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Just a little bit of a difference!!Our humble orange brick veneer home (that in its day was one of the original potato farms in the area), has been transformed into a beautiful country abode that we so love. A massive renovation including the relocation of the front door, removing, updating and replacing the very dated corner windows, covering the old bricks with James Hardy Linea Weatherboards and adding a beautiful secondhand red brick entrance feature complimenting the stunning custom-made messmate front door. We did this all on our own and are super proud of the result. The new roof (we did not do ourselves) is the cherry on top.
Materials
MGP10 Structural Pine
90 x 35mm Framing MGP10 Untreated Pine 2.4m - Bunnings Australia
90 x 45mm Framing MGP10 Untreated Pine 3.6m - Bunnings Australia
Blueboard
James Hardie HardieTex™ 2440 x 1200 x 7.5mm Cladding 2.93m² - Bunnings Australia
James Hardy Linea Weatherboards
James Hardie 4200 x 180 x 16mm Linea Weatherboard - 4200 x 180 x 16 - Bunnings Australia
CladMate Pro
SilverWrap Insulation
Ametalin 1500mm x 30m SilverWrap MD Reflective Wall Insulation - Bunnings Australia
Hardwood 50mm x 25mm
Masonry Screws
Ramset 7.5 x 80mm Galvanised Masonry Anchor Screw - 100 Box - Bunnings Australia
Zenith Treated Pine Screws
Countersink Drill Bit
Macsim 14G Clever Tool Standard Head - 1 Pack - Bunnings Australia
Woodhouse Weatherproof Timber
66 x 42mm 3.6m F7 H3 Treated Pine Primed LOSP - Bunnings Australia
Selleys Exterior No More Gaps
Selleys 430g White No More Gaps Exterior Gap Filler - Bunnings Australia
White Mortar and Sand
Australian Builders 20kg Off White Cement - Bunnings Australia
Window Frame Paint - Vivid White
Dulux 2L Vivid White Semi Gloss Weathershield Exterior Paint - Bunnings Australia
House Paint - Vellum Smoke
Taubmans 15L Accent Low Sheen Sunproof Exterior Paint - Bunnings Australia
Windows - Bradnams
Custom made Messmate Timber Door
Door Handle
Lane Black Matte Grande Electronic Pull Handle - Bunnings Australia
Secondhand Red Brick Tiles purchased from Facebook Marketplace
Tools
DeWalt Drop Saw
DeWALT 18V XR 184mm Cordless Sliding Mitre Saw DCS365N-XE - Skin Only - Bunnings Australia
Dewalt Multi Tool
DeWALT 18V XR Li-Ion 3 Speed Oscillating Multi-Tool DCS356N-XJ - Skin Only - Bunnings Australia
DeWalt Circular Saw
Dewalt 18V 184mm FlexVolt Advantage Circular Saw DCS573N-XE - Skin Only - Bunnings Australia
Paslode Nail Gun
Paslode Cordless Lithium-Ion Impulse FrameMaster PowerVent Nail Gun - Bunnings Australia
DeWalt Jigsaw
DeWALT 18V XR Li-Ion Top Handle Jigsaw - Skin Only - Bunnings Australia
DeWalt Impact Drill
DeWALT 18V 3 Speed Cordless Impact Driver - Skin Only - Bunnings Australia
Milwaukee Hammer Drill
Various other hand tools
Steps
Step 1
Where to start?
Removing the window to the right of the house (original dining room) was our first part to the demo (oh, after I happily pulled down the horrid sheer curtains)! We removed the corner window and reframed ready for the new one. This area inside has become our laundry (still to come). Once we reframed, we placed blueboard on the walls flush with the existing bricks which we later added the batons to. The front window is a solid window with a smaller awning window which has been put in on the side. We live on a dirt road so all front facing windows are solid (to keep the dust out).
Step 2
The loungeroom window was the next to go. It took a while to talk hubby into getting rid of the corner window's but I think it well and truly paid off.
Step 3
Third and final window gone and replaced. Remember nothing is ever really straight in an old home so it took a bit to get this window in. Hubby, of course, framed it all to the mm, but unfortunately it didn't fit the first time so a few adjustments need to be made.
Step 4
Excuse the crappy photo, but this was the existing door. It made sense to relocate it as it removed the foot traffic away from the bedrooms and through the hallway to a new smaller hallway (that we made) which opens up to our open plan kitchen/living space. Using a demo saw we removed the bricks to allow for the new front door.
Step 5
Time for the batons. We used hardwood 50mm x 25mm screwed to the bricks with Ramset Masonry Screws
Step 6
Once the batons were up and methodically placed 450mm apart we started boarding using James Hardy Linea Weatherboards. To help with getting these on straight and hold in place while we screwed them on to the batons, we bought a handy little tool called CladMate Pro and used a countersink drill bit and Zenith Treated Pine screws to attach the boards to the batons.
Step 7
We decided to incorporate a special feature wall at our entrance made from secondhand brick tiles (part bricks), we stuck them to the wall with tile adhesive and filled them in with a white mortar and sand mix.
Step 8
Once all the boards were on, we gap filled where needed with Exterior No-More Gaps. We wanted the windows to stand out and framing them does this beautifully. We used Woodhouse Weatherproof Timber for this purpose. Then it was time for prepping and painting. Choosing the colour was such a tough decision, but we finally settled on Vivid White for the window and door frames, and for the house, drum roll.... Vellum Smoke. It has a slight hint of green which compliments the Woodland grey windows and roof.
Step 9
Amongst all of this, we also had a new roof put on in Colourbond, Woodland Grey. Now, we did not do this part of the reno ourselves but to save on costs we did do all the labour relating to the cleanup. Moving all of the roof tiles and stacking the timber was tough work. We had a friend with an excavator and a truck who loaded them up and took the tiles away free of charge, all the hardwood batons from the roof we have cut up and are burning in our woodfire and all the surplus bricks that we removed, we advertised for free on FB marketplace and got rid of them all. We are very budget conscious, so doing the cleanup saved dollars and recycling the timber for other purposes has also saved on firewood for the winter months.
Step 10
And, here is the reveal. It's so nice to have a vision and see it come together. It has been a massive few months with this outdoor reno, but we got there, well almost! We still have more renos to come), but for now, we will endeavour to finish some painting once the weather picks up and then move on to the front porch and its roof (which will give the front entrance some weather protection).
The transformation of your home @Dons-Glenno is remarkable! It’s amazing to see the difference. Your dedication and hard work have certainly paid off, turning your humble abode into a beautiful country-style home. The attention to detail, from relocating the front door to adding the secondhand red brick entrance feature, really shows. The choice of James Hardy Linea Weatherboards and the new roof add the perfect finishing touches.
Congratulations, and well done.
Mitchell
