Time frame for first reno, advice wanted.

Taking time off and coming to OZ next month and if time permits doing a minor upgrade/reno of a 3 br unit. Can probably allow about 5-7 days to complete the work before back off OS.

Tenants have moved out leaving a few items to be repaired and mostly covered by insurance, hopefully.

1,

Carpets have been stained and a few cigarette holes and need replacing. Would prefer to replace with tiles.

2,

Bathroom bench top 2x1mt water damaged and bath enamel has been damaged.

3,

Lounge room 2 walls have marks from posters and small holes from hanging photos. Don't have measurements but floor size is approximately 9x3.5 and standard ceiling to roof size 2-2.5mt..

4,

All bedroom doors slightly damaged or have holes need replacing or patching.

5,

Concrete floor on balcony has nice graffiti and paint spills. (3x4mt)

Don't have exact measurements but would like a rough idea of how long it would take to do this stuff. One builder has said 3 weeks mainly because having a few other jobs to do at the same time and a cost of around 10K.(hopefully most is covered by insurance so not that much of a concern).

If time permits would like to post photos of rooms for suggestions and ideas then tackle the job 1 or 2 days later. Might not be able to do photos until next month.

Are there any SS members who wouldn't mind chatting on skype etc so I can get a few ideas or suggestions before hand.

Finally, there was a link somewhere to some DIY videos and hints.

depends on you building skills????
The painting is fair enough, and perhaps the tiling, but the benches and doors worrie me a bit, if you could get somone to get in there and measure the bench, and pre mak it to suit, and be ready when you arrive, it will be quicker.
the doors? as std size door is now 2040x820mm if the home if newish you can get them primed and ready to go! but this is unlikely, at worst you have to shave, the side or top off! and thats if they fit.
I have repaired internal doors, i use two part buildersbog. it it the same as two part car filler, its mixed /filled/ and ready to sand in 1 hour, it also sands smooth and level to the door surface, three coats of sealer undercoat, sand then finnish with paint. this would be your quickest way,
Do the reno's but think what dries, and how long b4 the next coats or stage.
ie remove the carpet, sand and paint the walls, lay the tile underlay, and tile, then repair the doors, let these set, do the bench, remove and place,let glue set, 2nd coat on walls, let dry,sand and undercoat doors, silicon bench top, last coat on walls, second coat on doors, groute tiles, finnish coat on doors, clean and remove the rubbish and mess?
This all looks crap in writing but some of it should make sence , and you can do your own planningm GEE! i hope you can understand this and you will get through the task.! good luck,

Craig,

Thanks, easy to follow what you wrote.

If you're using any tradies or suppliers, just be aware that they often think it doesn't matter if they slip a week here or there. So make sure they're acutely aware that you're only in the country for a few days, and that you need them to have the item(s) ready on a certain date.

Doing the work yourself eliminates the largest variable, so this should be achievable if you're a hard worker and organised with regards to a schedule.

I would have thought most of those items sound like "sloppy habits" rather than "malicious damage" (ie water damage to vanity, damaged enamel on bath, poster marks, stained carpets), and I wouldn't have thought hardly any of that (except perhaps graffiti on balcony, which won't cost much to fix) would be covered, and I would have thought the bond would cover it. But maybe your insurer is more generous than I anticipate! Have you talked to the insurer yet?

I agree with Craig, try to get everything ready before you turnup. See if you agent can get someone to give quotes and measure for the benchtop, it could take a few weeks to get ready to install, and if time slips then they can install after you leave.

If I was a super hero Builders Bog would be my weapon of choice - seriously fixing doors as Craig explains is easy. If you want to replace them then rather than waste your time get a carpenter to do it - hanging cost about $90 per door, ontop of door handles, door and painting and priming and sanding ( which all takes time and money).

The walls really don't sound bad, in fact I imagine from an insurers point of view it is all wear and tear rather than damage, you should recover this from their bond. As for the walls can you use some jif to rub off the marks?

For $10k you could repaint, recarpet get a new kitchen - I did. I think your builder is having a lend.

Hope this helps
Jane

Hi Y33

We just completed a minor reno of a 2 bedder - took us about 8 days (we worked weekends and public holidays over Easter) with hubby and self working from 9 am - 7 pm each day.

The things we did :

gyprocked ceiling (gyprocker) we painted
painted walls and windows
new kitchen (tradie)
new laundry cupboard (we fitted)
fixed up and repainted unfinished laundry area (us)
cleaned the entire place and yard (us)
varnished timber walls (us)
new shower (tiler)
new curtains (us)
new blinds in living and kitchen (blind installer)

A lot of variables .. will you be staying in the place for the entire week ? Or
will you have to travel to and fro each day/night ? We spent 2 hours each
day travelling.

If you had your PM obtain quotes, you'd eliminate time spend waiting for tradies to quote and then show up on time. The person doing the kitchen had to return thrice as they showed up without the right tools.

We did not change carpets and it cost us close to $12k for our relatively
small reno. This was our first reno and I reckon it was pretty hard work for me.

Amelia

Cherry Pro said:

Hi Y33

We just completed a minor reno of a 2 bedder - took us about 8 days (we worked weekends and public holidays over Easter) with hubby and self working from 9 am - 7 pm each day.

The things we did :

gyprocked ceiling (gyprocker) we painted
painted walls and windows
new kitchen (tradie)
new laundry cupboard (we fitted)
fixed up and repainted unfinished laundry area (us)
cleaned the entire place and yard (us)
varnished timber walls (us)
new shower (tiler)
new curtains (us)
new blinds in living and kitchen (blind installer)

A lot of variables .. will you be staying in the place for the entire week ? Or
will you have to travel to and fro each day/night ? We spent 2 hours each
day travelling.

If you had your PM obtain quotes, you'd eliminate time spend waiting for tradies to quote and then show up on time. The person doing the kitchen had to return thrice as they showed up without the right tools.

We did not change carpets and it cost us close to $12k for our relatively
small reno. This was our first reno and I reckon it was pretty hard work for me.

Amelia

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Wall done, Cherry i dig it when chick's get in and get their hands dirty, realy great, how much was the spend and what do you think was the gain, and what do you think you brought the rent from/to?

Y33 said:

Carpets have been stained and a few cigarette holes and need replacing. Would prefer to replace with tiles.
Your choice but getting someone in to lay carpet is much quicker - 1 day. It will take you a lot more than that to cement sheet/tile/grout/clean. If you want tiles, I would get some quotes to have a tiler lay for you before you arrive. Then floors will be done for you to walk on & do the rest2,

Bathroom bench top 2x1mt water damaged and bath enamel has been damaged.
Agree with previous posters. Ask PM to get benchtop place in to measure & quote & book them in before you get here.
3,

Lounge room 2 walls have marks from posters and small holes from hanging photos. Don't have measurements but floor size is approximately 9x3.5 and standard ceiling to roof size 2-2.5mt..
Easy enough to fill holes, sand & paint. However, I say this having done a few houses myself. To prep properly can take a while, esp. if you haven't done it before. You will need to wait for plaster to dry, then seal, wait to dry, then paint - i.e. Not a 1 day job
4,

All bedroom doors slightly damaged or have holes need replacing or patching.
Hard for you to know whether it's just better to replace them without seeing the damage. Sounds like a patch job unless they've been kicked in 5,

Concrete floor on balcony has nice graffiti and paint spills. (3x4mt)
I would use a dark coloured paving paint
... One builder has said 3 weeks mainly because having a few other jobs to do at the same time and a cost of around 10K...
Hard to say without knowing how many sq m of tiling involved but I agree that this sounds way too much. Then again, not surprising that it would be annoying for a builder to fit all these little things between other jobs so I can imagine he wants to make it worth his whileIf time permits would like to post photos of rooms for suggestions and ideas then tackle the job 1 or 2 days later. Might not be able to do photos until next month.
This is a great idea. I'm sure people here could help you with exactly what's required. You can't get the PM to take pics?

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BTW, I agree with ozperp re: malicious damage. It's apparently very hard to prove.

Hi all and thanks for the replies.

The builder was originally asked to do a quote and is the one that said most things should be covered by insurance as he has done similar claims before.

He has meant to have done a full report with photos and I'm still waiting for both and it was also meant to have been given to the pm.

Travelling time is an easy 20 minutes and if need be can stay over night. Not afraid of 20 hour days either.

Tiling is for the lounge room about 9x3.5mt.

Definitely trying to get everything ready in advanced so when I turn up I can get stuck straight into it and thus why I'm asking here for time frames and hints etc.

Once again thanks all.

Y33 said:

The builder was originally asked to do a quote and is the one that said most things should be covered by insurance as he has done similar claims before.

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I wouldn't trust the average builder to know the difference between "malicious damage" and "rough living" with respect to landlords insurance. I recommend you contact the insurer, find out what will be covered, and if anything, let the insurers organise and pay for those repairs. Then you do anything that's left.

Anything that's going to be covered by insurance, you shouldn't touch, because 1) the insurance will pay for somebody else to do it, and 2) they'll warrant a builder's work, but not yours. They definitely won't pay you for your time (and probably not even materials) to do the repairs yourself.

I'm just confused by the apparent contradiction that you think the repairs will be covered by insurance, but are spending a week to travel internationally and bust your gut on repairs.

Hi OZperp,

The builder is reasonably well known in the area but I don't know him personally.

He stated that some things should be covered as he has had similar jobs before accepted but no guarantee if it all would be.

I haven't fully decided which path to go down whether DIY or builder thus the advice sought. I still need to check if covered by insurance how would payment go. I had a claim once before on another property and the insurance company paid out around 20K straight to me and not to any traders or businesses. This was paid before any work was even started.

If the insurance will pay me the same way as previously and if I think I can do the reno I want to give it a try. My thinking is it's a good way to learn plus I will have a predetermined budget etc and set time frame. (If time does run out then someone can always finish what I started, hopefully)

Have to come to OZ any way and the decision is mainly whether to extend another week and tackle this. Normally when I come back I get stuck into some form on intensive physical labor as it feels good to just get in and do something yourself.

Just trying to cover all bases and options.

Bond was used to cover unpaid rent. Long term tenant just upped and left. Damage has all occured since last inspection which was　approximately 2-3 months before tenant left.　Due to difference between condition reports now and previous condition report normal wear and tear may not apply in this situation.