New app launched to assist DIY renovators

Users are able to put in the details of their renovation room by room, schedule appointments with tradies, check the spending of their project, track down materials, create a shopping list and even share the progress of the renovation on social media.

“You can plan your projects, develop and track your budget, manage your trades and work site, select your products and find the nearest supplier,” said app creator Dr Naomi Findlay.

Dr Findlay said that the app was born out of the struggles she faced renovating, as she has currently renovated over 114 properties.

“I got so bogged down in planning projects, costing projects and making projects come in on time and on budget, and I vowed, I didn’t want anyone else to undergo that stress,” Dr Findlay said at an event launch for the app.

“With that in mind, I decided to start this undertaking, so two years in development, a year in testing, and when I coupled that need with the market size of renovation in our country — us Aussies love to renovate.”

Dr Findlay is particularly passionate about tracking, and sticking to, the budget of the property, which is one function the app performs in real time.

“It breaks my heart when I go around properties and I see half-finished renovations with no splashbacks, and I say, ‘What happened?’ and they say, ‘We ran out of money!’

“That actually affects the impact and the trajectory of their life moving forward. They can’t get the value they need for their house and they can’t sell for what they need or rent for what they need then when they have a half-finished project, so I’m quite passionate about it.”