The façade cost will depend upon the materials you pick and site specs (sloping blocks are a bit more challenging) and labour costs ( just make sure that you check your trades licenses, insurances and references for everyone who works on your house) - once you're structurally sound then the rest is straight forward (it's also been my experience with my builders - who are awesome - that they can come up with some amazing ideas that are cost effective and have a real wow factor). If it were me I'd ask around the neighbourhood for builders that can be recommended - they should be able to do it all at the same time and save you some money. On the materials - I'd be tempted to go with natural timber that will weather naturally without needing maintenance - personally I'd lean towards a Japanese technique of charring the timber so that you don't need to do a lot of upkeep - called Shou-sugi-ban - the reason being that the dark colour will tone in with your window frames.

Well your last comments does help a bit in explaining your situation, however I must say that your design does not help your proposed path - as far as I can see. Glad to hear that you have sewer on both east west that will save some money. The following comments you may not like, but they are intended to help - however I have been made aware, from those close to me, that I suffer from "sledge hammer wit" - so please do not take it personally. 1. You state that you are going to "stage" the works - however there is no indication that your drawings will help you in this proposal - the work seems to occur randomly rather that in stages. (With the exception of the work already done) The upstairs space is difficult to determine its functionality, and when you do this part of construction it will disrupt the whole living areas. The stair plus the space and the area upstairs seem to be a large investment for the proposed return. 2. The exception to this seem to be the new bathroom area in the master bedroom but even here you seem to cut into the existing wall - according what I can read from what you have posted. If you can take the bathroom area out on the side why not take the whole new extension on the west side and open up your north areas. 3 The new toilet with the facing north is a bit of waste of north light - must find a new relocation for this and gain north light. 4. Having had a bit of experience with roofs-complex ones, in the long past - I would suggest the you ask the opinion of a framer and a roofer - its not so much the roofing that costs but the flashing's - and if its going to be manually framed (i.e a carpenter not trusses I think you might be unpleasantly surprised). You are keeping most of the roof this is true but its the small bits that you are adding might be a non warranted cost, getting it all under one roof is cheaper and a much better form - it will look better. 5 If possible I would have my 'Alfresco Area' and north and east facing - at the moment its more west and north - reduces its functionality greatly in my opinion - west is wet and hot and sometimes followed by bitter wind (depending were you are located). 6 The central living area has to be opened up to the north, it is a great gift to have a north facing back yard please take advantage of it. 7. At this stage - and even earlier at sketch plan stage - You really should indicate the stages on the drawing for your own benefit - not to mention for the Builder/tradesman. And there is probably much more - you need to do some design proposal, from broad concepts to schematics then develop a new sketch plan, then compare with your current proposal, get some fresh eye to look at the problem (or you look at it with fresh eyes) - sometimes we get to close and miss the wood for the trees. I do think that your approach is the correct one - it's cheaper to change drawings that move walls - getting a good design solution is the key. I hope this is of some help. Michael Manias

You are most welcome, I have always said that I haven't been put on this earth to "Hug" toilets, so I'am wondering who is going to clean all of these Bathrooms. Our two kids a boy and a girl had the upstairs "apartment" which they and all their friends loved. I have added a timber stair case for fun, there's plenty of space but you will need to decide what you want to do in the attic and place the stairs to open up into a tall space. I have also turned one of the ensuites into a powder room. Your Jacaranda's only drop once a year!, you used to be able to trim them by 25% each year, you would need to check with your council, we were on the lower North Shore, I think you should consider the patio side of the house and make better use of that, is the front deck something you plan on adding because of aspect, and plant some tall growing hedge ready for the apartments. Our kids Attic desk/study space over looked our pool in the rear garden. With respect to using the formal rooms for bedrooms, you will find that once you have your large family/alfresco and the kids have their upstairs space if you still feel you need it, it would make a great office. You spend most of the time there only using only using the front room in the evening for watching movies etc. I have had another play with my floor plan, I think if your wife sees this you may be in trouble, it's a Master Suite, the free standing bath in the window alcove with white timber shutters for sun and privacy control..... Iam' adding a couple of photos of our old Federation which wasn't protected, when we sold it the new owners removed all of the Fret work & posts replacing them with simple timber posts. The front rooms which we didn't use very much once we opened up the rear rooms into a family area. The room with the Bay window had a Baby grand sitting there, we sold the piano before we took the photo. Cheers

Hi Sarah, If you refer back to my initial 'Help' post, you will see the ideas were already there and our dilemma was actually more in relation to which paint colours might work with our bricks. Also, I'm not sure where the idea of us not wanting to add a garden has come from as my post clearly states that the improvements 'will also include a simple low maintenance garden'. I can only assume that the confusion has come about due to so many expressing that we should just do the garden and not worry about anything else, but that would simply put us back to where we were before the previous garden was removed. With all due respect, I can appreciate that many have posted in an effort to save us from what they consider to be unnecessary work and expense, and for that I am truly grateful, because it would be really lovely to simply not worry about doing anything, and as you said, go and enjoy a holiday instead! :) That said, people also need to acknowledge that we are not all of the same opinion when it comes to buying or selling a home. Aside from focusing on our revamp, we've also been actively searching for our 'retirement' home. Suffice to say, the first thing we notice while driving around is kerb appeal, or should I say, a lack of when it comes to some properties, including ours at the moment! :( While the photo's may look good, in reality, the exterior is tired and dated, with the gravel driveway being close to bare earth. Compared to the interior of our home, costs outside have been relatively minimal, therefore I can honestly say that we are quite excited about this project, but, it's goes without saying that we don't want spend a bomb either. Might just be the only little revamp this exterior's ever going to get! :D Anyway Sarah, full credit to you for giving me my first aha moment, which came through reading the final paragraph of your post. You've made me realise, that up until now, some of the decor and colour preferences I've presented are those both myself, and my husband would like if we were the prospective buyers, as opposed to what might work in favour of a broader market. Therefore, after some discussions tonight, we have concluded that... Columns, will definitely be plain square, as round will appear too similar to the existing ones. Front Door and handle will be simple classic Porch tiles - both against the idea of painting, so will definitely replace Paint - haven't ruled out neutral creams. Colour is simply something we're going to have to experiment with Existing gates will stay and get a repaint Our home is a spacious 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom/ 2 car space with granny flat out the back, therefore we see it appealing more to couples with a young/growing family. I can't thank everyone enough for their time and effort in providing an endless stream of invaluable advice and photos... it's been nothing short of enlightening and I only wish I could print the visual that's in my mind now, compared to the muddle that was present when I first reached out for help. As with any revamp, the journey will be a mix of both highs and lows. That said, it's the end result we're working toward, and we expect to achieve nothing less than a positive outcome. Cheers again to all, Sandi :)