Suburb
Otara
Services
Home RenovationsKitchen & Bathroom Renovations
Duration
Four months on site
What the owners wanted
A young family had outgrown the layout. The kitchen was a closed room at the back, the only bathroom was failing, and the rear of the house had a lean-to addition that had never been done properly. They wanted more usable living space without losing the character of the front of the villa, and they could not move out.
What made it specific
Villas of this age rarely give up their surprises at the site visit. Here the rear addition turned out to be sitting on inadequate foundations, and the original wall linings hid a mix of old wiring and previous alterations. Because the family were staying, the programme had to keep a kitchen and a bathroom available at all times, and dust had to be kept out of the two bedrooms at the front.
What we did
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Key decisions
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Before, during and after
The outcome
The rear of the house now works as one space, with the kitchen where the family spends most of its time. The bathroom is sound and the wiring is safe. The front of the villa looks the way it always did. Two variations came up during the job: the foundation work under the old addition, and additional rewiring once the linings came off. Both were priced and agreed before they proceeded.
“They found rot under the bathroom floor in the first week. We got a photo, a price and an explanation the same day, and it never became an argument.”
Michael D. · Papatoetoe