Before and After Photos

[wylie]

For those who love "before and after" photos like I do, I finally got hold of the photos my son book of the unit he bought for $292K in Greenslopes. As discussed in other threads, this son is on a low wage, but he got together several friends, his mother (me ) and we spent a few sweaty days painting and ripping out the bathroom.

Bathroom had been leaking for some time behind the wall and desparately needed replacing, plus it was ugly, ugly, ugly.

Kitchen was also ugly, but a coat of paint on the laminate and new knobs has made a huge difference, plus two overhead Ikea cupboards. The benchtop is like a big sponge behind the sink and is so water damaged that it needs replacing, and that will be the next thing to do.

It would have been done soon, but he and partner are heading to England for the month of December. I cannot believe he can have a mortgage AND travel (especially on his low salary), but his accommodation is free, so it is an opportunity he would be foolish to bypass, so the bench top can wait.

I am proud of him for doing such a good job and would like him to get an appraisal because I believe he has added considerable value to his unit, certainly more than the cost of doing this work.

I have asked him for photos of the new bathroom, and will post them when I get them.

Living room - before and after





Other end of living room - before and after

 

[wylie]

Kitchen - before and after

 

[wylie]

Main bedroom - before and after

 

[Gentle_Chief]

this son is on a low wage, but he got together several friends

Low wage??
I thought all the people up in QLD had a grand paying mining job wylie

Anyways, nice before and after pictures....
How much did your son spend altogether for this reno and what property value-add do you reckon it has come up with...

 

[Aaron_C]

That looks great! Shows that anyone can do it if they got off their bum and had a go

 

[wylie]

Anyways, nice before and after pictures....
How much did your son spend altogether for this reno and what property value-add do you reckon it has come up with...

Thanks for the praise. Even though I have renovated many times, I am still amazed at how much difference a couple of coats of paint can make.

He spent a couple of hundred on paint, no more than that for curtains in those two rooms. I'm not sure if he curtained the second bedroom as it has opaque glass and they are using it as a study. He bought a new upright stove for about $450 on ebay.

That is all he spent, apart from the bathroom, which came in at about $4K from memory. I will check with him on the bathroom costing when he sends me the photos. It came up a treat.

Carpet was simply cleaned by outgoing tenants and whilst not the best, is certainly good enough to last several more years.

Furnishing is a mixture of Ikea, and ebay. Couch and chaise came from us (no longer wanted at home) and his bed is our old one and he made a new headboard with Ikea fabric. We gave him an Ikea chest of drawers no longer needed and he has put in in the built-in.

So, he really has done it on a shoe-string budget (and some cast off furniture) and I would think he has added minimum $20K to the value of the place. I want him to get an appraisal, but going on what we saw whilst searching for this, I would think he could sell for a profit without any doubt. At this price point though, guessing what it is worth after such a short hold, and given the Brisbane market, is probably too hard to get right.

I also am of the opinion that how he has furnished it goes a long way to its appeal. Once he removes his furniture it is just a freshly painted empty box with a new bathroom.

 

[Jody in Darwin]

Nice work

Even though I have renovated many times, I am still amazed at how much difference a couple of coats of paint can make.

This is also true of a detailed clean. I've done a couple of detailed cleans in the last week with my business partner and the difference amazes me every time. It's not something a photograph can capture but the property feels so different. The breeze flow is better, the view through the windows/flyscreens is brighter, the walls seem brighter, it just feels like a nicer space.

 

[wylie]

Here are the before and after for the bathroom.

Bathroom is not yet finished. Mirror cabinet pushed into the wall cavity, whilst a great idea, is too small and will be replaced with a nice white cabinet and mirror doors.

Walls are not painted but will be white. Ceiling (not shown) still needs to have a patch where the wall between the old shower cubicle and the loo went to the ceiling, making a very dark shower cubicle. Wall was removed, and you can see the waist height tiled hob wall, with glass from there to just short of the ceiling. It makes a huge difference to the light in the shower.

The bathroom was installed just after the January floods and finding a plastered who would do such a small patch and skim (to rid the room of the textured ceiling) was difficult. That job will now wait until after the London trip.

Bathroom before -



Bathroom after -



Another before shot -



And after -

 

[wylie]

Last shot I have - before



And after -

 

[jonesy427]

good work!

 

[Jamie M]

We just had half the house rendered today - the rest will be done tomorrow.

It already looks amazing! I'll post some before and after shots once it's done.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Melbournee]

Kitchen was also ugly, but a coat of paint on the laminate and new knobs has made a huge difference, plus two overhead Ikea cupboards.

great job- well done.

which one did you use (just single coat of paint?)

were the doors taken off and painted or were they painted while they were still attached?

 

[mattysavager]

Hi There.

I took the doors off and sanded all the loose melamine flush with the cabinet underneath.

I used two coats of laminate primer and then two coats of water based enamel. Oil based would be a harder surface finish but I can't handle the smell.

I took them off to sand, and then painted them when they were off but it wouldn't have been too difficult to just paint them in place.

 

[Andrew_A]

Nice work!

 

[Melbournee]

Hi There.

I took the doors off and sanded all the loose melamine flush with the cabinet underneath.

I used two coats of laminate primer and then two coats of water based enamel. Oil based would be a harder surface finish but I can't handle the smell.

I took them off to sand, and then painted them when they were off but it wouldn't have been too difficult to just paint them in place.

Thanks Matty and great work mate!

u r lucky to have Wylie as your mom -personal property guide and helping hand!

 

[gottabespotless]

Looks great. Well done to your son!

 

[Dos]

I have always thought of paitning the doors!! So using the enamel, it doesn't leave obvious stroke marks??

 

[travelbug]

I have always thought of paitning the doors!! So using the enamel, it doesn't leave obvious stroke marks??

I used a little roller. The ones you use to paint doors. Comes up great.

BTW the bathroom looks great. Did you just cut the wall down that the toilet backs on? Did you do the work yourselves?
What was the cost (if you don't mind)?

 

[wylie]

The bathroom wall between the loo and the shower housed the piping for the shower and toilet for his unit and the one below. The plumber cut the wall once the tiles were off, and was able to move the pipes which are now housed in a much smaller area. That allowed the wall to be cut down to just above the loo and the glass to replace the rest. It makes a huge difference to the look of the room and the light.

I think he spent about $4K from memory, and that wall was the only building involved, which the plumber did to suit the changed configuration of the pipes.

If you'd like accurate figures, I can get them, but the plumber recommended his tiler and organised the waterproofing of the shower.

 

[sammmeee]

Looks great! There have been soo many negative posts of late and this is definately a positive..