Hi Bron. I'm totally with those who have suggested a. Colorbond Monument and b. No rendering. As a professional renovator, I see clients who had not taken into account the maintenance - cleaning, patching the cracks when the house moved and they all do, eventually) and would not render again. Bagging is really old-fashioned. The bricks are a great colour to work with. The suggestions of plants , a path leading (directing visitors) to your door, and I'll add using a feature colour on the door (an unobtrusive screen door - or even removing it) would make a big difference. It would be great to see a pic of the house from the street to see if there's anything else to suggest. Happy reno!!

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!

Is your home double brick. If double brick, then the external walls are double brick. In Perth we have the red internal utility brick, then the chosen colour of face brick on the outside. If it is not, it may be because building on the boundary, you will require a double brick parapet wall. This is for fire safety and strength. what your seeing maybe the internal walls being built on the boundary. Then the external wall will be built in your chosen brick. If not sure, consult with your builder liaison officer. It's great to get educated on how your home will be built.

Colorbond will look handsome on that home. If it were possible to repair the roof and retain the tiles I'd do it. But if budget does not allow then sure a tin roof will be fine also. Australia has a long and proud historical use of tin. I live in a heritage town, every house in it from 1880's right down to 1960's has a tin roof, including many homes of that era. If that house were weatherboard built in the exact same year, it would have a tin roof anyway. I'm a history fan, I'm a preservation freak, but sometimes practicality needs to take centre stage and that is exactly what the people who built the house would have chosen had their budget not allowed the tile. For my money, given the lovely colouring of your brick I would go with a Jasper roof, that nice bronze with pick up the detail of your brick and look good and also work with the existing trim. Another thing you can do to avoid the cheap roof look is choose a different profile to the tin. This roof is the same pitch as yours on a similarly proportioned building. The profile however is what makes it look more heritage than a standard corrugation. Not sure if BHP do this profile but I'm pretty sure that Lysaght do. The one thing I would be careful not to do however, is change the pitch of the roof if the trusses also need to be replaced. It's pitch is an essential character of that home and are necessary for right proportion.