Challenging Renovation to a Two-Storey Century-Old Villa

Clients: Professional couple and their two children. Timeframe: Four weeks, full time. Cost: $37,000. Brief: [Phase one] To renovate one downstairs bedroom by installing new wall insulation, gib board, plaster and paint, as well as sealing and plastering an old external door. The wardrobe was resized and new wiring and wall-mounted lighting added to accommodate the lower downstairs ceilings. [Phase two] To assess remedial work required under the house (to the subfloor) and recommend options for repair. Special materials: Period feature finishings such as extra wide scotias, double-hung windows (recycled) and extra high skirting. Also ultra-thick wall insulation. Special machinery: Small digger (able to shrink and fit through a bedroom doorway) dump truck (to transport and dispose of surplus dirt and rock) conveyors (to transport dirt and rock from one side of the property to the dump truck stationed on the roadside) post-hole borers (to install the piles) 50-tonne bottle jacks (to lift the house for repiling). Complexity rating: High complexity. Unexpected building work: Extensive remedial work (under the house, at the subfloor level). The options for remedial were presented to the clients after Jamie’s team found the 200-tonne villa was supported by little more than a couple of damp and undersized wooden planks and dirt. Without a subfloor the house had begun to sink, raising issues of safety. Jamie’s team offered their clients two suggestions – leave as is or jack up the house, use a digger to dig out an area big enough for piling, add a subfloor and repile the house. The clients opted for the latter. Here is what Jamie’s team did. Step (1): Develop a plan and budget. Step (2): Remove the floorboards and use a digger to remove 10m3 of dirt. Step (3): Transport the dirt from the site to the roadside on conveyor. Step (4): Jack up the house. Step (5): Put new treated perimeter piles in place to support the house, while new piles, a subfloor, insulation and flooring were installed. ​People involved: Project manager, licensed building practitioner, builders (3), labourers (2), electrician, carpet layer, digger driver, plasterer and painter.