Top 10 renovation tips

Having completed a renovation in Albury, on behalf of a client who lived remotely, they needed someone to manage the process for them. I thought it was a good time to reflect and give some advice to all aspiring renovators who want to tackle it on their own.

1. Start with the end in mind

What I mean is that you are renovating to sell versus renovating to put a tenant in the property at a higher rent than before versus renovating for yourself to live in, the budget, the choice of fixtures and fittings and the amount of work you will do . will vary.

In the event that you are renovating to live in, you will probably do much more than either of the other two options, simply because you intend to live there and get the benefit of the money spent over a period of time.

Also, when renovating for sale or even rental purposes, you have to constantly keep in mind, am I adding more in perceived value than actual cost? Am I getting my money back? Knowing where to draw the line is the key.

2. Have a budget

Don’t start renovating without considering a budget. You need to have an idea of ​​how much everything is going to cost and keep track of your expenses during the renovation to make sure you don’t run out of money.

It may be okay to leave a renovation unfinished if you live there (although not desirable), however if you are renovating for sale or to put in a tenant, you must finish in order to sell / rent the property. Running out of money in the middle of doing the kitchen or bathroom is a sure way to get in trouble.

3. How are you financing the renovation?

If you have the cash on hand that’s great, not many of us do, but if you do, it’s the easiest and simplest way to finance any renovations, you know how much you have and can pay for materials and labor based on be necessary.

If you are using borrowed funds, make sure you understand the requirements for those funds to be released; If it’s a home equity loan, it could be as simple as having the funds go into a clearing account until you need them. If it is a dedicated renewal loan, you may need to provide or pay bills and be reviewed by the bank before receiving payment. There are many different ways this can work and you need to make sure you understand what is required to access the funds.

4. Quotes

It’s not practical to get quotes for every item, and in fact, in some cases, getting quotes actually makes it more expensive. If the job is a small job that doesn’t require a lot of time from a tradie, if you have to go to the site, price it and then come back and do the job, you could end up paying more. Often times, for these smaller jobs, the best course of action is to find a reputable dealer in your local area and simply book the job to perform. As long as you understand your hourly rates and any call rates.

5. Tiles in old houses

Almost without exception, in older houses, the walls and / or floors (especially wooden ones) are rarely square or straight. In the kitchen, for example, using larger-format tiles for the backsplash can help hide these sins.

If a new kitchen is installed it will be installed level and if the window is facing out by 10mm from one end to the other, if you use 100mm meter tile for a backsplash you will notice it. However, if you scale up to a modern 300mm x 400mm tile, you won’t notice that the 10mm of the old window is out of square (well, most of us won’t).

Similarly, old floors are often outside. The renovation I just completed for a client, the kitchen floor had an extension of 67mm across a 4m kitchen. We were able to deal with this by adapting the kicker’s height throughout the kitchen, but these items are worth keeping an eye on and planning for.

6. Replace vs Repair

When planning a renovation, especially one that includes the kitchen and bathroom, one of the first things to do is evaluate the cabinets and tiles. Are they outdated or are they actually in bad shape? You may be able to coat the cabinets or use a tile paint on the tiles if they are in good condition. This could save you thousands of dollars in your renewal cost.

7. Electrical work

It may be a good idea, especially in older homes, to have an electrician come and check the existing plate. Electrical legislation is changing all the time and depending on when the last electrical work was done and what you need to do, a complete board upgrade might be required to be code compliant. This can be expensive. Also, legislation requiring safety switches is already in effect in some states and coming into effect in others, it’s best to check with a qualified electrician to find out what to do about compliance.

8. Plumbing work

While all new homes are almost exclusively PVC plumbing these days, if you are renovating an old home, be prepared to find some china drain pipes that in some cases the plumber will have to make a fitting to fit the modern PVC drain pipes.

Demolition work around old plumbing fixtures is also worth being careful about as mud pipes are very easy to damage and if they do crack and leak you could find yourself in a much larger repair than anticipated.

9. Work planning

Once you have worked out the scope of your renovation, know the budget and the trades involved, the next step is to schedule it. You have to think about the logical order of doing things so that you don’t redo the job or that the operations damage the work of other operations.

Generally you want to do the demolition work first, then any new construction, i.e. walls, cabinets, etc., although some trades such as plumbers and electricians are likely to have multiple visits to work for rough work whenever appropriate, before coating the new job and preparing it. plumbing points for cabinets, etc.

It’s best if you can leave the finishing jobs like tile, paint, and flooring until last. In some cases, you may be able to get the painter to start in another part of the house if there are areas that are not being completely renovated.

Always leave the floor to the end, it should be the last to enter so that the new floor does not have the possibility of being damaged by trade or getting paint stained.

10. Review the renewal

Probably the most overlooked stage of a renovation, but it’s just as important as the rest. Collect all your actual expenses, yes, including Bunnings receipts and add them up to compare against your budget. Did you stick to your budget? You need to know how much everything really cost you in order to determine your return.

Do not skip this step, even if you think you know the answer, or if you don’t want to know the answer because you know what happened. Still, go for it, as it will help you better plan the next one by seeing the area where your budget was exceeded.