Thursday 3 January 2013

The good, the bad and the ugly

Everyone wants to know, as we did, what would you do differently if you had the time again?

I would love to go through the process again but with a huge budget; I would have liked to let Trevor do more 'architect' things but we just didn't have the money. If we win lotto stay tuned for the next instalment - Balmain beauty with an infinity pool (tropical fishtank, bedroom sized walk in wardrobe etc).

Things I would do differently
  • get a full size sample floor tile and test them (ours show water marks etc) - sort of the industrial look I suppose
  • spend more time thinking about the kitchen design - we spent a lot of time (and money) on the look but I should have thought more about drawer depths etc as some are not very functional. I also think the Joiner should have spent more time with us given the amount we were spending. It was always rush rush rush. The Joiner didn't suggest any changes and surely he would know what depths are best for drawers? Anyway, luckily there are only two of us and we can make it work but it could have been much better
  • spend more time designing the wardrobe internals - again the joiner was not full of good/any ideas. The drawers are too narrow. Funny thing is that the last wardrobe we got from Complete Wardrobes, the guy who came to quote was amazing and asked lots of questions etc and we got a great end product. It seems everyone is so busy they don't have time to sit and talk about how spaces will be used. I mentioned numerous times to the Joiner that Mr R is 6 foot 2 inches and his clothes are really long and I got a lot of "it will be fine or you can change it" (not likely) - of course the rails are too close - top shelf too low. I should have been stronger I suppose
  • Not used renovation boys to buy anything. We saved about $2k buying from them but I just don't want to give them any business. Most of the products we received are fine but I am dreading taking the faulty stuff back - I think it would be hard to find a more annoying company to buy from. The buying experience from Rogerseller and Reece was much more pleasant and you also get some design advice.
  • Source products in Sydney - unfortunately the selection is a bit crap. We purchased a great 3 metre long light from Melbourne but it appears to be faulty and getting it back to Melbourne will be a major hassle - I won't be really happy if it's $800 down the drain.
  • Rented a better house - this caused us a lot of stress as the yard was not secure and so our dogs had to stay inside all day. It was also mouldy, cold and in a bad location.
  • Win lots of money and not get a construction loan from Westpac - I'm not sure what the current methods of torture are, but they could add this. I don't think the bank has ever given someone one of these loans and so no one knew what they were doing. In the last week of the build we had 3 valuations on the house, which we had to pay for, each time the valuer said they didn't know what they were doing there. Bank also withheld our money, so we had to use our credit card. I could go on for hours about it but it annoys me so I won't
  • Win lots of money! It's a very expensive process

6 comments:

  1. I think its good not bad or ugly! keep it up dear i really like it.

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  2. Just wanting to say that my husband and I have really enjoyed your blog. Thank you for sharing your experience. If we had the money we would surely pay anything for a renovated house like yours- it looks stunning! We are planning a renovation/extension on our little Leichhardt house to fix a lot of problems (damp wall/growing mushrooms, smelly subfloor smells coming through into living areas, termite damaged floors, low ceiling/hot house at the back etc).

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