Backroom renovations well underway

[Rusty-Saw]

Well, this is what has been keeping me from my great passion, fishing but we must keep the homestead safe and secure and the wife happy. So, we bought this place 8 months ago all ready to retire and sit back. But no, first heavy rain and the roof on the backroom leaked and got worse as the night progressed. The next day I investigated the roof inside and out and found several contributing factors that lead to the roof failing to do its job, keeping out the weather.

The main reason for the failing of the roof was poor workmanship and second bad choice of materials, as I continued to look at the roof and try to figure out the best way to fix the problem it soon became evident the only way to do it properly was to make some major changes in the construction of the supporting brick work and reroof the entire room, sounds drastic but definitely the easiest way to go.

As you will see in the photos a description of each step and future photos as this renovation comes along, I hope my ideas and way I have tackled this problem helps others, yes it's a big job for one person but it can be done. My advise to anyone doing this sort of reno don't cut corners seek advise as I did and have a go yourself if you feel confident, we stand to save $10,000 by doing it myself but the trade off is it will take me a lot longer than if I contracted a company to do it for me, I am lucky in that I have no children at home and I can still secure the main house when we go out. I'll keep you all posted on my progress and feel free to ask me any questions, I am not a builder just D.I.Y. and a little common sense. Thanks for reading.

[Rusty-Saw]

[Jason]

Many thanks for sharing @Rusty-Saw. As you note, it's great that posting information and photos like you have done can help others tackling similar problems. Many thanks for taking the time to share your experience and knowledge to assist other Workshop community members. Please keep us up to date as the project progresses.  

Note that I moved your photos from the gallery to this discussion so they would all be in the one place for community members to more easily find. Unlike the gallery, you can add as many photos to a single post here on the discussion boards. I'll pop a screenshot of how to add them below. There's also instructions in our Workshop help section, or feel free to ask me if you ever need a hand.   

Thanks again,

Jason

[Jason]

By the way, if any community members would like to see the images larger, just right click on them and open in a new tab. 

And we will soon be introducing the ability to click on images and view them larger, along with captions. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Jason

[MartyH]

Wow, big job! Looks like you are more than capable of tackling the project though @Rusty-Saw. Great work. Many thanks for sharing in such detail. 

[Kermit]

Ten grand is a huge saving. Well done @Rusty-Saw. 

[BIM_Engineer]

@Rusty-SawJust curious
Did you get Council Planning & Building Approvals?
Your photos have highlight a number of Non-Compliance issues?
You might want to check into having a gas hot water tank within an enclosed habitable room?
@Jason Putting photos up & sharing is one thing making sure they are correct is yet another.HTH

[Rusty-Saw]

yes all regs will be taken care of I a working under the guidance of a plumbre and electrician who both do top class work and where involved with the construction of the workshop.As it is a existing structure we are only replacing thr roof without changnig the  layout we are just steghening the exist structure and replacing an inaffective roof.

[BIM_Engineer]

Check to see if you are working under the guidance of your locals councils building regulations?
@JasonOT NON-Structural Alterations within existing building may not require planning although altering/strengthening & new beams ie structural element require Building compliance with NCC. I think you'll find any changes to the structure requires a Building Application & Approval beforehand or you can debate pulling it down with Council after its finished.

BTW workshops are class 10 where as your reno is class 1 Building Goodluck

[Rusty-Saw]

Hi BIM,

I don't mean to sound rude but if you read the post and text in the photos I am renovating due to previous mistakes made by the previous owners. The water heater is a solar electric storage unit that is being relocated outside, for two reasons, to create more room and to move it  away from the woodfire that is going in right next to it. It will be replaced with a new unit as the old one is past it's working life and I am sure to move and continue to use it, it will not last long as they do not like to be disturbed as the get older. The windows are being removed and the row of sill bricks removed then the windows are replaced and the top row of bricks removed off the columns. This will increase the fall on the roof to allow better run off. Any defective brick work is being redone as I find it and the windows are being sealed around the outer frame. The existing roof is being scrapped and a totally new support frame is being added made of 50 x 150mm C channel designed for just this application, along with steel tophat battens for securing the roof material to. The roofing is steel colorbond roofing secured with the appropriate tec screws for the job. As it stands, I do not think it was previously run passed council due to the very poor quality workmanship, as I have already had several inspections for the construction of the workshop I asked the inspector about the renovation, his reply was if it is a renovation we don't need toknow about it but if it is a new construction we do. I was not aware of any non-approved constructions on the site and all was passed through council on purchase of the property 8 months ago. How or if it has gone through the council planning section I don't know but that should have raised a red flag during purchase. I know this because of the sale of my old property, there was an issue all be it small and due to my misunderstanding, needed to be fixed for the sale. I can tell you once the council find something amiss they stay on it until it is rectified. I will give them credit, they where helpful beyond what they where requied to do and guided me to a successful and satisfactory completion. As you know each council has different rules and regulations to suit the property geological location, as we are classed as rural our rules differ to that of say a city dwelling but that is not to say a solid construction would still be required.

Could you please elaborate on what non-compliant issues you have noticed to see if I am addressing them or I am unaware of, I would be willing to rectify if needed or already in progress, many thanks for your obsevations.

[Rusty-Saw]

Yes Jason,

you are correct but I do beg to differ to a point, the old system just does not work and the main reason for the total replacement is that the old roof is constructed along the lines of how a carport is erected, posts, guttering then roof. The problem is the choice of guttering type, it is the slotted type that is used to stop overflow of rain into the eave area of a house, that is the problem when it rains heavily the gutter does it's job only to empty via the slots into the backroom. There are two support beams in a cross formation to support the roof, as this is over the wider section approximatly 3.4mtrs and with no supporting interior columns, I feel this is not adequate in a heavy storm situation. My solution is to removed the carport type roof and replace it with a much stronger modern system, like an upgrade, the existing roof is in poor condition in a couple of areas, someone has walked on it without using spreader boards and damaged the roof. As I said in my reply to BIM I have spoken about my intentions to an inspector already and they are not interested nor concerned as it is a renovation/upgrade and not a new construction, so thats good enough for me. I have also spoken to a few builders and they have come out to see what is involved and no mention was made about council involvement, the new materials are supplied by the same people who did the workshop and he has come out several times for measurments and a quote and to drop off bits and peices and has looked at my progress and is satisfied with the progress.