sydney building inspection
By alix@thebuilderette.com Building and renovating • • 0 Comments

What does a building inspector really uncover?

A couple of months ago, my sister bought a new house. It had just been built and she was super-excited about moving in with her two sons. It had plenty of room, a couple of outdoor areas and even a lock-up garage (a rarity in inner Sydney). Being a sensible person, she engaged a building inspector to give the place the once over before she handed over a large wodge of cash (#sydneyrealestate!). He identified a couple of visible defects (a bit of painting that had been missed, a power outlet missing) but basically signed off on it.

 

What does a building inspector really uncover? full post

(570 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

owner-builder
By alix@thebuilderette.com Uncategorized • • • • 0 Comments

Why you should think at least twice about becoming an owner-builder

I was reading a renovating forum recently and the topic was owner-builders – the pros and cons. The original poster wrote, “Hey there, I did my recent renovation/extension as an owner builder, and all I got was “you will regret it” type comments from friends and families. As it turned out, we had a good experience – yes there were some issues – but the feeling of control over what happened throughout the job was great. I’ve had friends who have employed builders for their jobs and still had problems! What have other people experienced?”

 

Why you should think at least twice about becoming an owner-builder full post

(776 words, estimated 3:06 mins reading time)

taking stock
By alix@thebuilderette.com Home life • 2 Comments

Taking stock

I found this fabulous list over at The Plumbette recently (and I think I saw one on Woogs World too) and really loved it. I figured that Christmas Eve was an appropriate time to post something like this and plan on doing it regularly in 2016.

Making : an effort to get this new blog venture up and running.

Cooking : lots of Christmas treats including ridiculous amounts of caramel popcorn that I now eat for breakfast. #unneccessary

Drinking : more Diet Coke than is good for me along with lots of lovely Christmas bubbles.

Taking stock full post

(519 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

renovate to sell
By alix@thebuilderette.com Building and renovating • Site stories • • • 0 Comments

How to renovate to sell

Not surprisingly, I love watching real estate and renovating shows – really, it’s the only reason we’ve kept Foxtel (well, that and the golf). Give me a marathon viewing session involving Andrew, Charlie and Shayna from Selling Houses Australia and I am one happy Builderette. Time and again they show us what you can achieve if you make some sensible decisions about what to renovate to sell your house quickly and for the right price (step one – tidy up FFS!).

 

How to renovate to sell full post

(583 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

wood-burning stove
By alix@thebuilderette.com Building and renovating • Home life • • 2 Comments

Would you consider a wood-burning stove? Well, wood you?

Staying at my Dad’s gorgeous house in southern Tasmania is always a treat. The nights are crystal clear and perfect for star and nature spotting, the days are spent sailing, walking or snoozing reading in the sunny spot in the library. And at every meal my stepmother Judi produces the most amazing food – much of it based around local produce and influencers (like Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans, who lives in the vicinity) – and all cooked on her wood-burning stove.

Would you consider a wood-burning stove? Well, wood you? full post

(693 words, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)

renovation
By alix@thebuilderette.com Building and renovating • • • • 2 Comments

How to decide: renovate or relocate?

JD‘s always talking to people about their renovations and whether it’s worth their while to go ahead. “We can’t decide whether to renovate or sell,” they say, juggling home magazines and real estate websites. Recently, he was talking to some customers who wanted to replace a couple of doors. By the time he’d spent an hour with them, it turned out they wanted to change more than a few doors.

 

How to decide: renovate or relocate? full post

(803 words, estimated 3:13 mins reading time)

Christmas renovation
By alix@thebuilderette.com Building and renovating • • • • • 0 Comments

Why you won't be in by Christmas

No matter what time of year you start your project, a major goal is pretty much always “we want to be in by Christmas”, or words to that effect. We hear you! Everyone wants to be in their own home for Christmas Day – especially if it’s a home that’s got a shiny kitchen and a new ensuite or some new doors and windows and a nice deck.

 

As I’ve said before (and no doubt you’ll hear it again), building is all about scheduling and logistics – getting the right people and products to the right place at the right time while coordinating with a number of other people who are trying to do the same thing at other people’s houses at the same time.

Why you won't be in by Christmas full post

(550 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

termites
By alix@thebuilderette.com Site stories • • 0 Comments

It's all you can eat at the termite buffet

JD recently visited a customer who needed a beam put into his living room. The customer had jumped the gun ever so slightly by having the wall removed and installing an acrow-prop (you know, those ugly sticks you see holding up awnings while they’re being repaired. A nice touch in your living room.) He’d had some engineering plans drawn up but JD and his structural engineer pretty quickly established that they were pretty useless and that was $750 down the drain. Whomp whomp.

 

It's all you can eat at the termite buffet full post

(660 words, estimated 2:38 mins reading time)

swimming pool
By alix@thebuilderette.com Building and renovating • • • 4 Comments

How much does a swimming pool cost?

A question that JD gets asked a lot is, “How much does a swimming pool cost?” His answer is generally, “about the same as a car.” Which really depends, of course, on what type of car you want and how much you want to spend. Remember the ads in the past featuring an elephant and a former football player spruiking beautiful pools for $10,000? We had one installed when I was a kid and I can tell you right now, by the time it was finished, it did not cost $10,000. More like three times that.

 

How much does a swimming pool cost? full post

(697 words, estimated 2:47 mins reading time)

By alix@thebuilderette.com Uncategorized 4 Comments

I broke my blog!

If you’ve discovered my little corner of the internet – welcome – and I hope you enjoy what I’ve posted so far. My talents lie in writing. NOT in messing about with a wordpress site and I’ve managed to stuff up the lovely slider that was at the top of the page. I’m working on fixing it (or, you know, having someone else fix it as I have now banned myself from doing anything except write content) and I hope that you’ll be patient with me until then.

I broke my blog! full post

(119 words, estimated 29 secs reading time)