---
title: "I Spent $200,000 on a Renovation and Learned Two Expensive Lessons"
description: "Two renovation traps that cost me $200K in Melbourne: double-brick electrical nightmares and electrical layout miscommunication. Plus two things I got right."
author: Joey Don
date: 2024-11-25
category: Renovation & Development
url: https://premiumrea.com.au/blog/renovation-pitfalls-double-brick-200k-lessons
tags: ["renovation", "double brick", "Melbourne", "electrical", "kitchen renovation", "builder tips", "property improvement"]
---

# I Spent $200,000 on a Renovation and Learned Two Expensive Lessons

*By Joey Don, Co-Founder & CEO at PremiumRea — 2024-11-25*

> I have spent more than most people's house deposit on renovating a single property. Along the way I made two mistakes that added tens of thousands to the budget, and I did two things right that I now recommend to every client.

Two hundred thousand Australian dollars. That's what I've poured into a single property renovation in Melbourne. Not a spec build. Not a development site. One house that I bought, gutted, and rebuilt from the inside out.

Was it worth it? The short answer is yes — the property will sell or re-value at a significant premium. But the journey included two mistakes that I'm going to describe in painful detail, because if you're planning any renovation work in Melbourne, these lessons will save you real money.

I'm also going to share two things I got absolutely right. Things I'd do again on every project. Things you should steal for your own renovation.

This is a pure experience dump. No theory. No generic advice. Just what happens when you spend $200K learning by doing.

## Mistake one: the electrician, the lights, and the conversation that never happened

I found what I genuinely believe is the best electrician in Melbourne. Patient, thorough, technically excellent. The problem wasn't his skill. It was my briefing.

The project involved replacing every light fitting in the house — hallways, living areas, bedrooms, the lot. I told him: use your best judgement. Put downlights where they make sense. Make it clean and modern.

He did exactly what I asked. And the result drove me insane.

The hallway downlights were positioned based on optimal light distribution — which is correct from an engineering standpoint. But they weren't aligned in a straight line with the lights in the adjacent rooms. The hallway pair sat at a different offset from the feature light above the front door. Functionally perfect. Aesthetically, a nightmare for someone who notices these things.

The electrician's placement followed best practice for illumination coverage. What I wanted was best practice for visual symmetry. Two completely different objectives, and I never specified which one mattered to me [1].

The fix would have required re-cutting holes in the plaster ceiling, patching the old holes, and repainting. By the time I realised, the painting was done. The cost of correction exceeded the cost of living with it.

The lesson is specific and actionable: if you're replacing lights throughout a property, do not give verbal instructions. Draw a floor plan. Mark the exact position of every light on that plan. Give the electrician a physical document showing the layout you want, not the layout he thinks is optimal. An electrician thinks in lumens and coverage angles. You think in straight lines and visual balance. These are not the same thing.

## Mistake two: double brick is three times the price for every trade

This property is a double-brick construction. Most Chinese-Australian buyers prefer double brick — it feels more solid, more permanent, more "quality" than weatherboard or brick veneer.

From a renovation perspective, double brick is a financial catastrophe.

I wanted to add a handful of power outlets to one wall. New GPOs (general power outlets), nothing exotic. On a standard brick veneer or weatherboard wall, an electrician cuts through the outer skin, runs the cable through the timber frame cavity, patches, and moves on. Half a day, $400 to $600.

On a double-brick wall, there is no cavity. Both layers are solid masonry. The electrician needs to chase channels through the brick using a concrete cutter, run the cable, coordinate with the plumber (because I also wanted a new water outlet on the same wall), then render over the channels before plastering and painting.

Five tradespeople. Three days. Dust everywhere — and I mean construction-site-level dust that coated every surface in the house. The cost for what should have been a $600 job came in closer to $2,000 [2].

Triple the standard rate. For every single modification to an external wall.

If your property is double brick and you're planning a renovation that involves moving or adding plumbing, electrical, or data points on load-bearing walls, budget three times the normal rate. If someone quotes you the standard weatherboard rate, they either haven't seen the property or they're going to hit you with variations mid-project.

Our firm's standing recommendation is to favour weatherboard (timber frame) or brick veneer properties for investment purchases, specifically because they're dramatically cheaper to modify. A property that costs $60,000 to renovate in weatherboard can cost $120,000 or more in double brick for an identical scope of work [3]. The renovated value is similar. The ROI is not.

## What I got right: check the kitchen before the stone goes on

The kitchen renovation was the centrepiece of this project. Custom cabinetry, engineered stone benchtop, island bench, the works.

I did one thing that saved me thousands: I showed up on site between the cabinet installation and the stone templating.

Here's the construction sequence for a kitchen. First, the cabinetmaker installs the base cabinets and island frame. Second, the stone fabricator comes to measure (template) for the benchtop. Third, the stone is cut off-site and installed.

Once the stone is installed, nothing moves. The benchtop is custom-cut to fit the cabinets in their exact position. If you want to shift the island bench 50 millimetres to the left after the stone is on, you're ordering a new slab. That's $3,000 to $5,000 gone [4].

By visiting between steps one and two, I was able to verify the island position, check the cabinet alignment against the floor plan, and confirm that the gap between the island and the wall-mounted cabinets was correct. I also spotted a minor alignment issue on one run of cabinets that the installer agreed to correct before templating.

If I'd waited until after the stone was fitted, that correction would have been impossible. The stone would have locked everything in place.

So: if your property is having a kitchen renovation, do not wait until it's finished to inspect. Visit after the cabinets are installed but before the stone templating. That window is your last chance to make changes without massive cost.

## What I got right: the robot vacuum station with plumbed water

This is going to sound trivial compared to the $200K renovation conversation, but it's genuinely one of the best things I did in the entire project.

In the laundry, I had the plumber install a dedicated cold water outlet and a floor drain at a height and position designed for a robotic vacuum cleaner base station. The allocated space is 380 millimetres wide — most robot vacuums need 350 or less.

The robot vacuum connects to the water supply for automatic mop rinsing. The dirty water drains directly into the floor waste. The unit runs on a schedule via phone app. I never touch it [5].

Why does this matter for an investment article? Because if you're building or renovating and planning to rent the property (or even live in it yourself), the $300 cost of adding a dedicated water point and floor drain during construction saves hundreds of hours of manual floor cleaning over the life of the property.

For rental properties specifically, a robot vacuum station in the laundry is a value-add that modern tenants genuinely appreciate. It's a $300 investment during build that contributes to higher perceived quality and longer tenancy retention.

The floor drain also provides flood protection. If the robot malfunctions and leaks water while you're away, it drains harmlessly rather than flooding the laundry floor.

Small details. Big compounding value.

## The renovation framework I use now on every project

After $200,000 worth of education, here's the checklist I follow and recommend to every client considering a renovation:

1. Know your wall type before you budget. Weatherboard and brick veneer: standard rates. Double brick: triple the rate for any modification to external or load-bearing walls.

2. Draw every light position on a floor plan. Give it to the electrician as a binding instruction. Don't rely on verbal descriptions or "best practice" defaults.

3. Visit the kitchen installation between cabinet fitting and stone templating. This is your last free modification window.

4. If you're doing a full renovation, get the electrician, plumber, and plasterer to coordinate on-site before any work begins. Each trade's work affects the others, especially in double brick where chasing channels is expensive and creates collateral damage to adjacent finishes.

5. Plan for technology integration during the build, not after. Robot vacuum stations, USB charging points, smart light switch backing plates, ethernet cable runs — all of these cost a fraction during construction versus retrofit.

6. Budget a contingency of 15% to 20% above your quoted renovation cost. Variations are inevitable, especially on older properties where you can't see what's behind the walls until demolition begins.

Renovation is the highest-return activity in property investment when done correctly. A $13,000 cosmetic renovation on a Hampton Park property increased the weekly rent from $550 to $950 [6]. That's a 3,000% annualised return on the renovation spend. But a poorly planned renovation on a double-brick property can consume $50,000 in unexpected costs and deliver marginal improvement.

Know your property. Plan your scope. And show up on site.

## The broader renovation ROI framework

My $200,000 renovation project was a personal property with self-occupation in mind. The economics are different for investment properties, where every dollar spent must be justified by increased rental income or bank valuation.

For investment properties, we categorise renovations into three tiers based on return profile.

Tier one: cosmetic refreshes ($5,000 to $20,000). New flooring at $50 per square metre, full internal repaint at $5,000 for a three-bedroom house, new light fittings, and a kitchen facelift (new handles, splashback, benchtop resurface without full replacement). Expected rental uplift: 30% to 70%. This tier delivers the highest percentage return because the spend is low and tenants respond strongly to visual presentation.

The Hampton Park case study is the gold standard here. Purchase price $585,000. Renovation spend: $13,000. Rent increase from $550 to $950 per week — a $400 per week improvement representing a 1,600% annualised return on the renovation investment. The work involved was flooring, paint, and minor fixture upgrades. Nothing structural. Nothing requiring permits.

Tier two: functional modifications ($20,000 to $80,000). Adding a second kitchen or bathroom, internal reconfiguration to create dual-occupancy, structural work to separate upper and lower levels. Expected rental uplift: 50% to 100%. The returns are excellent but require building permits, qualified tradespeople, and compliance documentation.

Tier three: major construction ($80,000 to $200,000+). Granny flat construction, full home renovation, extensions, or structural remediation. Expected valuation uplift: 120% to 180% of spend. This tier is about creating equity rather than just rental income — the bank revaluation after a granny flat build typically exceeds the construction cost, enabling refinance and reinvestment.

The mistake most investors make is jumping to Tier Three without exhausting Tier One opportunities. A $13,000 cosmetic refresh that doubles your rent delivers a better risk-adjusted return than a $200,000 renovation that triples it. The absolute numbers are larger at Tier Three, but the capital efficiency is highest at Tier One.

Start cheap. Maximise the easy wins. Only escalate to Tier Two or Three when the property's physical condition justifies it or when the dual-income potential creates returns that a cosmetic refresh simply can't achieve.

## What I'd do differently if I started this renovation again

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. If I could restart this $200,000 project with what I know now, three things would change.

First, I would have confirmed the construction type before finalising the renovation scope. The double-brick discovery didn't happen until demolition commenced. A simple visual inspection of the wall cavity through an existing service penetration (power point, exhaust fan) would have revealed the double-brick construction before any money was committed. I'd have either adjusted the scope to avoid external wall modifications or budgeted triple rates from the start.

Second, I would have produced a detailed light positioning plan on graph paper, not communicated verbally. The alignment issue with the downlights was entirely preventable. Ten minutes with a ruler and a pencil would have saved weeks of frustration and a permanent visual imperfection that I notice every time I walk through the hallway.

Third, I would have scheduled all trade coordination meetings on-site before any work commenced. Electrician, plumber, plasterer, and painter in the same room at the same time, walking through the scope together. When trades work sequentially without prior coordination, each one makes assumptions about what the previous trade has prepared. Those assumptions are where variations breed.

Renovation is project management. The better the plan, the lower the cost. The lower the cost, the higher the return. And the difference between a profitable renovation and a break-even one is almost always in the planning, not the execution.

## References

1. [PremiumRea renovation case study. Electrical layout miscommunication: engineering-optimal light placement vs visual symmetry requirements.](#)
2. [PremiumRea cost analysis. Double-brick electrical modification: 5 tradespeople, 3 days, ~$2,000 vs $400-$600 standard rate for weatherboard.](#)
3. [PremiumRea investment criteria. Weatherboard/brick veneer preferred over double brick for investment properties: renovation cost differential of 2-3x.](#)
4. [PremiumRea kitchen renovation protocol. Post-cabinet, pre-stone inspection window: last opportunity for zero-cost layout adjustments.](#)
5. [PremiumRea smart home specification. Robot vacuum station: plumbed cold water + floor drain, 380mm clearance, $300 installed during build.](#)
6. [PremiumRea portfolio case study. Hampton Park: $585K purchase, $13K renovation, rent from $550/wk to $950/wk.](#)
7. [Housing Industry Association (HIA), 'Renovation Trends Report 2022'. Average renovation cost overruns in Victoria: 15-20% above quoted price.](https://hia.com.au/resources-and-advice/economic-research)
8. [Master Builders Victoria, 'Guide to Renovation Contracts and Variations', 2021. Best practices for scope documentation and variation management.](https://www.mbav.com.au/)

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Source: https://premiumrea.com.au/blog/renovation-pitfalls-double-brick-200k-lessons
Publisher: PremiumRea (Optima Real Estate) — Melbourne buyers agent