Renovation notes
The way you choose to mount a tap will also affect cost and scheduling. Wall-mounted taps look impressive, but have to be installed in the early stages of a build before the splashback and vanity are ordered. The plumber simply can’t get the location of the tap wrong as it has implications down the track when centring the basin under the spout. Mounting a tap on the basin is cheaper than on the benchtop, as a hole may need to be drilled through the surface to allow for the tap. Tip: You need to choose the tile or stone thickness for your splashback before the tap is installed. This is because the plumber needs to know the thickness so he or she can install the tap in the studwork at the right depth. If you change your mind and the thickness of the splashback material alters, the tap handle may not fit the spindle.
quare setting, where there are no cornices at the line where the ceilings and walls intersect, can be a great way to make a standard room height feel taller. While square setting generally costs more than a basic cornice finish, it’s still considerably cheaper than raising the height of the ceiling. Tip: You can balance out the cost of square setting by installing cheap cornices in parts of the house where they won’t be seen, such as inside cupboards and the garage.
For a cost-effective alternative to solid timber, consider timber laminate, which has a thin layer of timber veneer on top of a cheap timber interlay. Laminate is pre-finished, meaning it’s already stained, varnished and quick to lay. It comes in a variety of species at affordable prices, allowing you to have an expensive species at a fraction of the cost of its solid equivalent. Tip: When shopping for laminate timber flooring, ask the supplier to specify the thickness of the veneer component. Some veneers are only a couple of millimetres thick and, if scratched, will expose the cheap timber underneath. Laminates with a thicker veneer allow you to sand back the floor a couple of times if required, providing a better investment.
Noxon Giffen SaveEmail 9. Ceiling heights Ceiling heights are often dictated by the size of the plaster sheets available, which are generally 1200 or 1350 millimetres high. Most volume builders prefer 2400-, 2550- or 2700-millimetre-high ceilings because they can use two sheets of plaster on top of each other with only the one join. However, if you were to specify a 3000-millimetre-high ceiling, even though you have only slightly increased the height, the builder would charge you for an entire extra plaster sheet. Multiply this across all walls and the cost is huge. Tip: Stick to standard-height ceilings for most areas and then choose one room in your home to make a dramatic statement
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