Day One: Done & Dusty

So I wouldn't normally post two days in a row ( hold your horses, don't get too excited! ), but it seems the first day back from tradie holidays goes off with a bit of gusto...






Also, while I was there, I found the plans floating around in a wheelbarrow, so snapped a shot for people to get an idea where we are going with things.

Think of them as a guideline only though - there were compromises I had to make due to where the upstairs may one day go ( words like "load bearing" ), and things like that. Also, I hate the pantry/cabinets and laundry set-up, but figured i'd fix them later on, rather than do this back-n-forth dance with the draftsman, a dude who's probably not even aware that we are no longer communicating.




So it's pretty basic I guess, but will make a big difference.
I'm taking out the double doors that lead from the living to my office ( listed on the plans as "dining" ), and placing them out in the hall, which will have a nice continuity about it I think.

Massive WIR - yay! ( will be for 4 people though, until we go up )

Door to the boy's room will be moved to "under the stairs" as the old entrance will now be part of my WIR.

And a kitchen.

And that's it really!!


What do you think?  Now's the time to speak if you've got a suggestion!!


xx
Lea

The Tradies Arrive today

In fact, they got there an hour or so ago.

I am staying away, but i'll go have a peek this afternoon.


AB and I have been working on the old house for about a month now - mainly him, every night, after work, chipping, clearing, removing, rumbling.  It should save us a bit of money.  Yesterday was our last heave-ho, and I have to say, i'm happy to be at home today ( at the flat ) in my jammies.  Resting.

Here's some pics:


Firstly, to give you some bearings, the R/E brochure from when we bought the house, in 2006:





And the floorplan:





They couldn't sell this house, you know?
The pics look ok, but there was crap everywhere and people just walked around sneering and grimacing.  The owners also tried to save money by selling at Christmas when no-one was about.

Right after we bought it, the property market here went BOOM! and a condemned lot across the street sold for $250k more than what we had bought this only 6months prior.

Lucky.





Above: the old bathroom ( will be a WIR )

Below: the boy's bedroom.





Below:
Master Bedroom, main living area, and some kitchen rubble up the driveway.





Below:  the old kitchen, which will now be a hallway.





Below:  the old laundry, which will now be a butler's pantry/laundry off the new kitchen
( the middle pic is where I used to take my selfies .. hee hee :)





Below:  the Playroom, or according to the map above, a 3rd bedroom
This will now be my kitchen, and that doorway will lead into my butler's pantry/laundry.





So that's it for now.
Basically what happens next is the floors and ceilings come down.  That stupid playroom is the main reason for the reno - the way it cut into our usable space for no good reason.  However, it does keep the house up, so a steel beam is going in the roof to replace it.  We are also putting in the foundations for a 2nd story in the roof, which we can't afford right now, but since they have to take off the ceilings anyway, it makes sense to do that now.

This means, in 4yrs time, we can just pop in some stairs and a pre-fab 2nd story, and boom:  separate rooms for the boys before high school.  Neato.

Because, yes, even after this reno, we will still be a 2bedroom house, which is probably crazy by other people's standards.  I'm ok with that.


What do you think?
Feel free to offer me any advice, or discounts from your Uncle Dave.


xx
Lea

Smashy Smashy

A little update montage..





I'm posting these as we go on my facebook page, so feel free to join the conversation and add your 2¢ in realtime :)

This is all our own work ATM.  AB is there every night after work, and I pop in during the day.
Tradies are still a couple of weeks away.

( We have no asbestos, btw.. )