Renovations to Be Done - What Should I Do?

peachesforfree on 10/09/2017 - 12:09
Last edited 10/09/2017 - 12:58 by 1 other user

After years of packing lunch to work, watching movies at home instead of TV, catching the train & bus to the airport instead of spending on parking, very occasional smashed avocado etc etc we have saved up enough to buy our first house wohooo!

It's an old home from the 80s that needs TLC, we've never done this before and don't know how to get started,

The building & pest inspector has provided his report and strongly recommended for the following urgent work to be done:

1. Loose tiles - tiler required
2. Rectification required, shower area - builder
3. Cracked/loose/ missing roof tiles - roof tiler
4. External structure issues - carpenter
5. Gutter issues - roof plumber

He has estimated that the entire job will cost $10K, any recommendations on how to get it done the OZB way?

Also, would you seek a professional for each of the jobs above or is there a one-stop professional who does everything?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

• 

  onetwothreefour on 10/09/2017 - 12:50

  +3

  The OZB way is to watch youtube and attempt to do as much of the repairs that you can.

  It really depends on how bad the above issues are but 10k doesn't seem like much for an 80's house that needs reno work. I've been doing up my place that I bought last year and have probably spent over 60k on work which has been a mixture of DIY and contractors but it would pay for itself if I decided to sell it.

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  altomic on 10/09/2017 - 13:01

  +4

  Loose tiles - lift up tiles, grind off some of the cement, break off grout, epoxy back of tile, replace tile. Add new grout.

  Roof tiles - look on Gumtree / eBay for secondhand tiles. Replace them yourself.

  Gutter issue- need more detail. Gutter rusted? Not draining?

  External structure- need more detail.

  Bathroom area- rectification ? What?

  YouTube is your friend.

  Make list of what needs doing. Think if solutions that might work. Then start googling for solutions.

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  djkelly69 on 10/09/2017 - 16:24

  +1

  Not sure if you have exchanged contracts on the house, but if not, you use these as a point of negotiation with the vendor.

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  [Deactivated] on 10/09/2017 - 16:28

  +1

  Use Hipages. I bought a house a couple of years ago. I'm now about $250k into renovations and I've used hipages for most jobs, including major building work. The only issue I've had with hipages was a crappy floor sanding guy, but all other services have been awesome.

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  raytriplej on 10/09/2017 - 17:16

  +3

  Houses of that era commonly contain asbestos. Ok if undisturbed but be careful and get suspect materials tested.

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  mr626 on 11/09/2017 - 12:09

  +1

  Congrats on buying a home.

  To address the items you listed:

  1. (I'm assuming you mean loose floor / wall tiles?). Of the items on your list, this is probably the least important to get fixed. But, it's also something you could easily DIY (again, depends on the exact situation, condition of tiles etc).

  2. Need more information to comment on this

  3. If you've just got one or two roof tiles that are loose / damaged, this is a fairly easy DIY. If you don't have access to spare roof tiles, there are building material recyclers that have heaps of roof tiles, might be worth looking into.

  4. Structural issues is something I'd definitely get a pro to fix

  5. Need more info, but guttering isn't hard to replace if you are just doing a small section