No shower ....... again!

Well, tonight was a 'get in the car and drive to a friends house for a shower' night. This time it has nothing to do with the hot water but the pleasant surprise of the new shower screen being installed today. We had no warning that it was taking place today, but it looks brilliant. Then our enthusiasm was dampened (ha ha) a little by the sign on the door, 'Do not touch for 2 days'! 

Monday saw the continuation of the framing of the roof over the back area. It was nearly completed except for the eaves and battens which were completed on Tuesday so now the whole back of the house is ready to be roofed. Today it was time for the front of the house to be readied for roofing. All the tiles have now gone and the frame is nearly completed. Praying it does not rain tonight as we are a little exposed at present with the whole roof not quite being covered.

Here is the back section of the house on Monday afternoon.

More photos to follow, camera battery ran out of juice, had to find the charger.

End of Week 11

Well, it has been 11 weeks of building now. At the end of the week, the top floor is now ready to be roofed, attention now turning to the back area to frame the roof and then the front before the roof plumber is brought in. At this stage, we are looking at 7/8 September before this is going to happen.

Back tracking, Thursday morning showed the progress, with further bracing of the structure. Returning home from taking Marissa to school athletics, this time Christian schools State carnival where she set another PB in the 100 meters of 13.85 in finishing 2nd and coming 3rd in the 200 meters and long jump, the bracing was finished.

The roof was now finished and ready for roofing. Taking the opportunity in the sun light to take photos, you can now see the structure reaching high into the sky.

Friday activity was to remove some of the scaffolding so that the frame can be built over the alfresco area and the roof frame started. As these photos show, good progress has been made.

More wood, more scaffolding, more action

The building has continued on Tuesday with the framing for the roofing. This has continued on Wednesday as the roof structure takes shape. Chief and Deputy Blogger had to confirm the roof colour on Tuesday so hopefully this means we are close to having a roof. Getting home in the dark doesn't make for easy updates however rest assured, we are still here and the building is continuing!

As preparation, another row of scaffolding was put in place to make access to the roof easier.

To help with the positioning of the eaves, the window for the front bedroom was put in place.

There is now plenty of wood in the structure. This just looks like a maze to me, though I'm sure it is all for a purpose ..

Wednesday (today) saw more work on the roof structure and the putting in the wall bracing in the back and middle bedrooms. 

Today we also said have a good holiday to Wayne. He is going overseas for a weeks holiday and leaving us in the hands of his son Brett. I'm sure Wayne has left some detailed instructions as there appeared to be a lengthy hand over today as to the expected progress while Wayne was away. The weather has been kind to us so the work is continuing upstairs which can only be a good thing!

Let there be light!!

The start of week 11 and there was great expectation as Chief and Deputy Blogger left for work this morning. Wayne had tipped us off on Friday, get the lights for all the downstairs, Sam the electrician is coming Monday. Despite the late notice, we were able to get all the lights except for the dining room so after 8 long weeks for Deputy Blogger of not having any lights, 6 weeks for the rest of the family, could it be true we'd be eating under lights tonight!?!

As Deputy Blogger walked down the street, Griswold Family Christmas eat your heart out, there were lights ablaze all through the house. Yes folks, we have lights!! Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray. In the kitchen, the hallway, the old lounge/now kids bedroom, the laundry even, Brendan's room, the main bedroom, the WIR and the en suite. All the lights were on .... cause we could! We even now have an exhaust fan in the en suite. This is just too civilized!

As you can see, it's all happening in the en suite now, just waiting on that shower screen....

The kitchen and the main bedroom.

While it was good news on the lights, the plasterers had also been back! Not happy Jan, they are the messiest bunch of tradesman we have come across. Plaster splatters everywhere, crap everywhere. While it is wonderful that we are starting to see things getting done, the mess, oh my goodness, folks, we are living here!

There was good progress with them though. The main bedroom had all the cornices put in place, the lobby the same treatment and patching and plastering of the new sheeting in the kitchen, dining room, hallway and the lounge room. 

Whilst the celebrations were taking place inside, a quick look outside and there has been further progress on the upstairs. To the untrained eye, there appears to be all the roofing struts in place, certainly right around the upstairs area it appears completed however I'm sure there is more to be done. Given the rain showers early this morning, any progress upstairs is a good progress.

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all??

Why that would be me, Deputy Blogger. This is a Blogger, so we can't show his face ...

Yes folks, after a long and arduous journey, the en suite mirror has finally found a home. Last reports had the mirror in desperation applying for a job at Luna Park in the house of mirrors. That was such a traumatic experience as it was told it was too plain, had no character or shape and no previous experience in being hung and looked into. The mirror returned home devastated. 

Friday morning we woke to rain. The builders were having a conference on what activity they would do today, and none of them involved actually using a power tool. Hey, how about putting up the en suite mirror and pulling down our wardrobe like you suggested when you had a rainy day. Today is rainy!?! Sandy jumped right onto it.

So, out of the box came the mirror and as you can see, it now has been proudly hung in the en suite and is serving its purpose in life. The mirror is happy, we are happy, everyone is happy. As a bonus, the towel rail was installed.

The old wardrobe in the main bedroom was removed and there is now plenty of space making Chief and Deputy Blogger very happy indeed. The room was immediately switched around.

Phil was set the task of sheeting the old back door area and over the kitchen window and the kitchen window was raised slightly as it had been installed too low. There was also a general clean and tidy up of the site making it a productive day in the end despite the constant rain. We did have a minor problem (well big really) with no hot water. For some reason the hot water was off which made showers very quick indeed!

Thursday had seen further progression on the roof structure which these photos show. There is a clearly defined shape and plenty of wood ready to be put in place upstairs so if the rain stays away, there is going to be further big steps towards being ready to put the roof in place.

Friday night was wet and very very windy with the tarps making a huge noise in the wind gusts. We only had a small splashing of water in one section which was very pleasing indeed.

So, the end of week10. Depending on the timetable we are either half way or just a bit under half way. There has certainly been a lot of activity and if the electrician does come on Monday and install the lights downstairs, our comfort levels will rise just ever so slightly. All steps in the right direction on the great renovation journey.

A little closer now ..

Thursday morning and the now regular checking of the previous days work in the morning light. All reports from our correspondents had the old Master Peter and Sandy leaving the roof around mid day when the rain starting to roll in. At least they were true to their word! Heavy rain overnight saw Chief and Deputy Blogger woken by a drip in the bedroom which thankfully didn't last long or touch the new work.

Before the boys were beaten by the rain, there was still enough time to get some roof framing done as you can see.

Phil and Geoff had been busy down the side of the house, cladding higher still.

Today was bright and sunny so there was a full days work. The morning will allow some excellent photos of the upstairs structure as there is a clear outline of the roof structure now. Whilst not finished, it is progressing well. The boys also finished the cladding down the side of the house except for the piece right under the eaves.

Inside was a surprise (shock really). Plasterers had been let loose inside and there was mess everywhere, plastic and covers over things as they worked on doing the ceiling and walls in the kitchen/dining room, hallway and the main bedroom.

The photo above is the stairwell boarded over while they work upstairs. I think plastering will be on the agenda again tomorrow as there is plenty to do. 

One day of the working week left to finish week 10 of the project. Will be interesting to see how much is done to cover the weeks work, certainly upstairs has seen great progress.

For those following the story, the en suite mirror was seen today applying for a job in the house of mirrors at Luna Park.

Look Closely Now

Wednesday morning was fine but shrouded in a light fog as the builders arrived, telling me that it was going to rain today and when it did, they were out of there. No working in the rain on the roof!

I was able to capture the work alluded to in yesterdays blog.

If you look closely you can see the ceiling supports, window headers and Marissa's robe (no, I can't see it either, but it is there .........) and plenty of wood cut ready to be nailed.

As an aside, the invention of the nail gun, what a weapon. Hearing it going thunk, thunk, thunk, and the kids thinking a nail is going to fly through the ceiling at any minute, all I can think of is the Lethal Weapon 2 movie where Sergent Murtaugh had the fight scene in the construction over his garage and it ends with the nail gun being used to stop the fight and the classic line, 'nailed him'. Those Minor birds had better watch out ........

Pulling back, you get a better profile of the work and the size of upstairs.

The very back of the house was also turning green. Phil had been very busy continuing the work down the side of the house getting it ready to clad. Phil was very proud of his work and struck a wonderful pose without much prompting at all ...

What had been done today? Well, I think at the first feeling of precipitation, Sandy and Peter pulled down the tarps and hit the road. There is evidence of roof struts (or whatever you call the wood that the roof will sit on) however daylight will again reveal all.

Phil and Geoff had been busy though down the side again with the cladding now up under the en suite window. The mirror in the en suite is still in the box.

Praying the rain goes away as it clearly does not help trying to work upstairs with the tarps off and rain falling, when all it is going to do is wreck the downstairs. As I sit here looking at the weather radar, the rains are coming Marge, the rains are coming!

It's Multipling!!

Yes folks, we are still here. Work has progressed upstairs however it is under wraps by the time we all arrive home or its too dark to get a happy snap. Therefore, we end up being a day behind in the updates.

My prognosis on Saturday was correct, the rest of the framing was ready to be put in place on Monday, which is exactly what happened. In the light of the following day, we could clearly make out the bedrooms and hallway of the second floor. Brendan was immediately a little disappointed as it appeared as though Marissa had the bigger room. Despite my assurances that the brief to the architect was to make the bedrooms EXACTLY the same size, he was convinced Marissa's was bigger, as Marissa is Deputy Blogger's favorite ....... daughter. But you only have one daughter Dad! Exactly, that's why Marissa is my favorite ...daughter. Anyway, family squabble out of the way, turns out the robe in Marissa's room had not been framed so it did appear bigger.

Before the builders arrived, oh okay, Sandy just agreed not to tell Wayne, I ventured up the ladder and took some close ups. For what reason I have no idea however you can see plenty of wood put into shapes, nailed together that sort of looks like rooms ....

In the torch light of the evening, today had seen work progressing with the headers over the robes and windows put in place, Marissa's robe framed and the ceiling struts put in place. Have to wait until tomorrow for photos.

I discovered on Sunday afternoon that one row of the boarding had been put on the side of the house. On Monday Geoff was back on site and his job was to get into the boarding. There is now a few rows completed down the side of the house including at the back of the new family room.

Still don't have the mirror installed in our en suite ............ but there is now clearly a structure visible from the street, got to be happy with that!!

Arise O Structure!

End of week 9 of building (I think, the weeks are blending in together) and during the rain showers on Friday, a structure has emerged through the mist on our roof. Firstly, bit of a back track.

Earlier it was mentioned that the builders had built a ramp up the side of the house to get onto the roof easier. Below is a photo of their handy work.

On Thursday the builders started making the frames for the second floor and lying them down waiting to be stood up.

Friday we finally saw the rising into the sky of the second floor structure. The bathroom and stairwell has been framed while it looks like the remainder of the frames have been build and are waiting to be put into place. 

A peek under the tarp shows the framing work, not a great photo under the circumstances however you can see the outline of the bathroom and stairs.

Praying for a fine week next week to see the rest of the frame go up and then hopefully roof struts and framing ready to roof. Another week down, lots more weeks to go but it ends on a good note, able to see some new structure rising into the sky!

Upstairs!!!

As Mark is the only one of our family lucky enough to be able to climb the scaffolding to go upstairs I think that it is only fitting that he writes what has been going on.

Howdy folks, deputy blogger here, long time no blogging as Chief has been in residence so I have been banished. But I am back baby, ready to blog on with the best of them.

Chief has been a little tardy with the updates however that is due to the work switching to the roof and each afternoon when we all arrive home the massive tarps are in place and we cannot see what has been done. Chief is correct, I was given the privilege and permission from Wayne to climb the scaffolding and have a look ...but I had to stay on the scaffolding! The photos show the first stages of the flooring going down. The floor joists had been the task for Monday and then some flooring. 

Arriving home Tuesday afternoon after Marissa's zone athletics carnival (winning the 100 meters in a record time, winning the 200 meters and the long jump, while Deputy Blogger froze time keeping), it appeared from what we could see under the tarps and inside that all the flooring was complete and there was even evidence of plumbing where the bathroom is going.

Wednesday morning and Wayne wasn't on site first thing. Don't tell Wayne but I climbed up the ladder again to chew the fat with Peter and Sandy. Truth being I wanted to see what was done. While Sandy lamented the loss of his hammer, he confirmed that the building site was a swarm of activity yesterday. Builders everywhere, 3 plumbers and I bet one of them took it. 'I'm not happy you know, I want my hammer, believe it or not some of us still use them'. 

As Peter took off the massive tarps, I could see that indeed the flooring was all completed and the bathroom had been floored and the plumbing in place. I also took a walk on the floor upstairs (shhhh, don't tell anyone).

Peter taking off the tarp ...

The area is huge. Not a mansion by any stretch of the imagination however Peter and Sandy kept commenting, big area, big area.

I was hoping to come home and see some frame work. Certainly Peter and Sandy were talking framing however tonight there is this elaborate ramp from the driveway up the side of the house to the roof and wood stored all around the house. I think the task of resting a piece of wood up against the scaffolding and pulling it up one at a time got the better of them today. Makes sense given they also have to eventually haul up windows, bathroom stuff etc etc.

We can only hope that the weather stays fine. It has been crisp at night and in the mornings but the forecast has always been the chance of showers.