When Pete and I received council approval for our removal house in July 2014, having spent the previous year and a half organising to move the house and doing the minimum required for council approval ( read part 1 here), the work was only just beginning. By this stage we had finished installing new plumbing, rainwater tanks and septic system, new electrical wiring, lights and ceiling fans in every room (as required for environmental standards), insulation in the roof, three sets of external stairs and lots of cyclone strapping. The interior of the house, however, was for the most part untouched, apart from removing old fluorescent batten lights and Bakelite light switches. The kitchen was the original 1950s era design with very low benchtops and an asbestos-lined pantry; and the bathroom was a cheap 1990s DIY job. A tour of our secondhand house (BEFORE) Replacing the roof As soon as we had the paperwork from the council we starting looking f...