Renovation using 2nd hand fittings and fixtures

[ycdfdyan]

We plan to do a renovation to the house we just purchased. We only have a small budget of 30k.

Has anyone ever done a renovation using second hand house fittings and fixtures (eg. Entire bathroom, carpets, doors etc.)?

A house not far away from the one I just bought is selling all its fittings and fixtures as the owner plan to knock off the existing house to build a million dollar mansion.

If I decide to buy I will need to ask someone to remove the fittings from the existing and deliver them to my house. Is this going to do be costly?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Propertunity]

Generally speaking, when you renovate, you are bringing the property up-to-date which is not what you'd be doing if you use older 2nd hand goods. I'd only consider this if you are renovating a period style home and you want to keep the place "original".

$30K is quite a decent budget to get new fittings & fixtures - and they should last longer before needing replacement or maintenance.

 

[travelbug]

I agree with Propertunity.

Unless the stuff is not too old, you will find yourself renovating again in 5 years time. We made that mistake with one IP. We put a second hand kitchen in then put a new one in just before we sold.

If you have to pay people to remove it and install it I wouldn't bother (unless the stuff is nearly free). Some stuff is OK (light fittings etc (if near new). The things we have bought second hand that have been worthwhile are built in wardrobes, shower screens, light fittings.
I would not bother with carpet. Doors? maybe but if they are not the right size not worth the hassle.
You need to look At the cost to remove, make things fit and time lost. I think doing this would add weeks of work. Remember that's extra interest lost. Factor that in.

$30K is a good budget. Our full house reno budget is $15k but we do a lot of the work ourselves.

 

[Tim86]

The expensive thing with reno's isn't parts, it's labour.

My guess would be that the extra costs in labour for removal of the goods will eat away any savings with buying them second hand. Unless you can remove the goods yourself, I wouldn't be doing it.

But it really depends on the situation. It's a bit hard to judge when we haven't seen the parts. For example you might be talking about getting a $15000 smeg dual oven freestanding cooker for $200 and needing to spend $500 to get it disconnected. Which in that case it would be worthwhile.

Or you might be talking about getting a rusty old white freestanding oven worth $50 that you then have to spend X amount to disconnect, etc...

But don't be surprised with some ridiculous labour costs for removing a house full of gear.

Anyway $30k should take care of your reno anyway. Unless you get taken for a ride or you pay more than you should for the gear.

 

[ycdfdyan]

Thanks everyone for your kind help!

Yep if taking into account the labour cost it might end up costing more

 

[goonandtell]

appliances i would consider, anything else i just can't see it being worth the run around.

 

[perthguy]

It really depends on your market and the quality of the second hand goods. I just did a whole house reno on a very tight budget using almost all second hand or new from gumtree goods. For example, kitchen sink and bathroom vanity were brand new from gumtree but bought at a fraction of the cost of retail.

The kitchen was $400 secondhand from gumtree but didn't at all fit the space, so it needed some modifications, which myself and my investment partner could do. We installed the vanity, kitchen, laundry and carpets ourselves. Carpets were secondhand but looked new when cleaned.

It all came up looking very good and rent went from $320 to $440 a week. It is not a flash house though, so the level of finishes matches that. I didn't want to overspec the reno to the age of the house. I would not have done all of this to a newer house but it worked out for this one.

 

[Lil Skater]

I know quite a few people that use second hand goods in renovations, but all of them do the install themselves with trades for electrical and plumbing.

If you can do it yourself, there are savings to be had, if not it would probably work out better to get it all done brand new.

I had a client replace a stove, with a 2yo old one. Total cost was about $450 ($150 for the oven, $300 install).

 

[nww]

It can be hard trying to make second-hand stuff fit.
Eg doors which already will have doorknobs fitted and hinge bates will almost
100% not fit your doorjambs for striker or placement of hinge .
I find it just as cheap to shop online for new stuff than use second-hand.
A door at bunnings is only $27.00

Ive put in a second-hand kitchen but again you will never get the right dimensions and spend more time trying to make it fit when it would have been
less time putting in new.

I only use secound hand if Im trying to match something old.