It’s easy when you buy a new house to get caught up in the emotion and the excitement of the moment, and sometimes when you think you’ve got a small problem you’ve actually got quite an expensive one.
So when professional couple Craig and Leigh Goldberg bought their first house, they knew that their back yard needed attention but they just didn’t know how much. You see, Craig had no idea that what seemed like a couple of posts that needed straightening would involve landscapers, engineer certificates and neighbourly negotiations.
With a budget of just $40,000, Craig was hoping to paint the inside of the house, redesign and refurbish the backyard, as well as render some of the red brick and install a hi-tech security system.
With this in mind, builder Luke Van Dyck was concerned that he was going to be well short “I would have said that the retaining walls would be at least $25, not including the backyard renovation” and the timeline? “well seeing as though they are planning to get this done over the Christmas New Year period, where tradesmen take a break - I think they have Buckley’s.”
John McGrath believes however that the Goldberg’s have bought into a great area… “Bondi is probably the hottest suburb in Australia at the moment and so I think they have done well to buy here” however like Luke, John is concerned about getting the job done by the time Leigh’s birthday comes around. “the timeline for me is a little light – they could do it but I think it is unrealistic”
Being first time renovators, Craig and Leigh have little experience when it comes to choosing a paint colour scheme, and so have called in a colour consultant from Inspirations Paints to give them some advice.
In the end, Leigh’s birthday comes and goes before the renovation has even begun, but 2 months later and nearly all is complete, including a spectacular new back garden and freshly painted house.
So they may have blown the timeline – but what about the budget?
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Ready to Watch Australian Renovations, Season 1, Episode 2?