This vid seems to have a different vibe in a good way and i cant put my finger on it. It is really well presented and i think its because you are presenting the info as a couple while showing clips of your work rather than doing a task and commenting as you go. Whatever it is, i cant wait to see more.
Word of caution. The moisture barrier on the ground in the crawl space is a good idea. The insulation is however a risk. By insulating the floor you cool down the crawl space and effectively increase the relative humidity in that space. If that humidity reaches ~+70% during longer periods of time you will have a potential problem with rot in the wooden joists. If you insulate the crawlspace I would highly suggest adding a mechanical ventilation and/or de-humidifier. You can also install a ground heat system which only activates when the relative humidity reaches a certain point. Remember that in old houses humidity is your biggest enemy and the reason why old houses often still stands is because they're not that insulated and leaks heat which dries up the walls and keeps the relative humidity at a level which is not a risk. As soon as you improve the insulation of that house you will cool down structures and increase the relative humidity in unheated areas.
physics is a real asshole like that, get your house warm and next thing you have moisture problems. The options are be colder, use more heating, or do a perfect job of insulation and moisture management.
wouldn't it depend on the amount of underfloor airflow created by venting windows in the concrete foundation wall, gaps in the timber cladding around floor area etc?
In New Zealand spaces like the underfloor shown are very well-ventilated, so the underfloor insulation is actually a mandatory addition for rented properties and a good addition in any case - we had to add it to my own house a few years ago while it was rented, and now we've moved back into it ourselves I'm happy we did. Now I guess I'll look into adding a moisture barrier as well 🙂
I think tip 10 is the most under rated tip you mentioned. Having someone trained and having past experience in building design and buildings codes is huge.
And I’d add, look especially closely at the credentials, experience, and references for a designer who works for a retailer who sells cabinets. An architect is best - as noted, PROBABLY aware of building codes and able to project the actual costs of a renovation.
As a builder I have worked with good and bad designers and architects. If you can find a reputable renovation builder that also designs based on years of actually doing the work than you’ve hit the jackpot.
This tip holds true even for new builds. Just having someone trained in the field saves you from making mistakes or gives you ideas that you would have never thought off.
Some great tips there guys... You've easily convinced me to renovate my kitchen, rather than rebuild it from scratch, even though cabinet-making is my thing. I'll just pour my energy into the fronts and benchtops and maybe even make my own drawer pulls. Nah... Just decided not to have drawer pulls. The job's getting easier all the time. My best tip by far, when building cabinetry or anything tricky is to use CAD (Cardboard And Duct tape). It's great to see what you're planning to build, live with it for a few days (if possible) and adjust it until it's perfect, before you start cutting up expensive wood.
Excellent tip ! A cheap and reusable life size model can really help understanding of layout and dimensions, far more so than a 3D computer model. Especially where ergonomic and spacial efficiency are considerations.
We bought an old house, there were an addition approx 50sqm that needed too much love, so I designed a new one myself in sketchup, applied to council, got approved and are now building a new 160sqm addition by myself, i am scared shitless everyday, but my oh my it is fun at the same time 🤩
My big tip is research all the expensive stuff, use forums, call experts, make sure you look into every option. I had a rotten power pole with sagging lines on my property. The lines company in my region quoted $25k just to get power underground to my boundary. I found a private company who removed the old pole, installed a new pole at my boundary (on my side of the fence) and put power underground from the new pole to my house and it was $6k
My brother wanted to spend $20k replacing the 60 year-old corrugated iron roof, which considering it hadn't been repainted in 30 years, was largely in good condition. Ended up replacing the barge-board flashings, repairing a few sections with new panels, replacing all the old lead-covered nails and painting it. Cost was around 1500 Kiwi dollars, which meant we could get a builder to repair a couple of rotten wooden windows and replace the front fence. I turned some of the old fence into planter boxes. Lots of good tips in this episode. Tip number elebenty: make a list of stuff that needs to be done and update it.
A renovation task that worried me was adding insulation to exterior walls. I was very unsure how to do it while retaining an air gap and also how best to retrofit thermal wrap to create the gap. The best source on youtube was your videos. I rewatched those over and over to figure it out. Results are - kids rooms are now very warm and I’m confident condensation can escape.
My biggest tip is prepare. I always strongly encourage people to go volunteer at something like Habitat for Humanity, or other home building charity. See if they have a home doing what you want to learn and find the date/time they need you to help. It helps provide someone in need with an affordable home and you get to learn the skill you are looking for from someone in the trade.
Here's a tip I learned the hard way about timber windows. If they're jamming don't go straight to trimming their width to make them fit because you may have rusty hinges that have effectively expanded in size. I have replaced several windows in our house with new hinges (stainless because we're on the coast) and suddenly they fit perfectly - except for one window where I trimmed it like crazy and then replaced the hinges and now I can see daylight between the window and the jam! To be fair, we did shift the house from another site so it's normal for things to get out of alignment the process - next time I'll fix the hinges first though.
Scott I must say, I love the editing on your videos, for a nice carpenter, You´re a fantastic video editor friend 👌. (In case UA-cam don´t show, my name is Danrley 👍) Cheers to Jess for her witty interventions that brings such a nice mood to the videos. 😁
Spend your money wisely-invest in quality where it counts, for it often outlasts the cost of cheapness. Yet, remember that sometimes the simplest, least expensive option is the real gem in disguise.
I was a stay at Home mom with no money in my IRA or any savings of my own, which was scary at 53 years of age. Three years ago I got a part time job and save everything I make. After 3 years, I am 56 yo and have put $9,000 in an IRA and $40,000 in my portfolio with CFA, Stephanie Janis Stiefel. Since the goal of getting a job was to invest for retirement and NOT up my lifestyle, I was able to scale this quickly to $150,000. If I can do this in a year, anyone can.
@@MosheerEllyWell her name is 'STEPHANIE JANIS STIEFEL'. Just research the name. You'd find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment.
My tip is for long run projects especially if you are going to live in the house while you renovate. Do a large project one year and a small project the next.
Pulled out 1930’s wardrobes (tiny!) in all 3 bedrooms and replaced with full height units (10ft stud) with upper storage. Replaced kitchen. Full paint (inside and out). Removed 10m of agapanthus and 17m tall macrocapa and built concrete block front fence. Built a 6m x 8m garage. Turned bamboo jungle into garden beds (now garden boxes like yours!)
My Grandad regularly painted his roof and that was on a one hundred year old house with actual corrugated iron, and this was back in the 1970's. One visit the iron would have rust patches, the next visit Grandad (in his 70's) would be up on the roof with the roller and next visit there'd be a 'new' roof.
Currently renovating a 1930s property in England, and all of your points ring so true (except painting the roof... one cracked tile and it's a nightmare). The house has had to have everything, new electrics, new plumbing & boiler, new supporting beams, lintels, doors, floors the list goes on. The scariest bit is how willing some 'tradies' are to bodge small tasks, that ultimately end up being a huge expense to correct. We also found that the front door opened and hit the main fuse for the electric - safe to say a few spirited swings and the house would be toast with no 'cut off'! 😅 Love the videos Scott & Jess, my partner and I have been watching your videos since before we bought the property in 2021. After watching so much content, we felt we had a better understanding of the undertaking - thanks for that! Keep up the great work! 😊
I have an attached town house built in 95 every thing was done to the lowest possible spec . Love to see a video that addresses this . What is worth fixing and what doesn’t matter .
Upgrade your water system. street pressure (mains) is way to high in some places and will void a warranty on new taps, mixers etc. so you have to put in a pressure valve at the cold input. Then you can replace old low pressure hot water cylinders with a mains pressure and get better hot water throughout the house.
2:30 we just replaced our double glazed aluminum windows/sliding doors from 1989 with Vinyl double glazed windows. Made a huge difference right away, temperatures with a heatpump became more even. Also got honeycomb blackout top-down bottom-up blinds on the 3rd floor windows, the honeycomb blinds insulate a bit.
Love it, all good advice across the board. Our 1911 carriage house needed some serious TLC that the previous owner had neglected. One major point was the electrical. I replaced everything with new wires/outlets/breaker panel and upgraded the service to 200A. New custom kitchen from scratch, new heating/domestic hot water, and some other new stuff here and there. All is legally done with permits, inspections and sign-offs.
@@soofagamalo3180 Our supply was 80A with 1 main and 1 sub panel. The whole electrical needed to be pretty much replaced from the feed up, which I did. I hired an electrician only to put the breakers panel together and deal with our utility company. They don't really like to deal with private customers for upgrading the service... The 200A supply reason is in part to be able to accommodate the workshop and in part for eventual future installation of central AC.
I've never regretted over building. Anything that I can make more safe, more structurally sound, more weather/air tight, more durable, it's well worth the time and money.
I would like to slightly disagree with one tip which was the roof, honestly it is depending on how far it's gone, but if your unsure get your builder to check it before you waste time and money painting it when realistically just replace it. Especially if you are planning on investing more into renovations, AND even if it is the garage. Love this channel, always great content. Cheers.
I'm bigly interested in that slide hammer nail puller @9:40 . Is that something you or Raymond developed as a matter of necessity ? Also, i couldn't agree more about getting a skilled designer involved in larger projects. The right proffesional will actually save you dough without compromising you r original vision.
That’s old technology, that tool. I inherited on from my father in law who said they’ve been around for decades. Now harder to find as people moved on to screws instead of nails. But it’s very very handy to own one. No idea where to buy them these days. Second hand antique markets maybe.
I've just bought a 1918 timber frame house in Aus. This is super helpful, I've already been eyeing up a few projects based on videos of yours I've seen in the past. Toying with the idea of retrofitting double glazing which I think would make a huge difference in the heat as well as the "cold" winters...
I live in the Midwest in the US, so far the best project I’ve done is adding insulation and a heater to my detached garage. Now I can use it as a workshop all winter long, it’s been a fantastic quality of life improvement.
100% agree on levelling subfloor/ house before doing anything else but I now install corflute plastic sheet instead of polythene sheet for a moisture barrier because it is waaaaay more comfortable to kneel/lie on when you are the Ray-man doing any underfloor task. Good job S & J as always.
We bought a lovely 70s summerhill stone house a few years ago that is pretty much original. Have plans to do it up but babies have put that on hold for now. Did some quality of life things like getting a dishwasher installed, topping up the old ceiling insulation and getting a new heat pump (old one died lol), even those make a huge difference for now.
Great video. 2 things I reckon are a good idea. I suggest updating lights and if you’re already doing some electrical, install more lights. Second is in the kitchen replace dark bench tops with light bench tops will make it brighter. Cheers
Hi Scott all of the tips are spot on, but I'm in the UK and actually I've got to the point where I'm 60 and I'm looking for a new challenge. Town I live in is getting rather ropey with many people moving into it from far flung lands and our towns identity has kind of gone now so I'm looking at buying a narrow boat to move into. One I can renovate and move around in rather than be rooted to a spot. I like the idea of being able to move around and avoid the people who make me lose the will to live lol.
Oh man great video! U really needed to see this video, and what scares me about my house is its 1980s hardy plank, the house structure is on a slab, and theres 4 more slabs around the house that have moved, shifted levels, cracked and bowed downwards etc, the house has moved and drywall has split and cracked, on the ceiling, and some side wall panels plaster board have come apart, the patio's connected to the house awning/guttering, and theres a carport besa block wall 10 bricks high in an L shape thats shifted and cracked, theres alot of projects to do and I'm just one guy with a ftj and a family, thats never been exposed to carpentry outside of high school, but i got time, im not moving anywhere from this home
My old house is nearly 500 years old. Radiators in old part wet underfloor heating in the newer bit. Now split into zones as underfloor heats and cools slowly rads opposite. Now can balance the heating!
These are good tips for remodeling and innovation. I appreciate your honest advice and feedback. I think it is critical to hire an architect or designer to make a home more beautiful that personal design. I agree to hire an expert in design. I love your channel because you corporate with your wife, friends, and workers in real life. It is almost like a commercial advertisement, but it sets apart from other channels. Your channel has your own identity. I admire your channel more than other channels. Well done! Keep it up!
My current house is 2 story on a concrete slab with an interior garage. First thing I did was seal the concrete in the garage. The amount of dust and moisture a bare concrete floor produces is insane. Also means any spillages in the garage can be cleaned up and don't soak into the concrete floor, permanently staining it.
I'm always a little jealous of timber framed houses, whilst it requires more maintenance it is so much easier to work on than bricks and mortar or in the case of my 1903 stone and lime house. My tip would be plan everything first (it will change over time) do work to one room at a time if you can and be strict on that. For me at least gutting and renovating the whole house having a well thought out plan from the start means everything will flow together better and you'll have the image on your head of what you want to achieve to keep you motivated.
Hi Scot I really enjoy watching your videos I started my Reno in 2018 almost finished. But I wanted to say those tips where very good I’ve done most of them myself I didn’t have the money to retrofit double glazing but that was definitely something I wanted to do. But to be honest after I did each room I would also do the window to that room. And your right about simply sealing the windows as during windy times the windows would actually rattle in their frames. Sealing and really spending the time to fix your wooden windows really does pay off. And the tip for curtains is also the root I took. I want to but haven’t done yet is under the floor vapour barrier and insulation. But I completely removed most of the ceiling in the living spaces and created a vaulted ceiling with a mezzanine floor above the bedrooms and bathrooms. Also made a little dormer window looking out towards the back of the house. Lowered the roof ceiling creating a 200mm space for insulation which also was a great idea. I decided to replace the roofing iron as it was just too old patchy and short runs with way too many overlaps with an ugly chimney removal patch job. Hay guys I’m heading up to Nelson next week and I thought I might look out for you in town been wanting to meet you both since you moved to the South Island.
Careful with #3 as you can cause significant condensation and damage rot etc. Curtains will let the window get colder on the inside surface, but won't stop vapour diffusion.
After I closed on my 1920s house, the gas company shut the gas off. Had to find a plumber and fixed the gas lines and replaced all the water lines. The tip for replacing the electrical is the most important tip here. Ideally you should get an electrical inspection before buying an old house to know what you are getting into. Upgrading the panel and wiring is essential for home safety.
Nice one Scott, especially the tip with painting your fence or a roof. That made a huge difference. Levelling an old house here in Europe is not an option unfortunately haha
Great tips thank you! I would add learning about lighting, both electric and skylight. Not only for aesthetics but also for health. Every room I use has lighting that goes from daylight colour light, to sunset colour, and finally to solid red after sunset. It enables my bodyclocks to stay synced with the sun cycles, and not dysregulate my entire body.
Best thing I did in my home was have installed solar ventilation in the roof and vents in the ceiling. Removes the heat trapped under the roof and heat in the room. Helps in the bathroom with mould as well.
First house - built around 1950, slab on grade single story: Replaced faulty insulation in the ceiling, insulated around the concrete slab foundation, replaced plumbing. Second house - Built before 1830 with additions around 1960: Insulated the second floor ceiling, installed whole-house fan and roof vents so AC was not needed, upgraded electrical. After an unfortunate experience with a painter, we painted the exterior ourselves. Third house - Built around 1890, two story with tall attic. Dug out cellar and had concrete floor added, changed to modern efficient gas furnace, insulated attic floor, updated much of the electric system including adding outside outlet and lamp by the front steps, had the steps and rail replaced. When the sidewalk was required to be replaced with concrete, we kept all the old flag stones (got some more as the neighbors had their walk replaced) - cut the stones in half and stacked a stone wall along the sidewalk. After an unfortunate experience with a painter, we found a young man going into the painting business. His estimate was unrealistically low so I upped the estimate and took him on. By the time he finished, we had paid him around five times his original estimate. At one point, I had him mark off a 10 x 10 foot part of the wall that had not yet been touched and I told him to keep track of every minute he spent scraping, priming, and finish painting that section so he would be able to make accurate estimates in the future. Fourth house - Built around 1890, two story with short attic. Second floor electric had been improved but first floor was old. First floor kitchen and bath needed replacement down to repairing broken floor joists. Also replaced 14 old windows in the second floor. Fifth house - Current home - Built around 1890, half of a duplex, two story with one attic room that was originally living space. Rebuilt master bedroom and made a sewing / craft room. Built a new bath room - learned how to install pocket doors. Hired contractor to change upstairs hallway and make a new guest room. Built a toilet in the first floor along with a laundry room. Tore out the kitchen and fixed the walls, drop ceiling, and electrical system before contractors put in the new kitchen cabinets and new floor surfaces. Installed one of the antique doors salvaged from the second floor between the new kitchen and the laundry. Still to be done, porch covering for back entrance, finish installing insulation between the joists in the first floor and cover the dirt floor of the cellar with plastic and some kind of pavers. I'm sure something else will come to mind. Planning on staying in this house. I probably missed quite a few items. My wife says that owning a home is my hobby.
It's definitely one of the best episodes you have produced. Have used many of your 10 tips in whole over in part over the years. Every job becomes easier with time. Great job, I hope to see more over the years.
I love our old villa. We moved in last year in September. I really want to sand the matai floors in a few rooms, remove the gross modern vinyl planks from the kitchen floor and re-line some of the walls, which have some nasty plastering. It's not hard stuff, but the rooms are used every day (my office, the kitchen etc). I'm going to have to just take a couple of weeks off and get it all done.
electrical engineer here just wanted to add about replacing electrical. Another reason to replace your electrical equipment if it is old is that even if the breaker is bad it will still conduct electricity you won't know you have a bad breaker until you have an electrical short and the breaker fails to trip which is bad news all around. Generally 25 years is roughly the life span of residential breakers
BEST THING I'VE DONE: Watch enough Scott Brown videos to both simultaneously convince the real boss that I can do the work AND convince her that a real builder's house is never done :-D
My tip would be : any time you have a wall exposed, future proof. Run power points both sides of the room minimum. Add network wiring if there's even the remotest chance you'll have a TV, computer, or even a WIFI access point in the room. If you're not sure, pick a couple locations and run a PVC conduit from the top plate down to the bottom dwang. It's like $15-30 for a 4m conduit, you can get two of them out of that length, and it takes maybe 15 mins to put one in. It will make adding something later down the road ten times easier.
Tip 101….. Budget £$€ !! I’ve done multiple projects from design side and also building myself ( I’m doing a build job now and commenting from a site in Italy) Allow for contingency 10-20%, subject to risks to expensive taste etc. It’s difficult to predict so have some spare cash! Nice job you’ve both done and I enjoyed watching the build👍
Hi Scott, Thanks for the black polythene tip! I'm just about to insulate the underside of the floor and noticed that the sand under the house is wet. Should I wait a few months for the ground to dry out before laying the black polythene? Cheers, from Safety Beach Melbourne.
I hear this a lot but boy are they expensive. We spoke to an interior designer that wasn't even going to do any drawings for us, just spend a few hours going through our specsheet and they wanted $4k for that. I imagine they do provide value on big renovations but it's super hard to cut scope from a reno for something like that.
Great video Scott & Jess. I’d add a comment about challenges in finding a good designer. Invest time before engaging a designer to review their work and talk to their clients.
I've had to level a slab floor. partly with leveling concrete but also by lifting the foundation with piers that go to bedrock. That is scary but wow the doors close so well and marbles don't roll to one side. I recommend it because it just feels better and makes all other work easier living in a square space.
As well as replacing the switchboard, consider new light fittings, and maybe switches and power sockets. But the big one for me: wired Internet. Yes, sure, you can do most stuff on WiFi. But where is your access point, how many devices do your family use at once, does your neighbour's wifi clash with yours and slow it down? At the very least you might run a cable and put in a second wireless access point on the other side of the house. But if you're dealing in large files (say, you run a regular UA-cam channel?) then having wired Internet direct to the desktop is worthwhile. And if there's an action gamer in your house, they'll appreciate the lower and more consistent ping time on wired.
insulation is cheap. with the flooring you can do the same as you do in the ceiling, put a layer of insulation over the top of the timber. ie get a roll of polyester insulation and stable it to the bottom the joists. this puts all the joist timber on the inside of the house and turns the joists from being radiator fins cooling the house to thermal mass which helps improve comfort.
@@MegaBilly9000 Every new wifi generation has to deal with the age old problem: interferences (2.4 GHz microwaves or 5 GHz radars e.g.) I use the wired connection on every device with a ethernet port.
5 years ago we bought a 1880's timber cottage in Tasmania. Think "Tasmanian Cottage from Central Casting". Incredibly photogenic and just oozing character. But it also didn't have any footings, just sandstone blocks straight on the ground. It had a loft added to the back without any work on the "footings" so the floor had sunk (one section had a 45mm fall over just over a metre). The polished hardwood floor was beautiful but so old the board weren't tongue and groove. There was no caulking in the really old sections so the wind in winter just ripped up between the boards. Most of the windows turned out to just be recycled sashes hard fixed to the studs with no actual window frames. The laundry was slowly separating from the rest of the house. You get the picture. We sold it last year and moved to a 20 year old house. It's on a LEVEL slab, has insulation in walls and ceiling, double glazing, a decent kitchen, doors that open AND close and we can run the washing machine without shaking pictures of the walls. It doesn't have anything like the character but at least I'm not facing a massive renovation. So, just say that that's an option as well
The gaps in the floorboards would once have been infilled with old rope/jute and oil/wax. That followed the same heat expansion patterns as the wood whilst stopping drafts and losing dropped treasures like jewellery and coins. I've lived in a variety of houses myself. I agree that day to day ease of the more solid modern houses beats the quirky character of old and rustic, even if its not as aesthetically pleasing.
As an ex builder, who had previously drawn up plans for a reno and re-clad, but our designer came up with much better ides, and the builder suggested some better cladding options from a maintenance point of view with regards our house and where we are, the designer who had recommended the builder, was impressed with the changes and the finished product, took a run of the mill 1990 plaster box to a very contemporary 21st century house. We liked where we live and a new house elsewhere, would have given us the new house, but not the location.
What terrifies me about renovating / extending my late 90’s home in 🇦🇺 is where to locate a new bathroom 😬 . Looking forward to Jess’s green velour winter jumpsuit btw 👍
Refurbished our kitchen, new counter tops and stripped and painted the cabinets. New laminate flooring throughout. Freshened up all the bathrooms with new paint and fixtures. Tore down the old deck and am starting a new screened porch this weekend. 😮
Air sealing doors ans windows and floors and walls as needed is always the biggest win. Combine with a biggish dehumidifier running on low full time in a spare room with the door open and you're half way to success. Insulation obviously key too, but meaningless if drafty and leaky. Fix both and things are a LOT nicer.
First thing I did with our 1890 house was new water and gas lines. Luckily I live somewhere that I could do it myself. Just had to get it infected and signed off afterwards. Then I rewired and put in anew panel. Again I got lucky as my oldest and best friend is an electrician. So he did the actual panel work. I did all the rest.
If you put naked aluminium it is indeed worse than wood. But most here in the Netherlands are aluminium core and a plastic layer on top. So you have the benefits of no maintenance and you don't have the heattransfer because the very conductive material (aluminium) is insulated from the cold and or heat.
Significant ground works requiring heavy machinery and tiled roofs with a bare minimum safety level (usually meaning a big vertical fall with nowhere to fix any safety / fall arrest gears...) are the only things that I find daunting. Other than that but not on a physical work level: planning permission and bureaucracy. My best tip? Declutter and Paint everything in and out and not just fences and (where applicable) roofs.
I got so lucky and got a guy who just gradually fixed up SO many things in my house. Leveling the floors was a big part of it, and if I had to do it over again, I would have put more time into it (the kitchen wasn't quite right, and OMG the problems with installing cabinets was not a good thing). I have a slab foundation, so maybe it gets more complicated, but .. go for infrastructure first!
Hey Guys, thanks for great content as always. This not directly related to the video, however something I have been wondering about for a while, have you seen any warping or movement on the kitchen doors and drawer fronts? I’m in the process of planning a kitchen build, but have been advised against using ply by multiple people due to warping risk. In the kitchen build videos you mentioned you had some concerns as well. Keen to know if it ended up being an issue at all.
i am scarred of starting a job and not finishing it...i start so many projects and in my 2 days off a week i sometimes dont get a chance to finish them for about 6 months so a big job is like...Nooooo...finiah the others first 😂😂
Kind of related but not really... I design electronic systems and I often collaborate with an industrial design company. I am continually amazed at how much better their ideas are - the style and functionality they introduce with the simplest of changes. Clients are always full of ideas and enthusiasm, and I think I sort of know what I am doing design wise, but professional designers operate on a totally different level...
Bought a house with a rotting potting shed. Turns out all it needed was new screws with proper weather gaskets, and painting. Shed is now bone dry and houses all of the garden tools and extra timber. Cost less than 1k to fix to have a proper garden shed.
Tip 11, add a deck. Outdoor living spaces are heaven and doubles as a play area and food sharing space. Cover the deck if you live in a warm climate like me.
Have started double glazing wooden frames. I need to look into the Schlegel weatherseal more. Scary: Old insulfluff insulation above the ceilings. Need to decide what to do with that soon, with a bathroom reno. I don't do roof spaces or underfloor 😂
I have a two-story ranch in the US, built in 1987. It is structurally sound, but a lot of the finish work, including drywall, plumbing, and electrical are poorly done. My fear is that I will do something and then have to redo it a few months later, or worse, I will let the project explode with complexity. For example, I really need to redo the entire drain stack, but that means I will be replumbing all of the bathroom drains. I can get all the drains connected to the old fixtures, but then I have to do a lot of rework when I get new fixtures. Or I tear everything out and we piss in a bucket outside. Please solve my life.
well been Renovate ing the shed bedroom walls too make it my new shed bedroom into my brand new dream bedroom makeover setup an fit out bigger as its in need off some Renovates An building work asap
As a builder, renovations on your own place never seem to end...am I right? But getting help for those nasty jobs is money well spent currently experiencing the reno blues, but the end is finally in sight. Love your work Scott. Keep it up 👍
Tip 10 should been rephrased, get an architect or architectural designer. Designer could be anything. Poly sheets on the ground is typical practise. Did you tape the joints? The only suggestion I would have made to your insulation for the floor boards would have been to use rigid foam. Batts will absorb any moisture that's around. Rigid wont. Great video and tips! I rent so I'm not doing anything to my house.
Nearly spat out my tea when I heard you talking about your deck. Then I realised it's that NZ guy again.
😂😂😂😂😂 Full born and bred kiwi here. I know exactly what you mean. Too funny
My partner walked in when I was watching the framing a house video, which stated with the base being built like a deck 😂
We like a big deck here
@@seanhamilton4175 It's not the size of your deck which matters, it's what you do with it... ;)
You all have to watch Blue Collar big deck video. It’s hilarious!
This vid seems to have a different vibe in a good way and i cant put my finger on it. It is really well presented and i think its because you are presenting the info as a couple while showing clips of your work rather than doing a task and commenting as you go. Whatever it is, i cant wait to see more.
Word of caution. The moisture barrier on the ground in the crawl space is a good idea. The insulation is however a risk. By insulating the floor you cool down the crawl space and effectively increase the relative humidity in that space. If that humidity reaches ~+70% during longer periods of time you will have a potential problem with rot in the wooden joists. If you insulate the crawlspace I would highly suggest adding a mechanical ventilation and/or de-humidifier. You can also install a ground heat system which only activates when the relative humidity reaches a certain point. Remember that in old houses humidity is your biggest enemy and the reason why old houses often still stands is because they're not that insulated and leaks heat which dries up the walls and keeps the relative humidity at a level which is not a risk. As soon as you improve the insulation of that house you will cool down structures and increase the relative humidity in unheated areas.
You are absolutely correct. That's why I didn't insulate between the joists of my older home.
Came here to say this, our home inspector recommended removing the insulation there when we bought our house.
physics is a real asshole like that, get your house warm and next thing you have moisture problems. The options are be colder, use more heating, or do a perfect job of insulation and moisture management.
wouldn't it depend on the amount of underfloor airflow created by venting windows in the concrete foundation wall, gaps in the timber cladding around floor area etc?
In New Zealand spaces like the underfloor shown are very well-ventilated, so the underfloor insulation is actually a mandatory addition for rented properties and a good addition in any case - we had to add it to my own house a few years ago while it was rented, and now we've moved back into it ourselves I'm happy we did. Now I guess I'll look into adding a moisture barrier as well 🙂
I think tip 10 is the most under rated tip you mentioned. Having someone trained and having past experience in building design and buildings codes is huge.
And I’d add, look especially closely at the credentials, experience, and references for a designer who works for a retailer who sells cabinets. An architect is best - as noted, PROBABLY aware of building codes and able to project the actual costs of a renovation.
As a builder I have worked with good and bad designers and architects. If you can find a reputable renovation builder that also designs based on years of actually doing the work than you’ve hit the jackpot.
This tip holds true even for new builds. Just having someone trained in the field saves you from making mistakes or gives you ideas that you would have never thought off.
Some great tips there guys... You've easily convinced me to renovate my kitchen, rather than rebuild it from scratch, even though cabinet-making is my thing. I'll just pour my energy into the fronts and benchtops and maybe even make my own drawer pulls. Nah... Just decided not to have drawer pulls. The job's getting easier all the time. My best tip by far, when building cabinetry or anything tricky is to use CAD (Cardboard And Duct tape). It's great to see what you're planning to build, live with it for a few days (if possible) and adjust it until it's perfect, before you start cutting up expensive wood.
Excellent tip ! A cheap and reusable life size model can really help understanding of layout and dimensions, far more so than a 3D computer model. Especially where ergonomic and spacial efficiency are considerations.
CAD, Card And Ducktape.😂😂😂
We bought an old house, there were an addition approx 50sqm that needed too much love, so I designed a new one myself in sketchup, applied to council, got approved and are now building a new 160sqm addition by myself, i am scared shitless everyday, but my oh my it is fun at the same time 🤩
My big tip is research all the expensive stuff, use forums, call experts, make sure you look into every option.
I had a rotten power pole with sagging lines on my property.
The lines company in my region quoted $25k just to get power underground to my boundary. I found a private company who removed the old pole, installed a new pole at my boundary (on my side of the fence) and put power underground from the new pole to my house and it was $6k
My brother wanted to spend $20k replacing the 60 year-old corrugated iron roof, which considering it hadn't been repainted in 30 years, was largely in good condition. Ended up replacing the barge-board flashings, repairing a few sections with new panels, replacing all the old lead-covered nails and painting it. Cost was around 1500 Kiwi dollars, which meant we could get a builder to repair a couple of rotten wooden windows and replace the front fence. I turned some of the old fence into planter boxes.
Lots of good tips in this episode.
Tip number elebenty: make a list of stuff that needs to be done and update it.
A renovation task that worried me was adding insulation to exterior walls. I was very unsure how to do it while retaining an air gap and also how best to retrofit thermal wrap to create the gap. The best source on youtube was your videos. I rewatched those over and over to figure it out. Results are - kids rooms are now very warm and I’m confident condensation can escape.
Which video was this
No. 353
ua-cam.com/video/0oDLwBZurp8/v-deo.htmlsi=cz7WGioMnAJHJav6
My biggest tip is prepare. I always strongly encourage people to go volunteer at something like Habitat for Humanity, or other home building charity. See if they have a home doing what you want to learn and find the date/time they need you to help. It helps provide someone in need with an affordable home and you get to learn the skill you are looking for from someone in the trade.
Here's a tip I learned the hard way about timber windows. If they're jamming don't go straight to trimming their width to make them fit because you may have rusty hinges that have effectively expanded in size. I have replaced several windows in our house with new hinges (stainless because we're on the coast) and suddenly they fit perfectly - except for one window where I trimmed it like crazy and then replaced the hinges and now I can see daylight between the window and the jam! To be fair, we did shift the house from another site so it's normal for things to get out of alignment the process - next time I'll fix the hinges first though.
Scott I must say, I love the editing on your videos, for a nice carpenter, You´re a fantastic video editor friend 👌. (In case UA-cam don´t show, my name is Danrley 👍) Cheers to Jess for her witty interventions that brings such a nice mood to the videos. 😁
Yes mate!
Spend your money wisely-invest in quality where it counts, for it often outlasts the cost of cheapness. Yet, remember that sometimes the simplest, least expensive option is the real gem in disguise.
I was a stay at Home mom with no money in my IRA or any savings of my own, which was scary at 53 years of age. Three years ago I got a part time job and save everything I make. After 3 years, I am 56 yo and have put $9,000 in an IRA and $40,000 in my portfolio with CFA, Stephanie Janis Stiefel. Since the goal of getting a job was to invest for retirement and NOT up my lifestyle, I was able to scale this quickly to $150,000. If I can do this in a year, anyone can.
Exactly well said.. spread the wisdom
@@IvanSimalezaI would really love to know how much work you did to put in to get this stage
@@MosheerEllyWell her name is 'STEPHANIE JANIS STIEFEL'. Just research the name. You'd find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment.
It’s quite reassuring to meet other beneficiaries of Stephanie’s expertise
My tip is for long run projects especially if you are going to live in the house while you renovate. Do a large project one year and a small project the next.
Leveling your floor... You make it sound so easy.
Easier than the alternative.
@@rpfree I have an older house. All the flooring has uneven sections. It's not possible to level it.
@@mattymattffssame boat floors are rooted
Fence and garden tips! Love that. Nice to see more of Jess in the videos as well, she has a great eye for design
Pulled out 1930’s wardrobes (tiny!) in all 3 bedrooms and replaced with full height units (10ft stud) with upper storage. Replaced kitchen. Full paint (inside and out). Removed 10m of agapanthus and 17m tall macrocapa and built concrete block front fence. Built a 6m x 8m garage. Turned bamboo jungle into garden beds (now garden boxes like yours!)
My Grandad regularly painted his roof and that was on a one hundred year old house with actual corrugated iron, and this was back in the 1970's. One visit the iron would have rust patches, the next visit Grandad (in his 70's) would be up on the roof with the roller and next visit there'd be a 'new' roof.
Currently renovating a 1930s property in England, and all of your points ring so true (except painting the roof... one cracked tile and it's a nightmare). The house has had to have everything, new electrics, new plumbing & boiler, new supporting beams, lintels, doors, floors the list goes on.
The scariest bit is how willing some 'tradies' are to bodge small tasks, that ultimately end up being a huge expense to correct.
We also found that the front door opened and hit the main fuse for the electric - safe to say a few spirited swings and the house would be toast with no 'cut off'! 😅
Love the videos Scott & Jess, my partner and I have been watching your videos since before we bought the property in 2021. After watching so much content, we felt we had a better understanding of the undertaking - thanks for that! Keep up the great work! 😊
I have an attached town house built in 95 every thing was done to the lowest possible spec . Love to see a video that addresses this . What is worth fixing and what doesn’t matter .
Upgrade your water system. street pressure (mains) is way to high in some places and will void a warranty on new taps, mixers etc. so you have to put in a pressure valve at the cold input. Then you can replace old low pressure hot water cylinders with a mains pressure and get better hot water throughout the house.
2:30 we just replaced our double glazed aluminum windows/sliding doors from 1989 with Vinyl double glazed windows. Made a huge difference right away, temperatures with a heatpump became more even. Also got honeycomb blackout top-down bottom-up blinds on the 3rd floor windows, the honeycomb blinds insulate a bit.
I saw a house the other day thst had PVC they were amazing
The quality of this video is so nice!! Very noticeable compared to past ones
Love it, all good advice across the board. Our 1911 carriage house needed some serious TLC that the previous owner had neglected. One major point was the electrical. I replaced everything with new wires/outlets/breaker panel and upgraded the service to 200A. New custom kitchen from scratch, new heating/domestic hot water, and some other new stuff here and there. All is legally done with permits, inspections and sign-offs.
Nice work mate.
May I ask why you upgraded your incoming supply to 200A? Quite a big jump from a standard 63A supply for a house (at least in NZ).
@@soofagamalo3180 Our supply was 80A with 1 main and 1 sub panel. The whole electrical needed to be pretty much replaced from the feed up, which I did. I hired an electrician only to put the breakers panel together and deal with our utility company. They don't really like to deal with private customers for upgrading the service... The 200A supply reason is in part to be able to accommodate the workshop and in part for eventual future installation of central AC.
I've never regretted over building. Anything that I can make more safe, more structurally sound, more weather/air tight, more durable, it's well worth the time and money.
I have done all of the installation you have mentioned. Can not believe how warm and how little our heating bill is
I would like to slightly disagree with one tip which was the roof, honestly it is depending on how far it's gone, but if your unsure get your builder to check it before you waste time and money painting it when realistically just replace it. Especially if you are planning on investing more into renovations, AND even if it is the garage. Love this channel, always great content. Cheers.
I'm bigly interested in that slide hammer nail puller @9:40 . Is that something you or Raymond developed as a matter of necessity ? Also, i couldn't agree more about getting a skilled designer involved in larger projects. The right proffesional will actually save you dough without compromising you r original vision.
Keen to hear about this too!
Ditto !
That’s old technology, that tool. I inherited on from my father in law who said they’ve been around for decades. Now harder to find as people moved on to screws instead of nails. But it’s very very handy to own one. No idea where to buy them these days. Second hand antique markets maybe.
Try and find the episode where they did the garage roof. Ray shows you the design and how he made one work
I've just bought a 1918 timber frame house in Aus. This is super helpful, I've already been eyeing up a few projects based on videos of yours I've seen in the past. Toying with the idea of retrofitting double glazing which I think would make a huge difference in the heat as well as the "cold" winters...
I live in the Midwest in the US, so far the best project I’ve done is adding insulation and a heater to my detached garage. Now I can use it as a workshop all winter long, it’s been a fantastic quality of life improvement.
100% agree on levelling subfloor/ house before doing anything else but I now install corflute plastic sheet instead of polythene sheet for a moisture barrier because it is waaaaay more comfortable to kneel/lie on when you are the Ray-man doing any underfloor task. Good job S & J as always.
We bought a lovely 70s summerhill stone house a few years ago that is pretty much original. Have plans to do it up but babies have put that on hold for now. Did some quality of life things like getting a dishwasher installed, topping up the old ceiling insulation and getting a new heat pump (old one died lol), even those make a huge difference for now.
Great video. 2 things I reckon are a good idea. I suggest updating lights and if you’re already doing some electrical, install more lights. Second is in the kitchen replace dark bench tops with light bench tops will make it brighter. Cheers
Hi Scott all of the tips are spot on, but I'm in the UK and actually I've got to the point where I'm 60 and I'm looking for a new challenge. Town I live in is getting rather ropey with many people moving into it from far flung lands and our towns identity has kind of gone now so I'm looking at buying a narrow boat to move into. One I can renovate and move around in rather than be rooted to a spot. I like the idea of being able to move around and avoid the people who make me lose the will to live lol.
Oh man great video! U really needed to see this video, and what scares me about my house is its 1980s hardy plank, the house structure is on a slab, and theres 4 more slabs around the house that have moved, shifted levels, cracked and bowed downwards etc, the house has moved and drywall has split and cracked, on the ceiling, and some side wall panels plaster board have come apart, the patio's connected to the house awning/guttering, and theres a carport besa block wall 10 bricks high in an L shape thats shifted and cracked, theres alot of projects to do and I'm just one guy with a ftj and a family, thats never been exposed to carpentry outside of high school, but i got time, im not moving anywhere from this home
My old house is nearly 500 years old. Radiators in old part wet underfloor heating in the newer bit. Now split into zones as underfloor heats and cools slowly rads opposite. Now can balance the heating!
500? Definitely got a family of ghosts In there lol.
Thank you Scotty and Jess. Older timber houses as were we live require more maintenance.
I have enjoyed this channel for years now. Thank you much for the wonderful content!!!
These are good tips for remodeling and innovation. I appreciate your honest advice and feedback. I think it is critical to hire an architect or designer to make a home more beautiful that personal design. I agree to hire an expert in design. I love your channel because you corporate with your wife, friends, and workers in real life. It is almost like a commercial advertisement, but it sets apart from other channels. Your channel has your own identity. I admire your channel more than other channels. Well done! Keep it up!
My current house is 2 story on a concrete slab with an interior garage. First thing I did was seal the concrete in the garage. The amount of dust and moisture a bare concrete floor produces is insane. Also means any spillages in the garage can be cleaned up and don't soak into the concrete floor, permanently staining it.
I'm always a little jealous of timber framed houses, whilst it requires more maintenance it is so much easier to work on than bricks and mortar or in the case of my 1903 stone and lime house. My tip would be plan everything first (it will change over time) do work to one room at a time if you can and be strict on that. For me at least gutting and renovating the whole house having a well thought out plan from the start means everything will flow together better and you'll have the image on your head of what you want to achieve to keep you motivated.
Hi Scot I really enjoy watching your videos I started my Reno in 2018 almost finished. But I wanted to say those tips where very good I’ve done most of them myself I didn’t have the money to retrofit double glazing but that was definitely something I wanted to do. But to be honest after I did each room I would also do the window to that room. And your right about simply sealing the windows as during windy times the windows would actually rattle in their frames. Sealing and really spending the time to fix your wooden windows really does pay off. And the tip for curtains is also the root I took. I want to but haven’t done yet is under the floor vapour barrier and insulation. But I completely removed most of the ceiling in the living spaces and created a vaulted ceiling with a mezzanine floor above the bedrooms and bathrooms. Also made a little dormer window looking out towards the back of the house. Lowered the roof ceiling creating a 200mm space for insulation which also was a great idea. I decided to replace the roofing iron as it was just too old patchy and short runs with way too many overlaps with an ugly chimney removal patch job.
Hay guys I’m heading up to Nelson next week and I thought I might look out for you in town been wanting to meet you both since you moved to the South Island.
Loved seeing the old houses at the front of the video!
Careful with #3 as you can cause significant condensation and damage rot etc. Curtains will let the window get colder on the inside surface, but won't stop vapour diffusion.
After I closed on my 1920s house, the gas company shut the gas off. Had to find a plumber and fixed the gas lines and replaced all the water lines. The tip for replacing the electrical is the most important tip here. Ideally you should get an electrical inspection before buying an old house to know what you are getting into. Upgrading the panel and wiring is essential for home safety.
Nice one Scott, especially the tip with painting your fence or a roof. That made a huge difference.
Levelling an old house here in Europe is not an option unfortunately haha
Great tips thank you! I would add learning about lighting, both electric and skylight. Not only for aesthetics but also for health. Every room I use has lighting that goes from daylight colour light, to sunset colour, and finally to solid red after sunset. It enables my bodyclocks to stay synced with the sun cycles, and not dysregulate my entire body.
Best thing I did in my home was have installed solar ventilation in the roof and vents in the ceiling. Removes the heat trapped under the roof and heat in the room. Helps in the bathroom with mould as well.
First house - built around 1950, slab on grade single story: Replaced faulty insulation in the ceiling, insulated around the concrete slab foundation, replaced plumbing.
Second house - Built before 1830 with additions around 1960: Insulated the second floor ceiling, installed whole-house fan and roof vents so AC was not needed, upgraded electrical. After an unfortunate experience with a painter, we painted the exterior ourselves.
Third house - Built around 1890, two story with tall attic. Dug out cellar and had concrete floor added, changed to modern efficient gas furnace, insulated attic floor, updated much of the electric system including adding outside outlet and lamp by the front steps, had the steps and rail replaced. When the sidewalk was required to be replaced with concrete, we kept all the old flag stones (got some more as the neighbors had their walk replaced) - cut the stones in half and stacked a stone wall along the sidewalk. After an unfortunate experience with a painter, we found a young man going into the painting business. His estimate was unrealistically low so I upped the estimate and took him on. By the time he finished, we had paid him around five times his original estimate. At one point, I had him mark off a 10 x 10 foot part of the wall that had not yet been touched and I told him to keep track of every minute he spent scraping, priming, and finish painting that section so he would be able to make accurate estimates in the future.
Fourth house - Built around 1890, two story with short attic. Second floor electric had been improved but first floor was old. First floor kitchen and bath needed replacement down to repairing broken floor joists. Also replaced 14 old windows in the second floor.
Fifth house - Current home - Built around 1890, half of a duplex, two story with one attic room that was originally living space. Rebuilt master bedroom and made a sewing / craft room. Built a new bath room - learned how to install pocket doors. Hired contractor to change upstairs hallway and make a new guest room. Built a toilet in the first floor along with a laundry room. Tore out the kitchen and fixed the walls, drop ceiling, and electrical system before contractors put in the new kitchen cabinets and new floor surfaces. Installed one of the antique doors salvaged from the second floor between the new kitchen and the laundry. Still to be done, porch covering for back entrance, finish installing insulation between the joists in the first floor and cover the dirt floor of the cellar with plastic and some kind of pavers. I'm sure something else will come to mind. Planning on staying in this house.
I probably missed quite a few items. My wife says that owning a home is my hobby.
Brilliant, simple and to the point. Love it
It's definitely one of the best episodes you have produced. Have used many of your 10 tips in whole over in part over the years. Every job becomes easier with time. Great job, I hope to see more over the years.
I love our old villa. We moved in last year in September. I really want to sand the matai floors in a few rooms, remove the gross modern vinyl planks from the kitchen floor and re-line some of the walls, which have some nasty plastering. It's not hard stuff, but the rooms are used every day (my office, the kitchen etc). I'm going to have to just take a couple of weeks off and get it all done.
electrical engineer here just wanted to add about replacing electrical. Another reason to replace your electrical equipment if it is old is that even if the breaker is bad it will still conduct electricity you won't know you have a bad breaker until you have an electrical short and the breaker fails to trip which is bad news all around. Generally 25 years is roughly the life span of residential breakers
I still expect to find a piece of cardboard with 5A, 10A and 15A fuse wire wrapped around it in the fuse box.
So the breaker is breaking bad?
BEST THING I'VE DONE: Watch enough Scott Brown videos to both simultaneously convince the real boss that I can do the work AND convince her that a real builder's house is never done :-D
My tip would be : any time you have a wall exposed, future proof. Run power points both sides of the room minimum. Add network wiring if there's even the remotest chance you'll have a TV, computer, or even a WIFI access point in the room. If you're not sure, pick a couple locations and run a PVC conduit from the top plate down to the bottom dwang. It's like $15-30 for a 4m conduit, you can get two of them out of that length, and it takes maybe 15 mins to put one in. It will make adding something later down the road ten times easier.
Tip 101….. Budget £$€ !! I’ve done multiple projects from design side and also building myself ( I’m doing a build job now and commenting from a site in Italy) Allow for contingency 10-20%, subject to risks to expensive taste etc. It’s difficult to predict so have some spare cash! Nice job you’ve both done and I enjoyed watching the build👍
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the black polythene tip!
I'm just about to insulate the underside of the floor and noticed that the sand under the house is wet.
Should I wait a few months for the ground to dry out before laying the black polythene?
Cheers, from Safety Beach Melbourne.
Lighting. Update existing fixtures, add more light in dim areas, and replace old yellow light with white light. Helps so much.
Architect & Interior Designer 👍& 👍 I was losing my mind on a remodel before hiring each of them.
I hear this a lot but boy are they expensive. We spoke to an interior designer that wasn't even going to do any drawings for us, just spend a few hours going through our specsheet and they wanted $4k for that. I imagine they do provide value on big renovations but it's super hard to cut scope from a reno for something like that.
Good design is extremely important for any larger reno or addition..
Great video Scott & Jess. I’d add a comment about challenges in finding a good designer. Invest time before engaging a designer to review their work and talk to their clients.
currently being single income household does not leave much for our renovation plans of our outdated 50's house. I get to watch it crumble around me.
I've had to level a slab floor. partly with leveling concrete but also by lifting the foundation with piers that go to bedrock. That is scary but wow the doors close so well and marbles don't roll to one side. I recommend it because it just feels better and makes all other work easier living in a square space.
As well as replacing the switchboard, consider new light fittings, and maybe switches and power sockets.
But the big one for me: wired Internet. Yes, sure, you can do most stuff on WiFi. But where is your access point, how many devices do your family use at once, does your neighbour's wifi clash with yours and slow it down? At the very least you might run a cable and put in a second wireless access point on the other side of the house. But if you're dealing in large files (say, you run a regular UA-cam channel?) then having wired Internet direct to the desktop is worthwhile. And if there's an action gamer in your house, they'll appreciate the lower and more consistent ping time on wired.
Love the kitchen scene where you're just sitting on the floor like an 80s electro pop duo xD
insulation is cheap. with the flooring you can do the same as you do in the ceiling, put a layer of insulation over the top of the timber. ie get a roll of polyester insulation and stable it to the bottom the joists. this puts all the joist timber on the inside of the house and turns the joists from being radiator fins cooling the house to thermal mass which helps improve comfort.
Thanks for the tips Scott and Jess, just brilliant!
Think on Ethernet cables, in every room at least one outlet!
Its worth the money .
Kind of pointless now with the speed of wifi routers now.
@@MegaBilly9000 Every new wifi generation has to deal with the age old problem: interferences (2.4 GHz microwaves or 5 GHz radars e.g.)
I use the wired connection on every device with a ethernet port.
5 years ago we bought a 1880's timber cottage in Tasmania. Think "Tasmanian Cottage from Central Casting". Incredibly photogenic and just oozing character. But it also didn't have any footings, just sandstone blocks straight on the ground. It had a loft added to the back without any work on the "footings" so the floor had sunk (one section had a 45mm fall over just over a metre). The polished hardwood floor was beautiful but so old the board weren't tongue and groove. There was no caulking in the really old sections so the wind in winter just ripped up between the boards. Most of the windows turned out to just be recycled sashes hard fixed to the studs with no actual window frames. The laundry was slowly separating from the rest of the house. You get the picture. We sold it last year and moved to a 20 year old house. It's on a LEVEL slab, has insulation in walls and ceiling, double glazing, a decent kitchen, doors that open AND close and we can run the washing machine without shaking pictures of the walls. It doesn't have anything like the character but at least I'm not facing a massive renovation. So, just say that that's an option as well
The gaps in the floorboards would once have been infilled with old rope/jute and oil/wax. That followed the same heat expansion patterns as the wood whilst stopping drafts and losing dropped treasures like jewellery and coins.
I've lived in a variety of houses myself. I agree that day to day ease of the more solid modern houses beats the quirky character of old and rustic, even if its not as aesthetically pleasing.
As an ex builder, who had previously drawn up plans for a reno and re-clad, but our designer came up with much better ides, and the builder suggested some better cladding options from a maintenance point of view with regards our house and where we are, the designer who had recommended the builder, was impressed with the changes and the finished product, took a run of the mill 1990 plaster box to a very contemporary 21st century house. We liked where we live and a new house elsewhere, would have given us the new house, but not the location.
Love the pictoral examples you edited in. Nicely done.
Very sound advice guys.
What terrifies me about renovating / extending my late 90’s home in 🇦🇺 is where to locate a new bathroom 😬 . Looking forward to Jess’s green velour winter jumpsuit btw 👍
Refurbished our kitchen, new counter tops and stripped and painted the cabinets. New laminate flooring throughout. Freshened up all the bathrooms with new paint and fixtures. Tore down the old deck and am starting a new screened porch this weekend. 😮
Air sealing doors ans windows and floors and walls as needed is always the biggest win. Combine with a biggish dehumidifier running on low full time in a spare room with the door open and you're half way to success. Insulation obviously key too, but meaningless if drafty and leaky. Fix both and things are a LOT nicer.
0:36 built like your what????!
🤣🤦💯
0:33
😂😂😂
exactly! 😂 I was like “PAUSE.”
My American ears thought the same 😅
First thing I did with our 1890 house was new water and gas lines. Luckily I live somewhere that I could do it myself. Just had to get it infected and signed off afterwards.
Then I rewired and put in anew panel. Again I got lucky as my oldest and best friend is an electrician. So he did the actual panel work. I did all the rest.
Infected 😂
Thank you and have a great week.
If you put naked aluminium it is indeed worse than wood. But most here in the Netherlands are aluminium core and a plastic layer on top. So you have the benefits of no maintenance and you don't have the heattransfer because the very conductive material (aluminium) is insulated from the cold and or heat.
We're getting triple glazed wooden core windows with aluminium layer on our South facing windows.. best of both worlds
Thick curtains keep the rooms warmer but increase the risk of mold formation on the windows.
Significant ground works requiring heavy machinery and tiled roofs with a bare minimum safety level (usually meaning a big vertical fall with nowhere to fix any safety / fall arrest gears...) are the only things that I find daunting. Other than that but not on a physical work level: planning permission and bureaucracy. My best tip? Declutter and Paint everything in and out and not just fences and (where applicable) roofs.
beautiful and crafty(!) work. tanx!
storage room for my dirt bike too come inside etc
I got so lucky and got a guy who just gradually fixed up SO many things in my house. Leveling the floors was a big part of it, and if I had to do it over again, I would have put more time into it (the kitchen wasn't quite right, and OMG the problems with installing cabinets was not a good thing). I have a slab foundation, so maybe it gets more complicated, but .. go for infrastructure first!
Excellent advice Scott and Jess.
I bought a 1928 double layered brickhouse with clay tile roof in germany and I'm renovating everything myself :D that's always fun
Hey Guys, thanks for great content as always. This not directly related to the video, however something I have been wondering about for a while, have you seen any warping or movement on the kitchen doors and drawer fronts? I’m in the process of planning a kitchen build, but have been advised against using ply by multiple people due to warping risk. In the kitchen build videos you mentioned you had some concerns as well. Keen to know if it ended up being an issue at all.
Good video SBC.. very informative and encouraging to try some DIY!!😎🎉😎
i am scarred of starting a job and not finishing it...i start so many projects and in my 2 days off a week i sometimes dont get a chance to finish them for about 6 months so a big job is like...Nooooo...finiah the others first 😂😂
I think that tip number 9 should be up there along with tip number 1. My tip would be never wallpaper with your loved one.
Love all your videos, everithing is perfectly explained!
Your deck sounds impressive, with posts and bearers and all.
Mine just cantilevers out....
Kind of related but not really...
I design electronic systems and I often collaborate with an industrial design company.
I am continually amazed at how much better their ideas are - the style and functionality they introduce with the simplest of changes.
Clients are always full of ideas and enthusiasm, and I think I sort of know what I am doing design wise, but professional designers operate on a totally different level...
Bought a house with a rotting potting shed. Turns out all it needed was new screws with proper weather gaskets, and painting. Shed is now bone dry and houses all of the garden tools and extra timber. Cost less than 1k to fix to have a proper garden shed.
Tip 11, add a deck. Outdoor living spaces are heaven and doubles as a play area and food sharing space. Cover the deck if you live in a warm climate like me.
Have started double glazing wooden frames. I need to look into the Schlegel weatherseal more.
Scary: Old insulfluff insulation above the ceilings. Need to decide what to do with that soon, with a bathroom reno. I don't do roof spaces or underfloor 😂
I have a two-story ranch in the US, built in 1987. It is structurally sound, but a lot of the finish work, including drywall, plumbing, and electrical are poorly done. My fear is that I will do something and then have to redo it a few months later, or worse, I will let the project explode with complexity. For example, I really need to redo the entire drain stack, but that means I will be replumbing all of the bathroom drains. I can get all the drains connected to the old fixtures, but then I have to do a lot of rework when I get new fixtures. Or I tear everything out and we piss in a bucket outside. Please solve my life.
well been Renovate ing the shed bedroom walls too make it my new shed bedroom into my brand new dream bedroom makeover setup an fit out bigger as its in need off some Renovates An building work asap
As a builder, renovations on your own place never seem to end...am I right? But getting help for those nasty jobs is money well spent currently experiencing the reno blues, but the end is finally in sight. Love your work Scott. Keep it up 👍
Tip 10 should been rephrased, get an architect or architectural designer. Designer could be anything.
Poly sheets on the ground is typical practise. Did you tape the joints?
The only suggestion I would have made to your insulation for the floor boards would have been to use rigid foam. Batts will absorb any moisture that's around. Rigid wont.
Great video and tips! I rent so I'm not doing anything to my house.