How A House Raising Project Transformed this Brisbane Family Home
Project Overview
Our team took this humble 1920s workers cottage and raised, extended and renovated the entire property to give the owners their dream home.
This project cost around $1m to $1.2m and took almost a year to complete, from March 2023 to March 2024.
Project Challenges
Since this is a heritage home, we faced challenges in seeking approvals from council and certifiers before starting our project. We also had to have the house tested for asbestos, and then this asbestos removed by a specialist team. Another important consideration for the early stages of our project was deciding which original features we wanted to retain in the new design, such as the existing front doors.
Further challenges were presented by the block itself. Being steep and located on a slip street meant that we had poor access to the rear of the site. To overcome this, we had to build good relationships with neighbours, especially one who granted access through their yard to the rear of the site. The poor access also resulted in a lot of manual labour by the team and trades to move tools, materials and appliances across the site.
We also had to navigate permissions to build over an exclusion zone through the property, due to sewer and stormwater. We had to work with the relevant authorities to ensure that our works and footings wouldn’t interfere with their assets.
Project Outcomes
We transformed this historical dwelling into a modern and spacious home. We raised the house, built in underneath, and also built an extension. This gave the homeowners the extra space they were craving.
We renovated the entire property inside and out, retaining its heritage features whilst bringing it into the modern era.
We also renovated the backyard to make it more usable. This included building retaining walls to allow the owners to now walk straight from their living spaces onto the new deck area. We completed the project with the addition of a new pool, where the owners can relax and enjoy their refreshed outdoor living space.
Client Testimonial
Here’s what Jessica, the homeowner, had to say about the project:
“From Disaster-block to ‘Perfect layout’. Josh, Kev & Team did a lift, move house, level awful block, reno and pool build for our 1920’s workers cottage in Paddington and it worked out amazing!! It was certainly a challenging project, being on a slip street, u-shaped super sloped block and the age of the house and the fact it was protected so there were a number of things that had to be done a certain way.
Kev and the build team were lovely to work with, no matter how hot and uncomfortable the day was and Josh did a great job of making sure there were not a lot of unforeseen blowouts in price. Thanks team!!”
