Thursday 24 October 2013

Reno - Week 20

Well where did the last 20 weeks go? At the start of this renovation I thought that the expected six month build timeframe would take f.o.r.e.v.e.r  but surprisingly it has gone very quickly. We were actually hoping to move in by Christmas, but at this stage it seems highly unlikely - the predicted completion date is looking to be towards the end of January 2014.

This week the remainder of the brick wall and chimney were completed, and the terrace now looks like this:


The view from the scullery/kitchen
There are still some small jobs to complete around the terrace such as window awnings, floors, flashing, painting, etc but it's come together beautifully and I'm ever so pleased with the outcome. And check out how high this beast is:

Apparently there are some good city views from up there
The detailing is very nice and the top of the chimney can now be seen peeping over the cottage from the street. The brickwork is the first thing you see when you enter through the front door  - it's very special indeed.

This week it came time to repair the old front verandah which was quite scary to walk on:


We were hoping to simply replace the worst of the boards, but when they were pulled up we discovered that the joists underneath were completely rotted out:


So we made a unanimous decision to pull the whole lot down (joists, floorboards, posts, balustrades) and start again:


The floor feels so much solid and safer now and surprisingly it looks a lot bigger too. As lovely as the new boards look in their natural colour, the plan is to stain them in charcoal.

The painters have made a lot of progress on the external part of the house this week. As you can imagine they spent quite a bit of time prepping up the boards on the old cottage - they were in a bad state:


There were seven layers of paint to remove. After a tonne of paint stripper was applied we found that the house was originally painted white with many other colours in between:


So after a lot of sealing, bogging, sanding, priming and a couple of layers of Dulux 'Whisper White' we now have some 'as new' weatherboards:


The external stairs that sit between the scullery and the terrace were installed which now makes moving from one level of the house to the other a lot easier - no more on-site acrobatics required. 


The sliding doors can now be fitted and will provide direct access from the kitchen to the outside - something that was once quite common in older houses. I'm hoping to have a small kitchen garden growing nearby - I love being able to pick fresh herbs during meal preparation. I have been known to do some 'pruning' from plants that I've found growing near footpaths (a few leaves here and there surely won't be missed.)

Hoping to have the plasterboard up by the end of next week - which means that a meeting with the joinery company to go over the cabinetry details will take place soon. Kitchens and bathrooms will follow shortly and going by other people's experiences with them lately, that's when the stress will commence. Fingers crossed for a smooth ride to the finish.

I'll leave you with an image of the beautiful sunset we had this evening:


"Orange Toowong Skies"

21 comments:

  1. I love your weekly updates. Your 'new' weatherboards look amazing! x

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    1. It's amazing what a new coat of paint can do - the w/boards look brand new. I'm still getting used to the new colour scheme. xx

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  2. It is looking amazing Caroline, I love that chimney!!

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    1. Yes, it's definitely hard to miss and beautifully detailed. xx

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  3. The terrace IS looking amazing! Such wonderful progress, love the stairs, bet the veranda feels great underfoot.

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    1. I actually had concerns that our 'outdoor room' was not undercover and thought it may not get used to it's full potential, but I'm so pleased how it's turned out. Besides, we still have our front verandah for times of rain. The terrace is going to be a beautiful space when it's completed. xx

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  4. *gasp* !!!! it looks so wonderful! well done x

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    1. Thank you! We're so looking forward to moving in. xx

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  5. Congratulations on the terrace, it is looking amazing.

    I love the use of the bricks, very inspiring! I've been following your blog for a while as I'm a fan of O+V+P's work. This reno is really inspiring and your taste are fantastic.

    Keep up the good work!

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    1. I can't praise the talented team at OVP enough - and they are a great bunch of guys (+gals) too. I'm still pinching myself that this is actually going to be my home. xx

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  6. The brickwork is a winning feature, it must be one of your favourite parts of the reno. Beautiful!

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    1. It certainly is and I'm so glad that we made a last minute change on the brick selection - the colour and texture is perfect. xx

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  7. Absolutely fantastic. I live vicariously through your renovation, it's amazing to watch it come together week by week. Keep up the good work Caroline. Cheers, Col

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    1. It's a bit like a pregnancy - when it's someone else's baby, it seems happen in no time at all. But in all honesty the construction is moving along quite quickly - there's been a lot of progress each week which keeps my enthusiasm running high. xx

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  8. Wow, that brickwork is looking absolutely stupendously good. Loving it and you must be stoked. Your weatherboards have come up beautifully too ( won't show Betsy, she would be so jealous). Any decision on the black vs white debate btw? mel x

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    1. Love, love, love the bricks. Once the brick floor goes in it will finish the whole space off. The only thing I would have changed is the size of the fireplace (the size selected was probably due to space limitations.) A deeper firebox would have enabled us to cook in it. Oh well, I guess marshmallows will still fit. The colour debate has now changed with the addition of a third colour - details soon. xx

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  9. Looks great Caroline - all coming together

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    1. Hi M - yes, very happy with the progress to date. Very much looking forward to moving in. xx

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  10. The brickwork is amazing...that courtyard will be such a lovely place to spend time.
    And the new verandah looks great too...I know all about dodgy verandahs as our back one is scary and is about 6m off the ground!

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    1. Our courtyard/outdoor room is special - still deciding what we're going to put out there in terms of seating, but at this stage our budget indicates nothing much at all for the time being. xx

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  11. Hi Caroline, your home will be incredible! I am trying to understand how to respond to your message to me on my blog 'House on Thomson.' I am not incredibly great at all this technology. Blogging is new to me. I have been run off my feet, but will respond to you in more depth at some stage soon!! Thanks, Kate

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