planning to understand how the renovation will change/improve the home and what to include and leave out

Everyday life in a house that doesn't have a bathroom or doesn't have a kitchen is really difficult.

Scottybeez, you absolutely nailed it.
6 months no bathroom here, only portaloo, absolute nightmare.

Jack of all trade husbands

Make sure you insulate the walls. Often best done before any painting. Walls can make more of a difference to the comfort of a house both in winter and summer.

Walls can be insulated by coring the walls, or removing small amounts of bricks and cladding. Can add up to R5.6 to walls which is better than an Esky.

4 Seasons Home Insulation

Funding is the key to any project, staying on budget is easy with the right design (good designer helps when they have an understanding of costs).

The difference between what people can imagine they want, and what they can actually afford, (or actually need). "I have always imagined having a crystal chandelier in my Cararra marble lined bathroom over my freestanding bath" with a $10K budget!

I have just put my house back together after 18 months of living in dust and disorganisation. I became a stuck record when saying when the house is done I can get on and do other things that do not require visiting hardware shops and chasing tradies and pouring all your money into your dream. I haven't finished the house yet but it is extremely comfortable and the rest can wait until next summer. Its worth it when you see your dream coming to life.

Coping with the mess

Negotiating with other half

Make your plan, review it, imagine living in it and stick to it before it hits the site.

Get your building designer or architect to give you 3D views, ideally interactive 3D's, so as you can explore the design and get a feel for the space before freezing the design.

Changes after going to site will cost money and ultimately leads to builder extras.

I agree with Lesley and Webby- the worst thing about renos is the mess and tools in other rooms! I try to keep on top of it but its sometimes overwhelming. Thankfully my lounge where I relax stays pretty sane and beautiful!

Using someone else's bathroom until mine is finished was extremely difficult. I know that family and friends said that they didn't mine but I felt that I was always imposing.

I’ve been a carpenter for 35 years & one of the biggest things I believe in carrying any works.
Is making sure the client comes along the journey being apart of the delivery of the project is one of the most exciting things you’ll ever experience.

I always make sure the owner feels the project not just look at it.

Enjoy

Mark

DUST DUST AND MORE DUST

i put everything in every room not affected away in boxes or sealed containers and used the minimum items so dust did not cover everything I owned. It is a messy time for sure.

Booking in trades and waiting till they can fit you in

I keep finding gorgeous and expensive renovation ideas. This makes it hard to stay on budget!!

planning planning planning

look at the each area critically ... ask yourself these questions
1.why am i doing it -
2.will it increase the value of my home

3. make sure the renovation stands the test of time - meaning it will have great appeal when and if you go to sell
4. If i am going to renovate . List the functional issues of the area - always always address that before aesthetics... you can always do a test aesthetic if you keep it simple - you can’t undo a dysfunctional space....

Getting the right team on board is critical. For this reason it is essential that everyone you use comes with references. From your designer, builder and the trades you engage, make sure you have qualified professionals on board.

At our website blog we have some great tips for 'How to Spot a Dodgy Tradie' and on our home page a FREE download on the Key questions you must as every Builder, with a bonus checklist How to Compare Building Quotes and avoid hidden costs'. I hope this helps.

l am doing my renovations so that l will be happy for the next 20 years. l am not worried about resale, this is my last move after 15 moves. Therefore benches will be at my height, everything will be what l like even if not "fashionable". l am over capitalising on things l want, who really needs heated bathroom floors in Sydney and in a guests bathroom, l do and heated towel racks.

Saving up the extra money to rent elsewhere and for a a great builder to project manage so it’s smooth and stress free.

Living in the renovation! 🤯

Deciding the lights is also a confusing part.

Scottybeez and 3DA designs, I agree no bathroom, or at least toilet, is a total nightmare. It’s very easy to set up a camp kitchen especially if you’ve actually camped a lot. One Reno for my daughter (no bathroom), it was interesting getting on trains in Sydney covered in dust, paint and grime (despite clean up efforts with wipes). At least people gave me space. 😆 Think while people might be used to construction workers apparently on trains they were not used to old ladies dressed like a construction worker and carrying the the “evidence” of the work they were doing,

Coordinating trades effectively so that they're not trying to work on top of eachother. Otherwise you risk them leaving for the day and not returning for weeks!

1. Imagining what a whole room will look like based on a couple of 50x60mm samples.

2. Second guessing your choice(s).

Main bedroom/ensuite reno - I didn't have the budget for a design professional, so had to wing it; took my inspiration from a single item that I fell in love with and worked with ideas around it. It could have been a disaster as the space was small and the original idea turned out to be too expensive due to an ill-placed roof beam! Fortunately we came up with an alternative that worked well, but looking back if we had gone with some of our other options it would have closed the space and been claustrophobic. It is really hard to imagine how something will look. We were lucky that it worked out!

We thought that we were prepared for the dust and we had a heap of stuff squashed into one room, but we weren't prepared for the builders to constantly leave the door of that room open. We were also planning to recycle a few items like a pull out pantry, some kitchen drawers, sink etc but most of these were damaged and unusable.

Our builder came highly recommended but wouldn't allow us on the building site during the early stages and later failed to supervise so that we were constantly finding small errors. He actually fixed most of them but would lose his temper when asked and ban us from the site again. As we were not unhappy with the overall quality of the work and our project was almost completed, we didn't want to have to find another builder, so we just kept our mouths shut. Now we have to live with small inconveniences but we will not be recommending him to anybody else. He was constantly saying that his insurance didn't cover us if we were on the site without his permission which he often refused to give. It was extremely frustrating and I would have access to the site written into any future contract or insurance arrangement.

Communication is so important, whether its between you and your builder, your neighbors and your spouse. Misunderstandings lead to arguments and mistakes.

If you do have to step onto the work area, always approach in a friendly manor, offer the builder a cuppa then ask to walk through where they are at. But at all times respect the builders work place. It might be your home, but it's his project and there might be health and safety reasons to stay out or the builder has a picture in his head and really doesn't want to be interrupted until a convenient point.

In my job I have come across some really grumpy builders, so to get the best out of them and keep everyone on board, I approach respectfully at all times.

there are health and safety reasons to keep extra people off the work site so we always include agreed inspection times in our contracts and/or only visit after the workers have already left for the day and always ask any questions and confirm any agreed changes by email so we all have a detailed written record of any changes and agreements ..we've also learned to not pay the final bills until we've made a thorough inspection of all work so that we aren't left without bargaining power when it's too late to expect the builder to come back after they've already moved on to another project

Managing expectations - what your dream space looks like vs how much time you have to do it vs what the budget is. When renovating, its not often that all three of these components will align and often one has to make a compromise somewhere. @Dr Retro House Calls has hit it on the head with his comment and unless you work in the industry, it is an education process learning exactly what everything costs or how long something will take - or even that chandeliers in the bathroom (depending on the style) may not be possible due to the regulations around light fittings in wet areas! There are so many behind the scenes costs (or behind the walls if you prefer) that eat into the budget before you even get to the aesthetic so it's important that you do your research and educate yourself as much as possible on the realities before you commence. That's one of the reasons we run our Reno Ready workshops for anyone thinking of renovating, to help with understanding the processes and reason why your trades do things the way they do. The workshops also cover the legal implications of decisions - such as accessing the site once works has commenced or whether you need permits, choosing trades and how to deal with them for successful outcomes, clarifying jargon, design choices and selections for fittings and fixtures, the emotional rollercoaster of renovating ... a full educational suite. For our clients (or prospective clients) we have detailed one-to-one consultation sessions before we even start the project. This ensures everyone is on the same page and the project is as stress free as possible.

Wow, Urban Sensations. What I would’ve given for one of your workshops before we started renovating as complete novices. We got told so much BS. So many people saw us coming, we felt like we glowed in the dark. In particular, we got taken for a ride by an amateur design consultant pretending to be a professional (hello, Christine), and a builder whose skills were so bad he must have won his licence in a raffle (hello, John). A growing confidence born out of commonsense and a healthy degree of scepticism put an end to those rip off merchants and their dud advice. But it wasn’t nice knowing they‘d preyed on our vulnerable novice status, so I’m mega happy to hear about your workshop. Good move. Well done!

Waiting for Builders to turn up. Soooo frustrating and depressing when you are living in mess. they have the ability to turn your "dream into a nightmare. and the worst is they couldn't give a damn and don't see what they are doing. the other frustration is the lies.... yes we will be there tomorrow...4 days later they turn up.

Getting my husband (the tradie) to finish one area completely!

Finding decent tradies who have any sort of skill or pride in their work. Our experience so far has been woeful- to the point we’re not prepared to pay for any more rework for appalling, half done jobs.

I’m so sad to read the stories of disappointment and frustration at poor workmanship, lack of communication and unmet expectations. I can see many of you have felt let down by your tradies and that can make it seem like all tradies are like that - but fun fact: some of us have strong worth ethics, integrity and a love for creating your next story!

Renovations are for the most part an emotional as well as financial investment. Finding the right team to partner with you through your next story is soooo important! I believe that the key to success is having trust between the client and the team they engage to do the work - for us as builders and designers, we also want to work with people who can trust our professional advice and trust enough to let us into their world; to be vulnerable to hopes, dreams and financial realities.

Planning, open and honest communication and trust - enjoy the journey!

kilaclarke, you're right. Trust is essential. We trusted the builder we engaged. I thought we had achieved open and honest communication. That was until he lied about getting an engineering assessment done for the beam needed to replace a load bearing wall; and he kept on lying. His rough guess was found to be grossly under-dimensioned and not even braced properly to the existing structure (was it John, Z?). We became suspicious about the beam because he delivered workmanship like the botched door frame in the pics below. Trust quickly evaporated. I'm sure he now tells people what awful clients we were. It's not always the client. The photos are evidence of what was awful.

We sought to protect other families from this cowboy shattering their hopes, dreams and finances. The Master Builders Assoc didn't want to know about it. Neither did Consumer Affairs. Perhaps, if the building industry sought to clean up and eradicate all the shonkies within their ranks, they'd have a better reputation and customers could have a heightened level of trust.

New fad: Let sunlight in through your door frames & go nuts with the nail gun.

A new approach to mitre joints: they don't join!

New fad: Leave 2 to 7mm gaps around the frame.

New fad: Rough and raw with semi-hidden light switches.

People do not trust builders when they can see that a grade 7 student could achieve a better result in their very first woodwork lesson. This guy should not hold a builders license. How many others are there like him? The industry needs a clean up.

I’m a Carpenter 35 years I warrant lifetime warranty on all my Carpentry.

Kind regards
Mark

That’s great to hear, Mark. But aren’t you concerned there’s a lot of cowboys giving your trade a very bad name? Would you like something done about it? If so, what action should be taken?

I’m a big believer on doing a prototype , meaning we will pay you to do a room as completed to the standard the delivery of property will be set at.
Then you know that’s the standard that will be met through operations.

Regards

Mark

Similar experience to Dm Stan, different builder. Terrible work, lies, delays, damage, overcharging, ignoring the plans and just building whatever. At least if you have a builder you can trust, who makes steady progress, you can look forward to the work finishing.

Sorry to hear about your experience, Catulla. I feel for you. I was definitely looking forward to the work finishing, but I was looking forward to seeing the back of the idiot builder even more!

It seems he's still at it. Another one of his victims got in touch with me via a review forum only a few weeks ago. He experienced exactly the same rubbish, the poor guy. The MBA just runs protection for its members. No-one wants to know about dodgy, dangerous cowboys. Unless the CEO of the MBA, or CEO of Consumer and Business Services, is personally affected by builders like ours, I guess sweet nothing will get done about it.

I’m happy to price what’s required to complete.
The best way on any project is to do a small prototype of finishes sections in a room.
Then you will be put at ease.

Regards
Mark

We have now finished our renovation and are having trouble getting the builder to agree that defects are actually defects. He keeps telling us no one else has complained. We have now had the manufacturers checking 2 defects and both times have been told we are correct. One of the manufacturer's is replacing the product that "everyone else was happy with". The other defect the builder has installed incorrectly and has to fix.
Moral of the tale is: if you are not happy then it is probably wrong.

You can always contact the building council if you are in Brisbane. That's how we got ours fixed and one that they said he didn't have to. It was bird damage to the sliding doors at a time when we didn't have access, so we thought that he should be responsible but no he wasn't.