top of page

Il Faut Que - Dos & Don'ts

 

 

We hope that by sharing our tips and our mistakes, we can help anyone embarking on a similar journey. Renovating is a very stressful undertaking and not be undertaken lightly. Our philosophy is - we're investing a huge chunk of money and time into this process, so we are going to do everything within our control to ensure it's done to as close to perfection as possible. Truly, this not for the faint-hearted.

01

If you're married, or with a partner, make sure your relationship is rock-solid before you begin. Renovations can end in divorce.

 

Sounds ridiculous but true. We have heard from so many tradies and people in the building trade that many marriages have ended over renovations. Hubby and I are lucky in that fact that we have similar tastes and style. My intense micro-managing personality is complemented by his 'laissez-faire' attitude. Even so, we have had spectacular arguments over this renovation, and I think we have argued more in these last few months than we have in 4 years of marriage. There is no way to prepare or plan for this, so proceed at your peril.

02

Work out where the funds for the renovation is going to come from before you begin reno work. The bills add up really quickly.

 

The general advice is to set a budget, and then give yourself an additional 20% as a safety buffer. What we have come to realize about renovating an old home is that there are lots of hidden, unexpected costs. It's been said before and it's true, a new-build is cheaper than a renovation. I have been keeping track of every dollar we spend on a spreadsheet, and have put in hours of research to get the best prices and deals from suppliers, and yet, we will probably exceed our budget. If you are taking out a loan for your renos, this is an additional financial stress thrown into the mix.

03

I can't stress this enough - Research!!! Research!!! and more Research!!!

 

Coming from an obsessive micro-manager, who has spent hundreds of hours researching everything I could think of related to our renovation, it has been worth the effort! True, even with all that research we did not manage to cover everything, and have probably missed some detail that will come back to haunt us, but we can be content in telling ourselves that we did everything that we could. The prices and suppliers we got are the best ones we could find at that point in time, the products we picked out were the most suitable ones we could find, and we did not just settle for anything that came our way. The rest is just 'Que sera'.

04

It will completely take over your lives, and there's nothing you can do about that.

 

The renos has completely taken over our lives. Since we began, we have not had a date night alone without any reno talk. Our conversations in bed are all about the renos. It's almost like we've turned into these crazy, one-track minded people. But there is so much ground to cover, so many details to consider that unfortunately, this is all you think about.

05

06

It's all in the details.

 

If you are planning to do this yourself, pay attention to every single detail. You won't believe what can get missed or measured incorrectly or ommitted from your plans, and don't count on anyone else to pick that up. It won't happen. It is up to you to know every single detail and have a very clear idea of your end product. Check every detail every step of the way. We have picked up so many discrepancies and mistakes along the way which would have cost a lot of time and money to fix down the track had we not picked up on it early. We are literally at the site every single day with a tape measure measuring and checking everything to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be. If you don't want to or can't afford the time to do this, then I suggest you hire an architect or someone else to do this for you because there will be mistakes, there will be discrepancies, there will be problems.

07

Invest in a good tape measure.

 

You will be constantly measuring everything right from the beginning to the end. We measure everything, and even then, not just once. We have marked and measured out tile sizes on the wall to see what they would look like all lined up, we have measured and marked out cabinet sizes and shelf heights, we have measured cabinet handle lengths to work out if it is in proportion to the drawer sizes, we have measured every single opening, door and window frame that's been installed to check if it's according to plans. You have to. We gave our plumbers a printed, detailed plan and measurements for the placement of pipe and waste outlets for our first fix plumbing and still they got it wrong. If we didn't check that with our tape measure, the tiles would have had to be ripped out to fix that error. 

08

Plan for everything, but don't expect everything to go according to plan.

 

tt sounds extremely pessimistic, I know, but not everything will go according to plan. There will always be unexpected problems or issues, so be prepared to think quickly on your feet. Try to always have a Plan B to your Plan A, or your life will turn into an endless round of stressing. We came across so many problems that we could not possibly have foreseen and planned for. The good news is, every problem eventually had a solution. Even the hardest problem can be solved if you persistently work your way through it. This is when prior research will pay dividends. Make intelligent choices, ask lots of questions, gather as much information as you possibly can in your planning process and when the problems creep up, hopefully you will be in a better position to make good decisions.

09

You will have a love-hate relationship with your builder. Communication is key!

 

I think it is impossible to find a builder that is perfect. We started off being very happy with our builder but things have fallen over a couple of times since then. We have had huge issues and problems with the plumber - taps not being installed according to measurements given, shower mixers not installed in line with each other, taps not level, just to name a few, and we feel our concerns have not been reasonably addressed. Communication is crucial, I think. We have voiced our disatisfaction to our builder, along with a few other things, and we have made it clear to him that they are problems that must be addressed. Hopefully, things will get back on track soon.

10

Hire a building inspector, it will be the best investment you make for your renovation.

 

The $3000 we spent on our building inspector is the best $3000 we've spent throughout this entire renovation process. For people like us with no building or trade knowledge, it is like having a consultant on speed dial. Builders and tradies will tell you every story under the sun but you would have to imagine that it would be to their benefit (although we have had tradies who have been totally upfront and honest with us, but they are a rare breed). You truly cannot possibly know who is trying to sell you lies to rip you off, so having an independent building inspector who is on your side and will give you unbiased opinions and information on standards and regulations is crucial. Our building inspector picked up errors and omissions by our builder which we were able to rectify immediately with copies of standards and regulations to back up our demands. When your tradies know that their work will be inspected by an independent building inspector, they are less likely to take shortcuts and do shoddy work.

11

Enlist the help and expertise of any friends or family in the trade.

 

They say knowledge is power and it is so true. We constantly ask questions and double check with friends who are in the trade to determine if current ongoing work is done the way it's normally done. Knowing exactly how works should be done also allows you to ask your tradies questions and give them better direction. When you talk 'shop talk' with your tradies, they will be more careful in how they proceed with their work because they know that the person they're working for does have some degree of knowledge of what is being done. Hubby and I may not know much but we have been able to confidently 'wing our way' through most discussions with tradies and they would probably think twice before trying to rip us off.

12

Buy a good broom and be prepared to buy a new vacuum cleaner.

 

The amount of cleaning up that has to be done has been mind-blowing. It feels like I am either sweeping up rubbish with the broom or vacuuming up yet more dust every other day. The hallway is covered in a thick layer of red dust (from the bricks), and the floorboards will have to be sanded back and re-polished after work is completed because they are completely trashed. There is no escaping the dust bomb. Everywhere you turn, there's dust, and more dust. It's a good thing we have an old vacuum cleaner which we have been using to clean up the work site. I don't think it will be fit for domestic use after we are done.

13

Never pay retail!

 

There is always a bargain to be had. We hardly paid retail for anything we bought for the house. We tried to get a good deal with every single item that we bought. When I asked for quotes for our bathroom fittngs, I told the suppliers up front that I was getting quotes from a few different suppliers and the one who got back to me with the best quote and best service would get the job. When we bought stuff on eBay, we would try to 'Make an Offer' if that option was available. We did that with quite a few of our cabinetry hardware. We did our research and decided on which items we were going to get and then waited for end of financial year sales, or stock clearance sales. Wherever possible, we asked for a 'cash payment' price. We negotiated a better price for our kitchen by allowing them to take photos of the finished product for their portfolio. Where possible, we tried to purchase items in groups to get a better discount.

14

Have a clear vision of your final product.

 

There is nothing worse than constantly changing your mind throughout the whole process, or buying everything that you think you're getting a bargain on, and hoping it will all come together in the end. It won't! We looked through thousands of photos on the internet, picking out design ideas or elements that we really liked and wanted to incorporate into our renovation. Even at the planning stage, we had clear ideas of what we wanted each room to look like, and where everything was going to go. We knew the style of furniture we were getting, the fitttings and accesories that we wanted. When we look at purchasing items for the house, we compared the items with the vision that we have for the room to see if it fits in with what we have in mind. If it doesn't, we walk away.This will hopefully allow us to have a final product that is as close as possible to the one we have in our mind, and everything in the room will flow together in harmony.

15

Once you start, you can't stop!

 

Once you take that first step and commit to the project, you have to see it to the end. I can tell you that some days we question ourselves why we embarked on this in the first place. Today for example, I am sick as a dog, hubby has been holding the fort on the renovation front. We are both working fulll-time, with no planned holidays in sight. But we can't stop. We have to push through, through tiredness, sickness... today for example I am so over it, but I know that I will have to push through this emotion. And even when the renovation is done, there is the huge amount of cleaning up and unpacking to be done. But, we tell ourselves that it will be worth it in the end!!!

16

Trust no one. Double-check everything!

 

Before we began our renovation journey, friends who are familiar with the building industry warned us that the industry is rife with unscrupulous tradies. Because the industry is so poorly regulated, dishonest and unprofessional tradespeople get away with it. I have lost count now of the number of imes we got ripped off by tradespeople. We had painters painting our doors with the wrong type of paint, and  the wrong colour. We had a builder who went away on a 2 month holiday overseas right in the middle of our project, and still he had to nerve to shirk responsibility when his mistakes and errors were pointed out to him. We had plumbers who didn't install copper pipes to code. They couldn't even position outlet correctly, in spite of the fact that we gave them printed and detailed drawings and instructions. In the end, we realised that the only people who really cared if anything was done correctly and accurately was us, so we went through every work that was done with a fine tooth-comb before we paid our invoices. That is not to say that all tradies are dischonest. We did meet a few good ones, but they are few and far between.

Be prepared for delays. You will never be on schedule.

 

The original projected duration for the entire renovation given to us by the builder was 4 months. We thought he was ridiculously ambitious as everyone else was telling us it would take at least 6 months. 10 months later, and we are still going. It will probably be another 4 months before we can move back in. Delays have a trickle effect. One delay with one tradeperson will hold up the rest of the work.

© 2014 by BVCLam. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page