ujwol_shrestha60

Looking for reno ideas for 1900 miners cottage

Ujwol Shrestha
3 years ago

Hi Everyone,

We have just bought our house in Sydney. It’s 1900 full brick miners cottage. Apart from kitchen which was renovated couple of years back everything else is mostly in original condition.

We have reno budget of around 70k.

As we have never done any renovation and have absolutely no idea about it , we are looking for some suggestions from experts here.

Some of the things we have considered doing are :

  1. Full reno bathroom ( Size 3.5m * 1.8m)
  2. Full reno laundry ( European style)
  3. Replace carpet in 4 bedrooms with floorboards or tiles
  4. Install cladding on the front wall
  5. Replace all door and windows (8 windows , 2 exterior doors. 1 back door as bifolding door)
  6. Replace veranda arches
  7. Install plantation shutter
  8. Paint whole interior and exterior
  9. Install patio at back ( long term wish)

Except for item(9) do you think our budget is achievable? Anything that you would prioritise first or remove from the list above?
Also how do I go about doing these reno? Do I need deisgner/architect or can I get quotes from builder directly?

Thanks in advance for any advice that you may have.

Comments (17)

  • Ujwol Shrestha
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Bathroom and floor plan



  • bigreader
    3 years ago

    How much of the work can you do or are you willing to do? I’d get a quote directly from a window company. This will be one of the most expensive parts of what you’ve planned. You may be surprised. You can get online quotes for plantation shutters from iseekblinds.com.au Painting is reasonably cheap if you DIY. Are you moving the bathroom layout? Both Three Birds Renovations and Undercover Architect offer beginner renovating courses to guide you on the processes. It’s not as easy as you think.

  • Ujwol Shrestha
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    @bigreader

    How much of the work can you do or are you willing to do?

    => Unfortunately, I don’t think we have skill to do any of these works. So looking to hire professionals to do all the work.

    Are you moving the bathroom layout?
    => Yes slightly but I guess the changes we are thinking will not involve any major plumbing work.

  • bigreader
    3 years ago

    You’re budget will be too tight to achieve all those things using professionals fully. But get some quotes and then you can prioritise.

  • Anne Monsour
    3 years ago

    Re the bathroom , ditch the bath and floor tiles and replace with budget finds , and keep the rest . Brisbane I can help but not elsewhere . Check if there are floorboards under the carpet . Re painting inside , you can do it ! You can gain the skills as you go and you will not have wallpaper and horsehair walls to deal with nor very complicated cornicing . Forty five years later , I can afford to pay for the work but I am sure we were proud of our effort . ( 🥵🤥) Why do you want to clad the front and replace the windows and doors ? With your project , do the bathroom , laundry and flooring first . Bunnings have plenty of online courses to help with DIY , and painting anyone can do with time and ( much ) effort .

  • User
    3 years ago

    If it was me , I'd move in and then see in a years time , or depending on timing , get professionals in to do the bathroom -- basically strip it out and start again -- everything looks dated , so do new shower , bath , toilet , vanity , tiles and paint . Me , I'd try and do new but in the same positions if possible .


    The laundry is livable even though I just guessing haha -- even though you've posted no pictures it can't be that bad -- in other words , paint or stacking things up hides a whole lot of sins haha .


    The blue skirtings look weird to me , but then others obviously like them -- the last owners for example ! But paint covers most things .


    What is wrong with the windows ? The front wall ? Does every room need paint , or you just want change ?


    In a years time , you will have a way better idea !

  • dellaslynch
    3 years ago

    I have just had a small cottage renovated in North Queensland. You will not be able to do everything on your list within your budget. Move in, spend some time developing a master plan, get quotes and then do the work over time in such a way that nothing will need to be redone due to scheduling errors. And enjoy the transformation :-)

  • Ujwol Shrestha
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Some more pics of bathroom and laundry

  • Ujwol Shrestha
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    @Maursie thank you ..we are planning to at least renovate bathroom and laundry for now before we move in as its it’s totally out of our taste

    @pottsy99 laundry is just open space in front of bathroom, we are thinking of installing European style laundry cabinet in existing location to hide the laundry and add some additional cupboard space.,Blue skirting we hate it too, will be replacing that first thing 😀
    Windows and frame are quite outdated, some glass are even cracked and has grill which we don’t like... we are thinking of replacing all windows (with double glazed timber windows) including frames, and remove the grill and install plantation shutters from inside..
    Room interior paint is fine for now so its not something urgent

  • Ujwol Shrestha
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    @dellaslynch Your house looks super cute, its more or less similar to what we want our house to look like eventually.. do you before picture ? what do you think is a realistic budget for the list of items as per my original post?

  • Kate
    3 years ago

    There are too many unknowns for us to give a figure. Start assembling some quotes. The laundry bath look like an old verandah and may be best fully demolished and rebuilt Hard for us to tell from pics

  • PRO
    Beach Bathrooms
    3 years ago

    FIRST DOES YOUR HOME HAVE AN ELECTRICAL SAFETY SWITCH? ...
    .Re bathroom/laundry... The era of your home and photographs suggest the entire bathroom/laundry construction may be suspect... Homes of this time did not have bathrooms as such. A bath was in the laundry hot water via a chip heater..Previous owners have probably "created" a bathroom and separate laundry..............A check is the bathroom and laundry at a lower level? AND You will learn skills through working on your own home and save $ achieve satisfaction read up on miners cottage and restore the front to as original as possible, Tile roof on a miners cottage ??

  • C P
    3 years ago

    If I was you I'd paint everything first. Then save and replace windows in old part of house. I would avoid spending too much on bathroom and laundry because the structure they are built in is probably a slightly dodgy lean to and you marry wishto rebuild this in a later renovation (plus ideally you'd switch it to the other side so you can gain lovely N access into your house)

  • C P
    3 years ago

    You'll probably find the floorboards under the carpet in first four rooms are Kauri pine. So paint first and then pull up carpet and check. You can sand these yourself but I think paying for a professional is money well spent to avoid serious grooves etc.

  • afjp
    3 years ago

    like most properties of this era, the bathroom/laundry has been added onto the back of the house stealing your prized northerly aspect. realise your budget doesnt extend to this but knocking the back off the house and moving kitchen down there is the nirvana. so, do as others have suggested and what I have always done and that's live in a property first for a year while you see how the sun moves over a year and which rooms you gravitate to and which rooms you avoid, then you can formulate a plan as to what the priorities are as your budget will not extend to all the things you want to do. or just spend nothing now and in a few years do the big reno? I just renovated a sunroom in my house and the glazing along cost 15k, once floors and blinds in came to about 50k total, I'm in sydney too.

  • afjp
    3 years ago

    sorry forgot to mention, painting is something that's reasonably cheap to do, anyone can do it and makes a big difference, so definetely do that. also, I dont like tiled floors, too cold and hard on the feet so probably just put some rugs down for now