Hi Yes it can be done and we have done it many times. The only question is how to transfer the dead and live loads... which an engineer will do. (dead load is static weight eg slab/roof etc... live load is people, movable items etc) First step is to dig out the original plans with particular emphasis on the structural plans that show the reinforcement of the second floor slab, footing details and wall sections etc. If you don't have them, you can go to your local Council and request a copy of all plans on file. It will cost around $50-$100. Depending on how the slab was reinforced, you will most likely need a beam to span from the laundry to a point in the other bathroom wall that is remaining. The beam can be designed to be part of a bulkhead or feature dropped ceiling. Then there will probably be some thickening of the wall structure and increase of footing capacity. Footings can be extended by drilling through the slab and grout injection into the soil underneath or excavating and installing new concrete. As others have said, a structural engineer will look at the plans, work out a design and detail that a builder will implement for you within your desired layout. Cheers

I like the look of the outside of the house , and initially I wouldn't change the yellowy beige colour . What I would do is get the concrete block retaining wall either rendered in the same colour as the house , or if the budget ran to it -- get a genuine stone facade . As far as gardens to soften the look , I'd stick to the meditarreanian theme , and do a couple of 2 metre tall green leafy plants in wooden round planters ( half wine barrels or similar ) , and maybe a long , slim garden ( 4 or 5 metres long by 40cm wide ) with marigolds or similar .

The good kind of mad! (Most) old houses ooze character, warmth and heart as much as new ones do chemicals and cheap fittings. I am a housebody, and love being in my house - I spend my money on it, instead of out clubbing and yes, there are always unexpected costs (new hot water service, leaking toilet...), but if you were renting you would have nothing of your own at the end anyway. Three years ago I bought my first house, a fairly original sandstone 98 year old lady in need of some TLC. No builder's reports in this little town, but then she cost me less than a landcruiser... Things I planned to do, but took forever because of rusting nails, old sizing, old quality workmanship include painting the whole thing, top to bottom, pulling up axminster carpet and getting the floors polished, putting fans and air conditioning in. Things I was hoping to avoid for a few more years but can't, include replacing the original roof, swapping the three-cupboard sleepout kitchen with a bedroom, redoing the bathroom, complete with new plumbing and actual drainage to the septic pit (which I had to have fixed a bit), and then I think the best option for the back room and laundry is just to rebuild them....But I don't regret this house, or the journey it's taken me on. Even if it has turned out to be a much more expensive journey than I thought! With time and google, you can do a lot yourself. Before I moved back three years ago I had always been n provided accommodation, so had never used a drill and only changed a couple of light globes, but now... I took a chimney and fireplace down on my own, then re-pointed the stone and put in a ceiling panel to close it up. I have painted, put up shelves, taken down cupboards that were built into walls, patched cracks, filled gaps, pried off skirting boards, and generally turned it into a home. For the more major stuff, like putting a doorway through a foot thick stone wall and rewiring an original bedroom to house a modern kitchen, I am getting the professionals in. good luck!

Yes, siriuskey. You are right again. It would be smart to invest in having a professional draftsman draw it up. But on face value, I really think oklouise's plan works. I have sort of drawn it out on the floor. I love that she is using standard size vanities with only a custom made top, and the towel shelves are now 450 instead of 250 wide, which is much better. The little odd-shaped infill at the end of the bath provides a spot for the lovely jug and bowl set my mother made for me. (I used to use the jug to pour water over the grandchildren's heads when I washed their hair, and now it's just a lovely decorative item with deep sentimental value) and there is space beside the bath for the urn filled with decorative soaps that was a gift from a son-in-law on his first visit to our home. I really think the bath needs to come back to 1500 long, but that's not an issue at all. I found a really nice shaped oval tub at 1500 x 760 that I like and is quite inexpensive. I don't need to worry about towel rails because I have a lovely timber free-standing towel rack that will fit nicely at the end of the shower if the shower door is placed on the side. It looks like the vanity drain can run under the drawers and into the bath outlet and the WC vanity will run under the wall into the shower drain, and all other plumbing stays the same except I'll ask the plumber to chase the shower tap and rose into the exterior wall rather than have it on the side, OR there is room for a false wall in front of the exterior wall to hide the plumbing if that works out better. The niche can go in the new wall behind the WC vanity. I'll be really surprised if this isn't a feasible plan, but I will take your advice, siriuskey, and get a pro to draw it up so I can be totally confident it works. Can't thank you enough, oklouise - and you, siriuskey, for all your efforts which, I think, contributed by generating new ideas and flushing out the important issues.