We have a similar home in a sydney beach suburb. We are in a different position where we have bought ours as a downsized but are just about to restore the old 50s beauty to its former self. We have quotes of around $400000 to gut and change the floor plan which includes 2 bathrooms and a new kitchen and also add internal stairs to the garage and a large deck off the back, lift some ceilings and replace gutters, eaves ect ect ect. Attached are my inspiration boards and what the house looks like now, hopefully in about 4 months I can update you.

Hi Jase - Its always difficult to make that kind of decision - renovate or rebuild. By the way could you please state where north is on the page its difficult to comment if one is not aware of the position of north.? I do not see that as a small renovation, percentage wise you seem to be spending a considerable amount, some of the things I consider would be: 1. Obtaining a price from a builder as your drawings do show a high degree of completion at least as far as an initial price. 2. Consider getting someone to do a few alternative sketch plans for you, even if you do not come up with anything new you would be satisfied that you have the best solution. "Its cheaper to change lines on paper that walls on the buildings." 3. When you have done the above - get the opinion from a real estate agent to see that you are not overcapitalizing. In terms of you design there are a few things you might like to consider if I was doing a sketch design: 1. Bedroom 2 is a bit of a disaster size wise - make it bigger as much as bed 1 and this will become the main bedroom. 2. Retain the toilet in general existing position and turn the existing laundry into a bathroom serving new bedroom 2 with en-suite. 3 Re orientate the kitchen design capitalizing on the width of the back wall and provide a new laundry area with a toilet - hoping that you can access the sewer to connect a new toilet as in units this can sometimes be an issue.I'm sure that there may be a lot of other possibilities which I cannot see from an initial view. I would be willing to work with you online, I hope this is of some help. Michael Manias mm407p@gmail.com

Bit of a circle thing, the engineer will have trouble commenting on what you plan to do without drawings of the existing and proposed. Never met an engineer who could not work their magic on any structure, but there will be simple and cheaper methods and then there can be some super expensive ones. Builders and engineers should be communicating as well. If i were you, i would have identified a builder, get a good architect to work with you, your budget, the builder and engineer, and town planner if this requires DA approval. Overshadowing is the shadow your structure casts on the neighbors property. Overlooking is when they can see into your property, some councils have means to prevent this and the last to build normally has to screen their windows to prevent overlooking, some require only high windows, not all councils and not all property sizes will be affected. If the architect draws in a 3D package it is a simple matter to show you where the shadows land at any time and day of the year, based on you address. If allowed to build that top story, they can show you if you shade your pool. This is a big investment from you, most likely you would be living with the results for years, i would imagine that you would want the best outcome for your family, and to engage professionals would be the way to achieve those outcomes. Thoughts and ideas from forums like this are great, but sometimes they are not aware of the outcomes of comments which might affect your whole project, and councils around the country all have different requirements. Check and check again. What is allowed in Brisbane with height and upper floor window sizes on smaller blocks, will not be allowed in Melbourne, or Sydney councils. Shadowing while really not an issue in Brisbane, will be a huge issue in Melbourne, so get a local team. Ros

Hi Chris, why not keep it simple and the cost of extending down for when you are ready, you could just add a big room across the rear of the house, with or without any Verandah and even keep the two bedrooms as is and make access to the other Bed ? from the new rumpus room this would then make a great guest/study , This is all part of Stage 2