Roofing dilemma
When we bought this house we planned to replace the iron tile roof with colour bond, plus include a return verandah to the two front rooms.
Now we know it would cost more than $60,000 we are looking for alternatives!
She is over 100 years old and is in a very rural town in the Southern Flinders area of SA.
We really dislike the iron tiles. The original red iron roof is still underneath but has hundreds of timber battens nailed to it to hold the tiles. This adds to the cost of removal. The verandah roof is sagging and we think it makes the old girl look like she's frowning! The beautiful big windows are half hidden under her fringe and the little birds all nest in there.
The house faces south so the front verandah gets no sun, we love sitting out there at sundown, especially in summer when we get a lovely cooling breeze.
I thought we could replace the white plastic gutters with cream or red colourbond gutters. If we replaced the verandah with a return colour bond one it will look mismatched with the rest of the roof.
We also thought about adding a pergola to the two sides and growing vines.
All creative ideas welcome!
BTW the old air con in the window will soon go, plus a new timber screen door will appear at some point.
Comments (13)
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Choosing colour bond roof colour to blend in with terracotta tile roof
Comments (6)Hi there Mary, that's something I hadn't thought of re painting the ridge tiles, I had thought to replace them with the grey, it would depend on the condition of the ridge do they need re setting, this would be a good time to replace rather than fiddle with painting, Woodland Grey is a classic Colour Bond, Gully a bit lighter. Your Roof is a strong red colour, I would get a sample of both grey colours, if you have a spare red tile take it with you to look at samples good luck...See MoreCathedral ceiling and glazed gable dilemma
Comments (12)Thanks Kate and Amony, We don't have our own engineer. The builder has developed the plans, design and will engage their own engineers through the process. As working drawings haven't been developed yet (awaiting final fixtures / fittings), I'm not sure if we could reasonably engage our own engineer, but let me know if you feel otherwise? We don't have our own architect, the design is a modification of a standard house plan that the builder offers. Noting that they show a cathedral ceiling with glazed gable very close to what we have been shown on their website / marketing material, and what is in our contract. With regards "the builder's drawing is ugly", I assume you're referring to the proposed new design, and yes we certainly agree! Though if you're referring to both original and proposed, then I guess that means you're recommending we don't pay the ~$58K and revert back to a normal ceiling and forego the glazed gable. That is certainly an option we are considering. We agree with respect to "if he was unable to follow the plans, then that should have been conveyed up front", and would have likely not gone with them, hence we feel like this is false advertising / bait & switch and depending on how things we go we will probably report them to the ACCC. With regards "this builder will be a major problem as you continue with a build and will try to cut costs for himself", I can't argue with that, but for the moment we have a signed contract in play. So would your recommendation be to potentially forego the 5% deposit (assuming they quantify their reasonable costs up to this point) and walk away? This is certainly a scenario I am aware of. For "what do you do if he changes plans partway through", this is where we are seeking some external legal (due tomorrow). I feel like the builder is in breach of contract, in which case we should have a way of cancelling the contract without losing our 5%. Right now we feel like they have made a major mistake in selling us on something they feel like they can't actually build, and hopefully legal advice supports that they are in breach....See MoreFront design dilemma - terracotta roof orange bricks
Comments (6)It looks like even the footpath is done in an orange ? Anyway , my first observation is about your 'update' comment -- it is 'of a certain era' , I don't know if you mean you want something that looks more modern , but I'd embrace what is there -- most materials and tones and even the window styles are all the same era -- you'd risk making a messy look if you only update 1 or 2 -- thats part of the reason I wouldn't render or even paint the bricks ( other posts have outlined the maintanence issues too ) . I'd offer a twist on the above ideas -- get up on the roof and paint the timbers on the gables in charcoal , and also the window sill under the angled window . I'm also assuming there is at least 1 more window to the left of the entrance , that we can't see . Similarly , whether it is flat or angled , I assume it has a window sill , so paint the sill there too . The garage door would look overdone if you paint that in charcoal ( monument etc ) , you want to keep away from apricot or citrus or even reds IMO , and it does look a bit too understated as it is , so if the budget extends that much , maybe replace with a nice stained timber in a mid brown tone -- too dark will get back to the cliched 70's look ; whilst cedar or similar is trending back towards the brick and roof tones . And one thing that grates with me -- the letter box looks to be in a slightly different brick , veering towards a sandstone -- thats annoying in itself in that it doesn't match , but doubly so because it probably would have been a better brick to do the whole house in hindsight . I can only guess it was added several years later , but still grates with me , I'd probably redo that , even though it seems a bit of a waste , but maybe thats just me ....See MoreRoof colour dilemma for early 70s blonde / orange brick house
Comments (11)When I read the heading and the first few sentences , I thought OMG -- orange bricks and an orange terracota roof ! But yeah , I'd call that a blonde , with regrowth on top haha ! So its reasonably pleasant , but what to do ? Dark windows would look good , BUT even then , the overall design and even the window size all screams 80's , so you'd spend $20k or whatever to do the whole place with new windows , and it'll just be modernised 80's . And to expand on that , what Julie Herbert alluded to -- the gardens and fence look 80's too . The front fence also looks oranger than the house too -- are they exactly the same as the house , or newer and/or oranger ? One possible 'tie-in' would be some long and low panels of Coloursteel where the rails are ( basically , keep the bricks on the fence , just do in-fill panels in Coloursteel , only going the same height as the pillars ) . The roof looks a charcoal , so I'd stick with that in coloursteel for the roof , IF GOING IN THAT DIRECTION . Why I say that is because I actually think the roof would look okay if you added some mid grey terracotta tiles -- go for a speckled look . Those light grey ones would look too harsh a contrast IMO , but go go mid grey and the existing charcoal would look 'interesting' IMO , it may be cheaper than a full coloursteel roof ( you'd want to check the labour cost though ) , and if say 80% of the existing tiles can be re-used , its probably better both cost but also waste wise ? And that leaves the brown -- obviously , go charcoal there too , along with more modern plants and garden design . And while some people criticise me , because I often say do a 'sunny' ( bright red , yellow or orange ) front door , not only will it look better , it changes peoples focus , so the less attractive features aren't noticed as much -- whether passer-bys love or loath the bright front door -- they'll look at it and comment , rather than noting the brown base or orangey fence bricks ....See More
tessaway
6 years ago
harryinahurry
6 years agosiriuskey
6 years agoHow great are those grass trees, low maintenance, I agree with you ,it would be a shame to alter the house and make it a return verandah, A pergola would be perfect along with a bit of paint, the link I sent you re the metal tiled roof, speak to them for advice on painting the roof. Paint, Pergola and your iron plants along with a bit more gardening would work wonders and so much cheaper, just love it. attaching a photo of an architect designed farmhouse which is quite grand but the materials used are great, the pergola is a bit large for your purpose but perhaps if you could find some old wood and recycle it to make the pergola,(it doesn't have to be flash) that is if it hasn't been used for fire wood Ha ha love to see anything you might do cheers
harryinahurry
6 years ago
LesleyH
6 years agoA great project. I would use a zincalume roof which is cheaper but authentic. Consider solar skylights to light often darker rooms in older beauties but not penetrate the roof. See details below.
bigreader