i would be very impressed if you could add on the extra space and create the third bedroom for $150,000 and smashing down old brick walls could be more expensive than adding a simple extension but who will live in the house and is it in good enough condition to live in without immediate renovations while you research the best options.... what is the value of homes in the area with similar extension...what is the distance from the house to the fence on all sides, how much space is there in the front yard, where is north what is the local climate and is there a garage or driveway

depending on the orientation and size of the block of land my initial thought would be to use the original home for bedrooms and lounge and add on a simple extension for family living, extra bathroom and laundry to create a 4 bed 2 bathroom home...probably not within the $150,000 but much easier/cheaper than attempting to create large living areas within the original home by knocking out external walls

thanks very much Louise. it hadn't occurred to us to reorientate it like this. north is at the top of the drawing and there is about 6 or 7 metres to the back boundary, so that could work. thanks for your considerate assistance.

depending on your climate backyard north or south is ideal (to allow for highlight windows and sliding doors to the courtyard) and based on guestimated size (backyard needs to be about 13m wide and about 7 m from the existing sliding back door to rear boundary) here's one option for the extension which you should be able to show to a builder to get an idea of cost...slab on ground, simple corrugated steel roof, modern fibro outside walls and very basic bathroom laundry and kitchen...floor area about 70 sq m but lots of alternative options

thanks again louise. Here was our crack this afternoon minimising destruction of walls (the link between the kitchen dining and the lounge would cut out the windows in the current exeterior wall to avoid bringing down an outside wall). that would leave cutting a square in the current kitchen wall and then knocking down the internal laundry and store walls.

not very easy to see, but below the lounge on the right is a laundry and on the left, a void/store that we can use to put a parent's retreat above the lounge when we get more money

Hi LID, we are in the inner west Sydney. This brick place we are looking at is in the inner west too. Any work we do to it would be in two stages: paint two bedrooms and lounge, rip up carpet, floorboards down, small bathroom reno (2 x 2), and one internal giprock wall which is about 4m long. That total area is roughly 48sqm (basically four 4 x 3m spaces); second stage would be kitchen and squaring off the back or creating a new space out the back like Louise's drawing...probably a total area of 30 - 40sqm in total, with three x 2m internal walls getting knocked out and perhaps cutting some gaps in an external one. Third stage would be to put a master suite and deck above the new part of the second stage, as you would get views from the harbour bridge right through to the south of the CBD.

Sounds like a great project with the potential of some nice views :) I would start by getting a good builder or structural engineer out to have a look at the walls that you would like to knock down. As if they are structural it would cost more to add some support beams and if your budgets $150K and you want to do all of the above it could take a chunk of your money. Sometimes structural walls dictate what can and can't be done ( without loads of money) to a house.

I'd start with a builders quote for all the wall demo items on the wish list and then on top of the structural you would be looking at spending around;

A small bathroom reno would be $20-25K with a bathroom reno company. DIY with a plumber and electrician. $10-15K.

Kitchen $35-50K dependant on level of finish ( includes appliances)

Flooring (Timber) $100-145 a sqm laid. Extra $ for any floor prep or levelling prior to installation. Carpet's $45-65 sqm laid.

Gyprock line walls labour $75 an hour plus materials.

Plastering internal walls after demo and gprocks completed . $15-45 a sqm.

If you are really keen on getting the lower level extension and upper floor level done at a later time I would also ask the builder for a quote whilst he's on site. Having all the facts up front helps make decisions on what to do with reconfiguring the rest of the house :) good luck!