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I’m finally getting close to finishing this renovation of an old fibro garage into a livable granny flat.

I have to say the boys are very happy, the 15 year old loves his new mezzanine bedroom and additional privacy.  The wife and I are also enjoying some peace and quiet in the house when they are out they.

Its taken a few months to finalise the last few jobs but its now done.

So what were the particular tasks we completed to get the shed from lock up and outside completion to a finished state.

1. Flooring
2. Electrical prewiring
3. Gyprocking Walls and Ceiling
4. Plastering
5. Electrical completion
6. Painting
7. Skirtings and final timber trims

Floor

Starting with the floors we decided that the most hard wearing and easily implementable finish would be to use tiles.  The key reason here was that as this used to be a garage the floor sloped distinctly from back to front. (approximately 100mm from back to front)  To rectify this, in the preparation phase of the tiling we added a sand cement mixture to completely level the floor prior to tiling.  Preparation of the floors took 2.5 of the 4 days that the tiler was on site.  I had negotiated with the tiler that I would be his labourer, mixing the cement mixture and running wheel barrow, whilst he poured and levelled the floors. These were 2 of the hardest days on labour I’d ever completed.  On the other hand it did save about $600 that he was going to charge to get a labourer on site.

With the floors tiled and complete the next task was to organise the electrician to complete the rough in and prewiring of the new lights, switches and other electrical work.

Walls/Ceiling

The insulation we chose was a standard bat style insulation which is an easy DIY.  The main point to remember is to measure the dimension between your studs correctly otherwise you spend a lot of effort trying to cut the batts to the correct sixe.

Attaching the gyprock sheets to the wall is a relatively straight forward project however a lot of care is needed to ensure you measure and cut the sheets to size, taking into account any windows or changes in the frame.  Remember the quality of this job along with the plastering will determine the finished quality of your project.  If in doubt get a plasterer to do this job.

Attaching the gyprock to the ceiling is best done with a panel lift that you can hire from any construction rental company.  It enables you to place the sheet perfectly without any heavy lifting then simply glue and screw the sheet. (much easier than typing to hold the sheet in place above your head whilst coordinating screws and drill.)

Plastering the joints and corners of the gyprock needs to be commenced once the sheets are on the wall.  This again is a detail job that ensures a either a professional finish or an amateur outcome.

During this phase of the project you should also call back the electrician to finish the fitting of the lights and switches.

The final job will be to complete the painting of your newly build outdoor room.

Total Cost of the Entire Renovation

The list below is provided to give you an indication of the costs I incurred in completing this transformation from rundown old fibro shed to a usable entertainment area/guest accomodation and extra bedroom for our 16year old.

I completed as much of the work myself and I estimate in doing this saved a significant amount.

I hope you like the story and the finished product, we are very happy with the new space.

Demolition

$1040 asbestos removal

$220 Tip Fees

Framing

$1090 frame timber
$90 timber, antcapping, dampcourse
$300 plywood,
$60 windows eBay
$450 Timber and Antcapping
$541 Structural Timber for mezanine level Floor
$33.68Aluminium Angle
$88.41 Timber Walls

$250 Door jams

$130 Door

Exterior Cladding

Town and Country Renovations

$4460 Materials- Cladding

$1750 Labour

Sub total $10503.90 – To Lock Up

Interior

Floors

$111.80 Gripcrete + cement for Floor

$160 Sand
$256.60 tiles 24m2

$2000 Tiler

Walls (estimate as I lost the receipts)

$1000 Insulation, Gyprock, Plaster, Skirting Boards
$150 Hire Panel lift for ceiling gyprocking

Other

Electrician – $1500
Paint $200

Total Cost $15751.49*

*Completed and priced in 2012