the cost of renovation will depend on the condition of the existing house and the quality and amount of work to be done...and unexpected costs problems with existing plumbing, electrical wiring and amount of asbestos to be replaced...before planning a renovation i would first estimate the maximum that should be spent to avoid over capitalising on the property (check with local real estate for value of similar houses after renovation in your area) ..there's no point updating to a standard that the bank won't finance and nobody can afford to buy if/when you need or want to sell...in the meantime, where's north and what's on your wish list for the finished house and how many will be living in the home? btw the measurements need double checking as they don't match the numbers shown on the plan

My initial budget was 50k but expecting to go over by 10-15k. I have an electrician in the family who will be able to do all electrical works. If the default view of google maps is north I have image below. I have the list of things on the wishlist in my original post, It is currently my wife and 5month old.

My dilemma is also if it is worth doing all walls with new gyprocking and since the walls are open also new electrical throughout or only the walls that would require it once doing the open plan layout. I really want to do it since we may not ever get another chance any time soon.

Even at a quick look and estimate I would say you'd spend $75,000 as per the following.

$20k Kitchen

$20k Bathroom and sort wall/s in bathroom

$15k for laundry and other bathroom

Remove other walls and make good $20k.

Window Frames, wood floor, etc? Not sure what you mean exactly.

Even if you know a few tradespeople they still need paying to cover costs such as their insurance, cables and fittings (the stuff you don't see), etc..

You could perhaps save a few dollars by doing work yourself but really to do it at a somewhat reasonable pace you'd need to take time off work and also know what you're doing otherwise it'll take way too long. A builder can demolish and clean out in a couple days but they do it so often they usually have the technique down pat as well as staying on their tight schedules. They also do it during a working week when the skip bin truck can pick up straightaway, have deliveries same day where as the rest of us sacrifice a weekend and have to wait for Monday to pickup bins, take deliveries, etc. In my opinion use a builder and just get the job done especially with children in the house a partner looking after the children/s, etc. The savings are just a few bob as well as losing holidays and weekends and just not worth the headaches!

When was the house built?

we recently completed renovations on our home built in 1952 with kitchen, laundry and bathroom added in 1981...replacing all the windows cost about $30,000 plus labour, new architraves and painting, we did almost all the demolition ourselves although the legal removal of asbestos wall linings cost about $4000 and we also spent about $1000 taking other rubbish to the tip!.even in a carefully planned renovation there will will always be surprises..one unexpected structural beam cost $900 plus another $1000 to install.....i again suggest that you divide the house into sections and concentrate on completing the kitchen and living areas (with new windows etc) and then move on to the new bathrooms and bedrooms when funds allow

For a house of that era, have you identified where the asbestos is and allowed for the costs of dealing with that?

I hope you are taking it seriously. They say the next wave of illness will be in renovators such as yourselves.

speaking of the cost of asbestos removal we need to keep all necessary costs in proper perspective...removing the old asbestos lining in our bathroom and laundry was about the same price as a mid range lounge suite...we're quite happy to use our old furniture rather than risking exposure to asbestos related diseases...the professionals who removed the old wall linings finished the whole job in one day and also checked and reassured us that the old asbestos eaves lining are in good condition and could be left in place with a fresh coat of paint ..

Hi Agar Murat,

You can use this renovation costs calculator to work out a realistic renovation estimate.

Good Luck Richard@themakeovergroup (Melbourne)