Reno - Week 18

It's been another productive week on the renovation front -  each time I visit the site, there is generally a nice surprise waiting for me. This week the privacy screens that sit along the corridor next to the terrace were fitted. They are so well-made and look totally amazing:

The screens face East, so I imagine they will cast some lovely shadows along this section of corridor each morning. Eventually four bays of Aneeta sashless windows will sit inside the screens. The screens will allow us to keep the windows open 24/7, something that is particularly beneficial during the warmer months to help capture the cooling NE breezes - an item which was on our original brief to the architect. Our previous house was kitted out with bifold doors, and after a while it got very annoying having to close each and every one of them everytime I had to leave the house. 

Before we started the renovation, we knew there was a lot of wood rot on the front verandah (ie stairs, handrails, posts and some of the flooring) and replacement for such was allowed for in our quote from the builder. So the arduous task of removing it all took place this week.

The joists on the front verandah actually looked OK from underneath, however when the worst of the floorboards above were removed, we soon discovered that things weren't quite what we expected:

So all the joists will now have to be replaced and as most of the floorboards were rotten, we made an executive decision to replace the lot. Everything, however will be rebuilt exactly the way it was.

My favourite tradies (the bricklayers) returned to complete the walls underneath the addition and make a start on the fireplace and surrounds:

Seems crazy to even think of an open fire during the current heatwave we are having, but I'm sure we'll make good use of it. As soon as the concrete lintel which sits above the firebox is poured, the brickies will return to complete the rest of the job. The photo above was taken in the afternoon, so you can see that it's actually quite well shaded - it should be a pleasant place to sit even on a hot day.

This week I also got busy trying to decide on the only remaining thing to select for the entire project - a slab of marble for the benchtops. After a few false starts I finally decided upon this one:

It's a honed Calacatta Statuario marble and will feature in both the kitchen and laundry. This marble is generally white in colour but has these striking 'lightning bolts' of grey veins through it which makes it really interesting to look at. I liken it to clouds - the more you stare at them, the more shapes and objects you seem to find. I'm hoping the stone mason will let me have the offcuts, as I have a few creative ideas in store for them. So what's the protocol here? I figure that as you've paid for the slab you should get to keep the offcuts.

Next week the external doors will be fitted which will bring us to lock-up stage.