Home Needs Renovation after 40+ Year

BendBridge on 07/04/2022 - 10:19
Last edited 07/04/2022 - 10:34 by 1 other user

This is my first home and I have been living in it for over 40 years. I retired about two years ago. It's a 650m² house with 3 bedrooms and one study room.

We have spent some time looking at retirement villages as well as thinking about downsizing to a smaller house. At the end we decided to stay put as my wife and I both love the nice and quiet suburb. Now we are thinking of renovating our house in order to live for another 20+ years.

When we sat down and thought about it, it's really a daunting task. Google is one place to start but I would also like to hear from people who have been through it. Please share your thoughts and experiences, and the dos and the don'ts. Are there any good renovating companies you can recommend?

Thanks!

/WT

Home & Garden

Comments

  • cupcake on 07/04/2022 - 10:32
    +2

    After 40 years, your house probably needs a big freshen up.
    I would start with painting it internally in a neutral colour like white or off white.
    If you have carpet, I would start with ripping it out and getting timber floors installed for a more modern look.
    If you are not going to re-do the bathroom or kitchen fully, then you can always update the fixtures, handles, lights, taps etc.
    I think modern blinds and block out curtains make a big difference too.
    My house was 40 years old when I bought it, so it had a 70's kitchen and wallpaper. One thing at a time!

    • [Deactivated] on 07/04/2022 - 18:02
      +2

      for a more modern look

      Please no. Ive seen enough cookie cutter, bland as a stale biscuit, white houses for a lifetime

      • Euphemistic on 08/04/2022 - 07:13

        This is true, but also depends if it was a new build 40y ago, or something with heritage value that would be better with restoration.

    • megadeth on 07/04/2022 - 22:13

      All of the above are DIY type jobs if you’re a handy type person… bathroom Reno is a bit tough and you need tiler at the very least.

  • GG57 on 07/04/2022 - 10:33
    +2

    I would probably start with identifying what you like and what you dislike about your home.
    Then maybe talk to an architect about what is possible, taking into consideration your list.

    • MS Paint on 07/04/2022 - 10:38
      +5

      An architect may be a bit of an overkill.

      • GG57 on 07/04/2022 - 11:33
        +1

        Maybe, maybe not. We don't know what OP wants to do to 'renovate'.

  • Melencir on 07/04/2022 - 10:38
    +6

    You want to do some sort of aging in place renovations then?

    • iampoor on 07/04/2022 - 10:54
      +6

      Not too sure why you got a neg, this is a valid requirement if the OP is going to live there another 20+ years.

      If it is a double storey house then plan to have an external lift shaft or alternatively a chair lift for later years.

      Look into enlarging the bathroom with minimal lipping as you progress through different areas, larger switches etc.

      Perhaps non-gloss tiles so that it isn't as slippery? If you've had a look at a few retirement villages make note of their elderly living friendly ideas and incorporate those you like into your reno.

      • Melencir on 07/04/2022 - 12:30
        +3

        Yes, exactly. The requirements/planning are different to doing a cosmetic upgrade or just renewing stuff.

        And if you are planning a renovation now, it's best to account for it rather than having to do a second and more costly one later.

  • try2bhelpful on 07/04/2022 - 10:45
    +7

    I’ve had some pretty good experiences getting builders through this mob

    https://www.mbav.com.au/find-master-builder

    Look at as many sources of ideas as you can. We went to a lot of open for inspections to see what people did.

    Look at the function, and flow, of your house. What are you trying to achieve, where are you pinch points for traffic flow, etc. you don’t want people walking through your kitchen to get outside. How will you do prep work? Look at the triangle?

    As you get older your abilities might change. We are in our 60s and our bedrooms are upstairs, we might need to review that soon. We put in extra deep bench tops in the kitchen so we could, just, pull appliances forward as we needed them. We, also, put our washing machines up at bench height to make it easier to get in and out of them. We have a pull out table underneath them to make it easy to transfer clothes to the washing basket for line drying or into the dryer. We have sorting baskets underneath for the various loads. I can send you some pictures on IM, if you like.

    The more work you put in up front the cheaper, and easier, the build will be. Making last minute changes costs money and time.

    When you write up the contract understand the level of fittings you will get and what upgrading them will cost. Make sure you understand everything that is included and what might constitute extras, like replacing electrical wiring, putting in smart meters, etc.

    Try to be passively energy efficient and look at reverse cycle air conditioning. Understand timeframes and what penalty payments you might be entitled to if they don’t meet deadlines. Try to get a post inspection from, e.g. a separate builder to make sure everything is up to spec. before final payment.

    Sort put your budget and allow 20% contingency.

    Your council will, probably, hold you up so try to get your neighbours onside before you submit your plans. The less objections the smoother it goes.

    Best of luck.

  • ItsMeAgro on 07/04/2022 - 10:52
    +8

    Your question is WAY too open-ended for any sort of helpful advice.

    What condition is your house in?

    Do you need to knock down and rebuild? Or just re-do kitchen and bathroom? Or just paint and replace curtains and things?

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 07/04/2022 - 13:20

      Yep agree. Reno could increase the value of the house massively, or it could be a massive overcapitalisation and headache when they could simply move out and in on a weekend.

    • Trekky on 08/04/2022 - 08:08
      +1

      You need to start with a building inspection to see if there are any major problems. Either you get someone in or you go from room to room your self and note things that need to be done. Also look at each room with an eye to the future (ramps, railings etc).

      How much are you intending to spend?

  • Lexar ANZ Chris on 07/04/2022 - 12:02
    +12

    I bought my first home in 2012. 5 bedroom large house on a 900 sqaure meter land. One of the biggest tree in the area is in my yead only 2 meters away from the entrance of my carport and 1 meter ish away from the fence.
    The house was built in 1972, and extended in 1997. it went through a cosmetic renovation right before they put it onto the market. and I bought the house soon after.

    After 8 years of living in this house, basically everything can go wrong went wrong.
    The tree is breaking pipes, and sinking the house.
    The consmetic renovation starts to show it's true color.
    The 1997 part of the house is breaking down and the part that was built in the 70s were solid as a rock.

    at one point, if you put a basketball on the middle of the house, the ball will roll directly towards the direction where that giant tree is.
    House is leaking, possum went on and living in the attic, bugs and rots can be found everywhere.
    After spending thousands after thousands to fix minor problems.
    Long story short. The house is literally in danger of breaking down.

    Lucky for me, the bitcoins I invested a while ago gave me huge returns.
    And the house price in Melbourne East tripled over the years.

    So I could sell and move to a nice place. Or I can renovate the place. I eventually choose to renovate.
    Because I have no where else to live. House was divided into 2 parts, I live in one half, they renovate the other half.

    And after one half is done, they will build a new indoor garage. and then move onto renovate the other half.

    I started to communicate with local council and neighbours about the tree problem in May 2021.
    I got a ok to cut permission with no added conditions in August, in September, the tree is gone.

    took me 1000 dollars and 2 whole days to move half of my stuff to National straoge I rented. 350 bucks a year and no…you can't live in there.

    After a lengthy discussion, the house will gone through these changes:

    *restumping the house, fully reinforced to last me much longer
    *full house renovation
    *upgrade car port into indoor garage.
    *new fence, rework the yard. some landscaping.
    *a real beer tap on the bench, using kegs and Co2, like the ones you see in the bar.

    The goal of this build is to make it suits my life style (a beer drinking video gamer who loves cars but have 2 kids)
    it's a large 5 bedroom house. I want more open space, I want the house to be solid rather than fancy.
    I want to reinforce this house to a point where zombie apocolypse happened and after 100 years people came to this area to explore former human civilization and my house is the only one standing there. I want aluminium refinforced beams or metal and concrete and whatever you can do to make this house solid.

    Eventually the budget was set to 300k, it's actually very cheap because I know the guys. Usually for this kind of work at this scale you will probably looking to pay more.

    so everything is settled but then…Covid situation got worse and all of sudden we are facing labour and material shortages.

    initially I plan to move to new part of the house in November 2021, but ended up moving in late Feb.
    phase 2 haven't even started.

    living without laundry room and kitchen is not only troublesome and expensive.
    washing clothes in coin laundry is dreadful.

    Eating out every single day is not only unhealthy but also very expensive. at one point it cost us 4k+ a month on food.
    I know that's insane…but if you plan to have no kitchen for a period of time (even without delay), it's a big cost you should consider.

    Eventually as said, first half of the house is done.
    I bought cleaning 2 cleaning robots to clean the floor.

    I feel like having holidays every day when i come home.
    house is bright, clean. kitchen is nice, bathroom feels like a expensive hotel.
    kids are extremely happy.

    I have my beautiful stone bench top, and I have tap beer that I have to finish within 3 months.

    So far aside from serious delays. My expereince is beyond awesome, I would say it's heavenly…
    But I am the lucky few, I have bunch of friends who is in this industry. They normally only do commerical projects.
    I helped them on stuff before, they are returning a favour for me.
    Despite my own experience, renovation market is deep water, a lot of people get scammed. tradie didn't get paid, hidden costs, bad builds, cut corners.

    Once I finish the entire builds I might comeback one day and share more final thoughts.

    but to me, I think to get your projects right you will need:

    1. prepare ample budget, I know it's nonesense and useless info, but…money talks…you can't get quality and cheap in this industry.

    2. really know who you dealing with, go talk to the owner of their previous projects, talk to more people, don't just look at price. look for reknowned big brands. dealing with right people, honest people is as important if not more important than having enough budget.

    3. really prepared for days without electricity, water, no kitchen, laundry, car spot, noise, rubbish…

    • Jason Genova on 07/04/2022 - 12:13
      +3

      wow did you actually write all that

      • godofpizza on 07/04/2022 - 12:24

        sounds like somone needs a beer for their story.

    • cupcake on 07/04/2022 - 13:18
      +1

      Awesome insights.
      Hard work and takes time, but you are right on those points.

  • 87percent on 07/04/2022 - 12:15
    +2

    Make sure you budget for asbestos in 3/4 of the house!

    • kiitos on 08/04/2022 - 07:55
      +1

      How much does removal of asbestos add to cost?

      Eg, to remove a laundry or bathroom fibro wall linings?

  • Euphemistic on 07/04/2022 - 15:07
    +1

    It really depends what you mean by renovate. Are you talking painting plus new kitchen or rejigging rooms and moving walls? Do you want to adapt it for reduced mobility? Are happy with stairs or need an elevator? Is the current space suitable?

    I renovated my first house. Paint, removed carpet and polished boards - but then removed the non approved back room and increased the size of the bedroom and living space.
    Renovating second house meant paint, new kitchen, covering BBQ are.
    Current house changed two bedrooms with large walk in robes into 3 bedrooms with built ins. Added a deck area by the pool.
    Etc etc.

  • oz2882 on 07/04/2022 - 15:15
    +2

    We are in a similar situation like OP. We have been living in our house for thirty years. At one stage, we were thinking of downsizing and move into a modern and less maintenance apartment. After balancing the outlays in selling and purchasing, we decided to stay where we are. Also, we thought it will be difficult to adjust to a new area at our age and we just love our house and suburb so much. Instead of paying stamp duty for the new place and agent’s commission for selling, we use the funds to renovate our house.

    We also asked our architect, who did works for us in the past, to help in our renovation. An architect can help you to achieve what are possible within your budget and advise you the best alternatives. He listens to what you want, gives you advice, designs, prepares building specifications and tenders for builders. I Renovations can be very stressful particularly for people like us have absolutely no knowledge. A well designed renovation can actually save lots of money.

  • GG57 on 07/04/2022 - 15:16

    It appears that OP doesn't want to engage with us. So many questions posed but no responses.

    • cupcake on 07/04/2022 - 15:19

      Maybe he is taking a nap (as he is elderly and retired), or gone to see a doctor, or babysitting grandchildren.

      • GG57 on 07/04/2022 - 15:22
        -2

        Maybe, but if it is a 5-hour nap I hope someone checks if they are ok.
        BTW, there is nothing to suggest OP is "elderly".

        • cupcake on 07/04/2022 - 15:41
          -2

          He's been living in this house he bought 40 years ago. He's at least 60.

          Daily naps are normal at his age.

          • JimB on 07/04/2022 - 16:54

            @cupcake: Daily naps are normal at his age.

            I have young kids.

            I'd love to have a daily nap if I could afford the time to do so.

            • cupcake on 07/04/2022 - 17:06
              +1

              @JimB: If you read his first line, he says he has been living in this house for over 40 years, which is also his first home. He can nap if he wants.

  • IIGnomeII on 07/04/2022 - 17:14
    +1

    I would keep the advice as simple as possible:

    Q) Do you class your house a knock down rebuild?
    A) Look at one of the many home builders if you don't want to design your own home (e.g. Hotondo Homes, G.J. Gardener etc)

    Q) Do you want to keep the existing structure and set it up for retirement to aged care living?
    A) Speak with an architect, look for a local company with good reviews.

  • qwerty-4321 on 08/04/2022 - 07:46
    +1

    Assuming you want to keep the basic structure of the home start off with simple changes that you or a single tradie could take care of:

    1) Paint the walls
    2) Refresh the light fittings, switches and PowerPoints
    3) Refresh the curtains, blinds, carpets

    You will be surprised at the immediate difference this makes.

    Then engage a master builder to sit down with you and run through the details of anything more substantial.

    Get an asbestos test before you do anything more substantial than this. Don't trust the tradies to make the assessment. Asbestos removal isn't as expensive as you think.

  • Dslrfirst on 08/04/2022 - 09:18
    +1

    Wow 650m2 house is nearly 70 squares! Best look @ doing up mansions!

  • MrBear on 08/04/2022 - 09:19

    It's a 650m² house with 3 bedrooms and one study room.

    Are you talking about the property (land) or the house? Because that is quite a big house to renovate. (70 squares)

  • GG57 on 08/04/2022 - 09:38
    +1

    Almost 24 hours later, still no response from OP to any suggestions / questions.

  • fprjet on 08/04/2022 - 09:44
    +1

    Ok without being too personal Age, Health/Fitness, how handy you are with tools, painting etc…..
    This will change the outcome to your question. ( Ps I don't need to know, but you do need to consider.)

    40 years well done being with your wife….. ( sidenote.. a lot of stress and divorces can be caused by renovations, do not attempt unless you see eye to eye with your wife and have the same taste.)

    Be careful that you don't overdo it, eg a 2-year renovation becoming a 10-year renovation.

    If you chose to renovate do you have children or friends that can help, especially heavy lifting eg moving furniture etc.

    Dust, Dust, Dust, there will be lots if your wife isn't a fan be careful…..

    Option 1 ) go ahead with renovation.

    Option 2) Sell property and buy a newly built house in the area, there are new houses going up everyday.

    Option 3) just do a cleanup and don't renovate, spend time travelling oversea once everything is safe. Boat cruises, Europe, Asia, America anywhere your heart desires …… And don't forget to romance the wife…..It's been 40 years for god's sake……

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