Thursday, June 6, 2013

Little blue men, stairs, frames, new rooms - Reno day 28



So late last week Besty was invaded by the little blue men who came to safely remove the asbestos sheeting from the front bedroom. It turns out that when the front verandah was enclosed they didn't bother to remove the old balustrade, they just whacked those asbestos sheets right over the top. The entire front right side of Betsy would originally been an open verandah but was enclosed many years ago and is now a bedroom and an entry foyer. As this room will now face onto the side carport the windows are being replaced with a set of high louvres hence the need to remove the asbestos. Removal involves the funky blue suits, and intensive vacuuming to ensure no tiny fibres remain.

The  asbestos experts also pulled out the sheeting in the laundry ( just to be on the safe side),


and the ceiling in the lounge room. This ceiling was horsehair and did not contain asbestos but apparently there were some asbestos off cuts up in the ceiling that were also removed. The horsehair plaster in this part of the house was not in very good condition and will be replaced. Luckily in the bedrooms and hallway the ceilings are in much better condition and have beautiful ornate plaster so they are staying. I am counting down the days until this godforsaken post in the middle of my lounge room is removed.




 It's almost like an archeological dig over here with the finds we are making. Take this old nut stash that was found tucked up in the ceiling rafters at the back of the house. Some enterprising possum or rodent has been gnawing away at those macadamia nuts all winter long.





So with some sunshine hanging around the boys have made a start on the framing in the granny flat. One day there were walls and a roof,





 by the afternoon they were gone and the new frames started to appear.



Back stairs were completed and installed,


Side stairs are also in.


By the following day quite a bit of the framing had commenced on all the new rooms in the old granny flat space. We have the laundry. Back door on the right, window and laundry bench and cabinetry running down the left hand side. Will have to share my laundry plan, it is nearly final.


The room to the left of the laundry is going to be our new tv/family room. Finally a separate space to air   the Peppa pig episodes that I feel I know by heart, especially that one where Daddy pig sticks the pancakes to the ceiling. Yep, I have been dragged off the loo to snort at that one.


Here it is, with the laundry on the right. It will have a high set of louvres, as you can see it is quite close to the neighbours. The roof rafters have already gone up in this pic as well, like I said these boys are swift. You can see the junction in the old and new floors here too. To left of this room is the original second (tiny) bathroom that will be untouched and a new corridor has been put in to link to the end bedroom.  In this pic below the new door way is yet to be made into the bedroom at the end of the granny flat. Then entire left side of the wall will be a massive storage cupboard.


Adjacent to this corridor is my new sewing room/craft space i.e. somewhere for me to put all my vintage wallpaper and sheets and other op shop bits and bobs that Legoman either eye rolls or gags over the sight of, as well as room to sew and crochet. The old doorway is to be closed over and while this is a small room (2.5 x 3 m) it will be perfect for me to puddle around in.




The end room will be a spare bedroom/ space for all the lego to be tipped out and my vacuum  and I will probably not cross the threshold into that room at all.  This all purpose, boys hideout/playroom room will probably have the best view in the house- see the pic below. It is also large enough that we could down the track turn it into the master bedroom and use the adjacent small bathroom as an ensuite.


I'm not feeling deprived though as this is the view from my sewing room. Trees, garden, north facing sun....... doesn't get much better than that I reckon. It is really exciting seeing these rooms take shape and to be able to walk through and get a feel for the space is amazing. After more than a year of just lines on paper, seeing your vision come to life is fantastic.



So, this week we are finalising our laundry plans which I will share soon. This week too the roof comes off in readiness for the new rafters to connect the gabled deck roof. Fingers crossed for a dry week ahead.

21 comments:

  1. Mel, I can just about feel your joy! I have been walking through my house (in my head) for a long time, imagining how the spaces will look and feel. It must be great to physically see it all coming together. And I've become quite fond of those low chain link fences - being able to "borrow" the views from your neighbours automatically doubles the sense of space of your own yard. xx

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    1. When I first saw the fence I imagined replacing it with a proper one but now I love the expansive view onto my neighbours lawn and can't imagine changing it. mel x

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  2. Its coming along nicely! So envious of your soon to be craft space. It will be amazing xo

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  3. that looks pretty exciting all coming together relatively quickly too you wont know yourself with all that room/space

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  4. It all looks great. Both my sisters renovated QLDers in Brisbane and it was intriguing seeing the work progress. I feel like a voyeur peeping into your house on an almost daily basis but I just love seeing your house blossom! Xx

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    1. Glad you are enjoying it Deb, I love peeping into houses and renos too and I absolutely don't mind sharing mine. mel x

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  5. Wow, wow, wow! So much progress. It will be a new improved house! How cool that the verandah balustrade was still intact...great seeing these images! xx

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  6. A Peppa Pig room! Perfect! I am also very familiar with the pancake episode!
    It all looks wonderful...you must be so thrilled with all the progress!
    Thank you for keeping us all updated!

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  7. what great progress...fingers crossed the weather holds out for you. all that space! oh yeah that pancake episode snooorrrt!! x

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  8. Mel, the progress is amazing. Those guys are really getting it done. Love the fact that you will have a sewing room with such a great view. Can't wait to see the finished product. Hope the weather is kind and gives sunny days ahead.

    Hugs,
    Sharon

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    1. Thanks Sharon, did not realise you were still reading along. mel x

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  9. Thanks Mel. I hadn't connected my post on Whats For Dinner? with my comments over at Che and Fidels post on making meals with Love but meal planning and the daily struggle that is meeting everyones particular needs and issues must have been on my mind yday. And that particular phrase of "let them get hungry and they will eat" just does not sit well with me. Such bad advice for parents of children who really do have feeding issues but I guess unless you live it you don't know it and I think I have been guilty pre-children of even holding that same opinion and sharing the same well intended advice. Surely they will eat when they are hungry?! Um well no not always! We ended up with Chicken San Chow Bow. Well 2/3 of us did. The 3/3 had plain chicken no sauce nothing touching it and raw carrot and a 'kiss and a lick' of raw celery and raw capsicum all followed up with a peanut butter sandwich chaser. Some nights you just have to give in to the food jags and get something remotely resembling a decent meal into them. Its hard hey! I am grateful we aren't FODMAPS/dairy/nut free the sensory issues and Coeliac is enough to contend with for me. Thanks for your kind words of solidarity and encouragement! Hang in there.

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  10. We eat a lot of plain no sauce too. Mine is getting used to the mixed food touching bit but texture and smell are still big issues. We are not nut free thank god, peanut butter sandwiches save the day on many an occasion. mel x

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  11. Woderful progress Mel, you must be giddy with excitement. A north facing sewing room is the best. Hope your neighbours never trim their trees.

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  12. Great renovation, loving following along. ;-)

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  13. They are really moving along - good builders!

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  14. Those new timber stairs are lovely. It's all coming along fairly quickly now isn't it.
    x

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  15. It's coming along, Mel. It must be so exciting to see it all take shape. And I'll openly admit I am very jealous of your sewing room. I have to set up camp at the kitchen table. x

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  16. How exciting to see the walls go up so quickly, and the view from your sewing room is perfect.

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  17. It's going up SO fast Mel, kudos to your builders and to you for arranging such efficient builders unlike our friends whose builders made a start on their place and then nicked off for a couple of months to do something else........I am so envious of your sewing room. A room just for you, what joy!!!! Mel x

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