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It’s a common dilemma for would-be renovators working on a tight budget: do you complete some of your renovations and finish the job later? Or do you try to do everything at the same time?
There are pros and cons to each approach.
Back in 2015, this was the exact conundrum facing Addbuild client Brendan. In 2023 he completed the second and final stage of a renovation on his family home in Mascot, and his case study is a great example to learn from.
We start at the beginning, almost nine years ago.
Initial Investigations
What prompted Brendan and his family to look to renovate?
“When we bought our current house we didn’t have any kids so its two bedrooms were fine,” Brendan recalls. “That changed of course, and we started looking at the first renovation when we had one kid and one on the way. We really needed an extra bedroom.”
“Our home was pretty old and the back part was in a really bad condition, a hodgepodge of smaller rooms. We needed to sort that out,” Brendan explains. “We started out with an architect and a budget.”
“He designed us a two-storey addition. When we took that to a builder, it was more than double our budget to build it! We had no chance of doing that,” Brendan continues.
The Back Up Plan
“We visited the Home Show in Homebush and got talking to Addbuild who had a stand there. They explained they could do everything from design through to build, and they would work with us to get something done within our budget.”
“Addbuild were true to their word: we went with the necessities in that first build: an extra bedroom and fixed the back of the house,” Brendan notes. “We didn’t go up, but that had been the initial idea.”
The Second Stage
What prompted Brendan and his wife to revisit expanding their home with a new second storey?
Eight years on, with their first child close to becoming a teenager, and fresh from COVID imposed working from home, the family’s needs were changing.
“I had been working out of my attic during COVID, going up and down a ladder! So, I was looking for a proper office which could double as a spare room for guests.”
“We were sitting on top of each other in that one living room. We really wanted a separate living space for the kids.”
“Initially we did look at finding a new home, but worked out that with stamp duty and other expenses, it was a better option to renovate given what houses are now going for in this area.”
“Also, we’d be moving out of a newly renovated house to something bigger, but most of the homes we looked at needed some work done anyway.”
Working With Addbuild Again
“We’d had a really good experience with Addbuild the first time, so we thought we’d talk to them,” Brendan continues. “Once again, we realised that their experience of designing and building second floors on tight blocks would be invaluable.”
“We were able to max out what we could do upstairs. We added two big bedrooms, a full bathroom and another living room,” Brendan adds. “That left us with two bedrooms downstairs with the third now an office.”
“The plan was to move the kids upstairs, giving them their own space, leaving downstairs for us.”
“We had a different site supervisor, but we were surprised and relieved to find not much else had changed. It was a very familiar way of working, a really good process again.”
Cost Differences
Brendan says he did look at the cost of the two separate builds against what it might have been if they had completed everything at the same time.
“Once you adjust for the increase in the cost of building now, the difference between building this in one go and doing it in stages wasn’t earth shattering – not frighteningly more expensive.”
“It was higher overall, but another thing was that, in the meantime, our finances had changed – we had more resources for the second stage.”
“It worked out well for us in our circumstances. We finally have what we wanted, but in the meantime we enjoyed living in our home for the past nine years much more than if we hadn’t done anything at all and just waited.”
Pros and Cons – A Summary
Working in stages:
Pros
- Allows you to borrow a more manageable amount and you don’t jeopardise your future enjoyment of the property by overspending.
- You live with initial improvements before deciding if the next stage is necessary.
- You can adjust the design of the second stage based on that lived experience and any changing circumstances.
- As your finances change – hopefully improving – you can incorporate more ‘wants’ in the second stage.
Cons
- You don’t get everything you might need or want first up.
- You have to live through a second round of disruption.
- Overall cost in total is more than if you complete the renovations in one go.
Completing All at Once:
Pros
- There is economy of scale.
- More efficient for the builder = lower overall cost.
- You get what you want the first time, and only have to live through one build.
- Only one development application.
Cons
- You might end up borrowing more and put yourself under financial pressure.
- As your family’s needs change over time, you might find you want to make changes in the future anyway.
Looking at Your Renovation Options?
With more than 2,000 additions and extensions completed since 1980, Addbuild has worked with Sydney homeowners to design and construct their renovation in almost every conceivable circumstance.
We draw on that experience to offer the best advice and practical solutions that can include working in stages to protect your budget and future.
Our ‘concept-to-completion‘ service includes experienced renovation design and the management of your Development Application.
Call our office on (02) 8765 1555 or send us a message using our contact form if outside of office hours.
If you are looking for more ideas and advice, feel free to delve into our comprehensive suite of articles about all aspects of renovating, download our free “Consumer Guide to Home Improvement” or enrol in our Home Alterations Masterclass.