It’s renovations all the way in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap as we chat about a Forum post asking what can be done about a disastrous and unauthorised renovation, now that the owner is planning to sell, bodgy renos included.That’s one end of the spectrum where a major and mostly illegal renovation has been allowed to continue without so much as a “by your leave” let alone a by-law.At the other end of the reno rainbow, an old chum has called up to ask about the work she wants to do in her flat where the committee has had the plans for weeks but have only now decided they need to have a general meeting to approve them.Not only that but they want another 17 days to give notice to owners while she has tradies all set with their Makitas revved up and ready to go. Do they really need a general meeting (she doesn’t need any by-laws)? And if so, how could it have been avoided?Listen hereAnd finally we talk to our own project manager for our bathroom renos, Chris Triantis of CBT Projects, and ask him all the truly searching questions like:What's the price range for an average bathroom reno?How long does an average bathroom reno take?What are the biggest challenges for the home owner (especially in apartments)?What is the deal with waterproofing and why is it so hard to get it right?Tiles, paint, plaster or glass - what's the best wall covering?Is light better than dark for wall colours?What's the appeal of Venetian plaster?Do you tell people if you think they're making a design error?When it comes to fixtures and fittings, do you get what you pay for or are you just paying for the brand name?With wall-hung WCs, why can't you just replace an old WC with a new model from the same company?Niche or no-niche?Underfloor heating?Have you ever had to go in and fix someone else's bad reno?All that and more in the Flat Chat Wrap.Transcription in full.The following transcription is a bit patchy. Our various accents almost defeated our transcription service, hence the delay ... anyway, here's a picture of them at work ... enjoy.Jimmy 00:00I got a call this afternoon from a blast from the past. Remember Louise who used to do Urban Cinefile.Sue 00:08Oh , I certainly do.Jimmy 00:09So guess what? She's doing a renovation.Sue 00:12Oh, good luck to her.Jimmy 00:16And we're going to be talking about renovations this this week. But I thought it was ironic. She's in a situation where she put through all her plans weeks ago. But then there's been a change of membership and the committee and there's been a new strata manager come in. And they've just told her I think that work is supposed to start this week. And I've just told her now we need to have 17 days notice for a general meeting to approve,Sue Oh, no. And Strictly speaking, they don't need a general meeting, but they're going by the absolute letter of the law because their strata scheme, their Owners Corporation has never done the thing that most owners corporations do at their AGM, which is to say, the committee can take decisions on behalf of the general meeting.Sue Wow.JimmyThey can't do bylaws or special resolutions or anything else. They say most buildings like ours and 95% of the buildings in NSW. They say the committee can mak
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Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
