How best to reno our old fibro home, what to do with the sunroom?
Hello all,
I am seeking help with our renovations. We own a 2 bedroom home with sun room at the front of the house. Each time we explore our renovation options we are hit with the dilemma of how best to utilise our foot print and making the most of each room especially the front sunroom on a budget ($200k), as this may become a rental property in the future.
We find the sunroom currently is only used for the following:
- Entry (at times) this door needs changing
- Desk at one end for a relatively unused office area
- A place for the dog to sleep
Other than that, we find this quite a waste of m2 space.
Our renovation thoughts have been (plan attached) :
Remove the wall from the lounge to the sunroom (original front of house has asbestos)
Block the entry to the main bedroom, main bedroom entry becomes through some french doors through the sunroom
Raise the floor level (cypress pine throughout the house, front section is on a lower concrete slab)
Install a small dividing wall inline with the bedroom/lounge wall and use as desk office space
Reinstall an entry to the front of the house
Install deck
OR
Remove the sunroom and return back to the original veranda (on a concrete slab)
OR
Renovate to tidy and leave as current floor plan
Replace damaged windows
Reinstall entry to front of house with small deck at front
Consider removal of asbestos on wall and ceiling between lounge/sunroom
To date we have completed the following internal to make it comfortable to live in:
Undercoated with some top coat throughout
Installed a new kitchen
Stripped vinyl and carpet and sanded cypress pine floors internally
Installed the fireplace
As much as we would have loved to have a 3rd bedroom, the proposed house plans attached required us to complete quite a significant structural changes with raising the roof and floor levels which required new trusses throughout.
The proposed plans included:
Raising roof + insulation
Raising floor levels in rear of house and continuing cypress pine flooring (inc 2ndbedroom which is on a tacked on concrete slab)
Removing all asbestos external and internal
Cladding external and insulating (house currently has no insulation)
Building the laundry into the house (currently outside)
Combining toilet and bathroom (installing 2nd toilet in laundry)
Removing walls to kitchen/sunroom and lounge/sunroom for open plan (structural)
Installing 3rd bedroom facing south&west
Installing decks front, north and rear (west)
Replacing windows throughout (most damaged aluminium)
Quotes to date with the above renovations totalled $300k + without 3rd bedroom and side (north facing) deck. Which made us think of knock down and rebuild, which is probably not worth it if we may need to relocate for work.
So we are now considering now a budget renovation due to work plans changing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Comments (13)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Advice needed:Dining area & curtains in sunroom
Comments (36)You have very nice chairs! Take the rug out, remove the two end chairs, paint the table white like the color in the wallpaper, move one chair to desk, add a mirror on the wallpaper wall to break up the wall and add depth to the room (white or deep gray frame) and use you budget and add new pillows to the couch with more grays and whites....See MoreFederation Reno do we go major or minor? We are aged 60
Comments (28)Hi fb57, Great charming federation house, retain the front and fix the back, then maybe later you can put in a granny flat - depending on cost and local council bylaws. I would not put in an attic - stairs are a good place for mishaps and as we age it might have limited functionality - but if its something you have your heart set on it might prove worth while. It appears that you are competent enough to do a decent measure up plan, going from what you have posted - you might need to take a few photo and a few other dimension to get a good design from someone working online. The idea is to get a design that you are happy with and then get a local competent Drafts-person to do your working drawings for a Building Permit and then get it built with a Builder of your choice. This would result in my opinion in a significant saving and a design of your choice, especially if you are willing to do some of the legwork with council and other authorities. To get a good design that you feel is a solution to your requirements, you need to produce a variety of design schemes (plans elevations perspectives etc.) and this can be done online with any competent Building Designer that you can get along with. It will not take one go at it - and it will not be quick, as you need time to digest every scheme but generally it works out in the long run. These are some of the things I would look at: 1. The possibility of breaking up the build into stages - maybe stage one do the renovations at the back and the stage 2 place in a granny flat. 2. As you have good access on both sides of the property I would place a new garage on the largest width and possible gate and walkway on the other side to give individual access to the granny flat. The new garage would be as closely to the front as possible, with the new fence an gate on the other side it would greatly improve security. 3. Depending on budget I would provide a bathroom shower and toilet with a walk in robe to the main bedroom and redo the kitchen and laundry if required. 4.The area next to the lounge area I would develop into an external entertainment area. 5 Since you mentioned that you have a "Fibro Extension" it implies to me that you may have asbestos on the property - get an expert in and determine if you need to remove asbestos when you renovate - this is a dangerous material and you should take all precautions possible to avoid long term damage. 6. An indication of the position of your neighbors windows and setback might also help in providing a design that complies with your planning laws and respects your adjoining neighbors. Like all things it will take a few revisions to get it right , but if you are willing to work at it, it will payoff in the end. The first thing is to draw up the existing conditions to scale so that an initial proposal showing possibilities can be worked on. I would be willing to work on this project with you online, I hope this is of some help. Regards Michael Manias mm407p@gmail.com...See MoreHelp help help! What to do with our 1988 home and it's GREEN WINDOWS!
Comments (27)I think if you replace front door and glass panels as well as the old fashioned lights with something more contemporary it will make a huge improvement. I'd also remove the ironwork and as you cannot re-glaze place some pots and plants on the sides of the large windows to draw the eye away from all the green cross pieces on the windows. Eventually paint the gutters fascia in a light grey/green....See MoreWhat do you think of this floor plan for our new home?
Comments (19)Unexpectedly to me, due to it's location on the crest of the Great Dividing Range at an elevation of around 700m above sea level, Toowoomba has a climate more similar to Sydney than Brisbane. With average summer highs of only 28°C, & average winter highs of 17°C (lows of 7°C & cold wind, as has been mentioned). It's located in Climate Zone 2: Warm Temperature, the same climate zone as Sydney, not Brisbane. Though this climate zone is very varied, so care must be taken to cater for local conditions. As has been advised a few times, have a good read of the Your Home site. Read this section, Designing for Climate, for zone 5: warm temperate. http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/design-climate Along with having cooler temperatures than Brisbane, the fact that Toowoomba is inland means it has greater variation between daytime highs & nighttime lows (diurnal temperature range). This means that unlike Queensland coastal climates, some thermal mass in the home will be appropriate, so a lightweight structure isn't needed. Although a lightweight structure, on a ground-coupled slab (with polished concrete or tiles in North facing living areas) would be a good idea. As the temperature is so much cooler than tropical Queensland climates I'd advise against going too overboard with a pavilion style house. As I think it would be too cold in winter. Maybe something like two off-set rectangles, joined in the centre. Kinda like dreamer's inspirational picture, without the middle section, the two rectangular sections joined. Or just go for a more traditional rectangular house. In any case, like just about all Australian climates, you should try to build a house that is generally rectangular, the long sides facing north & south. This will give an opportunity for northern sunshine to enter home in winter, while the shorter eastern & western sides will limit the effect of hot summer western afternoon sunshine. Though I guess this house shape won't look great from the western road, as it will look very narrow from here. You could fatten it's street frontage a little bit, by having the garage to the south of the rectangular house. With such a large block you'll be able to build something that works for you. But as OKLouise said, don't just pick a plan for an average narrow block. The plan you picked is not really suitable for your block. I'd also recommend you do a lot of research yourself. As has been shown with the plan you've received, you can't rely on the builder to design a plan that will work best for you, that is appropriate for your location. So read up on the Your Home website. It's an invaluable resource when it comes to building a comfortable, energy efficient home....See More- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
it's great looking old cottage that just needs some TLC but the best investment for a rental would be to increase bedrooms without spending so much that the house needs to earn more income/higher rents to sustain a bigger investment ..my suggestion includes where necessary lining and insulating to make it more comfortable, repair or replace windows, make sure electrical and plumbing is in good safe working order, new lightfittings, floor and window coverings, install an extra toilet in the outdoor laundry, or add an üpstairs laundry and pantry, add pergola covered deck(s) to suit outlook and increase good weather living areas
- 4 years ago
Thanks you for your comments.
@oklouise we have started tidying up in side see attached kitchen before and after and new fire place.
The house was originally bought with a dividing wall in the sunroom which we removed as we thought the 3rd bedroom( part of sunroom) was quite small.
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4 years agoI’d open up part of the sunroom at the front door back into a deck. Keep the rest
as a room with access from the dining area, closing the doors into the adjacent bedroom. Add ceiling fans if ceiling height allows. By closing the French doors you will reduce air flow to bedroom but improve usability of the sunroom. Is the compromise worth it? You live there, would reopening the whole verandah be better to get the easterly breeze?
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bigreader