Ardross sits between Applecross and Mount Pleasant, a few minutes from the Canning River and Garden
City. Most of the suburb went up in the post-war decades, which means the houses we work in are
usually original rather than recently done — a brick and tile home with a kitchen that was last
touched sometime before the current owners moved in.
That shapes the work. In Ardross it is rarely a case of replacing like for like. The kitchen is
usually closed off from the dining room, the cabinetry has reached the end of its life, and the
floor through the living area is either original or has been patched more than once.
What Ardross Homes Usually Need
The most common job is a kitchen that has never been updated, in a house where the owners intend to
stay. That usually means new cabinetry and a new benchtop first, then deciding whether to open the
wall to the dining area while the room is already apart.
The kitchen itself
Original cabinetry replaced, often in the same footprint
Better storage in the same wall space — drawers instead of cupboards, a proper pantry
Benchtop replaced with stone, with the join placed where it is least obvious
Splashback and power points sorted before the wall is closed up again
The rooms around it
Hybrid flooring carried through from the kitchen into the living area
Walls, ceilings and trims painted once the cabinetry is in
Door and window trims matched to the new work rather than left half-done
Lighting adjusted where the old layout left the bench in shadow
Things We Plan Around in Ardross
Older housing stock brings a few practical issues that are much cheaper to deal with before work
starts than after. These come up often enough here that we check for them on the first visit.
Asbestos. Homes built before the late 1980s can have asbestos in eaves, wet area
sheeting and sometimes in the backing behind splashbacks. If a wall is coming out, it gets checked
before anyone starts, and removal is done by a licensed contractor.
Load-bearing walls. Opening a kitchen to the dining room usually means a beam and
a building permit through the City of Melville. We work out whether that is needed before quoting,
not after demolition.
Grouped dwellings. Some of the villas and units in the area have strata by-laws
about noise, parking and work hours. Worth checking before a start date is set.
Access. Narrow driveways, brick paving and street parking all affect how materials
get in and how a skip gets placed. It is a small thing that causes large delays if it is ignored.
Hybrid planks through the kitchen and living area, with direction and thresholds planned before anything is laid.
How a Job Runs
Visit and measure. We look at the existing services, the walls and the access, and talk through what you want to change.
Scope and selections. Cabinet style, benchtop, splashback and floor are chosen together so they do not fight each other.
Build and install. Cabinetry is made, the site is prepared, and trades are sequenced so the kitchen is not open longer than it needs to be.
Finishing. Splashback, painting, flooring and adjustments, then a walkthrough before we call it done.
If you are living in the house during the work, say so early. It changes the order we do things in,
and it is easier to plan for a temporary kitchen than to improvise one.
Send your address or suburb, a few photos of the current kitchen, rough measurements if you have
them, and what you want to change. We will tell you what the job involves and whether it needs a
site visit before pricing.