Inner west Victorian terrace

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At the risk of being obtuse, does anyone have an idea about likely cost and things to look for to renovate the facade of an old Victorian terrace in Sydney's inner-west?

The upstairs balcony has been closed off with weatherboarding & sliding glass windows to make a sunroom. I'm trying to work out the rough cost of opening it up, installing some metal latticework, painting and restoring it to a "classic" Victorian terrace.

The property is only about 3.5 metres wide.

 

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*Bump* No ideas? Anyone? I disclose I have no renovating experience at all so anyone is probably more qualified than me to have a stab!

 

[depreciator]

Hard for anyone to say without some photos - inside and out.

Are the French doors that always lead out to the balcony still there?

It's not a big job.

 

[Television]

What sort of shape is the balcony in? If the wood's a bit ratty, might be looking at a bit extra cost to rebuild the structure.

As Depreciator said, photos please

If you're looking for a builder with experience in the work and who can possibly help with the reno, please send me a PM.

 

[Aaron_C]

*Bump* No ideas? Anyone? I disclose I have no renovating experience at all so anyone is probably more qualified than me to have a stab!

It costs a lot of money.

 

[Television]

It costs a lot of money.

Not so much a stab in the dark as a gouge.

 

[Elliotte]

I dunno...it cost me under $1000 to redo a deck on a 3.5m terrace. Was $300 mates rates labour though and a bit of merbau decking I think. We went to repair just the decking - french door was still there and not enclosed. But the decking was rotten right through as was the support beam. So what started as a simple repair ended up with us removing the whole lot and doing it again. We did have the original balustrade thingo to put back up. It was a one day job. All kinda of scary though once we realised we were just going to redo the lot.

 

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Sorry for delay in coming back to you all, attached is a photo of the front of the property so you can see what I mean! Sorry it is on an angle.

The original french doors are no longer there- it's just an open door way leading in to the closed-in balcony. The floors have been carpeted so hard to see what the condition of the original timber slats underneath is.

I'm guessing it's about 1 day's labour plus materials - bit worried about the cost of the original iron lattice work!

I was hoping to get away with it all for under $1,500. Don't know whether I'm dreaming.

It's about a 3.8m frontage.

 

[depreciator]

Yep, not a huge job. Two days if you have all the stuff ready to go - and if the floor is in good condition. That two days includes a bit of painting and stuff like that.

Is that panel below the window asbestos? You can remove it yourself, but be careful.

The french doors may be the trickiest bit. Make sure you get them BEFORE you take off the facade. They are available second hand or new. Second hand stuff might be cheaper, but always takes more work to get functional again. Have a look on eBay.

There used to be a company in Sydney called the Terrace House Factory that sold iron work (original and new) and stuff like that. If they're not around, there will be somebody. You can also get aluminium reproductions of those panels. Much cheaper and lighter, but the purists reckon it doesn't look as good. For that sort of budget terrace, I'm not sure it matters.

You won't get away with it all for $1,500 unless you do all of the work.

 

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Thanks Depreciator, that's helpful to know.

Will start to look around for the French doors before reno starts- otherwise we'll have a gaping hole in our bedroom wall!

Wasn't planning on doing any of the work to be honest so maybe $2,000 - $2,500 is more accurate...

 

[depreciator]

Yep, that's more realistic.
It's always cheaper if you can get the materials yourself and have everything onsite ready for whoever does the work.
And it's probably best if you get all the stuff there BEFORE you get someone to come and look at the job. That way they can see what you want installed and they will know how long it will take and what they will need.