Now we are committed to the work.
The price jumped from our expectations by another 7500 for the Invisigard security screens we decided we’d stick on.
They seem to be worth the money, rivalling Crimsafe products at a cheaper price, yet using a stronger marine grade stainless steel mesh.
Invisigard seem to have figured out how to keep criminals out, yet, let you out with their Invisiscape product. We tested the escape feature, and the older kid can open it, Â without much hassle, so it seems ideal.
Unfortunately, the sample wasn’t suitable for testing the mesh as it was too small to jump on, or throw a brick at, or try and damage, but the test details speaks volumes about the product, here.
Crimsafe have a video of the testing they do, with Marine grade 304 stainless steel, and it seems to hold up to their brutal attempts here – Invisigard is Marine grade 316, apparently, it’s better than 304 if you take Invisigard’s word for it.
Of note in the Crimsafe video, in the first attempt, beside the screen door is a window with no screening. Smash it, and your in. Some criminals are stupid. Which reminds me of another point – the builder didn’t initially agree as to the requirement to cover the fixed panel of glass. It just didn’t make sense to me to protect the opening, yet leave a fixed panel of glass ready for the breaking – it’s a clear weak point, unless as Crimsafe’s video suggests, all criminals are stupid (I’ve not ignored that possibility, but I’m also betting on their intelligence increasing).
That leaves only a few ways in, bring a ladder, rip off a colourbond roof panel, crawl along the roofing beams, find the manhole, and jump down.
Get under the house, start smashing up floor boards, then rip up the carpet.
Smash through the new weathertex, rip through the sisalation, cut through the fibreglass insulation, and smash through the Gyprock.
To me, all that seems a bit too much work (and fibreglass insulation makes you itchy, so they’d want to bring a long sleeved shirt, and dust mask to prevent lung irratation). On the other hand, leave the fibro on the walls, and they might end up with mesothelioma in around 30 years.
Invisigard comes with a 10 year guarantee, and if the tests Crimsafe are comparable (similar tests), then the glass shouldn’t get hit by a rock or the like when lawnmowing, etc.. making the glass last longer. Not that a guarantee means much if the company goes broke though…
Add to this, we’ll have to add in Insulation (I’m contemplating R2 or R2.5 for it’s thermal efficiency, else R1.5 for it’s dollar value), and Sisalation, and talk to our own arranged asbestos removal contractors to ensure they are up to speed on installing insulation (so they don’t go packing it over a power point), and it makes for extreme expenses.
And we are yet to decide on what type of exterior paint, what colour exactly, and who will be applying this paint, and we are over budget by $5000 at the moment. I look through it, and there’s nothing I can change easily, without a significant setback. Change the screens to fly screens, and there goes the ideal security for the place. Change the weathertex to Hardiplank and it won’t look as nice. Everything in the contract seems required, with very minimal in excess spending.
Our internal work is going to be off by years due to the simple fact money is actually an object, and when you are spending thousands on a house, choosing quality should be a key decision as opposed to price – my impression is if we did it in Hardiplank we’d be ripping it off down the track and getting Weathertex as it’s a better profile. If only money was no object.
We’ve got indications of around $25k to $40k for the internal work (this might be on the high side of the scale, but then I can see blow outs adding to that anyway). The bathroom is about $1k in demoltion, and a further $5k plus in replacing. Then we’ve got the Kitchen, and we know that’s going to be more than the Bathroom.
Much of what we want to complete will be years off (and this will be with conceding to a 30 year mortgage instead of the previous self imposed 8 years – not gonna happen).
I was thinking of snapping up some pics and posting them, but I’m not sure I’ll go that far. I’ll get the photos, probably won’t post them though.
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