by
October 9, 2023
This was a downstairs unit of the 1970s full house renovation we previously posted about. We could also easily move on from one renovation to the other. The tenant’s mental health had deteriorated over time and cleaning had been seriously neglected. We understood that once they vacated a full renovation and renewal was needed. The place was in quite a state but also hadn’t had much work for 20 years. So this was an opportunity to upgrade the kitchen to modern standards, install new flooring, new electrical fittings, and do a full repaint.
In addition the owner wanted us to remove and replace the 3 meter wide ranch slider on the front wall. Over time the upper story had sagged down over the slider space. If you look carefully in the ‘before’ photo you can see that a pole had been added in the center to support the house. This sagging was only going to cause further structural problems moving forward and needed to be fixed properly by supporting the wall.
The unit was mostly compliant with the Healthy Homes legislation, but we did need to add range-hood venting to the outside. The unit had been extensively sound-proofed in prior decades, so we had a false ceiling through which we could route the vent. We switched the cooking over to gas, and replaced the shower fittings from behind as the shower enclosure was still okay and we had to open up the kitchen wall anyway.
As a studio unit the kitchen was the key element to provide value for tenants. By added a mini-dishwasher and breakfast bar return we gained useful space inside the main area. The return adds a lot of cost to the kitchen cabinetry and installation, so this kitchen didn’t cost much less than the one installed for the 3 bedroom home above. As you can see from the photos we created a small false wall over the brick wall base. This allowed us to bring power for chargers, toaster, jug etc. to an easily accessible location. It also covered the bottom of the window while still looking good. We were very pleased with this innovation, which looks great with the subway tile splash-back.
Problem always appear, and this one came from the waste disposal install when we found the new waste pipe fall outside the back wall was slightly too low. The plumber had to dig down on the outside of the retaining wall and relay a 2 meters pipe just a few centimeters lower to get the correct fall. Another issue arose out of replacing the ranch-slider where constant rain over winter made it hard to install the new door and window and get the cladding painted. Tinting the new glass with an overlay allowed us to get light in without sacrificing privacy, and saves on curtains.
This renovation cost around $50,000, with about $10,000 allocated to the wall repair. The expected rent increase was $70 per week so the ROI was over 7% making it well worthwhile for the owner.
