Reno - Week 14

This week was dedicated to installing the new roof and I feel so much more at ease knowing the house is finally undercover. Surely it's going to rain sooner or later - we certainly do need it.

The last of the facia boards were fixed onto the new part of the house and the old gutters were removed from the cottage however we soon discovered that the facia boards underneath had seen better days, so we decided it was best to replace them (another variation - ouch!)

Battens were fixed into position, new eaves gutters were installed, roof insulation was rolled out and the new zincalume roof sheeting was screwed down, which heralds Phase 2 of 'de-greening' the cottage. (Phase 1 was the removal of the 'heritage green' battens from underneath the house.) Phase 3 will entail painting over the existing, you guessed it, 'green' weatherboards which now looks like it will happen sooner than we initially expected. Since the scaffolding is already in position, it makes sense to strip the old flaky paint from the external timber weatherboard and VJ cladding and give it a new coat of paint.

Internally there has been a few minor changes too. Below is an image of the old living room (please ignore the mess on the floor - it's the remains of the old kitchen):

The old back door has since been removed along with the sash window, which is being relocated to another part of the house. So this is it now:

What was the location of the window will become an opening into the kitchen/scullery and the removal of the back door will allow the hallway to continue through to the new section and out onto the terrace. While the model below is not 100% accurate, it gives you a pretty good idea of what this space will eventually look like:

I'm still in the process of locking-in the lighting fixtures which includes the pendant that will hang above the dining table. I do love the entire range of George Nelson Bubble pendants, but I'm thinking about hanging something very simple here now. I don't want a large 'look at me' pendant to compete with the lovely details that are planned for this room. Plus I really do need to keep a lid on costs.

And I've made a last minute decision to keep the original bakelite light switches in three of the original rooms as any new electrical work will be messy due to the single-skin walls. I just love how they 'click' but more importantly I would prefer to keep these rather than having a strip of conduit running down the wall to meet a new switch plate which is generally how new cabling is housed in these old girls.

The current bakelite switches are mounted on blocks which are located hard up against the door jamb and are very unobtrusive:

The switches look a little shabby and are covered in layers of paint, but they should clean up nicely. I am also proposing to keep the bakelite pendant fittings (again covered in paint) and just replace the cords with ones that are longer so that they can be draped over a hook.

Similar to this:

Images via

New cord + decorative bulb = big saving. Any tips/recommendations on the best way to go about restoring bakelite?

Next week the plumber and electrician arrive to commence the electrical/plumbing rough-in. Also next week the bricklayers return to make a start on the brick walls, floors and stairs. I'm really excited about the brick selection and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the terrace and outdoor fireplace come to life. This element of the scheme won me over from the very beginning.