The House

22 December:
At long last, I can't believe we're moving in!


This is Cyrus and Rupert helping us move our stuff out of Kempton Street


And here are the workers (Rupert, Cyrus, Randal (the deacon at St. Luke's, our church) and Marvin,
 having a beer after most the heavy stuff was moved.

 

15 December:   They put my kitchen in today. I nearly burst into tears (good ones) when I saw it.
I feel so incredibly lucky to have the kitchen I've been dreaming of for years!


This was my almost first glimpse of it. I peeped through the window and then took the photo.  I'm sure it'll look even nicer when it's all done, but at the moment I can't imagine anything being more beautiful!
 


And this is from the other side. John, the project manager on the builders' side is speaking with Andy and another guy from Carroll's Joinery. They made the kitchen and have done a beautiful job of it.

And here is a view from the kitchen/living area into the conservatory, which is buzzing with workmen. In the front of the picture is Max Edridge, the architect, explaining something to Bernie, the electrician.  Behind them are John and Dave from DR Borman Ltd, the building company. And I'm sorry but I didn't catch the name of the builder on the right!

 

 And here are the men from Flair Flooring, busy laying the carpet.


late November:   The interior of the house is being completed now.
Here's Mike the stonemason working on the fireplace surround. He sounds like he's Scottish but he swears he's from Liverpool. I guess he knows best!

 


And here is the staircase being put in.


And this is the chandelier we got from Karen and Andrew Brown. It looks amazing in the space. Apparently it took 8 guys and a lot of swearing to get it in place!

 

early September The front door is on, and the gib board is being put on the internal walls.

 

 

  

 

mid-August  While we've been away, they have done the bricking on the downstairs, and next will do the plastering.
Don is busy putting little cedar shingles on all the upstairs corners and under the verandahs.

 

late July 2005  The verandahs are on in the front of the house, and it gives it a very good feeling of being grounded in place properly.

early July 2005  The windows are going in - see Derek Wilson working away on them here.  They are so beautiful that they my breath away.
They were made locally by a company called Fairview Windows.
And below you can the industry with which Todd, the plumber, has been putting the pipes through the walls and ceiling!
I wish we were just the least bit handy at building, but we're not; so all we can do is admire other people's skills.

 

 

 

end of June 2005 The roof is nearly done, which completely changes the look of things. The roofers are a fearless bunch!
The glass is in the conservatory window, the open part you can see in the roof.
They're putting the plywood on the outside upstairs- see picture above..
Wheee! It's starting to feel like a real house!

and this is Chris, working on the roof!

 

24 May, 2005 The framing is complete and from here on in, it will be roofed and cladded, and it will be looking very different. So I took a snapshot (no real pun intended) of where it's at now for future comparisons.


this is Cameron climbing on the frame

 
the bird sitting in the framing seemed like a good omen!
 


we're eager to move in but it still looking a bit drafty...

  
and this is our balcony from the northwest.
   

29 April, 2005 Here is a photo from early April (below)...

31 March, 2005   The garage is closed in now, and this morning they were installing the wool batts (insulation) in the walls. They are grey, and even smell like sheep!
The builders are all very nice, and don't seem to mind answering my incessant questions.  They even claim to enjoy having a client who is interested in the process!
Here is a photo of two of them - Dean Southey and Derek Wilson - in the garage doorway, just before they let me close the roller door for its first time after installation.

The framing on the ground floor is complete, and they are starting on the loft. 
The bedroom that we have always thought of as Lucia's has been put on over the entranceway.
 

 

22 February, 2005 Gosh, I've been bad at updating this! And that combined with the speed at which the building team have worked means that I'm way behind in posting photos. I'll just have to hope that I have some time to insert photos in between entries.  I have a stolen moment because Lucia is having an extra-long afternoon sleep, and George is fed, dressed and cooing in his cot.

Anyway, this is the house as of 22 February (just above).  The builders want to finish the garage first so they have a place to store materials for the house, so they are focussing on that first. This photo is being taken from the conservatory through the kitchen to the barn.  It had been a blistering hot day, and the roofers were still going strong at 6:30pm. In the foreground of the photo, you can see the posts waiting to be erected. They will provide the structure and support for the house, and will also give it the "post and beam" character that we wanted. The beams in the lower left part of the picture will be exposed when the house is finished.

 

We are also using some wood from my father's place in the Coromandel, Sky Farm.
The wood is being used for the beams in the kitchen ceiling and for floor joists.. 

 

December 2004: The pad was being poured before Christmas. It was done in a stretch of very bad weather - cold and rainy. It certainly didn't feel like summer! Apparently the gestation period for a house is longer than that of a human baby - it's been 3 1/2 years until this point!

 

The polystyrene is apparently to insulated the top part of the foundations and the keep the warmth from the underfloor heating from escaping downwards.
The second part of the pad was poured after Christmas.

September 2004:  We have signed a building contract with a building company known as DR Borman, and have arranged to start on or around 8 October.. The architect (Max Edridge) tells us it will 9 months before we can move in, so we are looking at May 2005 as a move-in date. [Note: This date is left for historical purposes. The move-in date on the project plan is now 9 December.]

 

 

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