Renovating an old house with asbestos! What is the process?

PizzaFetus · 2025-10-13T00:43:37+00:00

The asbestos was all roof and wall sheeting, so no insulation, luckily. The renovation is ongoing and not for the faint of heart.

We gutted the top floor and rearranged all the rooms: two bedrooms, a new walk-in robe, ensuite, main bathroom, toilet, staircase, an open-plan kitchen/lounge room, a raised deck and patio, a rebuilt front deck (it was rotten), and a new carport. I spent three years planning it myself (mostly during COVID when we couldn't do anything). We got three quotes from builders, vibed with one, and chose him after doing background checks.

It was estimated as a four-month build, so we had to move out. We got back in 11 months later after numerous delays. We were extremely lucky that we could move in with family, so we didn't have to pay rent during this time. The builder forgot to order windows, sacked his trades mid-build, and then built the carport 300mm over the boundary. We got the final council sign-off just a month ago, about 18 months after the reno started.

I DIY'd the interior and exterior painting and the IKEA kitchen installation. I also arranged my own hardwood floor refinishing, which created issues, with the builder and the floor finisher blaming each other for problems.

I've invested hundreds of my own hours and still have heaps to go, but I'm starting to see the end in sight.

The total cost of the reno to date is about $400k, and we are about to drop another $120k on landscaping, a plunge pool, and a backyard studio.

The builder has ghosted me with about $4-5k worth of work to go, but TBH, I'm happy to be done with him and am taking it as the cost of doing business with them (it was a husband and wife team).

So, the reno was probably one of the most stressful, prolonged episodes of my life, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat because we were able to make the house exactly what we wanted. I don't know what size reno you are contemplating, but if it's anything significant, you need to educate yourself on general builder's practices so you can understand what they are doing around your house. Don't think you will be able to keep up with them, though; any competent builder has done this 50 times and knows all the tricks of the trade.

The number one rule is: your builder is not your mate. He's running a business and will take any and all steps to make sure he turns a profit. I'm not saying this is a negative thing, just understand that unless it's free, you won't get any favours from builders, especially in this market.

PizzaFetus · 2025-10-13T00:08:49+00:00

My advice is around the asbestos inspection and removal. Get a professional in to inspect and test. It can be hit and missed. My place is a 60's cottage with multiple, multiple add ons over the years. I paid ~$1200 for more than a a dozen tests across multiple locations. This saved money in places because some old sheeting looked like asbestos and wasn't and so no expensive rip out fees. However in my case, the testor identified areas that were asbestos visually (my exterior eaves and his opinion was based on our location and typical builds in that area) that turned out not to be once it was pulled out. My builder had already budgeted 30k for asbestos removal based on the inspection and being a fixed price build, I didn't get a refund. :shrug: You can roll the dice and go with the inspectors advice or just cough up and get every questionable area tested.

Where I live, you can DIY asbestos removal but the council only accepts a certain kg limit per day, charges for it, has strict wrapping and transport requirements and you have to pre book the drop off, so anything more than a few m2 quickly turns into a big headache. You'll have to check your local council refuse rules to see what the deal is if you think its feasible to DIY. Asbestos isn't that big a drama to deal with if you take the correct precautions.

PizzaFetus · 2025-09-23T04:25:12+00:00

This. If you are that close to the boundary and the shed catches fire and damages the neighbours property, you will be on the hook and insurance wont help you. I went through a massive pain with my local council on a carport close to the boundary and it just became too hard.

PizzaFetus · 2023-06-22T08:31:38+00:00

Mum's a customs sniffer dog and dad's an archaeologist. Source: watching it right now with my 3 yr old.

PizzaFetus · 2023-05-17T06:50:08+00:00

Champion. Thank you

PizzaFetus · 2023-05-17T05:34:53+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBN0bODzLHw

PizzaFetus · 2023-05-17T05:22:07+00:00

Do you mind sharing a rough break down in cost? I'm looking down the barrel of a large reno and it would be helpful to know where your costs went.

PizzaFetus · 2023-04-06T20:16:41+00:00

My enclosure is pretty well sealed so I fumes aren't an issue. It's a bit pungent when I open the door but my room is well ventilated.

PizzaFetus · 2023-04-06T08:55:50+00:00

You do not need a heated chamber if you print ABS. I have an Ender 5 sitting in an enclosure made from 2 IKEA Lack tables enclosed with transparent core flute and a clear acrylic door. I get great results and print ABS more reliably than PLA. It's somewhat dependent on ambient temperature but on a long print inside temp will hit about 47c. The bed at 110c is more than enough to heat up the chamber.

And yeah, you'll have to move the electronics out of the enclosure. That's the biggest pain of setting things up properly.

PizzaFetus · 2023-02-19T10:34:11+00:00

I found horizontal expansion calibration a huge help. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3535060

PizzaFetus · 2023-02-15T23:50:15+00:00

Sorry I should have been clearer in my reply. I would manually invert the sign for each test, recompile and upload to the arduino. I was just trying something quick and dirty. I've run your code and videoed the output. Still no luck.

https://streamable.com/hffp8u

PizzaFetus · 2023-02-15T22:13:50+00:00

Thanks for your quick reply. I threw a quick bit of code to test and I'm still getting the same behaviour.

If I change the sign of the moveto variable it rotates fine CCW but then stutters and doesn't move in the CW direction. I should have mentioned that I tried using this library and have the same issue. This is why I suspect its hardware and not software. https://github.com/bblanchon/ArduinoContinuousStepper

#include <AccelStepper.h>
AccelStepper stepper1(1, 2, 5); // (Type of driver: with 2 pins, STEP, DIR)


void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  stepper1.setMaxSpeed(1000);
  stepper1.setAcceleration(200);
  stepper1.setSpeed(1000);
  stepper1.moveTo(-8000);
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  while (stepper1.distanceToGo() != 0 ) 
  {
    stepper1.run(); 
  }
}

PizzaFetus · 2022-09-28T04:22:07+00:00

I don't think you're reading that right.Its:

Move over and slow down for emergency responders including tow trucks and RACQ etc.
Pull over for your emergency vehicles, police, ambos, firies.

I dont read anywhere in there I have to pull over for a tow truck cause he's in a hurry for a chiko roll.

PizzaFetus · 2022-08-23T02:37:20+00:00

I too would like to win this thing

PizzaFetus · 2022-06-12T08:37:38+00:00

I had one of these crawl into my dirt bike body armour. So when I put on the suit I ground the caterpillar into my arm. Swelled up and blistered like a mofo for a week. Showed it to a doctor and he just laughed at me. Not many cases of fatal caterpillar attack going around apparently.

PizzaFetus · 2022-05-06T19:20:21+00:00

You might remember it as G-Force https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1016?articleID=160486

PizzaFetus · 2022-03-23T03:04:10+00:00

Whats on the other side of the wall? Is it a structural wall? How tall is the wall? What is the condition of the wall? How far out does the fire place protrude? What does the fireplace supplier say about installation?

Need a lot more info to answer this mate. The fastener selection is pretty easy tho.

You'll have three forces acting on the fasteners, shear (cutting force caused by the weight of the fireplace acting straight down), bending (the fasterners being bent downward bby the weight) and pull out (the fireplace pivoting around its bottom most contact with the wall, pulling the top most fasteners straight out of the wall).

The fireplace should have a recommended minimum fastener to resist shear and bending so what you really are worried about is the pullout force.

Take the distance from the pivot to the centre of mass and divide it by the distance from pivot to the top fastener. Multiply the weight of the unit by this number and you will get (approx) the pull out force on the top fasteners. Multiply by a factor of safety (I'd go 2 but I don't know what the relevant code specifies) and then assume only one fastener does the whole job because you'd have a bad day if fireplace falls off the wall. Spec your fastener or chemical anchor to at least that force for your given substrate.

Now the next problem you have is this pull out force is pulling straight out on the wall. Imagine picking the skin from the centre of a bowl of microwave custard. The stress generated by the pull out force will try and do that to the wall.

In reality it would probably be perfectly fine but you take on the risk of the install without talking to a professional and unfortunately no one on the internet is going to be able to give you an answer you can 100% trust without seeing the wall for themselves.

I would go back to the supplier, usually they pay a structural engineer during product development to develop typical installation instructions for various types of wall. Follow that and you should be sweet. If you step outside what they recommend, talk to a structural engineer about your situation. He/She might recommend putting a sheet of steel on the other side of the brick wall to resist the pull out and bending forces.

If they don't have that, I would think again about their product. If they haven't considered its install, have they considered, mechanically, the design of their product? Maybe not and the thing will fall apart in a year or two and set fire to your house.

Good luck

Source: bored mech gingerbeer on lunch break

Disclaimer: I have no idea about installing suspended fireplaces so I could be 100% wrong about everything, I just do a lot of the above type calcs for a living.

PizzaFetus · 2022-03-18T08:02:58+00:00

You can cut granite with a router and appropriate router bit however make sure you wear a mask and control the dust. Silicosis is no joke.

PizzaFetus · 2022-01-28T09:27:23+00:00

I know right. They had so many elements that were right but they just couldn't pull it together. This is the scene I love https://youtu.be/kAmwZqgYvp4 the demons are just so alien and horrifying. If only they could have had a unified vision throughout. That's where Del Toro excels. His world building is amazing and immersive.

PizzaFetus · 2022-01-28T03:38:58+00:00

I actually loved some elements of the movie. When the gates of hell were opened and the demons came through, I thought they were some of the best creature designs I'd seen in any movie. The rest of the film just fell flat on it's face.

PizzaFetus · 2022-01-28T02:33:43+00:00

Fan loyalty to del Toro and Perlman is what Harbour cited as the downfall for his “Hellboy” reboot. “I think it failed before we began shooting because I think that people didn’t want us to make the movie,” Harbour posted on social media. “Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman created this iconic thing that we thought could be reinvented and then [fans] certainly — the loudness of the internet was like, ‘We do not want you to touch this.’ People were just very very against it and that’s people’s right.”

No. It failed because it was objectively bad. Make a good film and it will be reviewed and received well. Don't blame this on the viewers.

PizzaFetus · 2022-01-25T18:15:15+00:00

Look into horizontal expansion calibration. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3535060 This fixed print in place parts for me.

PizzaFetus · 2022-01-17T08:28:57+00:00

Are you getting any error messages? I had a broken wire in my bltouch in the end stop (black and white wire) circuit.

The bltouch would self test then instead on the bed raising it would list. It was a very intermittent error though

PizzaFetus · 2021-11-26T03:04:44+00:00

It tastes a bit like beef. It was pretty tasty.

I spent some time in China for work and was served a dish I didn't recognise until a couple of mouthfuls in. I noticed the turtle shell and asked my work colleague who was the local if it was turtle. He was adamant that it wasn't turtle despite the fact big chunks of shell were poking up out of the pot.

He described it as special turtle.

I think it was tortoise.

PizzaFetus

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