Garage build with house.

[MVLUV]

Have been enjoying this forum and peoples garages since 2012. I have also enjoyed the projects within the garages as they are built and used once *finished.

My project started in 2013. We were looking for a place in Brisbane Australia as we had sold our old place. The wish list was;

4 bedroom 2 bathroom
2 car lock-up garage with storage/workshop area
Bit of a yard for the kids
Prefer house not townhouse (lots in our area)


We were lucky to be able to lease our old place from the new owners for about 9 months and in that time we could not find a house that fit our list and our budget.



Looking on the net we came across a house in a great area that was original circa 1947 high set and enclosed below.

It was listed on the Friday and we were prepared to view on the Saturday and make an offer on the day if it looked ok.

We were willing to move fast as it looked like a place we could ‘turn’ into our wish list house rather than find.



The next day we fronted up to the open house with about 50 others and was informed the owners had decided to auction rather than take offers (no doubt after agents advice).



Two weeks later we were at the auction and the last bidders at significantly lower than what we were going to offer.

 

[MVLUV]

Another shot of the front. The auction was a nerve racking experience for us as we had never bid at auction before but we now have a 100% success rate .

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[MVLUV]

This was the state of the back yard.





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[MVLUV]

It really was unusable as it was. It had been a dumping ground for years and plants and mostly weeds had overgrown piles of bricks and numerous styrofoam boxes.

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[MVLUV]

The plan was to move in and get a feel for the place and decide what changes would suit us best and get the approvals all sorted out.
The yard was the first job that needed to be done.
Basically said to a Bob cat operator keep going until it's clear and flat.


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[MVLUV]

This area was originally a shade house for plants but would be better served as a sand pit for the kids.

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[MVLUV]

This area gets a fair bit of shade so some astro turf was a good option.

I laid the turf and it made the world of difference to the back yard.

The above photo you can see the fish house. On a key rack inside the house the key place was labelled fish house so it stuck.
It was also full of asbestos. Roof internal and external walls.

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[MVLUV]

While living in the house for about 2 years we got the plan together and chose a builder. The place had not had much done to it since the 50's.

3 D Wall paper was a thing apparently.

The laundry sink went to a family member.

Some cool power outlets with isolators
Will keep these.


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[MVLUV]

Here is the downstairs area that will become the workshop/storage area.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181009/c377f2aa00d720d4c098edacc506b992.jpg[/IMG
[ATTACH=full]1340457[/ATTACH]
Not much in the way of progress here as during building it will not be secure. I still used the area to keep projects moving slowly.
[ATTACH=full]1340458[/ATTACH]

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[jblnut]

Holy smokes what a wonder a bit of cleanup and grass does to that yard !!

The place looks like it has major potential and it's very exciting you were able to buy it for less than you planned

 

[el monte slim]

Congratulations on winning your bid, and for doing good work in whipping the outside of the property into shape.

 

[zer01]

Lots of potential. Looks great.

 

[MVLUV]

Thanks for the comments.

With plans approved we moved out and handed over to the asbestos removal guys.
We were left with a skeleton.

The fish house got the same treatment.

The poor fish house had suffered a fair bit of termite damage and would need some structural work.
Interesting that the house structure was untouched.

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[zer01]

Wasn't expecting that! Great story, I'm following

 

[spoonsports86]

wow! fully gutted now gonna be a new house after all this work

 

[MVLUV]

Just before we moved out I found the next project but it will have to wait until we were back in

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[colin39]

Just before we moved out I found the next project but it will have to wait until we were back in

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Is that a 125 or 250 2stroke?

Man that house is gunna be drafty[emoji23]

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[MVLUV]

Is that a 125 or 250 2stroke?

Man that house is gunna be drafty[emoji23][emoji1787]

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It's a 250 RGV.

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[colin39]

It's a 250 RGV.

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I rode a 250 rgv and loved it but own a 125 rgv

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[MVLUV]

I have seen pictures of the 125 but we never got them here in Australia.

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[colin39]

I have seen pictures of the 125 but we never got them here in Australia.

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My bad should have been owned, got sold in the early 90's.


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[JDMjunkies.ch]

Looks great. if we wouldn't have found the place we build on now i would have loved to buy something like this and do a makeover.

 

[MVLUV]

Looks great. if we wouldn't have found the place we build on now i would have loved to buy something like this and do a makeover.

I sometimes think we should have levelled the place and started again. Price wise it would not have been much more, however the downstairs area probably would have been used differently with the wife's input so that's a positive.

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[MVLUV]

The original garage was a nose to tail which is not very practical for two regularly driven cars. My plan was to have a side by side with a bit of extra width to easily get motorbikes through the middle without moving cars. The dimensions I thought would be enough were 6.5m by 6.5m. With the original garage right in the middle.
Here you came see the slab and the box sections to support the I beam.
This slab needed some engineering as the council plans showed a 900mm stormwater drain underneath. The engineering plans showed a arching cast section placed over the pipework to distribute the weight either side of the pipe. The council also required pre and post internal inspections of the pipework. With everything in order and pre inspection done excavation began ...... Geuss what no pipe found, council plans were out by about 2 metres. Oh well.
The other two supports in the far corner are for a cantelever section to the side for an ensuite.

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[MVLUV]

Inside things were also moving fast. The rear lean to part of the house was removed and a deck was installed. This intetnal area was 4 separate rooms that we thought would look better as an open plan area.


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[BBChevro]

Hey MVLUV, good to see a Brisbane build.

It'll be like a new one when your done.

I know what you mean about the nose to tail parking situation - our place is a bit like The Castle at times (can you move the Outlander so we can shift the Territory so I can get the F100 out [emoji15] ).

Great transformation of the back yard already.
I'll be watching the progress on this one. [emoji106]

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[MVLUV]

Building continued and the main support beam was welded above the new garage to support the above floor.

More building.

The lower level will be rendered so cladding was Hardie sheet was installed.

Then a hole was cut in the open plan area for internal access downstairs.

This was an easy decision as the convenience of access to the garage was worth every cent.

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[MVLUV]

All the spaces were starting to take shape as the house was closed in. We were getting more excited as the open plan area was looking like a great space.

Some garage shots and finally some colour .
Sorry about the sideways shot.





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[MVLUV]

Here is the side access which I wanted to maintain, unfortunately I couldn't have open access and a rear roller door.




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[MVLUV]

Along with all the other approvals including building, building over stormwater, driveway and driveway grid crossing, we applied for a relaxation for the garage to be within 4 metres of the property boundary.
It was approved prior to starting the build and here is the street view.

As you can see we set the bedroom above back outside the 4 metre distance as approval was unlikely for a habital space.
The council is much more lenient on storage areas.

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[MVLUV]

We spent quite a while deciding on garage door colour as we wanted something that would tie in with the tiles, paint and timber ballustrade.

It may not look like it but we spent a bit of time on the front door colour too.

We thought we would try and honour the old house by fixing the cracks and re using the old door and I'm glad we did.
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[colin39]

We spent quite a while deciding on garage door colour as we wanted something that would tie in with the tiles, paint and timber ballustrade.

It may not look like it but we spent a bit of time on the front door colour too.

We thought we would try and honour the old house by fixing the cracks and re using the old door and I'm glad we did.
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How stuff coming along bud, summer is kicking off for you now isnt it?

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[MVLUV]

Yes summer is well and truly upon us now with a nice 29 Deg c predicted for Christmas day tomorrow.

This pic shows the extension from the corner forward.

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[MVLUV]

It's been a while so thought I would do a little catching up with a photo dump.
The house itself was completed to a great standard and we were very happy at handover.
In the main bathroom we wanted a large shower and no glass to clean.


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[MVLUV]

More main bathroom shots.

Here is how the fish house was left and it was my first project after we moved in.

I used cement linear board and tin roofing.
A fair amount of reinforcing was required as termite damaged timbers were removed.
It's a great storage space now that is approximately 5 by 4.5 meters.
Next job was to do something about the dirt pathway, I decided to make a boardwalk from synthetic timber so the only maintenance required is a pressure wash once a year.
Also built a new back fence. We called 4 different fence builders and none were interested in such a small job so I thought I'll have a go myself.

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[MVLUV]

Around this time a house locally was being demolished. They had a outdoor area by the pool with a nice stainless cabinet and stone bench top.
So for $400 it was ours.
After trimming the benchtop it was a good fit. I also found the tiling easier than I thought it would be.

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[MVLUV]

The front porch and rear deck areas were a struggle for us to decide on ceiling linings so I told the builders at the time to just leave it and we will re visit in the future.

We thought about varnished marine ply and a couple of other options but we decided on timber flooring.
Before

After

If you look closely at the end facia board you will see the patches.
I had to remove and re attach the board as it was 20mm out from one end to the other which made the lining recessed at one end and proud at the other.
Installation was a bit tricky but we'll worth the effort.
I had pre wired the cable to the light switch and just powered it up once the lights were installed.

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[wasfast]

Stunning result. I really appreciate a reno like this that transforms an existing property to so much more than it was.

 

[colin39]

Love them kitchen tiles, saw them on this years block, cant find them in the y-uk

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[MVLUV]

Stunning result. I really appreciate a reno like this that transforms an existing property to so much more than it was.

Thanks, we purchased it from a family that had been there since 1947 and it didn't feel right to knock it down and start again. The bones are still there.