The plastering has continued this week and look almost complete. The bathroom and ensuite are done, as is the roof in the living area. All the joins have been covered over.
The verandah roof over the back deck is completed, and so are the steps leading down. The Harkaway verandah guttering has gone in, and the roof has started. It will be beers on the back deck next weekend (Melbourne weather permitting)!
The baseboards are on around 3 sides of the house. We’ve decided to paint them the same colour as the main house colour (Pearl Lusta), however the merbau decking keeps leaching colour in the rain, so I’m not sure when they will get painted. Meanwhile, the exterior painting is continuing, plus a bit more inside.
Side Verandah Roof Going On
View from the back yard
Deck Verandah
Baseboards – verandah
Deck Steps
Plastering – Ensuite
Plastering – Master Bedroom
Plastering – Living Area
There is still a lot of dirt around the site, which Oscar is having great fun playing in (although the builders did clean up his collection of sewerage pipe pieces!). Wait until we start on the garden.
It’s all still progressing at a great rate of knots:
The roof was completed last week,
The hot water panels were installed while the scaffolding was up,
The deck has been completed, with the exception of a lot of screws (this is not part of the Harkaway package and is being supplied by our builder),
The painter started painting the gables but didn’t finish before the scaffolding came down (I assume it will have to go back up for him to finish),
The front and side verandahs have progressed, but are not quite finished yet,
The vents for the ducted heating system have been marked out,
The scaffolding came down today, and
The insulation has started to go up in preparation for the cladding.
Phew!
Roof, Gables and Finials
Roof, Gables and Finials
Roof, Gables and Finials
Roof and Solar Hot Water Panels
Deck
View of the deck from the meals area
Dermie making himself at home in the front entrance
Side Verandah
Starting the Cladding
We had to have one of the heating vents relocated; it had been placed inside the main bedroom box window, where I plan to put a lovely relaxing armchair and ottoman for curling up and reading. It can go on the other side of the room, or in one of the corners. We discovered this by accident, so it is a good thing we are frequently out on site.
The solar hot water panels went up, but they didn’t fit on the left (east) side of the north-facing roof, so were installed on the other side instead. This is where we had planned to put the solar electricity panels. Hopefully we can have some placed there and some on the west side.
On the inside of the house we have made some small changes:
Exhaust fans to go into the Butler’s Pantry and the Laundry, and
The space above the return air vent (for the ducted heating) to have shelving built into it.
We haven’t heard back from the cabinet maker on final designs and costs yet.
We have been re-doing our research on the bamboo flooring that we want to use; making sure that the brand we looked at 2 years ago is still suitable.
Oscar has been helping me plan his Star Wars room, and I have been scouring the internet for Clone Wars wall decals, light saber lights, bedding and more.
Finally, as a celebration of sorts, hubby had a Topping Out for the house – holding a branch above the highest point, to appease the spirits of the trees that were sacrificed to build it. (This is what happens when you watch too much Grand Designs!)
The deck around the front of the house is almost complete. It’s merbau decking, that comes as part of the Harkaway Package. It already makes an impact on the frame of the house, and gives it structure. Our builder has done a great job of installing it.
The roof is also going up. I couldn’t get any good photos as it so high up, but several sections are complete and the guttering has gone in as well.
