Starting a ‘fixer upper’ project

[SensibleHill]

Hello Workshop community!  We have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts, advice and inspirational completed jobs, and so decided to sign up and participate.

We are just about to settle on a fixer upper property in WA and starting to plan out the work required to ready it for moving in.  This house needs everything done, and we want to DIY as much as possible to save costs and have fun… or at least a sense of accomplishment. We can’t wait to share some photos with the community as the ‘before’ state is so bad it’s funny, but in the meantime are seeking some advice how to approach the project. 

We’re going to start with a big long list of all the things, then work out the essentials to be done before moving in. We’d like the majority of dusty and dirty things dealt with so we can install new flooring so looking at demolition works, ceilings, bathrooms. Kitchen is out of scope as we want to live with it first then decide what to do.

1. Bathroom needs a full renovation with no salvageable parts. Is there guide on the workshop or Bunnings site that explains the step by step process from demolition to completion?  We’re planning on reorienting the shower and drain, so will need trades to come in and work on that, and I assume re-orient the floor slope towards the new drain. Is there anything that you’d recommend is a must to have a tradie do instead of DIY (outside of plumbing and electrical)? Do shelves and towel rails need to be drilled into the tiles - is there a way to have the spot ready before tiling (worried about damaging tiles or impacted waterproofing). 

2. The entire house was painted in the late 70s with semi-gloss and enamel paint, and there’s lots of gouges in the wall. Can electric sanders be used on walls and metal door frames? Or are there other ways to prep the surface (for instance, can we DIY plastering on walls to even it up and then prime and paint)? How have other members tackled this kind of thing? 

Lastly can anyone recommend good software to plan the house layout? Is there any good 3d design tool or layout tool? 

Thank you !

B&K 

[CSParnell]

Hey @SensibleHill Welcome to Workshop great that you have joined the community.

For the planning of each rooms I am going to put on my estimator /project manager hat on here. Personally I would create a spreadsheet with detail of all works required, all material required with quantity and cost, any trades required and the costs with quotes obtained. Also work out an estimated time frame per task once you have that add 10% as a buffer and then you have your estimated costing per room and estimated hours to complete per room. Print it out and stick it up in each room or put it in a folder. 

You can also keep track of costs per room and time spent then you know if you were over or under budget.

For free 3d programs you can have a look at Sketchup 3d at

https://www.sketchup.com/plans-and-pricing/compare 

There is a free version  available.

Of next for advice on bathrooms have a look at the following.

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/t5/How-To/How-to-plan-a-bathroom-renovation/ba-p/72843

It is always best to get 3 independent quotes in from each trade for each service and also make sure they are a registered contractor with insurance. 

Your other option if you feel out of your depth at times is to find a builder that you can engage on a casual basis and call in for areas where you need assistance, this can also be a retired builder come handy man. 

Lastly don't forget to download the Bunnings Product Finder App and plan your shopping list in advance so you are in and out knowing which isles you are going and what is in stock and what may not be. It is found in your IOS play store or app store.

Carl

[Jason]

Great to have you join the community @SensibleHill. Congratulations on your new purchase. We're looking forward to seeing how you can transform your home.

Our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert @MitchellMc will be happy to share his thoughts with you as soon as possible. 

In the meantime I would certainly encourage you to have a good look at How to plan a bathroom renovation by @Adam_W as Carl helpfully pointed you to. You might also like to check out these Best Advice articles: What software do you use for drawing plans? and How do you prepare a wall for painting?

Hope that helps,

Jason

[Adam_W]

Hey @SensibleHill and welcome!
Sounds like you have some fun times ahead.

I'm just nearing the end of an enormous reno myself so a few general tips that might help on your journey...

- Break the overarching project up into 'bite-sized chunks', individual projects. Apart from avoiding living in absolute chaos it's a great help psychologically as it stops the job becoming overwhelming.

- Know your limitations. Sure, learn as you go but be wise enough to say 'nope, too big or too complex for me...' and call in the experts.

- Whatever you think it's going to cost... add 25% as a buffer. Sometimes you'll come out on the right side and be low but often you'll be on the money.

- If you'll be living in the house as you work on it try to compartmentalise projects so that one area is brought to completion before moving onto another. Nothing more disconcerting than having 1/2 a dozen things on the go at once across multiple spaces.

- Check & double-check with every trade what they need completed & on-site for when they are there. Nothing more frustrating than having a tradie rock-up and say 'Yeah, nah mate... can't do it today because you haven't done x & y & z first...' It might takes you weeks to get them back and it can delay the whole project. It's also wasted money if they have to go off buying materials for you while they're on the clock.

That's it off the top of my head. Make sure you drop back with any queries and to give us all updates!

[SensibleHill]

Hi @CSParnell - thank you for the welcome and putting on the PM hat! As a PM myself (not construction) I was thinking the same thing so thanks for chipping in - it'll help convince the hubby  I was thinking of planning the house out using SketchUp as well, it's been years since I have used it but it looks like it's come a long way. Can't wait until we get the keys and I can start measuring  

That's a good idea about getting a retired builder for advice - I'll see if I can find someone like that locally who can give us a hand.

Cheers, K. 

[SensibleHill]

Hi @Adam_W - this is such great advice, thank you!  

Luckily we'll be living in our current property while renovating, and will have around 3-6 months to get the property liveable by tackling the big things, but there will still be plenty of renovating to do afterwards but all the big messy stuff will ideally be dealt with.  Do you do your renovation mostly with trades, or with some DIY in there? If so, what'd you choose to do yourself vs get a trade for? 

Cheers, K

[Adam_W]

@SensibleHill no worries at all.
That sounds like luxury not living in the worst of it!

A lot of it comes down to your own personal skill levels & how long it will take you to do something. As was famously said... if it takes you three times as long and costs you twice as much to do half as good a job then hire someone...
As our project progressed I did a lot more work mainly because I had expanded my tool kit. Doing framing, for example, is pretty simple once you understand the basics but if you're doing it with a hand-held power saw and hammer & nails Vs a chippie with a drop-saw & nail gun...
Getting the job done efficiently is just as important as getting it done well.

Often I'd work beside my tradies as their assistant. Apart from learning a lot it can save you around $50/hr on the job. But... again, comes back to your skill levels. If you end up slowing your chippie down then you're not saving anything.
There's stuff you cannot do, like electricity & plumbing, but that doesn't mean you can't do some prep for the sparkie or plumber.
Example - sparkies are one of the most expensive trades & paying them to drill holes through framing & hammer on mounting plates is a crazy way to spend money.  Doing that simple work - drilling for cables and mounting the backing plates - yourself is totally legal and will save a surprising amount of money. Just discuss with your sparkie first and you should be good to go.

[CSParnell]

Hey @Adam_W that is a fantastic idea with roughing in the plates and drilling the holes for the sparkie, I've always tended to do the whole show myself for clients as majority of things have to be done to code that is in Australia anyways but you are right on with stud plates and drilling holes. You could also ask to be a lacky for the sparky and help run and clip off the cables whilst he is on-site under his instruction that will come down to the individual electrician though and also how much is to be done.

[EricL]

Hi @SensibleHill

It's great that you've received excellent advice from my colleagues. My only other suggestion is to have a really good look at your available time. As renovations go it's the unexpected that will add days to your schedule. I recommend building in a buffer for construction time as well.

If you would like to get a head start with your laundry, kitchen and bathrooms I'm more than happy to sketch out an initial layout plan for you. If you can please post a photo of each location and their respective measurements, I can do a quick SketchUp for you and we can have a discussion of how you would like things arranged. Once you have an idea of what you want these areas to look like you can then do a step-by-step list of what you need to do. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[SensibleHill]

@Adam_W you're a legend, thank you for all of those tips! We were actually thinking of seeing if we could work alongside tradies, to learn as we go - glad to hear that's a done thing. 

"sparkies are one of the most expensive trades & paying them to drill holes through framing & hammer on mounting plates is a crazy way to spend money" ... ehhhh you're talking to a couple that asked a sparky to install NBN in the room on the other side of the house, and paid $1000 for two of them to drill conduit for a few hours 😫 Won't make that mistake again!