Michelle, I'm not a builder but am building with hubby, a single storey limestone home. Our daughter built a two storey limestone home just down the road, that hubby also built for her and the extra foundations she had to install would be at least twice more than we have for our single storey, not to mention that there were allot of short walled founds leading off the perimeter of her home to assist in less likelihood of wall roll out and the inspector called it. Cost for you, will depend on whether you have adequate foundations to carry a second storey and usually that is never the case. All the lower walls will need double the support and it usually has to carry on down to the foundations, depending on whether you have a solid concrete slab or concrete stumps that are accessible. This would mean most of the plaster being removed and hoping that you find no nasty surprises as far as the condition of the existing frame in the home, the builder would as I mentioned, have to add structural supports to carry the second storey. Most often, second stories are built with a hardiplank type exterior and certainly not brickwork as you would then difinitely have to have extra foundations in for such a reno and you would have to start asking yourself if it isn't better to demolish as this type of reno can be extremely costly. You might be lucky but probably highly unlikely, to have adequate structional integrity to be able to add a second storey, without everything I have mentioned to be skipped in any way. I hazzard a guess that such a reno would cost you $250,000+ and maybe more. Would love to know what you finally decide to do and your builders estimate. Good luck. Cheers, Barbara

I like the idea of hardwood flooring and as previously said you can add nice rugs for comfort and texture, they can be changed out at any time for a different look or fashion, I found light carpet shows all spills and marks and as also previously said here dark colours show lint, animal fur and anything lighter like fluff ...I do think hardwood floors in the long run keep you from having to re-do carpet especially as you have no idea how the renters will treat your investment. I also find myself having hardwood flooring with rugs it is all so easy to keep clean.

Hi me me EC Group are a small Australian mill that were previously known as Edwardstown Carpets. They have traditionally made a good product. The carpet you are looking at is a BCF solution dyed nylon. This means that the fibre is a Bulk Continuous Fibre (ie a continuous length) nylon that has had the colour mixed into it while the nylon was still a liquid (and not applied afterwards). It gives it a much greater resistance to staining and soiling (be aware that it has no separate stain treatment) and means that it also resists fading in direct sunlight very well. As far as the durability of it is concerned, the ratings have evolved to a two tier level of Extra Heavy Duty now, being a 5 and a 6 star. Avenue is a 5 star which is reflected in its' light commercial rating. Being a 25oz I would say it would be a good performer for bedrooms and living areas but will tend to flatten down in doorways, stairs or passages. Without knowing the areas intended we would probably suggest also looking at the Stoney River which is similar but a slightly heavier pile weight and a 6 star rating. Being a solution dyed nylon means it also responds well to being steam cleaned which tends to make it 'bloom' again. Cheers

HU - I really think you should start a new thread on this issue as, many people may not see this when it is an old thread. I've had different colours of the exact same carpet in a house, but there were rooms in between so it was never obvious, but two different carpets together is another thing again. How did you feel the green looked with the off white?? If you were happy with the two colours together, then you could put any colour you liked with it, otherwise maybe remove the carpet from the stairs, although that can then make the stairs very noisy. What is the condition of the off white carpet - do you feel it may need replacing soon so you could match whatever you do now, if it is a carpet that does not look like being discontinued in the near future. You may even be able to match the off white that is there. Another hassle with using two different carpets is the weave and texture can make them look more odd together than different colours. It is really hard to advise you on this, you really need to see the two carpets together, at least it is easy to bring home carpet samples to see just what you can live with. Good luck.