A rather damp week

While our intention to break the drought was heartfelt, we underestimated how good we might be at it. Throughout the process we've had some wet days, and solid, well-above-average rainfall. This has meant that our massive rainwater tank is now full, before we move in. It has also meant that any remaining leaks were quickly found and fixed. The house is now remaining mostly dry, with just 'seepage' into the cellar and basement, which will stop once the landscaping is sorted out.

The last week though has seen nature take it up a notch. In a seven day period, the airport received around 200mm of rain, a third of the annual average. We've had times during the recent drought where we struggled to reach that over a year.

One of our smaller lakes overflowed into its little creekbed...



Normally you can walk across this area, with a small hop over the creek itself...



Our rainwater tank wasn't the only thing that filled up.



We haven't reached that level since the 1990's... When we started the renovations, the dams were around 40% full.

Back to the house, which we're hoping to move into one day soon.

The spiral stairs now have their safety handrails, at each of the three levels.



It feels a lot safer now at the top landing...



More of the joinery has gone in. These are pigeon holes for our new walk-thru-robe.



From the back they have some 'texture', or as Mark described it 'designed to make his life more difficult'. As the walls will be a rich plum colour, we're thinking of a rich gold-leaf backing on this unit... We'll see.



The kitchen is coming along nicely. For the interested, it's an L-shape with an island bench. The loose cabinets here will go on the wall. All the appliances are ready to be installed once the final big panels (for the wall oven and fridge/freezer) arrive.



Lots of other little things happening too, mainly on the inside.

The loft ladder is (mostly) installed.



We don't have a lot of architraves (see, I speak 'builder' now!) but we do have one here where the wall types meet.



The tiling is close to finished. Those scary bright-green/gold mosaics aren't too bad across a large area.



And the last little patches of plasterboard are going on, in preparation for the painters.



The next couple of weeks will be very hectic, with painters, floor-sanders, electricians and other trades all starting and finishing in quick succession. We're now looking at the schedule trying to work out when we can bring in the curtains, the lights, the bed, the snooker table, etc. - and eventually us! Soon we hope. Real soon...

Getting closer

Another fortnight, another long list of jobs getting done. Things like the re-bagging of the basement walls, and the significant amount of joinery being built off-site don't lend themselves to pictures, but we know they're happening when we're making almost-daily decisions about individual drawer heights, benchtop clearances, lighting issues, cupboard doors, landscaping, ...

We can't wait till it's all done... but we have to. So where are we at now?

The Last Window has gone in. This is the postal slot into the basement, where a snooker table will have to come in. All of the glass panels are removable to maximise the opening. Even though it doesn't look like it now, the normal outside ground level will be about a foot below the window's lower edge.



Several cupboards have been installed. This one is the IT cupboard. Hence the bundle of cabling for data, broadband, heating control, and others, that end up here. It's amazingly useful to have a single place for all of them, a space to put the necessary infrastructure to connect everything, plus have access to both the roof and under-floor space in the one location. It also nicely fills an awkward corner. For the geeks, there's about 800m of Cat7 cabling coming into here.



A few more cupboards below.



Cornices are things that are generally invisible, until somebody points them out. So I'll do that here now. We have these throughout the house. The style and size is a little unusual, but is a nod to the art deco style. We'll be painting these in a slightly accented fashion, so they don't vanish into the walls/ceiling.



There's movement outside again, at last, as the remaining outside walls are clad. As mentioned, the extension is reverse-brick-veneer, with the thermal mass on the inside. That gets wrapped with an insulating blanket (air-cell, R1.5 in something that is only 10mm thick), and then the metal battens get attached to the outside of it. This stops the battens themselves being conductors through the wall. Between the battens we're also adding R2 fibre batts (much thicker, and much to the annoyance of the installers).



Finally the whole thing is clad with cement sheeting, ready for rendering/painting.



The bit around the end corner will be clad with corrugated iron, to break up the otherwise long wall.

Inside, the various bathrooms are progressing. We have a bath!



We have a powder room that is no longer an unclad cavity. However, it has been disconnected from the water, so is bucket flushed.



The tiling is going ahead. Slowly, carefully, but getting there. We're using the same tiles throughout the house, to tie it all together. There's a basic wall/floor tile, and there's a feature tile mosaic that we're using sparingly.



The vanity carcase is in, the mirror is yet to come.



And the first new toilet is attached at last, although not yet fully connected to the rainwater.



The skylight style is a Strine speciality. Both as a light source and a solar chimney to shed hot air. The inside is now fully plastered, and the outside is properly clad.




It evokes something of the Australian outdoor vernacular...