The latest project

skater said:
It sure is. I take it you have bought similar.

No, don't have the time to put into a project like that ( too busy working ...) . I know someone who lives nearby a house that looks like that ( I'll drive by to see if the fence looks the same , and say hello if I see someone working there :) )

I thought it would make a good project for someone how uses a hands on approach. Sounds like you got it at a good price.

See Change
 
see_change said:
No, don't have the time to put into a project like that ( too busy working ...) . I know someone who lives nearby a house that looks like that ( I'll drive by to see if the fence looks the same , and say hello if I see someone working there :) )

I thought it would make a good project for someone how uses a hands on approach. Sounds like you got it at a good price.

See Change

Its down the bottom end overlooking the bush.

Hubby is off work this week, so we will be spending a lot of time there. By all means drop by.

Your right, the price was right, but we don't plan on keeping it. The natives are scary :) Hubby is an electrician by trade & can turn his hand to most things, so it should come up a treat.
 
You Guys are amazing

Its great to see such support from the forum.
Someone mentioned Brave, I did think of other words but I will keep those to myself. :p
I must admit I wouldn’t even consider such a major project. When I had a look at the photos all I could think of was push it over and start again.
Once you have performed your miracle reno please let us all know.

Cheers :D

Madmurf
 
Looks like a fun project Skater!

Our last looked like that....when we were halfway through :D

We got told we had bitten off more we could chew during that one, which annoyed me a fair bit as it was a value judgement from someone who had no idea of our skills or experience....

He's not said anything about our reno since it came up really well.

Cheers,

Aceyducey
PS: We didn't have a problem with missing pipes under the house, but they didn't meet the required standard for being buried...so I had to lug half a tonne of blue metal under the length of the house and cover them all up :)
 
Good Luck Skater!

But wouldn't it be cheaper to doze it and plonk a spec home on the block?

Interested to see what the cost difference would be.

wombat
 
Hi Wombat, I'm only going to spend about $30k, I hope. We are doing it all ourselves, so won't be paying tradesmen.

Got the toilet connected today. Woohoo, no more rush trips home when the need arises. Also ordered the kitchen - vaccuum formed with granite benchtops. Need to collect it next week.
 
Gee I love the little surprises we get. Missed a day because of other commitments & the little #$%^s broke in again. Kicked in the colourbond fence, then removed the sheeting from the outside of the building & took it with them. We think they were looking for tools, but we're not leaving anything that isn't screwed down in the property when we're not there. The fence now has extra screws all along it to make it harder to get into.

Executive decision has been made. Hubby will move in until it's finished & sold. They are less likely to try anything with someone in the premises. He'll be there at night & I will be there most days. Looks like I'm a single mum for the next few months.
 
skater said:
Missed a day because of other commitments & the little #$%^s broke in again.

Maybe invest $30 in some of those fake Alarm Siren boxes? They look like a real siren cover and flashing blue strobe light, but they aren't.
 
On a not-too-serious note perhaps you could employ one of the following fine anti-theft devices...

A burglar trap
This could double as a wine cellar (using a ladder) after your reno is finished ;)


Getting into the more extreme end of the spectrum what about some of these...
The Terminator (pepper spray booby trap)


Electric shock / Flamethrower

OK those are for cars, but I thought it might give you some ideas anyway...
watch the QuickTime video here


This one makes me glad I don't live in America
He loaded his 12-gauge shotgun. He bought string, a pulley and some hooks.
"There's a whole bunch of potential Leonard Millers out there" :rolleyes:
 
mmerlin said:
On a not-too-serious note perhaps you could employ one of the following fine anti-theft devices...

A burglar trap
This could double as a wine cellar (using a ladder) after your reno is finished ;)


Getting into the more extreme end of the spectrum what about some of these...
The Terminator (pepper spray booby trap)


Electric shock / Flamethrower

OK those are for cars, but I thought it might give you some ideas anyway...
watch the QuickTime video here


This one makes me glad I don't live in America
He loaded his 12-gauge shotgun. He bought string, a pulley and some hooks.
"There's a whole bunch of potential Leonard Millers out there" :rolleyes:


Wow, I love those ideas.

I'm pretty sure the little darlings responsible are connected with one of the local houses. There is always a hive of (teenage) activity at that place. Also when we got the pest people out to do a spray, they mentioned that there had been a shooting there a couple of weeks ago. Word on the grapevine is that Housing Department want to move them on. They have bad termite activity, so we are hopeful.
 
how will these going on's affect your resale? i have always avoided buying in "dodgy" areas, even if they are cheap, because you have the same problems when you are trying to sell.

as example, my sister and her husband bought a house cheap 'cause it was next to a bikie headquarters. they renovated, rented it out and then tried to sell. they had to drop the price significantly and it sat on the market for nearly 2 years (despite the boom) as, even tho it was beautifully renovated, it was still next to the bikie gang :( . i don't think they ended up making anything out of it by the time reno and holding costs were taken into consideration.

regardless - have a wonderful time renovating. i loved being hands on and pulling a house back from the brink of despair and making it beautiful (and loved) again, but with the arrival of baby 2 years ago, i've switched to knock down unsalvagable dumps and rebuild - as uses my time in a more baby friendly way.

looking forward to hearing how you go
lizzie
 
Well another exhausting weekend is finished.

The outside almost looks good now. The glass is in the windows & the broken panelling has been replaced. The back windows are still boarded up as there is going to be french windows put in, but we are not ready for that yet. So, french windows, a deck & painting & the outside will be done. Oh, I almost forgot, the temporary fence is gone too.

The plasterboard and the kitchen have arrived. Hopefully by the end of next weekend we will have all the plasterboard on the walls (except for the two termite walls that we have to fix) and the kitchen installed.

Hubby is installed in a fold up bed. When the darling children from the adjoining houses came to visit an interesting conversation arose:

Child "It looks good, but what will you do when someone breaks in again & wrecks it?"

Hubby "Well they will get a surprise, because I live here now"

Child "No you don't"

Hubby "Yes I do, look there's my bed"

Child (In loud voice to his friends) "Andrew lives here now, he's going to sleep here tonight"

Hopefully the little darlings will be telling their older siblings that someone is on the premises too.
 
More photos! I guess I should recharge the camera.

On the manage attachments part, it only allows you to insert a certain amount of photos. How do I put extra into a thread?
 
HI

I would also love to see the progress on this and know what your costs are. We have just completed a bad one - but not as bad as yours. We were learning, paid too much, spent too much but have still made a bit.

If you are happy to share, it would be great if you could post the purchase price and then with each set of updated photos, the costs to date.
 
Living apart during reno

Hey man, take care you still keep your relationships!

Renovations are tiring and can be all consuming - living apart can add to this.

Take your loved one out for dinner, consider having someone else stay at the place nights, on a roster basis?

Just concerned for you that you get consumed by this thing.

Cheers
ac
 
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