Mon 20th Aug-undercoat on most of the outside window frames.-removed front screen door ready for replacement-u/coat on front door-finished sanding ceiling-plasterer did top coat on blueboard joins. paid him. $220-paid roof restorer – $950 (Bargain!!) It was $850 for cash, but I really need receipts, so he charged $950. Still cheap as.Forgot to…[Read more]

Hi meI will try to give a weekly total expenses, but probly not a detailed breakdown until the  end, mostly because I don't want to type it all out every week. Have to be careful not to become so engrossed in PI.com that the rest of life suffers.So maybe a running total of the reno cost so far, and the total hours so far.A couple of days ago the…[Read more]

Hi TinaIf the numbers don't work, definitely don't go ahead anyway.Those formula's don't work on every house. That's why they are there: to quickly rule out the majority of properties so that you only spend lots of time on the ones that might actually work.Also, don't just ask for the agents opinion on what the end sale price would be. Get some…[Read more]

Sat 18th AugAnother productive working bee. Together me and all the helpers:-finished staining front fence-nailed balusters onto deck handrail-troweled base coat onto blueboard joints-did 'no more gaps' over whole house-2nd coat of render on front wall-undercoat to the remainder of arcs and skirts-took off the balustrade from front porch-started…[Read more]

Ozboy wrote:
 Hate to boast but I did a BETTER job than the original carpenter/builder of the back decking, including erecting a laserite cover/canopy.(by the way I don't do stuff that is illegal – e.g: electrical; although I could do wiring, installation low voltage lights, etc. if I so chose)

Did you know only a licenced plumber is allowed t…[Read more]

Fri 17th Aug-replaced all the dodgy architraves that I had taken off earlier-did some more plaster patching-a roof restorer came and did all the repointing. ( I was going to DIY, buy decided to get some help to speed up the process. I found a quote that is still under what I had budgeted for to DIY, so that's great. I had allowed $1500 for roof…[Read more]

Thurs 16th Aug-put top coat on all plaster patches inside-installed 2 bits of cornice-sanded all the cornices-sanded some ceilings-bought all the materials to texture coat blueboardDidn't get a chance to spray ceilings. Much more prep still to be done than I thought.Funny story. While entering some receipts onto computer last night I noticed that…[Read more]

Hi crashyThe wagner seems great. It does say "Not for Professional Use!" on the instructions but I am not really a pro painter and will only use it for one house every couple of months, so should last me a while.It is made as a very good DIY tool, works almost as well as a $2k+ machine, but doesn't have any pressure adjustment. Just fixed…[Read more]

Wed 15th Aug-painted 2nd coat on the handrails around deck-tried out my new Wagner Paint Crew (spray painter) and sprayed 2 coats onto the rafters etc of the deck-started repair work on the gutters-did a bit of patching holes in the ceilings-inspected another house

Teus 14th Aug-finished nailing on blueboard-called some more trades to get quotes-had a visit from another PI.com member-a glazier came and replaced glass near front door. (Changed it from frosted to clear.)Hi debra, thanks for the tip. I will go have a look.

Mon 13th AugNot much done today. Only 2.5hrs spent at the house.-got into roof and moved insulation away from where all downlights will be. (the sparky said he could do it for $40per hour, or I could do it for him)-worked on the blueboard cladding a bit more. Only 2 sheets more to put up.Also went to a Property Investors Network meeting. Very educational.

Hi nicoleThe render is going to cost me about $1540 for 2 base coats and 1 top coat which is coloured already so I don't need to paint over it. I am not sure how many square metres is being rendered so I can't tell you the per metre rate, but it is the front of house right around to the edge of the porch. I will try to work out the metres this…[Read more]

Hi crashyWe are making the deck into an almost fully enclosed outdoor living area. It will have rendered walls, a bar overlooking backyard, bistro blinds, and be fully private from street. The house itself is not huge, so we thought this would be an economical way of increasing living area.Hi rboothNo probs mate.

Sat 11th AugHi everyoneRe: the wraps, sorry I know nutting.Re: working hours: I am currently a subcontractor, so I can sort of choose my own hours. So since July 16 I have decided to work full time on this house. I have some other work coming up in about a week, so that will slow down the progress a little, but I still hope to do at least 3 days…[Read more]

Fri 10th Aug-replace and repaired all rotting timber on handrails around deck. This took me longer than expected because the rot was worse than I thought. I had to do a lot of cutting out rot from the posts, shaping new timber pieces to fit the holes, glue and nail them in, then builders bog over it all. I used about 3/4 of a 1kg tin of builders…[Read more]

Thurs 9th Aug-finished pressure hosing the roof-cleaned gutters also-started framing up for cement sheet cladding on deck areaRE: pressure cleaning roof and guttersI had an unexpected problem when the hose hit the gutters. I suddenly noticed a series of small holes in the bottom of gutter. Guess there was rust under all those rotting leaves!At…[Read more]

Wed 8th Aug-replaced some rotten fascia-pressure washed 3/4 of the roof-took delivery of timber for carport etc-had another agent do an appraisal-electricity got turned on-a sparky came to quote on downlights etcHi bpudadera, No, I didn't sand the fence first. The stain just soaked right in.I did apply straight linseed&turps (no oxide) to the base…[Read more]

Tues 7th AugThanks Mrs Bushy! And Mr too!-ordered timber for carport and deck handrail etc-bought new arcs, some cornice, plaster etc-replaced a rusted downpipe-patched up holes in plaster-framed and plastered the fridge opening (it was too short, so made it higher)

Mon 6th Aug-bought the paint for inside.-borrowed a pressure cleaner-booked the renderer, roof sprayer, glazier-applied for bunnings account-took off some architraves that were on backwards-measured up a materials list for all deck repairs, handrail repairs, cementsheet cladding on deck, fascia repairs, new arcs to replace what I took off, and a…[Read more]

crashy wrote:
not if you go to Bunnings!

I was at Bunnings. I am there almost every day. It only takes about 3 minutes to mix up stain anyway.