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"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013." via Che and Fidel

DROWNING
Is it me or is it them? So many little boys with different needs and different personalities - it's impossible to give you each 100% of me. I have been so tired and frustrated this week and it's the first time in nine years that I've longed for my single child-free life.

Reno - Week 19

I was flipping through the photos of the house renovation the other day - it's hard to believe we've gone from this:

to this:

in only a matter of weeks. Anyone following along on Instagram is probably sick and tired of my constant stream of photos of the fireplace and surrounds, but I'm just so chuffed with how it's turned out.

Sneak peek of the corbel. Hopefully all the scaffolding will come down soon so I can take some better photos.

Here's a run down of how it all came together. The fireplace and arch started off as four courses of bricks. The brickies then took a break while the concreter poured a suspended slab in situ:

The brickies returned after the slab had set to lay several more courses - then off they went again.

The formwork for the lintel above the fireplace was constructed but it was actually poured off-site. Some poor bugger had to carry it back and place it into position - I don't know how heck they lifted it as I imagine it would have weighed a tonne (which is probably why there is a chip out of one corner - I'd say it was dropped but it adds to the overall character.)

The cable is for a high-level light inside the arch which will help illuminate the terrace at night

The arch and decorative brickwork elements were completed so now the only thing missing is the towering chimney which will be finished next week.  Not entirely sure what we are going to use the arched area for - wood storage, a cozy nook to sit in, naughty corner.....

There were a number of other things that happened on-site this week as well. The painters made a start on stripping the old paint off the weatherboards:

Apparently there were seven layers of paint on the old girl and it looks like she was originally painted white - I guess this renovation ensures that the colour scheme is remaining authentic (to some degree anyway.)

The drying rack in the kitchen was constructed:

All it needs now are some decorative glass panels, integrated lighting and a lick of white paint to finish it off. You'll have to wait a few more weeks before you see the finished product. It's actually a really inexpensive but effective way of providing additional and much needed storage in the kitchen. The frame is simply constructed using pine mouldings which cost a couple of dollars a metre from your local hardware store.

We have a fixed window in the bathroom corridor that was originally specified to have a diffuser film attached to obscure the view to the unit block next door, but we made a last minute decision to use the same decorative glass that is being used in the drying rack instead:

I'm loving the pattern and texture of this glass

The front verandah, which was pulled down last week, is currently being reinstated and we're hoping to get the stairs between the scullery and the back terrace installed soon so that the remaining external doors can be fitted. Not quite at lock-up, but not far away.

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"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013." via Che and Fidel

LESSON OF THE WEEK
The kids in Jack's Grade 3 class have been doing a bit of dictionary work this week, and some of them have been looking up the meaning of a few 'interesting' words which are not on the curriculum. This week he discovered that a certain female body part actually starts with a 'V' rather than 'G'. No dear - it's not a 'Gi-na.'

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.

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"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013." via Che and Fidel

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Harry aged 5: "Charlie, I'm gonna get you - and I'll make it look like it was a bloody accident."