Shows such as The Block and Grand Designs are some of the most watched reality TV programs in the country. Tegan Forder talks to three couples about their experiences in each stage of the renovation process.
A simple plan
Daniel and Tania Stiglich may have downsized, sleeping in a bedroom half the size of their old one, but it’s all in aid of the bigger picture.
The picture in this case is a two-storey extension comprising three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two living areas in the heart of Footscray.
Formerly owned by a well-loved man in the quiet street, the modest house is being stripped and rebuilt. The Stiglichs are living in it while they rebuild.
It’s an experience they’ve gone through before when they renovated their first home in West Footscray, which they sold last year.
Asked what they learnt from their first renovation they look at each other and laugh: “We fight a lot.” Tania admits she forgot the stressful parts when looking for another project to renovate.
But she has learnt a thing or two about downsizing and hopes the process will be smoother the second time around.
Sitting on the couch in the small lounge room, the couple say this compromise on lifestyle in the short term will allow them to have the kind of life they want while they’re still young.
“The lure of less of a mortgage at the end of the project was a big driving factor in it,” Daniel says.
“We want a life that while we’re still young we can go on holidays and not be tied down to a massive mortgage and still have a really nice house.” Daniel does have an advantage in that the building company he co-owns specialises in renovations and extensions.
To further keep the costs down he hopes again to be able to barter his building skills, helping mates build a pergola or deck in return for their plumbing and electrical nous.
“You spend half a million in Footscray and it’s liveable, but it’s not beautiful,’’ he says, ‘‘whereas half a million five years ago would get you quite a nice house.
You’re spending so much more on an unrenovated house now.” With Tania’s love of riding horses, the couple did look at getting a block in Gisborne or Sunbury but in the end decided to remain close to the city.
“While we’re young and we don’t have kids it’s just nice to live closer in,” Tania says.
The couple are finalising their plans with Dig Design and Daniel hopes it will only take one to two months to get planning approval.
They hope to start work on the house soon after and have it liveable by September.
But this will all depend on what spare time they can find with Tania starting up a personal training business and Daniel gearing up to make the national lacrosse team, which heads overseas next year.
Finishing touches
Two home owners who have forgotten the stress and been able to enjoy their renovated and extended two-bedroom house in Newport are Juanita McCleary and Annette Lincoln.
The couple bought the property in 2003 and began a six-month renovation in 2005, redoing the front of the house while maintaining the heritage features and creating a contemporary open-plan and energy-efficient living area at the back.
The idea behind the renovation was to create a dream home they would spend many years in, but they now want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Melbourne and are getting the house ready to put on the market.
“We may have spent too much on the renovation because we did plan to stay here a long time. But we’ve made something that’s quite unique and hopefully we’ll get a couple of people who love it,” McCeary says.
The trained paramedic turned photographer says she and Lincoln, an accountant, fell in love with the house while renting it.
“I don’t think I ever wanted to renovate anything but the house was so lovely.” They also loved how strict the council was in maintaining the heritage features of the houses in the area.
“They were very tough – which is a good thing because it maintains the essence. They [councils] quite like modern extensions as long as you can’t see it from the front. Things like fireplaces you have to keep and if you touch them they would be on you.”
It took the couple about four months to negotiate the plans through two councils – Hobsons Bay and Wyndham – to get both planning and building approval.
“Annette dealt with that side of things,” McCleary laughs.
Overall she says it was a positive experience for the pair.
“It’s worth the effort. When you get this result it’s worth the effort.”
They have well and truly caught the building bug and now plan to build a new house in Aireys Inlet.
“We want to build a house that’s fully passive heating and cooling. This house is sort of half that and that’s quite what we like, considering the constraints we had.
“It’s actually worked fairly well here but if you can start from scratch with a lovely north-facing property you can build a house where you practically don’t need heating.’’
McCleary says they’re confident of getting a good price for their renovated gem with the market having picked up in the past few months.
“Apparently a federal election makes people buy things. Well, that’s what my real estate agent told me anyway.”
Build me up
John Rowlandson remembers the day he was driving to his newly bought renovation project in a leafy Ascot Vale street because he had to go through a police roadblock.
Desmond “Tuppence” Moran had been gunned down outside a nearby delicatessen in July, 2009.
Things are now considerably quieter except for the sound of demolition as John and his fiancee Emma Barker finally get stuck into their renovation, which was held up in planning for more than two years.
“We had our original plans knocked back and we went through the whole building commission and appeals board,” Emma says.
“We had to change everything. It’s a completely different house. In hindsight maybe the plans we had in the first place weren’t what we wanted. We’re both more comfortable with this house.”
To keep costs down the couple are doing some of the work themselves in partnership with builder Hille’s.
“They’ve been really good … letting us do what we want to do and they do the rest. They are doing until close-up and then we get it back and do everything else like the walls and the fit-out of the rooms.” The couple have roped in some of their friends and family to help and they’ve both got their own skills from having gone through the Scout movement.
But they’re finding it difficult to line up tradesmen for the jobs they are outsourcing.
“We are having problems with trying to find someone to come and quote us for plastering and painting.
One thing affects the next thing so if you don’t have a painter then your brand new weatherboards may get damaged.” Finance has been another problem, with a bank reneging on pre-approval for the project.
“The week before they pulled out, saying it was too much of a risk,” Emma explains.
“They reckon owner/builders default 90 per cent of the time.” With these issues and the logistics of working around their real jobs – John for an IT company and Emma’s role as a general manager for an online gift shop – not to mention looking after their 15-month-old daughter, it can be trying.
“Without us realising it, it is stressful,” says Emma.
“Just agreeing on a bath in a bathroom you haven’t seen or agreeing on the layout of something.
You watch shows like The Block and they fight all the time and you can understand why when you start to go through it!”
CHECK BEFORE YOU START
The Housing Industry Association reported that in the year to last September nearly $30 billion was spent on home improvements, extensions and re-builds.
Sometimes things can go wrong, so Consumer Affairs Victoria has compiled a checklist for owner builders before they start work, which includes:
• Seek legal advice before you decide to become an owner builder
• Get your finance approved before you start
• Discuss the proposed building works with your insurance company
• Consider completing an owner builder education course
• Clearly plan and define the scope of works you want completed by other builders or tradespeople
• If hiring tradespeople, check the licensing or registration of electricians, plumpers, gasfitters, drainers and any others who must be registered or licensed.
For more advice, visit consumer.vic.gov.au/ housing-and-accommodation
