When we first bought the house back in 2007, there were three large Chinese Elms (otherwise known as Chinese Celtis) growing in the back garden. They ranged in size from 15-20m in height - totally inappropriate for the size of the block. The backyard looked like the undergrowth of a rainforest which never saw the light of day. The brush turkeys, however, loved it and they used to roost in the trees at night.
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| The canopy of the trees towered over the house |
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| Aerial view of the site in 2009 - it's a jungle in there! |
Now I hate cutting down trees unnecessarily, but these guys were right in the way of our planned extension so they had to go. I didn't know it at the time, but this particular tree is a declared pest species by the Brisbane City Council so there was no approval needed to have them all cut down. The tree loppers came in and within a day, there was no evidence that the trees ever existed.
The excavation for the footings commenced on Monday, and lo and behold those trees (or at least the the remaining stumps/roots) just happened to be right where the footings were planned to go. Up until this week those trees were but a distant memory. A whole day was wasted removing this dead wood from the ground - what should have been a strips of concrete footings now resembles a hole for a swimming pool.
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| Just some of the roots that have been pulled out of the ground |
This unforeseen event could mean extra costs to the project. The concreter will now have to box up the footings, pour the concrete and backfill. And I thought the weather was going to be the only thing holding up progress this week.
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| The skies have been threatening all week |
And in other news, our old Hill's Hoist has found a new home on acreage at Whiteside in Brisbane's North. Three little boys (all under the age of 2) live there, so I'm sure they're going to have lots of fun with it as they get older.
Oh yes, the "unforeseen event"! Know all about those over here at Betsy's. We are up to about number 6 and I am getting just a bit tetchy. Hope this hasn't slowed you up too much and they can get those footings in before more rain. mel x
ReplyDeleteOh dear...I hope at least the weather cooperates and doesn't turn those holes into literal swimming pools!
ReplyDeleteThose Chinese Elms never really die with all the suckers that pop out of the ground...They really are a pest. Shame they were a big waste of a day for your tradies. :( xx
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing you brismod - now that most of the root system has been removed, I'm hoping I won't see any more suckers from these trees sprouting from the ground (and they were everywhere!) I'd better get a container of Roundup just in case. xx
DeleteCaroline, so glad to see things are underway with the renovations... yay !!! fab !!! i didnt really post much during my break, to be honest at end of semester the last thing i wanted to do was sit at the computer...
ReplyDeleteI am back to study so am back on the computer and alas its great to catchup on blog reads for study procrastination :) ...
Look forward to watching your home progress !!!
L xx
We have one of those trees on the boundary. It's been trimmed a few times and like Melisande, it grows back twice as fast and twice as thick, but we love it in summer. Hope the rain holds off for you, it's been drizzling here all week.
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