# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  Heritage Building Renovation!

## dru

Hi Everyone, 
Well I have been on this forum quite a bit for my last renovation but never posted anything up (from memory!) but learnt a great deal. It helped my wife and I completely overhaul our last home - which included installation of brand new kitchen, adding second bathroom, overhaul of main bathroom and so many more things! It was a great project and one that taught us a lot of lessons - the main one being to never underestimate yourself, if you take your time and check your measurements you can achieve some impressive results! 
So after the completion of the last project, we decided to move out to something brand new (rented) but soon realised that we couldn't stand not having the opportunity to give something our unique touch - so we went on the hunt for property no.2! Myself being 26 and wife only 22, a few people were surprised we were going to take the plunge on a second mortgage! After all, it's over 650k of good debt - a little daunting! 
After a couple of months, we finally found a place - an awesome one at that. We always wanted to have a country cottage, something that had character and the one we have come across surely does! We have traced it back to late 1800's but have yet had confirmation. The heritage listing was daunting at first but we have found out that the only restrictions we have is that the fascade cannot be changed, it may be painted in heritage colours but not structurally changed. We won't change it anyway! 
Luckily for us the wiring has been recently completed plus the installation of a new colorbond roof! 
I thought I would come on here to basically track the progress, ask some questions and post some pictures. We get access at the end of the month and I am excited, well as long as everything goes smoothly with the bank  :Rolleyes:  
The immediate list of things to do are:
- replace external guttering
- remove interior wall coverings (seems to be like a thin wood? not gyprock)
- Install wall + floor insulations (looking at bradford soundscreen R2.5 for walls and optima floor insulation) 
There are plenty of things to do, including restoring the Original slow combustion fire oven in the kitchen! Pictures will come soon when we get access to the property again. The future of the house looks to be an extension out the back which will involve adding 2 rooms + open plan living + deck to make the most of the rural views (no houses behind us except for hills and farmland!). This will be carried out after I finish my plumbing license then building license! 
I am sure I have missed lots of information about the property but I will slowly get everything up! Looking forward to the pain, sweat and tears of the project in hope that it will eventually bring a lot of joy  :Smilie:  
Enjoy a sneak peak here  :Smilie:

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## barney118

BWelcome back! What is the definition of Facade? Front/ side in this case? Will that allow the rear extension, are you planning to change the roofline? Will they allow this?
Look forward to a new go to whoa!  
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## dru

> BWelcome back! What is the definition of Facade? Front/ side in this case? Will that allow the rear extension, are you planning to change the roofline? Will they allow this?
> Look forward to a new go to whoa!

  We have our conveyancer chasing up some more information for us, but extensions are definitely allowed. There are a couple of houses on the street that are under the same heritage protection and have been extended out the back. The roof line will be changed but only visible from the side, but once again it has been allowed on the other houses as well. I'm sure it's probably not going to be a walk in the park with council, but hopefully we can get to where we want to go with minimal hassles. 
Inside however, we haven't completely decided what route we will take. We are thinking we will take it down the path of a modern country look - trying to find some examples of similar places is hard. We don't want to ruin the character of the house, but we do want something impressive.

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## dru

A few more photos before everything gets under way. We officially get the keys on the 13th of August.

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## barney118

What do you think the inside walls, ceiling are? Asbestos sheet? Planning on gutting inside? Love that kitchen I recon you will need to pay to get rid of it on ebay!

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## dru

Received call from real estate agent today stating that the Pest Inspector found Bora Insects. Not sure what to do, they are suggesting replacement of a section of floor. Not going to do that unless the offer is renegotiated at a lower price! Thoughts?

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## Gaza

Will depend on your bank conditions they may not be happy to Loan same amount

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## dru

> What do you think the inside walls, ceiling are? Asbestos sheet? Planning on gutting inside? Love that kitchen I recon you will need to pay to get rid of it on ebay!

  
The interior walls + ceilings are Masonite and plywood while exterior is asbestos. We won't be disturbing the outside at least, at most we will probably do some cladding if it gets passed by council. 
As for the bora, I find out the specific details today. Supposedly it's only in a couple of floor boards and looks to be that they have been inactive for quite some time - next door neighbour of that property had the same issue when he bought his place.

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