Friday at Last!

You have to be happy when it is Friday evening, weekend in front of you. It's been a tiring week and late out of the office, but what kept me going was coming home to see what the marvelous team of builders had achieved today to round off the week.

It all started very early this morning, 6.30am to be precise as Brett backed up the truck in the driveway to unload all the scaffolding he had picked up from the other site yesterday. Peter was here as usual, Phil, Wayne and Floyd (Wayne's grandson) duly on site at 7.00. It was a steam clouds out of the mouth contest time. It was freezing this morning. Wayne and I were having a conversation in the backyard about where the excavation would all take place on Monday, when we both decided that it was freezing. I couldn't feel my hands and Wayne couldn't feel his ears. Ridiculous! While all this was taking place, Henry the tiler turned up to continue his good work on our en suite.

The boys have worked hard as usual. The front of our house across to the garage has now been covered by scaffolding, the fibro removed, insulation installed and the blue coating put in place. The veranda has been stripped as well. The side access has been completely cleared ready for the excavation team on Monday.

The en suite has been tiled, the grouting on the floor still to be done and the floor of the laundry has also been tiled. The photos don't quite do it justice but ,even in an unfinished state, how sweet is the en suite looking! Water please!

The en suite from various angles. The laundry floor below.

Our good neighbors and friends the Wards have kindly loaned me a heater so I'm feeling nice and comfy tonight which is so good on a cold night after a long week of work. Might have a bit to eat for tea and to bed I think. In the morning, might get some good photos of the outside work. Stay tuned!

Have You Heard Of A Cuddle??

It hasn't even been a week and I've been replaced by an electric rug/blanket thingy. Deputy Blogger is sad, oh my aching heart, it's broken, just like the air conditioner, the shed and the toilet!

Yes it is true, the air conditioning unit has been removed to allow access to the backyard for machinery and the truck. It is going to make things cooler in the house now we have lost the heater, but it is progress. Remember, you need to take a step backwards and endure the hardships to appreciate the future. Shame we are about to hit a very cold weekend!

It wasn't just the air conditioning unit that met the collective demolition delight of our builders. The rear shed has disappeared, replaced by a small tin shed, mocking the demise of the former shed who had stood tall for so long.

It wasn't just flailing sledge hammers today. The laundry floor has been completely laid with concrete for tiling and the rest of the sheeting has been completed however the old toilet is now lying in the weeds up the backyard, on its side, destitute. A crappy way to end such sterling service to so many ....

This morning started with a rush of activity. A new builder turned up, Wayne's son Brett with his truck. Lucky I had previously met Brett as I was starting to worry that Wayne had an imaginary son called Brett. He immediately wanted to know how the Roosters were going. Yeah, good one, sure the other job has finished?

Brett was unloading all his gear before going back to the old job to get all the scaffolding so they can set up to work on the front of the house. At the same time I was taking photos in the fresh morning light of the blue work, and then another van pulls up into the driveway. Firstly, the blue work.

Wayne took me out to meet the occupants of the van. Out piled 3 men who are our tilers, yeah! Brett immediately sledges them by asking no-one in particular, 'I thought we were getting the tilers in today, couldn't they come so you got these guys?' The building site I think is going to be a little more entertaining! I couldn't wait to see the en suite. I was a little disappointed as clearly tiling is harder than I thought.

But, remember my question from yesterday? Answer - Walls!

I think it may be finished tomorrow which would be a nice way to end a big week. Notice the nice little shampoo bottle shelf in the wall, but is too high for the Chief Blogger! Boo Hoo, Deputy Blogger likes it (remember I've been replaced by a rug with a power cord).

I love a nice piece of grass and the front yard always came up nice after mowing. Looks like a junk yard now!

Off to turn on the electric blanket, at least I have that going for me!

"No air-conditioning, are you kidding me?"

Yes that was my response down the phone to my adorable husband after he informed me that the air-conditioning has been taken out. Apparently the builders needed to remove it to enable the bobcat and trucks to get up into the backyard.

Although it is beautiful and sunny beach weather in Yamba I am reliably informed that Sydney is FREEZING! How will I cope?

Mum has this great blanket that heats up and you use it in front of the tv. That is looking like a very sound investment at the moment I think.

Oh well, looking forward to tonights update by the guest blogger!



You'd Be Blue Too!!

This morning it was the full squad of workers, Peter here before the sun was even thinking about rising, Phil in the truck and Wayne speeding up at 7 with his grandson. It was plastic overalls at 20 paces as the team suited up for fibro removal. Today was attack the walls day by a team resembling a breakaway from the blue men!

While it was dark when your trusty deputy blogger returned home, the house had clearly been subjected to a major piece of rip and tearing and had suffered in the cold wind and gone distinctly blue! The whole one side of the house had been 'blued' while the other side from the front door back was looking decidedly cold. Poking out the top was insulation in the walls, which in some places would be a first.

It will be left to the morning light to get a better photo however here is the wall at the entry to the house, and below is the stripped walls in the lobby/entry area.

The inside had a touch of work, the plumbing had been completed in the laundry with new pipes and moving of the taps, and a touch of insulation to round it off.

Going to bed last night I was turning all the lights off, when I noticed light coming from under Brendan's bedroom door. After entering the room and wondering why things seemed to be moved around, I spied the corner of the room, which had been attacked and the door opening created into the storage cupboard behind the stairs. Brendan either has more space to store his stuff, or to hide from the rest of the family!

The big excitement of today though was discovering the piles of tiles sitting in our bedroom waiting patiently outside the en suite. I can only hope that tomorrow is tiling day. I know it is all a process but I just want to see a tile laid! Mainly because it may help answer a question that has been bugging me, being a complete non renovator, do you tile the floor or the walls first?

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day! Yes, but my home looks like the best of the Colosseum, but not in it's glory days! Squint a bit and the renovations remind me of our holiday 3 years ago, ah a holiday, now that is an idea.........

Sorry, I've drifted, it's freezing, blowing a stiff wind and its steady progress.

The usual this morning, Peter early, followed by Phil with the truck and then Wayne with his grandson riding shotgun. High hopes for the day. Despite my hopes for tiling, inspection of the water proofing for certification and then a second coat of water proofing! Thus all we can see is that I have a camera now!! and a better photo of a water proofed en suite.

Lets try the laundry. Nope, looks like the start of leveling out the cement for tiling (and a better quality photo).

The favorite pastime of builders, demolition! Now we are talking. Though this time, there is cheering in the aisles, an outpouring of celebratory cheer, a wonder to greet tired eyes!!

Yes, the stupid fake brick archway between the kitchen and the dining room is meeting its maker. It's on it's last legs, you beauty, though lucky everyone else is away with the mess.

 
In the darkness when I arrived home, the side of the house looked different and on closer inspection, there is scaffolding to the roof built down three quarters of the house. Well we are finally going up. Perhaps a photo when it is daylight.

So, there has been a bit of wrecking, a bit of cleaning up the rubble, a bit of preparation work for upstairs, a bit of water proofing and a bit of concreting. I guess its been a little of everything!

Week 4 - Wake Up Neighbours!

Well Week 4 started early again with Peter pulling up out the front of a quite house. The house is quieter than usual with the school holidays starting and Cathy and the kids making the long trip to Yamba on Sunday to escape the construction zone. Initial reports of fishing off the breakwall, surfing the waves and reading a book in the sun suggest that the house wasn't being missed.

If this update gets posted, it means I've remembered all the instructions on how to keep the updates moving! Not sure I have the wit and insight of chief blogger however it is the photos that tell the story! Unfortunately I'm sans camera as they have been taken on holidays!  Interesting to see how we go, as these images suggest, do not use a Blackberry as a camera!!

Peter is always itching to get to work and today was no different. By 7.15am this morning the washing machine was out in the back yard, the laundry tub disdainfully discarded and the jack hammer echoing all around the neighborhood. The cement floor and tiles were flying everywhere, as the whisper quiet early morning was harshly broken. Is that the time? Off to work I go!!

The laundry without the washing machine and basin.

On my return home tonight from work, this bad photo shows the laundry floor cleared of tiles and a hole for the overflow.

The builders have also been very busy as usual as the ceiling and walls have all been sheeted except for those areas which need the plumbing worked on. Our laundry has never looked so good!!

Our en suite wasn't forgotten today, the water proofing completed on the floor and the walls, which hopefully means once it drys (and the smell goes away) that tiling can take place. 

A big end to the week

This morning the builders arrived right on time.
Wayne explained very patiently to us that the floor was not level in our room. Apparently the floor in our room was a different level to the one that had been in Marissa's room. Now there's a surprise.....Given the extensions to this house had previously been done by dodgy brothers we were hardly surprised.
Wayne focused on waterproofing the bathroom today and plastering the joins on the gyprock.
They then put the ceiling in our room which has made me REALLY happy as ever since they took away the ceiling I had visions of our possum returning to its home and landing in on us in the middle of the night.
Thankfully this didn't happen which means we did an outstanding job of getting rid of it.

After they put the ceilings in they took out the door in the laundry and now have put a board up on the outside of the house.

Access to the laundry is now done via the bathroom. Yay, we now have a laundry with internal access.

As we arrived home from Marissa's athletics carnival (where she broke 3 records) Peter was busy using the jackhammer to lift the tiles in the laundry. It seems like it is a huge job. Again, I think dodgy brothers laid those on the cement floor too.