8 THINGS THE EXPERTS WISH YOU KNEW

Discover the top tips and key points to sort out before you start planning a renovation

PAINTING Start from the top down! One common mistake DIY painters often make is where they decide to start the project.

It feels natural to start with the walls, but you should always start with your ceilings. This ensures that if you drip or splatter the ceiling paint onto the wall, it’s not a drama. You can then move down to walls and finish with trim for a seamless result. Jessica Plateo, product manager, British Paints (britishpaints.com.au)

KITCHEN DESIGN Talk to your builder before setting your heart on a particular design idea.

When you’re renovating, it’s easy to forget that the layout and placement of services and appliances is usually influenced by the existing design of your home. Concrete floors, a lack of cavity space in your roof or sub-floor and proximity to nearby buildings can affect what you can do. Getting the possibilities straight early is a good idea to avoid disappointment down the track. Travis Dean, director, Cantilever Interiors (cantileverinteriors.com)

FLOORING

My best advice is to find out what is under your existing flooring before you even think about what you want.

Sometimes the existing floor is in such great condition, you can lay something straight over the top. Other times, the floor isn’t as true or flush as you would like, so the floorboards or floating floor will need a lot of levelling prior to laying carpet, which can be expensive. Also, make sure you check the floor heights and doorways to other rooms as they may need extra joinery or concealing. All of these factors will influence your flooring choice. If you only have 5mm clearance under your doors, for example, there will be certain flooring options that will sit too high. Shelley Craft, ambassador, Carpet Court (carpetcourt.com.au)

JOINERY Custom-made joinery takes time!

A realistic timeline for making the cabinetry for a polyurethane kitchen is six to eight weeks. If you specify timber veneer cabinetry, you’re looking at an extra two weeks on top of that, and a solid timber kitchen can take up to 12 weeks to manufacture. High-end hardware and handles often have long lead times too, particularly if they’re coming from overseas, so these should be ordered at the same time as the cabinetry. Mark Mastroianni, Freestyle Joinery (freestylejoinery.com.au)

INTERIOR DESIGN I would love people to spend more time and energy on their floorplans

and the architectural aspects of their build, rather than the pretty sofas, marble tiles and stupidly expensive sideboards. Focus on the bones, rather than the bits and bobs to fill it: this is where your value lies, this is why Simon and I won The Block, and this is the most important aspect of your build! Get an interiors expert involved if need be, but make sure you give them a call in the initial stages of planning your reno. Shannon Vos, Vos Creative (voscreative.com.au)

POOL PLANNING People do tend to underestimate the time it takes to plan and install a pool and surrounding landscape.

Typically it takes four to six weeks to finalise the design, then anywhere from one to four months in council, and then there’s the actual construction time, which typically takes around three to six months. So, in total, it can take anywhere from six to 12 months to get the pool in the ground. Good things come to those who wait, and rushing stages, such as design, will always come back to bite you. Josh Harrison, Harrison’s Landscaping (harrisonslandscaping.com.au)

BATHROOM DESIGN I can’t stress enough the importance of getting the tile set out right.

Rather than just starting the tiling in the far corner and tiling back towards the door, or starting at the floor and tiling up the walls, make sure you spend some time thinking about the areas your eye will see. Make sure initial sight lines and large areas are full tiles, and position any cut tiles under joinery or in less visible areas. Considering this before you start your renovation can make a big difference to the overall aesthetic of your new bathroom. Darren Genner, Minosa Design (minosadesign.com)

BUDGETING

You need to allow an extra 10-15 per cent of your build cost for variations,

even if you’ve chosen and priced all of your surfaces, fixtures and fittings beforehand. I find there are always a few changes of mind along the way, and it’s impossible to avoid a couple of unforeseen things cropping up. They’re just a fact of life in a renovation. Wayd Munro, Focus Build (focusbuild.com.au)