Demolition has begun, and today the old girl lost her skirt (amongst other things):
A pile of rubbish is steadily accumulating out the back:
And while the old toilet has been removed:
it has been replaced with another that is somewhat more civilised:
Unfortunately there are some areas in the house that contain asbestos, including the ceilings on our front verandah:
This will be professionally removed prior to the house being raised. And speaking of raising houses, it has been interesting hearing and seeing people's reactions to what is such a common thing here in Queensland.
But it's not all ugly here at the West End Cottage. Two rather large camellias full of new buds are just starting to flower:
And thanks to Mel's recent suggestion, I am now considering putting in an advanced Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia Palmeri) as a feature tree out near the back terrace.
This hardy and fast growing deciduous shade tree would make a wonderful specimen - the canopy is a blaze of colour in Winter and Spring with beautiful pink bell-shaped flowers. I think a gorgeous pop of "pink" will be great outside our O+V+P's trademark black and white colour scheme.
So glad you too love my favourite tree. Now must add I have no idea how to actually get them flowering or how many years it takes. My old neighbour and I both planted one ten years ago at the old house, hers flowered within a few years but mine didn't. Anyway the pop of pink would be gorgeous and could happen more quickly with a more established tree. And seems we've had a glimpse under the petticoats of your old girl, theres no dignity for them really is there, mine is topless, yours dropping her skirts! mel x
ReplyDeleteLike a stripshow for renovators! xx
DeleteI think you should call her Gladys as she has all those green tones, goes well with my blue Betsy. mel x
ReplyDeleteThat tree is spectacular!
ReplyDeleteI must admit when I first moved to Brisbane I thought all these raised houses were crazy...and the idea of raising them even further was even more crazy. But I have come to love them...which is good seeing as ours isn't just raised but absolutely up on stilts!
What a lovely tree!! Exciting times! Can't wait to see the next steps....
ReplyDeleteI planted one of those trees last year, on the western side of our old queenslander. Hope it flowers in a few years. I am just starting to paint our house in a Taubmans Silver Blaze half strength colour, closest thing I could find to white without being white.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth - I think we're both pretty safe using white paint - it's timeless. There are at least three other houses near mine that have recently been painted grey (seems to be very "in" at the moment. xx
DeleteNice project. Why not pick an Australian native tree for the backyard? An Illawarra flame tree perhaps. Friendlier for the environment.:)
ReplyDeleteI know, I know..... but (and correct me if I'm wrong) the flame tree doesn't actually lose it's leaves until the end of Winter. I would like the terrace to be nice and sunny during the Winter months. And it might just grow too high - I've heard they can get up to around 35m tall - way too tall for the spot I have in mind (we're only on a small lot! xx
DeleteCan't wait to see her go up, hope it stays sunny, Brisbane has just been beautiful the last few days xx
ReplyDeleteLove your camellias, hope those builders treat them well, love the pink tree as well. Looks like good progress happening, exciting!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame the palm tree in the front is gone
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if anyone would notice. I actually hate taking out trees, and we've had to remove about 3 because they were in the way of the extension or unsuitable (pest species.) However we have plans to replace them all. Luckily our climate here is Brisbane allows plants to establish and grow very quickly. xx
DeleteHi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteIt's so exciting to see your renovations commence and follow your journey! I'll continue to watch with interest as we are about to start a renovation on our Queenslander in Brisbane. You've inspired me to start my own blog www.familyhomeblog.blogspot.com.
I've given you a shout-out in my first post!
Nice Blog , This is what I exactly Looking for , Keep sharing more blog.
ReplyDeleteBathroom Renovations