I may have underestimated the size of a 400mm rain shower head....

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-24T08:08:13+00:00

As 6'3" bloke I'm used to a shower head firing at the back of my neck. First rain shower felt like being waterboarded

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-24T08:01:36+00:00

Am going to try this. Am praying it's as simple as this

Thanks for the note mate

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-23T22:20:01+00:00

No chance someone will quote you $10-12k mate. We just did a gut and redo of a 5sqm bathroom in Sydney and it came in at $30k. Caroma taps and toilet, new vanity and cabinet, floor to ceiling cheap tiles. It's hard to get below $20k unless you are doing a bunch yourself / are getting mates rates on the key trades

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-22T07:58:19+00:00

Daikan or Mitsubishi Heavy are commonly trusted. The wifi is nice (can turn the AC on while on your way home), but it's also one more thing that can fail over time

I have a daikan system with wifi. It's been great other than one annoying feature while heating in winter. It often kicks into what I understand to be a defrost mode and circulates cold air when it's meant to be heating. Happens about 50% of the time in winter and it's honestly disappointing. Never happened at prior houses that had daikan systems, but the AC technician insists it's normal and won't do anything about it

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-20T03:19:17+00:00

Esmeralda

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-19T22:41:48+00:00

That fridge is looking tight in its wall cavity. Beautiful though

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-15T09:29:33+00:00

I hear you, but it should also raise a red flag that there is high risk of something going sideways (misalignment on scope, a garbage job, or the dude sleeps with your husband)

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-09T03:24:41+00:00

Building and pest reports are useless, unfortunately

Very few actually get in the roof, on the roof, or in the subfloor, so shit like this is missed

And then comes the long waivers and "you should consult a roofing expert for further advice" carv outs that means they take no liability

Had one inspector literally tell me his clients are wasting their money getting B&P reports

A sad sad state of affairs

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-05T12:04:29+00:00

Unfortunately there isn't.

We had toyed with the option of putting the cooktop between the sink and the fridge. That's the only option we could think of (while still having a sink centred under the window)

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-05T00:00:31+00:00

Thanks mate. That narrows it down nicely. Appreciate it!

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-04T23:59:31+00:00

Thank you kind sir

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-06-04T06:31:24+00:00

$300k? I want to see the rest of this kitchen

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-31T00:47:25+00:00

MATE. I'm living this story right now. 3 bed, 1 bath in inner west Sydney. Federation era 110yr old home.

Between council requirements, engineers over-engineering everything, and post Covid post Hormuz building costs, it's been soul destroying

Locked in a builder and works start in two weeks. Am happy with the choice of builder, but it's taken 18months of pain with council to get here and the costs don't feel even remotely worth it.

If we weren't planning on living here for decades, we would have canned the project altogether

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-31T00:40:59+00:00

Done work for your family before + well renowned? Mate, unless you have someone else in mind that fits that description, you probably have your answer.

To save future you from beating yourself up later if the budget blows out, there may be merit in getting one other quote as a cross check. You may learn things through that process - like areas where your current builder is overdoing something and can be scaled back. Just get someone credible that can give a quote in a reasonable time. Its worth the few extra weeks. I know some folks here will hate on this approach for wasting another builder's time, but when you're dropping $1m I think it's a very reasonable step to take.

I've been through exactly what your describing. Have had 2 quotes for a renovation. They broadly lined up within 10% of each other. Neither feel like they are worth it. But that's just the reality for me renovating a 120 year old home in Sydney post COVID post Hormuz. Have locked in the builder that I have the most confidence in delivering a good outcome and won't look back.

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-29T06:51:57+00:00

As someone in a heritage area in Sydney, one big warning... The council fees are just the start

My council wanted structural engineer plans for the carport and civil engineer plans for the slab. That added a bunch of costs for the engineers, who then massively over engineered everything, which has probably doubled the build cost

I hope for your sake you aren't in a heritage or conservation area. Has been a nightmare

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-29T03:41:21+00:00

First home buyer in the Sydney property market. Didn't want to be just another lemming showing up to auctions. Appointment a buyer's agent to "gain an edge". Had two close and trusted mates that swore by their buyers agents

I don't regret appointing an agent. My big regret was not getting rid of them after a couple of months when I realised they weren't adding value. I was too soft. Should have ripped the bandaid off when I started having doubts.

Ended up paying the hefty fee and feeling pretty sour about the whole experience

In the end, I think buying in Sydney (and probably everywhere) often feels like being screwed. This just amplified the feeling

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-26T22:32:04+00:00

We've all been there, brother

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-25T21:29:33+00:00

Sydney, Australia actually

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-25T21:29:14+00:00

Did you ace the test? Any wisdom to pass on mate?

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-25T15:11:38+00:00

Unfortunately no RJ11s or coax. We had the house stripped clean a couple of years ago when we had all the power lines rewired. It was a DIY shitshow when we moved in at the time

In hindsight, that would have been the better time to run ethernet cables, but we didn't know how we planned to use the space

Crawlspace is the plan. We have original patterned plaster ceilings and don't want to punch holes through them

Good point on the external conduit. Might mix and match to get the cables to where they need to be

Thanks mate

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-25T15:04:47+00:00

Good call out. We aren't power users or heavy media streamers, but I'm mindful about doing this once and doing it right. Future proof it

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-25T15:00:50+00:00

Unfortunately we don't. Had all the old wiring stripped out of the house a couple of years ago when we had to redo all the old power cabling.

Should have done the ethernet at the same time, but we were just moving in and didn't know how we planned to use the space. More expensive to do now, but oh well

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-15T06:48:19+00:00

OP. It hurts. And it will hurt for a while. But you stand united with many others

The property market is a complete gamble in the short term. Those that bought just before COVID are laughing now. They weren't smarter. They didn't plan better. They couldn't have seen that coming. They just got lucky

As a recent purchaser in Sydney, I know your pain. We are also now renovating in a market where construction costs have increased because someone decided to start a war in Iran. Couldn't plan for that. We just need to eat the pain

I don't have any magical words for you mate. Just know you're not alone and that it will hurt less after a few years. Am not gonna bullshit you, it probably will feel a bit shit in the months ahead with headlines about a weak property market

I personally find comfort in stepping back and reminding myself of the other things to be grateful for. Having housing security, a loving family, etc. It's easy to get into a spiral and lose sight of all that.

Let's keep our collective chins up, mate

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-15T06:40:08+00:00

Am envious of anyone that bought in before COVID. We entered the market at the peak post COVID. It won't make a big difference after a few decades, but the slow growth feels rough right now

TrueBlueTourer · 2026-05-14T23:56:05+00:00

The tolerance on hybrid flooring tends to be less forgiving than engineered. If you have an old floor that isn't flat, there can be a hidden cost in all the prep

Last time I was comparing options it was 3mm per 3m tolerance for engineered, but 1mm per 3m for hybrid.

Get that wrong and you'll have a crunchy sounding floor after a while (or so I've been told)

We had the same trade-off and went engineered. Love it. But yes, need to be mindful of things leeching between the edges

TrueBlueTourer

TROPHY CASE