Renovating in Brisbane raises some unique issues. There are the challenges of raising a house to add an extra storey underneath. Plus there can be problems with asbestos, lead paint and termites. Negotiate your way through the Brisbane renovating maze with our help.
Raising or restumping
Raising your house is a very ‘Brisbane’ thing to do. It’s common to see older houses (particularly workers’ cottages) propped up, lifted off the ground and turned into two-storey houses by building underneath.
Even if you aren’t lifting your house, it might still need to be ‘restumped’. Originally Queensland houses were stumped using ironbark or other timber that didn’t rot easily. Now there are other options.
If building in underneath, you’ll want to use steel beams and columns because they leave more useable space. If you aren’t planning on building in you can use concrete stumps.
There’s no point doing any other renovation work until the restumping is finished. The walls and floors will move during restumping and that means any work you have done may have to be redone.
See our directory for house restumping, reblocking or raising companies.
Council approvals
Some renovations must be approved by Council. Go to the Brisbane City Council website for more information.
If your home is on a small lot (under 450m sq.) then any building work must comply with the small lot code. Before you have any plans drawn up, particularly when renovating or extending an older Queenslander or workers’ cottage, you’ll need to make sure you understand the current building regulations.
There are very strict rules regarding how close to boundaries you may build (despite where the house currently sits on the block), what percentage of your block you may build on and how high your house is allowed to be.
Removal, relocation or demolition
Check if your house is in a protected area. Properties built pre-1946 will need special approval for removal, relocation or demolition if they are in a:
- character protection area
- demolition control precinct
- heritage register
Read the FAQs about this complicated area of Brisbane City Council legislation.
Good design
To make the most of Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate, all renovation projects should consider the path of the sun, the direction of breezes and other environmental factors.
The Green Home feature explains how you can make your home cool in summer and warm in winter without excessive energy use.
Or read about some simple design features of sustainable housing in Queensland.
Air-conditioning and energy savings
The typical timber and tin house is not well insulated and can get very hot in summer and very cold in winter.
Brisbane City Council has some useful information for anyone thinking about buying air conditioning. If air-conditioning your home is part of your renovation plans, make sure you insulate first. Insulation improves the efficiency of your air-conditioner and will save electricity.
Water saving measures
Renovate with water efficiency in mind – you can take advantage of the generous Brisbane City Council and State Government rebates for rain water tanks. The rebate is higher if you connect the tank to your toilet and laundry.
The State Government are also offering cash rebates for installing water saving devices such as showerheads, toilets and water efficient washing machines.
Lead Paint
You need to check if there’s lead paint in your house before you start sanding paintwork. If your home was built before 1970 it’s a fair bet that lead paint has been used at some stage. If it was built after 1970 there’s still a chance that lead paint was used. A previous owner may have removed it already, but to be safe you need to check each painted surface.
Buy a lead paint test kit from a hardware shop.
If you think you have lead paint, don’t try to remove it yourself. The Master Painters' Association of Queensland has information about the threat and risks of lead paint. Removal of lead paint needs to be handled very carefully to reduce dust. Renovators and their families (especially young children) are at particularly high risk when this is done by anyone other than a professional. Contact a professional paint removal service.
Asbestos
The threat of asbestos to home renovators is real. It wasn’t until the mid 1980s that the use of asbestos reduced and it wasn’t completely banned until 2003. It is hard to identify asbestos with the eye and tests are needed for confirmation. Asbestos most often becomes a problem when renovators want to remove walls or cut into and break up the existing wall sheet.
If you think asbestos products are present in your house, don’t try to cut a sample to take for testing because you’ll probably release some of the dangerous fibres. Contact a professional asbestos removal company to assess the risk and remove the asbestos safely.
Termites (white ants)
They may be small but they can do an enormous amount of damage to any home, including new dwellings. Termites look a lot like white coloured ants. Don’t disturb any termites you find because they may then move to another, harder to locate, site.
Termite damage can be hard to identify – if it’s in the framework and behind walls you may not be able to see the damage. The Building Services Authority of Queensland has some helpful information about what to do to identify termite problems, how to get rid of termites and how to reduce the risks of reinfestation.
There are a number of different termite treatments and preventative measures available. Contact a pest control company to advise you.
