Bricks cleaned, cabinets started.

Front of house, showing nice clean bricks (other than where the render is going to the brickwork around the three windows):


Close up of bricks and garage door:


Alfresco ceiling complete:


Lounge/theatre (with doors open):


Lounge/theatre (with doors closed). I still need to fit a piece of timber across the top track to cover the track:


Window opposite lounge/theatre overlooking pool area:


Family/rumpus (meals to the right):


Kitchen:


Meals area:


Measl area looking back toward front door. The corner window looks out to the pool area:


Rumpus built in cabinet and bar:


Laundry, with full height cupboards to the left, and benchtop over cupboards to the right. In the middle of the cupboards will be a fold out ironing board (it also spins 180 degrees so it wont get in the way if open).


Pull out laundry hamper:


Walk in robe to master bedroom. On the left is a shoe rack. Still waiting for shevles over, and hanging rails:


One of the kid's bedrooms:



The tiler and painter will start next week. The plumber will finish fit off after Christmas, and the timber floors and carpet will be installed also. The lights and power points will go in after Christmas when the painter has finished, as will the air conditioners. The carpenter will come back to finish the skirtings after the timber floor has been installed, and the kitchen will be installed at this time also.

Then we move into the house......and work on the pool and landscaping.

Updated pictures - facade

Now to clean the bricks, render around the 3 windows and decide what to do over the entry (under the entry roof, above the brickwork). Initially it was to be rendered, but now I am also thinking of timber slats.

Garage doors are in:






Pool area:


Pool area from alfresco:

Plasterboard in - fix commenced

I've been a little busy so unable to update regularly. In between visiting the new baby in hospital every morning, working during the day, working on the house after hours, and taking care of the kids, it's been a little hectic !

Anyway, the plasterboard has been installed and the carpenter is currently fixing out the house (doors, skirtings, architraves, hardware).

Looking from just inside the front door (plaster yet to be hung on the sliding door walls):


Wide view showing window to pool area. I am still thinking of pulling this window out for one big clear opening (two sheets of glass butt jointed in the middle)


Looking from kitchen into family/meals area (rumpus behind half wall).


Kitchen. I bought the new fridge on the weekend. I have to move it from my current home, but I couldn't resist buying it when a current promotion means I also get a free LCD HD TV. Only a small one, but good enough for the alfresco area or billiard room.


Looking at low all from rumpus room. The void on the left will feature two glass sliding doors and be used as a display case for memorabilia (or maybe even an enclosure for the reptiles - yet to decide). The void on the right will be a built in bar cabinet (basically bar fridge under bench, shelves over, all behind some nice big cupboard doors). Both voids have lights and power points within. This room is also where the billiard table is going.



View into master bedroom. The two doorways are the ensuite and WIR. The design had to have us walking past these rooms in order to fit the master bedroom at the back of the house, so it can have it's own private courtyard. The wide corridor works well however.


Master bedroom:


The kids wing. Kid's bathroom, 2 bedrooms and a play room (which due to the new arrival will end up being 3 bedrooms !)


Laundry. On the left will be a full cupboard with linen, built in ironing board, and a broom cupboard. On the right hand side will be washing machine, dryer, trough, with a bench over the top and cupboards underneath (with a slide out clothes hamper).


Lounge/theatre room. As there isn't a fence up as yet, you can see right into next door's build. Before building we had a conversation with the builder next door. We both felt it would be easier leaving the fence down during construction (as we are both only 1 metre off the boundary for most of the house on this side). The space outside the door is the courtyard that sits between the lounge, study and kid's playroom. Not only does the courtyard "break up" the house, but it's existance also avoids the need of any west facing windows for the study or playroom.


View of courtyard from kid's playroom. Directly opposite is the study. To the right is the lounge/theatre. Now the playroom is being taken up with another child, the kid's will have to contain their mess within their own rooms ! Luckily the bedrooms are bigger than average so it shouldn't be a problem. If it is, then bad luck as they're not taking our study !!

Wow, that baby's come early - now it gets tough !

My wife gave birth on Friday - 10 weeks early. Wife and daughter are doing fine but it has thrown a spanner in the works. Apart from looking after the other 2 children and organising work, I also have to maintain the existing house that's on the market (thankfully renovations are complete) as well as build the new one. Busy times ahead.

Today was a busy day on site. The roofers are finishing the metal roofing to the garage, and the box gutter and flashings to the bedroom parapet. The plasterers have kicked off, installing battens and getting ready for the plasterboard installation.

The electrician is changing a few things around that I wasn't happy with, and the insulation installers finished their work over the weekend.

I also spent some time yesterday morning installing the alarm system and theatre cables along with a mate of mine. I have some serious favours to repay when this house is finished !

The bricklayer is due back mid week to complete the front portico and columns, as they run out of bricks last week and had to order more.

Hopefully the little one will be home by Christmas and our new home won't be far away from completion.

Current home on the market

Our current home is now officially on the market. We took some time in "refreshing" the house with a new paint job, cleaning windows, carpets, re-doing the floorboards, re grouting tiles, cleaning up the landscaping, etc, etc. We still have a few things to do, but all in all it's come up nice. It feels like a new home.

Hopefully it brings more than we expect, and we can complete the new home with the pool.

Plasterboard ready to go...

I've been slack with taking photos, but I thought I had better post some updates as very soon most of it will be covered in.

The brickwork is probably a day or two away from being complete, and rain is forecast for the next week or so ! It's not a major concern as it won't hold me up any longer. I just hope the roofer can still get to site next week to install the garage roof and the box gutter behind the bedroom parapit.

All services have been roughed in. Electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, heating, smart wiring. Over the weekend I'll rough in the alarm system with a friend of mine, and probably rough in the theatre cables.

The double sliding doors to the lounge/theatre were hung and they look great (well as good as they can without any plasterboard installed). The room will be able to function as a closed up, "as close to soundproof as I can get" theatre, or as an open lounge room - depending on what happens when we move in.

The plasterboard is due to start Monday 9th November.

Front of house:




Future pool area:


Alfresco:


Looking down into house. Lounge doors open:


Door closed:


Kitchen:


Family, with Rumpus behind low wall.


Rumpus (looking at low wall). The wall will feature a bar unit built in on the right hand side (full height). On the small side, there will either be two glass sliding panels and a cabinet created for memorabilia, or a couple of reptile cabinets built in.


Looking past the ensuite and WIR into the master bedroom.

Kitchen layout - I think I have finally done it !

After what seems to be an eternity of headaches and changing designs, I have finally come up with a sketch of something we both like. It's not the world's biggest kitchen and we want a nice "clean look" so it's created a few probelsm.

I've changed a couple of things, and one wall between the study and the kitchen will have to be moved in order for it to work, but I can live with that. I have also deepened the nib walls from 600mm to 750mm to fit the fridge. I could also move that back of the fridge wall back 150mm, but that would create a hassle with the bedroom and study entries.

The final result that I am hoping for is a nice clean wall where the cooktop is (drawers each side of the underbench oven and overhead cupbaords with an undermount rangehood). The overhead cupboards will probably be handle free to keep the clean lines.
THe sinks will be undermount, and the pantry doors glass with an aluminium frame. One door slides into the adjacent bench, but I am thinking of sliding the other one (the left one) behind a fake cupboard (a joinery wall), rather than a plasterboard wall.

The microwave, toaster and kettle will be placed on the prep bench and serviced with an exhaust fan over the bench. THe pre bench also doubles up as a pantry, with shelves over head. I am thinking that two rows of shelves won't be too high, and will provide about 7 metres of shelf. I can also put shelves or cupboards, or food drawers under the prep bench. I've seen a couple of house with the pantry over the prep bench and it seemed to work.

I may also chase out the slab so I can fit a sink into the corner of the prep bench - but I am yet to decide on that.

I have gone with an extra wide island bench in order to create space for placing food, etc when guests come around, as well as reduce the width between the island bench and the cooktop bench. The island bench will have granite waterfall ends and be open on the family room side for seating.

THe kitchen will be finished in 2 pac as I love how it looks.

FInally we have some bricks !

After a couple of weeks delay with the bricklayer, due to hold ups on other projects and wet weather, we finally have a start.

Wrap on - rough in started !

I wrapped the house on the weekend ready for the bricklayer (well I didn't finish the high stuff at the front - I'll let the bricklayer do that off his scaffold). Unfortunately the bricklayer has been delayed on other jobs and won't be starting until next week. The plumber however has started his rough in, and the electrician and mechanical contractors will be commencing theirs next week.

I've probably lost the last 2 weeks, but I am still aiming (hoping!) for a Chirstmas holiday completion.

Roof complete - pictures

Front:






Side:


Pool area (got some cleaning up to do !)