So finally bought myself an apartment after scrapping up a deposit thanks to all those Eneloop deals.
It needs an extensive reno - bathroom, kitchen, floors, the works. I'm hoping to get reasonable quality and happy to do some simple works myself.
Besides watching for deals here, what are your top tips to do things economically?
Not yet, is it usually tricky to get one?
From what I've seen, it can be, very much so, as well as very restrictive as to what times you can work, and how long the complete job can take.
Yep, strata is a b*tch. Floors particularly is one they like to block, especially if you're changing from carpet to floorboards/something hard.
Realise that its better to spend a bit more and have no issues for 20 years, then cheap out.
Right now your best bet is to do a ton of research. Go to youtube and watch videos.
*Than.
Spelling is important.
It needs an extensive reno - bathroom, kitchen, floors, the works.
Here's an idea, should save you a motza.
https://youtu.be/NMQTg4Y0YT0
Get a few quotes for an entire jobs than paying for each trade each time every time you do something
Oh and well done and good luck with it! Can we get a price and/or location?
Graysonline for all sorts of fixtures and fittings, unused paint, sinks, taps, shower screens, shower heads, toilets, whitegoods - only search the auction items as the buy now items generally aren't as good value
https://www.grays.com/home-and-garden/home-renovators?tab=it…
Look at offcuts for the kitchen benchtop that suit your needs
Flat-pack kitchen and wardrobes
why are all these so cheap?
I was reading grays-on-line as gas-o-line and had a chuckle 🙊
Thanks heaps!
make your self a spreadsheet and burn and churn credit cards for bonuses, could easily save couple of grand over a year or so.
take your time don't feel like all has to be done instantly but as said above bulk things together for single tradie as they may lower their rates etc
Read up on what you can and cannot do in an apartment as there are rules.
My MAJOR advice is to call the state authority that looks after strata's after you figure out what you want to do and ask them which changes/updates etc need strata approval and what the minimum you need to inform the strata is. You do NOT want to give the strata too much info, the less the better.
Steal 6 cinderblocks from the local childrens hospital construction site to build a bookcase, just like they have on campus.
Befriend some tradies
And congrats on the purchase
This was meant as a joke maybe but is absolutely the most money you will save. Even better if they are family.
Don’t cheap out on important bits. Unfortunately, it can be hard to tell what is important when you are a newbie. Waterproofing springs to mind as an area not to skimp.
Labour is very expensive, so are tradies. Even if you won’t be connecting the wires or pipes you can run them through walls etc to minimise the time required for your trades to be there.
look at youtube, give anything a shot, if you've done half of the work, it's usually cheaper for a tradie to fix the small things you get wrong, rather than the cost to do the whole job … this worked quite well on my kitchen
Got approval from strata?