My budge is 50k do you think this is achievable?

With a new kitchen a plus bathroom No, I would show your plan to a local builder, if you can find one and ask for their basic quote. Will you be doing some of the work. And look at doing works in stages as money becomes available

PLEASE mark where north is: nothing makes any sense without it... It also depends where you are? QLD or Tassy!? :)

I live in Perth. Will be doing a lot by myself beside all the structural stuff.

Yes I had a feeling it would be there at the front somewhere by the shadows! I like the living three sides to the east, north, west. Next behind it the kitchen then the dining or extension (Now or later) of another living room out into the back garden.... Bathroom could have the euro laundry rather than it in the kitchen. HATE dirty clothes mixed with the soup! Hows that for ideas!! MK

My plan keeping bathroom basically where it is with some work my fit your budget. It also depends on quality of finishes

I forgot to mention their is a sloping ceiling in the current laundry and bathroom so I’m not sure how many wall can be removed and replaced with beams. Might need to re look at layout again.

should be much easier to take out walls in the old bathroom laundry and use that space as a new kitchen instead of changing the living area wall

Hi all,
What would it look like, If we swapped the laundry and the bathroom in this plan and only had one entry to give us more space in that 3rd bedroom.
Thanks

Kate already mentioned this proposal on the 5th October.

Yeah I just want to see what it would look like drawn up so I can show a builder to show some options.
Thanks

Andrew: that is the scaled sketch plans that I can prepare for you... ample detail for builders to get an idea of the scope of work and quote for you.....PM or contact through www.... happy to assist.... Margot

reversing the bathroom and laundry creates a range of alternate problems but this is a basic view as requested but wouldn't be my choice for comfortable family home

What if you changed the toilet layout and put the entry to the toilet from the laundry side. Removed the door to the back yard and put in a window

draw a picture of what you want and i will make a plan for you but this arrangement would not be my choice and by the time you gut both rooms and rearrange all the plumbing it won't be a cheap option

This could work, but one bedroom would only fit a single bed.

Hi Andrew,

I really like Oklouise's very first plan for so many reasons. If you are looking at future sale of the house, clearly 3 bedrooms is better than 2. The layout enters into and open plan living, dining, kitchen almost directly, which will have instant impact on a buyer and also reduces the aparent hallways, which are perceived as wasted space. It keeps the bedrooms further away from the front door and therefore more private. Whatever your budget, I assume from your photos, you would be doing a new kitchen and laundry, so that cost is locked in. There are ways of doing these spaces efficiently without spending the earth. Search the internet and building surplus auctions etc. The bathroom will need to be moved in that plan and building it new into the existing lounge turned 3rd bedroom, will mean you can do that whilst the existing one is still functional, meaning you can live there throughout.

However, if you need to reign in the purse strings, look at swapping the kitchen and dining in Okloiuse's plan and keeping the bathroom and just building a new toilet off the hall into the lounge space. That way the kitchen stay roughly where it is and the dining will have access to the back yard. However you will need a temporary laundry, which may affect the overall budget. You could build the new bathroom walls but just install a toilet with the laundry until you can afford the new bathroom.

Christine.

Just another budget option, eat in 'flat pack' kitchen + renovated bathroom

Thanks Jane

Hi Andrew,

One further thought. If you are thinking of selling in a few years, you will be surprised how quickly that creeps up on you. Thinking about the selling market will have a large impact on the decisions you make. With my previous suggestions and Oklouise's original plan with the powder room incorporated, you could take the toilet out of the bathroom and steal the entry hall width out of the new kitchen (or if that is the dining room as per my alternative suggestion in the plan below) and put that back into the bathroom. Basically using the current bathroom for the new and making the living and dining 3.6m wide front and back. By doing this you could possibly make a bathroom with just a bath and vanity and then make an ensuite off the main bedroom too. In terms of plumbing fittings, this is only one extra vanity but now have 1 & 2-1/2 bathrooms. This will eliminate queues and is good for sale potential if they aren't too small!!! You can decide whether you want baths or showers, one of each or a nice big walk-in shower for the ensuite and a shower over a bath in the main bathroom. I'm not a huge fan of showers over the bath but it is still desirable to include a bath for re sale. Perhaps check this will local real estate agents.

By putting the dining at the back, you open up good access to the rear patio. You could also switch dining and living with ease but make sure the kitchen does not restrict the size of the living space.

C

Thanks Christine this is great

The ceiling height in the current bathroom and laundry starts at 2700 but slops down to 2300. Will this be a problem?

Yes it will be a problem. The rules for roof height for a habitable room is 2400mm. A dining room is a habitable room. See below national construction code.

You need to calculate whether the ceiling in the above drawing for the dining room is 2.4 m over two thirds of the floor area of the room or space. You might be lucky. But it needs investigating.

And I would also be enquiring whether the current lounge extension is an approved extension before you start. If it isn’t then the extension will need approval before you even start changing the internal layout.

If I go with Oklouise’s plan it won’t be a problem as kitchen or a minimum of 2.1. Who will be able to tell me if the extension is approved or not?

Go and visit your local council office, or even give them a phone call. They will have all information for approved buildings that are built on your block of land.

What suburb are you in? My council office, in Perth, is the City of Canning, and they are always extremely helpful. You just need to ask “ is the built extension on my home approved” they will ask for your address and can give you all the information about your block.

Ok thanks I’m the city of Gosnells

Hi Andrew,

Also, if you have recently bought the property, your lawyer should have checked if there was any unapproved construction on the house. If there was, you should have been informed of that as you would have had the opportunity to accept it and maybe negotiate a better price, or get the previous owners to rectify it by getting retrospective approval.

As owner of it now you have the right of access to the council records of your property which will contain everything about the property, unless they have lost some of their records in floods etc!!!

C.

my suggestions were all based on the lower sloping ceiling and adding a structural beam with side supports where the wall would be removed to create the new kitchen as you said that you wanted to make changes without extending but major changes to plumbing should be checked with local council...phone your local council building inspector for advice

As a first home buyer no one really seemed to help us make the right decision I did my research but didn’t get it all right. But I’ll learn from thing going forward. I will speak with the council and go from their. Thanks again for all the advice so far I sure I’ll be ask more questions

we've all learned by trial and error but there's now so much helpful advice and information on line with forums like HOUZZ and HOMEONE and numerous specialist websites including the local Councils and Australian Building Codes.. so keep researching

I have attached the city of gosnells web site. You can type your address into the space at the bottom of page and it will come up with a overview of approved buildings on your block of land. Look at this and then call the city of gosnells for confirmation.

https://maps.gosnells.wa.gov.au/intramaps97/default.htm?project=Gosnells

Christine Hall architect, in Western Australia we have settlement agents that process the sale and purchase of properties. They are not lawyers. Settlement agents are not qualified to give legal advice so you would need to engage and pay for a lawyer to address any legal issues that arise.

Lawyers can also carry out the work of a settlement agent and in Western Australia they must have a current practice certificate as governed by the Legal Profession Act 2008.

Lawyers are qualified to give legal advice. Settlement agents, on the other hand, do not have expertise in property law and cannot provide legal advice.

Unless you suspect there are issues with the property, all sale and purchase contracts are finalised by a settlement agent.
It is understood the Real Estate agent is to disclose any non approved buildings on the property,at the time of viewing the property.

To get better flow in your house , just lower the end of all the plumbing . . . . . . . . . . .

In NSW we either use a conveyancer, solicitor or the Estate Agent

We used a settlement agent, but we sign our contract before we spoke to her and our agent was very dodgy we found out later. But I’m sure we’ll make better choice on our next one. Thanks

If you’re the buyer the Agent isn’t your agent. They are paid from by the seller. As a buyer you can’t rely on parties paid for by the seller.

Spot on bigreader, the agent would be my last choice

Andrew, it’s all experience and learning. But if the real estate agent was selling that home, that is who you sign the offer and acceptance with. Yes the agent definitely works for the seller, so you need to be vigilant at all times. Then the real estate agent puts you in contact with a settlement agent to proceed with the purchase documents and transfer of money and Landgate information. You can also choose a settlement agent if you already know one. You have done the normal sequence of events in Western Australia. You can’t help if you think the real estate was dodgy, because they are the ones who were contracted to sell that home, you could not have avoided interaction with that agent. You could only have asked to deal with another agent from that real estate company. There is nothing wrong with what you have done to purchase YOUR home. Enjoy the home as is, and do your due diligence with every thing in the future when you are working out the renovations.

I got plans for the house and the extension has been approved in 1973.

Hi Andrew, Are you any closer to knowing what you will do with this home? If not try my mobile anytime and I look fwd to helping you with it.... Did you get my reply on the PM? Picture of the back of the house would be helpful too. To see the roof lines..... Love to assist.... Cheers Margot

I didn’t get your message Margot. But I’ll give you a call in the coming days. This is a picture of the back yard.

HHmmm... I see: the lounge added on and the laundry/loo is under old verandah? The roof heights there maybe tricky but we will cope!! Look forward to a chat..... Cheers Margot

Kitchen and home sketch designs, I’m interested in how you get an idea of the feeling and full details of the home, if you are in Victoria and this home is in the outer suburbs of Perth? Also this home is double brick external and brick walls internal. I understand that most homes in Victoria are brick veneer? You can not just knock through a brick wall as easy as a stud wall. The structural walls are not known unless a builder or structural engineer is engaged to investigate. As an owner you can look into the roof space and get a general idea, but you still require an expert opinion. Where are the power and plumbing lines that come in from the street? This important information is best confirmed by the professionals. Do you get the owner to video you and walk through the house? Do you give various designs for various scenarios and budget. The calculation of costs would be completely different from WA to Vic. Just intrigued how your service works.

Here some house plans, I will do some more accurate measurements soon.

Dreamer: Have you looked at my www.kitchenandhomeconcetps.com.au There is information on there... What you say is correct: I am in Victoria, I do not know where things are on the actual site, I do not know costs for doing the work that Andrew is suggesting but then I believe everyone else on here is in the same or very similar boat...We are all making suggestions that Andrew knows will need to be clarified by the engineers, builders, council etc. And he says he will do as much of the work as he can, so it is more important that he gather expert advise. May I ask the same of you: what other information do you have on this or any other job popped up on here that allows you more accuracy? We can only answer the question as asked: how to make this plan work and flow the rest is up to the owners. Cheers Margot

Thank you Kitchen and Home Sketch Designs, I’m in WA and I am aware of the area that Andrew is in and the type of home built in that area. The difference is I’m a amateur with only personal experience of building, renovating and knocking down and reconstructing brick walls.
The service you are offering is as a professional service therefore, one would assume, there would be an agreed value for your service. I just asked the question because I would think it would be difficult to give a comprehensive professional design without seeing the home in “real life”. That is all, nothing more, nothing less than that. And no I have not looked at your website. I will look at it tonight.

Good on you Dreamer, I love what I do and sorting a plan for flow, practicality, efficiency is what I do best. With lived experience of covering all sorts I have a good grip on how a house can work, should work, and will change uses as the years go by. Catering for that is vital but not IMO as vital as getting the passive solar right. I look forward to assisting Andrew with his plan and others who need a help with renos, extensions or new builds. It is paramount to get the sun's position and heating/cooling capacity right so a house is not a waste of building materials, time effort and especially money. I look forward to helping you one day with your next project.... Cheers Margot