Week Forty-seven - Wilson Pickets

Cue bad puns, there are some things you wait a lifetime for, OK, maybe just until the midnight hour.

This week the pickets for the front fence arrived and will be painted prior to fixing.

While there is no obligation to be heritage compliant, it’s a look we want to achieve to keep the place in character with the rest of the street, maybe not all but most of it anyway.

Inside the baths are siliconed into place

The kitchens are taking shape but the doors have been removed as a protective measure, there's a few big holes screaming to be covered with Smartstone.

Week Forty-six - The kitchens get started and the painters do more

Painting on the outside is close to complete. There will be some tidying up to do but the majority of the outside walls are done.

The installation of the kitchens commence with 19's kitchen being done first.

Jonno the plumber has been and the toilets are in but please don't use them yet.

Week Forty-Five – the kitchens arrive

We have two rooms full of kitchen and some cleaning up is done in readiness for the installation.

 Part of the cleanup involves getting the baths out of the way, best place to put them, where they belong.

The original house is still a bit of a mystery. The certificate of title tells a great story of who owned it and when but a quick search of Trove doesn’t uncover any great stories or adventures relating to the house which could be a good omen.

What it does show is that the title was first registered to Caroline Stephens in 1880, I wonder how common it was for a woman to own property in South Australia in 1880?

The last person listed on the title was Janos Pal from who’s estate we purchased the property with many stories to be told for the time in between first and current.

Research that will have to wait for another day.

The maisonettes when purchased have separate rates from the council, separate gas, telephones, water meters, electricity meters located inside each dwelling but a common sewer that ran around the back and connected to the main on the southern          side of the building.

    An application was lodged with the Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council with the assistance of surveyors, Hennig & Co. and approval was granted with six conditions;

• A certificate from a suitably qualified person stating that the building achieves fire separation compliance
• The financial requirements of SA Water shall be met for the provision of water supply and sewerage services.
• The alterations of internal drains to the satisfaction of SA Water is required.
• All internal water piping that crosses the allotment boundaries must be severed or redirected to ensure that the pipework relating to each allotment is contained within its boundaries.
• Payment into the Planning and Development Fund
• A final plan complying with the requirements for plans to be lodged with the Development Assessment Commission for Land Division Certificate purposes.

      So with every step covered off, it’s now only requires the engagement of a conveyancer to make it happen.

One thing that was highlighted throughout this process was that over time, the ability to correctly measure things has greatly improved.

The fence line on both sides isn't quite right, the southern fence is a bit of a double skin and the boundary is in between somewhere. The northern fence wasn't particularly square with the house and needs replacing. The posts are set before the paving is poured, the fence panels will follow later.

Week Forty-four - painting

Not a whole lot more, just painting.

Weeks Forty through to week Forty-three - The builder takes a holiday

While the work slows down a bit, it doesn’t stop all together.

The roofers put the lid on the front veranda and the look of things changes greatly again.

With the plasterboard generally complete, it’s time to start painting.

Doors are removed to get paint into every surface. 

Progress is made paining outside on the few days that it doesn’t rain.

Off site, with the front door hardware removed, the letterbox hardware on the doors is repaired and cleaned and new numbers are chosen. A bit of an issue with the knockers, only one in Australia so another design is chosen. Other things to think about, what to do about letter boxes? Problem solved.

Week Thirty-nine – Stairs

For a few months now, the entrance to the cellar has been covered with the same steel that provides the ceiling for the cellar with a ladder on top which was the only way up. While there were no safety issues, other than falling off a ladder, it was not an easy way of viewing what was happening on the first floor.

It’s a trade-off though between having stairs in place for easy access against having them trashed due to heavy use during building. With stairs in place, things have changed greatly.

The gas heaters are fixed in place with the facia’s still safely in their boxes.

The baths have arrived and will be installed once the bathroom walls have been fully siliconed.

The painter has started with paint going on the veranda timber while it's accessible prior to the tin being installed and the bathroom windows get a coating.

Off site, we order a new door knocker for 19 to match the one on 17. No problem, visit Adelaide Restoration Centre on Magill Road and order one that matches pretty well.

Get out the wire brush to clean the original one and it breaks in half, the break indicated that it may have been cracked for quite a while. So another is ordered, they will definitely match now.