113. Retrofitting upgrades in your home

Are you looking to make your home more comfortable, efficient, and safe, but aren’t sure where to start? In this episode of the Building Design, Prime Trime Podcast, Frank and Amelia dive deep into the world of retrofitting and home upgrades, sharing practical insights for homeowners who want to improve their existing spaces without breaking the bank.

From choosing the right insulation and roof ventilation for Tasmanian conditions, they cover the must-know tips for keeping your home in top shape. Electrical upgrades, smart lighting, surge protection, and planning for future EV chargers are all explained in simple, easy-to-understand terms, so you know what investments really matter.

The conversation also explores water and plumbing improvements, including hot water systems, dual-flush toilets, and rainwater tanks, as well as safety-focused retrofits for aging in place. Frank shares expert advice on wider doorways, non-slip flooring, flush-entry showers, grab rails, sensor lights, and even induction cooktops, small changes that make a huge difference for comfort and peace of mind.

They also discuss retrofits to avoid, including common pitfalls when converting sunrooms or sheds into bedrooms, or tackling asbestos cladding without proper planning. Throughout the episode, the focus is on maximising safety, efficiency, and enjoyment of your home while planning upgrades that will truly add value.

Whether you’re thinking about your next renovation or just curious about practical ways to future-proof your home, this episode is packed with tips, expert advice, and real-world experiences you won’t want to miss. Subscribe to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast to catch this and other episodes full of valuable insights for homeowners.

About us
Prime Design is a building design company locally owned and operated in Tasmania since 2004.  Our goal is to share as much valuable information as possible about the process of building design, extensions, and more. We will talk about a different topic each week. To suggest a topic you would like us to talk about contact us at info@primedesigntas.com.au

Disclaimer
The information provided on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, individual circumstances, or remedy. We strongly suggest you consult a qualified professional before taking any action based on the information provided in this podcast. The views, opinions, and information provided in this podcast are those of the hosts do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer, or company. All content provided on this podcast is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this podcast and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, or damages arising from its use. We reserve the right to change content or delete any information provided on this podcast at any time without prior notice.

Transcript

E113. Retrofitting your home 

[INTRO] (0:08 - 0:24)

Hello and welcome to the Building Design Prime Time podcast, focused on providing valuable information for anyone looking to undertake a new build or extension project. We'll share our tips, tricks and stories from a building designer's perspective.

[Amelia] (0:27 - 0:42)

Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast. I'm your host Amelia and once again we're joined by Frank Geskus.

[Frank] (0:42 - 0:43)

Hi Amelia, how are you?

[Amelia] (0:43 - 0:44)

Oh, pretty good for a Friday.

[Frank] (0:45 - 0:49)

It's always good. And we say this every time, we're always good, we're always happy it's Friday.

[Amelia] (0:49 - 0:56)

We are, we're always happy. Yes. And we've just come off a long weekend as well, so it's only been a short week.

[Frank] (0:56 - 1:02)

Well, kind of. I was at the BDAA conference or festival of design up on the Sunshine Coast.

[Amelia] (1:02 - 1:04)

Yes, that's right. You enjoyed the sunshine.

[Frank] (1:05 - 1:08)

Well, parts of it. Remember, we did have some pretty mean thunderstorms up there.

[Amelia] (1:09 - 1:09)

Yes.

[Frank] (1:10 - 1:11)

Bit of mean hail.

[Amelia] (1:11 - 1:12)

Yes.

[Frank] (1:12 - 1:14)

When they have a storm, they don't muck around up there.

[Amelia] (1:14 - 1:24)

Yes, I did see a few photos come up on my feed. I've still got some friends in Brisbane and, you know, the hail was the size of golf balls and all that sort of thing.

[Frank] (1:24 - 1:27)

Yep, yep, they know how to have a decent thunderstorm.

[Amelia] (1:27 - 1:28)

They do.

[Frank] (1:28 - 1:35)

Mind you, thanks to BDAA, great festival of design, fantastic awards night. It was great.

[Amelia] (1:35 - 1:36)

That sounds amazing.

[Frank] (1:36 - 1:36)

Yes.

[Amelia] (1:37 - 1:38)

And Jamie Durie was the host.

[Frank] (1:39 - 1:42)

Jamie was fantastic. He did a great job.

[Amelia] (1:42 - 1:45)

Yeah. Anyway, what are we going to talk about today?

[Frank] (1:45 - 3:07)

We're going to talk about retrofitting in your existing home, the smart way. Now, this is applying to probably your more older homes, you know, getting a bit tired, they haven't got the latest bits and pieces in it. And we're just going to go through a number of things that you could do.

And it goes for different people, different stages in life, different stages of the building. And we're just trying to cover it, you know, literally dot point type of arrangement of all these different upgrades you can do. But we'll also talk about like the ones that will give you the biggest return.

You know, obviously we're going to talk about energy efficiency. That's a no-brainer. But sometimes doing these upgrades can really improve your experience within the house.

It can improve, you know, your back pocket as well, you know, reducing costs. But sometimes it's just improving things, safety, easier to get around the house. But some of these upgrades are just really plain and simple.

And they don't always have to be all done at the same time as well. You know, just pick and choose. Yeah.

So you're trying to pick the right things to upgrade your aging home. Okay. It's no different to us guys.

I'm a petrol head. I love my cars. Where you upgrade your car.

Yes. But I'm not exactly talking about chucking a V8 when there was a four-cylinder. We're not talking about that type of upgrade.

It's just improving it. Better tyres, better lights, better fuel economy, all that type of stuff.

[Amelia] (3:07 - 3:10)

Yes. So we're not talking about so much aesthetics.

[Frank] (3:11 - 3:12)

Oh, you could do that too.

[Amelia] (3:12 - 3:14)

I mean, you could do that.

[Frank] (3:14 - 3:25)

Yeah, definitely. So we're not going to talk about painting and all those types of things. Those are things you can get done, which you'll also...

And I love old weatherboard places because a paint job transforms an older house.

[Amelia] (3:26 - 3:26)

Oh, it does.

[Frank (3:26 - 3:33)

And it's amazing. I've done it myself once on an old place, my first home, and it just transformed the house and gave you a lot of pride.

[Amelia] (3:33 - 3:35)

Yeah, they come up amazing, don't they?

[Frank] (3:35 - 3:35)

They do.

[Amelia] (3:35 - 3:37)

Yeah, they really do.

[Frank] (3:37 - 4:15)

So we're going to start with the most obvious one for upgrade, but purely because of bang for your buck. This is energy efficiency. So no-brainer, we're banging on about this all the time.

Sealing insulation is your lowest hanging fruit with your highest return to improve your thermal comfort, but also help you in your back pocket. Now, you might want to consider, what have I got up in there? If you don't know, you've got Charlie Fluff.

That doesn't last very long. Get it sucked out and put in that or blow in polyester or something like that. But you'd really want to try and get a minimum of R4 or even higher if you can.

The more you put in there, it doesn't cost a lot.

[Amelia] (4:15 - 4:17)

What does – I don't really understand. What's R4?

[Frank] (4:18 - 4:24)

Okay, that is the rating that they came up with, the efficiency for heat to pass through it, I suppose.

[Amelia] (4:24 - 4:25)

Okay.

[Frank] (4:25 - 4:52)

So, yeah, funnily enough, they didn't do it to windows because windows don't even make R1, you know. So it is purely a form of measurement. We have star ratings for houses, you know, 1 to 10, and it tells you the efficiency.

Our houses in Tasmania have to be done to a 6-star rating. The rating of the insulation is done by R. Someone will be able to explain it better than I do.

It's just a scale. So the minimum we have to put in a brand-new house is R4.

[Amelia] (4:53 - 4:53)

Okay.

[Frank] (4:54 - 4:59)

I would recommend go a bit further for an R5 if you can fit it in there because they're pretty deep, these bats.

[Amelia] (5:00 - 5:01)

So the higher the number, the better.

[Frank] (5:02 - 5:04)

Higher the number, the better. Thank you for clarifying.

[Amelia] (5:04 - 5:11)

I get confused because I know with windows, I think, isn't it the other way? The lower the number, the better. So I do get a little bit confused with that.

[Frank] (5:11 - 5:19)

Oh, the U rating. Yes. Sorry, the clowns that thought of this, if they stuck with an R rating, it would have been so far simpler, wouldn't it?

[Amelia] (5:19 - 5:21)

It would have made so much more sense.

[Frank] (5:21 - 5:23)

And then it would have made it relatable.

[Amelia] (5:23 - 5:24)

Yes.

[Frank] (5:24 - 5:28)

No, but that's too simple. But it also will show how bad windows actually are.

[Amelia] (5:28 - 5:29)

Yeah, that's very true.

[Frank] (5:30 - 5:32)

Yeah. Good one to talk to Toby about.

[Amelia] (5:32 - 5:34)

Yeah, we've got to get him back in.

[Frank] (5:34 - 5:57)

We do. Yeah. The next one would be underfloor if you don't have a concrete, so you've got a timber floor.

Older floors, fantastic. But also you want to seal up around the timber floor so there's no drafts. 

[Amelia]

Yes.

[Frank]

That's very important. Another one is your lighting, depending on the age of your lighting, your LED lights. Now, if you're pumping LED lights and you're putting down lights in, it punches a hole through your ceiling, right?

[Amelia] (5:57 - 5:58)

It does, yep.

[Frank] (5:58 - 6:08)

So you want to make sure you're able to cover your light with insulation or seal it off so you don't lose heat because you think of it this way, if you've got a doona and you crack a hole through your doona.

[Amelia] (6:08 - 6:09)

Oh, you're going to get cold air going through it.

[Frank] (6:09 - 6:58)

Cold spot, right? Yeah. It's no different for your ceiling.

So be careful with the type of lighting. If you're punching heaps of holes in, it's going to leak. So then you need to choose lighting that the insulation can go over.

But you've got to do that safely, so you've got to read the instructions. Draft proof doors, windows and vents. The problem with in the old houses, like I'm talking the 60s, had the vents in the wall and even earlier.

Don't block them up. I know it's contrary but it's designed for the house to breathe and get air movement. But somebody put a cover up and it can cause other issues with air movement being restricted through the house and it's been designed to have air movement.

Upgrades of your heating and cooling, depending on the efficiencies of your current heating and cooling. Now, that's why you want to get the insulation in, more efficient heating and cooling, more money you save.

[Amelia] (6:58 - 6:58)

Oh, exactly.

[Frank] (6:59 - 7:15)

But in saying that, you've also got to be smart about this. If your heating and cooling has come to the end of its life, well, that's the ideal time to replace it. But I've still got a bit of life in it.

You've got to weigh up your options. What's it worth to me and then how much is it worth the upgrade? You've got to weigh that up for yourself.

[Amelia] (7:16 - 7:16)

Yes.

[Frank] (7:16 - 7:43)

So, if your energy bills are high and your comfort level is low, this is the first place to start. Thermal performance. Well, this comes down to a similar thing.

So, double glazing. This is quite an expensive thing to do, replace all your windows to double glaze. But I know heaps of people are doing it.

Spend the money, especially there's a local company doing UPVC double glaze windows. Costs an absolute bomb, but the effect is really, you can really notice the effect.

[Amelia] (7:43 - 7:46)

Are they sort of like your top of the range?

[Frank] (7:46 - 7:53)

You could say that. I'd say the top of the range is the UPVC triple that's available out of Europe. It's not quite here yet.

[Amelia] (7:53 - 7:54)

We're a bit behind.

[Frank] (7:54 - 8:06)

Well, the demand isn't there for it, but you can certainly upgrade, double glaze, but get a better frame, the best frame you can get, i.e. thermally broken or UPVC.

[Amelia] (8:06 - 8:06)

Yes.

[Frank] (8:07 - 8:13)

My only concern with UPVC is UV stabilizing in harsh Tasmanian conditions.

[Amelia] (8:13 - 8:13)

Oh.

[Frank] (8:14 - 8:17)

Because our UV here in Tassie is... It's very high. It's pretty crap.

[Amelia] (8:18 - 8:18)

Yeah.

[Frank] (8:19 - 8:21)

When we get a sun tan here, it doesn't wash off.

[Amelia] (8:22 - 8:23)

That's right.

[Frank] (8:23 - 8:37)

So, in other parts of the state, it might be better, but for some reason, we see a lot of sun damage to a lot of products. Everything from carpet to vinyls, curtains, paint, claddings, yeah, they cop it hard.

[Amelia] (8:38 - 8:38)

I know.

[Frank] (8:38 - 8:39)

Silicon. Silicon does it.

[Amelia] (8:39 - 8:46)

The back of our couch, you know, you have it where a window is and it's all faded from the sun. Yeah.

[Frank] (8:46 - 8:58)

It's when it turns really brittle as well. So, another one could be, depending on where you are, the type of roof that you have is roof ventilation. So, be able to control the hot air in your roof during summer.

[Amelia] (8:59 - 8:59)

Yes.

[Frank] (8:59 - 9:01)

During winter, you want to keep it.

[Amelia] (9:01 - 9:01)

Exactly.

[Frank] (9:02 - 9:27)

So, now, be aware, we're talking about Tasmanian conditions here and it's going to vary all over the country. So, insulation in the wall. Now, this is a very difficult thing to do.

There is options of pumping foam in there. Be cautious of what type of foam because there are reports that certain types of foam doesn't let the timber breathe and then potentially cause rotting and moulding long-term.

[Amelia] (9:27 - 9:28)

Oh, that's no good.

[Frank] (9:28 - 9:48)

But there are other ones that it doesn't stick to anything. This is what I've been told. So, you pump it in there and then it doesn't quite adhere, sits there, so then you can still get a bit of air movement around it.

Okay. But the problem is you don't have that permeable membrane, the building wrap, that you need as well.

[Amelia] (9:48 - 9:51)

What about you could add solar to your house?

[Frank] (9:51 - 10:10)

Yeah, that's coming up later with electrical stuff, but you're dead right. Solar is another one of those things, you know, and choosing the right size and also where you put the inverter. 

[Amelia]

Yes.

[Frank]

Where that's placed. People are banging on more about batteries. I'm still not convinced on batteries and the return on the investment.

I'm still not convinced.

[Amelia] (10:11 - 10:11)

Yeah.

[Frank] (10:11 - 10:15)

There's different points of view on that. I'll let you do the research on that.

[Amelia] (10:15 - 10:20)

It'll be really interesting because I'll need to do a bit more research on that as well for my place.

[Frank] (10:20 - 10:20)

Yeah, of course.

[Amelia] (10:20 - 10:25)

We're looking at either off-grid or mains power. I'm not really sure yet.

[Frank] (10:25 - 10:27)

Depends how it stacks up.

[Amelia] (10:27 - 10:28)

That's exactly right.

[Frank] (10:28 - 10:48)

Another interesting one is fans within the house, like ceiling fans, actually makes a nice difference. But if you've got a 2.4 ceiling or 8 foot in the old world, those ceiling fans could be a little bit of a problem. I'm over 6 foot and that would give me a new haircut.

[Amelia] (10:48 - 10:52)

Yeah, I can imagine. You wouldn't want to have long hair.

[Frank] (10:52 - 11:02)

No, they're actually really good. I've done a bit of research for my new place and, seriously, what's available now is utterly amazing.

[Amelia] (11:02 - 11:02)

A lot better.

[Frank] (11:02 - 11:16)

Oh, it's better in the style. So fans make a big difference during summer and winter. If you need to push hot air back down, if you've got a high ceiling, great.

In summer it's just moving the air. You've just got air moving over your skin. It's a great way of improving your comfort.

[Amelia] (11:17 - 11:17)

Yes.

[Frank] (11:17 - 11:33)

Electrical upgrades, let's look at that. So you've got smart lighting, smart switches, so you can program, which is very cool. So to do all sorts of stuff, you can switch off over a period of time, having sensors so lights don't sail on.

[Amelia] (11:33 - 11:40)

Some people love that stuff. They're, like, right into the automation and smart lighting and all that stuff.

[Frank] (11:40 - 12:08)

Oh, yeah, good on them. You know, put the audio system through the house. Again, that's an upgrade of some kind if that's what you love.

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]

You can start small with automation and expand later and there's lots of different brands out there to do that. And, again, you've got to do a bit of research to see what works.

Upgrading your switchboard, I know that doesn't sound real sexy, but if you've got the old fuses, you don't have an RCD, you know, the protection, you stick your fork, you know, a kid sticks a fork into the power point, it's not going to blow them up.

[Amelia] (12:08 - 12:08)

That's right.

[Frank] (12:09 - 12:25)

You know, it switches off at the board and I highly recommend that. Another one I've got here is surge protection. I actually had a problem at my house once and it was messing up a lot of my electrical appliances.

They were breaking. We put it down to the surges. So we put a surge protection in the switchboard.

[Amelia] (12:26 - 12:26)

Yes.

[Frank] (12:26 - 12:40)

And I suppose it's no different with water supply. The water supply that comes into your house, if it's over pressurised, it can actually damage your taps and fixtures like that. So then they're putting in pressure control.

[Amelia] (12:40 - 12:40)

Limiters.

[Frank] (12:41 - 12:59)

Yeah, limiters in there. Preparing for EV charger, if that's something you want to look at in the future because if you're doing an upgrade on your switchboard, now, that depends on how much amperage is coming into your house. Yes.

How much juice is being fed. Have you got enough to do the EV charger?

[Amelia] (12:59 - 13:00)

That's a really good point.

[Frank] (13:00 - 13:06)

You know, I've heard plenty of times people have had to put in, you know, larger electric heaters and they've had to upgrade the mains power. Ouch.

[Amelia] (13:06 - 13:08)

It's not a cheap exercise.

[Frank] (13:08 - 13:19)

No, it's not. It's not. And our friends at Aurora may not be that helpful and they're not real kind on the price sometimes.

[Amelia] (13:20 - 13:22)

Unfortunately, here in Tassie, we don't have a lot of options.

[Frank] (13:22 - 13:23)

We've got no options.

[Amelia] (13:23 - 13:24)

Yeah.

[Frank] (13:24 - 13:40)

And you feel like you're getting ripped. Yep. Sorry, people.

It's just the way it is. If you're doing a switchboard upgrade, this is also perfect with the EV charger, but then also if you're getting solar panels and all that upgrade, big expense doing all three at the same time, but you may not have to upgrade your mains.

[Amelia] (13:41 - 13:41)

Yes.

[Frank] (13:42 - 14:04)

That's where potentially battery comes into it as well, but there are experts that will be able to guide you on that. But I'd always get three different opinions on this. Don't just believe one person.

Shop around. Talk to people. And the interweb is very helpful, but don't believe everything you read.

I'm finding your AI helper can actually give you some more honest answers to tell you the truth.

[Amelia] (14:04 - 14:05)

Oh, really?

[Frank] (14:05 - 14:17)

When you're doing research, you're not getting all these pop-ups and people trying to sell you solar. And two and a half inch hose fittings. For those of you who remember that show, I'm showing my age here.

[Amelia] (14:18 - 14:18)

Yep.

[Frank] (14:18 - 15:13)

Yep. We spoke about home automation, so we'll explain a bit more of that later. So water and plumbing upgrades.

So the big one here is your hot water system. Again, if you've got a normal cylinder, fine. We're allowed to use them in Australia.

It's all good. But when you get to the end of its life, and hopefully before it lets go in a bad way, that you might be prepared, hey, I want to go for a different system. I want to go, do I want to go for a heat pump?

Do I want to go for solar hot water? And there's multiple versions of that. I'm personally going to go for a heat pump unit for my house, but I've done a heap of research on it for myself personally, what suits my needs.

And there's a lot on the market, it's confusing as. As you mentioned before, install pressure limiters, or tap aerators, dual flush toilets. That one's debatable for me.

[Amelia] (15:14 - 15:15)

I'd never heard of them.

[Frank] (15:15 - 15:16)

What do you mean? Dual flush? We've got them here in the office. 

[Amelia] (15:17 - 15:20)

Oh, so do you mean like...

[Frank] (15:20 - 15:21)

It's a full flush or a half flush.

[Amelia] (15:21 - 15:27)

Oh, okay. I just thought, I thought it was something weird like it flushes twice or something strange like that.

[Frank] (15:27 - 15:34)

Okay. Mind you, to be fair, and we were talking about this before, sometimes you've got to flush twice anyway. Because there's not enough water in the thing.

[Amelia] (15:34 - 15:41)

I'm glad you added that at the end. Not because you had that curry the night before.

[Frank] (15:42 - 15:55)

You had to go in there. Seriously. There's been a lot of discussion about the quality of the ceramic finish.

[Amelia]

Not the quality of the curry? 

[Frank]

Not the quality of the curry. And then you wish your thing was lined in Teflon.

[Amelia] (15:55 - 15:57)

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Frank] (15:57 - 16:08)

You know, you keep flushing the damn thing. Anyway, rainwater tanks, garden laundry, if permitted. A lot of places are encouraging that, but I haven't seen the return on investment on those yet.

[Amelia] (16:08 - 16:09)

Okay.

[Frank] (16:09 - 16:12)

You know, by the time you set one up, you've got to put a pump in and all this.

[Amelia] (16:13 - 16:14)

It's a bit of work, a bit of effort.

[Frank] (16:14 - 16:48)

I don't know if you're going to get a return because our water's not stupidly expensive here in Tassie anyway. You know? So, yeah, you pick what you think is suitable. If you're an avid gardener, yeah, I'd certainly look at it. 

This next one is when you're getting a little bit older and you've got to start thinking about it. And I highly encourage you to think about this.

I'll put my hand up. I'm getting into this range. It's looking at your accessibility and safety retrofits. And the reason we do this is because as we get older, it'd be nice to be able to stay in your home as long as possible.

[Amelia] (16:49 - 16:50)

I agree, yeah.

[Frank] (16:50 - 17:08)

And then you've got to do some tweaks and retrofit improvements. One thing that's really hard to do is the doorways to improve manoeuvrability. You might be on a walking frame.

You might be on crutches. Wheelchair is obviously the obvious one, but it's got all those in between.

[Amelia] (17:08 - 17:08)

Yes.

[Frank] (17:09 - 17:22)

And with the small doors, it makes life very difficult. You need a minimum knuckle distance between the opening of the doors at 850mm. We designed for that.

We go straight to 920. It gives us more than that.

[Amelia] (17:22 - 17:24)

Did you do that for your new place? Yep. Did you go a bit wider?

[Frank] (17:25 - 17:28)

I've gone 920 doors right through the house, except for the pantry.

[Amelia] (17:29 - 17:29)

Yeah, okay.

[Frank] (17:29 - 17:33)

It just makes sense. It's not hard to do. But when you're retrofitting, oh, it's a nightmare.

[Amelia] (17:34 - 17:34)

Yeah, it would be tricky.

[Frank] (17:34 - 17:49)

It's really tough. If the old homes have got knob handles on the doors and other things like that, you want to turn them to levers or grab rails. The other thing is upgrading your flooring so they're non-slip because that's really important because your balance goes.

[Amelia] (17:49 - 17:50)

Yes.

[Frank] (17:50 - 17:53)

And you haven't always got three points of contact.

[Amelia] (17:53 - 17:54)

No, that's exactly right.

[Frank] (17:55 - 18:24)

Yep. The showers are no good generally because they've got a base, so you want to have a flush entry shower. That's a major reno, ripping that out.

But as you're getting older, definitely worth the money that you're able to get into your shower in and out quite easily. Yeah. Now, if you're going to do it, that means it's a full bathroom refit, right?

Plywood line the thing, then sheet and tile over the top. That means you can screw in bars and grab bars and whatever off that and they're secure.

[Amelia] (18:25 - 18:25)

Yes.

[Frank] (18:25 - 18:34)

And you won't have a problem. Very important. Not just putting noggins and guessing where to drill through the tiles.

Plywood liner. It costs a bit more but it's never a problem.

[Amelia] (18:34 - 18:36)

It's not that much more really.

[Frank] (18:36 - 18:42)

Well, the builders tell me it's a bit more but the cost is forgotten when it's easy to mount things on the wall.

[Amelia] (18:42 - 18:45)

Yes, yes. And if you're already doing it, I guess it makes sense.

[Frank] (18:45 - 19:00)

That's right. Yep, yep. Sensor lights everywhere in the hallways and around stairs so you don't have to go switches.

Electrical switches with bigger buttons on it so it's just easier to use rather than these tiny little buttons.

[Amelia] (19:00 - 19:00)

I agree.

[Frank] (19:00 - 19:03)

If you get arthritis, half these things are a problem.

[Amelia] (19:03 - 19:03)

Yes.

[Frank] (19:04 - 19:06)

Induction cooktops which are really safe.

[Amelia] (19:07 - 19:08)

Oh, yeah. That's a good point.

[Frank] (19:09 - 19:10)

Yep. Yep.

[Amelia] (19:10 - 19:20)

They're good even like if you're a family that has young kids, they're even good for that. Oh, yeah. You know, you don't have to be of an older generation to require that.

[Frank] (19:20 - 19:23)

You've got to worry about them pulling stuff off the wall.

[Amelia] (19:23 - 19:24)

True. Yeah.

[Frank] (19:25 - 19:49)

Visual and smart alerts, i.e. doorbells. But the other thing is this isn't part of the house but fall detectors and you've got watches that do it. I've had experiences with my mum.

Best things in sliced bread when something goes wrong, not a button or anything like that because it can fall over and knock themselves out where if it's in a watch and it's attached to there. It detects it. It detects it and it sends a message out.

[Amelia] (19:50 - 19:50)

Yep.

[Frank] (19:51 - 20:18)

But, look, these are, you know, you're ageing in place and this is peace of mind upgrading because then you can stay at your home and you can function safely at your home, you know. Well worth it. And we've done a number of these.

Unfortunately, NDIS seems to only focus on bathrooms and stuff and doesn't look as a whole house component from what I've seen so far with certain people. So that makes it tough.

[Amelia] (20:18 - 20:18)

Mm-hmm.

[Frank] (20:19 - 20:36)

So we're going to talk about infrastructure and I've had experience with this first one. Rewiring. My first house I renovated and I've shared this story before where we pulled out the false ceiling and then to get to the original ceiling and I saw the electrical cables and they weren't normal cables.

They just bought extension cords.

[Amelia] (20:36 - 20:40)

Yes, I remember you saying that. 

[Frank]

Not good. 

[Amelia]

No.

[Frank] (20:40 - 20:53)

No, no. Very dangerous. So this is where you upgrade. It's the same with the switchboards with RCDs. Protection. 

Improving your drains. Here's something that really people overlook.

Drainage. Improving the drainage.

[Amelia] (20:53 - 20:55)

We've got it drummed into us.

[Frank] (20:55 - 20:56)

Yes, too much drainage.

[Amelia] (20:57 - 20:58)

Drainage is never enough.

[Frank] (20:59 - 21:04)

Yes, sorry. But better than having an insurance claim where the water comes into your house.

[Amelia] (21:04 - 21:05)

Oh, exactly.

[Frank] (21:05 - 21:17)

Or sits there and damages your house. Another interesting one is attic space and this is subject to the type of roof that you have, the roof structure. If you've got an old school house and it's a pitched roof, you've got heaps of space up there.

[Amelia] (21:18 - 21:18)

Yes.

[Frank] (21:18 - 21:32)

So putting an attic ladder, you pull down the lid and the ladder pops out and you can wander up there. You can then look at putting storage up there. I'd only say light storage.

You can get someone to put flooring on top of the ceiling joists.

[Amelia] (21:32 - 21:32)

Yes.

[Frank] (21:33 - 21:38)

Be careful with lath and plaster. It's very sensitive to the stuff. You touch one bit and the whole lot collapses.

[Amelia] (21:38 - 21:38)

Crumbles, yeah.

[Frank] (21:38 - 21:55)

But there are certain places that you could do this quite well. Chuck a couple of flooring sheets in there, get it fixed and done properly and you put lightweight stuff there. And it's going to give you that extra storage that you need or stuff that you don't need all the time.

So we're now going to talk about retro fits to avoid.

[Amelia] (21:56 - 21:57)

Oh, there's a few of those.

[Frank] (21:58 - 22:15)

Yeah. Converting glass sunrooms into bedrooms. Remember the stuff from the 80s, the anodized mission brown aluminum with these big glass atriums.

Funnily enough, in the last four or five years, we've actually done some brand new ones.

[Amelia] (22:15 - 22:16)

Oh, wow.

[Frank] (22:16 - 22:21)

They do work well in the right place and for the right reasons.

[Amelia] (22:22 - 22:24)

And if you're allowed to do it. 

[Frank] (22:25 - 22:26)

Of course. Yeah. You've got to get a permit for it. No problem.

[Amelia] (22:26 - 22:27)

That's right.

[Frank] (22:27 - 22:43)

But converting them into anything other than a sunroom, no, no. They're a class 10. You can't make it habitable.

So bedroom, you're going to roast it. It's like a slow cooker. Here's another one.

The old lean two laundries out the back, turning them into anything but a laundry other than a tool shed.

[Amelia] (22:44 - 22:44)

Yes.

[Frank] (22:44 - 22:49)

Glassing in your veranda. 

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]

But in saying that, I've done a couple of these.

[Amelia] (22:49 - 22:50)

They come up all right.

[Frank] (22:50 - 22:54)

Well, they did because they're still a veranda. They're now a sunroom.

[Amelia] (22:54 - 22:54)

Yes.

[Frank] (22:55 - 23:13)

So I think horses for courses. But trying to convert it into something that's not, we mentioned bedrooms, but I know for one, someone tried to get us to convert one into a lounge room. And we said, it's no point. It can't be done. 

[Amelia]

Yes. And it's going to cost you more.

[Frank]

Turning the shed into a bedroom conversion or a granny flat.

[Amelia] (23:13 - 23:16)

Oh, we've had this. We've done a whole podcast on this.

[Frank] (23:17 - 23:53)

Yep. Try and avoid it because it doesn't quite work. Painting asbestos cladding instead of recladding.

Well, there's not a lot of that lying around anymore, I must say. We don't see it too often. But if the bones aren't right, don't waste your money.

Mate, if it looks easy, it usually runs into, you know, 

[Amelia]

A problem. 

[Frank]

A problem later on. So essentially, these are retrofitting.

It's improving what you already have. And there's a tonne of things you can improve on. And some of these are really cost effective, bang for your buck.

Some aren't. But some are about safety. Some are about efficiency.

And some are about just being able to live in the house for much, much longer.

[Amelia] (23:53 - 23:54)

Yes.

[Frank] (23:54 - 24:07)

And we've spoken about stuff outside. We've done landscaping. But there's heaps of improvements you can do there as well.

These are more focused on comfort, safety and performance. So that's how you can, yeah, reinvest in your home.

[Amelia] (24:08 - 24:13)

And if you're not sure who to talk to about this stuff, there's experts out there.

[Frank] (24:13 - 24:22)

Yep. Yeah, we've done it before. There's some specialist companies out there, especially about the thermal comfort areas.

So it's definitely worth talking to them.

[Amelia] (24:23 - 24:28)

Especially if you want to work out your bang for buck as well. Because you do want to make sure you're going to get that.

[Frank] (24:28 - 24:37)

Oh, of course. Of course. You know?

And good quality trades people. Switchboards. Well, Sparky has to do it and then someone has to check it.

[Amelia] (24:37 - 24:38)

Make sure they're licensed.

[Frank] (24:39 - 24:44)

Oh, 100%. Oh, yeah. Good point.

Everyone's got to be licensed for quite a number of these things.

[Amelia] (24:44 - 24:44)

Yes.

[Frank] (24:45 - 24:53)

So do your research. Get three different quotes. It's a good way of doing it.

[Amelia]

Yep. 

[Frank]

Future-proofing your home without blowing your budget.

[Amelia] (24:53 - 24:58)

Exactly. We might wrap it up there, folks. Thanks for listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.

[Frank] (24:58 - 24:59)

Catch ya’s later.

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