We asked the lucky owners of this house raise project in Ashgrove some questions about their home renovation project. Check out their tips for a successful house raise and renovation project.
Why Did You Decide to Raise Your Ashgrove House?
We decided to raise our house to build in under in order to double the size of the internal space without compromising the size of the yard.
What are the Best Features of Your Renovation?
With children on the verge of ‘teenagehood’ one of the best features will be the extra space. This includes the impressive 3m high ceilings that we were able to achieve on the ground floor. City views was another bonus.
How Did You Manage Your Renovation Budget?
We saved prior to embarking on the renovation in order to cover preliminary costs. We also did the project as owner builder and made sure we got 3-5 quotes for all work as the difference in price between contractors can be thousands.
What Do You Love Most About Ashgrove?
Ashgrove has good access to many ‘things’ we need such as schools and shops; and the surrounding suburbs. It also features a lot of character homes.
What Are Your Home Renovation Tips?
- Don’t live in the house while renovating if you have children but make sure you visit the site everyday work has gone on to check you are happy.
- Don’t be afraid to make a change to the plans if you think it will work better.
- Choose a flexible certifier by making sure you have a conversation about what happens if you decide to make changes to window sizes or add a window along the way etc.
- With changes, make sure you know what will and won’t trigger Council’s involvement.
- Choose reliable trades that are good at communicating. Usually asking people you know to recommend is a good start. This includes trades recommending other trades.
What Did You Like About Cornell Engineers?
We chose Cornell Engineers to design the structural aspects in our renovation. Matt took the time to visit the property prior to completing the design, offering some good suggestions. Andrew who completed the project was very personable and easy to talk to, accommodating our requests and changes along the way, quickly and professionally.
Photos from the Ahgrove project during construction:
Check out these photos for some house raise and build-in under ideas.
Thank You
Thank you for using Cornell Engineers and congratulations on such a beautiful house raise project.
Cornell Engineers was very proud to provide the structural engineering and construction phase inspections for this house raise project in Ashgrove.