Learn to Renovate Homes, Offices, any type of Build

• for Building Owners, Managers or Budding Tradesmen/women
• evaluate, prioritise and plan the renovation of a building or part of a building; then enact that plan by undertaking the work, managing the work, or both.

Building renovation projects may be large or small, costly or expensive, complex or simple. All such projects should be carefully considered with respect to these issues before anything is ever done.

Any project can be disruptive for a home owner or building manager. The longer it takes to complete, the more disruptive it can be. Give serious consideration to what is an acceptable level of disruption, and make sure everyone concerned understands the time frame which needs to be worked to.

For any project to be successful it should be realistically conceived and its execution should be planned to achieve a useful outcome within the constraints of financial and other resources available, and with a comfortable margin of error.

Recognise Reality from the Start!

Renovation projects often don’t tend to go to plan. This is because there are inevitably unpredictable factors at play which can impact a project as you proceed. Always expect the unexpected.

Prepare for the unexpected by allocating more money and time than what you first think is needed. This way you have the unexpected covered; and if the unexpected does not happen; you will have a pleasant surprise.

There are 10 lessons in this course:

• Introduction to Building Renovation Projects
• Core Structural and Site Works
• Replacing/Repairing Roofs and Floors
• Doors, Windows and Walls
• Plastering
• Carpentry Reno
• Painting
• Plumbing Basics
• Electrical Basics
• Renovating a Room

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Evaluate a house and identify the scope for renovation. This could be your own property, a friend’s property or any other building you have access to. Determine why it needs renovating what your priorities would be. Take some photographs.
• Look at properties for sale in your locality, and note variations in prices. Try to make sense of what looks more saleable due to price, features, etc.  Have the more saleable properties had any renovation work done? If so, what sort of renovation work? What sort of renovations seem to have the greatest impact on price?
• Talk to someone who has done a renovation or supplied materials or services to a renovation project. Ask them: What structural issues did the building have (most buildings will have at least one issue relating to structure, even if only minor)? How were these overcome?  Did they have to bring in any professional help? If so who did they bring in, and why?
• Contact a scaffold supply company. Find out what you can about supplying and using scaffolding. How much does it cost to have scaffold delivered, erected for a job and then dismantled and taken back afterwards? Let’s say you need it to be 5m long so as to access the ground floor and first floor at the rear of a 2-storey building where you are going to re-point the outside of the building, and you need the scaffold erected for a minimum of 4 weeks.
• Go online and watch a video or two on how to repair or install stepped lead flashing and soakers. Search using phrases such as “How to make and install lead soakers video”, “Video how to install stepped lead flashing and soakers”, or “Replacing stepped flashing and soakers”.
• Visit or contact a local timber merchant or hardware store. Find out what options they have available for wooden floor coverings. Make a note of the different types of timber and composites, different dimensions, any different types of interlocking board edges, how they are sold (metre, feet, metres squared), costs per unit, and delivery options.  Note: You may need to contact more than one store to find a variety of options.
• Go online and watch a video or two on how to repair or replace wooden floorboards. Search using phrases such as “How to replace wooden floorboards video”, “Video remove and replace floorboards”, or “Install wooden floorboards video”.
• Go online and watch a short video or two on how to create different types of pointed finishes in brickwork. Search using phrases such as “How to point brickwork struck flush video”, “Video how to re-point old or damages brickwork”, or “Raking out and replacing old pointing weathered finish video”
• Then do either one of the following: 1. If you have some old brickwork to practice on, attempt to re-point it. Take photographs of your work. Or 2. Alternatively, look for an example of some damaged brickwork in your locality which is in need of re-pointing and photograph it.
• Take a look around the house or apartment you live in. Look at the windows and the frames they are set into. Note what type of materials they are made from. Also, note what type of windows they are e.g. hinged, pivot, sliding. Photograph one of the windows.
• Find out what you can about replacing a handle on a door. This could be on an entrance door to a house or an internal door. Look online, talk to someone at a hardware store, or contact a locksmith.
• Visit your local DIY shop or hardware store. Look at the range of plaster and plasterboard products they have. Look at the options for different types of boards, jointing tape and compound, plaster finish, corner beads, and fixings. Also see what they have in the way of trowels and floats, and other plastering tools.
• Watch a short video or two on how to fix dry lining to wooden stud walls. Search using phrases such as “How to fix plasterboard to wooden studs video”, “Video how to nail or screw a dry wall”, or “Fixing plasterboard to walls video”.
• Now you’ve seen how to fix boards, watch a short video or two on how to apply a plaster finishing coat to plasterboard. Search using phrases such as “How to apply plaster skim to dry lining video”, “Video how to plaster a dry wall”, or “Applying a plaster skim to plasterboard video”.
• Visit a local DIY store or timber merchants. Look at the different hardwood, softwood and composites they have for sale. Note the stress grades of the timbers, the appearance, dimensions, cost per unit, and find out about suitable uses.
• Obtain some wood and attempt to make a mortise and tenon joint. Take photographs of your efforts.
• Undertake a simple woodwork project. Choose from one of the following: • A bookshelf (with one or more shelves), • A wooden box (with or without a lid), • A coffee table or TV stand, • Cupboard doors
• Take photographs of each step (e.g. cutting, joints, fixing, finishing). When you have made it, you can fill any holes and sand it, but don’t worry about painting or staining it.
• Watch a short video or two on how to cut in paint using a brush. Search using phrases such as “How to cut in paint video”, “Video how to use a paint brush cutting in”, or “Cutting in painting walls video”.
• Prepare a surface for painting. This can be anything of your choice e.g. a plaster wall, brick work, a metal window frame. It could even be the wooden project from your last assignment.
• Prepare the surface using whatever practices are appropriate e.g. washing with sugar water, sanding, filling, stripping, and so on. Take photographs as you go.
• Decide on a suitable paint and paint system e.g. primer and top coat. Paint the surface and take photographs.
• Visit a few plumbing suppliers or wholesalers (real or virtual visits). Observe the scope of products available that may be used to improve the plumbing appliances in a house (e.g. your own home, a friend’s house, or a house you have lived in or are familiar with).
• For your chosen appliance, work out what the different options are and how much they cost. Also, determine what fittings might be needed for that particular appliance e.g. taps, washers, pipes, and pipe connectors.
• Conduct research into different types of water tanks. You can do this online, by contacting suppliers or through consulting relevant literature you have access to. Find out the main advantages and disadvantages of: polyethylene (plastic), concrete, ferro-cement (concrete, steel reinforcement bars and wire mesh), galvanised steel (zinc coated), fibreglass, and wood (plastic lined).
• Watch a short video or two on how to seal either copper or plastic pipes. Search using phrases such as “How to solder copper pipes video”, “Video how to seal plastic pipes using solvent”, or “Bonding plastic and copper plumbing pipes video”.
• SPECIAL PROJECT
  The remainder of this course is a special project. Here you are encouraged to undertake a room renovation of your own.  Your renovation can be as simple as painting a bedroom or as complex as refitting a kitchen or bathroom. It is entirely up to you. Since we recognise that you won’t necessarily be in a position to undertake this task, there are alternatives presented so that everyone can complete the project in a way that suits them.