Hamilton Hill Home – A Magical Makeover for A well-Worn Brick Box

Renovate an existing house in 96 hours, inside and out? A cinch – if you have imagination in spades, lashings of construction know-how, and a talented team of tradies, decorators and landscape gardeners at your service!

The project has taken an ugly old brick home and given it a fresh modern look that’s just visually stunning.MATT

Situated in the outer Perth suburb of Hamilton Hill, around 25 kilometres from the CBD, this 1970s brick and tile dwelling was transformed into a stunning, contemporary family home by a pair of experienced renovators who know all the tricks of the trade.

THE CHALLENGE

The young renovation duo, Matt & Kim of Channel 9’s Matt and Kim to the Rescue have a track record of turning ugly ducklings into swans at double speed. For this renovation they managed to drag a middle-aged masonry house forward 45 years, and create a place that an everyday West Australian family would be delighted to call home.

Situated on a substantial level block, the single storey Hamilton Hill house comprises four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and formal and informal living rooms. Although short on style, it offered space to spare for the family who had called it home for the previous decade.

Making the most of the home’s solid bones, spacious interior and sizeable yard was a priority. The renovation duo set about formulating plans to replace its dated kitchen and bathrooms. They performed a speedy facelift of the internal and external living spaces, created a seamless ‘flow’ between the indoors and out, and transformed the building’s dated light brick exterior.

Their vision for the home included the construction of a standalone, external art studio to the rear of the house. This mini-retreat opens onto an expansive outdoor entertainment area with a pergola and fire pit with seating for 20.

ON THE CLOCK

Rendering is the default choice for many renovators looking to improve the appearance of the typical tired 1970s all-brick façade that’s become an all-too-familiar sight across Australia. Matt and Kim updated this technique with the addition of Scyon Walls Stria 325mm cladding to the front façade of the home, creating a beautiful mixed façade finish.

In addition to a full wrap of the main house, Scyon Stria was used to clad the newly built art studio.

An external cladding product featuring a horizontal ‘ship-lapped’ joint, Stria 325 is pre-primed, easy to install, and well suited to those looking for a classic look. The material is a popular choice for full-wrap constructions and renovations, upper and ground level extensions and for internal feature walls.

CLOCKING THE BENEFITS

The Hamilton Hill team worked with Summit Homes Group, a construction company which specialises in renovations and extensions in the greater Perth area. Faced with a four-day project window, using materials that allowed a fast build time was imperative, which is why Scyon cladding was an easy solution.

Renovators with more time up their sleeve may also enjoy significant savings from selecting a concrete based cladding solution over other façade alternatives.

“Unlike rendering over brick, with Scyon Walls Stria you can keep working even in bad weather – it doesn’t affect the build time,” Matt and Kim reported.

“This can mean time – and cost – savings, if you or your builder are on a tight schedule.”

HAPPY HANDOVER

So how did the Hamilton Hill owners rate the whirlwind makeover which saw their boring brick box transformed into a contemporary home that would withstand all seasons- and the test of time?

The project elicited cheers, tears, and a big tick from all parties, according to the renovators, who say the family was overwhelmed by the comprehensive transformation which a mere 96 hours had wrought to their unremarkable and outdated suburban home.

Using Scyon Walls Stria in combination with other materials allowed Matt and Kim to give the home a contemporary overhaul; the renovators view the cladding as a cost effective exterior option that’s big on wow factor and which is likely to make the shortlist for any façade facelifts they’re asked to execute in the future.

“The results were fantastic – the house now has great street appeal,” say Matt and Kim.

“The project has taken an ugly old brick home and given it a fresh modern look that’s just visually stunning.”