Tight @rze reno No. 2 - BV

So, by semi-popular (or not) demand, I will give yers all a quick longwinded account of my last project - Renovating our 2x1 Unit over in Kalgoorlie...

A brief history;

*Bought in 2001 for $105k plus costs - 100% borrowed with equity and separate IO loan.
*Renting for $240 p/w then, already tenanted. Nice.
*Built in 1991. Depreciation. Nice.
*Complex of 4 units.

Fast forward to Oct 2011...

* Long term tenant moves out.
* PM does condition report and says it needs repairing. I knew this, but not the extent.
*There is a leak in shower through to front bedroom and several cornices have come adrift/gaps (earthquake result apparently.)
*Front bedroom ceiling has evidence of water leaks - stains in plaster. Possible leak from roof (tiled roof).

So, I asked the PM to get a quote for the repairs - $16k was the report. :eek:
I say can't afford it, can we rent it as is with reduced rent? She says yes - see how it goes.

We get an application from this lady, based on reduced rent and no promise to repair items during the lease of 12 months. No worries.

3 days before she moves in, she demands all damage is to be repaired. We say get lost, and keep her letting fees and ad costs out of bond.

She complains to Shire, and they issue a "Not fit to live in" type order until repairs are completed....

Fast forward to June this year...

Unit has been vacant since Oct 2011. :eek:

I decide to drive over and do the necessary repairs myself, and hopefully save about half the cost. I inform the Shire and PM I'm on my way, and set off with the ute loaded up with all my tools etc, and plan to try and knock it over in about 2 weeks....3 weeks away all up.

The PM met me there when I arrived around midday and admitted she had only made a few brief inspections from front door to make sure the place was secure...

Inside was much the same, but outside in the courtyard the whole area was completely overgrown and plants growing up onto the roof.

First job for the trip...clear backyard out and set up tools etc in back yard, set up camp bed and do a shop for food. etc. End of first day.

Gotta do some work. Will report in later with some photos.
 
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Here are a few pics;
Arrival day, out the front - notice the out of control bush obscuring the front door.

And, some of the back yard - 18 months of no-one there.

The growth had started to pull the guttering off the roof.
 

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And a couple more...
 

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The 3 main areas of concern for the Shire were:

1. the leaking shower and subsequent damage to bedroom walls behind it,
2. the ceiling in the same room caused from an unknown water leak at this stage, and
3. a good number of the cornices which had dropped/sagged and come away from the walls in various areas...both bedrooms were affected, as well as almost entire lounge and dining room area.

You may notice in these pics the gorgeous light shades, and the threadbare carpet, and the gaps in the cornices. The gaps were as thick as a man's finger, and kept dropping endless red Kalgoorlie dust down the walls.
 

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nice thread, it's good to see places in Karlgoolie look normal and they're not weatherboard shacks covered in red dust. Was the shower leak caused by the waste or pipes under pressure? Easy fix? You should blur out your number plate on the interweb.
 
The kitchen was actually quite OK; had a new stove just before last tenant left, but as you can see; it looks bare and empty.

I added door handles to the cupboards, a Bunnings flat-pack pantry next to the stove, and repainted, cleaned lights etc, and degreased exhaust fan area.
 

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Finished kitchen....

It's amazing; everything takes waaay longer than you think.

The flat pack took 3 hours to put together, install and secure to the walls, the handles took about the same....6 hours approx just for those two little add-ons.
 

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The cornice repairs were quite extensive and took a number of days....up and down step ladder endlessly.

Had to first clean all the gaps out, then sand, then secure the cornices using plaster of paris and nails or screws through to the walls behind, bog up the gaps with Spakfilla and/or plaster of paris.

After drying, then it was sanding ready to paint.
 

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Meanwhile, the shower was being pulled out and damage assessed in it and Bed 1 walls.

All the plaster sheeting directly behind shower was decayed and moldy, the wall studs were rotted and smelly.

The wall next to it is a solid brick wall separating our unit from next door.

This wall is covered in solid plaster, which was rotted and flaking off, had rotted part of the skirting board.

The plaster board was replaced, the moldy solid plaster was scraped and wirebrushed off, then filled with several layers of spakfilla and sanding.

You can see how high up the corner the water leak went, and it spread across the wall behind the shower about a metre.
 

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A bit more shower damage fun and love....

I had to use sikaflex glue on the skirting board to secure it to the brock wall, and then prop the red tool box - weighed about 40kg's - against it for 24 hours to hold it in place until the glue dried.

I could have drilled holes into the bricks and screwed it, but couldn't be bothered; far easier and quicker to glue it.
 

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The shower is coming out!
 

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More carnage!

The blue handrail and taps were a winner.
 

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Is that a clothesline hiding in the first pictures :D
Yes, and when I first walked out the back door, I didn't see it hiding in the jungle, and nearly decapitated myself on it - broke a strand and had to refix it later.

Almost a reno casualty in the first 10 mins I was there.
 
nice thread, it's good to see places in Karlgoolie look normal and they're not weatherboard shacks covered in red dust. Was the shower leak caused by the waste or pipes under pressure? Easy fix? You should blur out your number plate on the interweb.
There were loads of those old shacks...

The shower leak was just 20 odd years of wear and tear - grout worn away in the corners.

Apparently, back then there was no restrictions on waterproofing etc - there was none at all; just the a/c sheet.
 

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Well done BayView, looks good. Did you do the wall patching yourself? Did it turn out smooth, can you tell it's been patched?

I found that probably one of the harder things to do, we moved a door in our reno and had to patch the wall where the old door used to be. Really hard to get that perfectly straight! New found respect for plasterers.
 
Well done BayView, looks good. Did you do the wall patching yourself? Did it turn out smooth, can you tell it's been patched?

I found that probably one of the harder things to do, we moved a door in our reno and had to patch the wall where the old door used to be. Really hard to get that perfectly straight! New found respect for plasterers.
The patching of the solid plaster on the brick wall is fairly close to invisible. In normal light, and from a distance after being painted you can't tell without a closer look.

That wall involved a number of refills after sanding back between refills.

With the areas where I inserted new plaster sheeting (two areas), it was not perfect, but still looked pretty good - even up close..

As you say; the new panels never seem to line up perfectly square with the existing wall surface for some reason.

Here are a few more pics...

The lampshades were $10 at Target (5 in all), plus white electric cord attachments from Binnings at $12 each.

The blinds were $950 (4 slimline venetians and 1 vertical across laundry door) which were tailor made and fitted by window company. I could have saved a couple of hundred by fitting them myself, but it would have taken me half a day, whereas they took 1 hour and I was free to keep working.

The wall heater was on sale at Harvey Norman for 40% off at their EOFY sale - $345. Thermostat and 2100W.

There was no heating at all in the unit - only ducted air con.

The total carpet bill (2 beds and dining/lounge area) was $2600 fully laid, new underlay.

The beech coloured pantry in the kitchen was a flat pack assemble yourself item - $200 at Bunnings. I priced a few already made ones elsewhere - $290 was the cheapest, and they looked a bit elcheapo, and only in white.
 

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A few more...

The two new hanger rails were offcuts at Bunnings for $5 each. The oval shape is more contemporary I reckon.

The existing ones were only 1cm from top shelf - very hard to get a hanger onto them, and wedged in to place.

They looked like someone had ripped out the proper ones, and found some old steel pipe down at the tip. :eek:

It's amazing how just one simple change like this and a coat of paint can transform the wardrobe.

I did go to the trouble of filling all the little dings etc, sugar soaping and sanding the walls inside before painting.
 

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Bored yet?....

The front of the unit was almost obscured by the two bushes in front. You couldn't tell where our unit started and the ones either side finished.

I gave the front door (beautiful solid wood) a sand and re-laquer, sanded and painted the guttering as well.

The two gutters - front and rear - had about 10kg's of red Kalgoorlie dust in them....hardly working at all. :eek:
 

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