Ponsonby: Wayne's tips for renovating villas

67 Summer St, Ponsonby

Not so long ago, no 67 was the "eyesore on Summer St". The once proud 19th century Ponsonby villa was in a sorry state of decrepitude - leaning to one side, its foundations rotted away, its backyard a rubbish dump.

When newlyweds Wayne and Melissa first saw it, they thought they had stumbled into the junkyard of Steptoe and Son.

"It was honestly derelict," Wayne says. "I only looked around the house for 15 minutes, because I knew I could stay for hours and find a million more things wrong with it. But I knew it was a sad house in a good street."

Seeing the huge potential in the property, the couple bought it at auction and transformed it into a striking four double-bedroom home that has maintained the traditional 1890s villa look on the outside, but gained a modern, minimalist interior.

"Pretty much everything on the property is brand new, bar the kauri floors and original sash windows," says Wayne.

The couple, both corporate marketers, lived in the one-bedroom "shanty shack" in the backyard until the major part of the renovations was completed. And "major" was the operative word.

"I filled 12 nine cubic metre bins with junk - four from rubbish under the house - and five 4.5 cubic metre bins with dirt. I was one of the bin company's top 20 customers of the year!" Wayne laughs.

Down came the corrugated iron fences, held up by stakes propped against the house. Down came the rusty carport, the old sleep-out and the illegal lean-to in the backyard. But the biggest challenge came when Wayne investigated the high pile of dirt along the eastern side of the house. Underneath he found rotting weatherboards, and beneath the floorboards, the house had slumped to the ground. It had to be lifted and the piles restructured.

The land on the 303sq m section was falling away, and had to be retained. Interior walls that had been kicked in were totally replaced, and the uneven ceilings were uniformly raised back to the original 3.3m height. All the plumbing and wiring was replaced.

The couple decided to extend the house to create a substantial living area - lounge, dining and kitchen with a large granite-topped island, and cedar bifolds which open to a new deck.

Wayne and Melissa thought it imperative to move the toilet indoors, and there are now two modern bathrooms. Another important alteration was to build wardrobes and storage space into all four double bedrooms - something missing from traditional villas.

 

Wayne's advice to other couples looking to buy an old character home that's seen better days - don't get disheartened. "Whatever budget you set, it will almost definitely go 20 per cent over with an old house - it can be 40 per cent if you haven't done your homework properly. But stick with it."

Vital Statistics

Size: Land 303sq m, house approx 130sq m.

Price Indication: CV 2002 (prior to renovations) $520,000. Auction May 19.

Inspect: Open home Sat/Sun 1-1.40pm.

Contact: Daryl Spense, Ray White, Ponsonby, ph 376 2186, mob 021 955 387.

Features: Alarm; gas heating; off-street parking; rear deck; patio area.