope you don't mind.