2 July 2020

Renovator recommendations wanted

| PigsFly
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With the onset of the cooler weather, we’ve decided that it’s the right time to get stuck into some small but significant renovations, namely the closing in of an unused front veranda and the total refurb of our dated (read “70’s”) bathroom. Can anyone recommend any suitable tradies to do either of these jobs?

We really didn’t want to resort to cold calling names from the Chronicle or White/Yellow Pages as we’ve done that in the past and not been happy with the results. I’m talking about quote stage only as we can normally weed out the useless ones when they won’t even listen to what you have to say right from the start (we normally then let them go to the trouble of producing a quote because if they’re going to waste our time then they can waste some of their own too).

So, if you’ve recently had a bathroom renovated or enclosed a previously wasted veranda space, please let us know who you used and if you were happy with the work. Feel free to let us know anyone that you wouldn’t recommend either (perhaps in a diplomatic way) so we can avoid the lemons.

Thanks O Wise RiotACT’er’s. 🙂

If you’re also looking to renovate your bathroom, check out our recently updated article on the best bathroom renovation companies and the best tilers in Canberra.

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familyguy19742:46 pm 16 Apr 13

@rob68
“In regards to the painters, DO NOT use National Capital Painters! More problems than you can poke a stick at!”

…… what were the problems you were talking about???

familydude7210:36 am 10 Jan 13

Definately speak to John from Purr-fect bathrooms. As we discovered,he is good at pretty much anything and he and his team did wonders at our house recently. You can read my more detailed post on this thread:

http://the-riotact.com/recommendations-for-bathroom-renovations-in-canberra/49017

I know that this is a very old thread but if anyone is still looking for a great tradie for bathroom renovations plus a very experienced man who has a wealth of information and can put his hand to most things, try John from Purr-fect bathrooms.
http://www.purr-fectbathrooms.com.au

Seems I am the only one commenting here anymore but I thought it was worthwhile following up.

Had Fully Air Conditioned do our Air Conditioning installation and Craig + team were excellent. Can’t recommend them highly enough and want to thank rob68 for the recommendation and saving me time in finding someone reliable.

They were extremely quick, professional and the quality of the job is second to none.

Also had Watson Blinds and Awnings do some work for me, highly recommended too.

Looking for a garage door recommendation now too, had trouble getting an itemised quote out of WR and ACT Doorland’s sales guy is MIA after being extremely enthusiastic measuring everything up (is there anyone else in the Capital that does B&D doors?).

How about those painters? still nothing? might have to start up a painting business!.. seems there’s plenty of work and no one to do it!

Have just booked in Fully Air Conditioned off rob68’s recommendation and the fact that Craig was by far the most professional heating/cooling guy we have had out, will keep you posted on the finished product.

Also spoke to James Schulhin in regards to timber floors, will likely have him out for a quote.. (jsfloors.com.au) off PigsFly’s recommendation

Think I may have found someone for curtains/blinds.. now looking for a Carpenter (qualified!) for some odd jobs.. eg. hanging doors, minor repairs.. give me some recommendations people.. this thread sure beats the hit and miss back pages of the Chronicle!

Is anyone able to recommend me a good insulation company? with the government funded insulation project having come and gone.. I am finding it hard to find an insulation company to trust.

Just want some roof insulation installed without it burning down the house.

cookkosciusko7:39 pm 23 Aug 10

Lineal Enterprises for vinyl flooring:

http://www.homeimprovementpages.com.au/professional/lineal/95130

Great job!

Lazy I said :

Still waiting for a curtain and painter recommendation, thanks for the heads up rob68 will be calling Fully Air Conditioned on your recommendation 😀

You wont’ be disappointed, Lazy I. I’ve used them twice now and am still happy.

3 months later.. anyone got a good painter or tiler?

Bump for good service from Woods Electrical (http://www.woodselectrical.com.au/) again. Had them (Allan) install lights throughout the house and a new Tastic. Turned up on time, extremely quick + efficient and excellent quality job.

Still waiting for a curtain and painter recommendation, thanks for the heads up rob68 will be calling Fully Air Conditioned on your recommendation 😀

+1 for wanting Curtain recommendation, including rails + fitment if possible.

Also looking for a recommendation for internal/external blinds.

Come on people! 😀

ooh yes I would love a painter recommendation.

oh and curtains – never bothered with then in Sydney but I think in Canberra they would help a lot- they all seem to be either cheap and hideous or ultra expensive if nice. Has anyone put in decent plain curtains and were happy with the service (I am not competent enough on a machine to hem my own)

I came back to this thread hoping for more recommendations but instead it seemed to have fizzled a bit.

Anyone care to share their good and bad experiences in order to help their fellow RiotACT’er?

Please?

Sasquatch Sam8:07 am 12 May 10

Hi All – Another thread hijack attempt (before I start a simliar one) …

I’m looking for a tradie to reno our bathroom, it for a rental property though so we’re keen to keep costs down, no heated ivory towel rails etc. Currently the bathroom is living in early 70s so we are looking at new vanity, tiles, shower. Bath is probably ok for a reuse.

Any IP people out there with tips? (we’d strip it first etc)

koalathebear6:36 pm 11 May 10

What happened to this post? I was so hoping for more recommendations for:
– painters
– builders to do bedroom extensions
– people to do flooring

Can highly recommend Ben from Tap Fix. Well priced, turns up on time and get’s the job done to a high standard. He did a great job on both our en-suite and main bathroom.

Keep those recommendations coming …. maybe I should have called this thread “Recommend Your Tradie” instead as it’s only now that I’ve realised that, given the amount of work we do want to get done, we’re probably going to need the name of a good electrician, plumber, painter, tiler, carpenter, etc, etc.

By the way, I can recommend someone that does timber floors if anyone’s interested – James Schulhin. He did a large expanse in our home not that long ago and we’re very happy with his work.

Without point too fine a point on it 3 bathrooms – new tile new cabinets, toilets, resprayed bath, inset wall cabinets, fan/extractors etc etc cost $50K -ish.

Sounds a lot but if you saw the original 70’s tiles (ugly ugly ugly) you would know it was so worth it!! They went back to the frames and started again – only the original bathroom (solid, deep comfy 70’s model) was kept and resprayed.

JessP said :

For your bathroom – The Slateman at Mitchell is highly recomended. Shp4/ 125 Lysaght St
Mitchell ACT 2911 (02) 6241 7117

Ziggy and the boys did 3 bathrooms for us last year and did an excellent job. Excellent workmanship, on time, went to plan!! Happy to share before and after photos if you like!

Rude question I know, but what was the rough cost of the work?

Reason I am asking is I replaced the vanity and fittings in my ensuite myself 2 years ago in the hope of modernising the room, but what it did was highlight even more how dated the tiles were. So what I need is new tiles and shower screen. I am pretty good with DYI, but will not touch tiles or sealing with a barge pole, too much trouble if they get messed up even a little. I am thinking of renovating my ensuite, ie new tiles, shower screen and fittings

Anyone who wants before and after shots ….email at jess_charlie2002@yahoo.com.au

Re painters I have used Geuvara Painting Contractors for both inside and outside jobs. Highly recommended as they are very thorough, have high standards, turn up on time and Nelson Geuvara is a nice chap. Maybe a bit more expensive than others, but worth it to get the job done right.

koalathebear said :

Sorry for hijacking the post but I didn’t want to start a new post about a similar topic. We’re getting a ‘new’ home soon and will need to do some fixing up ourselves so we were hoping for recommendations for:

1. Good painters to give some of the rooms/walls a fresh coat of paint. We might do it ourselves but wanted to see what the prices were out there and who was good

2. Good people to help rip up the existing yucky floor and put in a new one – haven’t decided on the type of floor yet.

Thanks heaps in advance! 🙂

1. Still haven’t managed to find a good (reliable) interior painter in Canberra, keen to find one as well, especially looking for one that will take the time to sand back existing paint and prepare correctly rather than painting straight over the top (please someone suggest a good painter!)

2. I can definitely suggest avoiding Don Burrows in Fyshwick. The showroom gives a good impression but our carpet install we had was absolutely atrocious. The best example of how bad it is was when they cut the carpet 1 inch too short down the edge of a bedroom (under some cupboard doors) so the installer then cut a 1 inch wide strip of carpet and stuffed it into the gap.. a delightful detail I found when vacuuming a week later (happy to provide detailed photos). I am currently looking for someone to replace the carpet that is only 3 years old, so far i’ve seen two jobs done by Carpet Court in Phillip and they both look good.

Hope that helps.

JessP, thanks for the tiler recommendation, I am looking for someone to lay some porcelain tiles.. gather the Slateman does more than just slate?

koalathebear9:59 am 06 May 10

Sorry for hijacking the post but I didn’t want to start a new post about a similar topic. We’re getting a ‘new’ home soon and will need to do some fixing up ourselves so we were hoping for recommendations for:

1. Good painters to give some of the rooms/walls a fresh coat of paint. We might do it ourselves but wanted to see what the prices were out there and who was good

2. Good people to help rip up the existing yucky floor and put in a new one – haven’t decided on the type of floor yet.

Thanks heaps in advance! 🙂

I’m thinking of renovating our bathroom soon as well and would be interested in seeing your pics Jess if you could post them up somewhere.

For your bathroom – The Slateman at Mitchell is highly recomended. Shp4/ 125 Lysaght St
Mitchell ACT 2911 (02) 6241 7117

Ziggy and the boys did 3 bathrooms for us last year and did an excellent job. Excellent workmanship, on time, went to plan!! Happy to share before and after photos if you like!

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