Saturday, December 18, 2010

Concreting done!

So with everything in place they contacted the bottom half of the house... well not really, just plastic to protect everything.


The finish product out front is the half/half plain concrete and swirled coloured section. A long time ago I was told this is how Camden Council wants it, and recently found out that it's their policy in case they do works out front all the will do is lay plain concrete, so it's up to you if you want to foot the bill to have the whole thing re-sprayed as the new and old will always look different.


Out the back is a lighter colour with a 10" tile effect. This is when only part of the pattern was removed.


The side has a pad for the shed which will sit under the eaves.


And a laundry step so we can get in and out now!


The formwork was done previously and they came back today at 6.30am and had the job done by 2pm.

Wardrobe pics and other updates

First the wardrobes - this shows the fit out.

As you can see, removing the shelf created damage.


With the bulkhead, it obstructs the top 30cm or so, so the wardrobe man set it up with a narrow top shelf and angled the tops of the inserts so on a step ladder you can squeeze in and get to the top.

Then with the sliding doors done the way they are, on the 1.5m built-ins it means on the half with the shelves/drawers and full length hanging, it is really a waste to have the full length hanging. BUT you can't have the drawers next to the wall as you wouldn't be able to open them. So that's why if I did it again I just wouldn't have the builder do built-ins and just ask for the end wall.

This is one spare room.



And this is the other. The last room is currently being set up as a study and ironing space, but still in progress.


And this is the first night that T-R stayed over. As there is no fence or gates she had to stay indoors overnight. But she whinged being locked in the garage, so I kept her in the hall outside my room and this is where she stayed all night so that I almost fell over her. I miss her but she has to stay at my Nanna's until the yard is done.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

11.12.10 Driveway beginning

Well after lamenting the other day, at about 11am the concrete contractor turned up and said he tried to ring but neither I nor my Mum answered our phones and here he is to start the excavation and installing the formwork. Excellent, great to see you, feel free.

He and his son finished about 6pm having completed the formwork for the driveway, front steps and entertainment area and having laid some gravel over which the reinforced steel and concrete will go.

Camden Council will be contacted on Monday to organise the inspection they need to conduct to approve the road crossing, that is to say the point where the driveway meets the gutter. I am still yet to learn why this is needed, so if anyone has any understanding about it feel free to leave a comment about it.

Fingers crossed, if he can organise for the inspection to occur by Wednesday or Thursday he can organise for the concrete to be delivered the day after as it will take two days to complete laying the concrete. Therefore by Sunday it should be finished all going to plan.

Weather for the week, however:
WIND RAIN HUMID MIN MAX

SUN Afternoon  Clouds Afternoon Clouds. Warm. 5 km/h
N
- 45% 16 28
MON Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny. Mild. 18 km/h
ESE
- 51% 16 26
TUE Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny. Mild. 13 km/h
E
- 62% 18 25
WED Early Fog  Followed by Sun Early Fog Followed by Sun. Warm. 16 km/h
NNE
- 48% 17 29
THU A Few  Thunderstorms A Few Thunderstorms. Mostly Cloudy. Warm. Humid. 5 km/h
E
5mm
(53%)
78% 20 30
FRI A Few Showers A Few Showers. Morning Clouds. Mild. 10 km/h
S
2mm
(42%)
89% 19 25
SAT Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny. Mild. 16 km/h
SE
- 51% 17 26

...so I am inclined to think it is more reliable to believe the concreting begins Friday and finishes Saturday (or Saturday then Sunday).

Friday, December 10, 2010

15 sleeps to Christmas

Well it looks like Christmas won't be at my house this year. With all the rain the concreting is still yet to happen, and for some reason the contractor doesn't rely on weather forecasts, so Tuesday and Wednesday just gone were good, he was able to finish the jobs he had oustanding, but then he says I'll come Thursday, to which I say it's going to rain in the morning and clear up as the day goes on. He calls my Mum Thursday morning and says he can't start it because of the rain??? My Mum said she doesn't care - it just has to be done in time for Christmas.

The skylight has been a massive improvement to the internal toilet and a number of times people (including myself) have commented they were about to turn the light off in the toilet when coming out, but then rememebered it isn't on, haha.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT have the builder install built-in robes if you plan to have them fitted out. The fit out was done earlier this week but because of the way the shelf is installed, by removing it trashed the wall. This will now have to be patched and painted sometime in the future. When I put the pictures up over the weekend you'll realise what a waste the builder's effort is. If I were to do it again all I'd ask for is the external wall - as I think this is nicer than a retro-fit by the wardrobe company. I would say no doors, no tracks, no shelf, no rail - just a L shaped wall or the walk-in cavity and door. This way you have all the space to the ceiling to play with and all the space from wall to wall.

Waiting on a costing from a landscaper as the drainage really needs to be fixed otherwise the yards will continue to flood, regardless. What he wanted was for the concreter to do his stuff and he'd take over from then, but I've got a feeling they will have to work on the site together. The landscaper needs to get the drainage done before the fences go in, so my promise to my dog that she'd move in for Christmas looks like it has gone out the window.

Other than that I potted a michelia into pot and its sitting out the front on the portico. I plan to prune it into a sort of conical shape and it will hopefully obscure the view of the outdoor GPO that the builder put to high up the wall.

A glass skirt fell out of a light fitting last night and it appears that the flared part cracked at the waistband and then it sat on the globe which caused some plastic of the socket to warp and the skirt, globe and spring that holds it all together just fell to the ground.

The kitchen add-on should happen next week, which will mean things can go to their final homes. The whirly-bird that went in seems like it is doing the right thing, generally the house is moderate at all times, but the walk-in-robe in the master and the garage are permanently stiffling so so vents are going to be installed in the ceiling to allow the hot air to escape.

The solar electricity is not yet booked in for installation as the demand has meant there is an under-supply of units.

The air-con is booked for January as a neighbour asked what the delay is, the slab outside that the external unit sits on, and he suggested having the external unit fitted on brackets to the wall... Thanks for that, I have no idea why the company didn't suggest it.

So the to-do list is: concreting, air-con, landscaping, fencing, grass, clothesline, shed, solar, and finish setting up the study.

my greenhill slideshow

It's the Brown roof in the middle