The cement mixer arrived.

The Apprentice battled with the wheelbarrow in the mud.

Builder B concreted in the stumps.

The posts were completed.

 

Floor joists were added.



More timber arrived.

 

The noggins were nailed in place.

 

Yellow tongue floor sheeting down.
Dining room wall frame and outdoor kitchen/laundry wall frame up.



Living Room wall frame up.

The shipping container was delivered.

 

The packing began.

  

The kitchen was gutted.

The back door was temporarily relocated to lock up the house.
We set up camp in the living room!



We are actually repeat offenders when it comes to buying 'renovators' delights'!  We look past an undesirable facade and see potential.  It all began back in 2001 when at 22 and 23 years of age we decided to enter the housing market and buy a modest post-war home. 

Big smiles as we got the keys for our first home. 
We had no idea what we were in for!

The house was on a decent size block in a good location.  It had good bones even if the decor was a little dated!

Elated on the first night in our new home!
Check out the tiles, lino and curtains!

Discussing renovation plans in the bathroom.

It wasn't a huge renovation but we were kept busy over the five years of ownership.  We got straight into pulling up the carpet to reveal the beautiful blackbutt timber floors.  We removed a wall that separated the living, dining and kitchen rooms to create one open space.  Painting the walls and ceilings was a big task but saved us money to leave the exterior painting to the professionals.


Let the fun begin!



We gutted the bathroom and created a more functional and modern room.  The kitchen stayed as it was except some white tile paint did the trick at updating the pink floral tile splashback.  The dodgy carport had to go and Hubby M had his dream Titan shed erected in the back yard.  Lastly we tackled the gardens.  It took several attempts to fill the garden beds as our labradors acquired a taste for camellias!

So proud of his handy work!

Loving our old hand-me-down polycane furniture from the Grandparents!



Can you see the lengths we went to to keep the dogs out?
(And yes she is wearing a party hat!)




He even tried to help with the electrical work!


The fences were replaced and we were comfortable.  Comfortable, but ready for the next project!  In 2006 we spotted a real diamond in the rough so it was time to say goodbye to our first family home.  We were proud of what we had achieved and keen to apply what we had learnt to a new property.  However, it was sad to leave that humble little home where we started our lives together.  The place where we worked hard and dreamt big, where we learnt about renovating and learnt about each other, where we were engaged and married.  That house really set us up for life together.

Goodbye Family Home #1!



The excavator removed the bottlebrush tree stump and roots.

The bobcat took away the posts from the old dodgy deck.

Master H was in boy heaven!

 

The auger revealed some nice red soil.

The post holes were completed.

 

The timber was delivered.

 

The posts were delivered.

 

Bad weather was forecast for Monday.

Builder B and Builder A made a shelter from the rain.

Builder B and Builder A carried on in the rain.

 

Ready for concrete.

As I've mentioned earlier, it was a long process to decide upon our plan and proceed with the renovation.  Upon purchase we completed a mini renovation inside the house so that it was comfortable for us to live in with our newborn Master H.  But that is a story for another time!  We were keen to experience life in the house to decide if we would stay long term and have a feel for how the house 'worked' before completing any major works.  Of course we wanted to make the best financial decision too. 

Existing Floor Plan

Before long it was very obvious what didn't work in the house!  It was difficult for visitors to locate the entry to the house with two doors on the lower level beside the garage door and two bedrooms with french doors opening on to the front verandah.  The 'front' door was the last place you would think!  All the doors plus the wardrobe made it difficult to fit a queen-size bed in the main bedroom.  The living room and kitchen were too hot with the afternoon sun and too dark and stuffy with the blinds drawn.  Clearly, the layout needed to change.

But the big question was whether to raise the house and build under or extend to the rear of the property.  We took full advantage of Hubby M's skills as a Mechnical Services Draftsman and would spend any spare time drawing up possible floor plans.  30 at last count! 

Originally we thought it would be most economical to leave the ground floor for parking and storage and add a master bedroom, ensuite and deck to the first floor.   We were keen to maintain high ceilings and a nice roofline so the existing roof needed to be removed right back to the top of the hip.  However when we received quotes for this plan we decided the big cost of re-roofing wasn't worth the small gain of floor space.  One of the builders who quoted suggested it would be more value for money to raise the house and build under.

 

So after a few more months and many more plans we came up with a good design for two levels that worked with the existing structure as much as possible.  Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a study/playroom on the upper level and kitchen, dining, living, forth bedroom, laundry and bathroom on the lower level.  A separate garage would need to be built in the front yard.  We thought we were on to a real winner with a structural engineer reporting that we could keep the existing slab and block walls...  

...until the quotes came in.  This time the hidden cost was in all of the earthworks and retaining walls required and the overall price was not viable. 

Megan Matsuoka Print - Etsy

Back to the drawing board!  By this stage I was pregnant with our second child and well and truly over house plans.  But I was even more fed up with living in a half-renovated, old house!  So we persisted with more late evenings on AutoCAD and committed ourselves to finding the best layout even if it meant undoing/redoing our existing work on the house.  And finally we settled on this plan. I had to laugh when I noticed Hubby M had named the AutoCAD file 'Final really this time.dwg'!



Level 1 Floor Plan

Ground Floor Plan

Front Elevation

Back Elevation

So what do you think?

This renovation has been a very long time coming!  After over three years of researching, designing, pricing, redesigning, pricing again and fine tuning work has finally begun on the house!


My view when I arrived home for the day.

I never thought I would be so excited to see a skip bin in my front yard.  I may have done a happy dance all the way up the driveway!  The renovation will start with an extension to the back of the house.



The existing back of the house upon purchase in 2010.

So the first job was a bit of demolition.

Builder B hard at work removing the existing dodgy deck.



And the deck is gone!

It is so exciting to see some real progress after years of drawing countless plans.  But more on that later.

Master H inspecting the progress.

Welcome to our Family H.O.M.E.  Our family includes Toddler Master H, Baby Miss O, Hubby M and me, Mum E. 

Hubby M, Mum E, Baby O and Master H

We reside in a Queenslander house 6kms south of Brisbane's CBD that is ripe for renovation!

Our Family Home

Pinterest and a few favourite blogs have been a huge inspiration and wealth of knowledge in creating our family home.  I first stumbled across the blogging world through The House that A-M Built.  Here I found great home design ideas and beautiful interiors.  It was especially helpful to read about another local house project in Brisbane.   A-M's blogroll led me to a wonderful selection of blogs.  The Georgica Pond blog is serious eye candy!  I really hit the jackpot when I read Fun and VJ's post about Queenslander house renovation blogs and was introduced to Bungalow Bliss, West End Cottage and Crazy House Capers.  

I must admit that I've been a 'lurker' in the blogosphere for quite some time, happily observing but not participating.  With a bit of help from Katrina from the Block's excellent tutorials, I've taken the plunge and created this little blog and I'm finally ready to contribute to this generous online community.  I hope you can join me on my journey of renovating and decorating plus all the joys that family life can bring.   I look forward to your comments and help along the way.  Oh, and join me on Instagram and Pinterest for more fun!

What blogs inspire you?

Are you a lurker like I was?  Go on, leave a comment.  I dare you!  ;-)