I suggest you look into what approvals you will need, since you are on a 'small lot' and you can't achieve the minimum side boundary setbacks. Speak to a building…

Hi, it really depends on the size of the house, how many beams you need etc. to determine the cost. A larger house with more complex structural work can…

Timbo - I will be putting slats in downstairs to close everything in. It will probably work out to be about $2k of timber, but I will do it DIY…

You are right, I would think it would be reasonable for a competent inspector to pick up these things. Before spending $$$, perhaps track down this building inspector, write…

Oh, while I'm serial posting, you end up with lots of dirt left over after excavating to level, putting in the slab etc. So you gotta work out where you…

I've got about 120sq metres downstairs. So that works out to be about $110 per sq meter. Keep in mind I got a really cheap quote, the others were about…

Hi,
You won't be able to get downstairs council approved as habitable areas without major work. You'll need to get an engineered concrete slab put in, which means demolishing everything downstairs…

Quote can sometimes be all over the place. I've undergone some major renovations and quotes can be up to 50% different. Either get more quotes, or get some company…

At the risk of being a serial poster, another way to save is on termite protection. No need for $3k full chemical job. If you are doing a full…

Oh, there were a few lessons learnt that I want to share:
1) Excavation. This costs lots, about $100/hr for someone with a bobcat and digger. I ended up having…

Well, the raise is now done, plumbing and electricity re-connected, and I put in some stairs at the back. To cut cost on stairs, I decided to go straight…

Soil and concrete testers can do it, have a search in the yellow pages.

Well, I've moved out and the house will be in the air next week. Demolished the slats and stairs myself on the weekend and had electrician on Monday and the…

Just got some quotes for stairs front and rear (both require a landing), came in a $10k and $13k, ouch. Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced carpenter to build…

If you bought the land for investment, you won't get first home buyer incentives in the first place. However, if you bought it to build a house to live in,…

Recommend you get your plans first before you talk to house raisers. They can't help you with much except general information until you have your plans in place.
Couple of…

Sounds about right. Probably even worse if you don't have a crumpled house plan with you.

I would have thought generally start from top to bottom.
Remove fire/chimneys
Remove Roof
Install new roof - new roof will protect all underneath from the elements
Remove plaster
install ducting
new gyprock
Paint interior (except…

Timbo83, you probably live next door to me, I'm on the Lutwyche border of Wooloowin (some maps, such as telstras, even say I am in wooloowin).
Got quotes for the basic…

I reckon certain brands make better types of certain appliances, and then are not necessarily so good at others. Of course a lot of them provide a full range.
An example.…

Not sure how much per drawer, but my mum was charged extra $600 for the blum drawers on whole kitchen. This would have been about 10 drawers in total including…

Wow, I stumbled across this post and thought I might re-surrect it. I'm currently in the process of raising a 100yr old queenslander in Lutwyche, and thought others might…

Hi,
I just had a big tree removed from my front yard in Lutwyche (12m high). I had power lines on both sides so the quotes were quite high, but there…