painting-walls-roller-ladder-home-renovation
10 things you need to know about spotting potential for home renovation
Owen Thomson, December
2015
Good Bones
Look for a property that’s in pretty good condition as well as one that doesn’t require work like re-stumping, re-wiring or re-roofing. The less money you need to spend on the existing building, the better.Permission to Plan
Investigate planning controls and building regulations to ascertain whether your home improvement ideas are possible. Things like heritage controls and restrictions on tree removal may have a major impact.
Room to Grow
If you’re looking at increasing the house size substantially without building upwards, be confident that the property comes with enough land space to achieve this while also allowing for an outdoor living area.Go North
Look for a house with a north-facing rear yard. This will offer the potential for developing the front of the home as sleeping quarters and the rear of the building as an open-plan living area with maximum winter sunshine.Internal Exam
Look for an existing floor plan layout that will readily support your ideas for modification. Keeping things like wall removal and support beam addition to a minimum will help simplify the process and reduce costs.
Plumbing the Depths
Ascertain whether the current location of the kitchen and bathroom fits your renovation concept. Having to relocate plumbing and fixtures may get expensive.Lay of the Land
While probably not a make or break issue, a house on a flat block may well offer the least resistance to change. In contrast, a sloping site may require lots of expensive excavation and scaffolding.