Extensive Home Renovations Geelong
Tear it out, rebuild it properly, and keep living through it.
Full-home and substantial renovations, from kitchens and bathrooms to whole-floor reconfigurations, managed by a builder who knows how to sequence live-in work so the chaos stays manageable.
A big renovation is a whole series of small jobs, sequenced right.
Across Geelong, Newtown, Highton and the Bellarine coast I take on extensive, full-home renovations. The difference between one that flows and one that drags is a builder who knows the right order to pull a job apart and put it back together, so you're not living in a demolition site for a year.
If you're renovating to sell, I build for return. If you're renovating to stay, I build for how you actually live. Either way, we spend the money where it shows.
Full-home and extensive partial renovations
Kitchens, bathrooms, whole-floor reconfigurations
Structural changes and load-bearing work
Live-in renovation sequencing done properly
Cosmetic through to full strip-out and rebuild
Honest guidance on where your budget performs
How an extensive renovation runs.
This is the job where sequencing matters most. Pull the wrong wall first and you've created a problem you spend the rest of the build working around. Done in the right order, a live-in renovation is uncomfortable but manageable.
- 1
Scope, drawings and what it will really cost
We work out what's staying, what's going and what's being rebuilt, then price it properly. If you have an architect or building designer, I'll work with them. If you don't, I can point you to people I've worked with before.
- 2
Permits, engineering and the build order
Building permit, structural engineering for any new openings, and surveyor inspections booked in. I plan the sequence before starting: which rooms are out of action, in what order, for how long.
- 3
Structural work and weather out
New openings, beams and structural changes happen first, along with getting the roof and windows watertight. Everything after that is protected work, which is exactly what you want with a family living in the house.
- 4
Rooms back one at a time
Rather than gutting the whole house at once, I bring rooms back into use progressively. You keep a working kitchen and a working bathroom for as long as possible.
- 5
Finishes and handover
Flooring, painting, joinery and final fit-off, then a proper walkthrough together before I hand it back. Anything on the list gets dealt with before I consider the job done.
Where the money goes in a large renovation.
This is the part of the conversation I care most about getting right. Anyone can spend your budget. The job is spending it where you'll actually notice the difference.
Structure and services
New openings, beams, re-stumping, rewiring and replumbing. None of it is visible at the end, all of it is non-negotiable, and it always costs more than clients expect.
How much is knocked down
Working with the existing structure is usually cheaper than rebuilding it, and in Geelong's older homes it often produces a better result anyway.
Living in or moving out
Staying put adds time because work has to be staged around you. Moving out is faster but you're paying rent and a mortgage at once. Both are legitimate, we just price them honestly.
Kitchens and bathrooms
Where the visible budget concentrates. Two rooms, and between them they can carry a third of the total cost of a major renovation.
Windows, doors and cladding
Often the difference between a renovation that looks added on and one that reads as part of the original house. Worth spending on if the exterior is visible.
The finishes you touch
Flooring, tapware, handles, tiles. This is where money is easiest to waste, and where I'll tell you plainly when something isn't worth the upgrade.
The most useful thing I do on a $500,000 renovation is tell you which parts of it aren't worth the money. I'd rather point that out before you spend than have you find out afterwards.
Often part of a larger renovation.
Kitchens
Quality kitchens built around how you live.
See kitchensBathrooms
Waterproofing done right and finishes that hold up.
See bathroomsLaundry
Hard-wearing laundry spaces with quality storage.
See laundryTwo full project stories show how this runs in practice: a major renovation in Newtown and a ground floor extension in Highton, with more photos in the gallery. To talk through your own home, contact Ben.
Every Geelong suburb renovates differently.
I've worked across this region long enough to know the houses change character from one suburb to the next. That changes the job.
Inner Newtown, Geelong West and East Geelong
Heritage weatherboards and Californian bungalows, often with original features worth keeping. Renovating here is about working with the front of the house while opening up the back, and dealing with the stumps and framing that come with a century-old home.
Highton, Belmont and South Geelong
Post-war brick veneer on sloping blocks, generally sound but closed in. Lots of South Geelong homes sit on the rise back from the river. Opening up the rear usually means a beam, and the slope means any extension steps down rather than sitting level.
The Bellarine and Surf Coast
Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, Torquay and Drysdale see a lot of holiday homes and older shacks being made permanent. Coastal conditions change the material specification, and weatherboard needs more maintenance near the water.
Tell me your suburb and roughly what kind of house it is, and I'll know most of what I need before I walk in the door.
Want to open up your home properly?
Tell me about the home and what you want from it. I'll give you straight advice on the reno before anything is signed.