Week Fourteen – And then there were two

Studs walls give a good idea of what the finished product will look like but there’s nothing like a block wall to clearly set the boundaries and change the view, there’s no seeing through this.

The brickies have been.  The common wall creates a spine for both sides and is integral on all things going forward. Additionally, the existing walls need to be raised to allow the supports to be built for the bathroom ceilings. 

The challenge is that the 116 year old walls were constructed with whatever was close to hand, mostly pebbles it would seem.

Job done, walls built and the next stage of steel-work can go up.

Week Thirteen – we have a bedroom floor

The plan is to put down new carpet in the bedrooms of 17 and polish the boards in the hallway. The carpet is pulled up and used to protect the concrete out the back. This highlights a number of different timbers have been used in 17 and the decision to carpet is the right one.

The floor in 19 is far more consistent and should come up well once polished.

The carpenters keep going and by the end of the week we have a first-floor bedroom and bathroom floor.

Blocks for the common wall are delivered but more summer rain delay the start. This time we decide to just leave the water in the cellar, we’ll worry about it once we have a roof and can stop it filling again.

Week Twelve – premier dining event

The 2^nd January is Deb's birthday and this year was the first chance to dine in the dining room, well, maybe on the dining room.

The slab had been polished that day and looked good. Dinner was a surprise with help from the kids who played delivery drivers.

And then the building begins again, next job, get some stud walls up. In the schedule of things, the next stage of steel work needs the common wall built as does the next stage of carpentry which needs walls to build upon. Meanwhile let's build what we can while there's no wall to hurdle or to continually go around.

Week Eleven – nothing expected this week

Nothing expected doesn’t mean that nothing happened. 61mm of rain fell on Weds 28^th and it seems that all that fell in Norwood ended up in the cellar. With no cover over the opening and no gutters on the back, everything that hit the roof, ended up in the cellar. The good news is that if it doesn’t drain out, when there’s a proper roof, nothing should get in.

So Bruce brought a decent pump which dropped the level about 6" but a wet and dry vacuum was needed to finish off the job.

Michael and Bruce also helped to move the last of the kitchen and air-conditioners that were pulled out before the demolition. Hopefully Gumtree will help to move them on.