In Episode 10 Australian Renovations began the story of our biggest renovation yet courtesy of the Doughty family who fell in love with their house in 1997 because of the 1300sqm of land it sat upon. Like most family homes, over the last 13 years, this house has seen its fair share of action.
The fact that John and Kathy are lucky to be mortgage free means that they can afford to do this renovation right. But when it comes to the specifics of how much it will cost, that’s a bit open according to John Doughty. “Look there is no budget!”
Surprisingly, despite the loose financial approach, it wasn’t just the budget that concerned property expert John McGrath. He was more worried about the length of the project. There is little doubt this house is overdue for some TLC, but John McGrath is concerned these first timers may have bitten off more than they can chew.
“One of the interesting things is they’re actually intending to live in the house right through the renovations and I’m not so sure, I don’t think they’ve done a big renovation before, I’m not so sure they know what a difficult issues that’s going to become for them and their family.”
Builder Luke Van Dyck is a renovation specialist and so was keen to hear John’s Plan for managing the project…and he didn’t like what he heard. “Mate you’re, you’re scaring me, just stop, just stop, you’re scaring me.” John and Kathy are planning a major renovation of their existing farm style house by knocking off the back end of the property and building a new kitchen, living room, laundry, upstairs loft and kids room. They also plan to add a new wrap around deck on every side of the house. They are hoping to complete the works in about 6 months and anticipate it will cost them around $250,000.
John Doughty has taken on the role of owner builder, but being a novice when it comes to the skills of house building, means he has become the designated demolition man as well the laborer for his construction team. And this freshman renovator quickly learns that some things are out of his control.
As the weeks pass and the renovations continue, the excitement builds for Kathy as their dream home begins to be realized. “It is like magic. Everyday I come home and something in the house has been transformed.” Although great progress is being made at the back of the house, its seems a little renovation fatigue is settling in, as John’s schedule is a as loose as his budget. ”I have lost my socks, my lunch and my sanity three times…”
As the finale to the series continues we find out if John and Kathy’s renovation not only makes or breaks their family, but also their bank balance.
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