Renovator's Dream (or is it a Nightmare) Part 1

I thought I'd give you a little tour of the old girl before work gets underway.

Let's start at the front. Our front fence/gatehouse is looking a little worse for wear. It's not particularly straight and a most of the palings have either rotted or have completely come away.

The front gate - only just hanging there on its rusty hinges

Slight case of wood rot

I'm not sure if the fence is keeping the Bougainvillea up or perhaps it's the Bougainvillea holding the fence up. Either way the fence is beyond repair, so a new one will replace it at a later date.

A little while back we had to do some remedial work as the place had become unsafe. You can see from this photo that a few of the treads on the front stairs have been replaced and others have been "chocked up" with bits of timber to keep them from moving about.

Same with the front verandah - I'm surprised nobody fell through the boards!

I think most of timber on the front verandah (ie flooring, handrails and posts) will need to be replaced.

Original Timber Stumps

Handrails are peeling away from the posts

Here's our laundry that is located in the undercroft:

Trough to be converted into a herb garden

Our bathroom is definitely due for an overhaul - (WARNING: you may want to look away)

Were they trying to achieve an industrial aesthetic with the corrugated iron walls and concrete flooring?

Exposed bathroom shower taps

This original bathroom is also located underneath the cottage. There is a "newer" bathroom upstairs built into a lean-to addition at the rear of the house - both will be demolished.

And it looks like we have squatters - some brush turkeys have built a nest just outside our back door.

These are just some of a handful of things that require fixing and/or replacing. I think the old pine floorboards are the only things that are in good condition (considering their age.) I'll take you through the interior in Part 2.