Wow factors to add value to a house

[veseli]

Hey guys,

You don't really want to see how it looked like before it was in bad condition.
Asbestos roof, cladding, eaves, wet areas, it was bad, it actually doesn't look that bad in the pictures.

The house was very solid built, but its just cosmetic that needed some bad attention.

If i was to charge someone for this job it would be 200k, i've done similar jobs before and thats how much i charge them. But it costed me less because im a builder, plus i did most of the things myself with my employees.

It took me just over 3 months from start to finish, plus we had some bad weather.

But its a nice project, cant wait to start the next one.


Angel the floor is spotted gum floating floors from bunnings, about $25.00/m2 plus insulation and laying. They make floating floors look like real timber now. Its a cheap wow factor.

 

[RumpledElf]

Thought those floors looked like ours. We have spotted gum, engineered timber - $110/sqm including underlay and laying, looks absolutely fantastic and because all the boards are unique the kids are finding pictures in them, like you find pictures in clouds.

We had the plastic stuff at $25 a square meter in the last house and it looked fine for the first year but looks really scruffy now, in many places the plastic coating is scuffed right down to the white under the printing or even through that to the MDF below and the MDF swells like crazy if you get it wet. Good for fast wow factor if you're going to sell but I wouldn't put it in a rental or a PPoR, it doesn't last long enough.

Fine I guess if you don't put it in a dining area or you get anal about cleaning grit off the floor, ours is worn right through where the chairs are pushed in and out.

 

[veseli]

Laminate floors scratch just like hardwood floors. In my house where i live i have hardwood floorboards, and they are all worn out and scratched around dining area, and in my office.

Laminate is cheaper, but i would rather put laminate, costs me 5 times cheaper, and after 3 years you just replace it with brand new look and it works out cheaper again.

Engineered floors are waste of money in my opinion, you get 5mm of real timber on top, but if you damage it with deep scratches or water you cant sand it.

There are hardwood floors on the market which are 10mm thick instead of 20mm, and it is similar price as engineered floors. This is better option than engineered floors as you get 10mm of real timber, and you can sand it once or twice in a life time.

Just my opinion.

 

[WesternRat]

Does an alarm system add wow or value to an investment property? If so, what type? Just a couple of movement sensors and window sensors?

Or is it simply not worth the cost?

 

[RumpledElf]

Laminate is cheaper, but i would rather put laminate, costs me 5 times cheaper, and after 3 years you just replace it with brand new look and it works out cheaper again.

See after having laminate I wouldn't do that ... the wearing down to the white under the printing and the huge swelling when it gets wet has spooked me off the stuff for life, as well as it being so easy to chip off the printed layer - the engineered timber you've got 5mm before the colour changes and wetting it does nothing at all (we've been using the leftovers outside over the mud and they haven't changed). Well worth it at a little under 3x the price ($80 vs $25 supply) not to have white patches everywhere and not having any MDF at all. I suppose some brands aren't printed on white which would make a difference, some might even be on ply not MDF. I wasn't looking at the more expensive laminates.

Seen the solid timber that is about 15mm thick, its not recommended as it warps a lot and it needs to be glued down so it costs near $50 a sqm to install, but you might be talking about something else. When we were flooring shopping there was only the stick down solid timber that they didn't recommend at about $130-200/sqm supply, engineered timber ranging from $40-$120 supply, and then printed laminates below that. The engineered stuff was sold as being able to be sanded 2 or 3 times, they recommended every 10 years or so. Boral cost a lot more than readyfloor for effectively the same product, and the two and three strip is a lot cheaper than one strip, we could have got engineered timber for $40 supply but went one strip instead.

Each to their own I guess, I can't imagine having to replace an entire house of floors every 2-3 years when it gets too worn.

 

[Angel13]

Does an alarm system add wow or value to an investment property? If so, what type? Just a couple of movement sensors and window sensors?

Or is it simply not worth the cost?

I personally don't think WOW about an alarm system but is definitely on my desirable list. If I was living alone it would be a must have.

The WOW factor for me is one of those keyless finger print recognition front door locks. We just recently bought one but haven't installed it yet. Love the thought of not having to worry about forgetting keys. The one we got you can program it for up to 99 people. You can also program it on a temporary basis, set to expire on a specific date (good for visitors staying with you or house sitter etc.)

You can also get the ones where you just program a swipe key for tenants.

 

[Angel13]

We just bought engineered in Blackbutt. I think it's a nice compromise and I like the fact it comes with a 25 year guarantee.

Angel

 

[RumpledElf]

We were thiiiiis close to getting blackbutt ... one place had it on special, but I liked the spotted gum more ... crazy colour variation, we've got everything from bright pink to quite dark brown.

Looks fantastic. Had it down 2 weeks so talk to me in 3 years about how well it wears

 

[veseli]

RumpledElf don't wet it too much, even hardwood floor will lift if using very wet mop.
I've seen it happened twice so far.

Engineered is better off course, you get what you pay for.

There are laminate floors now which can not get damaged by water at all, believe it or not, technology has improved heaps.

 

[RumpledElf]

Inlaws had stick-down solid jarrah (over concrete) that needed a whole room replacing when their dishwasher leaked. Now that was a debacle.

 

[Elke]

Hi all
We got bamboo hardwood floors and have been very very happy. Not only environmentally friendly, bec from a renewable weed , but as hard as hardwood, and it's solid bamboo the whole way thru so if scratched, we just rub in some clear oil and the scratches vanish. The only prob is we had an office desk and the rolling wheels have slowly worn off the lacquer over 3 years.

We got semigloss and after 4 years they still look brand new. We got carbonised bamboo.

It was laid over concrete floor.

Cheers

 

[Angel13]

OMG, I'm so excited!!! Our floating staircase got craned in.

This is one of the big ticket WOW items for the house we are currently building in Forde.

I've put up a vid of them being craned in and the rendered image of how it should look when the house is completed on my blog.

http://www.hammerandheels.net/forde-week-5-6-the-floating-staircase/

Angel

P.S. we're no longer having tiled floors as shown in the rendered pic. Imagine engineered timber floors in Blackbutt

 

[The Y-man]

Ifinger print recognition front door locks. .

Yeah, biometrics are great .... until you get a cut on your finger, scar tissue, or suffer from skin disease (dermatitis, psoriasis etc) in which case you need to have 9 other "DR" fingers programmed as well! (Many a times I have been unable to get into my own datacentre... )

The Y-man

p.s. dig up the myth-busters epsiode on fingerprint locks - where they use a photocopy of a finger print, rubber moulds etc

 

[Jacque]

OMG, I'm so excited!!! Our floating staircase got craned in.

This is one of the big ticket WOW items for the house we are currently building in Forde.

I've put up a vid of them being craned in and the rendered image of how it should look when the house is completed on my blog.

http://www.hammerandheels.net/forde-week-5-6-the-floating-staircase/

Angel

P.S. we're no longer having tiled floors as shown in the rendered pic. Imagine engineered timber floors in Blackbutt

very cool

 

[MangoMadness]

OMG, I'm so excited!!! Our floating staircase got craned in.

that looks really nice but I couldnt have them

I am a big lad and I would be scared that I was going to break them, especially if I walked on the non supported side

Do they have a max weight limit?

 

[mech81]

Love the floating stairs. Would be interested on how its supported and how the mechanics work

 

[Angel13]

that looks really nice but I couldnt have them

I am a big lad and I would be scared that I was going to break them, especially if I walked on the non supported side

Do they have a max weight limit?

Its solid steel so its very strong. We are going to get the engineer to give us a certificate for maximum load. I will keep you posted.

Angel

 

[Aaron_C]

Its solid steel so its very strong. We are going to get the engineer to give us a certificate for maximum load. I will keep you posted.

Angel

I like the look of it BUT I think it will scare away a lot of people who think it's 'not safe'. Even if the load bearing weight is quite high - people will always perceive it to be risky...

 

[Angel13]

Love the floating stairs. Would be interested on how its supported and how the mechanics work

We took the design to the engineer and he worked it all out and we got the steel fabricators to custom make it.

I don't really understand the physics side of the mechanics but at a very simple level steel treads are welded onto a steel stringer which is welded onto steel posts at either end (top and bottom).

Glad you like it.

Angel

 

[Angel13]

I like the look of it BUT I think it will scare away a lot of people who think it's 'not safe'. Even if the load bearing weight is quite high - people will always perceive it to be risky...

I know what you mean Aaron, that's why I'm going to prepare a take away little pack or booklet for people who come to the open home which will highlight the awesome features of the house. Of course the stairs will be front and centre with an explanation of how its made and certification from the engineer.

My information design skills will come in very handy.

And I'm briefing the agent on the details like this so they can make people feel more comfortable about it.

Hopefully this will convince people that it's perfectly safe.

Angel