Add Living Constructions

06/08/2025

Hi everyone, Dave here from Add Living Constructions

I’m not normally good at this social media stuff, but I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know a bit about who we are and what we do.

I’ve spent most of the past 50 years living right here in Victor Harbor, and I absolutely love this town. It’s not just where I live...it’s home. I grew up here, raised my family here, and now I get to work alongside my son James, serving locals through the work we do.

With over 40 years of hands-on experience in building, maintenance and renovation, I’ve had the privilege of working on everything from large-scale construction projects to humble home repairs. One of the highlights for me was restoring the Butter Factory Cottage in Milang; a job that brought history back to life and really captured what we’re about.

At Add Living Constructions, we specialise in:
• Renovations (big or small)
• Restorations (I’ve got a real passion for breathing new life into the old)
• Shed builds and Stratco pack installations
• Deckings, verandahs, pergolas and gazebos
• Carports, fencing, man caves and more
• General construction and home maintenance—residential or small commercial

The name Add Living comes from our heart to do more than just build structures; we want to add life to homes. Whether it’s creating a space to relax, entertain, work, or simply enjoy your surroundings more, we build with purpose. Every job, no matter the size, is a chance to add something meaningful to someone’s everyday life.

We’re proud to be fully licensed and insured, and we’re here to help—whether it’s a big reno or just a few smaller jobs around the place. Our heart is to serve the Victor Harbor community with honest, high-quality workmanship and a can-do attitude.

Our tagline is “All things are possible”, and we mean it.

Thanks for welcoming us into your feed. Feel free to reach out any time, we’d love to help.

Dave
Add Living Constructions
📍 Victor Harbor SA
📞 0407 979 713
🔨 All things are possible.

15/05/2024

It looks a little damp. Not a huge amount of damage. Just scrape, re-flush, prime and paint. ....well as you scroll through the photos had we done just that, the owners could have become unwell. Mould is a very toxic threat. In biblical days, a house that couldn't be cleared of mould would be demolished, No stone left upon another. The bottom plate was soft and rotten. The mould and rot were spreading up the studwork. The bracing straps were rusting off. The anchors into the footings were rusting. A total of 5 hours testing roof, walls and pathway to isolate exactly where water was penetrating. Both the roof and the pathway proved to be the culprits. After caulking both and then retesting for leaks, with a clear bill of health, the finishing touches began. Insulation, plasterboard, flushing and painting. The property is on highly reactive clay, and consequently an insurance claim was processed. If you have problems with water ingress, perhaps Add Living Constructions can help find and stop the leaks

16/03/2024

It started out with just a little blistering of the paint. Underneath, termite damage and dry rot. Replacement of the windows wasn't within the budget. First, open up as much as possible to expose the damage and verify no current or on going termite activity. As the customers have a pest control agreement in place, I reported my findings, and it was agreed that it's not currently a risk, but the area would receive a thorough examination during the next inspection in a few weeks. If you find evidence of activity and don't have a regular inspection agreement, it would be wise to at least follow up with an inspection, to be sure.
Clean out the rot and the softer wood, and rake out the termite damage. Treat the timber with a suitable rot treatment, and when that's cured, fill with bog. To give the bog something to key to, and to tie the joint together, I set stainless steel screws into and through the sound timber. Fill, shape, sand, and then two coats of oil based primer, sealer, undercoat. Then machine a new moulding/ capping for the sill. Instal all trims, putty, sand and two coats PSU ready for painting.
If you have blistering, bubbling or peeling paint, water is already getting under the surface at the structure. If you need a thoughtful, pragmatic approach to your home maintenance, perhaps Add Living Constructions can help. Call/txt 0407979713
Email [email protected]
Or DM.

03/03/2024

More pictures from the cottage renovation. Hopefully showing some of the from -to's.

29/02/2024

Began today racking out rough grout. Something to watch 4 when grouting Matt tiles, is they grip the grout and it dries out quickly. I had to scrape a lot of grout off the tiles. Then laid in new grout, which requires working it in, squeegee smooth, and leave for 10mins or so, then sponge clean, finishing with a good polish with towelling. The shower screen had me thinking of Mr Squiggle, as needing to install it reversed from supplier set up. The door swung into the shower and wouldn't seal water in. Turning it end for end with a cry of "Upside down Miss Jane" had everything working properly. Perhaps a handstand before beginning would have helped???
Need someone who looks at things a bit differently? Perhaps Add Living Constructions is the right fit for you? DM, email txt, or call
[email protected]
0407979713

25/02/2024

A big appreciative, THANK YOU to the service team Northpoint Fleurieu Victor Harbor Mitsubishi and MMAL. My 12 year old, 140,000km Triton overheated late last month, and it was thoroughly checked. The diagnosis revealed, I needed a new motor.😱 Now the irony here is my last vehicle from another brand, died young with a pourus block. Well, surprise, surprise, same same.
After a little reassurance that Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited are good to deal with and that the local team had gathered sufficient information and would pursue it for me. I now have a complete, sump to rocker cover, new motor. Installed at MMAL's expense.
The team were polite, friendly, understanding and professional.
Like all of us I'm sure they haven't always got it right, but I believe we should celebrate the successes achieved.
Well done guys, and thankyou.
Dave

04/02/2024

04/02/2024

Asked to fit new benchtops and install the sink, oh and whilst you're at it, could you make the bench end round? I used a combination of bench joiners and biscuits to hold the joint together and keep it aligned. In the midst of all this, I walked into the clothes line. So today's lesson,- Look where you're going!!
A few issues to watch out for when doing something similar -
Different thicknesses of benchtops. (I had to rebate the back edge of the benchtops to fit under the tiles which were remaining
The drain plumbing for the new sink didn't align vertically or horizontally. Don't just consider the depth of the sink, but also the waste fitted to it.
Most standard benchtops will do a 300mm cantilever/overhang. Because the breakfast bar was 900mm across, the round end created a 450mm (radius) cantilever, so a heavy duty bracket was fitted underneath central to the top.
Due to the raw timber needing to be sealed prior to basin installation, I cut the opening Thursday, and came back Friday to install it and do the breakfast bar. Due to the amount of machining and sanding required, a bit over a day's work.
This was in Milang. So if you're anywhere between Cape Jervis and Murray bridge and up to Adelaide, we will happily travel to you.

28/01/2024

Lovely customers had the misfortune of pulling a grab rail off the wall. They were unsure why, as they had asked the builder to fit extra noggings to mount to. This one was obviously missed. So after cutting out the plaster it was obvious why. There is a pocket sliding door cavity right there. The chippies framing realised they couldn't fit a nogging, but didn't get to see alternatives.
Fitting 18mm plywood between the timber rails when framing up will give the ability to fix anything to the wall with ease.
In this case, after the fact, we had to use 89*19mm pine rails and battens to fix to. Battens in and plasterboard returned and fastened, a rough sand to key the plaster flushing, and 2 base coats and a top coat, light sand and 3 coats of paint and we're ready to reinstall.
All put back and tested for strength.
If you have repairs, renovations, or new projects Add Living Add Living Constructions could be the right fit for you call or txt Dave on 0407979713 email @ [email protected]
Or DM here