# Forum Home Renovation Structural Renovation  how long to draw up plans??

## womble

We have an old Queenslander we want to relocate to another property, but we need full plans and cyclone proofing of the old house drawn up (its about 70 years old so there's no records left at council... :Frown:  ) 
Does anyone know roughly how long it would take to have the plans drawn up by a drafting company? I imagine with CAD it shouldn't be that long?? It's just that we have a limited timeframe to get applications through.
Roughly what sort of costs are involved with plans as well?

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## bitingmidge

Womble, 
The best bet is to pull out the yellow pages and phone a drafting service near you, or ask your local building surveyor for a few names. 
Often, house removal companies will have someone they use regularly who understands the minimum requirements. 
You are going to need engineers soil tests and footing plans as well. 
While it may only take a day or two to do the work, remember that a good draftsman will have other customers who think their work is as urgent as you, so you'll really have to shop around locally. 
As far as cost goes, remember generally if you pay peanuts you're sure of getting a monkey.  However, be aware that sometimes monkeys work for more than peanuts as well!!  That's what references are for! 
Cheers, 
P (hope that points you in the right direction anyway!)   :Biggrin:   :Biggrin:   :Biggrin:

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## twomonkeys

LOL I just had to answer this post ! 
First quote from draftsman for 22sqm extension, $3,500 plus engineers fees of around $450.  Timefree to complete approx. 3 months  :Frown:   .  I might add he was the only one who was interested as everyone else was too busy. 
Last resort, we called on the resources of a draftsman friend for assistance who didn't live locally but was able to draw them up from my sketches.  Problem was, they were busy too so 12 months later... finally complete  :Tongue:  .  Cost $800 plus $900 for engineers drawings. 
I don't know if this helps.  Like all inflated costs, I think it has a lot to do with supply and demand in your area.  Good luck.

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## bigdazza

> LOL I just had to answer this post ! 
> First quote from draftsman for 22sqm extension, $3,500 plus engineers fees of around $450. Timefree to complete approx. 3 months  . I might add he was the only one who was interested as everyone else was too busy. 
> Last resort, we called on the resources of a draftsman friend for assistance who didn't live locally but was able to draw them up from my sketches. Problem was, they were busy too so 12 months later... finally complete  . Cost $800 plus $900 for engineers drawings. 
> I don't know if this helps. Like all inflated costs, I think it has a lot to do with supply and demand in your area. Good luck.

  I am a structural engineer. Those engineering fees you quoted are fair in my opinion.... Beware you get what you pay for with engineering documentation. 
$3,500 for drafting sounds excessive. The whole industry is flat out at the moment. Engineers and drafties, within reason, can pretty much charge what they like. IMO If you could get the whole package for around 3.0k you should be happy.

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## womble

phew...found someone who can fit the job in before christmas, just have to find a builder now to sign the building application forms...that might be harder... :Frown:

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## womble

> I am a structural engineer. Those engineering fees you quoted are fair in my opinion.... Beware you get what you pay for with engineering documentation. 
> $3,500 for drafting sounds excessive. The whole industry is flat out at the moment. Engineers and drafties, within reason, can pretty much charge what they like. IMO If you could get the whole package for around 3.0k you should be happy.

  Luckily the draftsman I found is only charging just over a third of that!

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## womble

phew...  
steep learning curve so far...just as easy to build from new maybe...maybe...  
plans done in less than two weeks by a good local draftsman= 1,265
engineers report= 230
energy efficiency report= 148
soil test and septic plans= 990
builders costs= ?????????? (waiting on quotes back this week...need to have building contract for approval to relocate)
submitting plans for approval to council= 1,000 roughly
council bond for work= 4,000
council road bond= 2,100
house relocators fee (including high set stumps, cyclone proofing and insulation)= 35,000
plumbers costs= ???? (quote this week)
electricians costs= ????? (family friend...have to pin him down for a quote) 
sanding and finishing floors, painting and tiling= me  
and of course the house can only be moved between the 16th and 26th of february...middle of the wet season... 
still, hopefully we can get it in the end, its not a bad place and the house itself is free, just all the associated stuff that surrounds moving it that costs a lot  :Frown:

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## Shedhand

We're doing an extension and new garage/workshop. Got a Building Designer who is a qualified architect to Project Manage for us to lock-up. Charging 8% (about 6 grand) which seems fair to us. What do others think?

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## redwood

> We have an old Queenslander we want to relocate to another property

  have you thought about a nursing home:confused:

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## womble

well after much stress and running around organising we've got the house on the block!! There were defintitely times when I thought it wasn't going to happen! 
It was supposed to go tuesday but got delayed so as a result the relocators got bogged...so instead of a 15 minute job it turned into a 3 hour odyssey... 
Somehow they lifted the house off the trailer, moved the truck and trailer over by a meter or so, lowered the house down and centred it on the trailer again, then repeated the process..till they got to the house pad...yeah it confuses me to but I wasn't there to see it at the time as I had to work early yesterday... 
Had to get a backhoe in for the final positioning, now its tarped and waiting for restumping. Hopefully that will happen in the next few weeks sometime, then we can get the first stage of building done with the rear deck/bathroom and laundry downstairs. We've got a quote from the builder we're going with for around 40 grand for this first stage, but it will be more since we'll need some work done on the front of the house where water has gotten in at the front door and rotted out a section of the front bearer. Not a big job but fiddly, plus some of the front chamferboards will need replacing as well. Will continue updates...

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## ThePope

you lifting it and building underneath are you.
ps: love your location, so damn green too. Haven't seen that much since I was in NZ years ago.

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## tinsmith2

I will be honest, it can be done in a week, and it may take a day. It depends on the plans. Some of my plans are really simple, so less then a day. But the things that will slow you down are your changes, engineers changes (setting footings, beams, etc) and the local council.
<O :Tongue:  For $3500 I would expect it a lot, the engineering part of it!!. It depends if the draftsman charges by the hour or area (I really never understood that one). I have to say, dont just take the cheat quote. If you think you have a draftsman in mind, look at some the completed houses. Look at other plans, and talk to builders. The MBA (Master Builders As.) is a good start.
<O :Tongue:  But for the average house, $900 for plans and for the engineers in my area where around $1000. 
<O :Tongue:  When you start speaking to people, have a sketch of what you want, a list of must have and wants (do you have to have a spa?). Location of trees, tanks, power box, gardens, and your average person will not look for but try to think of all potential problems. Make a check list or just a sheet of paper and pen then put it in the back toilet (you will be surprised). 
<O :Tongue: 
<O :Tongue:  
<O :Tongue: good luck</O :Tongue:  
<O :Tongue: </O :Tongue:

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## womble

next stage, raising and restumping...now thats a trailer! 
As I mentioned in the last update we're going to have to get the builder to add more to the first stage of building in the form of stairs off the front, fixing the door frame and replacement of chamferboards. We were going to use the stairs it had on it but closer inspection of them revealed they were stuffed from rust... 
Oh well, what's another few grand hey?  :Rolleyes:

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## journeyman Mick

Womble,
it's starting to look good! I hope you've got good fall away from the house to the perimeter of your graded area, there would be a fair bit of run off from that field and I'm guessing you're up around Tolga or Kairi (or somewhere with even more rainfall that I get :Wink:  ) 
Mick

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## womble

> Womble,
> it's starting to look good! I hope you've got good fall away from the house to the perimeter of your graded area, there would be a fair bit of run off from that field and I'm guessing you're up around Tolga or Kairi (or somewhere with even more rainfall that I get ) 
> Mick

  There's a drain graded at the bottom of the cutout but we have to do some more work there anyway as the site isn't quite level, have to cut out another metre or so at the back when the slab goes in underneath. Spencer Digby did the earthworks and was just about finished when a big storm swept though so the level wasn't quite accurate. I'm going to have to put a concrete drain there eventually as there is a lot of runoff, we're at Lake Eacham so there's lots of rain!!

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## LukeC

I recently did some plans for a very similar house, for a client who was doing the exact same thing, but bringing the house to NSW. The plans took only a couple of days, but I did have to go and measure the house up. However the client could not find anyone else to do it and his quotes were $2000 to $3000 also. 
I am still completing a dip in arch tech so the work and experience comes in handy.  
I also just finished a job for a mate. Same sort of thing but for soem factories. Council required plans to be redrawn as there were add ons mezzanines etc and the structure was very different from the original. I decided to time myself from attending the site taking a few happy snappys, to the finshed drawings, site plan(with landscape etc) floor plans, elevatiosn and sections. It took 17 hours solid. In saying this these plans are just reproductions of what is already there. There is little to work out but it still takes a fair while. So I think $900 to $1000 is reasonable.

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## journeyman Mick

Womble,
how's the drainage holding up now? Don't know about your corner but we had 250mm of rain last night, a good test for the drains! 
Mick

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## womble

It's pretty wet at the block, only a tarp on the roof at the moment too which isn't the best... 
We're in Cairns at the moment and its got flooding in places due to more heavy rain overnight, the drains and creeks were still high from the 250mils saturday night so they couldn't cope I guess!

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## womble

the latest photos, stumping finished and roof back on...you can see how the grader didn't quite get the level right, we'll have to scrape away half a meter or so of dirt before building can start.  
On the plus side it drained the recent rain away pretty well  :Cool:   
They didn't put as many posts in as the house had originally, there's some large u-shaped steel beams going to be reinforcing the bearers instead so apparently there can be fewer posts...I would still like to have a post under some areas though as the photos shows, doesn't seem right!

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## journeyman Mick

Womble,
don't worry too much about there being less posts and it not looking "right". You'll appreciate the uncluttered space that it will give you. Looking at the amount of catchment area uphill from the house you might want to add some water diversion landscaping. A low mound in an arc or "V" above the cut will divert most of the runoff around either side of your house. I did this around my shed as the back wall is cut 1M into the ground. I get a fair bit of runoff during heavy rain - the backyard gets a small creek flowing through it and the mound diverts the water away from the small spoon drain above the reatining wall. No leaks yet, even with the 250mm we got recently so it's working. 
Mick

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## womble

well I'm hoping there's something left tomorrow afternoon... :Frown:   
this cyclone doesn't look good at all for our place, it's not yet fully ready for one  :Frown:

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## womble

house has survived!!! Very happy!

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## ThePope

the place looked awfully vunerable in your last photos, you dodged a bullet there mate  :Smilie:  
sadly many up that way are not so fortunate...

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## womble

Here's a before and after photo of the house, the pine trees in the background did not survive too well at all! The house is now finished with cyclone proofing with the council building inspector signing off on it, we are now waiting on some fine weather to get the septic trench laid out so the building work can begin. The trench was 'supposed' to be done this week but it will have to wait now due to the rain from cyclone monica flooding out everything...sigh... 
Getting a couple of quotes off local builders, of course since cyclone larry they are snowed under with work so am not expecting to hear from them for a while. We can get the plumbing, phone and electrical connected in the meantime while we're waiting. 
We are also going to start cleaning up inside prepping for undercoating, during the move rain poured through the exposed ceiling and pigeon crup/dirt etc ran done the walls. Combined with the explosion of mould in the past few weeks it's not a job I'm looking forward to at all.

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## TEEJAY

Funny really it looks like a box on sticks - should have flown away in a cyclone - WOW :Tongue:

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## womble

well after waiting for well over a month for builders to get back to us it looks like we might be able to start some work on the extension soon...or at least get a contract together! Getting married in a few weeks so that will take a chunk out of the school holidays which I could have spent cleaning up the inside walls...

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## womble

This is the first stage of building that we need done, with the extension out the back with laundry downstairs. Butterfly stairs at the front, not straight as in the plans. 
French doors opening from the kitchen as well as the bathroom out onto the deck, which has a scissor truss roof over it that is blended with the existing roof. We didn't want a straight roof off the original like a lot of Queenslanders have here, it looks tacked on and doesn't seem to suit them well at all.  
It's difficult trying to get a balance between authentic and modern. The french doors for example arent in the typical older style that these houses had, the kitchen area will have a wood stove but also dishwasher and rangehood etc. And the bathroom wont be a corrugated iron lined room downstairs! We will try and put matching windows in the bathroom though to suit the rest of the house, nothing worse than mix-n-match windows on these old places.

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## womble

Finally signed a contract with a builder yesterday, work has to be complete by the 31st of december, should start in a couple of weeks. Hopefully they wont take until december to finish though!!

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## Cliff Rogers

> Finally signed a contract with a builder yesterday, work has to be complete by the 31st of december,....

  Who did you get? 
Which year?  :Biggrin:

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## womble

> Who did you get? 
> Which year?

  builder is david johnston from atherton, year of completion is 2006...hopefully!!

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## womble

Good news is building has started, posts are in. Bad news is plumber completely stuffed up with the septic tank and trench though, put it exactly where I didn't want it to go...where our patio/BBQ area was going to be...$800 in plans wasted since we cant build over it...the air was very colourful when I found out. This is despite telling him where it was supposed to go and drawing it on his set of plans...must have forgotten/lost them in the 6 months or so its taken for him to do the job. Oh well... 
Anyway, spent today in wonderful rainy/gale force winds putting in the water, power and phone lines to the house... 
As you can see from the photos, the kitchen needs some more work...

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## Cliff Rogers

> ....must have forgotten/lost them in the 6 months or so its taken for him to do the job. .....

  Was his name Peter? 
Ours is, takes him bloody ages to turn up for a job & then he goes missing for months from the time he starts to the time he finishes. :mad:

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## journeyman Mick

Womble,
I'd recommend a good plumber to you, but I can't :Frown:  . I know quite a few, but can't say I'd recommend any of them. Take cosolation from the fact that you'll (probably) only do this once. :Rolleyes:   
You could, of course, try to get him to rectify the mistake at his expense, as the plans form part of the contract documentation, but I don't fancy your chances. :Frown:   
Mick.

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## womble

> Was his name Peter? 
> Ours is, takes him bloody ages to turn up for a job & then he goes missing for months from the time he starts to the time he finishes. :mad:

  nope, Daryl is his name

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## womble

latest work on the house from this week. Most bearers are across the deck, don't know the timber type but some kind of hardwood...a bit green from the curves on some!  :Smilie:   
At least they are doing it properly, sealing the ends etc with paint to help stop rot. 
Doing more earthmoving too, cleaning out under the house, will have to fix up the sides more in the future...consequence of not having it done properly in the first place by the local grader bloke... :Frown:

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## womble

lastest pics, deck down and stairs on

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## womble

some concrete down

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## Audrie

Shedhand, 
As one who has trained both as a drafter and an architect, I might be able to spread some light on why you have paid so much more for your architect. 
An architect charges a percent of the building cost, for small works about 10% of the total job.  Usually rates are 3% for design 3% for documentation and 4% for project administration.  Lower Fees for big projects. Dont usually take on new housing under a certain level as it becomes unviable.  If they charge less, Architects indemnity insurance could refuse to pay out because they argue that costcutting has resulted in the necessary amount of work not being put in. 
One big difference between them and drafters is the legal responsibility they take for failure of the building. They can lose their licence if they do not follow the BCA properly for example.   Like the difference between using an Engineer or a civil drafter,  Architects have 5 years intensive theoretical design training whereas drafters only learn next to none, learning how the bits go together, picking up design skills as they go.  There is a world of difference in the end product between them, and I can always tell a building that has used a drafter.   Add-ons should never look like add-ons and they don't usually get that right. 
Saying that, I would advise that a building that doesn't need a lot of design input and youare not too concerned about liability, by all means use a drafter and save the money. 
Audrie
Radical Vision Design Partnership

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## ausdesign

Audrie that was deep !!

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## womble

got some new skirting boards last week, 50 meters of silky oak (closer to 55) for $222 from a local timber place. Started coating them ready for later on when the interior walls and floors have been finished. 
Some window pics, had to knock out a rotten window sill from the second bedroom. The right hand side was the main problem, water got in eventually over the 70 odd years the house has stood, will have to replace parts of the chamferboards as well due to rot. Thought about filling/bogging it but in the end would rather fix it now...new window sill cost $25 from the same place I got the skirting from. Solid lump of rose gum, so it should last. All the other window sills seem pretty good, some surface damage but nothing major, a good clean up and decent paint will keep them going.

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## womble

some interior door work, the two bedroom doors and frames needed some done. Over 70 years theres been a few different door handles, catches etc on them, with the resulting damage from poor work etc... 
had to fill badly chiselled and drilled holes in with pieces of timber cut to size so the new door hardware can go on eventually. Filler was used to even out the gaps as well.  
All the doors and windows are framed with silky oak moulding, dont have the time to strip it back though, plus theres been some pretty dodgy things done to the window mouldings especially over the years, lots of screw and nail holes all in the tops where curtains once went. Basically just filled in the damage with filler, will sand and paint eventually.

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## womble

well after about 8 weeks of waiting for action the builders at are work again, the trusses finally turned up! Don't know what they're made of, some sort of hardwood, not pine in any case! Looking good so far. 
The only thing not quite right was the positioning of the windows in the bathroom, we were planning on having only one, centred in the wall facing the creek, but our builder has forgotten about that change to the original plans. Not sure if its worth fixing, I guess two sets of windows would be okay, its just that placing the toilet along the creek facing wall will be a bit tricky now space wise...the cistern might not fit. They have already put in the reinforcing rods etc in the central part so it would be a bit of a mongrel job to pull it out and start over. 
The french doors opening onto the deck have changed as well, they wont be ten glass ones as in the plans (which will still be the kitchen ones) but an old silky oak set we got from an old house beside ours before it was moved. They are narrower than the ten glass, which will give us a little more internal space in an otherwise already smallish bathroom.

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## womble

couple more pics...truss details and overall shot

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## womble

a few noggins added

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## procureit

Hi we're getting a queenslander lifted http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=475 and have got cds drafting (bris) to do the work drawings based on ours/there ideas for arounf K2 with eng certs, took about 4-6 weeks but we changed design a few times  cdsdrafting@optusnet.com.au

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## womble

the roof is finally on the extension...after weeking 8 weeks or so for the trusses to arrive and then for the iron! 
looks good, makes the extension look a bit bigger as well, it was hard to visualise how it was going to look at times but we're pretty happy with the result.

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## womble

latest photos, plumber has put in the water and gas pipes for the house, chamferboards are on the outside walls  
and it's bloody raining of course...

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## womble

bit more work done, chamferboards on the bathroom wall and a new doorway for the french doors put into the kitchen wall.  
There was a delay in building due to somebody walking into the sawmill, spotting our chamferboards which were _specially ordered for our house_ and deciding they'd like them, and of course the office bloke said sure! :mad: There was a 'few' swear words flying when I found out!  
So our builder had to order some more...

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## Cliff Rogers

> ...somebody walking into the sawmill, spotting our chamferboards which were _specially ordered for our house_ and deciding they'd like them, and of course the office bloke said sure! ....

  Low friends in high places will get that. :mad:

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## womble

Finally got the outside part finished!! (once the new chamferboards turned up) Just have to slap some primer on the bare timber now 
Not quite lock up stage, but close. The new french doors look good I think, but I also like our old silky oak ones. I'll have to take them down to finish sanding and put the glass in. Will probably replace the brass door hardware with chrome down the track too, match the rest of the doors. 
They also repositioned the two top casements, dropped them down to the level of the others...don't know how they missed that one in the first place but anyway...we're pretty happy with the overall quality of work, despite the hiccups 
So, its not finished as per the contract...whole lot was supposed to be done by 31 dec, but thats what happens when waiting for trusses, timber etc. The house wont be finished until next year now, including the front stairs and new chamferboards there too. So we're behind schedule but at least getting there after a bit of a shaky start!!! (thanks larry!)

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## womble

The builder was supposed to be back this week but no sign of him yet... 
We're in the time consuming stage of preparing for painting the insides. Today I'm scrubbing the walls with bleach to get rid of the mould and dirt on the walls from rain getting in when the house was moved.  
Then I'll have to sand all the filler in the termite damage and cracks/holes, scrape all the peeling paint etc, and finally finish with scrubbing the walls again with sugar soap. Luckily the start of school is a few weeks away yet so hopefully we'll have at least the undercoat on by then...

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## journeyman Mick

Womble,
if the power isn't connected you might want to think about using a pressure cleaner (Gerni or similar) to do the bulk of the work. Will save you a lot of elbow grease. It should dry out pretty quickly afterwards at the moment. 
Mick

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## womble

I was thinking of that, might do it after the walls are sanded, cant run a lead to the house due to a backhoe working around it at the moment

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## journeyman Mick

> I was thinking of that, might do it after the walls are sanded, cant run a lead to the house due to a backhoe working around it at the moment

  You could use a petrol powered one. Heaps more grunt than the electric ones and will get the job dome in less time, just park it outside the door so you don't gas yourself. :Rolleyes:   
Mick

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## womble

some more progress on the house, the deck is finally finished off properly now with edging and the few missing boards added in...finally! 
the railings are started, looking good so far. The missus wanted gecko feature boards but they werent available up here (bunnings have them in cairns though...) so we went with the gumnuts instead.

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## Cliff Rogers

Taking shape now.... you seen the relocated one with the red roof just down the hill from Rankine Rd. on the way to Malanda?
It is looking good now too.

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## womble

the internal walls are finished now too, the bathroom and laundry walls are sheeted, went with cement sheeting due to its waterproof qualities (plus it doesnt dent as easily as plasterboard) 
windows, doors and ceiling edges have trim now too, couldnt really match the new window and door trim mouldings to the old ones but thats okay... 
new vj's on the kitchen walls where there were gaps, almost a shame to paint them... 
old doors were used in the bathroom and laundry, got an old timber slat door from the house when it was in cairns and put it on the outside entrance into the laundry...I 'was' thinking about stripping it back and making it into a rustic table as it is solid silky oak but theres more around...

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## womble

> Taking shape now.... you seen the relocated one with the red roof just down the hill from Rankine Rd. on the way to Malanda?
> It is looking good now too.

  
yep, its owned by one of the rankine girls apparently.  
We would have liked wraparound verandahs on ours but when you get a house for free you cant be choosy!

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## womble

bit more done on the railings, not long before the back part is finished! 
we've had some rain, lots of red tableland mud everywhere and the grass is growing again

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## womble

back railings finished!  :2thumbsup:   
gutters on at the back, although the downpipe angles are a worry... 
still raining, place a boghole  :Annoyed:

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## womble

kitchen has the undercoat done, the cabinet maker installed the cabinets today and they look pretty good. Solid new guinea rosewood, all appliances fit as well which is good...although the wall oven has a small dimple in the bloody faceplate which I noticed after I put it in  :No:   Of course the box it came in is in pieces as I had to cut it open to get the oven out so cant pack it back in that 'if' we can swap it. Oh well... 
The tiles in the bathroom and laundry have been on hold for a few weeks as well due to the tile place stuffing up our order and undersupplying us by about 10 metres or so, they arrived but now we'll have to wait till next week for the tiler to lay them. 
Builders still havent come back to finish the front part of the house, considering the contract was to be finished by the 31st of dec the penalty rates are adding up week by week...

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## Cliff Rogers

> ...the wall oven has a small dimple in the bloody faceplate ....

  See if they will swap the face plate, our fridge arrived with a damaged door, they replaced the door at our place. 
You'll be glad when it is all finished I bet, I'm getting a bit sick of living in a house that is in pieces everywhere.

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## womble

some more progress, if only a little! Builders came back for a day, got the front of the house looking more presentable with new cladding and door. I thought they would have put more chamferboards up near the bedroom windows as the old ones are a bit daggy and there was plenty of new timber still left over...but they havent been back for another couple of weeks...wish they would finish it off so we can have steps out the front door!! 
Tiles are down and finished, pretty happy with the tiler too considering he laid them without using spacers, just went by eye. Plumber has to cut a hole in one for the toilet to go through though... 
Bathroom windows are painted and puttied, the putty is a bit wider than it should be so you can see it looking from inside but I'm not too worried about it, and wont be scraping it back to redo again!! I got them pretty neat looking overall, not as good as the old blokes who used to do it for a living though! Just waiting for the putty to skin over so I can paint it but there is endless bloody rain here as always so will be waiting a while I suppose... :No:

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## journeyman Mick

Womble,
most tilers I know rarely use spacers as they will only work if all the tiles are exactly the same size. The standard for 1st grade tiles allows 0.5% variation +/-. On a 300mm tile that's +/- 1.5mm, so variations in size of up to 3mm. That soon adds up if you use fixed spacing. Usually they set out the floor for the tiles with some chalklines and straightedged lines. 
So when are you moving in? :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):   
Mick

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## womble

> Womble,
> most tilers I know rarely use spacers as they will only work if all the tiles are exactly the same size. The standard for 1st grade tiles allows 0.5% variation +/-. On a 300mm tile that's +/- 1.5mm, so variations in size of up to 3mm. That soon adds up if you use fixed spacing. Usually they set out the floor for the tiles with some chalklines and straightedged lines. 
> So when are you moving in?  
> Mick

  don't know  :Cry:  probably next year!! (hopefully sooner tho...)

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## womble

bathroom painted, pretty happy with the scheme, just need to clean up some edges  :2thumbsup:

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## bitingmidge

> don't know  probably next year!! (hopefully sooner tho...)

  Christmas!!  Tell 'em all Christmas!!! 
There are only two dates in the building industry, and you didn't make Easter!  
Like so many others, I'll have been anxiously following this thread for two years come Christmas, and womble, while I don't want to hijack it or in anyway take from the fabulous job you're doing on the house (and entertaining us!), may I remind all that the thread is actually called "how long to draw up plans?" 
I think it's been a great reminder to all, that the time invested in nutting the thing out is irrelevant in the scheme of things.  It all seems so urgent in the beginning...we've got to get  started after all, and started as soon as possible or we won't be finished for Easter! 
So plan slowly and thoroughly, and don't worry about saving a day or two in the beginning.  It's the last bit that takes the time! 
Cheers,  (and keep up the good work!) 
P  :Biggrin:   :Biggrin:   :Biggrin:

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## journeyman Mick

> Christmas!!  Tell 'em all Christmas!!! 
> There are only two dates in the building industry, and you didn't make Easter!................

  Like the poor lady I know locally who finally moved into her (almost) completed house in January, she was promised she'd be in her place Christmas *2005!* :Shock:   
Mick

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## Cliff Rogers

I didn't say anything.  :Biggrin:  
I didn't say anything.  :Biggrin:  
I didn't say anything.  :Biggrin:  
I didn't say anything.  :Biggrin:

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## womble

> Christmas!! Tell 'em all Christmas!!! 
> There are only two dates in the building industry, and you didn't make Easter!  
> Like so many others, I'll have been anxiously following this thread for two years come Christmas, and womble, while I don't want to hijack it or in anyway take from the fabulous job you're doing on the house (and entertaining us!), may I remind all that the thread is actually called "how long to draw up plans?" 
> I think it's been a great reminder to all, that the time invested in nutting the thing out is irrelevant in the scheme of things. It all seems so urgent in the beginning...we've got to get started after all, and started as soon as possible or we won't be finished for Easter! 
> So plan slowly and thoroughly, and don't worry about saving a day or two in the beginning. It's the last bit that takes the time! 
> Cheers, (and keep up the good work!) 
> P

  I did try to rename the thread a while ago but no luck... :Rolleyes:  Should rename it the neverending story  :Wink 1:   
The main work is done apart from the front steps, but the devil is in the details of course with replacing windows, stripping paint, fixing floors etc etc  
Has to be liveable before the baby is born in a couple of months!

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## Cliff Rogers

> ... but the devil is in the details of course ....!

  Know what you mean... I'm currently sitting at home waiting for the plumber to arrive.
He needs to do some stuff before the tiler can finish & then once the tiler is finished, the plumber can come back & finish.

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## womble

steps are finally going on the front, butterfly configuration. Plumber has been, hopefully coming back next week to finish off connections for the water and gas. 
and its finally cleared up weather wise, no bloody rain for almost 2 whole days now!!!

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## womble

front steps coming along, iron replaced on the front window as well. A new trench was dug for drainage purposes, a pipe will take water from the gutter and run-off from the hill above us

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## Terrian

> Roughly what sort of costs are involved with plans as well?

  We are just adding a room to the house, and building a dbl garage behind an existing dbl carport, plans just got dropped off here an hour ago, took 3 weeks to get them drawn up (from scratch, no existing plans, 'lost in a council offices fire' many years ago) 
$1,400 for the new plans, permits will be about $600 (or so we are told) building costs will be about $3,000 for the lot (not what you know, it is who you know is no truer than in the building game!) 
(time for the games to begin  :Redface: )

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## null & void

> 'lost in a council offices fire' many years ago))

  Queensland Housing Commision still had the original plans for my style of house (they used a number and did variations such as reversing the layout etc). They came in handy and will look good framed one day. 
The original plumbing plans still have the water tank, outhouse and stormwater pit. 
This was 1954.

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## Terrian

> Queensland Housing Commision still had the original plans for my style of house (they used a number and did variations such as reversing the layout etc). They came in handy and will look good framed one day. 
> The original plumbing plans still have the water tank, outhouse and stormwater pit. 
> This was 1954.

  the 'lost in fire' excuse became popular amongst a number of victoria councils back in the 70s', they just lost / threw out lots of stuff when moving offices....

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## Cliff Rogers

> ...they just lost / threw out lots of stuff when moving offices....

  Up here they just throw it out so they don't have to move offices.  :Frown:

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## womble

I thought I had posted some of these before but they seem to be missing since the last offline time?  
more progress in the bathroom and on the front steps...

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## womble

more...

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## womble

front finally finished yesterday!!!!!!!

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## womble

plumber has been back, toilet installed.  
Hopefully have the gas connected in the next week along with electricity

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## Wild Dingo

Comin along a treat Womble... good to see a plan coming together  :2thumbsup:   
Just one question... you put a deck out the back yet the front door drops straight onto a stairway? why didnt you do a small porch say 4ft x 6ft out the front door then onto the steps? Just curious we have a small 4 step thing out the back door on this place directly out from the doorway straight drop 8in to the first step and bloody mongrel for catching people (eh me?  :Blush7:  ) as soon as you open the door... just a thought... of course rather redundant now youve done it but maybe not such a chore to modify for saftey eh? you do have a nipper coming along and that looks like a tumbling nipper trap to me 
Anyway good on you!  :2thumbsup:  
Shane

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## womble

latest pics are of the undercoat finally on last weekend, topcoat for the ceilings done this one...

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## womble

fans are up, lights next!

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## womble

The floors are sanded and nearly finished. 2 coats of satin poly on today, the last one tomorrow. Looks pretty good! The colour has really lightened up, it was a dark reddish brown before but now much lighter. 
The floor guys have never done a red stringy floor before, very hard timber...especially after being down for 70 years  :2thumbsup:   
Total cost of job with punching nails, filling, sanding and 3 coats is $2,540 for 2 blokes.

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## Terrian

> The floors are sanded and nearly finished. 2 coats of satin poly on today, the last one tomorrow. Looks pretty good! The colour has really lightened up, it was a dark reddish brown before but now much lighter. 
> The floor guys have never done a red stringy floor before, very hard timber...especially after being down for 70 years

  looks fantastic, we did a similar thing with the floorboards here (hardwood), previous owners were kind enough to glue 12" x 12" black & white line tiles to the floorboards, the wife hated them, 1 week later (approx 60 man & woman hrs) the tiles were gone, the glue removed, the floor boards sanded, 4 coats satin finish.
2 years later I scored enough carpet to do the whole house with (hopefully!) a litle over a loungerooms worth left over  :Smilie:    

> Total cost of job with punching nails, filling, sanding and 3 coats is $2,540 for 2 blokes.

  punching the nails (and filling) is a bugger of a job, cost was reasonable IMO

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## womble

finished floors, came up pretty well. Lights are on too. Movers moved furniture in on tuesday, put a couple of scratches on the floor from the fridge but nothing too bad.

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