Thanks for the replies! My wife suggested we talk to a local real estate agent, so i think that is a good idea... just that Im not sure how helpful they are likely to be if we arent selling yet :) As for saving for our dream house, I dont disagree, however if doing this up nicely over the next ~5 years or so while we live here nets us some extra in the eventual sale, then that of course will help us as well. Interesting thing happened today actually. I got a knock on the door and one of the older neighbours asked if he could take some lemons from the tree. I of course said yes. Anyway he was telling me he had lived in the street for 40 years. I asked him if the house had always looked like this, and he said no that ~30 years ago the old old owner did a massive renovation and pulled off the timber and put up the bricks and gutted the inside of the house. Interesting stuff!

I'm glad you guys are growing.

My wife and I will soon begin a renovation of the kitchen, dining, and living rooms in our 1920s bungalow. We would like hard flooring through the kitchen and dining area and are considering various options including laminate, vinyl planks, and hybrid laminates. One hybrid product which we came across is Wicanders Hydrocork. It's promoted as being very quiet and waterproof. Our room will have direct sunlight and large dogs. Has anybody had Hydrocork installed? Did it meet expectations for noise, durability, and appearance?

Have either of you thought of doing it yourself ? I did some furniture -- I assume this is similar . To practice , get some plywood , and play around until you are comfortable . I used a 5 gallon bucket , you add 10 cups of salt to the bucket almost filled with hot water ( I added an electric jug of boiling water to the warm water before adding the salt ) , then stir until the salt disolves , then add 20-25 cups of hydrated lime ( tip -- you can buy 20kg bags at Mitre 10 Mega for around $20 ) . It thickens , you can paint it on or rub it on with a rag . On the furniture I did , I waited a couple of days for it to dry , ran those green pot scourers over the corners etc to make it look old and used , and then did a really thin mix ( I used the original leftovers , but added about 4 or 5 times the water to it ) and rubbed it on , as some of the corners looked too yellowy wood after my amateur efforts -- this took that look off it . I'm not sure how you get rid of the polyurethene though -- lots of sanding and maybe paint stripper ?