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RENOVATION GUIDES · WRITTEN BY IVAN BODNAR

Notes from the job,
written down for you.

I’m Ivan Bodnar, an independent home renovation specialist working as a sole trader in Melbourne. These guides explain, in plain English, the parts of a renovation that homeowners don’t often get told about: the preparation underneath the finish, and how to describe your job so the first conversation is useful.

Start with preparation →
Renovation workbench covered with patterned tiles and tiling tools, including a tape measure, mallet, level, scraper and adhesive materials.

Patterned tiles, tape measure, mallet, level and scraper on a workbench. Tools for setting out before anything goes on the wall.

01

GUIDE · SURFACES AND PLANNING

Why Preparation Matters

One of the most important things I’ve learnt over about 15 years of hands-on work is that good preparation matters just as much as the visible finish. Tiles, paint and flooring can only sit as well as the surface underneath them.

This guide walks through what happens before the finish goes on: checking the existing surfaces, repairing or replacing what isn’t sound, plasterboard and plastering, and getting a wall or floor ready for tiling or painting. It also explains why the condition of your property shapes the work, and where licensed plumbing or electrical work fits in alongside it.

Read Why Preparation Matters →
Close-up of a worker applying white wall compound with a putty knife while holding a plastering trowel.

Wall compound applied with a putty knife. Filling and smoothing before any paint.

02

GUIDE · BEFORE YOU GET IN TOUCH

What to Include When You Send a Message

A written message is the easiest way to reach me while I’m working on site. The more clearly you describe the job, the more useful my reply can be. This guide explains what helps most, starting with your suburb and a short description of the room and what’s wrong with it or what you’d like changed.

It also covers what happens next. Nothing is sold or booked online. Work is arranged directly with me after an assessment and a quotation.

Read the enquiry guide →

QUICK CHECKLIST

Your suburb

Which room or surface

What’s worn, damaged or impractical

What you’d like it to become

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ivan Bodnar

Independent Residential Renovation Specialist

I learnt renovation work alongside my father, then built on it working with tradespeople, renovation teams and as a subcontractor. I write these guides the way I’d explain things on site: what work I think is needed, why I’d approach it a certain way and what might limit it. More about my background is on the About page.

If you’ve read through and have a room in mind, in Murrumbeena or elsewhere in Melbourne, you’re welcome to send me a message describing it.

Send a message →