On Monday December 13th 2010 our builders completed their last day on site - almost 4 months to the day that they started!
This process has been no where near as traumatic as I feared, in fact we have nothing to complain about. We were never without a kitchen or bathroom and I even had a makeshift laundry for the entire build.
Our builders have been honest and open, turned up on time and completed the job to a very exacting standard. I can't recommend them highly enough!
All that is left is the painting, fitting of walk in robe and office nook shelving and landscaping. I'm tossing up whether or not to have the floor in the hall and new master bedroom sanded and repolished. We are also going to install crimsafe on the new windows as soon as possible. Now I've listed all that out I realise that there is still a fair bit to do....as we will be doing it ourselves I'm sure it will take the better part of 2011 to truly finish!
But all good - pics to come soon.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The old part
Now that the extension is completed (for the most part) the builders have moved into the existing house.
The changes in this section are quite extensive:
The changes in this section are quite extensive:
- The original kitchen is being removed to become the main bathroom.
- The original dining room will become the hall, part of the new bathroom, a walk in robe and a study nook
- The original living area is becoming a third bedroom
- The original bathroom will become the ensuite to the third bedroom
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| After demolition of the original kitchen |
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| After demo view 2. The doorway goes through to the soon-to-be third bedroom. The other door is to the original bathroom |
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| New bathroom with framing and insulation |
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| New bathroom during tiling |
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| View down the new, very long hall! |
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Loving it!!
On Sunday I stood in the new kitchen and prepared dinner. I surveyed the room and saw my mum playing Monopoly with Hunter, my dad working on the computer at the table, my grandmother sitting on the couch talking to Peter while Riley ran around the room. It made me truly appreciate how perfect this new room was and how the environment we dwell in impacts our well being.
Even though we proably have about another 5-6 weeks left before the builders completely finish, followed by 6 months of painting and landscaping on the weekends by us, I feel already just how positive this change to our living space and life will be.
Even though we proably have about another 5-6 weeks left before the builders completely finish, followed by 6 months of painting and landscaping on the weekends by us, I feel already just how positive this change to our living space and life will be.
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| Messy already - us moved into the extension |
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Floors are in!
Today our floors went in!
Three Chinese guys arrived this morning at 8am to lay our bamboo floors. I was a tad nervous! I speak no mandarin or cantonese and they spoke no English...so I acted out a few things....they laid the floor where it needed to go so I guess my miming skills are ok!
Have a look - I think it looks pretty good.
Three Chinese guys arrived this morning at 8am to lay our bamboo floors. I was a tad nervous! I speak no mandarin or cantonese and they spoke no English...so I acted out a few things....they laid the floor where it needed to go so I guess my miming skills are ok!
Have a look - I think it looks pretty good.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Dramas!
It's been a frustrating week this week. So far everything has gone along very well with very few hiccups...this week....well, let's just say there is no such thing as a trouble free reno!
First up the kitchen drawers, they were supposed to be soft-close (an upgrade to the cabinetry which costs around $1000). Unfortunately, despite the order being correct at our end it was not at the Laminex end and instead of upgraded drawers we have standard ones. It's OK. In the whole scheme of things it's not a major issue - let's face it we've all been closing drawers without some amazing mechanism forever anyway!
Next was the laundry, instead of a cupboard base unit they sent us an upgraded set of drawers....not sure what's going on at Laminex! But that was an easy swap so no real drama there.
And now for the piece de resistance! The floor. The plan has always been to have vinyl planking on the floor. We have a client who used to work for a company that made high-quality vinyl planking (or Luxury Vinyl Tiles - LVTs for those in the know). He put us on to his old workplace and managed to get as an amazing deal on the flooring as well as a lovely guy to come and install them for us. All was good till I got the bill on Thursday which had the wrong product on it. Assuming it was a typo I asked for it to be corrected, no problem, but it turns out that the floor we want is out of stock won't be available until the end of November! Despite looking through the entire range there was nothing that we liked or would work as well!YIKES! We had the installer booked for Saturday 23rd. Demolition of the kitchen etc in the existing house starts on Wednesday which means we need to have moved most of our stuff out of the existing part of the house before then.
So most of Thursday I spent frantically looking for flooring alternatives that could be delivered and laid within 4 days. One of the benefits of living in this part of Sydney is there is always someone out there who can do something! I found a company that can do a whole range of different flooring and were able to install on Tuesday. We settled on Bamboo flooring. After reading up a bit about it I've learned that not only is it, water and stain resitant, as or more harwearing than solid timber, significantly cheaper than solid timber, able to be stained and sanded, it is also an environmentally responsible option. Bamboo is fast growing and renewable. Bamboo used for flooring is harvested in 4-5 years - trees used for flooring can take up to 40 years before they can be harvested.
So, the lovely Mr Sam comes out to measure up the floor on Friday afternoon and drops off a few samples. We deliberate and select one we like. On Saturday I ring up to order and organise the installation only to be told that the one we like the best won't be in stock till mid November. DOH!!!!!! But our second choice is in stock now. So, we have settled a little bit. The one we are having installed is a bit yellower that we wanted (it's alot like pine). But as we have pine floors throughout the rest of the house perhaps it's not a bad thing. Also, like pine the bamboo will darken with age and exposure to light so I think that in about 5-6 years time the floor will be about the same colour as our kitchen benchtops. Hey if we really hate it we can always sand it back and restain it (now there's a job for another lifetime!)
So not having the floor in means that we can put another coat of paint on the ceiling. While we could get away with it as is, in different lights you can see a few spots we've missed. After spending all day yesterday in a bathroom supply shop, spending Sunday painting sounds like the end to another perfect weekend.....
First up the kitchen drawers, they were supposed to be soft-close (an upgrade to the cabinetry which costs around $1000). Unfortunately, despite the order being correct at our end it was not at the Laminex end and instead of upgraded drawers we have standard ones. It's OK. In the whole scheme of things it's not a major issue - let's face it we've all been closing drawers without some amazing mechanism forever anyway!
Next was the laundry, instead of a cupboard base unit they sent us an upgraded set of drawers....not sure what's going on at Laminex! But that was an easy swap so no real drama there.
And now for the piece de resistance! The floor. The plan has always been to have vinyl planking on the floor. We have a client who used to work for a company that made high-quality vinyl planking (or Luxury Vinyl Tiles - LVTs for those in the know). He put us on to his old workplace and managed to get as an amazing deal on the flooring as well as a lovely guy to come and install them for us. All was good till I got the bill on Thursday which had the wrong product on it. Assuming it was a typo I asked for it to be corrected, no problem, but it turns out that the floor we want is out of stock won't be available until the end of November! Despite looking through the entire range there was nothing that we liked or would work as well!YIKES! We had the installer booked for Saturday 23rd. Demolition of the kitchen etc in the existing house starts on Wednesday which means we need to have moved most of our stuff out of the existing part of the house before then.
So most of Thursday I spent frantically looking for flooring alternatives that could be delivered and laid within 4 days. One of the benefits of living in this part of Sydney is there is always someone out there who can do something! I found a company that can do a whole range of different flooring and were able to install on Tuesday. We settled on Bamboo flooring. After reading up a bit about it I've learned that not only is it, water and stain resitant, as or more harwearing than solid timber, significantly cheaper than solid timber, able to be stained and sanded, it is also an environmentally responsible option. Bamboo is fast growing and renewable. Bamboo used for flooring is harvested in 4-5 years - trees used for flooring can take up to 40 years before they can be harvested.
So, the lovely Mr Sam comes out to measure up the floor on Friday afternoon and drops off a few samples. We deliberate and select one we like. On Saturday I ring up to order and organise the installation only to be told that the one we like the best won't be in stock till mid November. DOH!!!!!! But our second choice is in stock now. So, we have settled a little bit. The one we are having installed is a bit yellower that we wanted (it's alot like pine). But as we have pine floors throughout the rest of the house perhaps it's not a bad thing. Also, like pine the bamboo will darken with age and exposure to light so I think that in about 5-6 years time the floor will be about the same colour as our kitchen benchtops. Hey if we really hate it we can always sand it back and restain it (now there's a job for another lifetime!)
So not having the floor in means that we can put another coat of paint on the ceiling. While we could get away with it as is, in different lights you can see a few spots we've missed. After spending all day yesterday in a bathroom supply shop, spending Sunday painting sounds like the end to another perfect weekend.....
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| After the first coat of paint |
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Lock Up
This week we got to lock up. The back bi-fold window and bi-fold doors arrived. Also this week the kitchen cabinets went in and the doors have arrived.
This is the first time Pete and I have actually contributed to the extension. Today we undercoated the entire extension except for the laundry (the waterproofing wasn't dry enough to walk on). Every muscle is aching tonight and I am exhausted. Pete must be feeling 100 times worse as he has a terrible virus and was feeling awful before we even started.
Tomorrow we are going to top coat the ceiling and do the laundry undercoat as well. We are pushing to get is done because the tiler comes on Tuesday to do the laundry floor and the rest of the floor should be going in next weekend. I don't want to be painting ceilings once the floor is in - way too messy!
This is the first time Pete and I have actually contributed to the extension. Today we undercoated the entire extension except for the laundry (the waterproofing wasn't dry enough to walk on). Every muscle is aching tonight and I am exhausted. Pete must be feeling 100 times worse as he has a terrible virus and was feeling awful before we even started.
Tomorrow we are going to top coat the ceiling and do the laundry undercoat as well. We are pushing to get is done because the tiler comes on Tuesday to do the laundry floor and the rest of the floor should be going in next weekend. I don't want to be painting ceilings once the floor is in - way too messy!
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| The kitchen cabinets and a half built island bench |
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| From the inside looking out |
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| From the outside looking in |
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| Riley's helpful undercoating |
Monday, October 11, 2010
The trenches....the deck...the windows...the walls....
It's been a couple of weeks since the last update. We've been off in Queensland to a little place that Telstra hasn't quite covered yet....
But so much has happened here at home in that time.
First of all...the trenches!
For a week there, the backyard is a location shoot for a war film....there was not a blade of grass in sight and there were massive holes and trenches everywhere! The boys had the trusty excavator and Kanga back to dig a few massive holes in the backyard for a drainage pit. As we have no way of getting the stormwater from the back of the house to the street (short of a pump) we had to dig a huge drainage pit to take the run off from the roof.
Next step was the deck and gyprocking. Both of which have happened while we were away so I'm afraid I've got no exciting anecdotes to share about that...
This week is the kitchen and waterproofing for the laundry....wow a kitchen AND a laundry are coming my way very soon!!!!!!
But so much has happened here at home in that time.
First of all...the trenches!
For a week there, the backyard is a location shoot for a war film....there was not a blade of grass in sight and there were massive holes and trenches everywhere! The boys had the trusty excavator and Kanga back to dig a few massive holes in the backyard for a drainage pit. As we have no way of getting the stormwater from the back of the house to the street (short of a pump) we had to dig a huge drainage pit to take the run off from the roof.
Next step was the deck and gyprocking. Both of which have happened while we were away so I'm afraid I've got no exciting anecdotes to share about that...
This week is the kitchen and waterproofing for the laundry....wow a kitchen AND a laundry are coming my way very soon!!!!!!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The roof...the roof....the roof is on!!!
Guess what - the roof is on!! 100 square metres of Headland (also known as red) colourbond now tops the extension and replaces the old corrugated iron over the kitchen and dining room.
The roof came a day early and a bit unexpectedly. As we live on a road with a no parking zone from 6.30am till 9.30am, scheduling the arrival of 18m spans of iron was a tough call. It was set for 5.30am on Thursday morning and everyone was set for an early start. Surprisingly the roof turned up on Wednesday. The poor truck driver had to park around the corner till the builders and roofer arrived on site at about 7am. And then had to wait till the no parking zone ended. It's a testament to the quality of tradesmen that Brad uses as well as his own team that the roof still went on in a day.
The blue board went on down the side of the house, side windows went in and plumbing and electrical cabling as well. A big week! Rather than inching towards completion we are striding with seven league boots!
Next week another exciting chapter.....excavation of storm water pits and building of a deck and pergola....oh yeah the fun's all here...
The roof came a day early and a bit unexpectedly. As we live on a road with a no parking zone from 6.30am till 9.30am, scheduling the arrival of 18m spans of iron was a tough call. It was set for 5.30am on Thursday morning and everyone was set for an early start. Surprisingly the roof turned up on Wednesday. The poor truck driver had to park around the corner till the builders and roofer arrived on site at about 7am. And then had to wait till the no parking zone ended. It's a testament to the quality of tradesmen that Brad uses as well as his own team that the roof still went on in a day.
The blue board went on down the side of the house, side windows went in and plumbing and electrical cabling as well. A big week! Rather than inching towards completion we are striding with seven league boots!
Next week another exciting chapter.....excavation of storm water pits and building of a deck and pergola....oh yeah the fun's all here...
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| The roof - looks like Hunter 'magicked' it there! |
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| Side view in the dark with blueboard... |
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Beams End
All the roof beams went in this week. And all the internal framework has been finished. It's a real structure now! It still feels ginormous even though is partially enclosed.
I went to Ikea today to buy our bench tops. I had priced wood bench tops and they were in the vicinity of $4800. Way out of budget. Luckily I found some at Ikea that will suit us and they were only $1700. The drawback is of course that you have to go to Ikea to get them. I thought I had it sorted, go on a weekday, only take one child, know what I need, make it quick.....
Well....the one child decided he wanted to go the creche at Ikea (looks like heaps of fun to be honest) - "Great!" I think naively. But after filling in the form, taking off the shoes, getting a sticker, a locker and a beeper he decides he doesn't want to go. After 10 minutes of coaxing I think "He doesn't want to go - that's OK" so we hand back the beeper, remove the sticker, replace the shoes and empty the locker. 2 minutes later "I want to go!" Too late...the wait is now 30 minutes.
So now I am dragging/carrying a screaming 3 year old around Ikea. IT IS HELL. People are staring, I do my best to ignore them and the screaming thing attached to my hip. One lady kindly tells me I'm doing a good job. If only that were true.
I try distraction which only works to a certain extent. I try tickling, food and bribery with limited success. Finally we arrive at the kitchen section. Luckily they have a play section there for kids and off he trundles to show the other little kid how to play memory on the touch screen.
"Great!" I think naively "He's settled, I'll just talk to this guy, order my stuff and go"
I get a ticket. The couple two ahead of me are in the initial stages of planning their kitchen. It takes an eternity and they need the one attendant's help every step of the way. I ask the attendant politely if there will be someone else coming to assist in this section soon. "No - not for a while" he answers. "Bugger" I think.
I look around at sinks, and decide to buy one. I select the 34 cabinet handles we need. 30 minutes passes. Luckily the child is still engaged in the play stuff.
Finally I get served I've been waiting about 40 minutes. My order takes about 4 minutes - tops.
We make our way slowly through Ikea to get out - why do they make you trek the entire length of the store to get where you want to go? Forgive me, but I don't really want Ikea to be a journey - I just want to get what I want and go. Nope - we have to check out the unaviodable children's section, select a toy (part of the earlier bribe), another 20 minutes passes before we get to the check out which is 4 deep.
We make it to the register. Spend a measly $2000 and walk through to organise delivery. Child notices the creche.....repeat the first 20 minutes of the trip.....
Here's the lesson....
I should have just bought the $4800 benchtops.
I went to Ikea today to buy our bench tops. I had priced wood bench tops and they were in the vicinity of $4800. Way out of budget. Luckily I found some at Ikea that will suit us and they were only $1700. The drawback is of course that you have to go to Ikea to get them. I thought I had it sorted, go on a weekday, only take one child, know what I need, make it quick.....
Well....the one child decided he wanted to go the creche at Ikea (looks like heaps of fun to be honest) - "Great!" I think naively. But after filling in the form, taking off the shoes, getting a sticker, a locker and a beeper he decides he doesn't want to go. After 10 minutes of coaxing I think "He doesn't want to go - that's OK" so we hand back the beeper, remove the sticker, replace the shoes and empty the locker. 2 minutes later "I want to go!" Too late...the wait is now 30 minutes.
So now I am dragging/carrying a screaming 3 year old around Ikea. IT IS HELL. People are staring, I do my best to ignore them and the screaming thing attached to my hip. One lady kindly tells me I'm doing a good job. If only that were true.
I try distraction which only works to a certain extent. I try tickling, food and bribery with limited success. Finally we arrive at the kitchen section. Luckily they have a play section there for kids and off he trundles to show the other little kid how to play memory on the touch screen.
"Great!" I think naively "He's settled, I'll just talk to this guy, order my stuff and go"
I get a ticket. The couple two ahead of me are in the initial stages of planning their kitchen. It takes an eternity and they need the one attendant's help every step of the way. I ask the attendant politely if there will be someone else coming to assist in this section soon. "No - not for a while" he answers. "Bugger" I think.
I look around at sinks, and decide to buy one. I select the 34 cabinet handles we need. 30 minutes passes. Luckily the child is still engaged in the play stuff.
Finally I get served I've been waiting about 40 minutes. My order takes about 4 minutes - tops.
We make our way slowly through Ikea to get out - why do they make you trek the entire length of the store to get where you want to go? Forgive me, but I don't really want Ikea to be a journey - I just want to get what I want and go. Nope - we have to check out the unaviodable children's section, select a toy (part of the earlier bribe), another 20 minutes passes before we get to the check out which is 4 deep.
We make it to the register. Spend a measly $2000 and walk through to organise delivery. Child notices the creche.....repeat the first 20 minutes of the trip.....
Here's the lesson....
I should have just bought the $4800 benchtops.
Looking back through the frame
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Frames and Bricks
We are now at week 5 - although really it's only week 4 of building- the first week was just the asbestos removal.
I have started to look forward to getting home in the afternoon/evening just to see how much the boys have achieved in throughout the day. It's like being in our own episode of a home makeover show!
This week the brick boundary wall went up, and the bricks under the back end of the house. The original piers were pretty dodgy so for the last few weeks the back end has been supported by acro props. It feels so much better to have proper support there now.
Today we were down a man on site. Stuart's wife was rushed to the eye hospital last night with a detached retina - luckily they were able to operate and it is all looking good now. How amazing is that? She comes home today and the recovery is to wear dark glasses and sleep propped up at night. Apparently she will be back to normal early next week. 20 years ago she would have lost her sight. Modern medicine is just incredible!
The timber frame work is now close to completion. Next week Brad will be away but Stuart and Matt will still be onsite most of the week getting the roof framing done. Brad and I went through all the kitchen cabinetry today. We are doing a flatpack kitchen just because it is so much cheaper than custom built. Our budget has blown out significantly from the original estimates so I'm trying to find ways to reduce our costs while still getting a good end result.
This week we also bought our bath - there is about a month lead time for delivery, on top of which it was 20% off for this week only so we've saved about $300. I also bought 2 heated towel rails at Gray's Online this week for less than half the price of other similar ones I've looked at. Grays also have frameless shower screens at ridiculously cheap prices. I'm not sure about them yet though...I'll have to talk to the plumber and tiler about them before I'd buy them. Ahhh the dilemmas....
I have started to look forward to getting home in the afternoon/evening just to see how much the boys have achieved in throughout the day. It's like being in our own episode of a home makeover show!
This week the brick boundary wall went up, and the bricks under the back end of the house. The original piers were pretty dodgy so for the last few weeks the back end has been supported by acro props. It feels so much better to have proper support there now.
Today we were down a man on site. Stuart's wife was rushed to the eye hospital last night with a detached retina - luckily they were able to operate and it is all looking good now. How amazing is that? She comes home today and the recovery is to wear dark glasses and sleep propped up at night. Apparently she will be back to normal early next week. 20 years ago she would have lost her sight. Modern medicine is just incredible!
The timber frame work is now close to completion. Next week Brad will be away but Stuart and Matt will still be onsite most of the week getting the roof framing done. Brad and I went through all the kitchen cabinetry today. We are doing a flatpack kitchen just because it is so much cheaper than custom built. Our budget has blown out significantly from the original estimates so I'm trying to find ways to reduce our costs while still getting a good end result.
This week we also bought our bath - there is about a month lead time for delivery, on top of which it was 20% off for this week only so we've saved about $300. I also bought 2 heated towel rails at Gray's Online this week for less than half the price of other similar ones I've looked at. Grays also have frameless shower screens at ridiculously cheap prices. I'm not sure about them yet though...I'll have to talk to the plumber and tiler about them before I'd buy them. Ahhh the dilemmas....
Brick Boundary Wall
Framework
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Slab - the concrete kind
Our slab is in and it looks great! It's been a massive 2 weeks onsite to get to here. I think it's happened really fast all thanks to Brad, Stuart and Matt who have put in some incredibly long hours and hard work.
We had a day's down time after the reinforcing was in before the concreter could come - the cats WERE NOT IMPRESSED that they couldnt get in or out!
The boys had a great time riding their scooters around on the slab on Thursday. They haven't been allowed out the back for a week - they were about as impressed as the cats about that. But it was nice for them to have a little taste of freedom from the house.
It's weird looking out at the huge expanse of concrete and trying to imagine a kitchen and living space in it. But I'm getting over the weirdness...
We had a day's down time after the reinforcing was in before the concreter could come - the cats WERE NOT IMPRESSED that they couldnt get in or out!
The boys had a great time riding their scooters around on the slab on Thursday. They haven't been allowed out the back for a week - they were about as impressed as the cats about that. But it was nice for them to have a little taste of freedom from the house.
It's weird looking out at the huge expanse of concrete and trying to imagine a kitchen and living space in it. But I'm getting over the weirdness...
The Slab from the back door looking out...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Excavation
Oh My God! I can't believe our back yard!!!! It's like a massive mud-wrestling pit. Brad informed me this morning that he'd taken 8 x 2.5 tonne truck loads of earth out and he reckoned we had another 3 or 4 to go. That's 30 tonnes of dirt! I'm a noob at this so that may not actually be much but it seems pretty significant to me.
This week has been huge. On the weekend our plumbing backed up - I'm not sure if it was the building that's caused it or that having our washing machine under the house with the water draining directly into the sewerage is the problem - whatever - I spent some serious time up to my arm pits in poo! Luckily Brad got his plumber in on Monday with the eel to sort it all out (not before he'd had the pleasure of being up to his armpits in our poo though) a case of beer may be needed there!
This is only day seven on site for Brad, Stuart and Matt. They have achieved a phenomenal amount in 7 days. Besides the demolition and 30 tonnes of earth, they have leveled the 65 (ish) metres squared that will be the addition to the house, they've dug all the trenches and the form work is in. They have even relocated a camellia for us (fingers crossed it survives).
Today they also removed the brick wall that was the last vestige of the outside toilet. Unfortunately this also meant that my crockery cupboard in the kitchen is no more. It backed onto the wall they took out today - all that remains is a thin bit of fibro sheeting (there's that ubiquitous asbestos again!) - hardly able to hold it's on weight let alone the significant weight of the cabinet with all the crockery in it. So tonight I have rationalised. We are down to four of everything - 4 plates, 4 bowls etc etc....at the rate these guys are working it might not be too long before the new kitchen is in so we won't have to live with it for long!
Another blow today was that the digital camera decided to stop working. I went to take a photo of Hunter (who was dressed as Han Solo for the Book Week Parade) and the camera just turned off immediately. So it may be a little while before I can get some more house pics done. Why now??!!??
This week has been huge. On the weekend our plumbing backed up - I'm not sure if it was the building that's caused it or that having our washing machine under the house with the water draining directly into the sewerage is the problem - whatever - I spent some serious time up to my arm pits in poo! Luckily Brad got his plumber in on Monday with the eel to sort it all out (not before he'd had the pleasure of being up to his armpits in our poo though) a case of beer may be needed there!
This is only day seven on site for Brad, Stuart and Matt. They have achieved a phenomenal amount in 7 days. Besides the demolition and 30 tonnes of earth, they have leveled the 65 (ish) metres squared that will be the addition to the house, they've dug all the trenches and the form work is in. They have even relocated a camellia for us (fingers crossed it survives).
Today they also removed the brick wall that was the last vestige of the outside toilet. Unfortunately this also meant that my crockery cupboard in the kitchen is no more. It backed onto the wall they took out today - all that remains is a thin bit of fibro sheeting (there's that ubiquitous asbestos again!) - hardly able to hold it's on weight let alone the significant weight of the cabinet with all the crockery in it. So tonight I have rationalised. We are down to four of everything - 4 plates, 4 bowls etc etc....at the rate these guys are working it might not be too long before the new kitchen is in so we won't have to live with it for long!
Another blow today was that the digital camera decided to stop working. I went to take a photo of Hunter (who was dressed as Han Solo for the Book Week Parade) and the camera just turned off immediately. So it may be a little while before I can get some more house pics done. Why now??!!??
Reinforcing down - concrete pour here we come!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Demolition!
I'm trying not to get excited because I know we have a long way to go....but the back of the house is being demolished this week!
True to his word our builder Brad and his team - Matt and Stuart turned up at 7am yesterday. I'm afraid I woke every half hour from 4.30am and checked the clock! I think I was worried about moving the cars so they wouldn't be in the way.
I worked from home yesterday as much for my own peace of mind than anything else. I thought it would be good to be around in case they had any issues or questions but also to get to know these people who will be at our place everyday for the next few months.
At the end of the day the frame work for the laundry and studio was gone as well as the rear awning and the cladding on the back of the house. Two truckloads of building waste went off to the tip. Today the back verandah room (which used to house the fridge and linen press) will go and the back door will be relocated so we (and the cats) have access to the rear of the property while we are building. As there will be about a 1.2m drop until we put in some temporary stairs it will be interesting to see what happens when one of the cats runs out the back door....I think a video camera positioned outside the back door may just win us a Funniest Home Video prize...that or a visit from the RSPCA.
True to his word our builder Brad and his team - Matt and Stuart turned up at 7am yesterday. I'm afraid I woke every half hour from 4.30am and checked the clock! I think I was worried about moving the cars so they wouldn't be in the way.
I worked from home yesterday as much for my own peace of mind than anything else. I thought it would be good to be around in case they had any issues or questions but also to get to know these people who will be at our place everyday for the next few months.
At the end of the day the frame work for the laundry and studio was gone as well as the rear awning and the cladding on the back of the house. Two truckloads of building waste went off to the tip. Today the back verandah room (which used to house the fridge and linen press) will go and the back door will be relocated so we (and the cats) have access to the rear of the property while we are building. As there will be about a 1.2m drop until we put in some temporary stairs it will be interesting to see what happens when one of the cats runs out the back door....I think a video camera positioned outside the back door may just win us a Funniest Home Video prize...that or a visit from the RSPCA.
After demo
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Day One
It's Day One. The first day of our renovation. Today the studio (I use that term lightly) and laundry will be demolished. Well, partly demolished.
These 2 buildings are built from asbestos. Yep - that cancer causing material that is endemic in Australian suburbs. My 93 year old grandmother reliably informs me that after the war it was the only material you could get to build with. Hence a big chunk of post-war suburban Australia was created using this versatile, though ugly and dangerous material. Since we purchased our house in 2005 we have found bits buried in the garden, leaning at the back of the sheds, under the house....it's insidious. I think perhaps it breeds while you're not looking. Anyway the bulk of ours will be gone today!
I spent a good part of the morning before leaving for work trying to get our recalcitrant cat Scout inside. She is the most infuriating animal! After 20 minutes of coaxing I managed to get her within 2 meters of the back door only to have her make a bolt for it and disappear under the house. Hopefully she'll stay ensconced under there and won't collect nasty asbestos fibres in her fur that she can spread around the house later.
I feel almost an anticlimax today, it's been almost 12 months since we set this renovation in motion. It doesn't actually seem real that we have commenced at long last.
These 2 buildings are built from asbestos. Yep - that cancer causing material that is endemic in Australian suburbs. My 93 year old grandmother reliably informs me that after the war it was the only material you could get to build with. Hence a big chunk of post-war suburban Australia was created using this versatile, though ugly and dangerous material. Since we purchased our house in 2005 we have found bits buried in the garden, leaning at the back of the sheds, under the house....it's insidious. I think perhaps it breeds while you're not looking. Anyway the bulk of ours will be gone today!
I spent a good part of the morning before leaving for work trying to get our recalcitrant cat Scout inside. She is the most infuriating animal! After 20 minutes of coaxing I managed to get her within 2 meters of the back door only to have her make a bolt for it and disappear under the house. Hopefully she'll stay ensconced under there and won't collect nasty asbestos fibres in her fur that she can spread around the house later.
I feel almost an anticlimax today, it's been almost 12 months since we set this renovation in motion. It doesn't actually seem real that we have commenced at long last.
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