THERENO
Afterlivinginthehousefora year,thecouple
settoworkchangingthedysfunctionalfloor
plan.Thepreviousowner(who’dbuiltthe
house)hadaddedanextensivesunroomonthe
northside– about 45 squaremetres’worth.
“Wefeltwecouldusethisadditionmore
effectively,”saysAimee.“Byaddinga couple
ofwalls,wewereabletoconverttheexisting
two-bedroomhouseintoa three-bedroom
housewithtwolivingareas.”
Workwascomplicatedbythefactthatthe
homewasona concreteslabandalsohadnext
tonoroofcavity.Thismeanteverythinghadto
berunthroughthewalls,oftennecessitating
theremovalofgiborroofingtofeedwiresinto
theceiling.However,ReeceandAimeeweren’t
deterredandusedtheopportunitytostraighten
walls,sortouttheelectricsandplumbing, and
fullyinsulatewhilethegibwasoff.
Themasterbedroomwasswiftlymadea
prioritywhentheyrealisedtheywereexpecting
theirfirstchild.HavingbabyHeidionthescene
slowedtherenodownfora yearbutsomehow
ReeceandAimeepoweredthroughandfinished
thelivingroomandremainingbedroomsthe
yeardaughternumbertwo,Saskia,arrived.
Oncethenewfloorplanwasconfirmed,they
replacedalltheoldwoodenjoinerywith
aluminium.Theyalsomadethedecisionto‘bag’
(applya thincoatingto)andpaintthebrown
brick exterior for a more modern look.
BEFORE+
BESTLESSON
LEARNED?
“It’sworthshopping
aroundandgetting
twoorthreequotes
astherecanbea lot
ofvariation,especially
onhigher-costjobs
involvingkitchensand
bathrooms.Also,keep
aneyeonthesmaller
billsasthesecanadd
up very quickly.”FLOORSCOREThe
couplelovetheindustrial-
gradevinylflooringthey
choseforthekitchen,
diningandfamilyroom.
“It’sbeenincrediblyhard-
wearingbutis easyonthe
feetandeasytoclean.The
kidsscooteredandbiked
aroundinsidewhenthey
werelittle,plusthedogis
alwaysinside,butyou’d
never know to look at it!”
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