Major Renovation, Newtown
Opening up a dark, dated 1960s rear of the home into one light, connected family space. Done live-in, sequenced properly.
Newtown, Geelong
Major Renovation
Full rear renovation: kitchen, family room, laundry, new openings through to the yard. Live-in throughout.
The challenge
A classic 1960s rear extension: poky galley kitchen, a family room that felt cut off from the yard, and the whole back of the house fighting natural light. The family wanted to open it up for the way they actually live, but the budget and the bones had to work together.
The approach
Rather than a full knock-down, we worked with the existing structure: new openings through load-bearing walls, a reconfigured kitchen footprint, and a smarter flow to the yard. Sequencing it as a live-in reno meant dust and disruption were contained and the family could keep living in the home through the build.
The result
A light, connected rear of the home the family actually uses, kitchen, living and yard now working as one space. The budget got spent where it shows: new opening structure, quality cabinetry and a floor plan that flows, not flashy extras.
A 1960s Newtown home on a narrow inner block.
Newtown is full of homes from this era, and they share the same problem. They were built when a kitchen was a room you cooked in and a backyard was something you looked at through a small window. Half a century later, the way families live has changed and the houses haven't.
This one sat on a narrow block with side access tight enough that every delivery, every skip and every sheet of material had to be planned. There was no room for a crane over the top, and no spare space to stage materials on. That constraint shaped how the job ran from week one.
The original rear had good bones: solid brick, a serviceable roofline, and a footprint that could work if the internal walls came out. What it didn't have was light. The kitchen was a galley against an internal wall, and the family room behind it was dark through the middle of the day.
The brief was not to add square metres. It was to make the square metres that already existed work properly. That's a cheaper job than an extension, and in a home like this it usually produces a better result.
Solid brick, single storey, built in the 1960s with a rear extension added at some point in the decades since. Original roof structure retained.
Narrow inner Newtown block with limited side access. No room for overhead lifting, so materials and waste were managed by hand and by sequence.
The family stayed in the house for the entire build, which meant keeping a working kitchen and bathroom available throughout.
The build, in the order it happened.
With a family living in the house, sequence wasn't a preference. It was the whole job.
- Weeks 1 to 2
Strip out and structural openings
Removed the old kitchen and the wall dividing it from the family room, installing a structural beam to carry the load above. This was the noisiest and dirtiest part, so it was done first and done fast.
- Weeks 3 to 4
New windows and getting the shell watertight
Enlarged the rear openings and installed new glazing before anything internal was touched. From this point the house was weatherproof, which mattered for the work that followed.
- Weeks 5 to 7
Services and a temporary kitchen
Rewiring and replumbing through the new layout while a temporary cooking setup kept the household running. Rough-in inspections completed before any wall was closed.
- Weeks 8 to 10
Linings, cabinetry and the new kitchen
Plaster, then the new kitchen installed and set level, with the laundry reconfigured off it and a new opening through to the yard.
- Weeks 11 to 12
Flooring, finishes and handover
New flooring laid through the connected space, painting finished, and a full walkthrough together before handover.
Photos from the build and the finished rooms.
Other projects like this one.
Extension, Highton
More room on a Highton home, worked with the existing roof and character.
ViewSee the gallery
Photos from recent Morrissey Built jobs across Geelong.
ViewThis job combined an extensive renovation, a new kitchen and a laundry. If your Newtown or Geelong West home needs similar work, you can get in touch with Ben.
Got a Newtown home that needs the same treatment?
Tell me about your place and what you want from it. I'll give you a straight answer on the reno.