This week the electricians continued the electrical fit off of powerpoints, light switches, lighting and exhaust fans. A couple of months ago Matthew and I decided to add heating to the deck to ensure that we could use it year-round, and these were installed either side of the ceiling fan so we should be able to keep warm in both the lounge and the dining area.
We made a last minute change to the lighting over the stairs from a pendant to 2 recessed downlight sets that we found at Lumen8 and we're really happy with the way they look, especially the black interior. The painters returned to site later in the week and completed a lot of prep work repairing small gouges and imperfections in the walls, getting them ready for the final coat. On Friday the timber flooring that we have selected for upstairs arrived on site; we are doing a herringbone parquetry floor and I can't wait to see it installed! Outside, the pool renovation continues! I got down into the pool and had forgotten just how deep it is at one end - the pool builder would most certainly have had to excavate rock to get it that deep, and I'm thankful the previous owner went to that effort (and expense). Finally, on Saturday night I was able to watch the riverfire fireworks from the deck with a friend - Matthew and I had been looking forward to doing this together, but he is still sick and the house can be scary at night so I was glad to have company. We'd like to host friends for NYE and this was the first time we were able to see what our view of the fireworks will be like, and I was really pleased.
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This week Matthew has been sick so I am writing my first blog.
Blockwork for the stucco columns on our carport went up on Tuesday, and we signed off on the concrete driveway colour and stamped pattern. Matthew's parents have a stamped driveway we love which has a deep cobblestone patten, so we had hoped to replicate that. Unfortunately the stamps now in use don't seem to be as deep, but we have chosen a finish that we hope will be quite similar. The pool shell is being worked on with the excavation of earth for new pipes and the gazebo footings being drilled, hitting rock around 700mm down. There was a workman on site drilling new holes into the walls of the pool for around two days. Inside, I delivered most of the electrical items (lights, fans, etc) to site on Thursday and the electricians have now started the fit off of some of those items. Interior painting is ongoing with all of the ceilings receiving their final coat. The VJ/strapping detail is one of my favourite details in the house and we couldn't be happier with the way it has turned out! Painting of interior walls hasn't finished yet however the deck walls were painted, and the interior doors were sprayed which has resulted in a factory-like finish which I'm happy with. This week on-site we saw the installation of our stair balustrade. As you can see the balustrade starts at the first landing, meaning the bottom 3 steps spill out into the room. This really fits the 1930s style of the house, and is how it probably would have been if it were two stories originally.
Midweek the painters came in and covered everything in plastic, so that the walls and ceilings could be sprayed with undercoat. Our ceiling batten detail meant that there were joins all over the ceiling that needed to be filled. Using 'no more gaps' would have to be one of our least favourite renovating jobs, so we're glad that someone else had to do it! Now that the ceilings have had a coat of paint we think they are looking fantastic - the detail is visible but it's not shouting for attention. The exterior is moving along too. The bottom half of our columns were rendered and are ready for painting. The footing for our carport was dug out and concreted. The carport is going at the front left of the house, and we opted for a carport because we like the look, and it frees up valuable internal living space that would otherwise have been eaten up by a double garage. This weekend was the deadline for choosing our pool finishes. The cost-effective porcelain tiles we chose for the pool surround slab have a top surface colour, meaning they were not suitable for the coping tile (the edge of the pool) as you would see the edge of the tile and the layers of colour through it. So, we had to use something different. We opted for a granite coping tile (as per the picture) and then a mosaic waterline tile (that covers the top foot of the internal pool wall. Once the painting is finished we are expecting the floors will quickly follow - and then the kitchen! The kitchen is currently sitting on the deck under a tarp, so hopefully it has survived the storms this weekend! The outside work really started this week. Michael and I were at home sick, which came in handy as we were available to meet the builders to discuss the level of our front yard. We decided to get it as flat as possible, and the earthmovers made short work of it. After 2 days of pushing dirt around, the entire block around the house was basically flat.
Part of the ground preparation was installing the conduits for gas, water and electricity, and stormwater plumbing. Around the back, the last of the scaffolding came down, so the view from the back deck is finally revealed. Now we just need something to sit on out there (instead of the bath) and we're set! Unfortunately the scaffolding came down before the builders had a chance to install the welded steel balustrade to our bedroom doors, so they used a digger to hoist it up. We had originally specified a glass balustrade for the bedroom, but glass is hard to keep clean, blocks out breeze and it would have reflected the interior of the bedroom at night. We love the flat bar steel, it disappears visually, particularly at night - but it still lets the breeze in. We had this powder coated to match the door frames. Moving inside, the storage under the stairs was resolved, with a door to match the opening (which we will trim with timber to make it disappear as much as possible). Paint will make a world of difference to this timber work. Upstairs the floor levelling continues, the floor of the sunroom and the kitchen had to be packed to the same level as the original flooring before the finished surface is installed. The bathroom vanity cabinets were installed - all 3 bathrooms have the 2-pack shaker style cabinetry that is wall-hung to make the bathrooms seem more spacious. We are really happy with the colour and our decision to go modern on the hardware, to avoid making it too 'Hamptons' themed. The kitchen was delivered into a bedroom, and will be installed once the floors are finished. |