ORDER OF RENOVATION

This is the order for reno
1 new wiring, inc for any big changes, like electric oven, new hws kitchen & bathroom gpos & ceiling fans etc, lights etc
2 any new plumbing req. (changing position of kitchen sink, new bigger pipes req for hws etc.
3 new window
4 new kitchen & bathroom makeover. I assume you have already chosen tiles & have them waiting for tiler, laminates for benches and cupboards already chosen and ordered)
5 patch & paint inside
6 timber floor polishing (leave some windows open for airflow else polish can ‘bloom’ up new paint on walls
7 new carpet
8 new roof & guttering
9 paint exterior

Fern

Hi major reno,
I have just finished a reno of 150k and found keeping the floor clean is a real problem. I think floorsafter walls may be better.
As some contractors were used and they made this suggestion I found it more than helpful

Hope this helps,
BAZZA.

We have just done the same type of job in Brisbane. We pulled everything out prior to painting and floor polishing. Plumbing and electrics were roughed in and I painted the whole interior while hubby did the building work. Our sons helped at times, but sometimes it was better to leave them at home to save having to organise them and sort out the inevitable fights.

After I had finished painting, we had the floor sanded. This was good because I hate using dropsheets and having the walls and ceilings painted before the sander came in meant I only had to touch up the skirting boards where the sander had bumped them.

We put in the new bath and tiling ourselves (had plenty of practice – looks great). I painted the new bathroom skirting boards on saw horses and only have to touch them up where they have been nailed in. I find this much easier that painting two or three coats in situ.

The old verandah had been turned into a sleepout and third bedroom. These floors presented a problem as they are hardwood with gaps. We ended up using $20 sq m (plus $5 sq m underlay) timber look floating floor. Quite cheap, looks great and has a 10 year guarantee, although we will probably reinstate the verandah before that time. After the floating floor was finished (today) the skirting boards (pre-painted) went on. Just need to touch them up tomorrow.

I find on doing these types of renovations, that the floor sanders are often the tradesmen who you have to work around. They are booked up so long in advance that it means a bit of juggling to fit things around them. It also means you get a week off when they are inside (whew!!).

Good luck. I am (right now anyway) COMPLETELY SICK OF RENOVATING. Each time we take on a job I say “next time, I will pay a painter”, but each time I end up doing it because painters cost more than I do. However, “next time, I will pay a painter”. Yeah RIGHT!!

I don’t know if you are doing the work yourself, but the other tip I would offer is that if you are working with your husband like I have been, ask him if he is completely finished his building work before you paint. Every time I finish painting something, hubby decides the walls need a bit more gapping, or that needs changing. I very nearly gapped him!!

Best of luck, Wylie.

I believe that the most important “last job” would have to be the carpet .
This means the last person to walk on the brand new carpet is you on the way out the door and you then know it is in top condition for the new tenants.
Cheers Len

Hi there,

We’ve done a couple of reno’s and tend to work from the top down ie: roof first, this works particualy well if you are spraying iron roofs as any overspray onto gutters etc is then covered when you paint the gutters next.

Replace windows before you paint walls either inside or out otherwsie you’ll definistely have to touch up bits that get scrapped or whatever.

Same goes for the bathroom and kitchen, have them done over before you paint otherwise things do get knocked and chipped and you’ll have to touch up.

We also painted the outside (before inside), that way if you have a rainy day then you go inside to work wheras if you’ve done all the inside and then have a rainy day you can’t do anything as it’s too wet outside.

While you’re working on the outside that’s when we had contractors doing things we needed inside such as the electical or plumbing or stumping or whatever so once we’d finished outside, they were finsihed inside and in we went to do our thing without being in the way of each other.

Floors are a definite last, but make sure you have the carpets ordered 4 weeks prior and if you have someone else doing sanding and polishing then book them as well for when you think you will be finished to ensure they will be ready to do their thing when you’ve finished yours. Floors defintiley get dirty and/or scratched so do leave them till very last if possible, also makes painting and sanding easier, getting sanding dust or paint drops out of carpet isn’t fun and the odd one will happen even with drop sheets.

If your doing it on your own then you can work out what you need to do before you do other things, if you’re doing it with someone else then make sure that what you’re each doing is helping the other as well so you don’t have down time ie: I’d always let hubby know what room I was planning on painting next so he could do whatever he needed to do in that room before I got there or if it didn’t suit for me to be doing a particular room because something wouldn’t be finished in time he could say and then we’d work out where I should be next to give him time to finish off the room etc.

Oh, the rubbish. A big bin is helpful and demolishing a lot in one hit means you fill the bin and it’s gone. There’s still always other bits and pieces though that become rubbish as you go, so we kept the trailer there and piled it in and when it was full would do a quick trip to the tip.

Oh, I don’t know what others think, but tiling is one job that we found very very time comsuming for us to do ourselves and just wasn’t worth doing oursleves. I would just pay someone to do that one in the future as the holding costs while we tiled probably would have paid a tiler.

Well, good luck and let us know how you go.

Regards
PK

Oh, try not to throw anything out till the end – recycle as much as you can re timber and bricks etc etc. But do stack it neatly and out of the way so the job is not a bomb site.

Don

Best leave the polished floors until the very last. After painting and carpet. Don’t walk on them for 3 days. Add 30 % to your budget. Try and keep site tidy.