CALOWERA

Sunday, April 29, 2012

ONE YEAR NOW!

Next month will be 1 year since the start of the house building, so here are a few pics to see just how much happened since then:

We started with this:

and quickly, a house took shape:

at the back:

to this:

the kitchen....

last but not least..... my room!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Thankyou to all the lovely people who told me they enjoyed reading my blog (but didnt leave comments! :-))... and who are waiting for another chapter or 2.
Well here is what has been happening: on October 12, 2011, we got had the final inspection and GOT THE KEYS!
The same day, TV Antenna man came to move the aerial from the stables to the house (priorities....)
the following weekend, Shell and her Dad and nephew emptied the storage unit and filled the garage!
And my work started in earnest.
Firts off, tiling ALL the living areas, corridors and the "theater", wcich will be the embroidery room. About 200m2, all my own work. Oh except that right at the end, thanks to some surgery on my middle left finger, Richard was appointed "official grouting sponge squeezer outer".

Here is the gradual progress, starting with the entry which took me one whole day, then down the corridor

then onto the kitchen area:

and the living room:

which now looks like this!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

WET !!!!!

First, some vital rainfall statistics:
2010: June 51.4mm , July 142mm, August 63 mm
2911: June 171.4 , July 161 mm, August 134 mm

and I suspect more than that fell in our neck of the woods.

As a result, we are a little bit wet! My handywoman shed is flooded:

... the bricks are to stand on!

We have a waterfall right across the walkway to the big paddock:

and a winter creek...

But hey, both rainwater tanks are overflowing, and the newly planted trees and shrubs (and the grass) are growing!

Monday, August 8, 2011

The House Chapter 6: LOCKUP!

Lockup: a term used by house builders for the stage where the house is waterproof and "locked up", even if it means that MY front doors are in situ, held by nails on the inside:

It also means:

that despite the fact that we live only metres to the house, we cannot go inside! This is because, by policy of building companies, they dont give owners the keys before official handover... because owners have been known to "steal" their own fixtures for resale....
that we have to look through windows for now! or sneak in when the "tradies" are there, or wait till Phill the supervisor organises a site visit.
It also means that any day now we will get a bit fat bill from the builders, as "lockup" is also a stage in the payment plan :-(

Anyway, last week when the cabinetmakers were doing their stuff, I did sneak in... yeay, kitchen!

and ensuite cupboard:

and the view I cannot tire of:

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The House Chapter 6: Leaps and Bounds

Hard to beleive that my last house post was 3 weeks ago. Since then, a flurry of activity has given us a roof, complete with solar panels:

the electricians and the plumbers have run their pipes and their wiring, followed by the plasterers, who put on the first layer despite being harassed by Border Collie Bella to throw the ball:

the kitchen....

the family room...

On Monday, Keith from Huckleberry Tanks put in the second tank, hopefully to be filled up by the end of the rainy season:

and a meeting with supervisor Phil gave us some great news: the plasterers are due back for their final coat, then ceilings and glaziers will take the house to lock up stage. The cabinet makers (kitchen, bathroom and laundry) are booked for August 3rd, then it is "4 to 6 weeks to handover". FOUR TO SIX WEEKS, that's September!!!! better start looking at paint colour charts and tile shops!!!!

Overall, we think it looks great, minus gardens but with the desired chunky verandah posts: