When Julie Anglesey was approached to help transform a battered, cramped laundry room into a beautiful, well-lit and spacious area, she knew she was up for the challenge. When she was presented with the budget – just $1,000 – that’s when things got really interesting!

“The original condition of the property was very bad; there was some timber shelving in there that was very makeshift. The concrete floor was in really bad shape too, as it was all pitted and had holes through it,” she shares of the project.

With so many issues to deal with, it was a challenge to work out exactly how to carve up her tiny budget, as the real focus was determining where she could save on costs.

The budget meant they would have to adjust expectations to whatever was available, as any structural changes were far too expensive. However, the floor in particular posed a problem for Julie, as it led to her revising her original plans; it’s impossible to build up from a lumpy foundation, after all.

“There were raised concrete plinths on the floor on the other side of the old sink that possibly would have had an old boiler there back in the 50s-60s. We had to rip that out as we couldn’t just lift the tiles and lay another floor on top of it,” she says.

Julie also removed the old sink and the plinths, then laid more screed on top of the concrete in order to make the floor level. She then laid it with sandstone tiles that she had gotten on sale.

Initially she was aiming to bring the reno in at just $700, but she had to stretch to $1000 to make it all work.

To read all about Julie’s laundry makeover, along with her tips and tricks for pulling off your own laundry reno for just $1000, pick up the September 2019 edition of Your Investment Property.

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